The Mech Touch novel Chapter 236

Beyond the childlike fascination of witnessing humanity latest toys at work, Ves thought the visit to Fort MacLellan served another purpose. There was no reason for the MTA to show off its might to the well-heeled tourists of the Nautilus than to put them in their place.

For Ves, the visit reminded him that the states in the Komodo Star Sector meant nothing to the MTA. As far as they were concerned, the conflicts between the states resembled toddlers fighting over a favored toy.

Still, even the MTA and CFA had their limits. Even though they made a lot of strides in binding the fractured human states together, they never attempted to unite all of humanity into a single galactic empire.

History had shown that such a cause often ended with disaster. Nowadays, the galaxy was big enough to accomodate all kinds of rulers and states. The existences of countless kingdoms, republics, federations, alliances and more attested to the diversity of their race.

After touring a couple more aquatic mechs and other curiosities, the tourists shuttled back to the Nautilus. The final leg of the holiday consisted of a three-long visit to Cava City, the party capital of Moira’s Paradise.

The tour organizers offered a lot of options for the passengers to choose. Some preferred to visit the city’s seedy gambling dens while others preferred the city’s fantastic art scene.

Raella wanted to attend a high-profile aquatic mech duel tournament. Ves on the other hand wanted to find some inspiration by paying a visit to the city’s many museums.

"Cava City isn’t safe. We shouldn’t split up."

"Oh, come on Ves, why do you have to visit those boring museums? If you want to admire some artwork, why don’t you look them up from your terminal?"

"A projection is no substitute for the real thing."

"That’s what artsy design folk like you would say. To me, it makes no difference!"

They argued a bit but Ves had the upper hand since he paid all the bills. Ves only relented a bit by promising to spend one day at the arena before going off to the museums and art galleries.

"As far as I’m concerned, you’re wasting your time." Raella remarked with a touch of spite in her tone.

"Culture is never a waste of time." Ves replied as he registered their plans to the tour operators. They’d receive their priority tickets within the hour. "It takes a lot of creativity to come up with a good design. They don’t fall off the sky like apples from a tree."

A mech designer had to come up with something creative in order to make a splash in the market. Many of his rivals forgot about this rule and published generic designs that competed in the same saturated market segments. They’d never be able to beat the mainstream models that have gone through countless rounds of optimization.

As the Nautilus traversed along the bottom of the ocean, Ves considered whether he’d benefit from spending his DP. He eyed his Status and his stagnant Attributes and considered whether to invest in candies that upgraded his Creativity.

[Status]

Name: Ves Larkinson

Profession: Apprentice Mech Designer

Specializations: None

Design Points: 112,530

Attributes

Strength: 1.3

Dexterity: 0.8

Endurance: 1.9

Intelligence: 1.8

Creativity: 1

Concentration: 1.7

Neural Aptitude: F

Skills

[Assembly]: Apprentice - [3D Printer Proficiency III] [Assembler Proficiency III]

[Battle Mechatronics]: Apprentice

[Business]: Apprentice

[Computer Science]: Incompetent

[Electrical Engineering]: Apprentice - [Structural Pathway Configuration II]

[Mathematics]: Journeyman

[Mechanics]: Journeyman - [Jury Rigging III] [Speed Tuning III]

[Metallurgy]: Journeyman - [Alloy Compression II]

[Metaphysics]: Incompetent

[Physics]: Journeyman - [Directed Energy Weapon Optimization II] [Lightweight Armor Optimization I] [Mediumweight Armor Optimization III] [Melee Weapon Optimization II]

[Salvaging]: Apprentice

[Signals and Communications]: Apprentice

Abilities

[Superpublish]: Available. Can be activated once a year.

Evaluation: A post-human mech designer with a random collection of Skills.

Over the months, his physique had stabilized at their current levels. With an endurance of 1.9, his body performed close to the genetic limit of the human race. His strength had also decreased by a significant margin.

For now, Ves ignored his physical Attributes and focused on his mental ones.

"There should be a reason why the System includes Creativity in its Status page."

The industry often repeated the phrase that designing mechs was both an art and a science. Now that Ves faced the prospect of designing his first original mech, he became aware of the importance of those words.

"It’s never wrong to invest in my mind.

With a stockpile of over 100,000 DP, Ves had the points to spare. He decided to upgrade his Creativity first. Right now, Ves merely wished to improve his capability to appreciate art.