The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2730

Chapter 2730 - Definition of Life

"I think we are adopting different definitions of life." Ves began.

The question posed by Frederico Navarro was a profound one that could not be answered with a single sentence.

Fortunately, Ves had already received advance warning that Dr. Navarro wanted to challenge him on this point.

As a mech designer whose domain was half-dedicated to an aspect of life, how could he be caught flat-footed by a mere philosophical challenge?

He openly claimed to design and sell living mechs. He did not consider any of it to be a lie. Even if other people did not agree with his assertion, it didn’t matter too much to him. They would learn in time that his products possessed advantages that fit within the boundaries of life.

His design philosophy never lied. If it was based around life, then Ves should be absolutely correct when he said that his mechs were all alive.

The only issue was that he did not live in an absolute reality where a single truth was taken as objectively right.

Different people clutched onto different truths due to their different perspectives. The issue became even more muddled when human ego and emotions entered the equation.

Even Ves was not immune to this effect. If anyone actively challenged his living mechs, he always felt compelled to defend his stance even when he was confronted with overwhelming evidence that countered his views!

This was what made exchanges between mech designers rather tricky. The purpose of an exchange was to generate useful insights to both sides without shattering the foundation of their specialty.

Of course, that was only one way to look at exchanges. More aggressive mech designers enjoyed challenging their peers and rivals by engaging in philosophical debates. Their goal was not to enrich their own views, but to tear down the views of others.

Ves didn’t mind doing so to a mech designer who disrespected him, but Dr. Navarro had not reached this threshold. Throughout the entire meeting, the biomech designer still acted as a decent host. The points he made and the views he expressed completely conformed to his background as an adept of biotechnology.

Dr. Navarro was still earnest. It would be excessive for Ves to tackle this question in an aggressive manner.

"Who is the strongest Star Designer? Who is the strongest god pilot? Are sh.i.p.s stronger than mechs? All of these questions and more produce endless debates." Ves slowly continued. "I have found that the main reason why two sides can never come to a consensus is because they apply different criteria as a result of using ambiguous definitions. For example, consider the first question. How do you actually measure the ’strength’ of a Star Designer? The power of their mech designs? That’s not a good approach as some mechs can easily counter other specific mechs."

This was an extremely heated debate on the galactic net because every Star Designer had their own armada of diehard fans. Billions of mech designers and mech enthusiasts would literally fight and die for their idol in order to defend the viewpoint that their chosen Star Designer was the strongest!

Even Dr. Navarra looked unwilling to wade in this swamp. "You are avoiding my point. While I understand the message that you are trying to convey, not every question should remain unanswered. Stating that we may hold different definitions of life is valid, but this is not a sufficient answer."

It seemed that Dr. Navarro was not afraid of encountering a little friction.

"That’s fair." Ves minutely nodded to the older Journeyman. "It’s just that it is much more difficult to convey my argument if we are divided in meaning. Life means something different to me than other people. I’m sure that you also feel that your idea of life is distinct from other people. This is why I feel reluctant to proceed with espousing my views. Even if I elaborate my philosophy, most of it will just sink into an ocean when it reaches your ears."

"Exchanges can be like that. You don’t need to be pedantic towards me. I have been through my fair share of debates. No matter how useless it seems, it is best to start with voicing out your views. We cannot go any further without knowing our differences."

"Very well." Ves took a deep breath. "In my opinion, what makes mechs alive is whether they are able to think and feel for themselves. That is the basic definition that I have always based my work from. It’s not visible, but all of the mechs that I have designed are alive because they each have traits that fit this definition."

"And these traits are...?"

Ves raised a finger. "First, my mechs are responsive to their mech pilots in a way that is not related to the programming or physical configuration of the mech. What I mean by that is that as mech pilots interface with my mechs, they become exposed to a living personality. Two personalities, actually. The most obvious ones are the sources of my glows, while the less obvious ones are the lives that represent the mechs themselves."

The biomech designer quickly began to frown. He was already starting to have trouble following Ves’ argument.

"So your mech actually holds two lives instead of one? How does that even work?"

"It’s complicated. Glows are a more advanced application of my design philosophy. My earliest mech designs did not possess any glows, but I still consider them to be alive to an extent. Feedback from mech pilots have already made it clear that they truly feel their mechs care for them as long as they care for their machines in turn."

"Is this true?" Navarro skeptically asked.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify