The Mech Touch

It was a lovely day out in Veoline. Millions of locals and foreigners went about their day in the lively capital city of the bustling commerce-oriented planet.

Organic shuttles and transports regularly ascended into space or descended from orbit. The spaceports saw constant traffic, but no matter how many people or goods were being moved, no congestion took place.

Every vehicle and vessel that traveled under the banner of the PHTS followed a single unified schedule that made sure that there was never too much or too little traffic in any place.

This was quite beautiful to behold even though the view at Dr. Navarro's service center was a bit too far away.

Through the various policies enacted and enforced by the local authorities, Prosperous Hill VI remained bustling without exhibiting any hint of disorder. On the surface, Veoline was a city that traders would love to visit again. The restrictive rules and regulations didn't sound as bad anymore if they produced an orderly city like this. Even Ves felt it might be great if he and his clan settled down on this prosperous planet.

Sadly, a life of peace and quiet was not in the cards for him. His ambition reached higher and he urgently needed to grow stronger to get ahead of latent dangers.

Ves didn't imagine he'd be able to progress as quickly as he wanted if he shackled himself to a single state. No matter what novelties the Life Research Association offered, eventually Ves would not be able to gain any valuable insights and inspiration from the local biotech industries.

He was determined that constantly moving was the right way to go. There were countless states and regions in the cosmos that were dozens of times more interesting and unusual than the LRA. It would be rather pathetic of him to end his grand expedition just when he had stepped outside of his native star sector. This was hardly an endeavor worth celebrating!

As Ves continued to admire the calming view, he went back to considering the issue that Dr. Navarro had introduced.

One of the fundamental reasons why biomechs were unable to threaten the dominance of classical mechs was because they did not provide any substantial advantages.

Sure, they did offer plenty of unique features, but that only made biomechs sidegrades at best. There was no specific property of biomechs that stood head and shoulders above any feature that normal mechs were able to offer.

The only consolation to biomech enthusiasts like Dr. Navarro was that biomechs were still competitive enough to hold their own in the brutal mech market.

"If biomechs became the established standard in human space, then the infrastructure that is ubiquitous in our state would have been more common throughout the galaxy." The host calmly spoke, breaking the momentary silence.

Ves followed up on that observation.

"If that happened, then the infrastructure for classical mechs wouldn't be as vast and common. The direct consequence is that it becomes more expensive and troublesome to produce, sell, field, maintain, repair and dispose of purely mechanical mechs. On the flipside, biomechs are cheaper and easier to work with. No matter if you are a designer, producer or user, if the entire galactic community is set up to make the most out of biomechs, then hardly anyone would want to make their lives more difficult by choosing the less popular alternative."

"That is indeed what many of us in the LRA think. Human civilization progressed and ascended to the stars by leveraging their growing mastery of the mechanical. This is a trend that has continued for many millennia. It is too hard for contrarians such as us to convince the rest of our fellow humans that biotechnological alternatives have their uses as well." Dr. Navarro sighed after he took a sip of his tea.

His drink did not cool at all due to the organic warming mechanism embedded in the cup. It kept the tea at exactly the temperature that he enjoyed the most.

"It is exactly because mainstream humanity has depended upon and enjoyed so much success with their mechanical inventions that they are committed to classical mechs." Ves stated. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. While this expression sounds crude, it reflects the reality that continuing in our current direction is the path of least resistance. It presents the least difficulties while yielding the most results."

Dr. Navarro adopted a contemptuous expression. "How lazy. Humanity is too short-sighted. Too many people are incapable of looking beyond their noses. If they actually bothered to do so, they would know that the future of tech requires the cooperation of both organic and mechanical technology."

Ves blinked. "That is a bold statement, doctor. I doubt many people outside the LRA agrees with that notion."

"That is because they are leaving themselves out of the equation." The bearded man grinned and tapped his c.h.e.s.t. "We humans are organic in nature, are we not? While it is true that classical mechs such as your own products are made of metal, composites and other inorganic components, they always feature a conspicuous cavity in their c.h.e.s.t. Do we fill this gap with another machine? No! We always put living, organic humans in this space. Mechs are specifically designed to be useless unless we provide at least one organic element to them. In fact, many other mechanical creations are the same."

"That is mostly a function of our need to control the machines that govern our lives." Gloriana couldn't help but respond. "We never want to be at the mercy of AIs and automated machinery, so we create products that are always kept in check by a human element. If we drop this precaution, any determined enemy can collapse our whole society in an instant by hacking or subverting our automated conveniences."

Ves supported this sentiment as well. "I fully agree with my wife. Dr. Navarro, the point that you have raised is not a problem that is exclusive to mechanical machines. It applies to every powerful device, no matter if they are made of metal or organic tissue. Both kinds of creations are at risk of going out of control."

Ves thought that Dr. Navarro was just spouting philosophical nonsense. Putting a living being inside a mech did not make it partially organic. It just meant that it was controlled directly by a human, as it should be. This had little to do with the competition between classical technology and biotechnology.

The biomech designer did not make a convincing case for his cause. While he was cognizant of the reasons why biotechnology was not able to supplant conventional technology outside of its established niche, he did not present any compelling reasons why the rest of the galaxy was wrong.

Whether they were talking about biomechs or broad applications of biotechnology in general, both of them were unattractive to most people. Biomechs were freaky, unnerving, incomprehensive, expensive and difficult to work with. Why bother with them when an ordinary mech already accomplished the job?

Even Ves held the same view.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but opposing the mainstream just because you are a contrarian is not enough. You need to provide substantive reasons to make others acknowledge biomechs and biotechnology to a greater degree. Your failure to do so here is a n.a.k.e.d reflection of the fact that you are unable to explain why your viewpoint benefits humanity as a whole. While humans are irrational to a degree, they still have enough common sense to avoid any solutions that just give them more trouble. Call them lazy if you want, but they are just being efficient in my eyes."

Dr. Navarro was taken aback at the firm tone that Ves adopted. He felt a bit offended for a moment, but a mech designer of his caliber knew that venting his heating emotions would not advance his viewpoint in the slightest.

Instead, he decided to take a long sip of his tea.

"I see now why you are called the Devil Tongue. You do not mince words."

Ves nonchalantly shrugged. "I only do so when my patience is being tested. I did not want to give you this harsh dose of reality, but you continued to press me with your flawed arguments. If you wanted to avoid my reaction, then you should have done a better job with conveying your point."

"Ah, it's too difficult to do so. If I was discussing this matter with another biomech designer, we would have been speaking the same language. There would have been no debate about the utility and usefulness of biomechs and biotechnology."

"Let me ask you a question, doctor. Have you ever ventured outside of the Life Research Association in your life?"

"I did." He replied. "I briefly traveled to the MTA's sector headquarters in Majestic Teal when I became a Journeyman. The star system where their headquarters is based is beyond amazing. It is unfortunate that I did not feel comfortable to be around so much mechanical technology. I returned quickly after I was done with my pilgrimage."

"That's your problem. You returned home way too quickly. As a Journeyman, how can you not know the importance of traveling around? When I ended my visit to the sector headquarters in my home star sector, I took the opportunity to travel for an additional year before I returned 'home'. I learned so much during my experiences. I broadened my sights and became more aware of how other mech designers approached their work."

Dr. Navarro started to look indignant. "I have not isolated myself, Mr. Larkinson. I have ventured several times throughout my career. It is just that the mech community outside of the LRA has little to offer for biomech designers such as myself. I have visited and interacted with over a hundred peers from my state. The lessons I've learned and the inspiration I've gained has propelled my work for decades."

Ves refrained from shaking his head. He really couldn't believe what he heard.

"Has not a single biomech designer bothered to venture outside this state?"

"There is little point. Outside of business reasons, there is no benefit to exploring the mech industries of other states. Biomechs and classical mechs have too little in common. If we spend the same amount of time on visiting other biomech designers, we can gain much more tangible results."

"Have you ever thought that you'd only be learning what every other biomech designer is able to learn? There are only so many insights that a single mech industry can provide."

The host fell silent for a time. "Maybe you are onto something, but there are too many hindrances. The fact that we do not share the same infrastructure, the same design principles and even the same base of knowledge means that classical mech designers such as you do not welcome us. In fact, most ordinary mech designers who decide to visit our kind mostly do it out of curiosity. They never gain anything substantial out of exchanges. We are too different."

Ves crossed his arms. "I can see how that can happen. I'm different."

"How so, Mr. Larkinson?"

"I'm not looking to gain anything too specific. I just keep an open mind and take whatever I can get. I'm already satisfied with what I've gained so far. Even if my new insights do not affect my subsequent work, I am still enriched with what I've learned."

Dr. Navarro smiled. "I am glad to hear that. Our state has seen worse mech designers."

"While this is certainly an interesting discussion, my schedule is rather tight." Ves coughed. "I'd like to address the main purpose of my visit here today. Why do you wish to challenge me to a design duel?"

He received a mild smile in return. Dr. Navarro did not appear all that upset despite failing to convince Ves with his rhetoric.

"Let's say that I am curious about your design philosophy. You claim to design 'living mechs'. Yet how can a mech be alive when it is solely made out of cold hard metal? If you have taken at least a cursory look at the biomechs that are being serviced downstairs, then you should know that they are organic creations. They nearly have all of the elements that meet the definition of life! Let me return the favor and ask you this question. Are biomechs not more alive than your so-called living mechs?"