6901 Invitation Letter Venerable Rosa Orfan did not exactly leave Gloriana's design lab in a good mood, but it couldn't be helped. Ves and Gloriana had a duty to keep their client informed about the good news as well as bad news related to the upgrade project. The Riot Mark III Project suffered numerous delays and suffered multiple disruptions originating from external sources. The timeline for the project had become as chaotic as the vision that Ves wanted to realize with its design. This made it more difficult for the mech designers to keep track of all of the changes. They also risked getting out of sync with each other. The messier the project became, the more everyone's thoughts on the Riot Mark III began to diverge. This generated additional work for Ves as he had to act as the knot that tied everything together. The Riot Mark III was his brainchild, so he had to make sure that every mech designer conformed to his intentions. That was not a simple task considering that his ideas for the Riot Mark III changed over time. Ves identified that he was getting caught up in feature creep. He was allowing the onset of new technologies and inspired ideas to interfere with his original vision for the Riot Mark III Project. If he wanted to complete the upgrade project in the most straightforward way possible, then he should ignore the promise of superdimensional technology and completely reject any major changes to the original concept of the expert spearman mech. This was impossible. Superdimensional tech was too strong. It would take a long time to design another major revision to the Riot that would allow her to convert into a full superdimensional mech. 22:40 It was better to accept the additional work and complications early than to let Venerable Orfan suffer for missing out on the superdimensional trend. "Sir?" Ves interrupted his musings as a mech designer sought to visit him in his personal design lab. Not just anyone from the design department could knock on his door. Unless it was a handful of close people, the others had to gain approval from his bodyguards, personal assistant or his wife. "Come in, Kalister." He said as he silently transmitted a signal to open the secure door. Kalister Devos looked a little nervous as he entered the sanctum of the most important mech designer of the Larkinson Clan. His gaze tried to remain as straight as possible, but his enhanced vision must have caught the sight of the projected images of living mechs in action and the masterwork mech figurines that Ves had casually placed wherever he liked. "Meow~" Lucky yawned as he perched on an elevated cat bed. The young mech designer gave the gem cat a short but respectful bow. To the old timers, Lucky was family. The newcomers, Lucky was a legend that had accompanied the Larkinson Clan from the beginning. Tales of his exploits painted him as a mythical guardian figure that had saved Ves and the Larkinsons during numerous critical moments. Ves was not surprised by this sort of behavior. He could tell that Lucky cared little about the attitudes of the juniors of the clan. No matter whether people revered him or treated him as a pet, it didn't matter so long as he continued to be fed with yummy metals. Unfortunately, his latest diet did not entirely agree with his stomach. Ves had already fed him another tiny slice of weapon-grade superdimensional matter, but his digestive system barely tolerated the highly exotic meal. The good news was that Lucky was able to tolerate superdimensional matter a little better than before. The bad news was that the rate of improvement was too slow. If Ves extrapolated the data, then it may take years before Lucky fully acclimated to superdimensional meals. Ves looked forward to that moment. By then, the gem cat's transformation to an artificial superdimensional being would be complete. A part of Ves wanted this to happen in order to make up for his regret for passing over the upgrade track for Superdimensional Transformation. If Ves missed the opportunity to turn himself into a superdimensional existence, then his cat would take his place! Perhaps Lucky would gain a massive body that was large enough to maul a mech into pieces. "Take a seat, Kalister." Ves gestured to a nearby chair. "How are you doing? Does the Design Department live up to your expectations?" The former Terran calmly took his seat while keeping his back straight. "The Design Department is different from what I have imagined. It is… less organized and more informal than I expected. It is clear that its current structure is closely related to how you originally organized your design teams. After passing over leadership to Director Gloriana, your successor has attempted to formalize the department, but she has become accustomed to how you work that her changes are too mild." "Do you think Gloriana must go further in her reforms?" "Not necessarily." Kalister smiled. "The less formal structure of the Design Department is good for low-ranking mech designers such as ourselves. Our workloads are still considerable, but we have greater room to excel and develop our talents. We can earn additional Larkinson merits and exchange them for a rich variety of rewards. Not all mech companies are as generous to its lowest mech designers. We are much more accustomed to being driven by slaves, figuratively speaking." "And they can get away with this treatment?" "Why not, sir? Their mechs are designed by numerous notable Master Mech Designers. Their teachings and guidance hold great value to us. Although they may not necessarily care about the Novices and Apprentices under their noses, their professional obligations still compel them to lecture us from time to time. Most mech companies have also developed structured promotion trajectories that give anyone a chance to climb higher. The difficulty is far greater as the companies do not necessarily want to promote too many Journeymen and Seniors from the lower ranks." Ves frowned. "I can see why that may be the case. The Masters merely want assistants who are good at completing their assignments but nothing more. If the hired help turn into Journeymen, then the mech company has to allocate more resources and manpower to support their continued development. Journeymen have also become too dignified to complete any further scut work. This may be detrimental if they have spent multiple years becoming good at designing specialized components." Most mech companies actually did not need so many Journeymen, Seniors and Masters. They would rather work with a fixed team of vetted, loyal and trustworthy Masters and shape entire departments around their needs. The Design Department did not work like that because it lacked a team of highly productive Master Mech Designers. At this stage, Ves and Gloriana still needed to raise a lot of talents in order to speed up the completion of all of their mech design projects. This could not go on forever. A new Journeyman, Senior and Master usually lasted for a long time. They permanently raised the productivity of the Design Department unless they manually quit, got fired or received a reassignment. 22:41 This could not go on forever. A new Journeyman, Senior and Master usually lasted for a long time. They permanently raised the productivity of the Design Department unless they manually quit, got fired or received a reassignment. Once the Design Department received all of the help it needed, it may eventually adopt the same patterns as the older mech companies and limit the scope of upward mobility. The Larkinson Clan merely needed enough promotions to cover normal attrition. Perhaps Ves might give ambitious mech designers other places for them to showcase their talents, but the Design Department still needed to provide the greatest possible assistance to Ves and Gloriana in order to maintain their value. Ves almost forgot that Kalister Devos likely visited his office for a specific purpose. "I did not expect you to drop by today. What is on your mind that is urgent enough for you to pay me a visit?" Kalister's expression changed. He regained his formal demeanor and stood up with a ramrod straight back. He carefully retrieved a black paper letter that looked old-fashioned and presented it to his superior with both of his palms. Ves eyed the letter with an odd expression before plucking it from the younger mech designer's fingers. The texture and thickness of the envelope felt particularly good. It was not smooth enough to feel artificial, but it was also not rough enough to feel crude. The sender of the envelope had even sealed it with old-fashioned red wax. The gesture held no functional meaning, but it certainly added greater metaphorical weight to the letter. Ves casually pulled at the wax seal and opened the envelope. He retrieved a thin card that formally conveyed an invitation to a banquet organized by the Devos Ancient Clan. "I see." He said as he quickly interpreted the meaning behind the invitation. "After spending plenty of months on New Constantinople VIII, I am already set to resume my journey through the cosmos. Since it is unlikely that I will ever return to this star system, the Devosans want to formally send me off with a farewell party. This is definitely a new experience for me. Why the letter?" "Tradition." Kalister simply answered. "The reason why we still uphold it is because it conveys how serious the sender desires the attendance of the recipient. This is a sign of great respect from one party to another. If your importance is not as high to the Devosans, then they would have sent you a much less ceremonial virtual notification." Ves could see that. He might have to copy this little tradition if he wanted to organize his own gatherings in the future. He could even add a little extra spice to his invitation letters in order to make them special. The recipients would definitely appreciate the personal touch. He directed a gracious smile towards Kalister. "I accept. I believe I can spare an evening to entertain one of my best friends and allies during these difficult times. The Devos Ancient Clan is a good host, and I have very few complaints about my stay on this planet. Do I need to send back a letter?" "That is not necessary. I shall convey your response on your behalf. As a foreigner, Devos Ancient Clan will not expect you to follow Terran etiquette and traditions. Ignoring the rules is a sign of disrespect if you are a native of the Terran state, but an excusable oversight if you are not. The Terrans appreciate those who are willing to emulate their ways, but if you wish to do this, then you must do everything right, or else you will insult their heritage by failing to make a good effort. Only trained diplomats should follow this route." Ves was no diplomat, so he did not even think of trying to emulate the Terrans. Besides, a man of his status and accomplishments no longer needed to rely on this pageantry in order to earn the respect of the Terrans. It was much like how the Fist of Defiance made no pretense at formality and always poke his mind. His incredible might and force was so high that his mere involvement was enough to make even the most stiff-backed snobs fold in an instant! "Since this farewell banquet is a big deal, will the Devosans spring any surprises for me?" Ves asked. Kalister Devos spent a few seconds in thought. "I cannot say for certain, but it is in the best interest for the Devos Ancient Clan to maintain its intimacy with the Larkinson Clan. My former clan will likely offer you gifts or other proposals of great substance. You may decline if you wish, but the Devosans have analyzed your personality and past decision-making so well that they will definitely calibrate their offers to raise the success rate to the greatest possible extent." "Should I feel concerned?" "Not likely, sir. You hold the advantage, so the offer will be more favorable to you than the Devosans. Their goal is to continue to maintain friendly relations with you long after you have left their territories, so they must absolutely be generous." Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! 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