Just as Ves' imagination continued to run away with the fantasy of creating the Arboreal Project in his image, he suddenly recalled that phase lord body cultivation was not safe! He almost overlooked this massive problem! It would be very bad if the 'phase biomechs' that emerged from Arboreal Project biomechs eventually developed a separate consciousness and went rogue! Phase lord body cultivation absolutely could not be trusted. As long as it remained under the influence of the heavenly authority of the Red Ocean, every phase lord was always in danger of getting compromised. However… Ves remembered that the hidden danger only emerged from his true body after it surpassed the length of a typical mech by 3.5 times. No matter whether this threshold was absolute or relative, his hypothetical phase biomechs may be able to avoid this threat so long as they did not grow past an unknown size. As for where that threshold may be? The best way to find out was to conduct an experiment. The threat of rogue phase lords was still very real, but there was a big difference between humans or war machines going out of control! The former was absolutely unacceptable. Humans had to remain in control of their own minds and bodies at all times. If external parties managed to subvert humans, then this could shake the very foundation of human civilization! The existence of the Cosmopolitan Movement already inflicted massive damage to red humanity's efforts to remain alive and free in a hostile dwarf galaxy. If not only human phase lords, but phase biomechs started to get compromised in large numbers, then that may very well spell the end of red humanity! Ves knew that he was definitely playing with fire just for contemplating this idea. Yet he could not let go of it. If humans found it necessary to leverage the power of phase lord body cultivation, then let them do so through their organic mechs rather than their own bodies. This would satisfy multiple demands at once. First, humans were able to acquire more champion units. Even if phase lord body cultivation was costly and wasteful in terms of phasewater, it was still a viable option if better alternatives were not available. These days, the best way for human forces to acquire a lot of phasewater was to kill a phase lord and extract all of the phasewater that could be salvaged from the carcass. This was not an impossible task for the Terrans. The body of a typical lesser phase lord already satisfied the immediate needs of at least one human phase lord. The corpse of a greater phase lord yielded exponentially greater amounts of phasewater! The only other requirement to securing all of these precious materials was to win the battle and take control of the battlefield. It took a lot of time and specialized hardware to efficiently harvest large quantities of phasewater. Therefore, it was still possible for the Terrans to harvest just enough phasewater to cultivate a large army of phase biomechs. Ves just had to supply the right organic mech that possessed the qualifications to turn into phase lords. While it was highly uncertain whether it was even possible for wood-based organisms to turn into phase lords, Ves felt it was still an idea worth exploring! The probability of success could definitely be raised if the Arboreal Project designs were based on his own true body. By developing these mechs in his image, Ves wanted his works to inherit his 'talent' in phase lord body cultivation. There were definitely other factors that determined whether an organism could transform into phase lords. Ves could not control for all of these variables, and that was okay. If this idea failed to produce the desired result, then he would accept it with grace. The Arboreal Project should already be able to stand on its own two feet. The possibility of transforming into the biomech version of a phase lord should be considered a bonus feature. That did not mean that Ves intended to fail. The more he thought about this idea, the more he became attracted by the game changing nature of harnessing the power of a phase lord under safer and more controlled circumstances. A Woodsap mech may be permanently bonded with a human mech pilot, but so long as they had yet to merge in totality, there were still ways to isolate them from each other. If the former got corrupted, the latter still had a chance to avoid the same fate. In fact, the Woodsap mech pilot may be able to utilize his own human qualities to launch a counterattack and help his Woodsap mech regain its original personality! Even if the rogue biomech could not be recovered, then the Terrans could always lock it up or get rid of it just to be safe. It would be a shame to deprive the Woodsap mech pilot from his bonded machine, but at least he still retained his integrity as a human. As Ves continued to consider the many consequences of successfully giving his Carmine biomech the ability to gain the powers as well as the stature of a phase lord, he could not hold in his ideas any longer. He needed to share them with a mech designer and hear whether it was a proposal worth pursuing. He needed to talk to a mech designer he trusted and preferably over a secure channel. "Vector Loban?" Ves immediately shook his head. The Arboreal Project was a collaboration between the Larkinson Clan and the Devos Ancient Clan. It was inappropriate to share important details and deliberations with a member of the Red Association. Besides, Ves was pretty certain the Transhumanist Faction rejected this approach. Granting greater autonomy to a mech had always been taboo to the mechers, but giving it the power of a phase lord on top of that would spark fears that Ves may accidentally invent a weapon that could turn against red humanity! "Maria Abselon?" She could be trusted more or less, but the problem was that after she had completed the eventful implantation surgery, she had already made her way back to the expeditionary fleet. The Larkinson Biotech Institute was still centered around the Dragon's Den. The second-class capital ship increasingly showed her age, but many of the biotech researchers had grown comfortable working on this ship. Her many biomes continued to give the scientists access to a large number of diverse research subjects. Since it was difficult to talk to Maria in a secure setting, Ves went over a few other names. "Gloriana?" Absolutely not. She wouldn't understand. "Ketis?" Same problem with Maria. "Alexa. Yes. It has to be her. She will understand." Ves called over his direct disciple to his private design lab right away. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 Though the young lady tried her best not to look annoyed at being made to interrupt her current assignment just so that she could attend to his needs, she nonetheless presented herself to Ves with impeccable decorum. "You requested my presence, sir?" "Yes. I need to hear your input on a radical proposal related to the Arboreal Project. You should be aware of what the Devosans and I have been trying to do, right?" "I have a broad understanding of this advanced project." She confirmed. "The Arboreal Project is your first proper attempt at designing an Elemental Carmine mech based on the wood element." "Then you should hear about the latest ideas I have come up with that can take this mech design project to the next level." He proceeded to explain his thought process, not holding many details back. He trusted Alexa and valued her opinions, so it was better to share as much of his opinions as possible, even the ones that could land him in trouble if heard by the wrong parties. Alexa frowned deeper and deeper as Ves expounded on his latest proposal. It was clear that she did not agree with everything she heard. "So what do you think, Alexa?" He asked after he finished his lengthy explanation. "There are many points of criticism that you have not properly considered in your rush to realize your latest proposal of yours." She said in a calm and composed voice. "From what I have heard so far, you are in that specific mood where you have already committed to your idea. I doubt I can persuade you to reconsider despite its many faults and risk factors. You are addicted to high risk high reward gambits." Ves shrugged. "I suppose I am. I do not deny your accusation. I do have to note that it has worked out more often than not. My judgment on these kinds of matters are quite good." "That may be true, but the consequences of failure are much more severe this time. You will be regarded as a sinner on the same level as the founders of the Cosmopolitan Movement if your 'phase biomechs' ever manage to go rogue and defect to the Red Cabal." He winced. That was indeed a possible outcome of a crazy attempt to create artificial phase lords. "I will not evade responsibility if my work ever goes out of control. As a mech designer, I have at least that much integrity. That said, I strongly believe in my proposal. I am willing to risk everything in order to raise the potential of the Arboreal Project. It is one of the five Elemental Carmine mechs that will form the basis of my future progression as a mech designer. I will not settle for anything less, especially with the knowledge that designing more innovative and groundbreaking works increases one's potential as a Master Mech Designer." This was a powerful reason why Ves wanted to make a big bet. He did not want to remain cautious and disregard opportunities that could increase his chances of becoming a Star Designer in the future. Alexa Streon took in his words and remained silent for a dozen seconds. "Understood. Since you are committed to your proposal, let me make a few suggestions. First, is it not more appropriate to reserve the possibility of enabling a Carmine mech to evolve as a phase lord to a Carmine mech based on the water element?" "Not necessarily." Ves shook his head. "I do not disagree with your logic, but I have already come up with the Mergewater mech concept. This is an Elemental Carmine mech that seeks to devour the strength of exobeasts and may ultimately become one in its own right. Since this is the case, I think it is worth a shot to see whether turning a wooden mech into a phase lord can be done." Alexa simply accepted this response and presented her next word of advice. "My second suggestion is to think about designing a basic variant that lacks the possibility of evolving into a 'phase biomech' and a more advanced variant that does carry this possibility. I believe you should give the Terrans the choice on whether they want to become involved in this insanity. Let your more risk averse clients make use of the basic variant which will likely be cheaper and less prone to complications. Those that are desperate for power can always choose to make a gamble by fielding the advanced variant of your Woodsap mech." Ves blinked. Alexa had just introduced a dose of common sense that had been sorely lacking in his proposal. He should have come up with it himself. "Noted. I will include it in my new plan and wait for the Terrans to share their feedback. It may push back the completion of the mech design project, but it can't be helped. All of us have to do a lot of extra work in order to complete two related mech designs at the same time." As far as Ves was concerned, the advanced variant should be the true result of the Arboreal Project. The basic variant would probably end up as a dumbed down version that lost several risky features in order to raise its stability.