The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2778

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Chapter 2778 - Deeper Implications

"Before I begin to share my perspective, let me begin by stating that I am basing all of it on second-hand information. In our line of work, sources matter. Since we don’t have a strong foundation in the LRA, the information we have gathered is not necessarily true. That can skew our analyses."

"I’m already aware of that, Captain Ember. Just proceed with what you think about our situation." Ves impatiently said.

"Very well, sir." The Xona Stalker officer said as she collected her thoughts. "There are many possible plots at work so I cannot determine with a high degree of confidence which one is true. I can only state that the most likely purpose of blowing up your upcoming design duel is to exert pressure on the conservatives."

Ves raised his eyebrow. "Just that?"

"What you need to understand here is that the conservatives are already under a considerable amount of pressure. Criticism and opposition to their steady approach has been mounting for centuries. If your products succeed in trouncing Dr. Navarro’s creations, then the conservatives will be humiliated in full view of the public. When this shameful outcome is combined with other sources of pressure, the conservatives may no longer be able to rely on the public support they used to have!"

Many ordinary Lifers were either indifferent or supportive of the conservatives. In their ordinary lives, they were content with the stability provided by the current regime. One of the reasons why the Supreme Sage was in charge for over four centuries without interruption was because he essentially guaranteed that the lower half of society was able to live well!

The generous benefits and other helpful policies might end once other factions took charge. The radicals were eager to take risks and change the current course of the LRA, but that might lead to disaster if handled incorrectly!

This was why the conservatives remained secure despite the weakening support from other researchers. The LRA was both a state and a research institution, and right now the former played a decisive role in keeping the dominant faction in power.

"Still, that doesn’t sound like the complete story." Ves replied after he thought about it. "Why pick out this particular design duel? Why not another one that involves Seniors or Masters competing against each other. Those clashes are a hundred times more interesting than an ordinary design duel between two relatively young Journeymen."

Calabast frowned as well. "It definitely has something to do with your identity, but we don’t have enough information to make a judgement. There is just something about you that has convinced the masterminds to fit your design duel in their plans. Maybe it is because you design a different kind of ’living mech’ that contrasts more poignantly against biomechs. Maybe the plotters want to take advantage of your existing reputation. Also, the fact that you are just a Journeyman and not a higher-ranking mech designer means that you are much easier to target."

That was true. Ves seriously doubted whether a local faction wanted to screw with him if he was an honored Master. Just the power, wealth and influence that he would have at his disposal would be enough to deter anyone from casually messing with his life!

"That shouldn’t be all there is to it, right?" Ves still frowned.

Captain Ember reluctantly nodded. "From our talks with our relatives, we have learned that the internal stability of the LRA has become more shaky in the past few decades. The conservatives are definitely feeling the heat while the opposition has become more active. While much of this turbulence is kept out of the eyes of the public, every Lifer feels that a major shift is in the making. Eventually, one side has to give."

"And how will my potential victory against Dr. Navarro play into this situation?"

"Aside from what I have already mentioned, the Supreme Sage himself will face significant pressure. As brilliant as he is in pushing the boundaries of his research fields, he is not a true leader. The pinnacle research facilities I’ve mentioned were mainly set up to further his own projects. They only became available to other LRA researchers when too many of them fell idle when the Supreme Sage was done with his studies. Still, at any given time, he occupies a large amount of labs that could have been used to accelerate the progress of plenty of rising talents."

"Ah."

Captain Ember began to explain this angle.

As long as everything was well in the LRA, the other researchers had no qualms in letting their leader hog the best labs that had been funded by the entire state.

Yet if the rest of the LRA clearly wasn’t doing so well, then it became less and less justifiable for Supreme Sage to occupy so many pinnacle research sites!

No matter how much respect he deserved, the LRA was not supposed to be a personality cult. The interests of the collective outweighed the interests of the individual. If a mech designer like Dr. Navarro fared too poorly against Ves in a design duel, then that was a sign that the current policies were weakening the LRA’s biotech industry.

The Supreme Sage was already old and wouldn’t last longer than a century or so. When he was finally gone, how could the remainder of the biotech industry fill the void he left?

Continuity must be ensured. The LRA had to maintain its position as the strongest center of biotechnology in the star cl.u.s.ter! If not, it was highly doubtful whether it could maintain its current level of prosperity.