The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4587

The living mechs remained under control as the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Humanity was acquainted with elections for many millennia. Even though their forms of governance were constantly growing more diverse and convoluted, the basic rationale for voting never changed.

Each of them wanted to select one of their own to represent their interests and lead the Anima Order in a direction that they supported.

The differences between the candidates weren't all that great. Each of them were Larkinson mechs that had lived alongside the same group of humans for numerous years. Their values, ideals and their dreams were strongly influenced by the people they interacted with the most.

Still, each of them were clever enough third-order living mechs that had spent enough time to formulate their own vision on the future of their kind.

Right now, it was the job of Venerable Joshua to preside over this 'election'. He faced the crown of living mechs without fear.

"Before you cast your vote, let us give each of the candidates a chance to make their case to you all. Listen to what they say and cast your vote on the one whose story you like the most. There is no need to overthink your choice as any of them can do a good job."

Once Joshua got that out of the way, he floated backwards to allow the candidates to take the word.

The Quint stepped up first. The gold-coated mech was one of the few third order living mechs that wasn't also an expert mech, and that had earned him a lot of respect.

More importantly than that, the Quint was one of the earlier living mechs in existence and had grown alongside the Larkinson Clan from its earliest stages. He was a veritable elder and war hero among all of the living mechs.

It was a pity that he was also known for its many... eccentricities.

"EACH OF YOU WILL PROBABLY KNOW WHAT YOU WILL GET IF YOU VOTE FOR ME." The Quint spoke in a male, abrasive voice that did not really sound as if he was trying his best to make himself more attractive. "I'VE BROUGHT UP JOSHUA SINCE HE WAS STILL A BRAT AND TURNED HIM INTO A HERO. I'VE BEAT CASELLA INTO SHAPE SO THAT SHE HAS BECOME OUR BEST HUMAN COMMANDER. I ALSO HELPED ISOBEL DISCOVER HER TRUE STRENGTH. I KNOW HOW HUMANS WORK. I KNOW WHAT THEY WANT. THEY CAN BE OUR GREATEST ALLIES OR OUR MOST FEARSOME ENEMIES."

If any mechers could hear him now, they would definitely get spooked!

Just the idea that mechs had become sentient enough to think about doing anything else but unconditionally serve humanity was dangerous in their opinion!

The Quint's eyes flashed with purpose. "I MIGHT NOT BE GOOD AT OTHER THINGS, BUT IF YOU PUT ME IN CHARGE OF YOU ALL, I WILL MAKE SURE OUR ANIMA ORDER WILL KEEP HUMANS HAPPY. I'VE LEARNED A LOT OF LESSONS FROM OUR PROGENITOR. HE TOO HOPES THAT HUMANS AND LIVING MECHS CAN GET ALONG BY TRADING BENEFITS WITH EACH OTHER. THAT MUST BE OUR MAIN APPROACH."

There weren't many living mechs that disagreed with this stance. They needed to cooperate with humans, and to do that they needed to prove their usefulness.

"WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER TWO IS THAT I BELIEVE THAT STRENGTH IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SURVIVAL." The custom mech spoke while raising his hand. "I AM NOT AS POWERFUL AS AN EXPERT MECH, SO I AM MUCH MORE AWARE OF HOW WEAK AND VULNERABLE WE ARE TO THE HUMANS. DO YOU LIKE IT WHEN YOUR VERY LIFE AND THE EXISTENCE OF OUR SPECIES ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER THREAT OF EXTINCTION? DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH LIVING ON A RAZOR'S EDGE, ALWAYS WONDERING IF THE MTA WILL COME AND PUT US ALL DOWN DUE TO THEIR UNFOUNDED FEARS?"

"NOOOO!" THE CROWD RESPONDED EN MASSE!

"THEN RISE UP AND BECOME STRONG!" The Quint roared with his synthetic voice! "IF WE WANT TO GET RID OF THE THREAT OF EXTINCTION, THEN OUR ANIMA ORDER MUST BECOME POWERFUL ENOUGH TO MAKE THE MTA THINK TWICE! WHILE HUMANS ARE OUR FRIENDS, WE SHOULDN'T HESITATE TO THREATEN MUTUAL DESTRUCTION IF THEY WANT TO ENSLAVE US OR GET RID OF US ENTIRELY!"

That was a controversial stance! Venerable Joshua widened his eyes. He never knew his old mech would hatch such a bold and dangerous opinion!

"YOU HAVE ALL SEEN THE COSMOS IS LIKE. THE STRONG DEVOUR THE WEAK ALL OF THE TIME. NO HOSTILE HUMAN OR ALIEN WILL SHOW ANY SYMPATHY TOWARDS US BECAUSE WE ARE FILLED WITH LOVE. IF WE WANT TO PROTECT OUR OWN KIND, THEN OUR ANIMA ORDER MUST BECOME OUR FORTRESS AS WELL AS OUR WEAPON. IF WE EVER GROW STRONG ENOUGH, THEN WE MUST DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS. WE MAY EVEN HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST OUR GREATEST ENEMIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES!"

With that, the Quint finally stepped back, much to Venerable Joshua's relief.

The expert pilot truly didn't know what he should feel about the living mech's latest stances. He didn't know that the Quint had harbored these kinds of thoughts.

On the one hand, the Quint was expressing his right to free speech.

On the other hand, that free speech might very well endanger living mechs and anyone related to them in the future!

While Joshua struggled to decide what he should feel about this, the Everchanger stepped up next.

The expert mech exuded a natural sense of vitality and liveliness that made many machines envious. They all wished they were blessed with so much life.

The green-coated mech began to make his case.

"HELLO, MY FELLOW MACHINES. I BELIEVE WE HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO LIVE. WHILE I AM NOT OPPOSED TO OUR ORIGINAL SERVICE, WE CAN DO SO MUCH MORE THAN TO HELP HUMANS FIGHT THEIR BATTLES. JUST AS THESE ORGANIC BEINGS ENJOY AN ENTIRE LIFE OUTSIDE OF THEIR WORK, WE MACHINES SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE SAME EXPERIENCES."

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