6899 Superdimensional Archetech "The Riot Mark III Project is progressing slower than we prefer. We apologize for that, Rosa. New technological possibilities have presented us with unforeseen complications." Gloriana's design lab possessed a different ambiance. Ves liked to make his own design lab feel like home. It was the place where he spent most of his time. As an important source of productivity, he liked to decorate it with pictures of his family and snapshots of his living mechs in their most glorious moments on the battlefield. He also decorated his desks and work tables with mech figurines that he casually made when he needed to think or yearned for a distraction. Many of them turned out to be masterworks due to his craftsmanship and the love he placed in their construction. He also was not that strict when it came to cleaning up after his messes. He liked to conduct multiple small research projects at once and often let his machines run concurrently. Anyone who took a look at his lab instruments would know that he had lately spent a lot of time on researching superdimensional matter. Multiple different samples of different grades were strewn about. Ves had cut many different pieces from the original bars and subsequently beat them up, placed them into freezers, attempted to melt them in a furnace and subjected them to high concentrations of gamma radiation. Ves was sure he violated a few lab safety rules when conducting his experiments, but he did not really care. So long as his expensive machines did not blow up or threaten the safety of anyone that visited his lab, he occasionally chose to make use of shortcuts. His time was precious. It was not in his style to follow redundant rules that were solely designed to prevent idiots from making beginner's mistakes. Although even experienced mech designers like Ves could make mistakes from time to time, he accepted the risks of messing up. He could fully bear any accidents if they happened. Overall, Ves believed that he succeeded in making his workplace reflect his personality. His design lab conveyed an informal atmosphere that made it easier for people to let down their guard and speak their true thoughts. His wife liked to do things differently. She was much more sensitive about how she was perceived. As the director of the Design Department, her design lab turned into a vessel in which she imposed her authority over her subordinates. Her workplace remained mostly clean and devoid of too many personal touches. Everything looked professional. The instruments were all perfectly placed and Gloriana tolerated absolutely no form of clutter. She was a stickler for rules and insisted on following the safety regulations that she learned back when she was studying at Kelma University in the Hexadric Hegemony. Gloriana also showed off her Hexer heritage in not-so-subtle subtle ways. From 6-sided tables to installing a shrine of the Superior Mother against a wall, she had made it abundantly clear that she still saw herself as a Hexer as well as a Larkinson. There was little contradiction between the two identities as far as she was concerned. In order to 'balance' the religious display within her design lab, constructed a shrine dedicated to the Golden Cat against the opposite wall. Ves had a feeling that the respective ancestral spirits felt amused more than anything. They never rejected worship, but they did not see themselves as gods, or at least that was what he hoped. Ves designed them to serve as guardian spirits. He liked to think that they had conscientiously fulfilled their original missions. While it was hard to say whether the Superior Mother or rather his mother developed a literal god complex, he at least possessed enough assurances that the Golden Cat remained approachable. That did not have any influence on Gloriana's preconceptions. She was raised from birth to treat entities such as the Superior Mother and the Golden Cat as gods. With the rise of the priest profession, Ves was afraid that more and more people would adopt the same attitude. Times were getting tougher. When folk had no other option, perhaps only faith could give them hope. People no longer ridiculed those who sank to their knees and prayed to actual god pilots for salvation. Ves inwardly shook his head. He did not visit Gloriana's design lab to muse about his concerns about the spread of faith. He paid attention to his wife as she explained the primary reason behind the delays that affected the timeline of the Riot Mark III Project. "Superdimensional technology is at the root of the problem." She patiently explained to Venerable Orfan. "Archetech is an alien tech base that is inherently good at assimilating many different materials. It is inherently compatible with phasewater due to evolutionary reasons and it has also played nice with hyper materials as long as we follow a new set of rules. Unfortunately, superdimensional matter has introduced a new set of problems." She gestured towards an enclosed cube where a sample of archemetal rested in the center. It was one of Gloriana's many attempts at incorporating superdimensional matter in an archemetal component. The reason why she regarded it as a failure was clear on the surface. The archemetal component became affected by spatial instability and displayed minor cracks and warping. Even if the damage was relatively light, it was already enough to turn this piece of archetech invalid. Venerable Orfan frowned. "I did not realize that the problem was this big. I thought that superdimensional tech had a lot in common with phasewater tech. The former is supposed to be a souped up version of the latter." "You are not entirely wrong, but the situation is much more complex than that." Ves responded. "Both phasewater and superdimensional matter share the same roots, but their expressions are still radically different. It is similar to how ordinary carbon and diamonds comprise the same element, but have radically different properties and applications. Phasewater is like a larva while superdimensional matter is the butterfly." "You do not need to understand the science behind superdimensional matter, Rosa." Gloriana interrupted while giving Ves a warning glance. "I am working to combine archetech with superdimensional matter. I am sharing my research data with a number of acquaintances from the Mech Supremacist Faction in order to gain its support on this research project. I do not think it will take too long to obtain an initial solution to the problem. Your Riot Mark III Project will benefit from a superdimensional archemetal mech frame, though I estimate that its completion will be at least a month behind schedule." Venerable Orfan took in the words. "So my Riot Mark III will boast a stronger mech frame than the Dark Zephyr Mark III and the First Sword Mark III?" "Yes." Gloriana confidently said. "The Dark Zephyr has yet to incorporate any superdimensional tech. The First Sword Mark III is a full superdimensional ace mech, but because Ketis has refused my participation in the design project, it is not an archemech. Saint Dise is piloting a machine with a conventional mech architecture. It is simpler and easier to repair, though the internals of the ace swordsman mech are considerably more vulnerable to shocks and other forms of damage." "Many internal components do not contain any superdimensional matter, as we have yet to develop circuitry and other sensitive parts that can remain stable when incorporating this new material." Ves added. This was one of the defensive shortcomings of early superdimensional mechs such as the First Sword Mark III. Their exterior was incredibly tough, but their interior not so much. Certain attack methods that could transfer damage deeper inside a mech frame may be remarkably more effective than trying to drill through the superdimensional armor plating. However, it was not that easy to make this happen. Superdimensional armor systems were expressly designed to prevent such scenarios from taking place. "So if I understand this right, my Riot Mark III will be a lot tougher and more resistant towards damage once it is done?" Venerable Orfan asked. "Yes. Absolutely." Gloriana confirmed. "Even if we normalize the thickness of the armor systems between the First Sword Mark III and the Riot Mark III, the latter will still be able to withstand significantly greater damage without deteriorating as quickly. What we are not entirely certain about is how much of a difference that archetech can make in this context." "I will not say no to any improvements in performance." "We know. What I am fretting about is how we can raise the proportion of superdimensional matter into an archemetal component before reaching a limit." The female mech designer said. "I fear that the initial limit is lower than we would like to see. The internals of your Riot Mark III will therefore remain much softer than the exterior plating. The initial design application still remains experimental. You will need to take this into account when you finally receive your superdimensional expert mech." "Your Riot Mark III will turn into a prototype superdimensional archemech." Ves tried to sum up the point as best as possible. "This means that your battle partner will not be able to draw out the greater potential of archetech and superdimensional tech. The archemechs that my wife and I will design later on will boast considerably tougher and more superior superdimensional archemechs in the future. In two years, I bet that such a machine can easily be 30 or even 60 percent more resistant to damage." This was a massive jump in performance! The prediction highlighted how poorly the initial version of superdimensional archetech would be made. Gloriana and her mecher consultants could not afford to spend years on perfecting the fusion between the two techs. They needed to hurry up and develop the first viable application of superdimensional archetech no matter how flawed or rudimentary it turned out in the end. Trying to design the perfect version of the Riot Mark III would probably set back the completion date by several years instead of months! This rankled the director of the Design Department, but she had no choice. Venerable Orfan needed to get back into action. It was in the best interest of the Larkinson Clan to prioritize expediency over perfection. Her enthusiasm for the Riot Mark III Project therefore became a lot more muted. She never really considered the expert spearman mech as her favorite. As innovative as the Riot Mark III may turn out, she would much rather spend a few extra months to smooth out the kinks and refine the combination between superdimensional tech and archetech further. Ves and Venerable Orfan were much more okay with the expected outcome. They would rather have a 'mediocre' mech at their disposal today than a 'perfect' mech several years later! "Are there any other problems related to my upcoming expert mech?" Venerable Orfan asked. "Yes." Ves responded. "As you know, we have long reserved a tier 3 Destroyer spear for the instance you turn into an ace pilot and develop enough willpower to contain its volatile nature. What we did not anticipate is for superdimensional weapons to steal the crown from Destroyer weapons. The previous bout between Saint Dise and the Wind of Destruction clearly proves that this is the case. The value of the tier 3 Destroyer spear has plunged as a result." Venerable Orfan frowned. Any choices related to weapons had a very large influence on her combat effectiveness. "Isn't it possible to combine the two together like you are doing with the armor system?" Gloriana tentatively nodded. "Theoretically, what you say is plausible. We are aware that the Devos Ancient Clan and other Terran groups are already conducting research to address this need. We believe that their efforts will eventually bear fruit, but it may take a year or several years for the Terrans to succeed." "That leaves you in an awkward position." Ves spoke. "We can either draw upon our reserves of high-grade superdimensional matter to fabricate a spear that can match the performance of a Saint Piercer weapon, or you can choose to wield the 'outdated' tier 3 Destroyer spear. What do you prefer, Rosa?" This… was a difficult choice. Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! Purchase Privilege for The Mech Touch! Read a varying amount of chapters ahead of regular readers while enjoying a 99% discount on unlocking new chapters! Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU Exlor