The Mech Touch

owledge and skills surpass almost everyone in the Komodo Star Sector, and that disparity will only grow in the future.
You must become more aware of your place in the galaxy. ”

”And what is my place? Competing at the Rimward Games? Oh please, I ’ll breeze through that show in a jiffy. ”

”There are more freaks and talents than you, Oleg.
Do not think you are unique among every mech designer in the galactic rim.
Even within the Coalition, you still need to defeat your rivals in order to obtain the nomination to represent our state. ”

”Don ’t remind me. ” Oleg grumbled.
A human with an abnormal level of intelligence like his was rare, but not unique.

Many more mutations and deviations from the norm existed as well.
Most abnormal humans suffered from detrimental mutations due to exposure to dangerous exotic substances or exceedingly rare stellar radiation.
Only a tiny portion lucked out and benefited from a beneficial mutation.

No one could explain Oleg ’s anomalous level of cognition.
His parents were normal citizens of the Coalition, and they lived on a quiet planet under the Vermeer Group for decades.

The most plausible idea any researcher came up with was that Oleg ’s mother became exposed to a bizarre ray of energy that transformed the fetus inside her womb a short time after conception.
It was as good of an explanation as any, because no one succeeded in replicating the phenomenon.

The pair remained quiet until Master Olson finished unlocking the vault doors.
The huge mechanisms behind the doors moved the enormous obstacles around until the way forward became unbarred.

”Let us enter. ”

The two strode forward with measured steps.
The metallic compressed armor that formed the floor of this vault clanked with sharp noises as the two mech designers entered the dark and hollow vault chamber.

They passed through another set of gates before they entered the inner vault, which held the only prize in this enormous structure.

Arrayed before them stood a transparent case made out of extremely durable composites.
Oleg didn ’t recognize their exact formula, but he recognized the expensive of this glass-like material.
It could even give compressed armor a run for their money!

Yet what the mech-sized construction encased blew away his mind.
Oleg guessed plenty of possibilities of what lay inside the vault that Master Olson wanted him to see.
He guessed that it might be some sort of historic mech, or maybe an exclusive new machine made entirely out of Rorach ’s Bone.

Never would he have expected to witness a giant, mech-sized skeleton.
The sheer size of it sent existential tremors through Oleg ’s mind.
His mentality received a substantial amount of strengthening upon elevation to Journeyman, but in the face of this once-living humanoid giant, all of his confidence bled away like nothing.

”W-W-What is this, Master?! ”

”It is a skeleton.
The Coalition fleets retrieved it from the crumbling remains of the Glowing Planet.
It was buried deep within the core, and was almost discarded as waste as it was buried beneath trash materials. ”

”It ’s remarkably intact.
If not for the hole at the top of its skull, it would have been an excellent display at a galactic museum. ” Oleg commented as his fascination never ceased.
The skeleton of this massive being possessed some sort of compulsive charm that spoke of absolute dominance.
”Do you know anything about its race? ”

Master Olson stayed impassive as she stared at the giant.
Unlike Oleg, Olson viewed the giant as her equal rather than a superior biological being.

”There are secrets surrounding this race, and much of them are out of my reach.
The MTA has expressed an enormous interest in the remains.
The Coalition has come to an agreement to let every Master Mech Designer study the remains for month before selling it to the Association. ”

Oleg looked really impressed now.
”It ’s that valuable? ”

”It may even be the only prize we ’ve obtained that is worth mentioning from the Glowing Planet.
Rorach ’s Bone may be rare in the galactic rim, but it is still a commodity in the end. ”

A few seconds passed in silence before Oleg spoke up again.

”This thing looks like an upscaled human skeleton.
Are we..
related somehow? ”

”We don ’t know.
Perhaps the MTA might know more, but have decided to withhold the answer for some reason.
Yet… my intuition says that it is not a coincidence.
I ’ve spoken about it often with my colleagues and the possibility that frighten them the most is that it is the forefather to all humanoid life in the galaxy! ”

”That ’s huge! ” Oleg exclaimed.
He couldn ’t fathom the connection between this race of giants and modern humanity, but if a link between the two existed, then everyone ’s conception of what it meant to be human needed to be dumped in the trash! ”Err but wait, what are you doing with this skeleton then? Shouldn ’t it be studied by exobiologists or something? ”

”We ’ve already set some exobiologists loose, but their results are inconclusive.
The mysterious surrounding this skeleton is far beyond the means of the Coalition.
Let the MTA puzzle about its origins.
The true value of this skeleton is that it is a remnant of a being the size of a mech.
Do you understand the importance of that to us? ”

They were mech designers, not exobiologists.
They poured over mech designs for a living, so Oleg didn ’t need to think very hard to come up with a guess.
”You mean, we can study this skeleton to improve our ability to design mechs? ”

”There is more to it than that, but that is essentially correct. ” Master Olson nodded.
”There are layers of mysteries behind this skeleton.
For the time being, you and your fellow disciples will remain here to peel back as many layers as you can.
What you can learn from this ancient remains will depend on your luck and your thinking.
No matter what you get out of this inspection, your mechs will never be the same. ”

Oleg nodded in a rare moment of solemnity.
”I understand.
I will do my best to understand this giant! ”

He immediately dove into his own mental world as his eyes raked over the ancient bones.
He may not know what intricacies they held, but hopefully he would obtain some clues that would help him clinch the upcoming nomination for the Rimward Games.