The Mech Touch

5237 Conclusion of the Voting Session

Ves' speech had detonated a metaphorical bomb in the crowd!

Neither the Xenotechnician, the Mace of Retaliation or anyone else expected Ves to come out and support the Deep Strike Plan as a specific counter-reaction to the Polymath's attempted coup!

The implications were enormous. Adopting the Deep Strike Plan in a normal voting session would have definitely resulted in large changes across human society, but its context had changed considerably after what just happened.

A lot of people outside of this conference were pissed. They had become incredibly angry and upset at the Survivalists for attempting to pull off a coup without any warning or means to argue their own case.

The Terrans and the Rubarthans would definitely become livid once they learned even a tiny part of what had happened during this voting session!

Red humanity couldn't afford to suffer any further breakdowns in relationships. Growing mistrust towards each other could potentially make their society so dysfunctional that they might actually destroy themselves before the aliens manage to finish the job!

As such, a radical turn towards the Deep Strike Plan might actually be an acceptable way to mend any cracks and partially restore the reputation of the Survivalist Faction.

The biggest problems were that it not only entailed a lot of risk, but would also upend the existing structure of human society!

Was red humanity truly ready to transition to an age where warlords and tunnel-visioned mech pilots held greater sway?

Nobody knew for certain whether Ves was right about putting their trust in the brave rather than the intellectuals.

However, it was hard to argue for the opposite now that the Polymath had single-handedly destroyed a lot of trust towards great thinkers.

As Ves gave his recommendation, he did not add anything extra to his speech. He had shared his personal stance and nothing more.

He knew that if he wanted to, he could have presented a plan of his own. The Survivalists would have likely interpreted his alternative proposal had the implicit backing of the Destroyer of Worlds and potentially other notable third-party figures.

Ves saw no need to muck up this awful voting session even further. He was already happy enough with the Deep Strike Plan and had enough confidence in the Fist of Defiance that he would execute it properly.

"Let us commence the vote once again." The Xenotechnician smoothly spoke.

Procedurally speaking, the current voting session had moved on to the second round. That meant that the 89 proxy votes had become invalid as a new round of voting had commenced.

Unless the delegates granted Ves their proxy votes to him again, he could not single-handedly decide the plan adopted by the Survivalist Faction anymore.

Fortunately, the delegates had better sense than that. The circumstances were different now that they became confronted with a much simpler binary choice.

Much to Ves' relief, the delegates had all made up their minds on how to cast their own votes. They all stood up when the Xenotechnician called them to show their support for their preferred proposal.

It helped a lot that giving Ves their proxy vote would default to another vote in favor of the Deep Strike Plan.

Since that was the case, these delegates might as well go on record and look decisive in the process.

The Xenotechnician formally announced the results of the second round.

"Today, 273 delegates have spoken once again. 121 of them have cast their vote on my Diplomacy Plan. The remaining 152 delegates have cast their vote on the Fist of Defiance's Deep Strike Plan. The outcome is clear. The Deep Strike Plan will be embraced by our faction!"

No sounds of celebration broke out. No one cheered or erupted in jubilation. The Polymath's deeds had cast an undeniable shadow over the proceedings.

The vote seemed like an act of penance. Many of the former supporters of the Unity Plan had opted to throw their weight behind the Deep Strike Plan.

The margin was closer than Ves would have liked. The fact that there was only a 30-vote difference between the two options told him that there were still a lot of delegates who preferred to consort with traitors and aliens rather than put their faith in human heroes!

This was yet another mark against the Survivalist Faction. Even after his speech, these schemers and cowards still preferred to put more emphasis on people's worst traits as opposed to their best!

Nobody knew for certain whether Ves' impromptu speech had actually made the difference. He had the feeling that it might have helped, but no one knew for certain. The delegates certainly wouldn't accept any interviews where they provided a detailed accounting of their leanings throughout the voting session.

In any case, the Fist of Defiance had become the ultimate winner of this high-level dispute. Ves found this to be ironic as he was the only powerhouse who was physically absent from this rocky event.

Hopefully, the Fist of Defiance would know how much of a favor Ves had done for him. With a highly principled and trustworthy god pilot at the helm, red humanity was set to fight against the aliens without any awful compromises. That should make a considerable difference in aligning people towards a singular cause!

The Mace of Retaliation tried his best to step up and fill the void left by the Polymath.

"I would like to thank you all on behalf of my grandfather. I wholeheartedly agree with the arguments espoused by Professor Larkinson. The fact that it took the youngest and most grounded among the delegates to wake you all up to our degeneration shows that we have strayed too far away from the original intentions of the Progenitors of Mechs. We must take action right away to reverse course and pursue the true meaning of strength once again. Mech pilots such as myself will do our best to become the guiding force that people expect us to be, but we cannot undertake all of our duties without everyone else's help. Please work together with us so that we can win the fight of our lives."

The Mace of Retaliation spoke a bit more. Ordinarily, he and his clique would have been happy to roll out specific actions on another day, but the crisis surrounding the Polymath's failed coup had produced massive cracks in trust between the Survivalists and many other important human groups.

The Survivalists had no choice but to implement a few critical directives right away and reach out to all of the other major interests to prevent any disastrous responses!

All of this kept everyone including the Xenotechnician busy. Ves had pretty much been pushed to the side as too many people had become way too busy to deal with him during this critical time.

Ves took this as a blessing. It was nice not to be at the center of attention anymore. With everyone important running around to handle a lot of time-sensitive affairs, he returned to his stateroom and enjoyed his moment out of the public eye.

While it looked as if he was taking a break, in reality he had shifted much of his focus to an entirely different galaxy.

Veronica had jumped into her mother's arms a while ago. There was no better person to provide her with an explanation about the Kingdom of Mechs and the Polymath's crown than the Oblivion Empress herself!

A glowing white hand softly stroked Veronica's silvery plated back. The female cyborg cat squinted her eyes and luxuriated in the transcendently pleasant caress. Cynthia knew exactly how to stimulate the living divine artifact's pleasure senses!

"I am pleased to hear that you have managed to navigate this latest crisis of yours." Cynthia Larkinson spoke with a measure of pride and mirth." "It sounds as if I am not the only member of our family who happened to come into the possession of a stolen crown. You know what they say. Like mother, like daughter."

The cat awkwardly coughed. "Yes, well, I didn't know what to do with the crown. I never really ask for it in the first place, but it literally fell into my lap, you know? It seemed criminal for me to surrender it to the Xenotechnician or any of the other Survivalists. I had the System store it into its special storage space before anyone else could take it away. I am sure that I will suffer the consequences for this impulsive decision, so I want to know what I have gained out of it. What is this crown, exactly? Is it the same as the one that sparked the infamous Crown Uprising?"

"It is the same sort of crown." Cynthia spoke with absolute certainty. "I am surprised that this Star Designer managed to gain possession of it. Did you ever notice that her crown disapproved of her in any way?"

The feline shook her metallic head. "Nope. It did not show any apparent signs of life. The Polymath was able to handle it with ease and it remained on top of her head without any fuss."

"I see. That says much about her and her relationship with her fragment of the Metal Scroll."

Veronica grew suspicious about this circumstance. "Does that mean that the Polymath is... was... the legitimate Holy Daughter of the Metal Scroll?"

"I suppose you are correct."

"But how? The Metal Scroll doesn't really exist anymore. Pieces of it have spread across the galaxies. From the Polymath's interactions with the Kingdom of Mechs, I think it is pretty safe to say that the Progenitors of Mechs have infused a significant amount of fragments in their ultimate creation. Under all of these circumstances, the crown that is associated with the Scroll should have lost most of its functionality."

Cynthia chuckled in response. "Your theory sounds plausible, but it is based on a faulty understanding of the true nature of the Scrolls as well as the crowns. I cannot and will not divulge the whole story to you. I do not even want to share what I know about the crowns. I am forced to reconsider this stance because you have inadvertently obtained one yourself."

"Get on with it, please."

The True God playfully swatted Veronica's head!

"Be patient, my child! Listen to me carefully, Ves. The crowns are not ordinary metal products. They are alive, but not in the same way as your mechs and trinkets. They are composed of the blood of an immortal god. I should not have to explain to you how much power that represents?"

"I can guess as much, mother. I'm not stupid. I have no desire to wear a crown that I haven't earned."

"Good. Very good. Do not change your mind even if the crown appears to accept you as an alternative to the Polymath. You should not trust the crown under any circumstance. Leaving aside your problematic ties to me, the crowns have a will and purpose of their own. Just because the Metal Scroll has shattered does not mean its crown is any less functional."

"I know that already. Can you move on to the part where you explain what a crown actually represents? I need more context."

"Very well." Cynthia let out a small sigh. "Let me frame it this way. The Sacred Scrolls are... tools that are designed to be used by a specific group of cultivators. They are meant to provide guidance and teachings. This is why they are made in this specific shape. Form follows function. Do you follow?"

As a mech designer, Ves could understand this approach quite well. "Okay."

"The crowns on the other hand are shaped in the form of a traditional and universal symbol of authority. Any human who lays eyes on one will know that whoever wears a crown has been bestowed the authority to rule over others. This is intentional. The Scrolls are made to produce an army. The crowns are made to direct this army. In other words, the true Holy Sons and Daughters are the designated surrogates of the immortal gods who shed their own blood to make these relics. No good can come to anyone who bears these cursed artifacts!"