The Mech Touch

nt customers into account, then sticking to the status quo is fine. ”

This might change if he ever ventured into cheaper mechs.
If he designed a budget mech or a so-called ’economy mech ’, then he shouldn ’t expect too much from the mech pilots that get to pilot them into battle.

Utilizing safer and more limited neural interfaces with cheaper mechs was the most appropriate choice.

Yet… did he really wish to gimp some his mechs?

Ves oddly disagreed with this notion.
Even if his mechs slowly accelerated the deterioration of the health of many of his mech pilots, was it worth it for him to rob them of the opportunity to earn greater glory?

Another factor complicated his consideration.
Unlike many other mech designers whose specialties possessed little relation to neural interfaces, Ves was deeply dependent on their parameters!

Safer and more limited neural interfaces may curtail much of the damage that mech pilots regularly accrued over time, but they also limited the benefits provided by the X-Factor!

”The shallower the immersion, the weaker the interaction! ”

While Ves had not tested this relationship in a rigorous experiment, according to his existing knowledge, the X-Factor was strongly related to the depth of the man-machine connection!

”It ’s like comparing a long-distance relationship to a physical relationship! The two can ’t be compared! ”

For this reason, his mechs performed vastly better in the hands of his mech pilots if their neural interfaces possessed very liberal safety limits.
The less constrained the neural interface, the greater the potential for symbiosis!

If Ves made the decision to transition to safer neural interfaces, then he would basically be shooting himself in the foot.
The degree of interconnectedness between the mech and mech pilot would be subject to many limitations.

”The famed piloting experience of my mechs will be a lot more muted than before! Mech pilots will notice the difference and think I ’ve lost my touch! ”

This would be an absolute disaster! After years of strengthening the X-Factor of his mechs, making use of safer neural interfaces would mean that the X-Factor would be subject to artificial caps!

”It ’s like lowering the ceiling of a house so that only dwarves can live in it! Who wants to live in such a tiny home? ”

Nobody except dwarves and those who liked to crawl on their feet!

If Ves wanted to maintain his principal competitive advantage and preserve the unique strength of his products, then he should not opt for neural interfaces with more stringent safety constraints.

In fact, he should do the opposite!

”While it doesn ’t apply to everyone, for me, it ’s better if I aim for greater potency! ”

Neural interfaces that allowed for greater immersion and depth of connectivity meant that the mech pilots that used his products grew much closer to them! This would likely lead to a substantially greater effective performance than before!

His eyes lit up at the thought.
”For regular mech designers, looser limits will only yield modest gains at an increasingly greater cost.
But the calculus is different in my case! ”

Because of the properties of his specialty, a deeper neural interface connection directly correlated to a greater interaction with the design spirit of his mechs!

To put it in a simpler way, unsafe neural interfaces directly amplified the effects of the X-Factor of his mechs!

The realization exploded in his mind like a bomb.
Ves always knew his design philosophy depended heavily on the man-machine connection, but only now did he understand that he could precisely manipulate its effects by messing with the neural interfaces of his mechs!

Ves tried to envision what would happen if he adopted riskier neural interfaces.
The rate of brain damage and other adverse consequences would increase among his customers.

However, many of them also stood to enjoy a lot more gains from using his products!

”The effective performance of regular mech pilots will increase! As for those who already perform well, their chances of breaking through are doubtlessly greater! ”

To the MTA and almost every other mech designer, the most optimal balance lay somewhere in the middle between absolute safety and reckless potency.

Yet to Ves, his mechs became so much more with this change.
Their true potential would be unlocked as many mech pilots enjoyed a greater degree of symbiosis!

Another thought briefly interrupted his glee at the possibilities.
One of Old Man Terrence ’s warnings came to the forefront.

”There are always two sides to the same coin! ”

Loosening the safety limits paved the way for greater symbiosis, but also greater adverse side effects! On top of the known side effects, mech pilots also became exposed to greater risk if they happened to be incompatible with the design spirits of their mechs!

The possibility momentarily sobered him up.
”If the mech pilot hates his mech and vice versa, then the damage the mech pilot suffers will be amplified as well! ”

However… Ves found it hard to care about mech pilots who clashed with their mechs.
If the design spirit hated a mech pilot to the point where it actually harmed the individual, then it was probably justified!

Ves found out that he didn ’t mind it if his mechs wanted to harm or kill their own mech pilots!

”My mechs demand respect! ” He exclaimed.
”The stupid mech pilots have it coming if they fail to heed this warning! ”

Less and less objections stood in the way for him to transition to using unsafe neural interfaces.
Even though he essentially took the MTA ’s heartless stance and took it into a more extreme direction, Ves did not feel guilty for making this determination.

Deep in his heart, he believed he was making the right choice for his customers!

”Mech pilots will thank me for this decision! ”

As Ves exulted over his brilliant decision, he quickly came across a great idea.

While all of this theorizing was great and all, who knew whether his assumptions panned out.
What better way than to test his theories by applying it on his upcoming mech design?

His eyes lit up as he began to recall the progress he made on his incomplete smart metal tiger mech design.

”With the changes I have in mind, my mech will be even more autonomous and lifelike! Hahahahaha! ”

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