The Mech Touch

Chapter 6197  Reevaluating Priorities

The classified briefing provided by Jovy and Vector truly underscored the dire state of red humanity.

The costly alien gambit to isolate Bridgehead One from the rest of human society was bound to deprive the Red Cabal of 6 powerful ancient phase whales.

However, this painful sacrifice may be worth it in the end if the native aliens manage to smash through all 5 defensive bands and take over the border regions in the next half year! Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"We truly cannot afford to let the native aliens break past the defensive bands that we have built up over the years." Jovy stated in a serious tone. "There are still many fortified star systems in the zones behind the crucial border regions, but they are too scattered and not cohesive enough to form a solid defensive line. It will be too easy for the alien fleets to bypass the fortified star systems and raid the less well-defended colonies without needing to worry too much about getting flanked by human forces. We need much more time to work on our supply lines, war preparation, defensive buildup and troop mobilization outside of the border regions. If the aliens do not give us that time…"

"We collapse." Vector succinctly stated. "The aliens will be able to invade our interior with impunity, putting star systems such as New Constantinople in great peril. Our divided forces cannot effectively stop the alien fleets from advancing deeper into our space in the absence of enough fortified star systems that can act as anchor locations."

The intricacies of waging war in a completely open space environment eluded Ves. There were all kinds of complicated strategic and logistical considerations that limited how far the humans and aliens were able to push into enemy territory.

The cold hard truth was that red humanity's war preparation had ultimately been inadequate. The pressure of war was almost entirely absent in places like New Constantinople and Davute.

Many people were well aware that a war for the survival of their race was being waged, but they always assumed that they would have plenty of time to respond to the intensifying war.

The increasing likelihood that the 5 defensive bands may fall prematurely completely shattered their illusions!

This was probably why the major powers all instituted at least some form of martial law or another. It took a crisis like this to truly wake up all of the pampered people who thought that the Red War was a distant show.

"The Survivalist Faction is in the process of activating plans that are meant to accelerate the transformation of our society." Jovy continued to explain. "In the Age of Mechs, we sought to establish stability and sustainable growth most of all. The Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance worked in conjunction to lower the temperature and foster greater peace among the states. Even when states are beset by war, the vast majority of the civilian population will only lose their rights and property at most. They will still be able to survive one way or another. This is not the case in the Red War. When extinction is the price of losing, we cannot afford to be as lackadaisical about not doing our best anymore."

"So you want human civilization in the Red Ocean to transform from a civilian to a martial society… in a hurry." Ves stated.

"That is about right. It is anything but perfect, but what choice do we have? We would rather prefer to adopt the gradual approach, but the native aliens are adamant about not giving us time for our society to enter into a proper war footing. We have little choice but to ram all of the necessary legislation through and hope we do not stretch our social contract to a breaking point."

This sounded really serious. If the Survivalists weren't careful enough about this and failed to gather enough support, the Red Association may end up losing its grip on the states!

If the reforms proved to be wildly unpopular, then the mechers would go from being revered to becoming hated figures in society!

Ves didn't think it would come to that, though. The mechers have plenty of smart heads among them that could predict such an outcome. They would definitely take steps to ensure their hegemony remained intact during this hectic transition period.

"I see. I don't think the sales of my products will take a nosedive. They are still very strong products without factoring the benefits of growth. I have always tried to make their value propositions attractive right after my customers get their hands on their products."

"So how do these societal changes affect me directly, Jovy?" Ves curiously asked. "Much of this stuff is too big for me. I am not a politician. I am a mech designer. I am most curious how the transition to a martial society will affect my work."

"There are many changes. Even we cannot fully predict how you will become affected due to the sheer amount of variables that are in flux. We can broadly predict that the mech industry will become more competitive. There will be less tolerance for errors and fatal defects. Immediate performance will take precedence over long-term growth potential. The war has reached a phase where many mech pilots and commanders can only afford to think about winning the battles of today rather than fantasize about piloting living mechs that have grown powerful many years later."

That… was not good news to Ves.

"I see. I don't think the sales of my products will take a nosedive. They are still very strong products without factoring the benefits of growth. I have always tried to make their value propositions attractive right after my customers get their hands on their products."

Jovy was anything but finished with his response.

"A graver consequence is that resources will be in short supply. Your Living Mech Corporation and large partners will likely not experience too many supply interruptions because of this, but smaller and less productive mech companies will be experiencing a much greater squeeze. There is less room for independent creators as both the supply and demand side demand greater efficiency and certainty. Your mech company will be able to recruit a large amount of promising talents over the next two years."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "We are already able to recruit promising talents before these latest changes. Will certain mech companies receive greater institutional support than others?"

"There will be." Jovy flatly admitted. "The Red Association normally advocates free and fair competition. However, now that we cannot rely on imperfect market behavior to always distinguish winners from losers, we may decide it is necessary to give a few nudges here and there. This will distort the market for mechs, but as long as more mech pilots are making use of more cost-effective products, the changes will lead to better results on the battlefield."

"Will the LMC benefit from the new policies?"

"Yes. Not only has your latest commercial mech designs proven their value many times over, your upcoming Carmine mechs are a priority to us." Vector Loban answered. "Due to the changes that have taken place recently, both the Survivalist Faction and the Transhumanist Faction are willing to relax the conditions that we have imposed upon you in the past. We lived in a different time back then. Even our Association has grown too conceited towards our enemies."

Ves perked up after hearing that. Relaxing conditions had a lot of different meanings. What did the Survivalists and the Transhumanists expect from him, exactly?

"You need to clarify what you just said."

Jovy sighed while Vector smirked.

"The Red Association is forced to reevaluate its priorities. We have put more emphasis on winning the war at the expense of many other considerations that we have deemed unnecessary. What I am trying to say is that we have become much more flexible about what it takes to produce superior results. We are willing to… overlook transgressions to a greater extent than before. We are also eager to speed up the introduction of revolutionary products without wasting too much time on mandatory safety inspections."

Ves raised his eyebrow. "That sounds like you are encouraging me to experiment more wildly than I have before. Do you want me to rush the introduction of Carmine mechs to the mech market?"

Surprisingly enough, both Jovy and Vector nodded. This was completely different from the restraint they expressed in the past!

"The old plan can go out of the airlock as far as we are concerned." Vector stated. "This is not the time for caution anymore. If the Red Tide Offensive unfolds as we anticipate, then our society will be met with a deluge of defeats and tragedies on a scale that our race has never endured since the Age of Conquest. We… need to create more sources of hope and optimism among the population. Anything that can invigorate the enthusiasm of the masses can do much to dispel the tide of negativity."

That sounded interesting. Ves could see how the announcement and the release of Carmine mechs could excite a lot of people despite all of the bad news circulating on the galactic net.

This was because mechs was everyone's romance!

The Age of Mechs may have come to an end in the Red Ocean, but the vast majority of people were still marked by that wonderful period. Mechs played such a dominant role in their lives that the return of warships did not significantly impact the prestige of humanity's exclusive war machines.

Compared to signing up to become a faceless spacer that practically possessed no agency on a massive warship, people would rather pilot a mech and become the hero of their own story!

Even if only a fraction of mech pilots ever manage to break through and start their near-impossible journey to become a god pilot, that did not depress the enthusiasm of a lot of dreamers.

The greatest regret of norms who grew up during the Age of Mechs was that they never had a serious chance to prove themselves in this way! Their unsuitable genetic aptitude disqualified them at a young and impressionable age, causing them to bear lifelong trauma and regret of their crushed dream.

This happened so often that society already had plenty of ways to encourage the disappointed teenagers to appreciate other vocations. There was more to life than piloting mechs.

While grown ups such as Ves successfully managed to close the chapter of their childhood fantasies and embraced a different life, there were many more norms who remained unresigned to this day.

It didn't matter whether they chose to become a mech designer, a doctor, an intelligence operative or a farmer.

They only took on these jobs because they needed to make a living. Their inability to move on from their most cherished dreams caused them to show little enthusiasm in their line of work.

They were less likely to achieve success as a result. The dreamers didn't care too much about that because they all yearned to attain greatness while piloting mechs on the battlefield.

Alas, the only way these regretful norms could gain a small measure of satisfaction was to pilot virtual mechs in various simulation games.

The community for virtual mech games was enormous. It was by far the most popular game mode on the galactic net. Ves had heard about how these virtual mech enthusiasts even played pilot characters in an entire simulation of the old galaxy and more recently the new frontier!

In reality, their unqualified genetic aptitude and their lack of professional training forced them to pursue other careers.

In the virtual reality game of their choice, they could freely indulge in their desires to become a heroic mech pilot, one who skillfully outfought other rivals and proved their valor on the virtual battlefield!

How would these virtual mech fanatics react when they finally had a chance to pilot a mech for real?

What if the gaming skills they honed over decades of dedicated training in order to excel on the virtual battlefield could be directly translated to piloting an actual mech, if only one equipped with a Carmine System?

If Ves unveiled his Carmine mechs to the public, he would instantly rouse a sleeping dragon that had been lying dormant in human society in the past four centuries!