The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3742

Chapter 3742 - Legal Tender

Ves held up the big coaster-sized golden coin and acted as if he was appraising an antique artifact.

"This is a pleasant-looking design." He said in front of his two chief ministers. "The logo of the Larkinson Clan, the head of the Golden Cat, is properly depicted and looks identical to the medallion on the front cover of the Larkinson Mandate."

He flipped the megalark coin. There were a few decorative elements on it that Ves did not bother to linger. The words 'megalark' was spelled out in a bold embossed font. If that wasn't obvious enough for people to determine how much money it represented, it also presented a big fat '1000000' on its rear side.

He touched the surface of the large coin with his finger and let his skin and other senses gain a deeper impression of the object.

He waved the heavy coin around and looked at the two older men who undoubtedly supervised the planning and design of the Larkinson Clan's upcoming currency.

"Does this look like it is worth 1000 MTA credits to you?" Ves seriously asked. "I mean, how much does it cost to buy the materials and stamp them into a coin? It doesn't look nearly as expensive enough to buy an entire combat carrier's worth of mechs."

Raymond softly coughed. "The lark is a fiat currency. That means the coin is worth as much as we say it is worth. The materials used to make the coin is worth around a dozen or so larks, but that is irrelevant as long as it does the job. The lark mostly exists as a virtual currency anyway and every coin is registered so that there is no point to forging it. The coins themselves should be seen as a marketing stunt more than anything else. For all intents and purposes, the lark is an administrative and economic tool that is designed to regulate our internal economy better."

"I know all of that." Ves replied with a frown. "I don't fault your solution to the demands that you have posed. What I do have a problem with is the goals that you have been working with. All of this talk about focus testing and trying to come up with the safest, most inoffensive and most universal currency for our clansmen sounds boring."

Neither of the two chief ministers knew what to say to that. It was clear that Ves had entirely different goals in mind!

Ves sighed. These older gentlemen were just doing what they thought was best for the Larkinson Clan. They did not deserve a reprimand for doing their jobs.

"I blame myself for this." He said as he tapped the side of the coin against his desktop. "I spent way too much time on designing mechs and other matters and did not check up on what you guys were doing with our new legal tender."

Raymond was more affected by this implicit rebuke than most considering he took charge of much of the financial affairs of the clan.

"Please tell us your intentions, Ves. We could all use more clarity."

Ves tossed the big coin in the air and let it fall onto his desk, causing it to clatter as if it was a fallen toy.

"Let me ask you this, Raymond. Is the Larkinson Clan a boring clan?"

His great-uncle frowned. "I suppose not. Compared to other clans and family organizations, our history, our culture and our structure is unorthodox to say the least."

"The Larkinson Clan is a young organization that is founded by a young and opinionated leader." Novilon Purnesse added as if he was describing a third-party group. "In cases where a charismatic and wealthy leader has erected much of the rules, customs and institutions, the organization will inevitably become a reflection of the aforementioned individual's personality. Over time, the rise of other executives and the drive to professionalize the organization will bring it more in line with prevailing standards depending on how deeply it is integrated in a regional community."

Ves was impressed with this explanation. "If you know this much, then you should have an inkling of what I think. I know that you have all been trying to convert our irregular, ad-hoc way of working into a more formal and professional structure, and I am largely fine with that. We are not savages and we can't keep making up the rules as we go. Steps such as regularizing the bureaucracy of the clan and building up the staff of the Larkinson Army are necessities that will make our clan stronger."

He tapped the surface of the megalark coin with his finger.

"However, I don't want the Larkinson Clan to morph into a generic state or organization where everything we do comes straight out of the governance textbooks. We were originally a collection of misfits who split off from any existing state and organization so that we can pursue our own desires and ambitions without needing to conform to the rules of others. We are different, and we embrace that. From our living mechs to our various networks, we are strong exactly because we do things differently from the rest of human society."

His speech served as a reminder to the two chief ministers. He rectified their approach to their own duties and made sure they should not blindly pursue standardization.

Raymond looked at the coins that the Finance Ministry had invested a lot of effort in designing. The size of the coins, the material composition, the elements placed on the front and rear sides of the coin, the design on the edges were all the product of thousands of man-hours.

He had been quite proud of them before this meeting. Even if the coins weren't supposed to be used in daily transactions, their clean designs and dignified appearances could convey a great amount of legitimacy to the clan.

"We understand." The old man sighed. "Do you intend to intervene in this matter yourself?"

Ves nodded. "Yes. Not every idea sounds awful to me. I think I am already getting accustomed to the word 'lark' to describe our coin. It sounds unique enough to make sure that everyone else who comes across our currency will know it is a part of our identity. The notion of using the metric system to divide the different denominations is also a decent idea. We don't need to make it anymore complicated than necessary."

"How can we do that?" Raymond puzzlingly frowned. "It sounds to me as if you want to make coins with the property of totems. As far as we know, each of your so-called totems require your personal input in order to be made. While it should not be a problem for you to make a couple of hundred coins, as our clan grows larger it is not tenable for you to keep producing coins in person. Your time is much more valuable than that and it is better that we shift responsibility over to our central bank or another specialized institution." _{fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm}

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