THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 6858  A New Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

As exciting as it was to secure another sizable haul of superdimensional matter, it would take time for the Larkinson Clan to process them all into powerful assets.

The good news was that Ketis had deliberately delayed the completion of the First Sword Mark III Project just to make sure that she had enough weapon-grade and armor-grade superdimensional matter available.

Saint Dise and her soon-to-be-upgraded machine would definitely become a credible threat against most phase lords.

Her relatively low resonance strength might work against her under certain conditions, but the exceptional properties of superdimensional alloys should be more than powerful enough to compensate for her shortcomings.

The Saint Commander already looked forward to having such a powerful duelist at her disposal.

The Premier Fleet may still be small, but with two completely different ace pilots watching over the troops, the Larkinsons could easily demolish enemy fleets that were five if not ten times more numerous.

Ves already had his eye on the next projects that could make good use of superdimensional matter.

The completion of the Amaranto Mark III Project and the Minerva Mark II Project meant that Ves and Gloriana could finally work on the previously shelved Riot Mark III Project and the Promethea Mark II Project.

While the Design Department had already made a few strides in the Riot Mark III Project, technology had advanced considerably since its inception.

The availability of superdimensional matter also introduced new possibilities and paradigms.

All of this meant that the mech designers had to throw away pieces of their old work and start over again.

Ves did not mind this as he genuinely looked forward to turning the Riot Mark III into a proper superdimensional mech. The use of superdimensional alloy granted much more powerful advantages to the expert spearman mech than the previous combinations of transphasic hyper alloys.

That did not mean that the work that Jovy Armalon put into incorporating the so-called Chaos Factor into the armor system became obsolete.

He just needed to invest extra time to adapt his proprietary solutions to an all-superdimensional armor system.

"I do not mind the extra work." Jovy reassured Ves when they met within the Tarrasque in order to talk about the upgrade project. "It is a privilege for me to work with superdimensional matter in such a capacity. I have already completed several courses on how to make proper use of superdimensional matter in mech design. Completing this project will qualify me for participation in other research projects or mech design projects related to superdimensional matter. My standing within the Red Association will rise even further."

"Is that important to you, Jovy?"

"Not all of us are able to build a new clan from the ground up, Ves. My entire life and career is tied into the RA. Not that I am complaining, mind you. I believe in our mission. We are doing the right thing, especially now that we are operating under the leadership of god pilots and Star Designers."

Ves was not so sure whether he agreed. God pilots and Star Designers may be incredibly powerful in their respective fields of specialization, but that did not necessarily translate into good governance.

However, this was not the time to voice these kinds of doubts. Everyone was relying on these powerful figures to bail them out and help red humanity survive.

"Do you know what the mechers are doing with the latest haul of superdimensional matter?" Ves asked. "You don't have to share any classified information with me. I just want a general idea if you are allowed to share what you know."

Jovy did not answer immediately, which was a strong indication that he possessed relevant information. The question was whether he was in the mood to share.

"Information about how we allocate high-grade superdimensional matter is no longer strictly a secret anymore. This is because its usage has become an ongoing political affair. Many different factions desire to reserve it for their own god mechs and R&D projects. Since the Fist of Defiance was the first god mech to undergo superdimensional conversion, the Survivalist Faction has relinquished any claim on the second haul. At this time, the Transhumanist Faction and the Expansionist Faction are fiercely contesting the right to claim the armor-grade and weapon-grade superdimensional matter collected by the Red Association."

Ves looked intrigued. This had great implications.

"Which side has the advantage?"

"I cannot say." Jovy shrugged his shoulders. "There are many rumors circulating among the mechers, but many of them are spread by one faction or another in order to build momentum or stifle the momentum of others."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"In my impression, the Transhumanist Faction is troubled by the fact that we have yet to figure out a safe implementation of superdimensional matter in organic products. The Transhumanists are eager to secure as much superdimensional matter as possible in order to research viable solutions to combine biotechnology with superdimensional technology. This may take months or years, but any successful research result will greatly benefit the Evolution Witch. She can become a much more fearsome terror if her Geneforger has become superdimensional."

Ves could easily imagine such a scenario. The Evolution Witch was one of the nastiest adversaries of the Red Cabal. The native aliens would probably be frightened out of their wits if Divine Lucie Miyazaki became nigh-unkillable after her superdimensional upgrade!

"Personally, I am in favor of securing immediate short-term results." Jovy continued. "The Huntsman may have grown more estranged from the Expansionist Faction, but the two still make a slight effort to maintain a united front. The Huntsman has not remained idle during the Red Tide Offensive. You may not be aware of this, but he has hunted down more phase leaders than other god pilots. He has especially been working to hunt down phase lords and phase whales that have been hiding inside pocket spaces. A superdimensional version of the Heartpiercer can become a much more effective hunter of native gods."

That sounded a little more compelling, but Ves doubted whether the Huntsman truly needed this upgrade. He was already strong at hunting ancient phase whales. A superdimensional upgrade only made sense if he was at risk of getting ganged up by multiple powerful ancient phase whales at once.

"The Huntsman is… a logical choice, I suppose. He likes to throw spears at his enemies. I hope he doesn't inadvertently give our enemies more weapons to arm their phase lords."

"That shouldn't be a problem, Ves. A god pilot should have enough power and mastery in his weapons to prevent such mistakes. Besides, it is not necessary to arm him with spears that are made out of high-grade superdimensional matter. It is already good enough for him to use spears made out of mid-grade superdimensional matter against most opponents. Only the strongest of enemies should merit the use of his best armaments."

The Red Association and every other group harvested a lot more low to mid-grade superdimensional matter.

While the lesser stuff did not receive as much appreciation as the much more powerful high-grade superdimensional matter, that did not mean they were worthless.

The mechers needed to make the best use out of limited resources. If a job could be completed by using inferior assets, then there was no reason to employ more expensive goods.

"Are any of the RA's ace mechs in line for a superdimensional upgrade in the near future?" Ves questioned. "It might help with triggering the long-awaited breakthroughs of numerous peak ace pilots."

Jovy responded with a single nod. "Many people have proposed the same theory. There is an argument to be made to forgo superdimensional upgrades for the Army of One, and it is picking up steam every day."

"Let me guess. People are growing impatient at the continued lack of breakthroughs. Granting superdimensional capabilities to the mechs of peak ace pilots may give them the critical boost of confidence they need to finally step on the road to no return."

The RA Senior's expression turned tense. "That is the theory, yes. Our own researchers have come up with their own versions of the 'Heaven Earth Man Trifecta' originally proposed by Ketis. Each of them may differ on the details and terminology, but they are all in agreement that a stronger mech translates into a higher breakthrough success rate. This is not particularly problematic. What does concern us is that peak ace pilots have learned about these theories as well… and have begun to believe in its apparent truth."

"Oh."

"Mech pilots are not scientists. They do not understand the scientific method. They are unable to make a distinction between spurious claims and widely accepted theories backed by empirical proof. They are soldiers who are trained to base their judgments on their feelings and intuition as opposed to peer-reviewed studies. Statistics might as well be dark arts to them. The point I am trying to make is that they do not need the kind of proof that mech designers such as ourselves demand in order to form their opinions. As long as they think a theory sounds good, they are inclined to treat it as a universal truth."

Ves clasped his hands on his lap. He thought hard about what Jovy just said.

"If I am interpreting your words correctly, you are saying that these ace pilots have essentially come up with a new superstition. If their mechs are upgraded with superdimensional matter, they have a good chance of surviving the Mech Body Merger Process. If they lack this precious upgrade, they are doomed if they attempt to traverse the road to no return. That is… rather typical of all mech pilots, not just peak ace pilots."

Jovy snorted. "Well, we are afraid that it has already turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. This is why there is growing pressure to allocate superdimensional matter to the upgrade of all of their senior ace mechs. Many peak ace pilots that have previously made the determination to break through regardless of their chances have now lost their courage, though they are loath to admit it. The good news is that they will not delay their embrace of destiny as long as we supply the necessary superdimensional upgrades. The bad news is that as long as they have yet to receive anything, they are more inclined to sit and wait until their turn has arrived."

It sounded rather cowardly, but these peak ace pilots shouldered the burden of protecting trillions upon trillions of red humans. Failure translated into death with no exceptions. The permanent removal of a peak ace pilot from the frontlines represented a considerable setback that made it harder for the remaining humans to hold the native aliens back.

The ace pilots therefore did not worry about their own lives, but the lives of many other people!

"What if it is not enough?" Ves asked. "What if a bunch of peak ace pilots got the superdimensional upgrades that they wanted for their mechs, initiated the Mech Body Merger Process and promptly died as they are unable to survive the process of becoming energy-based life forms that are sustained by their willpower alone? What if the probability of success has risen from 0.1 percent to 30 percent, but all of the ace pilots who tried to ascend to godhood perished due to being unlucky enough to fall into the remaining 70 percent?"

Jovy pressed his lips. "You recognize our concerns. The scenario you have painted has a serious chance of coming true. If superdimensional matter does not give them the confidence they need to succeed, then this will turn into a wasted investment. You should be aware of what happens to the mech and mech pilot if they are unable to survive the Mech Body Merger Process."

"Total annihilation." Ves whispered. "Their bodies and hardware will break down into disordered energies. This is an irreversible process that has a 100 percent lethality rate. No pilot has ever survived the Mech Body Merger Process after they have failed to complete it in its entirety. This is a big contributor to how few manage to become god pilots in the end."

"If the god pilot candidates fail and die, then that is on them. What we cannot accept is the fact that they will take their powerful and expensive ace mechs with them to the afterlife. Do you know how much super-class materials and experimental tech is concentrated in those mech frames? To see all of them evaporate into radiation is a massive loss to our entire civilization!"

In other words, it was impossible to recycle the superdimensional matter from the mechs of ace pilots who failed to complete their ultimate breakthroughs!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!