The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1043

"You have no idea how preconceptions run deep in the mech market." Professor Ventag stated. "First, think about the meaning of the word ’market’. It’s a gathering of people who exchange goods and services to each other. The key word here is people. Without people, mechs won’t get produced and sold. And while people can act somewhat rationally at the macro level, they are not devoid of bias."

A light went on in Ves’ mind. He remembered the Skull Architect ranting against the imperfections of the mech market one time. The fugitive Senior Mech Designer once railed against some of the biases as well!

"So what you’re saying is that because people have learned that super-medium mechs are a bad idea, they’ll automatically be predisposed against my mech concept?"

"It’s worse than you think, Mr. Larkinson. They’ll take the initiative to disparage your product to their friends and on the galactic net. The negative feedback that will ensue as soon as we publish such a mech will impact our personal reputation and the reputation of our companies severely. It’s fine if you decide to stray off the beaten path and ignore the rules that have been in place for centuries. Not everyone is as open-minded, however. Your design becomes a major problem when you impose your eccentric decisions on the market."

As much as he hated it, Ves knew that Professor Ventag might be right about the mech market’s intolerance for his deviant design.

Yet... did that discourage him from pushing through with the concept he came up with? No. This the only practical way to implement his vision for a mech that emulated Qilanxo’s defensive prowess to a degree. He felt passionate and motivated in making this vision come to life, to the point where he suspected that he might even be able to advance to Journeyman on the spot as soon as he completed the design!

He only felt so good about his mech designs a couple of times. Such a feeling of hope and certainty was hard to come by, and Ves knew he wouldn’t be nearly as passionate if he was forced to discard his current vision and start over from scratch. _{ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com}

He was emotionally invested in the vision he came up with! Although provoking a backlash sounded rather bad to Ves, he was still young and he could afford to make some blunders early in his career.

Yet it was an entirely different when it came to someone older and more established such as Professor Ventag and NORA Consolidated. His company spent decades building up its brand as a trusted indicator for quality mechs. If NORA became tied to his controversial mech design, it would incur much greater reputational damage, to the tune of missing billions of credits in monthly sales perhaps!

"Do you recognize my dilemma?" Professor Ventag asked with a smile. "There is a large risk in becoming involved in such a controversial mech design. In my eyes, the costs outweigh the benefits. From a marketing standpoint, it does not make any sense to incur a substantial backlash and depress the sales of my other products in order to introduce a risky new concept to the market with uncertain sales potential."

"So you disapprove?"

"I do. My company will not want to be involved in your radical mech design. The damage to our reputation is simply too severe."

Ves hunched over in defeat. Those were very compelling reasons why they shouldn’t design a super-medium mech. Would he really have to discard this groundbreaking mech concept? Perhaps he could still save this idea for later and develop it on his own rather than involve a Senior.

Half a minute later, the professor smiled at Ves. "However... are you really so resigned to let our companies and the market dictate which mechs we ought to design?"

"Professor?" Ves asked with a puzzled tone.

"I can tell you believe in your mech concept. The logic behind it isn’t bad either. So from a technical and design standpoint, your current ideas have merit. This will insure at least some sober mech buyers will see the appeal in the product. If we hold some highly-targeted marketing campaigns, we might be able to break even at the very least."

"Even so, breaking even will not undo our other losses." Ves recognized.

"If the market reacts as I predict, you may be right. Yet your thinking is too narrow. Our gains and losses aren’t confined to reputation and finances."

The professor leaned back in his chair as he let Ves work out the meaning behind his hint.

Half a minute passed as Ves parsed the greater meaning. "Are you saying.. there may be other benefits?"

"I am. First, let us consider your personal benefits. What price are you willing to pay to advance to Journeyman? Many mech designers never catch the impetus that is required to make the jump. They are too timid and not confident enough in their design philosophy to proceed with designing the mechs that conform to their beliefs. They are too concerned about practical constraints and the reaction from the market to take a bold step forward. In your case, I have a very good feeling about your progress if you proceed with this vision of yours."

Ves nodded. "I feel so as well."

"That alone makes this project worthwhile for you. Sometimes, a mech design doesn’t have to make sense to benefit you. Companies rise and fall all the time. In the worst case, your company might go bankrupt. Is that so awful? As long as you successfully advance to Journeyman immediately or shortly after publishing the design, you can enter the mech industry again from a much higher vantage point. There are always investors willing to provide seed money to get a Journeyman back in business."