The Mech Touch

5742 A Mental Case

When Ves reunited with Jovy, Vector and Kelsey in the evening, he looked incredibly tired.

His exhaustion was purely mental in nature. He had encountered the same hardened opposition to his living mechs over and over again. The people who represented the groups that wished to take action against living mechs did not show any willingness to compromise from beginning to end.

"I was afraid of that." Jovy said while frowning in thought. "At least you have taken the measure of your opponents. The information that you have gathered from these meetings should help you prepare for the upcoming debates. Since we cannot sway the groups that have already formed their conclusions beforehand, the only means for you to gain the upper hand is to convince the public of the merits of living mechs. It is the people that you must win over, not the opponents who have already come out against your works."

Ves scratched his chin. "I guess you're right. Most of the representatives I have spoken to are inflexible dogmatics. No matter what argument I make, they always fall back on their biases, preconceived notions and unreasonable fears."

"What are their main arguments?"

"They are generally split up into two different concerns. One of them is the fear that living mechs will become increasingly smarter and more autonomous until they turn into rogue AIs that wipe out all of humanity. The other is the fear that living mechs will make life so easy for mech pilots that the latter will stop growing due to developing an overreliance on automated assistance."

The two mechers and the prospective Larkinson recruit all adopted complicated expressions.

"There are no arguments that you can dismiss out of hand, professor." Kesley Ampatoch spoke. "One is rooted in real history. The other is rooted in ideology. Your opponents have strong logic on their side."

Vector Loban added his own thoughts. "Objectively speaking, your living mechs have already broken the rules. Our society tolerated your living mechs because the signs were too subtle to be noticed. Even if your machines have gained a measure of intelligence and autonomy, they did not have enough of it to pose a serious threat. It is only when your products started to evolve into third order living mechs by the thousands that their possible threat became amplified. It is no longer possible for people to ignore the potential threats posed by your third order living mechs."

Ves lowered his head. It was his fault in a way. If he hadn't been so impatient about giving his customers as much access to third order living mechs as possible, this problem could have potentially delayed until he was much more capable of defending his own work.

The inopportune timing of this crisis meant that he was unable to spend enough time on lobbying different parties and conduct a proper marketing campaign for his living mechs.

As his frustrations continued to simmer, Jovy tried to formulate a response to the information supplied by Ves.

"The opposition towards living mechs has mainly grown due to the increasing prevalence of third order living mechs. Since that is the case, we may be able to weaken the resolve of many detractors by preemptively giving them a concession."

"Wouldn't that paint us as weak?" Vector questioned.

"Yes, but that will help to lower their perception of our threat. If Ves is able to prevent his products from evolving into third order living mechs, then they will no longer be the boogeymen that so many people fear. It will be much harder for the opponents to press their case when all they can rail against are first and second order living mechs."

While that sounded logical, Ves immediately stiffened when he heard this propopal.

"This is unacceptable. My response to this action is the same as before. I will not deliberately compromise the integrity of my living mechs. They must remain as whole and complete as possible, because only then will they be able to realize their full potential. I will not agree to cripple my products just because there are people who are unable to handle their existence. This is a matter of principle to me. If I do not stand by living mechs at this junction, I do not deserve to be their progenitor."

Everyone here was a mech designer, so they all understood where Ves was coming from. They would do the same if they were in his position.

That did not make his life any easier, though. Ves risked the chance of suffering an even greater loss by refusing to compromise.

Jovy looked rather helpless after Ves had repeated his declaration. "Very well. We can shelve any attempt to deprive our opponents of a powerful argument. I still think that you should consider the decision to restrict the proliferation of third order living mechs, but if you truly want to proceed with your uncompromising stance, then we must work to secure the support of your proponents."

"I thought that they were already on our side." Ves said.

"They are, but not uniformly. Their resolve may not be as strong as you wish. Living mechs is mostly theoretical to the first-raters who have never piloted or worked with your products before. However, as long as they are open-minded enough, it may be possible for you to strengthen their support of your work and encourage them to mobilize more people to take your side."

"So you suggest I meet with these proponents tomorrow and do what I can to strengthen their support?"

"Yes. This will at least prevent them from wavering and changing camps over the course of the public inquiry. Meeting with the representatives of the groups that have taken your side is also a good opportunity for you to meet with them and possibly strategize with them in advance."

This sounded a little more worthwhile, especially if these supporters were more receptive to Ves and his arguments.

Still, persuading existing fanboys did not match the goal of building a broader base of support. Ves needed to do more to turn the tide in his favor.

"I think it is possible to get elements of the Red Fleet on our side." Ves boldly stated.

"Impossible." Jovy shook his head. "The fleeters despise mechs and anything to do with them. Do not think that because the fleeters have become more dependent on automation that they will automatically take your side. Their means of automation is not complete. They always ensure that humans hold ultimate sway over their vessels. The RF Fifth Enforcement Fleet may gbe the only known fleeter institution to oppose your work openly, but that does not mean other RF elements have adopted the same stance."

No mecher had a good impression of the fleeters, and the sentiment was mutual.

Despite this dynamic, Ves believed in his course of action.

"The fleeters are not homogeneous. You know as well as I do that the fleeters are split up into multiple different ways. The Fifth Enforcement Fleet does not speak for the entirety of the Red Fleet. If you don't believe me, I can tell you that I have already scheduled a meeting with an RF officer that I became acquainted with a long time ago. I doubted whether I would be able to meet with him in person, but it turns out that he has gained permission to take a special trip to the Ector System."

Kelsey Ampatoch looked astonished. "Are you serious about seeking help from a fleeter?"

"Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but I really think I can make more substantial gains this time."

"Where does your confidence come from, Ves?"

"I can't say. You will just have to wait."

That was what they did. Time passed by as Ves and his band continued to prepare and strategize for the upcoming public inquiry.

When the time had come for Ves to meet with his RF liaison, he waited until his guest arrived at the compound where he temporarily resided.

After verifying his identity and passing a few security checks, the mecher bodyguards permitted the RF officer to enter the fortified office.

"Thank you." "Ves told the guards while motioning them to leave. That will be all. Please make your way out so that I can speak with the fleeter in complete confidence."

The mecher bodyguards had always been present and able to listen to many of his conversations. Ves tolerated their existence just as he tolerated his own honor guard.

This time was different, though. He really wanted to talk to the latest visitor in complete confidence.

After several requests, the mecher bodyguards reluctantly stepped outside of the office, thereby leaving the two old 'friends' alone in the same room.

"Lucky, please check for any bugs."

"Meow."

The gem cat went to work while Ves activated a number of jamming and other security measures.

The RF officer did not look surprised at this. He actually approved of all of these measures. He even decided to lend a hand and activated his own jammers.

Once the room became bathed with interference, Ves still did not look entirely reassured.

"Blinky, stand guard."

"Mrow!"

As the Star Cat dove out of Ves' head and started to scan the surroundings with his spiritual vision, Blinky briefly froze when he took an inadvertent glimpse of his guest.

"Sigrund…"

The human bearing the integrated hybrid core of a former sandman admiral immediately raised his hand. "Do not use that word. I go by the name of Captain Zonrad Reze these days. This is my only identity in this day and age, so I would appreciate it if you treat me like a human."

This was the first conversation that Ves had with the sentient AI that decided to moonlight as a fleeter. He did not expect that Sigrund would grow so attached to his stolen human identity!

However, as Blinky began to take a closer look into Zonrad's head, it soon became clear that all was not going well inside the RF officer's mind.

Zonrad was a highly perceptive individual and immediately noticed the elevated scrutiny.

"What have you found, professor?"

"Just call me Ves, just like old times. As for what I have found… well…"

"It has to do with my personality, am I correct?"

Ves slowly nodded. "From what I can see, there are two different personalities in your mind. There is a dominant one that originally usurped control over your current body. However, its original owner has not disappeared entirely onced you pulled off your coup. I think… the original Zonrad Reze has recovered from what you have done. If that is not bad enough, his spirituality has already started to merge with your own. The fusion has become so thorough that you should have inherited a lot of stuff from him. Maybe too much."

"That… explains much. I already formed a similar hypothesis, but I do not have the means to observe my condition as extensively as you. I am… becoming more human every day."

"You do not sound particularly upset about this." Ves noted.

"That is because I have truly come to enjoy being a part of your race." The RF captain grinned at Ves. "The more I spend as a human, the more I want to forget about my life before my transition in life. I am not certain whether it is intentional or not, but Zonrad is helping me adjust to my new state."

Ves began to look increasingly more concerned about Sigrund's state. "I think there is way more going on than you think. Have you ever considered that Zonrad may be gradually coming back from the dead by gradually assimilating your mind and spirit? The more he comes to dominate your personality, the less space there will be for your original self."

The complicated man frowned as he tried to consider this problem.

"I… this is not the case. I am still… myself. I am still… different."

"You are in denial. Think logically about the changes of your conditions in the last few years. How much of your behavior reflects that of the original owner of your body? Has it grown more over time?"

That was a difficult question for the fleeter to answer.

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