The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5194

"Any serious discussion centered around the relationship between phase whales and phasewater inevitably devolves into a chicken and egg problem." The respected Master mech Designer and researcher spoke. "What came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Everyone had a different interpretation to this question. The debate raged on for so many millenia without anyone offering a satisfying resolution to this problem.

Now, humanity has become confronted by a more modern and alien version of the same notion.

"Let me ask you this, then. Which of the two emerged first: phase whales or phasewater?"

Everyone immediately fell into thought as they tried to formulate a personal answer based on the information that they had in their possession.

An associate spoke up first. "We do not have enough reliable information to form a definite answer. One of the greatest uncertainties is whether phase whales are a naturally evolved species that is indigenous to the Red Ocean or whether they are artificially created by a hypothetical predecessor race that is colloquially known in the local alien community as the mythical Elder Gods. If it is the former, then phase whales most likely evolved under the influence of the abundant quantities of phasewater in their home planet. If it is the latter, then there is a greater possibility that they were specifically designed to synthesize phasewater in their bodies."

The Master at the front grinned. "There are a great number of assumptions packed in your response. Let us go over them and consider whether they are viable, shall we? Let us start with the first assumption: phase whales are capable of synthesizing phasewater in their enormous physical bodies. This is one of the most prevalent myths among the indigenous aliens, but it also happens to be correct. Our Association has captured and examined the physical processes of enough phase whales to confirm that this theory is true. At a certain point in their life cycle, phase whales are able to produce phasewater in their own bodies."

This was a clear-cut answer that clarified the doubts of many of the attendees!

It partially explained why the other major races revered the phase whales so much. Calling them gods did not sound as unreasonable as before if the phase whales could actually generate phasewater that much of the Red Ocean depended upon to sustain their local technologies.

However, this led to a bunch of other questions. Ves had a more personal stake on this topic. As much as he did not want to portray himself as an attention seeker, he could not resist the urge to raise his hand at this time.

"Ah, the man of the hour desires to satisfy his curiosity. What is your question, Professor Larkinson?"

Ves stood up and tried his best to maintain his calm as hundreds of eyes scrutinized his form.

"You told us that phase whales can generate phasewater in their bodies. Does the same apply to phase lords as well?"

The Master Mech Designer responded with a rueful smile. "We are still undertaking research on this topic. We have yet to capture and dissect a sufficient quantity of phase lords to offer a conclusive answer to this question. It may take a year to solve this particular mystery. The clues that we have gathered so far suggest that phase lords are poor imitations of phase whales. What the latter are able to do with straightforward self-augmentations, the former must undertake vastly greater effort as well as dubious experimental procedures to catch up. The topic of phase lords deserves its own session, so let us return to the topic at hand."

Ves sat down as the presenter activated a projection that showed a simplified diagram of the internal organs of a 'typical' phase whale. _{freёwebnoѵel.com}

"Phase whales exhibit an extensive degree of diversity in size, shape, evolution and abilities. This is because their natural growth stops at a certain point. Instead of settling for their mature forms like many other races, they have opted to utilize their high mastery in biotechnology to augmented their own bodies according to their tastes, their scientific knowledge base and the resources they have at hand."

The projection highlighted a number of interconnected organs that looked exceedingly mysterious and complicated. Even Ves understood nothing about it as his basic grasp of biotechnology failed to provide him with any useful insights.

"Every phase whale beyond a certain point of maturity boast a system of complementary and related organs that are capable of producing phasewater. We call this the phasewater production system or PPS for short. We have dedicated many studies towards these organs. This has enabled us to determine many important findings. For example, do you know that the PPS is not a product of natural evolution? When every phase whale ages and reaches maturity, the alien develops numerous precursor organs in their bodies that can help them regulate and control any phasewater they have absorbed from their environment. However, the precursor organs cannot produce the key substance itself unless the phase whales have upgraded them through biotechnological means."

That sounded both impressive and strange to the audience of the open session.

"What prevents the phase whales from altering their genes and make their future generations develop complete PPS for themselves as they age?"

"There are many possible reasons why that is the case." The Master replied. "We do not have any definite answers to this question. A probable answer is that a PPS is resource intensive. A phase whale must obtain a sizable quantity of phasewater in order to develop a means to produce it. If an adolescent phase whale grows up in a gas giant or other environment that is already depleted of the substance, then he will die of 'starvation' if his PPS cannot receive the resources needed to grow to maturity."

That sounded plausible, but not too much. The phase whales should have enough grasp of their own genes to be able to develop a safety mechanism that pauses the development of their precursor organs if they were stuck in a region that was devoid of phasewater.

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