The Mech Touch

s focused on endurance and efficiency.
Just take care not to push it too hard.
It doesn ’t handle peak loads very well. ”

As Horatio left for another appointment, Ves had a suspicion he ’d been used.
Horatio obviously didn ’t need to mediate the design duel in person.
He must have used the opportunity as a teaching moment for Oleg.
He not only learned to be generous, he also opened his eyes to another perspective on mech design.

Ves shrugged.
As the ’winner ’ of this duel, he benefited from this moment as well.
Besides his material rewards, this event also taught him about a hidden danger inherent in his design method.

”Pursuing harmony at the cost of performance is not always the right solution. ” He concluded.

In the Age of Mechs, an endless number of mech designs came into existence.
While the market for mechs ensured that plenty saw sales, most models failed to attract any sales due to poor design choices.

An optimized mech delivered much greater performance than a similar mech at the same cost.

”I ’ve been focusing too much on harmony at the cost of synergy. ”

Harmony and synergy sounded the same, but they were actually very different concepts.

As Ves understood it, harmony represented how well the design and its components agreed with the images he held in his mind.
A good harmony ensured he ’d be able to impart a strong and life-like X-Factor to his mechs.
Few designers should be able to match his prowess in this area.

On the other hand, most mech designers focused on maximizing synergy.
This had nothing to do with metaphysics.
Instead, it required both art and science to bring out the best performance out of every part.

”Harmony and synergy doesn ’t necessarily have to conflict with each other. ”

Once his capabilities grew, his selection of design choices should also grow with him.
More choices allowed him to make more optimal decisions without adversely affecting the overall harmony of the design.

In any case, Ves got away with a massive win.
After the end of the duel, Ves decided to wrap up his trip with a visit to the Clifford Society.

Oleg begged off accompanying Ves.
Ever since Horatio declared him the loser, the air between them grew a little awkward.
Both of them needed some time away from each other.

”I ’ll be going now. ” Ves said as he held Lucky in his arms and left the estate.

He took an aircar that brought him from the center of the archipelago to the northern region of the planet.
Like the virtual version, the real version of the Clifford Society ’s headquarters had been built on top of a mountain range.

Naturally, real humans weren ’t gods, so the Society hadn ’t gone overboard in spreading their structures out.
Most of the core buildings had been built around a cluster of twenty mountains.
Man-sized floating ’eggs ’ granted visitors a convenient way to traverse from one mountain to the other.

His first destination was the marketplace.
While most members sold their wares through the Society ’s virtual portal, Ves wanted to take a look at some real examples.
He visited the small town built at the foot of the mountains and browsed the largest shop that sold equipment.

”Welcome customer. ” A floating bot said as it hovered over to Ves.
”May I be of assistance? ”

”Take me to the alloy compressor and chemical treatment machines.
I ’d like to purchase a set. ”

A set basically consisted of a compressor and a CTM that had been designed to work together.
Usually, mech manufacturers preferred to link the two machines together with a compatible 3D printer.
This allowed them to automate the process of fabricating compressed armor plating as much as possible, though the more complicated formulas still required human supervision.

”Our shop offers thirty-two different sets.
Please refer to the projections if you wish to view their specifications. ”

Ves took a good look at the selection offered by the shop.
The prices for the sets ranged from fifty merits to ten thousand merits.
He only set aside two-hundred merits for his budget, so he excluded every other set that exceeded his price range.

That left him with thirteen different pairings.
As Ves studied their specs in greater detail, he determined that the differences in price directly corresponded to what they brought to the table.

Some compressors and CTMs finished their processes faster than others.
Other sets guaranteed higher precision.
The newer sets offered automation to a wider range of formulas, while the older sets sold at a discount.

Ves pulled back from his inspection before he got lost in the maze.

”I should determine what I need before I start my selection. ”

The Living Mech Corporation mainly aimed to for the higher segments of the mech market, so he didn ’t place too much importance on speed and automation.

However, if he wanted to enable his fabricators such as Carlos to work with compressed armor, some form of automation was necessary.
The silver label mechs didn ’t have to be perfect, but the sets had to offer some conveniences in order to allow his other employees to work with the machines.

Several sets of alloy compressors and CTMs fit hit requirements.
He eventually settled on a pair of systems that cost a hundred-and-ninety merits.
They didn ’t offer much in terms of automation, but a decent fabricator specialised in alloy compression should be able to handle the process without problem.

”Even if Carlos can ’t do it, I can hire someone else who can. ”

Still, before he decided on the purchase, Ves visited some other stores in order to find out if he could pick a bargain.

While most of the shops offered a similar selection of machines, he did find the same set at twenty merits off.

”Why is this set so cheap here? ”

”It ’s a refurbished set of machines. ” The cheaper store ’s bot replied in a dutiful tone.
”Their previous owner unfortunately perished on a mission for the Society.
Due to his debts, this store has laid claim to his fabrication equipment.
Do you wish to view the previous owner ’s other machines? We offer discounts up to thirty percent depending on their condition! ”

The answer momentarily chilled Ves.
He could have been one of the poor chumps as well.
His trip to Groening might have showered him with merits, but he escaped from death by a narrow margin.

Still, the set hadn ’t seen much use.
Ves checked their condition as well as their production logs and found them to be good enough that he wouldn ’t get much better if he bought them factory new.

”I ’ll take this set. ”