The Mech Touch

Chapter 6164  The Value of an Early Start

After his virtual meeting with Master Dervidian, Ves did not take a break.

He immediately personally paid a visit to the Eden Institute of Business & Technology to meet with Master Laila Rebecca Devos in person.

Both sides had a good idea of what they wanted from each other. They also had a strong intention to cooperate with each other. This made it so that the talks proceeded remarkably quickly.

Since Ves received authorization from the Transhumanist Faction, he did not hesitate to disclose the key details of both the Carmine System and the Woodsap Carmine System to Master Laila Devos.

The dean of the Department of Humanoid Mech Design reacted with genuine shock several times, but she kept her expression schooled most of the time.

As a Master Mech Designer who had lived over three centuries, she had witnessed many revolutionary advances in the mech industry.

Certainly, giving norms a chance to pilot mechs without relying on the dreaded neural interface was a much more impactful invention!

Her powerful mind was able to extrapolate how society would respond to such a revolutionary advance. There were so many people who had been denied the chance to fulfill their dream and become a mech pilot. Once they had a chance to enter the cockpit of a Carmine mech and earn glory on the battlefield, many more soldiers would enter the battlefield!

Although it was not clear how effectively these non-potentates could pilot mechs, as long as the difference was not too great, the use of mechs would definitely expand on an enormous scale!

The implications were so massive that Master Laia's brain and cognitive implants were already beginning to overheat. There were far too many variables for her to keep track of! It was impossible for her to predict the massive changes that would ensue once the Carmine System became public!

Master Laila placed a much higher priority on cooperating with Ves and the Larkinson Clan on this matter. It had been the right decision to bet on the Larkinson Clan after witnessing the abnormal performance of the half-wooden mech earlier today.

"Since the Red Association has already taken charge of the development of the base version of your Carmine mechs, then we shall not impose. We are more than happy to take part in the research and development of your so-called Woodsap mechs. Our biotech sector is enormous. As Terrans, we highly value our planets and living environments, so we have made many advances in the field of exobotany. Our ancient clan can mobilize several top research teams to facilitate the research of superior hyper wood varieties.

"Right now, the Elegant Rage that I tested out earlier is largely made out of wood derived from the Emperor Tree, a single calamity plant that my clan previously managed to defeat on an untamed planet. This wood has strong advantages, but its overall properties are limited by the Emperor Tree's relatively inadequate habitat. I think that there are many other calamity trees out there that possess much more powerful material properties. Their wood should serve as much stronger raw ingredients for my future first-class Woodsap mechs. Taking wood from different calamity trees may also be a way to differentiate my products further, as they may each gain access to unique abilities that are derived from their powerful ancestors."

Ves smiled at the old lady. "I would be pleased to enjoy the support of your excellent researchers. My own scientists can do this work as well, but their numbers, connections and qualifications pale in comparison to yours. I do not have the patience to wait until my own clan can provide me with the results I need. With the help of your contributions, I think I can complete the development of Woodsap mechs within three years as opposed to five years."

This was just a loose estimate, but Ves truly believed he could turn Woodsap mechs into mature products by that time!

The need for them was great. The Red War was about to intensify. The two sides should continue to fight a lot in space, but a lot more battles are about to take place on planets.

That was exactly where Woodsap mechs held the greatest advantage!

The sooner Ves completed development on Woodsap mechs, the faster they could make a difference in the war. This was his driving purpose as a mech designer.

Master Laila Devos understood his motivations well. She supported his ambitions even if she questioned whether he was being optimistic about getting everything done in just three years.

For mech designers at her level, it was not unusual for them to spend decades on completing a single major research project.

However, Ves possessed such an excellent track record that she was willing to take him at his word.

"We shall fully bear the cost of our own research activities." The Terran Master Mech Designer spoke.

That was a generous offer! Ves did not want to burden his clan with any excessive costs. He knew that gaining the support of top Terran biotech researchers was anything but cheap. If the Devos Ancient Clan took care of this concern, then that lifted a burden off Ves' shoulders.

Of course, he fully understood that nothing came for free. The greater the support, the greater the expectation of repayment!

"What would your ancient clan like in return for your generous support?" Ves inquired. "Please keep in mind that it is not possible to grant you exclusive access to Woodsap mechs. The Red Association will not agree, and if my products are powerful enough, you cannot prevent others from adopting them as well."

"We are not that unrealistic in our expectations, Professor Larkinson. We do not ask for the impossible. We merely wish to receive additional accommodations. For example, when Woodsap mechs are finally ready for mass adoption, we would like to be ahead of the competition."

"You want to claim a first-mover advantage?" Ves guessed.

"Yes. If our mech designers can observe, assist and possibly collaborate with you in your projects, we can master the art of designing Woodsap mechs sooner than others. You can even start a master class here at the Eden Institute that can only be attended by the mech designers of our ancient clan. It would also be a great honor if you can design several exclusive Woodsap mechs for the Terran Alliance. As the inventor and chief developer of this new variation of neural interface-optional mechs, you should be able to bring out qualities in Woodsap mechs that cannot be matched by other mech designers."

Master Dervidian was right. The Terrans wanted to take advantage of their cooperation with Ves to get an early start in Woodsap mechs.

The demands voiced by Master Laila Devos did not sound excessive at all. None of them required Ves to commit too much time and effort into fulfilling them. He just had to play favorites with the Terrans when it came to anything related to Woodsap mechs.

This sounded like an equitable exchange to Ves. Since he had no objections to the demands, he was already willing to agree to the deal in principle.

Of course, it would be too reckless for him and Master Devos to sign a contract on the spot. Both parties still had to hash out precise and concrete terms in order to reduce ambiguity to a minimum.

"I will tell my personal assistant to contact your representatives and hammer out a secret agreement between the Larkinson Clan and the Devos Ancient Clan." Ves eventually declared. "You should keep in mind that the Red Association will probably want to take a look at it before signing it off. Nothing will happen unless the mechers give their approval."

A bitter smile appeared on the old Master Mech Designer's face. "That is to be expected from a trade association with enforcement power."

To call the MTA and RA trade associations was like calling the Dominion of Man a passenger liner!

Both Ves and Master Laila knew that the only reason why the mechers could get away with overseeing this secret deal was because they possessed the might to enforce their hegemony!

There was little point in talking about this topic. Nothing could change while the current status quo persisted. The Age of Dawn had just begun. There were still many more years left for yesteryear's hegemons to make way for tomorrow's rulers.

Once they offloaded the tedious and trivial responsibility of forming a contract to their legal departments, Ves and the Terran Master began to relax and talk about lighter subjects.

"The mechers want to phase the introduction of Carmine mechs." Ves said. "The third-raters get to have their turn first. Once we can confirm that they are doing well enough, the second-raters will get their turn next. Only after that will first-raters such as your fellow Terrans get to pilot their own Carmine mechs." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"What is the time interval between these phases?"

"I don't know. Six months maybe. It shouldn't be too short or long. I will try and save time by converting my existing third-class and second-class mech models into Carmine mech variants. It is only when I have to design a first-class Carmine mech that I will probably need to put in a lot of hard work myself."

"Given your lack of experience and your immature comprehension of first-class technologies, it would be prudent of you to collaborate with an experienced first-class mech designer if you wish to publish a mech on the Terran mech market. We hold high standards. As long as your product meets our exacting expectations, you should not feel concerned about sales at all. If the basic performance of your products falls below our minimum requirements, then we will attempt to correct them ourselves. I do not believe you wish to see this happen."

Ves furrowed his brows. It would be an insult if Terran mech designers had to purchase licenses of his Carmine mech designs in order to develop superior versions of his work!

"I suppose your ancient clan is willing to help me ensure my upcoming first-class Carmine mechs will satisfy the Terran Alliance's clientele?"

"If I am available at the time, I shall take action myself." She stated. "It is not a waste of time to design at least Carmine mech together with you. We may belong to completely different generations, but it is exactly because our perspectives diverge so much that miracles can be made. You possess a creative mind and excellent affinities in the latest technologies. I possess a wealth of knowledge and experience in traditional Terran mech design. Our collaboration should yield considerable rewards for the both of us. My greatest concern is that I may not be available in a year's time. One of our other mech designers shall take my place if that is the case."

The proposal sounded a little weird to Ves. He was not entirely unaccustomed to collaborating with Master Mech Designers, but they tended to be less than two centuries old.

Working together with a mech designer who grew up a full century earlier was a different experience!

Master Laila was hardly the oldest mech designer in the Red Ocean, but she could truly be considered as an old fossil!

Ves was afraid that the vast gulf in experience, mind states, ideologies and so on would cause too much friction during their collaboration.

He was much more comfortable collaborating with the members of the same generation such as Jovie Armalon.

However, the Terrans would never accept the work of a 'mere' Senior Mech Designer. Only when a Master Mech Designer, and an experienced one at that, became involved in the development of a new mech would the market have confidence in the new product.

It shouldn't take that many steps for Ves to release a mech in the Rubarthan mech market. The customer base over there were much more tolerant towards new and experimental products designed by upstarts.

Oh well. At least the cooperation with a mech designer as reputable and accomplished as Master Laila Rebecca Devos should ensure that their product was guaranteed to become a bestseller!