The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4715

Yenames Clive had received his fill of the large-scale totem of the Golden Cat. He wanted to move on and explore the other interesting exhibits of the Ascension Gallery.

There were two wings to the massive monumental hall.

One of them displayed excellent copies of the most iconic mechs of the Larkinson Clan. Though not every model was represented due to the need to maintain confidentiality of the Larkinson Army's more strategic assets, the wing still displayed plenty of bestsellers such as the original version of the aforementioned Valkyrie Redeemer.

The other wing displayed similar mech-sized totems of all of the design spirits that Ves saw fit to reveal. Visiting clansmen and guests all had an opportunity to admire and acquaint themselves with the majority of his current design spirit collection.

It would have been logical for Ves to lead Yenames Clive and his silent entourage to the mech wing, but that would be the boring option.

Ves instead decided to give the future president a tour through the mystical hall of wonders of the Larkinson Clan.

This was both a whimsical and strategic decision. Mechs were much more common and well-understood by everyone. Even if the born and raised businessman did not receive any significant military or technical training, he definitely possessed a good understanding of how mechs worked and how they were used on a more general basis.

Rather than verbally spar against Yenames about mechs right away, Ves decisively took the big man to the gallery wing where a long row of over a dozen different large-scale totems beckoned for his attention.

At least Ves could speak with much more authority and confidence with regards to his design spirits that produced the distinctive glows for all of his mech models.

For his part, Yenames Clive did not object to this tour. The totems and the design spirits that they represented were all unique, and no recordings could compare to experiencing them at close proximity.

They approached the totem that represented one of the oldest design spirits in the collection.

The Solemn Guardian was a far rougher and less defined spiritual product than Ves' later works.

His visual appearance reflected this lack of sophistication. Depending on the circumstances, Ves interpreted the Solemn Guardian as either a uniformed human soldier or an old living mech.

For the creation of the totem that stood for the Solemn Guardian, Ves decided to keep it simple and stick to molding a generic human soldier in uniform.

Of course, how he looked didn't matter all that much. It was his simple but helpful duty-based glow that made him worthy of attention.

As the old design spirit bathed Yenames Clive with a glow that has influenced many different battles in the old galaxy and the new frontier, Ves paid close attention to the interaction.

Despite the prospective president's lack of spiritual potential, his mind was so strong that it was like a fortress. Yenames Clive did not allow himself to get influenced by external factors unless he allowed it to. He only sampled the Solemn Guardian's glow in order to understand its properties, nothing more.

"I have experienced this glow once before from a handful of your products that carry the same glow." The elaborately robed figure said. "I already had a sense that the glow was human in origin. Did you derive this power from a heroic human pilot who possessed exceptional loyalty to his state? I can scarcely imagine how you can produce this glow in any other fashion."

The true story of how Ves brought life to the Solemn Guardian was a lot more complicated and controversial. There was no way he would reveal anything incriminating.

"The Solemn Guardian was born in a time of need. Many of the humans who have lived in my home star sector never even conceived of the idea of making a common stand against external alien aggressors. When the sandman race randomly decided to attack human space, it took extraordinary measures to encourage mech pilots to do their duty. The Desolate Soldier is the earliest work I took a lot of pride in. It has made a huge difference and saved a lot of lives. The mech line spawned from it continues to play an important role to many customers, though its profile is no longer as high as before."

Yenames Clives nodded in agreement. "The Solemn Guardian has made the Desolate Soldier helpful, and it can add value to other mechs as well. I can think of many possible mechs that you can design for Davute. Perhaps you can increase a mech force's sense of belonging and obligation towards our colonial state."

Ves frowned for a moment.

"Maybe, but it would not really be as effective as you think. Part of the reason why the Desolate Soldier did well back then was that it already drew on the sense of duty and honor of defending human space against the mass-murdering aliens that sought to destroy their states and all of their people. Here in Krakatoa, the stakes are considerably lower. Most mercenary outfits are not necessarily fighting out of a sense of duty. They are opportunistically fighting for profit and will not hesitate to abandon a contract if the circumstances become too dire. No glow can trump a mech pilot's sense of self-preservation."

Too many people expected too much from glows like the one from the Solemn Guardian. If anyone thought they could compensate for awful leadership, excessive deaths and terrible treatment with a duty-based glow, then they would sorely get disappointed!

The Solemn Guardian also made no significant difference in well-trained and well-treated mech units.

Considering that the early movers paid a lot to enter the Red Ocean during the early days of human colonization, they always had their troops in order. It was impossible for them to hire a lot of scumbags that did not possess the most basic loyalty to their employers.

As Ves downplayed the importance of the Solemn Guardian, Yenames Clive decided to bring up another unique phenomenon to the Larkinson Clan.

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