The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4487

"Did you make it in the Friday Coalition? No offense, Carlos, but you don't look like a Journeyman."

"None taken, old friend. It's not that bad. I didn't make much progress at first, but I had a plan. I used the rewards I've earned from the CRC to take additional courses that would help me become a second-class mech designer. Remember those candies you've fed me? That has helped me a lot with passing all of those difficult courses. Anyway, when the Komodo War grew hot, a lot of lucrative jobs became available that helped me integrate into the local scene."

"I'm happy that you managed to pick up your life after you have left." Ves said with genuine sincerity in his tone. "I don't even mind that you completely betrayed my trust and stabbed me in the back by telling everything you knew about me. I would have done the same if I was in your place."

"Thanks, Ves. That means a lot to me. I have done my best to milk you dry. Nowadays, business is booming. The Friday Coalition is investing a lot of money and resources to rebuild the territories that used to belong to the Hexadric Hegemony. I'm continuing to get a lot of practice and I hope that I will eventually be able to hit Journeyman before I become 50 years old. I know that doesn't sound impressive to a mech designer of your caliber, but not everyone has a superrelic in his possession like you. I think I am doing quite well for an ordinary person."

"You are." Ves affirmed. "I don't look down on you, Carlos."

"Don't lie to me. You totally are looking down on me. I'm the dirt that is beneath your booth. You have advanced so much in the last ten years that you have begun to hobnob with high-and-mighty MTA Masters. As for me, I'm still working in the trenches as a lowly Apprentice."

"...I guess you're right." Ves said. "I do look down on you, but that is a natural response when a superior mech designer meets an inferior mech designer. You're not much different from the assistant mech designers who are working diligently in my Design Department. I can easily hire hundreds of them at a time, you know? There are so many of them that they aren't worth that much unless they have exposed their talents at an early stage. In my eyes, most Apprentices are simply normal people. They are decent and all, but they're too… plain to have what it takes to take a step further."

"And you think I'm one of those plain and boring guys?"

Ves nodded. "Yeah. I don't know the full details about what has happened to you lately. While you look a lot more successful and content with your life, I don't feel the drive in you that is common in most high-ranking mech designers. You haven't even mentioned your design philosophy to me yet. Are you truly committed to your work?"

Carlos, or the facsimile posing as him, paused for a moment. "I don't know. I clearly think that I am doing enough, but it may not be enough for other people. I am pretty happy with where I am, though. I have a good life in the Friday Coalition and I've even started dating. I will see where my life will lead me. I am not in a hurry to become a Journeyman. I overcame my feelings of jealousy towards you. I have accepted that I will never be as good as you, but there is no need for me to feel upset about it. Everyone has their chances. Mine are not as great, but as long as I work hard enough, I believe I can make something of my career."

"And what if you can't?"

"Then I'll just accept the fact it was never meant to be." Carlos shrugged. "I'm fine, Ves. I am totally over it. Mech design is not the beginning or the end. It just is. There is more to my life than trying to catch up to you in vain. You may look down on me for that, but this is what it is like for little guys like me. I'm not good enough to attract the attention of the Polymath."

An awkward silence ensued. Ves didn't know what to say. He was glad to hear that Carlos ostensibly accepted his lot in life. He was much better than he was back when they had separated.

"Talking to you like this is nice, but I know that the real Carlos won't pick up on any of this." Ves eventually said. "I feel tempted to call the real you once I have dealt with my current ordeals. I… I was always afraid to contact you or even check up on you, but… now I feel like it could do us both a lot of good if we just talked with each other like old times."

"We've grown older, haven't we?" Carlos grinned.

"We have."

"Well, I would love to catch up on you further, but I've reached the end of the line." Carlos spoke as his body began to fade or phase out of existence. He waved at Ves. "Anyway, I appreciate the talk, even though my real self won't remember most of this conversation."

"Wait a second. What do you mean by 'most'? I thought you said that the real you isn't involved!"

"That's not entirely correct, old friend." Carlos shook his head. "Look, I can't explain this either, but don't let this stop you from speaking frankly to the guys that come next. All I can say is that the real Carlos who is blissfully living his life back in the Friday Coalition will obtain an impression of my current feelings. He will feel better as if he has received closure in his life. Do you understand?"

"How can you prove all of this? Can you explain— hey, don't leave yet! I'm not done with you, Carlos!"

Carlos left at the same time the environment shifted.

In one moment, he was standing in the middle of his first mech workshop.

In the next moment, he appeared inside the office of a place that shouldn't have existed any longer.

Now that Ves had become primed to what was going on, it didn't take as long for him to recognize this environment.

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