The Mech Touch

5711 Stepping Into His Shoes

Now that Alexa had become a Journeyman, her job and responsibilities needed to change.

She was not like all of the lead designers in the Design Department. She was his direct protege, and had demonstrated at least basic competence in living mech design.

While the sophistication of her products was not comparable to that of Ves, she could already serve as a substitute in cases where his intervention was normally required.

Once Alexa and Ves cleaned up the workshop and transferred the newly fabricated mechs to an available hangar bay, they settled down in a nearby office where they could discuss all of the changes.

Though a part of Alexa was still distracted by all of the new ideas and possibilities that became available to her, she was still attentive enough to discuss her altered place within the clan.

"In most large organizations, Journeymen are treated as more junior personnel who just happen to possess better future prospects." Ves began. "I think it is obvious to you that we do stuff differently. We don't have any Masters in our midst, and only a relatively short time has passed since I advanced to Senior. Journeymen are therefore the mainstays that do much of the work needed to progress the projects of our Design Department. Now that you have become one as well, it is time for you to step up and undertake more serious work."

"I understand, sir." Alexa nodded in a manner that made it clear that she did not intend to object to his arrangements. "I hope you can give me time to ease into my new rank and capabilities. I need to learn what I can do and adapt my mindset on mech design now that I have reached this level of dedication. It will take three or four months before I am ready to work full-time as a Journeyman."

"That is reasonable. I know what you are going through. I will give you all of the space you need to get a grip on your new strength. I am also aware that you also need to go on a pilgrimage to the regional headquarters of the Red Association in the Agamemnon Upper Zone. I'm not really sure what sort of secrets the mechers have decided to pass on to newly promoted Journeymen in this day and age, but they have probably prepared a different spiel than what I have heard."

Ves broke through in a different time. The mechers still tried to repress any knowledge of cultivation as much as possible and disguised everything through the lens of psionic power.

That approach had become redundant or even counter-productive in the Age of Dawn.

Everyone and their grandmother had already become aware of E energy, so a Journeyman making a pilgrimage to a major stronghold of the Red Association did not need to receive a lot of lessons anymore.ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Noᴠᴇꜰɪre.nᴇt

However, the mechers never abolished this obligation, which showed that they still expected mech designers to come and learn who was truly in charge of their profession.

The Terrans usually took a dim view of the domineering approach of the Association, but they had no choice but to play by the rules.

"What kind of responsibilities do you expect me to fulfill once I return?" Alexa asked.

Ves smiled back. "I have been thinking about your future for a while. I have tried my best not to bring this topic up to you because I did not want to add too much pressure onto your shoulders, but that is no longer a concern anymore. Once you have picked up your stride, I want you to receive additional lessons on the more advanced aspects of living mech design that I have yet to pass on to you. This includes the core principles of second generation, third generation and fourth generation living mechs."

His student looked shocked as she knew exactly what that meant. "That… that is everything that defines a living mech of your design! Anchoring design spirits to mech designs, establishing orders of life, opening up the possibility to acquire Ascension Runes… have I missed anything?"

"Yes. There is design spirit creation, living mech cultivation, Carmine mechs, battle networks and a bunch of other stuff that are not included in the package. I am not able to pass them on to you for various reasons, but I would be glad to teach you about everything else. You don't need to be as proficient in these aspects as myself, but I expect you to be able to reach a basic level of competency in designing fourth generation living mechs by the end of the year."

This was a big move. Ves was essentially willing to pass on most of his core trade secrets to his student.

It was an enormous gift to a Journeyman Mech Designer who was still relatively new to living mechs!

Although Alexa would undoubtedly get influenced by his direction, as a Journeyman she should be able to preserve her own design philosophy and cling onto her existing style and approach.

"I will try my best. Given that you are eager for me to learn how to design a fourth generation living mech, are you trying to train me as your substitute in living mech design?"

Ves nodded and smiled. "Yup. It has been a growing burden for me to make sure that the Design Department outputs a high quantity of living mech designs each year. It is impossible for me to reduce it as our clansmen and the market both hold high expectations for my works. Living mechs are both my brand and a part of my identity. It is unacceptable to deliver mechs that are not alive all of a sudden. This is where you come in. It would do me a lot of good if you can partially take over on my behalf."

His student understood his demand. "I cannot promise you that my living mechs will maintain the same style and possess the same level of strength as yours, but I will try my best to maintain consistency to avoid disappointing your customers."

Ves felt relieved to hear that. "Good. Redundancy and split responsibilities are essential to a growing mech operation. In the past, we used to rely on Sara Voiken to meet all of our defensive needs. It was only later that we hired the likes of Beatrice Hendrix and Viktor MacMillon. Their specialties may be different, but that does not matter as long as they can improve the defenses of our mechs. I want you to take on a similar position with regards to living mechs. Not only do I want you to relieve some of my current work burden, but I also expect you to supervise my other ongoing projects if I happen to go on a trip and fall out of contact for a while."

She knew what he was thinking about.

"You still wish to proceed and put your life on the line by participating in a possible future deep strike expedition? I do not think the mechers are eager to let you go forward."

"The mechers don't control my entire life. This is a matter of principle. My Journeyman days may be over, but that does not mean that I am no longer an explorer. I still need to live through different experiences in order to obtain the inspiration I need to produce new innovations. I'll sort this problem out with my minders. You just need to be prepared to step into my shoes during the times I become indisposed for whatever reason."

Alexa recognized that there were numerous problems with this plan.

"If I am expected to spend most of my time designing living mechs according to your style, I will not be able to allocate as much time on designing mechs that conform to my own vision."

"I know that this is not ideal, but the actual workload of turning a mech design alive is not that great so long as you do not invest too much time into the technical aspects. You will still have sufficient time for you to conduct your own research and lead your own design projects."

That placated Alexa for a bit. "I see. If that is the case, then I should be able to handle this responsibility. How much latitude will you give me to diverge from your design philosophy and add my own traits to your designs?"

"I don't want you to turn all of our existing mech lines into living legacy mechs." Ves responded in a firm tone. "They are still my products unless I say otherwise. Other than that, I will allow you to apply other, less drastic design solutions to them so long as their overall identities remain the same. I do not want my customers to obtain a completely different living mech after they have placed an order. Our brand must remain consistent."

"Understandable. This is your mech company, not mine."

"That leads me to your newly developed specialization." Ves continued. "The vision that you have shared with me makes it clear that your design philosophy is not conducive to designing products with mass market appeal. Unless you retool your approach, it is a given that your living legacy mechs will always remain a niche product. I cannot imagine that many people are willing to take your products seriously. They will think it is a giant joke to release mechs that can physically interface with each other in order to produce a miniature mech that is supposed to organically grow into a mature machine after a while. There are so many aspects about this that sound crazy that it is impossible for you to do well in the public arena."

"I have already taken this into consideration, sir. I proceeded with my plan because I am confident that there are still customers who appreciate the potential of my own brand of living mechs. I believe that over time, the disapproving majority will come to regret their ridicule. If they embraced living legacy mechs sooner, they would have been able to grow their own living mech dynasties by that time."

There was no guarantee that this would happen, but it did not hurt to dream about it. Alexa may have her life a lot more difficult for herself, but if she was able to fulfill all of her promises, then the power of her living legacy mechs could definitely exceed the more standard living mechs designed by Ves!

"It would help if I can begin to prove myself by designing mechs for the Larkinson Clan." Alexa said. "Do I have permission to design living legacy mechs for the Larkinson Army?"

"Granted. I won't convince any of the legion commanders to add your works to their mech roster. You will have to convince them of the merits of your specialty products by yourself. I think you are being too hasty, though."

"Oh? How so, sir?"

"The Larkinson Army is our main fighting force. It is risky for a fresh Journeyman like yourself to meet their intensive needs. It is better if you try to convince the various branches of the Larkinson Clan to adopt your machines instead. Their standards are lower and they are less critical about the quality of their mechs. They may also be led by more adventurous leaders who are more open-minded about all of the cumbersome requirements that they have to meet in order to make the most out of your products. I hope you don't attempt to push Project S2 on them though. Its performance is simply not up to par."

Alexa responded with a reassuring smile. "Project S2 was never meant for mass production. I will make sure to design living legacy mechs that best reflects the needs of the various mech units."

The Larkinson Clan as a whole was not ready to embrace this crazy living legacy mechs business.

However, there were plenty of branches that might hold a different opinion towards Alexa's design philosophy.

They did not even have to replace all of their existing living mechs with the ones designed by the woman. Just a few living legacy mechs in a mech unit was already enough to make Alexa satisfied!