The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5754 Planetary Governor Rod Mergan-

Castelaus

The main debate was scheduled to be held in the center of the magnificent underwater palace.

Strangely enough, the massive chamber remained submerged in water, which meant that people could easily swim up and down whenever they pleased.

It also altered the acoustics of the entire venue, not that it mattered as the extensive use of high technologies ensured that everyone could hear the principal speakers when the main event started.

An event as high-profile as this attracted a huge amount of interest from the public.

Unfortunately, there were too many barriers in the way that hindered second-raters traveling to the Ector System so that they could attend the public inquiry in person.

That still left a lot of first-raters who had many reasons to witness the proceedings in person.

Much of the 100,000 guests that were permitted to attend the three-day event. Many of them were locals, but the organizers went through the effort of limiting the guests to professionals from the mech industry, shipbuilding industry and other related sectors.

Each of them had their own reasons to care about the proceedings. It was actually quite difficult to find anyone who was not affected by the outcome considering that Ves' works made a huge difference in people's lives.

Many first-raters might not possess that much interest in second-class mechs, but they could deny that Ves was good at his job. His mech company already started to sell millions of mechs back when he was just a Journeyman, and now that he had become a Senior, his mech designs had only just begun to pick up their stride!

As such, a lot of people slowed down their conversation and stared at Ves. The slightly murky water that was supposed to simulate a shallow ocean environment made it a bit more difficult to view him with the naked eye, but the projectors that displayed the live broadcast made it a lot easier to notice his arrival!

Ves tried to resist the urge to smile and wave at everyone. He instead chose to maintain an impassive expression and move forward so that he could get an update from his two mecher helpers.

"Jovy. Vector. How optimistic are you guys?"

Neither the Survivalist nor the Transhumanist dared to offer a response. This was hardly the most private venue to talk strategy and such.

Still, the lack of response did not bode well for Ves. He decided to ask another question.

"How are our opponents? Is there anything about them that I need to know?"

"According to our investigation, one of your predictions has come true." Jovy said. His voice warbled a bit due to getting transmitted through a body of water. "Master Alice Cantor of the Mech Supremacist Faction and Professor Kacuk Chabron of the Chabran Ancient Clan have both taken upon themselves to lead the opposition."

Ves did not look too surprised. "Those two have shown the strongest bias and prejudice towards my work. Their views only make sense due to paranoia and excessive fear. That also makes them the most difficult people to reason with. I can at least credit them for being sincere. They genuinely think they are protecting their people from the perceived threat posed by my works."

"That only makes it more challenging for you to gain the upper hand during the upcoming debates." Vector Loban quietly said. "Both speakers are passionate about their respective causes. They will be able to sway a lot of doubters who are tuning into the broadcast. Do not expect them to budge at all when confronted by counterarguments. The best you can do is to tailor your message to your true audience."

"I know. I am not as old as the speakers from the opposition, but I have plenty of practice in public speaking. I will manage. Do we know who will preside over the debates?"

Jovy nodded. "Planetary Governor Rod Mergan-Castelaus has agreed to moderate the public inquiry himself. He has lived over three centuries and spent much of his life as a shipwright. He eventually transitioned into administration before ultimately dedicating the remainder of his life to politics. He easily managed to get elected to lead Ector V as many people and shipbuilding companies believe that only a former professional of the largest industry in this port system will be able to keep their economy thriving."

The prosperous state of Ector V clearly helped the planetary governor's case. The man had to be doing at least something right for it to become the premier shipbuilding nexus in the Red Ocean Union.

Ves looked around for a bit and noticed the slightly lowered circular pit at the center of the massive court.

"Is that where the speakers are supposed to make their case?"

"Yes. It is anything but traditional, but pay no mind to it. Aside from the fact that the speakers must remain standing all of the time, there are no other special rules."

A few minutes passed as Jovy proceeded to explain a few other rules such as when they were permitted to use projections. They could also invite guests to provide their testimony on certain topics.

It was all quite elaborate. Ves had no doubt that his opponents would make clever use of these permissions to paint his living mechs in the worst possible light.

The enormous submerged chamber continued to welcome more and more arrivals.

Many of them swam to their floating seats that had been reserved for them. Others moved to the sides where the proponents and opponents had claimed their territories.

The opposition had gathered a lot more people, but only a fraction of them intended to raise their voice during the public inquiry.

The rest were primarily analysts and other helpers.

Ves did not have much need for advisors, so the people around him were not as numerous.

"Have any representatives from the Red Fleet arrived?" He questioned as he looked around the entire venue.

"Not yet, but we have already received word that Lieutenant-

Commander Astrid Jameson is due to arrive on behalf of the Fifth Enforcement Fleet."

"Her name sounds familiar."

"That is because she is the great-great-great-great-

granddaughter of Fleet Admiral Amelie Jameson." Vector Loban answered. "Fleet Admiral Jameson is known to be an aggressive firebrand who holds very strong opinions on how human society should work. Her descendant has lapped it all up. You can expect the lieutenant-commander to be just as fiery."

"I… see. Since she is a lieutenant-commander, I take it that she quite young when compared to the other speakers."

"She is only 33 years old. Do not underestimate her because of that. What she may lack in experience, she makes up for it by growing up as one of the princesses of the Jameson Spaceborn Clan. The Jamesons have always been known to advocate stronger enforcement of the rules. Some of them have even urged for taking over direct control over states."

It was fortunate that the Jameson Spaceborn Clan was only one among many. The other True Spaceborn Clans that supplied the vast majority of manpower to the CFA and RF were much more restrained in comparison.

"I can handle her." Ves confidently said. "I am sure the Fifth Enforcement Fleet has a lot to say about my living mechs, but it does not represent the entire Red Fleet. I have already made contact with a captain of the Seventh Light Fleet. He might not be able to arrive in person, but he will probably be able to speak in my favor by remote."

"That will have to do, I suppose." Jovy did not sound as confident.

Once the final guests had taken their seats, everyone quieted down as the main event was about to begin.

The planetary governor finally arrived.

The man had dressed up for the occasion. He wore a suit made of azure scales that sparkled like gems. The light reflecting from the scaled outfit varied depending on the angle and intensity.

A large white cape furled from his back. Its length was truly excessive, but somehow flowed so elegantly through the water that it made the former shipwright look majestic as opposed to pretentious.

Planetary Governor Rod Mergan-Castelaus definitely carried a lot of presence. His confident and elitist bearing made it seem as if it was the most natural action in the world for people to show their respect to him. He was the closest equivalent of a king to the citizens of Ector V, and right now he looked like he was at home in his court!

As the moderator of the public inquiry steadily crossed to the other side of the massive chamber, he eventually stopped before an impressive carved throne.

Made out of high-grade exotics and hyper materials, the throne's exterior resembled that of a giant clamshell. The giant 'pearl' had been shaped into a smooth and curved throne that somehow looked completely natural despite the fact that it was artificial.

Naturally, this extravagant throne was so exquisite that it turned into a masterwork!

From the moment Rod Mergan-Castelaus sat down, everyone had the illusion that they had welcomed the arrival of their king.

The fact that the former shipwright-turned-politician managed to do all of that without relying on any extraordinary power was impressive!

Now that he had taken his seat, the moderator formally announced the start of the public inquiry.

"Good morning, citizens of the Red Ocean. Today, the Dragon King's Palace on Ector V shall play host to an exploration of a new breed of machines that have taken the second-class mech market by storm. Over the span of his short career, Professor Ves Larkinson has managed to outperform all of his peers by designing living mechs that are so powerful that they are capable of dominating their markets for an entire mech generation."

The planetary governor's voice had already been augmented to produce a rich, baritone voice. The acoustic systems of the chamber amplified it even further, making him sound even grander and more authoritative than normal!

"Tens of millions of living mechs have been produced. The overwhelming majority are being put in active service, and many have already fallen to alien weaponry. The fact that many customers have chosen to field them in battle signifies that they are capable of fulfilling the purpose of their creation."

Ves felt grateful that the moderator acknowledged at least that much. This should help cut down on false arguments.

"Yet it is their popularity that is the cause for rising concerns about Professor Larkinson's products." Mergan-Castelaus continued. "The more our mech forces depend upon them, the more they become exposed to the potential risks and dangers of utilizing them on a growing scale. These concerns are legitimate enough to hold public inquiry into this new category of mechs."

The air grew heavy as the planetary governor paused for a few seconds.

"Make no mistake. This is not a tribunal. Professor Larkinson is not accused of any crimes. This public inquiry will not end with a verdict that determines his guilt, and no punishment shall be levied for any convicted crimes. This is merely a public inquiry that is meant to explore the detailed circumstances of living mechs. The ultimate goal is to become so well-informed that we are able to form common ground on how human society should treat living mechs in their current incarnations going forward. Since the actual adoption and implementation of the consensus must be done by individual states and organizations, it is our common goal to find an outcome that all parties can agree upon."

It was nice of the planetary governor to mention that. There were many instances where Ves felt as if he was being put on trial, but that was not the case. Reminding other people of that would help them refrain from treating this as an instance to lock him behind bars.

If Ves ever got accused and convicted for a crime, then these people at least needed to wait until he grew out a beard!