The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3541

Chapter 3541: Threat to the Status Quo

Ves expected the MTA to come calling eventually, but not this soon!

He had just started to draft the design for the Fearless Project and already Jovy called him over to the Simile Halifax in order to talk about his work!

Though many people would feel worried or intimidated when being put in this situation, Ves quickly pulled himself together and put on a calm facade.

There were several reasons why Ves did not panic when confronted by this issue.

First, Jovy was a friend and would not deliberately make things difficult. Perhaps he might not be the best person to approach Ves on this matter due to his bias, but perhaps the MTA didn't care too much.

Second, he and Jovy were aligned to the same faction, so Jovy also had a professional reason to bat on his side. Though Ves hadn't interacted much with the Survivalist Faction of the MTA since he became an associate, it should definitely not be staying idle!

Third, the MTA may have developed an expansive set of written and unwritten rules, but its people were anything but united on them. The existence of twelve major factions that each adhered to many different ideologies showed that the governance of the Association was not as absolute as everyone thought!

Fourth, Ves was confident in his own rationale. As long as the MTA was willing to hear him out, he could probably get away with any restrictions the mechers wanted to impose! He had succeeded in persuading Master Willix to give him a break once, which meant the MTA was still susceptible to the human element.

These reasons and more caused Ves to come across as a lot more composed than Jovy thought.

"You seem to be taking this in stride." The MTA Journeyman Mech Designer observed.

"Well, I had a feeling that my work might be controversial among you mechers." Ves shrugged. "It's not that difficult to infer. The MTA does so much to foster the emergence and development of high-ranking mech pilots over the years that it is clear you mechers value them a lot. Though you tolerate the killing of expert pilots in battle, that is because fighting actual battles is the best way to stimulate them into breaking through to higher ranks."

Jovy looked impressed. "You are remarkably aware of one of our Association's standing policies. That is good. I can skip the lengthy background story then. What I cannot comprehend is why you would go through with the Fearless Project knowing that it directly goes against our goals."

"I'm sure you know how much we've suffered at the hands of enemy expert mechs. We even got threatened by an ace mech that was absolutely unbeatable to us. So many of our people have died from these powerful threats that I refuse to stand by any longer. I've already tried this concept out on a smaller scale against the Vulcanites, and that attempt has shown me that it can work. As a mech designer, I feel compelled to translate this concept into a more effective product."

"Yet you do so knowing that our Association may not approve of your work."

Ves smiled at Jovy. "I am a contributor of restricted technology, I am not? As far as I recall, my clan and I have a special dispensation to make use of luminar crystal technology as long as we do not spread it further. Rest assured that I have no intention of spreading this new application of luminar crystal technology to the masses. The Fearless Project will remain exclusive to our clan, which means that it will not threaten the current status quo."

The MTA mech designer shook his head. "That's not good enough, Ves. It's true that you are a contributor of restricted technology. It's also true that we are willing to overlook small issues that will not disrupt the general trend of human society. There are limits to our forbearance, though."

"What's the problem?"

"You." Jovy said. "According to our predictive modeling, as long as you don't fall along the way, you and your Larkinson Clan will likely grow into a major influence on human society. Anyone who reads up on you can make this conclusion. While you and your clan are so insignificant at this time that whatever you do will not make any ripples, what about the future? What if you have advanced to Master while your clan occupies an entire state?"

"I'm sure we can come to a different arrangement. The main reason why I want to realize the Fearless Project is because my personal safety is at stake. Our clan is too new and isn't producing enough expert pilots, let alone ace pilots. I need a stopgap solution that can make up for this shortfall. In the future, our clan will probably have plenty of high-ranking expert pilots in our lineup. We managed to make three masterwork expert mechs, after all, and it's not impossible that we will make more. Once our clan has enough ace pilots, I am more than okay with phasing out the Fearless Project."

Ves thought this was a great argument, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

"The damage will have already been done by this time!" Jovy grew a little impatient. "The usage of the Fearless Project at any scale will definitely be noticed by many more people! Many of them will question why your Larkinsons are the only ones that are allowed to utilize such an effective anti-expert mech solution."

"So what if people think it's unfair?" Ves frowned. "I'm a contributor of restricted technology! I already handed over a couple of my trade secrets to Master Willix! Don't I deserve a break?"

"Not when doing so has greater implications to human civilization. Some ambitious mech designers and weapon developers might even become inspired by your invention and will seek to create their own anti-expert mech armaments, thereby making such weapons a lot more accessible even if we do our best to prohibit them! Once any useful tech gains momentum, it becomes increasingly more costly for us to block its proliferation. Rather than allowing your new mech and powerful weapon system to build up steam, it is much more efficient to stop you in your tracks right now before your Fearless Project ever sees the light of day."

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