When Ves requested a meeting with the Web Mistress, he did not think that he could automatically obtain the solutions to all of his problems. Star Designers were much more capable than most creators, but even they possessed limits. The minor favor that Ves cashed in also only stretched so far. It would be unreasonable to demand a Star Designer to devote a lot more time and resources into creating a tailored solution for his problem. Ves was fine with this. He already felt grateful enough for receiving a clear analysis and suggestions on what he should look out for in a potential solution. He would proceed as always, which was to travel around and keep his eye out for new insights or phenomena that could be used to develop a brand-new solution that was not available in the past. This was how he managed to tackle very big issues that no one managed to tame before like the genetic aptitude problem. His previous track record of success gave him the confidence he needed to commit to this approach. That already made Ves better than many other mech designers who surrendered far too easily to the status quo. It was too easy for mech designers to blindly submit to Star Designers. This was why meeting with the latter happened infrequently. If Ves had not demonstrated his ability to maintain his critical thinking when meeting with one of the greatest figures of the mech industry, then he probably wouldn't have been able to be here today. The meeting continued. Ves already went over his concerns related to the Larkinson Network, but there were still many other possible subjects that he wanted to talk about with a powerful Star Designer. "When I asked to meet with you, I did so for two major reasons." He told her as he continued to pet the Golden Cat who was resting comfortably on his lap. "I wanted to seek your counsel on how to protect the Larkinson Network. My second objective is to borrow your expertise to improve an ambitious mech design project of great importance to myself." Ves hesitated a bit. So far, the Web Mistress has not proven to be as reliable and trustworthy as he wanted. The only reasons why he was still thinking about sharing one of his sensitive plans to her was because he genuinely needed technical support and because he wanted to realize a more ambitious outcome. Doing so entailed sharing sensitive information about one of the most important design projects of his career. Was it truly a good idea to share all of that to the Web Mistress? Perhaps not, but Ves was no stranger to bad decisions. As long as the fallout was not too bad, he believed he should be able to manage the situation. He decided to pull the trigger. "Here." He said as he retrieved a secure data chip from his suit pocket and gently placed it on the table before sliding it in the Star Designer's direction. "Please study the files contained within. It contains my draft design for an advanced Carmine mech that is specifically designed for my personal usage. I call it a Polymetal mech. As long as this concept works out the way I think it will, I am open to making it available to mech designers and other technically-inclined individuals." The Web Mistress stared down at the data chip without touching it. Her expression grew intrigued as she was somehow able to directly read the data from the device without needing to put it into a machine. To prove this, she symbolically raised her hand and projected the image of the draft design over the low table. The design was clearly lacking in details as Ves had not formally started his design work as of yet. He had only recently incorporated the specifications of the smart metal products that he managed to obtain from the Cybernetic Empire. That latter part caught the Web Mistress' attention first. "I see you have already concluded a transaction with the Cybernetic Empire. The capabilities and cost-effectiveness of these NanoGatherer and NanoSmith models are impressive. It is missing an obvious offensive component in the form of the NanoWarriors. That makes it unable to overcome greater and active opposition." Ves shrugged. "I do not need it. The purpose of a Polymetal mech is to grant a mech designer enhanced productive and destructive capabilities. The former is more important than the latter. If a Polymetal mech is asked to fight, it shall do so by reshaping its malleable structure to accommodate armaments so that the elemental Carmine mech can fight the old-fashioned way. NanoWarriors are a dispensable luxury as far as I am concerned. There is no need for my clan to make further concessions in order to secure the right to make use of them. A Polymetal mech can do more by salvaging materials from the battlefield and using them to construct new weapons and tools, both for itself and for other friendly mechs if needed." That caused the Web Mistress to grow intrigued as she studied the draft design of the Polymetal mech. "This is a subversive mech model. Just as your Yellow Jacket mechs have upended the centuries-old absolute that norms cannot pilot mechs, your Polymetal mech can make mechs and engineers much more useful on the battlefield. As long as a person understands technology beyond a superficial level, he can be converted into a valuable field asset, either as a superior support unit or a versatile and self-sustaining fighter. With the help of the NanoGatherer and NanoSmith smart metal specifications, you can break any simple or advanced object down into their base materials before merging them together to fabricate swords, physical shields, rifles and spare armor plating. Polymetal mechs can even fabricate and install replacement parts for existing mechs." "That is kind of the point." Ves explained. "Polymetal mechs are not meant to drag mech designers in the field and expect them to match the performance of professionally trained mech pilots. They are meant to give people like myself a way to help true soldiers win their battles or survive a little longer by serving as the Carmine mech version of a combat engineer and a mobile workshop for a lack of a better description. No longer do mech designers have to stay in the rear and let mech pilots carry the fight by themselves. Mech pilots and mech designers can fight side-by-side while leveraging their own advantages to the fullest." Ves had often felt helpless and impotent as he watched his Larkinsons fight battles where everything was at stake. The lack of agency bothered him so much that he wanted to complete the Polymetal mech within 2 years and begin to use it to make actual contributions on the battlefield. That did not necessarily mean he was useless without this new option. Ves still had plenty of ways to provide support from the rear, but it did not satisfy him as much because most of it entailed preparations before a fight. "I understand the concept that you are trying to realize with this unusual Carmine mech." The Web Mistress said. "Yet have you considered the full implications once this Polymetal mech of yours becomes available to the general audience? By making it possible for mech designers to become field combatants, you are creating an expectation for people of our profession to actually fulfill this role." "So?" "Mech designers are not soldiers by nature. Most members of our profession are not as eager to make a contribution on the battlefield as you, Ves. The old covenant between mech designers and mech pilots has always been to leave the life-threatening responsibilities to the latter. Your invention threatens to blur the line between the two. The very existence of this solution will pressure more and more mech designers into becoming mech pilots, if only in a supportive capacity for the time being." Ves huffed. "That is not my problem, Web Mistress. I think it is always better to give the mech market additional options. I am sure that if mech designers are being asked to pilot my Polymetal mechs on the battlefield, they will mostly encompass low-ranking mech designers. There are so many of them that our industry won't really suffer if half of them die in the line of duty. Instead, the lessons that the surviving mech designers have learned will definitely enable them to do a better job in the future. It has worked for me, and it will work for many others." The Web Mistress genuinely looked surprised at how callous he sounded over the potential for his innovative Carmine mech design to make the profession of a mech designer much more dangerous than before. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 "You are applying your own standards onto individuals who prefer to have nothing to do with them. I do not disagree with your premise, but mech designers should not be asked to go on trials in order to 'prove themselves'. There are other means to give mech designers enough stimulation and improve their works. Traditionally, the practice of Journeymen traveling around and absorbing new sights is enough to widen a mech designer's horizons and help them develop better mechs." "This is not the day and age where such a leisurely activity is possible." Ves calmly retorted. "Transit between star systems has become a lot more limited due to the lower availability of civilian starships. Red humanity is locked in an existential war against two powerful and hostile alien civilizations, though it is questionable whether the mutated voribugs are clever enough to constitute a proper civilization." "The mutated voribugs have indeed developed a civilization of sorts." The Star Designer explained. "Their society may not meet all of the definitions of a civilization, but that is not too important. The voribugs have a strict division of labor, a complex multi-layered social structure, shared communication through physical records as well as an E energy network, strongly defined governance with an unknown but powerful queen insect at the top, the ability to learn and retain knowledge over multiple generations, the development and refinement of technology in the form of their own mutated genetic makeups, the ability to produce a surplus of food and other essential resources and finally the development of a rudimentary but shared culture." These were all criteria that defined a civilization. Ves found it a bit dubious to claim that the mutated voribugs satisfied all of them. For example, Ves never really noticed anything resembling a culture from these savage insectile beasts. Nonetheless, Ves did not disregard the Web Mistress' opinion. Her words even contained a few pieces of crucial information! "So this theory is right? The mutated voribugs aren't acting in a decentralized fashion, but answer directly to a queen entity?" The Web Mistress nodded seriously. "As I have told you earlier, I am the master of all webs and networks of any kind. It is not particularly difficult to identify the existence of a vast and fundamentally alien communication network tying all of the mutated voribugs together. Prior to the outbreak of their mutated variants, the voribugs have always maintained the existence of several smaller and weaker networks, but these were so weak that they are curiosities at best. That is not the case this time, and it is entirely due to the existence of a powerful alien queen organism that serves as the nexus of a much more tyrannical network." "If you can find out that much, can you sabotage or disrupt it, or is that not possible?" The Star Designer gently shook her head. "You do not have the clearance to know what I can do to the alien network. This is not a discussion that you are invited to participate in. The mutated voribugs are not a simple threat, and the existence of this unseen voribug queen is 90 percent responsible for this. Whoever she is, she is an exceptionally dangerous enemy of red humanity. This is not only because she possesses a formidable amount of raw strength. She also possesses more than enough intelligence to understand both human and alien language and civilization. Combine this with absolute command over exponentially growing swarms of mutated voribugs, it is not an exaggeration to state that she and her hive have already become the third major alien civilization that occupies the Red Ocean. It is not within my power to excise such a powerful alien adversary."