The Mech Touch

rences.
However, when Ves compared human civilization to the previously dominant alien civilizations, their traits diverged enormously.

The birth and growth rates central to the logic behind the Societal Vitality Theory formed one of the most powerful advantages of the human race! No major alien race at the time could keep up with the constant growth and expanding population of the upstart humans!

Of course, with the Five Scrolls Compact acting behind the scenes, humanity ’s rise could not solely be attributed to these reasons alone.
Ves did not think any further in this direction because he hardly knew anything about this line of questioning.

”It ’s a different time now, you know? ” Lord Javier said as a couple of bots started to deliver his dishes.
He came to the dining room to eat, after all.
”During the Age of Stars and the first half of the Age of Conquest, we humans largely pointed our guns outwards against the aliens.
We took their stars, their technology, their resources and repeated it over and over again as we gobbled up the galaxy.
What a great time to be alive back then! ”

For various reasons, the exponentially-accelerating conquest and expansion began to stall halfway into the Age of Conquest.
The surviving alien races no longer remained complacent against the humans that threatened to gain complete control over the galaxy.
They set aside their long-standing rivalry and animosity against each other and presented a somewhat united front against the galactic threat that was humanity!

At some point, the various human states that made up human civilization found it increasingly difficult to fight against the aliens.
Eager to fight but with no alien opponent in reach, they instead began to turn their weapons against each other!

”Is the Societal Vitality Theory an attempt to go back to the glory days of humanity ’s rise? ” Ves asked.

”Kind of. ” Lord Javier nodded.
”Well, it ’s more of an attempt to prevent our society from backsliding.
If we all grow too fat and happy of our current accomplishments, the aliens staring hatefully at us will give us a nasty surprise.
Life must constantly be a struggle if we are to stay strong.
This applies to both humans and aliens.
Now that we ’ve dethroned the Seven Apex Races and chased them out of their ancestral territories, they ’re holding a lot of grievances against us.
You can bet they aren ’t relaxing while they ’re plotting our race ’s demise. ”

Ves had difficulty seeing the relevance of looking at humanity from so far above.
”All of this sounds very high-minded.
We ’re not the masters of the human race.
Is there any point for us to think that way? ”

”Why not? ” The noble shrugged.
”At least it ’s essential for me to be familiar with the arguments if I want to fit in with the rest of my class.
It ’s also useful for you as well, you know.
With all the wars, skirmishes and other fights taking place throughout the galaxy, a lot of mechs are used up.
What fuels the mech industry? Battle! The more battles taking place, the more mechs you can sell! Doesn ’t that sound like a good deal? ”

This observation caused Ves to feel a bit troubled.
He couldn ’t refute this logic.
The mech industry would have been a lot less dynamic and a lot harder to participate in if battles rarely broke out.
Mechs lasted about five years with intensive use and ten years with moderate use.

However, if the amount of fights in the Komodo Star Sector decreased by ninety percent, then most mechs would be able to reach their full nominal lifespan of twenty years!

On top of that, the vastly reduced fighting pressure would also prompt many forces to delay the acquisition of newer mechs.
Why waste money on upgrading their mech lineup when their existing mechs already did the job? With good maintenance, a mech could conceivably last up to forty years without any marked degradation in performance!

The longer mechs survived on average, the lower the demand for new mechs.
This all reflected back to the mech industry which would be forced to shrink and lower their production in response to the anemic amount of activity in the mech market.

Put simply, mech designers like Ves enjoyed good times as long as there was a lot of fighting going! While Ves was already aware of this simple truth to an extent, when looking through the lens of the Societal Vitality Theory, he became aware that it was advantageous for him to be one of its proponents!

However, his shock at these revelations hadn ’t faded yet for him to make up his mind about the theory.
While a strong part of Ves pushed him to agree with the theory, he instinctively felt he ’d become an abhorrent person if he did so.
What made him any better than the likes of Lord Javier and Senator Tovar if he started to believe in their common ideology?

”Surely not everyone agrees with this radical theory, right? ” Ves pushed back.
”It sounds very controversial and its implications are incredible massive.
There are bound to be critics to what appears to be a justification for warmongering. ”

Lord Javier rudely flipped his fingers while he ate.
”Sure.
Not everyone agrees.
But they don ’t last very long.
A lot of states that emphasized peace and other happy stuff grew weak to the point they got conquered by other states that actually invested in the strength of their military and society.
Hippies and peace-loving idiots make for awful leaders because they don ’t understand that those who don ’t share in their beliefs are always stronger and not afraid to flex their power. ”

It sounded like a sad state of affairs, but every person who grew up in these times became used to the constant warring between the human states.

Right now, the Societal Vitality Theory sounded like a justification more than anything else.
What was so bad about giving to humanity ’s darker impulses when all the despots and warlords could draw upon the theory to excuse all of the death and suffering they engendered?

Ves equated the Societal Vitality Theory to a rationale for death!