The Mech Touch

Events accelerated quickly after the NMRI got introduced to the Auto Heretic line.

Many neural interface specialists and related researchers reluctantly or decisively abandoned their ongoing research projects.

As much as they hated to admit it, if their entire discipline failed to improve the usability and accessibility of neural interface technology in the last 4 centuries in a meaningful way, then how probable was it that they could attain a breakthrough in the next 4 centuries?

A few scientists argued that they had accumulated so many theories and experimental data over the years that they were on the cusp of a major breakthrough. If they just kept mining dirt in the same direction, they would definitely stumble upon a rich ore vein within the next decade!

Of course, these voices held little credibility. They were clearly trying to preserve their own jobs and importance within the organization. They had also become too attached to neural interface technology to refuse that it had utterly failed the population of norms throughout human society.

Compared to this incredibly fussy and sensitive old tech that had been explored to death, many members of the NMRI had quickly developed a fascination for Carmine Technology.

When the researchers began to examine the 10 copies of the Auto Heretic that was currently in the NMRI's possession, they found far more questions than answers. They did not have a single clue how living mechs worked. They did not possess the expertise to understand the phenomenon and lacked the instruments to collect any relevant data about them. What was worse was that they found it difficult to find any relevant academic literature.

The only useful references they could find on the galactic net were old articles and interviews related to Professor Ves Larkinson and his works.

The problem was that much of his own words only offered surface level knowledge on living mechs. Even if he had been quite frank about his own mindset when he worked on his living mech designs, his guidance was devoid of specific instructions.

A more serious problem was that the galactic net of the Milky Way also lacked any publications related to the Father of Carmine Mechs after the Great Severing had occurred.

This was an even greater problem!

Since the Auto Heretic line had clearly been devised within the last year, Professor Larkinson must have made a major breakthrough during the period that the Red Ocean got cut off from humanity's home galaxy.

Certain circles soon found out that Professor Larkinson actually taught an introductory course on mech design at a Terran university!

Unfortunately, there was no way to obtain his lesson material. He advanced to Senior shortly before the Great Severing. Any students he taught were all humans stuck in the Red Ocean.

If any of his lesson material ended up on the galactic net or in the possession of certain groups, then it was virtually impossible to obtain any of it due to the separation of communication networks between the two galaxies.

Although there were persistent rumors that certain parties, such as the Big Two, still maintained secret lines of communication with their Red Ocean cousins, the NMRI did not have access to such exclusive information channels.

They could only start to research the operation of Carmine mechs from the basics. While they could not physically detect the presence of the Blood Pact and directly observe its operation, they could still measure the activity on both the Carmine System as well as the brain of the Carmine mech pilot.

Their initial studies confirmed that the Carmine System was truly responsible for allowing a human to control a machine in a similar nature to what could be ƒ

Accomplished with neural interface technology.

However, there were definitely differences between the two control systems.

"We should have reserved at least one of the Auto Heretics for a potentate." Chief Scientist Idni Zenokon complained. "It would have been great if we could obtain the input of a genuine mech pilot on how exactly his piloting experience differs."

"Can professional mech pilots make use of Carmine mechs as well?" Barrow raised his eyebrow and asked.

"They can." The other man smiled. "The Carmine System does not care about genetic aptitude and neural interface technology. It is an independent control system that operates through an entirely different set of principles. There is a mention in the manual that the Carmine System actually complements a neural interface when used at the same time. This has massive implications for mech pilots who suffer from brain damage or possesses a low genetic aptitude. Using the two control systems at the same time is ostensibly an excellent means to raise the 'effective' genetic aptitude of a mech pilot by varying degrees. A C-grade mech pilot may be able to perform as a B-grade mech pilot, therefore earning the qualifications to pilot first-class multipurpose mechs." These were huge implications that had enormous value to potentates with genetic aptitudes ranging from E to B.

It was a pity that Barrow Rakovshchik was no such individual. He was just a norm, so he had little sympathy for the difficulties that mech pilots who lacked the coveted A-grade genetic aptitude endured.

"Is it possible to design a variant of the Auto Heretic that includes a neural interface?"

The businessman asked.

"It is, though the variant should only be of interest to disabled veterans and so on." Idni responded. "It is not worth our time and effort to cater to this special segment. We should stick to serving the customers we know the best, which is the citizens of the Genser Federation and our neighboring states. I have already made contact with other partner institutions. Only a third of them have received copies of the Auto Heretic, but they have already obtained the virtual data packages containing the most crucial mech templates and accompanying documentation. We are all working to serve our own populations by giving them access to localized variants of the Auto Heretic Version A and Version B."

It might sound strange for first-class institutions to devote manpower and resources to developing localized variants of the first-class as well as second-class versions of the Auto Heretic line, but it was quite a shrewd choice.

Most ordinary citizens of a first-rate state did not have the income to pay for a 800,000 MTA credit Carmine mech.

They weren't even able to obtain enough credit to pay for a first-class mech that cost as much as an apartment in a decent city district!

The Version B therefore became a much more attractive choice. Even if the second-class Auto Heretic was completely useless in first-class combat situations, it didn't matter so long as ordinary civilians only wanted to obtain the experience of

Piloting a mech!

It was also a lot cheaper for mech factories to produce and distribute Auto Heretic B mechs on a massive scale.

Since everyone who signed up to the Carmine Revolution already gained the awareness that the MTA was looking to crack down on the new machines, it became more

Important than ever to make the jobs of the mechers as difficult as possible!

By making the Auto Heretic B mechs so cheap and easy to produce, the 'revolutionaries' could sell a second-class Carmine mech to any first-class citizen!

Of course, the elevated price levels of a first-rate state like the Genser Federation meant that the production cost of a single copy of the Auto Heretic B was at least twice as much as the estimated default cost of 1.5 MTA credits.

Other costs came into the picture as well. Barrow estimated that distribution, insurance, sales and so on would all cause the final sales price to hover at around 8 to 10 MTA

Credits.

Even so, most citizens were still able to scrounge up 10 MTA credits with relative ease. They might not be able to last a second when confronting a genuine first-class mech, but if they truly wanted to make a career out of mech piloting, they could choose to emigrate to a second-rate state if they wanted!

"How soon will our designs be ready?" Barrow asked.

Idni raised three fingers. "Three days. This is longer than our initial estimate because we wanted to put our own stamp onto the localized mech designs. Our mech designers found that there is enough leeway for the lead designers of the projects to apply their own design philosophies to their variants without compromising the functioning of the Carmine System. They are not quite certain about the threshold, so they are keeping their own contributions modest for the time being. This will help to differentiate our early mech designs from others, and also prove that the Auto Heretic mech line is inherently open to change."

"Didn't the unnamed Master Mech Designer who assisted in the design of the original Auto Heretics apply Wild Modularity to the mech templates? Every customer should be able to request their own upgrades on an incremental basis."

"That is true, Barrow, but we do not think every customer will make use of this service. It is costly and it takes time. There is a market for variants that are a little more different from the more authentic variants of the Auto Heretic. In our case, we are making sure that we implement changes and tweaks to the modular systems and standards to conform to what is popular in our region. This way, customers will be able to slot existing compatible mech parts to their personal Auto Heretics."

The two talked a bit more about their efforts to bring more Carmine mechs to norms.

Though time was of the essence, the NMRI still had an obligation to release proper

Products. While news about the Auto Heretics had already begun to spread among certain circles, human civilization had remained mostly quiet for the time being.

Tension built up every day. The calm before the storm could only last for so long.

Neither the mechers nor the fleeters had taken any overt actions, though they were

Most certainly aware of what was taking place.

It was not until one day was left before the NMRI completed its localized variants of the Auto Heretic line that the secret had been shattered!

A pre-recorded announcement made by a god pilot known as the Beast of Fear had

Spread across human space!

This was no ordinary transmission! While the short but incredibly significant video file

Had initially spread through the galactic net at breakneck speed, the Comm Consortium rapidly clamped down on this activity.

The organization that controlled the galactic net of the Milky Way had been ready to

Intervene from the start!

Since the Comm Consortium danced to the tune of the Big Two, it was almost certain that it had done this at the direction of the MTA or CFA!

It didn't matter. Many mysterious agents such as Radagast had already traveled to numerous different

Star systems and set up the arrangements to spread and broadcast the announcement among the local populations.

With the use of data chips, encryption and local collaborators, a vast conspiracy had sprung forth to spread the message of the god pilot as extensively as possible! Even if only 10 to 20 percent of human-occupied planets manage to hear the announcement, its contents would most definitely spread to the rest of human society.

There was no way to stop all humans from traveling to other destinations and spreading

The news by themselves!

The galactic net also became filled with talk about this hot subject. There was no way to

Stop so many people from spreading the message.

The Comm Consortium would practically have to shut down the galactic net in its entirety if it wanted to block the news!

The major players understood that the Big Two had clearly been caught off-guard.

If a random nobody made this announcement, then it would have been a lot easier to

Suppress the news, at least on a temporary basis. However, the mechers apparently failed to anticipate that one of their vaunted god pilots was a part of this conspiracy!

Even if the Beast of Fear was one of the most notorious and least respected god pilots in

The Milky Way, a huge amount of people still possessed a high desire to hear anything related to such an incredibly powerful figure.

The fact that his announcement was being suppressed by the Big Two only egged people

On. They became more and more enticed by the latest taboo. They wanted to know what the fuss was about!

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