Was resorting to kill switches the right solution? No. Was there a better choice available? Not really. Kill switches therefore became the least-bad solution out of a long list of other awful choices. Leaving it out was no solution. So was reducing the scope of the Arboreal Project. Ves could not accept timidity from himself. When anyone became a Senior Mech Designer, he or she became aware that they were effectively auditioning to become a Master Mech Designer. This meant that if a Senior wanted to make progress, they could not rest on their laurels and be content with mechs that they could already design with a bit of effort. They needed to look beyond their existing reach and embark on more ambitious projects that were much closer to the work undertaken by Master Mech Designers. Even if most of the results ended up falling short, the gains were still considerable. Not only did the Senior Mech Designer cultivate the right attitude towards mech design at a higher level, but he also accumulated a lot of scattered data that was relevant to his design philosophy. Who knew whether the mech designer could combine these results together and achieve a breakthrough? Seniors who did not possess the courage to tackle greater challenges and fail usually failed to move forward. Of course, just because they were willing to invest their time on big projects did not necessarily mean they were guaranteed to succeed. An ambitious research project may end up eating a disproportionate amount of time and resources that could have been better spent on other pursuits. If a Senior continued to hit his head against the wall without much to show for it, then he would eventually see his lifespan running out while failing to reach critical mass. Therefore, one of the most important criteria that separated successful Seniors from failing ones was judgment. Were they overreaching? Did it make sense for them to pursue a difficult objective? Were they neglecting their other commitments? Senior Mech Designers needed to be able to navigate many difficult choices that could drastically change the course of their lives and careers. Ves now felt that he had reached such a junction. His decision on how to approach the Arboreal Project could mean the difference between success and failure. Whether he was overreaching by wildly expanding the scope of this mech design project remained unclear at this point. However, Ves felt he had to prove his courage and determination by making a bold thrust in a project that possessed a lot of significance for his design philosophy. Ves did not forget what his work was all about. Mutual Growth in Adversity. The new proposal that he had drafted and perfected with the help of Alexa exemplified this ideal. He could already see his inner flame being stoked. No matter how difficult it was to realize this radical new idea, he felt it was more than worth it to do his best to turn it into a reality! After he thanked Alexa for her advice and dismissed her from his design lab, he spent an hour writing up a detailed and structured proposal. He laid out his chains of logic and his speculations in a way that made this endeavor sound promising enough to explore. While success was anything but guaranteed, the chance to mass produce artificial phase lords and mobilize them against the native aliens could be a gamechanger for the Terran Alliance and red humanity as a whole! Once he became satisfied with his report, he encrypted it with Terran cyphers before transmitting it to Master Laila Rebecca Devos. This was not the most secure means of data transmission at his disposal, but it was adequate enough for his purposes. It took a few hours for the woman to respond to it by calling him directly. The old Master Mech Designer did not waste any time. "Ves. Your… creative suggestions have generated a considerable amount of interest… and controversy among the mech designers and researchers that are currently involved in the Arboreal Project. The promises contained within your proposal represent a significant paradigm shift in how we can wage war, but the added complexities and sharp increase in risk factors are highly detrimental. At best, the completion of the project will experience a delay of at least several months. At worst, the overreach in trying to explore how to turn a wooden mech into a phase lord may cause our progress to hit a bottleneck that cannot be overcome in several years." Ves did not show any overt sign of doubt and hesitation. Even if he harbored his own misgivings, he could not afford to show a lack of confidence in his own ideas. "I cannot predict how likely it is for us to produce a successful result. I admit that my proposal will turn the Arboreal Project from a somewhat reliable source of reinforcements into a fantastical if somewhat impractical wonder weapon. However, don't you think that this is exactly what the Terran Alliance needs?" "What do you think our colonial superstate needs?" Master Laila Devos shot back a question herself. "The problem has never been the regular armed forces of our enemies, Master. They may outnumber us, but humans are the masters at war. It is their champions and more precisely their phase leaders that truly give us so much grief. Our ace pilots and ace mechs may be individually superior, but they are still outnumbered. The ability to deploy dozens if not hundreds of 'phase biomechs' can hold the enemy phase lords back." Master Laila did not look entirely convinced. "It is completely unknown whether it is possible to transform even a single Woodsap mech into a phase biomech. Even if we are being optimistic and assume that we can raise a hundred of them in a relatively short time frame, this will not change the fact that they are physically smaller, devoid of powerful phasewater organs and lacking in their mastery over spatial manipulation. It is doubtful whether 10 of them can hold back a single greater phase lord." Ves smirked. "If 10 isn't enough, then deploy 20. If 20 isn't enough, then deploy 40." Ves said. "Before you tell me that the cost in phasewater is astronomical, you just need to tell one of your peak ace pilots to hunt down a single greater phase lord. As long as the carcass is mostly still intact, it should yield more than enough phasewater to meet the needs of this initiative. The point is that we are not going to play by the enemy's rules. Don't forget that we are working with biomechs. If they are lacking in phasewater organs, we can make up for it by stuffing their expanded mech frames with lots of up-scaled weapons and modules. They have practically turned into juggernauts!" "Then why should we not design juggernauts directly?" Master Laila Devos played devil's advocate. That was a good question. "You know as well as I do that juggernauts and phase lords are two very different kinds of existences." Ves said. "Juggernauts have a much lower threshold, but the absence of a multidimensional frame makes them much more vulnerable against damage. They cannot fight against a phase lord on an equal basis unless they are clad with superdimensional armor plating. The phase biomechs that I have envisioned for our project are much different. They not only retain the high regeneration factor of TE Wood, but can also resist at least an order of magnitude more firepower due to dimensional shenanigans. Oh, and we also can't forget about the spatial barrier." "Which shouldn't be too strong if the phase biomechs have only just transformed into artificial phase lords." She responded. The spatial barrier was the strongest defensive measure of a phase leader. Although a phase lord only gained a truly resilient spatial barrier with the integration of a Kelsis organ, its absence did not leave a phase lord completely defenses. Besides, the phase biomech could rely on an up-scaled azure shield generator instead. "Nothing is stopping you from developing phasewater organs for the Arboreal Project." Ves pointed out. "I think it is a worthwhile endeavor to dedicate a considerable amount of manpower and resources into this. If you can obtain the research results from the Phase Lord Department of the Red Collective, then that is great. If not, you can still produce a batch of standardized low-end phasewater organs that are specifically designed for our phase biomechs." "We have been considering this course of action, but it is too premature to make this decision. We should first see whether your ambitious proposal to our collaborative effort can deliver on its promises. That is what is currently under discussion." "Then what is the holdup?" Ves asked. "As I have mentioned in the beginning, opinions are split." She said. "There are enough leaders among us who do not have a rosy outlook on your suggestions. They argue that it is better to invest into a safer, modest but more realistic outcome. Then there are people who argue that obsessing over incremental changes when the Caesarion Upper Zone is under heavy attack is folly. They believe it is better to invest in multiple radical projects that have a better chance of upending the war. Even if the expanded Arboreal Project has failed to deliver the most hopeful results, there is still a chance that one of our many other controversial projects can succeed." In other words, even if the Terrans agreed with his proposal, they would not bet everything on a single throw of the dice. It was safer and much more sensible to make dozens of bets at a time. The cost may be ruinous, but the chance of producing at least one successful wonder weapon rose sharply! However, the cost to the Terran Alliance was massive. A lot of existing research projects may be forced to shed valuable manpower and funding as they are being diverted to much more ambitious but wasteful endeavors. This would most definitely cause the Terran scientific community to fall behind compared to the other major powers. Ves still considered this to be a worthwhile risk, though. If the Terrans failed, then their precious colonial superstate was bound to collapse and lose the majority of its territories. By that time, maintaining a technological lead over other human groups was not important anymore! The Terrans most definitely understood this as well. The fact that Master Laila Devos mentioned this already signified that the Terrans were already preparing to enact desperate measures. What Ves needed to do was to convince the Terrans that his proposal was promising enough to be added to the list of wonder weapon projects. Only by getting on this exclusive list would the Arboreal Project be able to benefit from the greater might of the Terran scientific community! The involvement of brilliant biotech researchers and so on would give their project a massive boost. The Devos Ancient Clan may have to cede a lot of ground to the other Terrans because of this, but it was still worth it so long as the results were impressive enough! "Do I need to do anything?" Ves simply asked. Master Laila Devos looked at Ves for several seconds before she inclined her head. "A Star Designer has been put in charge of deciding which projects merit greater support from our science and development infrastructure." The older woman eventually revealed. "If you are sincerely convinced that your proposal can not only succeed, but change the Terran Alliance for the better, then I can schedule a virtual meeting between you and the Grand Mander. Her Excellency may not specialize in biotechnology, but her core specialization is based on regenerating metal and repair systems, much of which is based on biological processes. She is most certainly knowledgeable enough to evaluate the viability and success rate of your proposal." Ves looked surprised. The Grand Mender! Ves did not expect to get into contact with another Star Designer so soon! This was a great opportunity! Even if the Grand Mender ended up rejecting his proposal, it was still worth it just to hold a serious discussion with one of the hundred humans that had reached the pinnacle of the mech designer profession! "Please do so." Ves eagerly gave his assent. "I would love to present my case to an esteemed Star Designer."