Chapter 7103: Resizing Tech It was amazing how much Ves could get away with by exploiting the advantages of superdimensional materials. He improved greatly since he last worked with superdimensional matter. Ves glanced at Ferrum. The superdimensional cat avatar functioned properly and could put up a mean fight if cornered, but with the knowledge he possessed today, the construct looked completely inadequate according to his current standards. If he was able to apply the tech, knowledge and methods that he wielded today, then he could have easily stuffed at least 30 percent more components into the cat while also increasing its overall durability by at least 50 percent! Ves should take the time to rework Ferrum and update him to modern standards. It was not time yet, though. Superdimensional technology was still in its infancy. Vast performance boosts would continue to happen over the course of the following months and years as everyone rapidly figured out new and amazing tricks to get even more out of this wonder material. Perhaps in a month or three, Ves would gain access to a newly devised alloy formula that increased the defensive power of superdimensional alloy by another 20 percent while also providing several other benefits such as increased spatial stability and greater extradimensional space for accommodating components. Instead of trying to upgrade a single device every handful of months, Ves felt it was better to wait for a year or two before initiating a much more substantial upgrade. He already applied the same approach to his mechs. He disliked the impulse to revisit their designs and update them as soon as nifty new tech or materials got released. Just because human technology advanced to the point of presenting new possibilities did not mean that older products based on outdated tech became trash. Other groups did not adopt technology at such a fast pace. Mechs that were designed and built before the Phasewater Generation still saw usage to this very day, though often with aftermarket modifications and upgrades. Starships were even worse at keeping up with the times. It was perfectly normal for starships to be seen as relatively modern even if they were built half a century ago. Many people had no problem entrusting their lives to vessels that entered into service before their grandparents were even born. Ves recognized that in this era of frenetic technological progression, he needed to be patient and time his projects based on other needs than attempting to keep up with the latest trends. Powerful ace mechs such as the Dark Zephyr Mark III, the Amaranto Mark III and even the First Sword Mark III had already become outdated by his current standards. The Larkinson Clan could make them so much stronger with the means that Ves and Gloriana recently obtained that it would be as if they had already entered a new mech generation! Alexa realized this as well. She continually looked over towards Ves to observe his inscrutable craftsmanship at work and knew that she had no way in hell of matching it anytime soon. Just the absence of the Locos organ prevented her from observing what she was doing when she attempted to work her tools across dimensions that could not be observed with normal human senses. "Amazing." She could not help but utter while she was in the process of scanning the recently processed parts for flaws and inconsistencies. "I always knew that you could exploit the properties of superdimensional matter to create machines that do not take up space in the material dimensions, but to see you do this so quickly after the introduction of superdimensional technology is still impressive." Even when she tried to glean his thoughts through the design network, Alexa was still unable to keep up with his work. Her inability to observe his work and understand the more profound truths of superdimensional theory caused her to know enough to recognize his attainments, but lack the means to replicate them in her own way. Ves felt proud for being able to create a superdimensional product to this extent. He had easily overtaken many professionals who managed to obtain samples of superdimensional matter for R&D purposes. Compared to those ’amateurs’, Ves was able to create a device that should have been the size of an adolescent human and shrink it all down into a slightly thicker umbrella! It had been worth it to expend one of his remaining favors to allow Gloriana to go on an audience with the Resonance Smith. The meeting may have concluded quickly, but the Star Designer did not shirk his obligations. He had seriously imparted Gloriana the necessary theories and alloy formulas to allow her to merge superdimensional matter with archetech. At least that was the case on the surface. It was only now that Ves recognized that the Resonance Smith had not been as perfunctory as he initially thought. The Star Designer most definitely knew that Ves was a human phase lord. He possessed a Locos organ that was able to perceive all sorts of spatial phenomena, including ones related to superdimensional matter. The Resonance Smith may have calibrated his teachings to Gloriana with the implicit understanding that Ves may be able to take greater advantage of them than their initial recipient! Without the Resonance Smith passing on his teachings, Ves would have struggled for many more months or years before he could produce a comparable result. Ves owed the Star Designer. Perhaps he should prepare a gift in return for his covert assistance. "The Resonance Smith does not demand a gift from you." Alexa said as she read his thoughts through the design network. "If he chose to bestow you with more useful knowledge than expected, then the best way to reciprocate is to make good use out of it. Show him that you are smart, inventive and brave enough to come out with works that realizes the potential of what he has taught. Star Designers are guardians of civilization. They do not protect us by fighting the most difficult enemies on the battlefield like god pilots, but arm us with the right combination of tech, knowledge and works that allow us to complete our goals by ourselves." Her words added more perspective on the role of a Star Designer in human society. What the Resonance Smith had done was not much different from what the Polymath was doing. Although they kept their best methods to themselves, they selectively released simpler and more easily adoptable technologies to society so that they could make red humanity stronger in a directed manner. Unfortunately, the difference between the two was that the Polymath clearly cared much less for people outside of her little star empire. This was a huge regression compared to her previous positioning. It was one thing for Terran or Rubarthan Star Designers to care for their own people more than other humans. It was another thing for a mecher Star Designer and one who originally came from the Survivalist Faction no less to shrink her area of responsibility. She might not have violated a hard rule in the mech industry or anything, but what she had done was a clear rejection of old traditions. Not every tradition was detrimental. Ves was a believer in the rules, customs and expectations of the contemporary mech industry. Mech designers started off their careers as mostly self-centered and ambitious graduates. As they grew older and climbed up the ranks, those who not only gained greater means but also developed a greater sense of responsibility towards society had a higher chance of continuing their rise. Once they reached the ultimate rank of Star Designer, it had become an expectation for them to rise above their loyalties to any secularist power and serve their civilization without bias or distinction. While the Terran and Rubarthan Star Designers were much more resistant to this particular custom most of the time, they did not completely deprive all of their innovations to the entire human race. They wouldn’t have been able to make it this far if they were truly narrow-minded to this degree. The issue with the Polymath was that she had already overcome this hurdle and no longer needed to keep up with pretenses in order to retain her power base. She could act openly and allow her policies to convey her true thoughts on different items on the agenda. "The Resonance Smith is perhaps one of the more purer Star Designers among the ones that are present in the Red Ocean." Alexa softly commented. "He is an Unbounder, a Star Designer who believes that the Big Two and now the Red Two have outlived their usefulness and need to be broken apart in order to unlock the full potential of our race. To that end, it is in his interest to empower third parties who are not supporters of the establishment and can benefit from its collapse." Ves fell into thought. "I can totally see this as a subtle play meant to shift the balance of power in the Red Ocean. I don’t think it is necessary to read too much into it, though. Our clan is still small. Even if we can become stronger by relying on his technological assistance, our lack of numbers, territory and heritage will continue to hold us back for a long time." "You do not need to do anything on the scale of what the Polymath have done to make a meaningful difference in the Red Ocean." "I know, Alexa, but I still wonder at times. Anyway, enough idle talk. I need to put my full concentration into what I am doing next." More hours passed by as Ves continued to work miracles with his hands, his superdimensional tools and his phase lord senses. Alexa continued to make herself useful as well. She had worked with him enough times to know when he needed to get his hands on specific tools or materials. She also scanned and documented everything in order to make sure that if Ves did anything amazing, they would be able to study the records and derive a clear explanation of what occurred. Meanwhile, as Ves continued to engross himself into his work, he became more and more familiar with superdimensional technology. Being able to work with real solid superdimensional materials added much-needed practical experience to his growing theoretical understanding. The two complimented each other in a way that raised his overall mastery of superdimensional technology. That produced several notable benefits, one of which was to lift the veil of one of the features that he had been coveting for a long time. "I think." He said before briefly pausing. "I am on the trail to discovering the secret of how certain objects can dynamically resize themselves from infantry-grade to mech-grade or greater. The principles should be similar to how a phase lord is able to fold his body into other dimensions, but there are key differences. Relying on phasewater produces an inherently weaker result than relying on superdimensional matter." "Does that mean that you have gained the insights needed to design a mech that can expand to the size of a juggernaut without compromising its structural integrity or the functioning of electronics?" Ves frowned and shook his head. "I doubt that it would be that easy. Certain parts should never be scaled on a dynamic basis. Think of power reactors and so on. I suspect that we need to develop an entirely new paradigm around the design of ’resizable’ mechs and products." "That is too much of a burden to red humanity at the current stage. We can only apply this hypothetical method to small-scale artifacts, preferably ones that do not contain too much electronics." "Can you work that feature into the umbrella that we are currently working on?" Alexa asked. "Not this time. I will need to redesign it from the ground up, and will likely require additional supporting technologies. I need to conduct a lot more research in order to become confident enough to incorporate this possible application into this precious relic."