The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5757 Tearing Away the Veil

Ves and his advisors had analyzed their opposition. They predicted many possible strategies that their adversaries might use to halt the momentum of living mechs.

Yet despite all of their brainstorming, none of them predicted that the Red Fleet, or at least a faction of it, would dare to tear away the veil of secrecy and shine a light onto one of the darkest events of human history!

Before Astrid could casually reveal other buried secrets that lots of leaders had endeavored tohide, Governor Mergan-

Castelaus activated a command that forcefully dampened the sound in the speaking pit.

The public inquiry had barely managed to get going before it already went off the rails!

In fact, the governor should have muffled the lieutenant-

commander sooner, but for whatever reason he allowed the woman to expose just enough to recontextualize Ves in a much more awful light!

Though Ves did not have reason to suspect whether the opposition had bribed the moderator, it was rather suspicious that the planetary governor had taken his sweet time to do his job.

Astrid's shocking revelations generated so much upheaval that the governor of Ector V found it necessary to stand up from his pearl-like throne.

"SILENCE."

A single amplified word was enough to cut all of the restless chatter.

The governor adopted a much sterner demeanor than before.

"I am compelled to provide immediate clarification to keep this session in order. According to the prevailing rules of our society, Lieutenant-Commander Astrid Jameson's speech has touched upon a part of human history and heritage that she is not authorized to share to the public at large. The prevailing reason why this is the case is to protect our civilization and help our race heal from the damage that we have collectively occurred during the Age of Conquest. Whether enough time has passed for red humanity to reconcile with its past is not the subject of this debate. It is unfortunate that the speaker from the fleet that most values adherence to the rules has chosen to break them in such a flagrant fashion."

That was a rather clever way to rebuke the fleeter without coming across as rude.

The problem was not that Astrid had broken the rules. The real concern was how people would react to the explosive pieces of information she had just revealed!

Even if she didn't have enough time to spill out a lot of secrets, it was a given that her opening words already made the public aware that human history was not as simple as described in all of the official history books!

A pregnant pause ensued as Rod Mergan-Castelaus fell silent for a dozen or so seconds. It was not difficult to guess that he was receiving an urgent transmission from outside.

His old eyes sharpened after he received an urgent communiqué.

"The Red Two has just issued a joint statement that they are preparing to address the questions concerning the past history that they have kept secret for centuries. While an argument could be made about withholding any information about these controversial subjects, the Red Association and the Red Fleet have quickly come to the decision that our society is ready to learn the truths that our people were not ready to hear in the previous age."

The mechers and the fleeters certainly moved quickly. Now that the cat was partially out of the bag, they might as well pull the feline out entirely and get it over with. Keeping the cat in its current state would only spread more doubt and misinformation.

The governor slowly began to sit down on his throne again.

"It will take time for the Red Two to prepare their announcement. Their press conference will start shortly after the end of this public inquiry. For now, I ask the speakers to confine their speech to the subject of living mechs. Whether it is true that there are aspects of Professor Larkinson's lineage that are related to the aforementioned moments of human history, please refrain from using arguments that rely too much on information that is not yet easily accessible. This is a public inquiry. We must provide as much clarity as possible to the general public. Doing the opposite goes against the spirit of this organized event."

The governor essentially explained the limits of how far down the rabbit hole the speakers could go. It was clear that Lieutenant-Commander Astrid Jameson would love to expose a lot of dark and hidden secrets to make the public turn against Ves, but that would only derail the public inquiry even further.

The governor turned to Astrid.

"I have been informed that you have violated numerous regulations of your own organization. It is not my responsibility to arrest you or determine your guilt. The Red Fleet has refused to dispatch their enforcers to take you into custody. As such, I have decided to revoke your right to speak for the remainder of this day. Lieutenant-commander, do you have any objections to my sanction?"

"None." The woman spoke from the side now that she had regained her right to speak. "I am solely responsible for my premeditated actions. I deemed it necessary to expose the dark past of Professor Larkinson lest we all debate the merits of his work while remaining ignorant of their terrifying implications. I will not allow this pretend mech designer to lure his ignorant clientele into a pit of darkness and slaughter. The scourge known as cultivation must never be allowed to hold our civilization captive again!"

The governor was close to muting the young RF officer, but Astrid had gained a good grasp on his limits. She directed one more defiant stare towards Ves before turning around and leaving the speaking pit.

The rule-breaking lieutenant-commander at least acquiesced to her penalty.

The moderator of the public inquiry gestured towards Ves.

"Professor Larkinson, you are permitted to respond to Lieutenant-Commander Jameson's… accusations. I would like to ask you to exercise careful control over the information that you wish to divulge. As a Senior Mech Designer, you should be intelligent enough to determine your own limits."

Ves smirked as he stepped towards the center of the speaking pit again. "Don't worry. Unlike a certain fleeter who has demonstrated her complete lack of confidence by breaking the rules, I am confident I can convince my audience of the merits of living mechs by relying on public information. In fact, Lieutenant-commander Jameson has actually made my job easier. Her purposeful disclosure of certain secrets allows me to speak more freely about the mechanics that make my living mechs special."

He had thrown away his entire playbook that he and his advisors prepared before the start of the public inquiry.

He was going by the seat of his pants at that moment. This did not distress him at all. The derailment of the public inquiry instead made him feel more alive.

The future trajectory had gone off-track. Astrid's defiant decision to break the veil of secrecy had changed humanity's course forever, and Ves gained the opportunity to play a central role in shaping the public's perception towards cultivation!

With the Red Two scrambling to contain the fallout of Astrid's actions, Ves knew that he had attracted the attention of a rapidly growing audience.

More and more people tuned into the broadcast. Millions if not billions of individuals across human-occupied space had heard about the explosive revelations and eagerly wanted to know more!

No matter whether they were first-raters, second-raters or third-raters, each of them gave in to their curiosity and hoped that Ves would provide clarity about the accusations made by Astrid!

"Citizens of red humanity." Ves spoke as he began to radiate his glow to a growing degree. "First, let me tell you that it has never been my intention to deceive you. There is a hidden layer of reality that only a small proportion of humans have come into contact with. I am sure the Red Two will offer a proper explanation of what that entails, but for now you can assume that it exists. No matter whether you refer to this extraordinary phenomenon as magic, witchcraft, psionics or cultivation, it is a tool for humans to obtain power, but it can also pose a threat that can erode your humanity."

Everyone listened closely to his words and wondered what else he might reveal. The common folk were especially eager to learn more about this exotic form of power!

"I will not deny that individuals known as cultivators have committed horrendous abuses in the past. The MTA and CFA rightfully feared what might happen if the generic public recklessly attempted to pursue a corrupting form of power on a wider scale, so they suppressed any secrets related to cultivation just as they have deprived us of warships. Throughout the centuries, the mechers and the fleeters have fulfilled this mission so well that I am certain that many of you entertain doubts whether all of this is true."

Ves stretched out his hand and began to perform a simple spell that he learned from an enlightenment fruit.

The water above his palm began to spin and turn into a more condensed water ball.

"It is. This is one of the many parlor tricks that a cultivator who has become proficient in the manipulation of water-

attributed E energy can perform. I can assure you that I am not making use of hyper technology to conjure this fireball. None of my augmentations have anything to do with this. The charm of cultivation is that even a baseline human without any augmentations can replicate my actions. The main requirement is that the human in question must practice the right techniques in order to harness the power of E energy."

Ves would have conjured a fireball if this chamber wasn't already submerged in water.

"Now, those who are clever may have already discovered that E energy radiation plays a large role in cultivation. I can tell you that it is much easier to draw strength from cultivation in the Red Ocean than in the Milky Way. Each and every red human has received an opportunity to transcend their limitations. Mech pilots and mech designers are not the only kinds of people who are able to strengthen themselves through self-evolution. The Age of Dawn has restored humanity's birthright and restored our ability to empower ourselves much further than was previously possible."

Governor Mergan-Castelaus began to stare more intensely at Ves. This was clearly a warning signal.

Mindful of what he was allowed to divulge, Ves quickly turned to more familiar ground.

"Ahem, cultivation has never been completely unattainable to us all. High-ranking mech pilots and mech designers openly flaunt abilities that cannot be replicated by ordinary people. You just never made this connection because the Big Two deliberately obfuscated these connections. Once you realize the truth, you will know that cultivation is not as frightening or dangerous as Lieutenant-Commander Astrid Jameson has claimed. It is a method of developing power that benefits our civilization immensely as long as we exercise sufficient control. In the last four centuries, the Mech Trade Association has imposed strict control, to fantastic success. The god pilots and Star Designers that emerged during this period have proven that cultivation can be a boon instead of a bane to our society."

A lot of people who previously harbored a lot of irrational fears towards cultivation became a lot calmer once they learned that mech pilots and mech designers were related to this mysterious phenomena.

The public suffered from cognitive difference for a long time due to the Big Two's deliberate efforts to obfuscate cultivation!

Now that Ves pointed out this connection, people finally had an explanation for all of the oddities and incongruences surrounding the two extraordinary professions!

"You may wonder what living mechs have to do with this mysterious subject." Ves said with a smirk. "It is not that complicated, actually. My products can assist in the growth of mech pilots because they are also able to cultivate! My heritage may be tainted, but I have always utilized the extraordinary knowledge that my mother has gifted me to better the lives of every human. Please do not judge me for the crimes committed by deviants who lived far beyond my time. Judge me by my many contributions, some of which are kept secret because they are much more helpful than you can imagine."