The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5736 A Matter of Trust

Ves asked a few more questions to gauge Ampatoch's skills, work experience and mech designs.

Everything he heard painted the man as a talented civilian Rubarthan Journeyman who lacked the opportunities to fully realize his potential.

His case was not all that rare.

Ves had come into contact with many promising Terran mech design students while he taught at the Eden Institute of Business & Technology.

In an ideal society, commoners who were able to keep up with the progress of much more advantaged scions of Terran clans should have earned a lot more investment.

They already managed to overcome the limitations imposed by their inferior augmentations by relying on their abundant talent and their impressive learning speeds.

How much more amazing would they become if they received much better treatment?

Alas, Terran society did not have the resources to support all of these deserving mech designers to the fullest. Connections and quid quo pro mattered far more than raw talent.

Not even Ves could afford to pick up all of these deprived talents, though he was willing to recruit the ones he liked the most once they completed their studies.

The situation in Rubarthan society was a lot better in this aspect. Kelsey Ampatoch received a lot more opportunities and managed to become a respectable employee of a major mech manufacturer.

However, he was still far behind his colleagues who received a lot more privileges due to their wealth and family connections.

Kelsey Ampatoch was a fantastic fit for the Larkinson Clan if that was the case. The Design Department would be more than willing to give the Rubarthan the resources and opportunities to bloom his potential.

As long as Ampatoch did not disappoint the clan's expectations, he had the potential to become just as amazing and effective as Alexa Streon.

Although a direct comparison was not possible as they possessed different backgrounds, augmentations, ages and so on, they were still products from powerful first-rate superstates. The only mech designers who started off with a stronger foundation from them were those who were born and raised among the mechers.

However, it was also because of their insanely high competence that their influence in the clan was bound to become significant.

Already, Alexa was shaping up to become his deputy in all matters related to his design philosophy, product lines, his relations with the Terrans and many more strategically important affairs.

Ves had no qualms about trusting Alexa because he understood her quite well. As the granddaughter of General Axelar Streon, she understood that working for him was the best way for her to design or improve a legendary mech like the Ouroboros one day.

What about Kelsey Ampatoch? What drove him to work so hard?

Ves decided to ask this question directly.

"What is your ambition, Mr. Ampatoch? What sort of mechs do you dream of designing once you have become powerful enough?"

The Journeyman smiled as he thought about the goal that he was striving towards.

"I… want to design a mech that is not all-powerful, but can defeat enemies that can make this claim. I want to develop systems for that mech that enables it to defeat the strong while it is weak. Instead of relying on brute force, my ideal mech should be a highly efficient machine that is able to apply a minimum amount of leverage to topple the greatest of giants. I have met many mech designers who are doing their best to advance their careers so that they can design god mechs one day, but I want to be the first to design a mech that can defeat them without reaching their astounding level of strength. Don't you think that is a far more interesting challenge, Professor Larkinson?"

Amazing. Truly amazing. Ves had grown thoroughly impressed by Kelsey Ampatoch's ambition. It was no wonder that he managed to win the Fey Shaper Contest.

"So you dream of designing a godslayer."

"That… is a pleasant description of what I hope to make one day. I do not know how long I have to work in order to complete this goal, but I have no intentions of giving up. This is why I want to join your clan. I believe in you, your work and your clan. We have entered a new age. The old powers that are currently in control won't be able to adapt and exploit the new conditions as well as a smaller and more agile organization like your clan. I am more than willing to stake my future on your rise."

"Mhmm. I appreciate the vote of confidence. It is just…"

"What is the matter, professor?"

Ves paused for a few seconds before deciding to go out with it. "Let me be honest, Kelsey. Your work and qualifications appear to be in order. I see great promise in you, and I believe that your design philosophy can contribute much to our mech designs going forward. It is just… the picture you paint seems too good to be true. One of my biggest dislikes is getting scammed. I am not accusing you of being deceptive towards me, but you are not doing a good enough job of assuaging my concerns."

That caused Ampatoch to look disappointed. "That is regretful to hear. I am willing to undergo any test you give me in order to put your concerns to rest. I have heard that your clan has a unique method to test the loyalty and commitment of applicants."

"That is correct. It has proven to be incredibly effective for us, so much so that other parties are about to roll out similar solutions in the near future. Still… if you are a suspicious individual who is secretly working for a powerful organization, then it is not outside of the realm of possibility that you have prepared yourself against our methods."

"Please believe me that I am not a spy or an agent or anything! Your clan must have a professional interrogation department. Let them examine me. I have nothing to hide from you. My history and my studies are simple and can be corroborated by many people. My augmentations are clean and based on standard commercial templates. You can ask me any question. I shall answer without reservations."

"I don't trust in words." Ves frowned. "Anyone can make up a good story. I need more than that in order to put my trust in you. I apologize, Kelsey. I am not being fair to you. I have not subjected other applicants to this kind of treatment. However, almost all of my other recruits applied to join my clan through regular channels. They have already passed many tests and examinations before they came to my notice. Your sudden appearance has caught me off-guard, and given the important role you can play in our clan shortly after you join, I cannot be too careful about this matter."

"I do not blame you, professor. I only ask that you give me a chance."

"That's the issue. I cannot think of anything thorough and decisive enough to give me a definitive answer."

This was starting to move towards an impasse. Ves was asking for proof that Kelsey could not provide.

Logically speaking, Ves was being way too paranoid about this. He should just take a gamble on Kelsey and hire him right away. Even if he turned out to be an issue, the Golden Cat and other monitoring systems should be able to catch him in time and prevent him from doing greater harm.

Yet… Ves still felt unsettled by this straightforward course of action. There was no logical reason for him to feel this way, and his intuition did not give him any obvious warning signals either.

"Stay still for a moment. I am going to resort to various unusual methods to examine you. Don't do anything unless I tell you to, are you okay with that? Do not resist if you start to feel weird. It is part of the process."

"Very well."

"Mrow!"

The first step that Ves took was to peek inside the body and spirituality of Kelsey Ampatoch.

Blinky moved forward and began to run through Kelsey's body. The companion spirit also took a really close look at the Journeyman's spirituality.

Nothing seemed suspicious or out of place.

"Ylvaine, lend me your sight!"

Ves then asked the Great Prophet to predict Kelsey's future trajectory if he got accepted into the clan.

Though effort was rather cumbersome to Ylvaine, his conditions were much better these days due to exposure to E energy radiation and the explosive proliferation of the Ultimatum model.

Of course, that did not mean that Ylvaine was able to see Kelsey's future with great clarity, but he was at least able to observe general glimpses through a fuzzy lens.

None of the visions that Ylvaine observed from Kelsey's potential future signaled that there was anything amiss.

The Rubarthan mech designer proved to be just as productive as Alexa Streon. He distinguished himself with his specialization and managed to make substantial improvements to his shield infiltrator fey, though the specific upgrades remained unclear.

This was not enough to convince Ves. What Ylvaine saw was only one of a huge amount of possible futures. Perhaps the highest probability outcome was for Kelsey Ampatoch to serve as a loyal, diligent and productive Larkinson mech designer, but that might only be because he was biding his time.

"May I make a suggestion?"

Ves had forgotten about the presence of the other two participants of the contest.

"What do you want to say, Tristan?"

"I cannot claim to understand your troubles. You are burdened with many more responsibilities than anyone else at your age. From my perspective, I think that you are being too unreasonable. Our society works because people are willing to lend each other a measure of trust. As long as the other parties are reasonable enough, why not give them the benefit of doubt? Any organization that hires a new employee faces the exact same problems as you, but they do not have the range of solutions that you have at your disposal. I cannot say that every hire they have made has worked out for them, but they made progress more often than not. I think it is much healthier if you just stick with what has worked for humanity for many millennia."

Tristan's reasonable works broke through Ves' fog of suspicion.

His old friend made a powerful point. Though Ves had reasons to be highly suspicious towards any powerful recruit, it was not healthy for him to indulge too much in his paranoia.

Ves took one more look at Kelsey Ampatoch. The Rubarthan mech designer tried to present himself as earnestly as possible. The man possessed a genuine desire to become a Larkinson and prosper alongside the rest of the clan.

"Fine." Ves eventually decided. "I won't recruit you right away. You have skipped the normal process, which is not supposed to happen. I will direct you to my staff who will let you go through the motions. Once we have conducted all of the necessary steps such as a background check, a health inspection, a test of your knowledge and so on, I will permit you to join my clan. As far as I am concerned, you should have definitively proven your qualifications to become a part of our growing family."

"Thank… thank you, professor!" Kelsey said with clear jubilation in his voice. "You will not regret your decision. I am looking forward to working under you soon."

Ves did not know whether he made the right decision, but he could not let his lingering fears and doubts dictate all of his behavior.

Of course, just because he was willing to let in Kelsey Ampatoch did not mean he was willing to trust the Rubarthan without reservation.

Ves also transmitted a set of instructions to his staff to arrange his Black Cats and other security personnel to monitor Kelsey's every move once he entered the clan.

Trust, but verify. It was not wise for the Larkinson Clan to drop its guard completely. Kelsey was bound to operate under intense monitoring in the years to come.