The Mech Touch

5688 An Unprecedented Tranformation

The Yuri Machine was horrifying on many levels.

Ves had always designed his mechs to serve as a partner and a friend to their mech pilots.

The Ultimatum was no exception to this rule. Though he liked to be adventurous now and then, he never joked around whenever he designed a mass production mech.

He tried his best to not incorporate any extreme experimental technologies in the products meant to be sold and utilized by the public.

This was also one of the reasons why he designed the Transcendent Punisher Mark III at the same time as the Supremo Project as it was known at the time.

The Transcendent Punisher Mark III was not only a lot more powerful due to being a quasi-first-class transphasic hyper mech, but also contained a few experimental features such as the Divine Foresight Mark I Neural Interface.

The latter would never be allowed on a commercial mech as it put into question the long-standing notion that mechs were always safe to pilot.

Once people on a larger scale began to assume that piloting a mech could cause a lot of harm to the mech pilot, then the dominance of mechs would definitely be shaken.

That could not be allowed to happen!

Fortunately, Ves had no intention of spreading the Divine Foresight Mark I outside of his Larkinson-exclusive mechs.

He had made similar decisions on other features that were not as prominent but made similar tradeoffs between performance and safety.

The Ultimatum was already strong enough in other areas that Ves never felt the need to resort to desperate measures to elevate its combat effectiveness even further.

Ves always assumed that he had struck a good balance that turned the Ultimatum into a product that mech pilots could entrust their lives to. Unless the Rubarthans who fabricated and sold this particular mech to the Pellicky Praetorians had messed up along the way, he could not come up with a logical reason why this incident had taken place.

"I can partially deduce what has happened to transform a perfectly normal copy of the Ultimatum into the Yuri Machine, but I cannot tell you why." He told the envoy of the Transhumanist Faction.

"Please tell us what you can, Professor Larkinson. I did not expect to obtain all of the answers when I brought this machine to you. Even scattered information is of considerable value."

That caused Ves to direct a questioning look at the RA Senior.

lightsnοvεl "What is this all about, Professor Loban? Why are you Transhumanists so interested in this machine? Don't tell me it is because you want to protect my reputation. I can do that myself. I am not afraid of any doubts, especially since this is the first and only time that such an incident has happened."

Vector Loban smiled back. "Have you forgotten our goals and ambitions already? Our faction is a gathering of people who endeavor to promote human evolution. Our initial target has always been to find a means for humans to combine with mechs in order to attain the ultimate form. We have always regarded god pilots as the current pinnacle of human evolution because they are the only true success cases. Other attempts to initiate a partial or complete fusion between a human and a mech have always ended in varying degrees of failure. Even the closest successes come with severe flaws and implications that make it untenable for mass adoption."

Now that the Transhumanist had mentioned this, Ves finally connected the dots. He stared back at the Yuri Machine and began to look a lot more hesitant about getting involved in this crazy affair.

"You... are kidding right? You want to turn yourself into this monstrosity?"

"Oh, we are being very serious." Professor Loban grinned. "Just think of it! God pilots themselves have proven that combining the human mind with the raw power of a mech results in the perfect combination! What is not to like? On the premise that we retain our full faculties tht we once did as humans, our newly improved forms can make us as powerful, physically immortal and capable of applying endless upgrades! When we combine this package with E-technology, we may be able to develop a method that may make us as powerful as a god pilot one day!"

Ves understood the significance of the Yuri Machine a lot better.

Not only did it look like a case of a physical merger between a human and a mech, but it had also demonstrated a huge amount of power when it was active!

Although it was unclear whether the huge outbreak of power was temporary or permanent in nature, it at least signified that it was possible for the Yuri Machine to wield as much power as a combination between an ace pilot and and ace mech.

What was even more important was that it could do all of this without needing to go through the arduous tests that mech pilots needed to subject themselves to in order to push their willpower beyond their limits!

The resonance meters of the mechs and starships in the battle that led to the accidental transformation of the heavy artillery mech had not detected any instance of extraordinary willpower from beginning to end.

The mechers possessed much more sophisticated sensor systems, and they had not detected any form of true resonance either.

Blinky had specifically tried to look for this as well, but the sensitive companion spirit did not sense anything that felt comparable to the willpower of an expert candidate, expert pilot or ace pilot.

Ves strongly believed that Yuri Enfame had not broken through during that battle. It was nearly impossible that this ordinary mech pilot was the culprit behind the strange transformation.

"This is going to be difficult. I need to get a closer look at the Yuri Machine in order to glean more clues out of this anomaly. Is it safe for me to step closer?"

Professor Loban nodded. "We have reengineered this compartment to reinforce the containment of the Yuri Machine. We have made a special effort to strengthen the energy shields and other defensive measures, both to protect this machine from external interference and prevent it from posing a threat to others. Several first-class multipurpose mechs that are specifically configured for this mission are stationed right outside. Please do not restrain yourself. Get as close as you want. The Yuri Machine has yet to rouse itself from its dormancy, and we do not expect it to unless it perceives a threat. It has only ever taken action against obvious enemies, no matter whether they are human or alien in nature."

"I see. That is good to know."

In response to this information, Ves decided to adopt a friendly approach rather than a subtle one. He loosened his own restraints and started to radiate a soft glow that made people feel healthier and more alive.

Ves had confirmed many times that it had a positive effect on mechs, particularly because it identified him as their progenitor.lightsnovel

He was the reason why they had been granted the gift of life!

Once Ves had made his adjustments, he slowly approached the Yuri Machine, taking care not to make any moves that might startle the sleeping machine.

"So far, so good."

When Ves came close enough for the mutated mech to get into contact with his glow, the Yuri Machine did not exhibit any elevated activity.

He was able to get a better feel of the former living mech now that he came closer. Blinky was able to gain a much more detailed look at the monstrosity's spiritual foundation.

"What have you discovered?"

"The Yuri Machine... has gained a lot of power. I can truly see why it has demonstrated power comparable to an ace pilot and ace mech. I think that the latter can easily beat the former in a real fight, but that does not detract from how amazing it is to gain so much power right away. That said, the sequelae are much bigger and more severe. From a spiritual level, I do not detect anything that distinctly feels like a human inside of this monstrosity. I can recognize human-like traits, but it is as if Yuri and his living mech has been stuffed into a blender before throwing a lot of other random junk before mixing it altogether."

That was not what Professor Loban wanted to hear. "So when this Yuri Machine regains consciousness, we will not be able to interact with the pilot known as Yuri Enfame, but with a new personality that consists of an amalgamation of other factors?"

"Yes, but there are different ways to merge stuff together. You can do a complete fusion or a more segregated one where the different entities still retain their distinct personalities. The manner which led to the creation of the Yuri Machine is especially messy, so this has resulted in the complete breakdown of all distinct personalities. If we wake up this machine, it will probably be unable to demonstrate any truly higher order thinking processes. This is because it does not have any cohesive personality. It is like a disorganized hive mind that is only able to act on instinct if at all. I see no reason why anyone would want more of this. A piloted mech is better in any way."

Perhaps this was not what Professor Loban and the Transhumanists wanted to hear, but Ves had to be honest. He really did not want them to study the Yuri Machine and attempt to turn themselves into similar monsters!

"Then... is it possible for you to 'untangle' the parts of Yuri Enfame that have blended into this machine and reform them so that he can regain his mind?"

That was an interesting question. Ves immediately stroked his hairless chin as he thought about the viability of this approach.

"Theoretically, I can make the attempt. I cannot guarantee the quality of the results. Not only do I lack practice in this highly invasive procedure, but I am pretty sure that not all pieces that make up Yuri Enfame's spirituality have remained intact. Whatever happened that forcibly integrated him into his own living mech has caused parts of him to get destroyed or lost. Even if I piece him together, he won't be entirely whole anymore."

"That is already a good outcome, Professor Larkinson. Please proceed right away."

"You want me to do it right now?"

"We have already collected enough data of the Yuri Machine in its current state."

"If I attempt to do what I have just described, there is a chance that this might go terribly wrong. The Yuri Machine might get the impression that it is under attack."

"We will be ready to respond if that happens. Please. This is important. We must know whether there is any hope to recover the consciousness of Pilot Enfame."

Seeing that the mechers understood the risks, Ves proceeded to get to work. He sent out Blinky who cautiously approached the Yuri Machine's formidable spiritual foundation.

Whether because it was in deep sleep or because it took comfort in the presence of its original progenitor, the Yuri Machine still did not make any dangerous moves.

"Mrow."

Blinky started to get to work by carving out pieces of Yuri Enfame and piecing them back together again.

Ves remained fully vigilant in case the machine suddenly became hostile, but it never woke up even when Blinky had torn and rearranged large parts of its spiritual foundation!

This suggested that the Yuri Machine had at least subconsciously recognized that Ves meant no harm to its existence.

However, Ves felt it was more likely that the Yuri Machine had already endured so much soul-tearing pain that Blinky's gentler treatment was nothing in comparison!

Whatever the cause, the operation proceeded a lot smoother than anyone thought.

By the time Blinky had completed his effort, the Yuri Machine still appeared stable, which was a massive relief!

Ves almost couldn't believe what he had done.

He had effectively recovered as many spiritual fragments of Yuri Enfame as possible and formed them together while making sure that they did not get separated from the rest of the Yuri Machine.

In other words, he turned Yuri Enfame into the companion spirit of the mutated Ultimatum!

This was a completely unprecedented phenomenon!

Just the very notion that it was possible to turn an actual human into a companion spirit of a living mech was enough to shatter many people's minds!

"Here comes the important part." He said. "Let's see whether I managed to pull it off. I am not sure if I have recovered enough of the mech pilot for him to regain consciousness again."

The most important moment had arrived.

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