The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7485

Chapter 7485: Regional Overview

After gaining an extensive understanding of the experiences of the Woodsap mech pilots up to this point, Ves felt a bit let down by his own work.

The combination between the Woodsap System and the Hibiscus System promised to convert norms into effective mech pilots in record time.

While that promise still existed, it no longer shined as brightly as before.

Combat effectiveness was a nebulous phrase. It could mean anything. While there were many ways to quantify this variable, the standards of what constituted an ’effective’ combatant were mostly arbitrary and therefore subjective.

From the perspective of an average person, all of the Woodsap mech pilots appeared to have reached a level that already made them useful on the battlefield.

Yet those who possess real expertise in mech warfare still found far too many shortcomings to truly consider them reliable mech combatants.

They still needed to undergo a lot more tempering and studying in order to meet all the essential requirements that qualified them for the most important responsibilities.

In that sense, his Woodsap mechs did not differ so much from his other Carmine mechs after all. They all came with a learning curve. They only differed by the length and the angle of their respective curves.

His Woodsap mechs likely possessed the shortest and gentlest curve. It shouldn’t take too much time for the Woodsap mech pilots to reach a more acceptable level of proficiency, and the difficulty of reaching it was much lower than in other cases.

However, all of this ease of use came with a price. Woodsap mech pilots would always remain dependent on the crutch that was the Hibiscus System. By not spending any time on learning how to pilot a Carmine mech through more traditional control means, they would always be held back by the limitations of this technological crutch.

They wouldn’t be able to make as many fancy and extreme motions as other mech pilots and Carmine mech pilots.

"Is it possible to disable or remove the Hibiscus System from an existing Woodsap mech?" Ves suddenly wondered.

"I am... unsure." Alexa furrowed her brows. "I do not know how the Hibiscus System works in detail. However, what I picked up from studying the schematics is that its footprint is extensive and by no means light. The entire organic mech frame has partially been molded around this control system. Perhaps it is possible to disable it, but its interconnectedness with the rest of the biomech is so great that it will definitely produce unexpected and undesirable malfunctions."

"Hmm, that does not sound safe. We can’t conduct this experiment on a prototype mech because of the chance an accident may cause permanent harm to a Woodsap mech pilot. Let’s note down the suggestion. If the Terrans are interested in investigating this matter, they can choose to conduct a study themselves."

Ves did not feel much reason to take up this unpleasant burden. He might as well delegate this inconvenient task to his collaboration partners. If anything went wrong, the blame would lay at their feet.

His direct disciple simply nodded and added an annotation to the logs. "Very well. Are there any other issues that you wish to discuss?"

"There are a few more details that deserve greater attention, but we don’t have enough data to form solid conclusions. The prototype Woodsap mechs need to undergo more combat in order to rectify this situation. I am especially interested in tracking the growth of both the individual Woodsap mechs as well as their bonded mech pilots over time."

Since he defined his design philosophy as Mutual Growth in Adversity, this aspect mattered more than most. It was the reason why his works existed and why he designed them in this fashion.

If his experimental works failed to produce sufficient growth for both the living mechs as well as their pilots, then what was the point of developing them in the first place?

Ves needed this to succeed. He needed to witness the growth journeys of the first batch of Woodsap mechs and Woodsap mech pilots with his own eyes in order to verify that he could realize his ambitious dream.

"Are you afraid that the Hibiscus System is holding back the growth of the Woodsap mech pilots, thereby inadvertently cutting off their path to godhood?" Alexa softly asked in concern.

He could not deny this guess. "Maybe. I have... often entertained fears about distorting the growth of the users of my products due to making them overly reliant on conveniences. I have always been careful about drawing a line between the responsibilities of a living mech and a mech pilot. The rule of the mech industry has always been that the latter must always be in control. I... admit that I have skirted this line more often than anyone else, but I always hold firm to the belief that the gains outweigh the costs. The problem is that I am not so certain that remains the case with the Hibiscus System."

Was he condemning all future Woodsap mechs to a fate that forever placed them below other Carmine mech pilots in the hierarchy?

This thought tormented him in the back of his mind.

"This is not your responsibility." Alexa tried to console him. "The Terrans decided to implement the Hibiscus System for their own reasons. They know more than you how it works and what the possible implications are. They have already incorporated this possible disadvantage into their calculations. Perhaps to them, Woodsap mechs are mostly needed to provide rapid military relief in the short term. Sacrificing their long-term potential is a worthwhile tradeoff. If necessary, the Terran Alliance may be planning to design a more promising Woodsap mech without the Hibiscus System once the immediate crises have passed."

That made a lot of sense.

Though Ves still felt somewhat bad about it, he knew that red humanity could not afford to neglect current needs for future desires.

The two mech designers eventually wrapped up the meeting. Alexa would continue to monitor the Woodsap mechs as they engaged in various small-scale skirmishes and pay special attention to their individual growth rates.

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