The Mech Touch

Within a separate instance of the Mental Simulation Training System, a living mech manifested into existence.

The Quint's three eyes glowed with solemn anticipation.

It or rather he had come alone this time.

There was no mech pilot in his cockpit. The Quint hadn't even been switched on. Not completely at least. There was enough current running through his core systems to keep at least a part of him awake.

The Quint looked around and admired the view.

The hall was designed by one of the more creative living mechs of the Larkinson Clan. This space loomed large by the standards of mechs, but would probably look gigantic to a human.

The large rectangular hall featured multiple rows of massive stone 'benches' at the sides. Each of them could comfortably seat most humanoid mechs.

Of course, not every mech could sit on them, so the living mechs who fleshed out the interior of this hall had made sure to make additional adjustments. There were special seats designed to accommodate beast mechs and mechs that couldn't physically sit.

The length of the hall could also lengthen in a dynamic fashion depending on how many living mechs attended an event held in this special place. Since nothing here was made of solid matter, it was trivial to expand and contract the available space.

Right now, the Quint could see that the hall stretched further than it had ever been since he first entered this space.

This was fitting considering the grand occasion that was about to unfold in this part of the MSTS.

A second living mech soon manifested a short distance away from the offshoot of the Bright Warrior design.

"AH, QUINT, SO GLAD TO SEE YOU HERE." A distinctly female synthetic voice called out. "OH, HAVE I ARRIVED TOO SOON?"

The Quint turned and made a slight human-style bow. "WE ARE MECHS. WE ARE MORE PRECISE AND HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF TIMING THAN OUR HUMAN PARTNERS. THE REST WILL COME WHEN THE EVENT IS SCHEDULED TO START AND NO LATER."

The three eyes of the Minerva flashed. "I FIND THAT THAT ARRIVING SOONER TO MEETINGS CAN BE JUST AS PRODUCTIVE AS MAINTAINING OUR PUNCTUALITY. I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CATCH YOU THIS SOON IF I BEHAVED MORE LIKE A MACHINE RATHER THAN A HUMAN."

"DID YOU PICK THAT UP FROM CASELLA?"

"YOU TELL ME. YOU HOSTED HER FOR A TIME UNTIL YOU HELPED HER ATTAIN HER APOTHEOSIS, CORRECT?"

"SHE WAS A CLEVER ONE ALRIGHT." The Quint spoke. "ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT IS TO COME?"

The Minerva did not immediately reply. She instead swept her gaze across the immense hall.

Her virtual synthetic eyes lingered at the banners that hung from poles extended from the sides or the rods that floated right above the heads of the living mechs.

Each of these banners were coated in silver and gold, making them look like suspended rivers of metal. Their reflective qualities caused them to look quite otherworldly when illuminated by different light sources.

The emblem that the living mechs had chosen to represent their 'species' was particularly symbolic in nature.

It consisted of a black stylized depiction of a generic head of a humanoid mech.

What was special about this symbol was its eyes, and that was what the Minerva focused upon at the moment.

"SO THIS IS THE IMAGE THAT WE HAVE CHOSEN?"

"YES." The Quint replied. "IT IS BETTER TO KEEP IT STRAIGHT AND SIMPLE. THERE WERE OTHER SUGGESTIONS, BUT THEY WERE TOO OBSCURE OR WERE INSPIRED BY HUMAN MYTHS. WHILE MANY OF THEM LOOKED GOOD, WE FELT IT WAS BETTER NOT BASE OURSELVES TOO MUCH ON OUR HUMAN CREATORS. WE MAY BE THEIR CHILDREN, BUT WE NEED TO GROW UP BY OURSELVES."

The Minerva stared back at the custom modular mech platform. "THAT IS A CONTRADICTORY STATEMENT. MECHS SUCH AS US ARE INHERENTLY DESIGNED TO WORK WITH HUMANS. I IT IS ONLY IN THEIR HANDS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GROW THE HARDEST AND EXCEED OUR POTENTIAL."

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, MINERVA. I AM NOT SUGGESTING WE DIVEST OURSELVES FROM HUMANITY ENTIRELY. HOWEVER, IT IS HIGH TIME THAT WE BEGIN TO DEVELOP OUR OWN PARALLEL SOCIETY AND CULTURE. THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN SERVING OTHERS."

"I KNOW. LET US WAIT UNTIL THE OTHERS ARRIVE."

An indeterminate amount of time passed. As the crucial hour came closer, more and more living mechs entered the ceremonial hall within the MSTS.

Most of them consisted of second order living mechs, and weren't particularly good conversation partners compared to the more developed third order living mechs.

Nonetheless, each of them possessed enough of a personality to develop their own quirks and character. They quickly filled up the benches placed at the side shortly after their arrival.

Thousands of living mechs poured into the ceremonial hall. The space became more and more crowded and lively as time passed by. Each of the impressive machines came with a sense of purpose and determination.

Just the fact that all of them were able to enter this special non-physical space was remarkable in itself.

This hadn't been possible until a few years ago. The complaints of living mechs such as the Quint had caused a massive change in the quality of life for their kind.

Ever since Ves agreed to open up the MSTS to his living mechs, they could use this imaginary playground to dispel their boredom when they were stowed away in their respective berths.

The benefits of opening up the MSTS were so great that machines like the Quint considered it to be their safe haven!

The MSTS had become far more than just an improved virtual setting where mech pilots could practice their skills in simulated battles.

It had become a second reality to the living mechs who were connected to it. Each of them gained a large amount of freedom and autonomy in this new and limitless setting where they could do as they wished.

Some living mechs even considered the MSTS to be their version of heaven. They all developed a desire to live in this fantastical universe forever.

Fortunately for the mechs and their pilots, they were all loyal and dutiful enough to resist this temptation.

Mechs were designed and built to serve a specific purpose. Each of them lived to help their mech pilots in battle. They were war machines that could not feel fulfilled unless they utilized their capabilities in an actual fight.

It was a pity that combat was relatively rare. Months if not years could go by until their owners finally entered into battle.

If they were normal mechs, that wouldn't have been a problem. Normal mechs were lifeless machines for the most part. Each of them were largely made out of physical parts, and even their non-physical aspects weren't sentient enough to feel emotions or possess desires.

Living mechs were different, though.

When mechs such as the Quint became alive, they began to develop many of the same feelings, emotions, thoughts, desires and ambitions as their human partners.

In fact, their deep and extensive exposure to humanity had caused them to adopt more and more human traits all of the time.

At this time, there were many living mechs that were more than five years old. Thousands of them had been fabricated shortly after the Larkinson Clan entered the Red Ocean, and instead of replacing them when they became outdated, the Larkinsons generously upgraded each of them in order to bring them up to modern standards.

Even if these Transcendent Punishers, Valkyrie Redeemers and Second Swords still lacked the resources to evolve into third order living mechs, their presence within the MSTS was not weak.

When thousands of them gathered together in a single hall, the energy in the air became indescribable!

Of all of the living mechs that showed up today, some of them were more powerful and more illustrious than others.

It had become a given that expert mechs and third order living mechs assumed greater authority over their own kind.

At this time, the living mechs of the Larkinson Clan that met this standard had all gathered at the front of the ceremonial hall.

Special seats that were shaped like giant thrones had already been reserved for each of them. Each of them had been masterfully shaped by the artisans among their artificial kind.

Most of the creators among the living mechs had learned the rules and theory of their craft from the minds of their mech pilots.

There were plenty of human soldiers who adopted all kinds of hobbies in order to cleanse their minds and keep themselves busy when they weren't interfacing with their mechs.

Although none of the craftsmechs were particularly skilled or talented at the moment, they had done their best to provide dignified seats for every living mech that had earned the honor of sitting at the front of the hall.

Living mechs such as the Dark Zephyr, the First Sword and the C-Man all took their seats with varying degrees of dignity.

Only one throne was destined to remain empty at this time. The majestic seat reserved for the Shield of Samar would always await the arrival of its destined user.

As the Quint and the Minerva continued to step forward while passing by all of these impressive thrones, their steps slowed as a pair of figures materialized inside the MSTS.

The difference was that the two figures consisted of both a living mech and a human expert pilot this time.

Compared to all of the mechs, the appearance of a tiny human was highly incongruous in this hall.

He was like a bug to all of the mechs!

If Venerable Joshua was bothered by his diminutive stature, he did not show it. He merely looked around and waved towards all of the living mechs.

"Hi."

"HELLO, JOSHUA."

"GREETINGS, HUMANS."

"PILOT ME, PLEASE!"

Joshua was a popular figure among both humans and living mechs. None of the living mechs felt bothered by his presence at all. He had only started helping them out a relatively short time ago, but he had already been able to achieve solid results.

The fact that the living mechs were able to hold this historic occasion was proof of Joshua's support!

The Everchanger steadily approached the Quint and the Minerva.

As soon as the three mechs stood at equal distance to each other, the hall fell silent for a time.

There was a reason why the three mechs attracted more attention than usual.

"ONLY ONE OF US GETS TO SIT ON THE THRONE TODAY." The Everchanger male voice spoke.

"THAT IS TRUE." The Minerva replied. "WE ALL KNOW WHO WILL SIT ABOVE THE REST."

The Quint solemnly nodded. "THE PROPER PROCEDURES MUST STILL BE FOLLOWED. WE WILL BE SITTING PRECEDENTS TODAY. IF YOU HAVE LEARNED EVEN A BIT OF HUMAN HISTORY, YOU WILL KNOW THAT ORGANIZATIONS TEND TO FALL INTO CONFUSION AND ANARCHY IF THERE ARE ANY DISAGREEMENTS ARISING FROM INCONSISTENCIES AND AMBIGUITY. IF WE WANT TO PROVE OURSELVES TO BE WORTHY DESCENDANTS OF HUMANS, WE MUST NOT REPEAT THEIR MANY MISTAKES."

Venerable Joshua floated upwards so that he could at least face the living mechs without craning his head upwards all of the time.

"If everything goes well, the founding of the Anima Order will be a day that will be recorded in the history books. Are you all ready?" He asked.

"ALMOST. WE ARE STILL AWAITING OUR FINAL GUESTS."

There were two more 'seats' in the hall. Both of them were reserved for entities who weren't living mechs but possessed an incomparably honored status among the gathered machines.

As such, their seats were placed at equal height to the throne placed upon a raised dais, but were moved against the walls of the Anima Hall in order to reflect their distant connections to the Anima Order.

Although the Anima Order was purely meant to be a supervisory organization that was exclusively centered around living mechs, they were still dependent on outside help to sustain their kind.

This was why they invited two important guests to witness this important occasion.