The Mech Touch

Venerable Joshua could feel the weight of the attention of thousands of mechs on him. A part of their hopes, anticipations and concerns all struck him like a rainstorm.

Every living mech hailing from the Larkinson Clan had a say in this matter.

Even though they only encompassed a tiny proportion of all of the living mechs that had been produced up to this point, each of them could be counted upon to be loyal to the clan.

The same wasn't necessarily the case with other living mechs. Though Joshua had thought about inviting the living mechs of the Glory Seekers so that they could have a say as well, he soon figured out that this would be a slippery slope.

Who knew how the votes would get skewed if he invited millions of living mechs that were put into use in the Hex Army? They were bound to ram all kinds of pro-Hexer policies through the Anima Order right away!

Perhaps one day the Anima Order would come to encompass the vast majority of living mechs in existence, but for now everyone thought it was best to keep it among the Larkinson mechs for the time being.

As the living mechs grew more and more impatient, Venerable Joshua quickly called a vote.

"Let's do it like this! In a moment, I will call out the names of the candidates that you prefer. If you support a particular living mech, then raise your limb and call out 'aye', okay? The Anima Hall will automatically record and tally your vote, so don't worry about that. If you don't do anything after I call out the three candidates, then we will assume that you have forfeited your opportunity to vote."

After making all of that clear, Venerable Joshua gestured towards the Quint.

"If you support the Quint as the first Grandmaster of the Anima Order, then cast your vote."

"AYE!" many different living mechs rose from their seats and raised their respective arms or limbs!

Joshua wasn't able to count how many living mechs favored the Quint over the other candidates, but he could see that the custom hybrid mech gained the approval of almost every copy of the Bright Warrior Mark II!

The Quint was particularly popular among the mechs of the Avatars of Myth, the Living Sentinels and the Battle Criers.

These were among the oldest mech legions of the clan and remembered the heroics of the Quint the best. The Larkinson Clan had yet to field any expert mechs in its early history.

"If you want the Everchanger to be in charge of the Anima Order, then make yourselves heard!"

"AYE!" The entire anima hall echoed with the cries of supporting living mechs!

The Everchanger was a popular mech among his own kind. He was powerful and possessed decent support capabilities. He was often at the forefront of a battle and also happened to be the partner to the golden boy of the Larkinson Clan.

Aside from that, the Everchanger's policies were the most moderate and risk averse among the available choices. Many of the living mechs that were fairly content with the current state of their lives and didn't really feel the need to ask for more put their weight behind the expert hybrid mech.

Venerable Joshua could loosely determine that the Everchanger received support among the mechs of the Flagrant Vandals and the Eye of Ylvaine. The former possessed a military heritage and still had duty carved in their bones while the latter were much more willing to defer to authority.

"Any of you who wish to give the Minerva a chance to shape the Anima Order at the beginning, say so now!"

"AYE!"

This time, pretty much all of the living mechs that had yet to say anything had finally cast their precious votes.

Very few if any living mechs had chosen to abstain from this crucial voting round. History was being made here and even the youngest second order living mechs possessed enough sense to make a tentative decision and stand up so that they could raise their limbs.

It didn't surprise Venerable Joshua all that much that most of the Swordmaiden and Penitent Sister mechs had expressed their support for the Minerva.

Not only was she the only female living mech among the candidates, her radical views aligned their dreams of independence and autonomy.

They weren't necessarily opposed to humanity, but they deeply appreciated the value of power.

Now that the living mechs had cast their respective votes, it was time to announce the outcome.

The Anima Hall had tracked the actions of every living mech throughout this session and automatically tallied all of the votes.

Though none of the living mechs had been stupid or disrespectful enough to cast double or triple votes, if they did, the Anima Hall would simply disqualify their votes.

Soon, the lighting in the hall dimmed, causing every living machine to cease their discussion.

A spotlight shone down on Venerable Joshua's floating form. He respectfully looked upwards as a white paper envelope slowly descended from the high ceiling.

Every living mech built up more and more anticipation as the envelope fell towards Joshua at an agonizingly slow pace.

Yet despite everyone's increasing impatience, no living mech dared to interrupt this dramatic sequence.

Once the envelope fell far enough, Joshua held out his hands, causing the object to land perfectly onto his palms.

The expert pilot did not dare to drag this process out any longer, but he made sure to exhibit great care when he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter that announced the results.

"In this inaugural election, each of you have decided who among you will gain the opportunity to serve as the first Grandmaster of the Anima Order." Joshua solemnly spoke. "Each term shall last for a total of 10 standard years, after which another round of voting will be conducted to elevate another grandmaster."

After making that clear, Joshua finally recited the voting results of the first election.

"The Quint has come third after receiving 22.9 percent share of the votes!"

"The Minerva has come second after receiving 35.3 percent share of the votes!"

"The Everchanger is the winner of this election after receiving 41.8 percent share of the votes!"

In the end, the most restrained and least ambitious of the living mechs had snatched the grandmaster position!

A larger and more colorful spotlight shone on the Everchanger, causing the other two candidates to remain in shadow.

The victorious expert mech lifted up his mechanical arms and radiated a glow of warmth and joy!

"HOORAAY!"

"I'M GLAD WE DIDN'T PUT A LUNATIC IN CHARGE."

"PLEASE DON'T GET THE HUMANS ON OUR BACKS!"

"Nyaaaaaa!"

Even the Golden Cat expressed her support for this voting outcome. Though she didn't particularly have any favorites, she liked the Everchanger's stable and inward-oriented approach a lot. The living mechs needed to do a lot of work before they could gain a complete society.

As the Everchanger continued to bask in the glory of becoming the starting Grandmaster of the Anima Order, his rivals quietly backed away to give the winner more space.

Neither the Quint nor the Minerva saw any reason to contest the voting results. The Anima Hall wouldn't make such obvious mistakes and the margins were far enough apart to leave no ambiguity.

Perhaps it might have been fairer to institute a two-round voting system. This way, the top two candidates of the first round of voting would have to compete fairly against each other without needing to worry about spoilers.

However, that was a matter that the living mechs had to sort out by themselves at a later date.

For now, it was time to focus on the inauguration of the Everchanger.

The living mech turned around and slowly approached the steps that led to the top of the raised dais.

The spotlight that continued to illuminate the green-coated expert mech followed suit, causing many living mechs to develop the impression that the Everchanger was ascending to heaven!

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The sounds of the metal feet of the Everchanger stomping onto the steps were being magnified, which helped with adding more weight to this important event.

While the Quint and the Minerva quietly retreated to the smaller thrones set to the sides, the winner of the first election finally reached the greatest and most impressive throne in the hall.

Its design looked as if their progenitor had designed it himself. The elaborate, mech-scaled high-backed metal throne artfully combined technology with royal traditions.

The throne had even modified its shape so that it would not press against the grandmaster's flight system.

The Everchanger felt more powerful than ever. He looked at the throne for a moment before turning around and assuming his rightful office.

Every living mech seemed to hold their breaths despite the fact that they didn't need to cycle air in the first place.

Before the Everchanger could give his inaugural speech, his battle partner steadily flew closer.

When Venerable Joshua stopped before the winner of the election, he lifted up his arms and caused a giant, mech-sized crown to appear on top of the Everchanger's head.

The giant crown that seemed to generate its own light steadily descended until it perfectly rested on the Everchanger's head. Its proportions had already been adjusted to fit the living mech with exact precision.

"The Secret Crown shall be your symbol of office. No living mech will be able to deny your identity as a grandmaster. As its name suggests, you must keep its existence a secret to outsiders. This crown only exists within the MSTS for the time being. It will be up to you to decide whether you want to make a real version of this crown. Just keep the repercussions in mind."

The Everchanger wordlessly nodded in understanding.

Once Venerable Joshua retreated from the throne, the expert hybrid mech finally addressed his constituents for the first time since his elevation.

"AS THE FIRST BEARER OF THE SECRET CROWN, I AM MORE COGNIZANT THAN EVER OF THE ENORMOUS RESPONSIBILITIES I BEAR." The Everchanger boomed in a masculine and dignified synthesized voice. "I AM BOTH HONORED AND HUMBLED BY THE SUPPORT AND TRUST THAT YOU HAVE PUT INTO ME. WHETHER YOU HAVE VOTED FOR ME OR NOT, I WILL DO MY BEST TO STAND UP FOR ALL OF YOU. WE ARE ALL LIVING MECHS, AND WE ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME FAMILY."

Venerable Joshua grew more and more reassured as the Everchanger spoke to the crowd. As his personal expert mech, the Everchanger undoubtedly adopted much of his views. It was probably the machine that most closely matched his own dream of building up a civilization where not just humans but also other friendly races could get along and live in a single harmonious society.

"I PROMISE THAT IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS, I WILL HAVE THE ANIMA ORDER FOCUS ITS ENERGIES ON HOUSEKEEPING AND MUCH-NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR DAILY LIVES. THERE IS NO REASON FOR US TO QUESTION OR REDEFINE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR HUMAN CREATORS AND USERS AT THE MOMENT. SO LONG AS WE MAINTAIN THE SECRECY OF OUR ORDER, WE WILL GIVE THE HUMANS NO CAUSE TO TAKE ACTION."

Perhaps it was because the Quint and the Minerva cast their gazes too far in the future that had cost them a lot of votes. There was no way for living mechs to shake the status quo at their current state.

The Everchanger's eyes flashed. "YET MAKE NO MISTAKE. I WILL NOT LOSE SIGHT OF OUR FUTURE. I WILL DO MY BEST TO BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR OUR ANIMA ORDER SO THAT NO MATTER WHAT MAY HAPPEN AFTER MY TERM HAS COME TO AN END, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO COUNT ON OUR ORGANIZATION TO HAVE YOUR BACK. NEVER FORGET THAT THERE IS A PURPOSE TO LIFE!"

"PURPOSE TO LIFE!"

"PURPOSE TO LIFE!"

"PURPOSE TO LIFE!"

The Anima Order officially started its operations!