Biomechs did not manage to attain widespread adoption, but they still managed to carve out a niche in the mech market. Compared to third-class and second-class biomechs, first-class biomechs enjoyed considerably more advantages. When money no longer became as serious of an impediment as before, there were plenty of first-raters that were willing to invest big to obtain exotic and exciting organic machines. The Terrans, though not known to be particularly enthusiastic about deviating from established trends, unusually possessed a greater interest in making use of biomechs than other first-raters. Compared to the Rubarthans and other first-raters, the Terrans possessed a greater appreciation for nature and organic life. This was mainly due to their obsession with Old Earth and propagating the original ecosystem of the human race across the stars. The biotech industry of the Greater Terran United Confederation and by extension the Terran Alliance enjoyed greater developoment. Perhaps only certain factions of the MTA and RA could rival the Terrans in terms of biotech development, but the mechers generally pursued different ideals. Both groups possessed different resources, perspectives, goals, rights and cultures. This led to a divergence in how they approached the development of biomechs. "Biomechs are largely a curiosity to most mechers." Master Laila Rebecca Devos patiently explained to Ves. "The MTA and RA have made no secret that they wish to master all of the knowledge and methods related to mech design. Most mechers therefore wish to grasp the secrets to designing biomechs without actually caring about them. Only a small proportion of mech designers from the Mech Supremacist Faction, Transhumanist Faction, Longevity Faction and smaller factions possess any actual enthusiasm towards biotechnology and organic machines." "That is understandable." Ves looked thoughtful. "So how do the mechers approach biomechs?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 "You should already possess a basic understanding of how the Transhumanist Faction views biomechs. They are obsessed with blurring the lines between human and biomech. The Transhumanists view the Evolution Witch as one of the most ideal outcomes to strive for. Even if they cannot become god pilots themselves, the Transhumanists still endeavor to develop solutions to achieve integration between human and biomech." "The Transhumanists became really happy once I unveiled my Carmine System to them." Ves briefly smirked. "Indeed." The old Master smirked back. "The Transhumanists have lodged many complaints about our exclusive collaboration on the Arboreal Project. They are none too pleased that the first Carmine biomech in development is a Terran product." Ves shrugged. "I am already cooperating with the Transhumanist Faction on many different fronts. They should learn how to share." "That is a tall order to ask from the mechers." "I already have a good idea of what the Transhumanists seek in biomechs, but what about the Mech Supremacists? They are not so obsessed with turning themselves into human biomechs." "That is true, Ves. The Mech Supremacists value the unique strategic capabilities that biomechs open up. Their biomech doctrine is largely based on the pioneering works of the Grandmother of Biomechs." Chellie Askadi was one of the older and more famous Star Designers of the human race. She was around 370 years old and had been one of the first true biomech designers to come into prominence. She faced a lot of skepticism, hindrances, opposition and other foul play due to pushing a vision of mechs that disgusted a lot of mech insiders. Whether it was in the past or present, there were many people that simply could not fathom the idea of piloting a mech that looked like a human exobeast that was one moment away from going out of control! To be fair, these suspicions were not entirely groundless. Enough incidents had taken place where experimental biomechs inexplicably gained minds of their own and started indiscriminate fights. However, properly designed biomechs that had been grown using standard procedures rarely if ever went out of control. The MTA had continually amended its rules and regulations until they ended up with a formula that minimized situations where biomechs went out of control. That rehabilitated the reputation of biomechs somewhat, but they had never been able to get rid of the taint up to the present day. The Grandmother of Biomechs largely worked in the time before this shift took place. She experienced pushback at every level, yet she took her hits without complaint and continued her efforts to impart value into biomechs. Though all of her peers and other critics continued to disparage her and her seemingly foolhardy endeavors throughout her career, everything changed when she unexpectedly managed to advance to the rank of Star Designer! In a time where Star Designers had not become as numerous as today, each and every mech designer who had managed to reach this exalted rank received near-universal respect and admiration. Whatever sins and shortcomings they accrued in the past often became irrelevant the moment they transcended their mortality. One of the reasons why this was the case was because mortals did not dare to criticize the works and ideas of higher existences. Anyone with a sense of intelligence in their heads would definitely keep their mouths shut unless they truly believed in their cause. Chellie Askadi went from a pariah into a superstar virtually overnight. Although her ascension failed to push biomechs into the mainstream, she nonetheless contributed immensely to the begrudging acceptance of biomechs as an established if still somewhat niche option in the mech market. Biomechs therefore avoided the fate of juggernauts. The latter failed to gain the support of a Star Designer or a broad coalition of advocates. This was the reason why juggernauts became virtually extinct in the later centuries of the Age of Mechs while biomechs still managed to maintain a small but healthy presence. Though the proponents of biomechs failed to make their products more popular, they at least managed to convince most people to pinch their noses and tolerate the existence of these squishy and freaky organic machines. "Are you familiar with the design philosophy of the Grandmother of Biomechs?" "I do, Master. From what I have read, she is really big on Biofusion Technology. She doesn’t consider biomechs as standalone organic machines. She instead sees them as ’children’ that are biologically linked to their ’mothers’. In this case, the latter can refer to bioships, biofortresses or even actual living designer beasts. The Grandmother always designed her children as an intrinsic part of their mothers. These two are part of the same package. This is because every child can seamlessly fuse with their mothers whenever necessary." This was similar to how Titania operated back when she was a giant astral beast! The ’mothers’ usually consisted of organic fleet carriers, but they were also known to come into the forms of fully functional designer beasts that were uniquely adapted to particularly difficult and hostile environments. The Grandmother of Biomechs became most famous for designing titanic monstrosities that looked as if they came straight out of myths. She brought life to designer beasts as varied as enormous volcanic turtles, jellyfish that were over 10 kilometers long, astral beasts that fed off the minerals found in an asteroid belt, indescribable mollusks that could operate inside gas giants and more. These creatures were not only adapted to support the operations of biomechs, but were also able to survive the harsh conditions of hostile planetary environments and deadly hazardous regions! The Grandmother of Biomechs clearly relied on the fact that biomechs and bioconstructs happened to score better in these aspects to give her works their raison d’être. "It is regrettable that the Grandmother of Biomechs had not managed to immigrate to the Red Ocean before the Great Severing took place." Master Laila Devos sighed. "The MTA maintained strict quotas on who was allowed to enter the Red Ocean first in order to prevent the Milky Way from hollowing out too quickly. Besides, few individuals felt any urgency over the matter. The Grandmother of Biomechs likely waited in line for the next rotation of Star Designers to occur. Before that was supposed to happen, she could easily import much of the phasewater and novel biological samples that she needed to conduct her research in the comfort of her biolabs in the old galaxy." From what it sounded like, the Grandmother of Biomechs would have been fantastic at helping red humanity adapt to the hostile environments of different dimensions. "Have any of her proteges managed to enter the Red Ocean in time?" Ves inquired. "There should be. The MTA imposed much less control over the movements of its Master Mech Designers. The Grandmother of Biomechs should have been able to dispatch at least one of her teams to the new frontier. Only a mech designer who understands her work well possesses the qualifications to act as her agent and procure the right samples on her behalf." Maybe Ves should get in touch with these biomech specialists. He had certainly grown incredibly interested in how his design philosophy could synergize with the most impressive and controversial works of the Grandmother of Biomechs. "I have a good understanding on how the Transhumanists and Mech Supremacists like to approach their biomechs. What about Terrans such as yourself? What aspect of biomechs are you trying to innovate the most?" "There are several directions of research that the Terran biomech industry has made strides in the past few centuries. The most prominent among them is Terran Rapid Adaptation Biotechnology." "I take it that it has to do with the ability for biomechs to rapidly change their organic makeup on the battlefield." Ves immediately guessed. "That is correct. Biomechs are most famous for being able to regenerate quickly on the battlefield. What my fellow Terrans have tried to do is to extend this advantage into in-combat adaptations. If you encounter an enemy that employs long-ranged laser weapons, you would want to deploy mechs that are able to resist thermal damage. If you are confronting an enemy that fields swordsman mechs, you would prefer your biomechs to be able to resist physical damage, particularly slashing and piercing attacks. If you are confronting an entrenched company of heavy artillery mechs, you would want to field light mechs whose armor systems are completely optimized to resist explosive and concussive damage." Ves easily comprehended what this strange tech was all about. "I can see how that can work, but aren’t they trying to do the same job as modular mech platforms? Also, aren’t first-class multipurpose mechs supposed to be the universal solutions to all of those situations?" "You know as well as I do that first-class multipurpose mechs are not truly universally strong in every situation, Ves. They are mainly popular because they can fare at least decently well in every combat scenario. They can still be defeated by more specialized mechs in many different circumstances. As for the difference between conventional modular mech platforms and rapidly adapting biomechs is that the latter come with a significantly lower logistical footprint. The former demands you to carry large amounts of optional and sometimes redundant parts." Ves was not unfamiliar with this problem. "That is one of the biggest pains of fielding the Bright Warrior Mark III’s in our clan." "The large collection of spare parts for modular mech platforms takes up valuable space on a carrier that could have been used to accommodate other mechs. Rapidly adapting biomechs are meant to cope against many different enemies by relying on the mass that is already contained within their organic frames. At most, their motherships may contain a common pool of nutrient stock that they can absorb to replenish their depleted minerals and organic tissue." "I see how that can be more efficient in terms of space and maintenance." Ves understood. "However, these rapidly adapting biomechs try so hard to be versatile that their designs are probably filled with compromises. They cannot utilize as many weapon systems and their variable defenses are probably less effective than fixed defenses." The old Master nodded in acknowledgement. "These are all valid complaints of Rapid Adaptation Biotechnology, but as long as you are fighting against enemies on a smaller scale or do not make use of a rich variety of weapon systems, our biomechs are often able to gain an advantage."