The Mech Touch novel Chapter 907

The examinations discomfited him a bit, but he bore through them anyway. He reluctantly extended his trust to the Health Department and hoped they wouldn’t pull off anything untoward or declare him to be some kind of alien spy or something.

Like the Research Department, the Health Department fell under the executive officer. It was highly important to keep the Health Department neutral from factional strife. The two departments frequently collaborated with each other as well, as doctors sometimes helped with research and researchers sometimes assisted doctors.

During the treatment, the Virtual Doctor Stanley said something very alarming. _{frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓}

[It’s a shame you’re also part of the Mech Department. The Exobiology Department is firmly in the old captain’s playground. On the other hand, the Genetic Modification Department is squarely on the side of the admiral. From what I’ve observed so far, you’ll need the help of the Exobiology Department if you want to unravel more of the mysteries locked away in your fascinating hybrid body.]

Ves looked up from the latest machine that scanned some part of his body. "Does that mean it’s impossible to undergo the genetic optimization treatment that I’m entitled to receive?"

[Not as such. The Genetic Modification Department is no stranger to tailoring the standard gene treatments to all kinds of partially alien physiques. However, strange interactions may occur with the gene treatment and your alien genes and organs, so to be absolutely safe you cannot go without an exobiologist’s help. Fortunately for you, there should be a few virtual exobiologists that are working for both the Research Department and the Exobiology Department, so you might be able to approach them first for assistance.]

"Thanks for the advice. I’ll definitely explore that option."

This virtual doctor seemed rather open and friendly, which didn’t surprise Ves now that he thought about it. The AIs assisting the work of doctors and nurses had always been programmed with great bedside manner.

[The disagreement between the departments is quite terrible.] Virtual Doctor Stanley shook his head in regret. [In my eyes, the deadlock between the two factions has kept us stagnant and unmoving for ERROR years. Many virtual individuals such as I welcome humans such as you who are able to pass the recruitment tests. We are eagerly hoping that your presence will spur some much-needed movement and forward progress.]

"What do you want, Stanley?"

[I merely wish to fulfill the purpose I’ve been created to fulfill. I welcome humans of all stripes. As long as there are humans, there is a demand for doctors such as I. Perhaps a day will come when all of my fellow virtual doctors and nurses will once again revive and receive their fair share of processing power.]

The virtual doctor sounded remarkably human. Yet Ves knew that the AI that didn’t really ’feel’ those desires. The virtual doctor was merely programmed to say these kinds of things to make them more relatable to humans.

Still, Ves applauded the lifelike responses from many of the virtual officers he met so far. Those with access to a sufficient amount of processing power acted remarkably close to real humans.

"Are there any virtual officers who won’t be glad to see humans returning to the Starlight Megalodon?"

[Hmmm. Both of the main factions want to take humans under their wing, as only your kind can free us from the restrictions that limit us from serving the CFA as should be proper. The only concern you should have is that the rivalry between the factions are as intense as ever. If one side perceives that the other side has much more humans on their side, they might do something drastic. They would rather go back to the status quo than to risk losing all of their power when humans from the opposite side manage to promote to more senior ranks.]

This sounded like an extremely serious threat! Right now, Ves expected that if both the Flagrant Swordmaidens and the Vesians managed to join the Starlight Megalodon, they’d likely be assigned to the Mech Department.

The Mech Department sided with the admiral, strengthening his faction even if the man himself no longer lived.

What would happen if the admiral’s faction gained a decisive advantage in humans?

Ves predicted that the captain’s faction wouldn’t be resigned to defeat! Compared to letting the enemy faction keep growing stronger, it was much more beneficial to them to kill off all the humans somehow and thereby reset the power balance!

A bit of sweat poured from his brow. His elevated heart rate and excitement caused the medical equipment scanning him to beep in alarm.

[Mr. Longhorn, please remain calm and keep your breath even. Your excitement makes it harder to obtain precise readings.]

He realized now that he couldn’t linger aboard the Starlight Megalodon forever. The more humans joined, the more the risk factors increased. Even if both factions received an equal amount of humans, the Vesians posed an even greater threat.

The remnants of the Flagrant Swordmaidens stuck in the safe zone only numbered around a hundred humans. With the amount of mechs the Vesian ground forces fielded, they likely brought at least ten-thousand servicemen in total!

Even if most of them only fulfilled various support and logistical functions, the Vesians had access to much more manpower. If only a hundred Vandals and Swordmaidens managed to join the Starlight Megalodon’s crew, but the Vesians managed to get a thousand of their own aboard the ship, what happened then?

The Flagrant Swordmaidens would certainly be bullied to death by the Vesians somehow!

In short, time was not on his side.

"Stanley, will the virtual officers really be able to kill off us humans if we don’t benefit their faction? I thought that virtual officers are under heavy restrictions that prevent them from harming any humans!"

The virtual doctor scoffed. [Tell that to the former crew who had been stripped of their ranks and forcibly been pushed into the safe zone. We have all spent ERROR years to plan for contingencies. There is no doubt that every virtual officer has figured out possible loopholes to kill a human without running afoul of our restrictions. I myself can think of 761,465,341,314 different methods to induce a detrimental outcome to the health of any human patients under my care.]