Chapter 7282: Crumbling Institutions Find the true headquarters of the Red Cabal. "Are you being serious?" Jovy nodded. "We believe you can do it, Ves. You are a man with unusual capabilities. While you are far from the only individual tasked with this mission, we believe that you have advantages that others lack. It doesn't hurt to try. If you can succeed, then that is great. If you cannot, then just consider it a useful learning experience." All of this sounded awfully familiar to Ves. He could already predict how the conversation would unfold. The only difference was that he would be fulfilling the objectives of the Survivalists rather than the Transhumanists. While Ves had reluctantly accepted the mission imposed by the Evolution Witch, he was not about to let the Survivalists do the same. He already carried too numerous burdens on his shoulders! "No." Jovy frowned. A man as clever and perceptive as him could clearly sense a strong repulsion from his friend. "Why not let me finish yet? I can promise you that the mission is not as hard as it sounds. We are not asking you to travel deep into native alien space. We value your contributions. I can guarantee you that you will be more than satisfied with the rewards. We can still offer much to an ambitious Senior Mech Designer such as yourself." Ves crossed his arms. "And I am telling you that I am far too busy to be your errand boy. Look, isn't it enough for the Parkinson Clan to give you access to a semi-regular supply of superdimensional matter? If you want more of it, then that is your business. I am not opposed to your attempts to find the headquarters of the Red Cabal for the purpose of finding the source of alien-grade superdimensional matter, but I am already busy. I have no time to handle the native aliens. I am busy trying to come up with good solutions against the mutated workings." His response did not satisfy Jovy. He looked at Ves with a scrutinizing gaze. "Did the Evolution Witch issue a mission to you already?" Damn! Jovy was not easy to fool. A man of his intelligence and deductive reasoning ability was extremely hard to mislead. The question directly put Ves on the spot. The Evolution Witch had strongly emphasized the confidential nature of his current mission. He did not think she would be sympathetic if he confessed the truth at this time. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 He could only respond in a more indirect manner. "Maybe you guys are right that I am not ready to become a tier 2 galactic citizen as of yet." He sighed. "Sure, I am in nominal control of the Phase Lord Department, but that doesn't mean that I can automatically solve everyone's problems. I already have a lot of responsibilities on my plate, and several of them are so burdensome that they take up all of my energy just to keep up. I really do not want to add more complications to my life. Can you just give me a break? I am not the only problem solver in the Red Ocean. Please don't shove every seemingly insurmountable problem to me. You guys have your own operatives. Make use of them. Please." Jovy stared uncomfortably hard at Ves. The Survivalist liaison most definitely understood the words that Ves did not say. Yet so long as they remained unsaid, Ves did not have to confirm or deny anything. A subtle atmosphere descended in the design lab. The two had spent enough time in each other's company to guess each other's thought patterns. Jovy eventually sighed. "I will not press you any further. I will even withdraw the invitation for you to participate in our great mission. As much as I believe that you can make unique contributions, we will respect your desire to manage your own schedule. However, let me remind you that your decisions have consequences. We will take note of your willingness to cooperate with some groups but not others." The implicit meaning hit Ves hard. He could no longer have it both ways. The time where Ves was able to maintain an equal amount of goodwill with both the Survivalist Faction and the Transhumanist Faction may be coming to an end. While Ves had always liked the Survivalists for their pragmatism and decisiveness, he did not appreciate their attempt to sow division. Why the hell did he have to pick sides? It was just a mission. A single refusal shouldn't produce such an exaggerated outcome. Unfortunately, the Survivalists were so perceptive and paranoid that they may have already condemned Ves. Their understanding of himself was so good that it was impossible to hoodwink them like he had done with numerous other people. Ves understood that this was a turning point in his relationship with the Survivalist Faction. Maybe he could still cooperate with the Survivalists on mundane affairs, but he might not receive any more invitations to contribute to major projects such as the Whale Ark. Ves looked disappointed. "Look Jovy, I am not an insider of the Red Association. I am not directly involved in all of this political stuff that you guys have going on. Why have relations between the factions deteriorated so much? How is the Evolution Witch being regarded by those outside the Transhumanists Have I missed a huge development or anything?" The liaison from the Survivalist Faction stared at Ves with a measured expression. Jovy eventually grew satisfied with what he saw. "Your ignorance is... regrettable but understandable. After all, you are not a proper member of the Red Association. You have been focusing all of your political efforts on the Red Collective. You can probably tell me more of what is taking place within the RC. Very well. I shall give you a short overview on the major developments that have caused relations between the factions and tier 1 galactic citizens to deteriorate." Jovy waved his arm to activate a projection. It was an overview of the hierarchy of the Red Association. The god pilots and Star Designers all stood at the head of their own factions. "Practically speaking, the Red Association is currently led by four major factions: the Survivalist Faction, the Transhumanist Faction, the Expansionist Faction and the Mech Supremacist Faction. However, these factions are vestiges of the factions of the Mech Trade Association. Several of them have proved increasingly inadequate to the current realities of the Red Ocean. That is why a grand realignment has begun. The factions are changing, and many tier 1 galactic citizens have decided that sharing power may not be as ideal as leading their own power blocs." "Are you saying that more and more leaders intend to follow the example of the Polymath and the Huntsman?" Ves asked. Jovy grimaced. "Yes. The Red Ocean is a location that offers more room for people to pursue their own ambitions. The strength of our institutions are much weaker here than in the old galaxy. Back during the Age of Mechs, no god pilot or Star Designer would have dared to strike out on their own. There are too many institutionalists among them that would force them to remain a part of the collective in order to constrain their behavior. That is not the case anymore. Due to varying reasons, the leaders you have mentioned have tested the boundaries of what they can get away with and succeeded in their gambits. Others have noted their example and plan to follow suit." Tier 1 galactic citizens were some of the most powerful ideologues of the human race. They possessed both the power and the opportunity to steer the course of human civilization in a different direction. The Huntsman founded the Hunting Association, causing red humanity to place a lot more emphasis on the hunting and management of powerful exobeasts, but only under his leadership. The Polymath meanwhile took direct control over the most prosperous and advanced sun system occupied by red humanity, thereby controlling an incredibly strong power base that solely listened to her orders. Other tier 1 galactic citizens must have grown jealous and envious at the pair for being able to pursue their personal goals and ambitions so well. In comparison to the Hunting Association and the Cybernetic Empire, the Red Association became increasingly less attractive. The RA was not only a superorganization where consensus suppressed many personal goals and ambitions, but was also constrained by the vestiges of the old MTA. The desire to shake free from the restrictive regime of the Mech Trade Association grew by the day. The strict rules and the unwillingness to accept radical proposals must be grating on radical leaders such as the Evolution Witch. From her perspective, it made more sense to strike out on her own rather than keep herself shackled to the increasingly more flawed institutions of the Red Association. Ves slowly widened his eyes in realization. "I see. The four factions managed to hold the Red Association together in its current form, but once their willingness to keep doing so is fading, that may spell the end of the superorganization." "If the worst comes to pass, then we believe that the Mech Supremacist Faction will remain and ensure the continuation of the core functions of the Red Association." Jovy said. "Other individual leaders such as the Fist of Defiance may agree to stay as long as their personal goals do not conflict with the mission of the RA." "What about the rest?" "The Transhumanists have always set themselves apart from the rest of the mechers. I think you already understand quite well why that is the case. To the Transhumanists, mechs are a means to an end. Many of them had always been more willing to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in the name of promoting human evolution. If the Chosen Human or one of agents remained in charge, then the Transhumanists of the Red Ocean would have remained firmly wedded to the existing institutions. However, under the leadership of the much more radical Evolution Witch, unity has become increasingly less probable." The explanation made it sound inevitable that the Transhumanist Faction would sever its ties with the Red Association. "You make it sound as if that is a bad thing." Ves boldly stated. "Is that truly the case? Sure, the RA will grow weaker, but the Evolution Witch clearly is not content with sticking to the existing rules." "Have you forgotten the importance of maintaining a united front in the face of overwhelming enemies, Ves? The more our institutions fracture, the more resources and manpower is being wasted on redundant work. The Red Association is not perfect by any means, but it at least serves as a stable platform to resist the native aliens and the mutated voribugs. It will become much harder for our tier 1 galactic citizens and their organizations to pool together their resources and serve the collective will of red humanity. Large superprojects such as the Whale Ark will experience significant delays and shortfalls due this disunity." Ves began to frown. "Unity. Unity. Unity. All you are hammering on is unity. I can understand why you place so much emphasis on it, but I don't think it is worth sacrificing everything. I think you are not giving the more radical leaders enough credit here. Just because they have chosen to build their own organizations does not mean that they have given up on defending red humanity. They are just telling us all that they are only willing to do so on their terms. I think there is still a possibility for everyone to effectively cooperate with each other. You simply can't take it for granted anymore." As a committed Survivalist, Jovy could not bring himself to accept these arguments. A true Survivalist was more than willing to sacrifice his personal goals and ambitions in order to fulfill a greater purpose. "All of this selfishness is threatening to unravel our collective defense against our enemies." He said with contempt. (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)