The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7108

Chapter 7108: An Overdue Response

A man as important as Master Vayro Goldstein did not just drop by the Microplanet to pass on his well wishes to Aurelia.

He had many goals. He wanted to show his face to Aurelia and make sure that Ves’ political heir would remember him like people remembered trustworthy brands.

He also wanted Ves to maintain a good relationship with the Survivalist Faction, which certainly needed its friends more than ever.

"How is the Survivalist Faction doing these days?" Ves idly asked.

"Not good, Ves, but you should already be aware of that. I cannot discuss any of the specifics with you, but our members have begun to question whether we are on the right track and whether we should learn from the Polymath."

Ves mildly frowned. That did not sound good at all. The Polymath was too extreme for her own good.

She meant well, but her overly heavy data-driven and logic-driven decision-making caused her to pursue extremes that any sane person would question!

Unfortunately, Ves was well aware that the Polymath and the Survivalist Faction shared a lot of similarities. They were two peas in a pod, so it should not be a surprise that there were many sympathisers among the Survivalists.

Instead of offering an answer himself, he turned to his girl, who looked impeccably prim and proper in her lovely dress.

"I haven’t told you everything I know about the Survivalist Faction of the Red Association, but you should still possess a basic understanding of this situation. What do you think about the issues plaguing the Survivalists?"

Aurelia did not need to spend any time on thinking to issue her response.

"Ideology." She stated, surprising both Ves and Master Goldstein. "Your ideology sounds clear at first glance. You work and fight for the survival of red humanity and its civilization. Yet there are too many strategies you can choose to achieve this goal. You can advocate for uniting red humanity under a single banner, as the Polymath obviously favors. You can also choose to go on the offensive, which is a solution that has earned the support of the Fist of Defiance. Then there are Survivalists that support the Xenotechnician’s plan to do the unthinkable and abandon the ideals of human supremacy. Now that I have listed these divisions, it is clear that the central problem of your faction is the absence of a united direction."

Ves looked incredibly impressed. He hadn’t thought that far about the Survivalists themselves. He knew that they had grown messier due to all of the recent events, but he did not trace them all to a clear origin like his insightful girl.

"This can be considered a leadership problem." He commented. "The Survivalist Faction has a single cause, but at least three major sub-factions and tons of minor sub-factions. The absence of the Polymath has not solved this division. Not only are the Fist of Defiance and the Xenotechnician still in power, I bet that the people who originally aligned themselves with the younger Star Designer have not fundamentally changed their stances."

Master Goldstein’s expression grew sterner. "You are correct. Both of you are correct. We are concerned that the former followers of the Polymath, particularly the more loyal and dedicated ones, may choose to defect to the Cybernetic Empire. Yet keeping them in our faction is not a good solution either. They feel vindicated by their patron’s radical actions and will try to steer the Survivalist Faction into supporting the Cybers over other strategies. What do you think we should do, young lady?"

The Master Mech Designer truly recognized Aurelia’s vision and insights at this time.

Even if she was still lacking in knowledge and life experience, her wisdom was already far beyond most if not all of her peers.

Aurelia understood the gravity of the situation and did not rush to offer the first thoughts that came to her mind. She remained silent for a dozen or so seconds before she offered a measured response.

"For better or worse, the Polymath has become a traitor. It would be detrimental to let her remaining adherents stay within your faction when they now harbor double loyalties. Do not retain them. They are no longer comrades, but time bombs that will explode sooner or later. You must use one of three approaches to solve them. The most ideal one is to convert them and let them willingly join one of the other two sub-factions. If that is not viable, then the next approach is to cast them out. Let them join the Cybernetic Empire. They shall still serve red humanity, just under a different banner than before. As for the third..."

There was no need for Aurelia to mention the third and most suboptimal solution.

Yet it was an option that had to remain on the table.

Not every mecher could be allowed to defect to the Cybernetic Empire without concern.

Perhaps they mastered incredibly sensitive knowledge and skills of great strategic importance, particularly in the new fields of science and technology. Letting them run to the Cybernetic Empire would cause it to strengthen much faster than before, and that was detrimental to the Red Association.

Perhaps the defecting mechers could not be allowed to go for other reasons. These could include knowing classified information that was particularly sensitive.

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