The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7607

Chapter 7607: Deathtech

The badge did not look all that impressive.

However, Ves found himself unable to fully understand its mechanisms and principles. To his senses, it truly looked like a piece of stone carved into the shape of a uniform accessory.

Even when its surface began to display growing green lines, Ves found himself unable to explain why those specific places lit up. The rock composition of those glowing bits did not seem any different from the rest. He was quite certain that no esoteric green crystals had been embedded into the alien object.

"What you are looking at is one of the simplest examples of what we have come to call deathtech." The Farseer said as she stood at Andraste’s side. "The badge is made out of a special stone variety that is in turn part of a collection of specially treated materials called deathstone. Much of the artifacts and debris that we have taken from the ruined temple complex consists of 6 different grades of deathstone."

Deathtech.

Deathtone.

Brand new terms to describe brand new phenomena.

Ves knew that these words had already been used a lot of times by the researchers lucky enough to work with samples of deathborn technology at this early stage.

The collies working in the labs of the Moloch and the researchers stationed in several other ships were practically making history!

"What defines deathtech?" He asked. "What are the key traits that distinguish it from other technologies?"

This was easy for the Farseer to answer.

"Let me preface my response by stating that our understanding of deathtech is hardly complete. We are merely scratching the surface of what the deathborn has introduced in an entirely different galaxy. I am convinced that their manifestations of technology are much more impressive in their home galaxy. Nonetheless, what they have shown so far possesses numerous new and interesting properties. For one, deathtech functions decently enough in normal environments, but gains a considerable amount of potency when put in an environment that is saturated with death energy."

That was easy enough to guess.

It also provided clarity to the previous battle.

"If that was the case, then deploying my Poison Willows had unintentionally neutered the temple complex when it was still intact." Ves thoughtfully responded. "That explains how the Riot Mark III was able to descend from orbit without being greeted with stronger defensive fire. The alien facility was so big and so developed that it is hard for me to believe that its anti-air capabilities are so inferior. What truly happened is that the temporary dispersal of dark miasma had effectively deprived it of an ideal operating environment. All of that ’deathtech’ suddenly behaved like a fish out of water."

The formation master shook her head. "I would not use that particular analogy to describe the circumstances at the time. Deathtech still performs adequately outside of a favorable energy environment. It likely has to be as the deathborn will not be able to utilize their equipment outside of the territories under their control. I would rather equate deathtech to amphibian organisms. Many of them fare better when swimming in water, but they can still hop on land if they need to hunt for easier or more abundant prey."

The properties of a racial technology said much about the species that created and utilized it. From this trait alone, Ves deduced that the deathborn highly preferred to operate in territories engulfed in death energies.

For example, star systems blanketed by dark miasma or old battlefields that had become steeped with alien corpses would definitely allow the deathborn to operate at their strongest!

This trait heavily limited the deathborn’s ability to operate in positive energy environments. This heavily reduced their overall threat to the other races that occupied Messier 87. After all, the deathborn didn’t seem all that scary once they entered the light.

This likely also saved them from getting crusaded against by a massive coalition of rival alien civilizations!

"Have you tested the badge in chambers that have been filled with death energy?"

"Yes, but only on a limited basis, sir. Those initial tests have introduced numerous unexpected surprises. Sadly, that was also when we suffered harmful accidents. Numerous pieces of deathtech are embedded with security protocols or possess interactions that are deadly to living organisms. Deathtech is safer to use by entities that are not threatened by exposure to death-attributed E energy."

Ves turned his gaze towards his daughter. "Doesn’t that put my girl in danger?"

"Not exactly." The Farseer tried to reassure him. "Deathtech is made to be used by the deathborn, or more generally speaking entities that are not harmed by exposure to death energy. Prior medical examinations of your daughter have long revealed that she actually falls within this category. As a posthuman paired with a companion spirit that is aligned with the death attribute, her entire body and soul has actually acquired an immunity or a high degree of resistance against the harmful effects of death energy. More importantly, we have discovered that many deathtech devices contain several permission levels. The higher ones are not accessible to living alien thralls. Only a genuine deathborn can activate these restricted functions."

"Are you telling me that my younger daughter can moonlight as a deathborn?"

"We believe that to be the case." The cultivator responded with a smile. "To what degree, we cannot say. That is why we have prepared this little session. We want to take a first look at what little Andraste can do when coming into contact with a number of low-risk artifacts. Depending on how thoroughly the deathborn have implemented their security measures into the deathtech devices that they have constructed in the Hypeh-Tekas System, your daughter may very well gain the equivalent of administrator access to these alien artifacts."

That clearly excited the collies. From the reports that Ves had read, the collies had largely failed to activate the artifacts in their hands. They could only look at their surface and deduce a few clues that were largely trivial in the greater scheme of things.

"Before you called upon Andraste, have you tried spoofing these devices with your own version of a deathborn?"

Andrea responded with a disappointed expression. "We tried, but our results are limited. We lack the time, resources, knowledge and expertise to produce more than a handful of marginally acceptable outcomes. Our research institutions back in friendly territories are much better staffed and equipped to study the recovered deathtech devices, but we cannot that long. The more progress we make today, the sooner we can understand this latest galactic-scale threat."

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