The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1297

On a standard two-dimensional sector map, heading upwards from Centerpoint eventually led to the Bright Republic after passing through a number of states.

Heading straight downwards immediately led to the Kamon Republic.

The Kamon Republic bordered both the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony. Early on, the Friday Coalition managed to influence the Kamon Republic and turned it into a loosely-connected vassal state to the Friday Coalition.

This basically meant that while Kamon was still as poor and underdeveloped as a normal third-rate state, it enjoyed the implicit protection of a very big brother.

In particular, the Kamon Republic developed extensive official and unofficial ties to the Vermeer Group, whose territories directly bordered the state.

Thinking about the Vermeer Group which the Barracuda was passing by put Ves into a turbulent mood.

"This is the Coalition partner from which Master Olson hails from." He stated as he zoomed in on the plot projected in front of him. "The Titanium Garden isn’t that far away from here either."

Sadly, he would never get to set foot on the famed artificial satellite.

"There are more places I can visit besides the Titanium Garden." Ves shook his head. "The galaxy is vast and endlessly diverse. Even if limited to human space, there are countless curiosities to discover."

One of the few words of advice that Master Olson gave him was that Journeymen always ought to move beyond their own familiar confines.

Ves deeply understood this truth. If he remained stuck in the Bright Republic for the rest of his life, he would have never seen the diverse ways mechs were being put to use.

Mechs acquired different meanings under different circumstances.

To a Brighter, a mech was a defensive tool, a means to defend the Republic against outside aggression.

To a Vesian, a mech was a tool for earning glory and greater status. In this hypercompetitive feudal society, every commoner could elevate themselves to nobility, and every noble could gain a higher status upon performing well in battle.

To a Reinaldan, a mech was a product. Rather than put them into battle and consume a fortune’s worth of assets and manpower, why not focus on exploiting their economic value instead?

To a child of the frontier, a mech was the ultimate tool of survival. Possessing or piloting a mech meant you possessed a measure of strength. Only those who piloted mechs had the grounds to take their lives in their own hands!

To an Ylvainan, a mech was a vessel to express their faith. Mechs not only had to defend their state, they also had to advance their beliefs. If they left their security to machines that contradicted their faith, they could no longer call themselves Ylvainans.

"In short, mechs are more than just war machines. They are also totems that encompass each state and each culture’s core values."

As a mech designer, Ves designed a mech from the perspective of a Brighter. He unconsciously approached his work with Brighter values, customs and ideals.

Was there anything wrong with this? Not necessarily. Yet if Ves ever wanted to reach a wider audience, he needed to be more cognizant of how his mechs would be perceived by mech buyers from foreign states.

For example, Ves already personally experienced how sober, functional-looking mechs didn’t always cut it in a weird state like the Ylvaine Protectorate. Their propensity to dress up their mechs in religious symbolism and iconography meant that he would have to adjust his mechs according to local tastes in order to achieve enduring success.

Although his elevation as their Bright Martyr partially helped his company bypass this hurdle, Ves still intended to go through with his setting up a means to adjust his future products to local customs in the Protectorate and elsewhere if needed.

Ves smirked. "It’s great that the Bright Republic’s mech culture is a bit boring and plain. That already saves me a lot of work."

An Ylvainan mech designer would never be able to sell their mechs outside of the Protectorate. Their mechs all looked like walking altars or statues of the Ylvainan Faith, which meant that no non-believer would ever wish to put them into use!

For this reason, if an Ylvainan mech designer ever wanted to export their products elsewhere, they needed to gut the entire outer appearance of their designs!

"That’s going to present a really difficult dilemma to these bunch of complacent bums." He scoffed.

The trouble the Ylvainans faced was that they strongly believed that their mechs ought to express their faith in a visually distinctive manner.

Would they be willing to make an exception to this long-standing tradition in order to engage in foreign trade?

"The Curin Dynasty will be in favor, but the Poxco Dynasty will do everything they can to stop this shift."

The greater point was that while the Ylvainans would have to be more aware of the limitations of their design style, so did Ves.

Did this mean he would have to give up the Brighter identity of his mechs? Not necessarily. He just had to be aware of how well his mech would fare in all the markets the LMC chose to prioritize.

"Mech designers exist to develop solutions. Not every solution is optimal in different states. It depends on the circumstances."

Right now, Ves only had a shallow understanding of how mechs were being used in other states. Only by visiting them in person and immersing himself in the local mech community would he be able to develop a deep and authentic understanding of foreign markets.