The Larkinsons could earn a substantial bounty if they completely broke down the damaged Saint Piercer and superdimensional raiment made out of almost the same kind of materials. The provisionally-named 'alien-grade' superdimensional alloy occupied a weird positioning in the human superdimensional tech system. It was stronger than human mid-grade alloy but weaker than human high-grade alloy. There were already people in the scientific community arguing that alien-grade superdimensional alloy should be classified as mid-grade or high-grade. There were arguments against and in favor of either position. Personally, Ves favored the camp that argued that alien-grade superdimensional alloy should be classified as a mid-grade product. This was because its base materials consisted of relatively inferior superdimensional matter that was no different from hull-grade superdimensional matter. The only reason why alien-grade superdimensional alloy overperformed compared to human efforts was because the Red Cabal mastered a superior processing method. It galled a lot of humans that the aliens knew better how to leverage the power of superdimensional matter, but this should hopefully last for a short time. After all, humans always prided themselves on their superior R&D capabilities. The only reason why the phase whales possessed an advantage in this trending new field was because they had mastered it for a much longer period of time. Since 'godbones' was a known phenomenon to the alien phase leaders, the Red Cabal must have been sitting on the existence of superdimensional matter for a long time. What did they do with this knowledge? They hid the existence of superdimensional matter and never unveiled it in the public! The phase whales and the phase lords would rather keep the existence of superdimensional matter hidden than risk any of it falling into mortal hands. After all, there was no weapon that was more effective at countering the amazingly strong defenses of phase leaders than superdimensional weapons! If not for the fact that humans and more specifically their high-ranking mechs inflicted so many losses onto the native aliens, the Red Cabal would have never been willing to distribute weapons made out of godbones to its phase lords. In any case, a lot of humans developed a strong interest in learning the secret to producing alien-grade superdimensional alloy. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 As long as they mastered this mystery production method, they could convert their hull-grade matter into alien-grade alloy, which amounted to a half-step upgrade. That was not the extent of the gains. If the same mysterious processing method also applied to other grades of raw matter, then that would make their alloy versions a lot more powerful as well! Armor-grade superdimensional matter could be processed into armor-plus-grade superdimensional alloy or whatever it should be called. Weapon-grade superdimensional matter could be turned into weapon-plus-grade superdimensional alloy. "All of these terms are becoming more and more excessive." Gloriana complained as she and her husband continued to talk about the potential of mastering alien lore on superdimensional matter. "I think the Red Three needs to come together and devise a more succinct and uniform set of terms and standards. My suggestion is to convert the different grades to numbers. Raw structure-grade superdimensional matter should correspond to 1, hull-grade should correspond to 2, armor-grade should correspond to 3 and weapon-grade should correspond to 4." "Where does that leave alien-grade superdimensional alloy?" His wife grew more animated as she shared her latest views. "If you have paid attention to what I just said, the numbers I have mentioned are calibrated to the four different variations of raw superdimensional matter that we have found in the Blue Dimension. This should form a simple and intuitive scale that everyone can understand. Let us call it the Gloriana superdimensional strength scale. It may not be linear, but it is grounded in the reality we live in. In my estimation, alien-grade should have a score that sits between 3.4 and 3.7 along my new scale. What do you think, Ves?" "...I don't think your newly invented scale is adequate enough for the job." He said. "It doesn't matter if it is not linear, but using 4 different materials to anchor the numbers makes it so that you will need to use a needlessly complicated mathematical formula to score matter that falls outside of this range. For example, the hypothetical weapon-plus-grade superdimensional alloy can be scored anywhere between 5.1 to 7 depending on how weird the scaling grows at that point." His wife frowned, but she did not refute his criticism. "Well, I am not a material scientist, so it is not my turn to speak on this matter. In fact, now that the Polymath has returned along with the rest of Bridgehead One, there is a high likelihood that she will take the lead in this field. That is if the Resonance Smith has not already decided to direct his attention to the growing availability of superdimensional matter." The mention of the return of the Polymath caused Ves to have mixed thoughts. On the one hand, he was glad that the Cybernetic Empire made good use of the Time of Isolation to build up a huge amount of military assets. Red humanity urgently needed her warfleets to reinforce the faltering frontlines and her war planets to fortify the most critical and strategic locations. On the other hand, Ves did not trust the Polymath from the beginning to the end. She was one of the few individuals who had been brainwashed by a so-called Symbol of Authority. Just because the Polymath had somehow managed to get rid of it by throwing it onto his lap like a discarded toy did not mean she had freed herself from its influence! In the worst case scenario, she had become subjected to its brainwashing for so long that her thoughts and goals completely aligned with the Iron Resonant Crucifix Crown. If this was true, then there really was little point to her holding onto the crown. It was completely acceptable for her to pass it on to Ves in the hopes that he would get brainwashed by it one way or another. This would eventually result in two brilliant mech designers transforming into the lackeys of the former Metal Scroll's Symbol of Authority. Ves still was not sure whether the Polymath had this scheme in mind. She certainly gave him a big problem when she passed the crown to him. He had to seek help from his mother in order to find a way to 'safely' contain the Iron Resonant Crucifix Crown. So far, Ves did not spot anything wrong with Vulcan, but who knew whether that was true. Incidents like these caused Ves to develop a lot of vigilance towards the Polymath. He was in no hurry to get in touch with the Cybernetic Empire and potentially talk to the new empress directly. It was best for the Red Three and the first-rate superstates to take the lead on diplomacy. The Cybernetic Empire already hinted at its ambition to become a major independent power. It may even aspire to become the latest hegemon to rule over red humanity, thereby fulfilling the Polymath's deep desire to completely command human society from top to bottom! If that last one proved to be the case, then Ves would try to oppose it whenever possible. Ves did not necessarily believe that the Polymath was a bad or incompetent ruler if it came down to it. He just did not trust her motivations. Who knew what ulterior motives she had in mind. "Who do you think will win the election tomorrow?" Gloriana asked as she continued to examine the pieces of warship debris projected in front of her work station. "Do you even need to ask, honey?" "I know that you favor the Saint Commander since she is half your protege, but I think that the Saint General stands a decent chance." "Are you kidding me?" Ves' expression turned odd. "With the amazing results of the latest battle, Casella has reached a whole new level of popularity. She has made our clan amazingly rich while also proving our capability to fight and defeat numerically superior first-class opponents. This is exactly what we need in a dwarf galaxy that is host to not one, but two civilization-ending threats. I think her approval rating has already surpassed mine when it was at its peak, which happens to be very high." That was an astonishingly difficult accomplishment given how many contributions Ves had made to his clan. His wife began to smirk. "You would think so, but your uncle is not the kind of Larkinson who is willing to admit defeat. Desperate boys tend to make desperate decisions. Have you read his latest statement?" "Huh? Let me check." Ves accessed the Larkinson Clan's internal network and sought out the relevant document. He quickly read through it as his expression turned impassive. "Well? Now that you have read it, what do you think?" "Uncle Ark is being… extremely rash." Ves knew that Ark's chances of winning the election tomorrow were already non-existent, but instead of choosing to lose gracefully while maintaining a good impression so that he could put himself on a stronger footing next time, he decided to put up a last-minute struggle! So what did the Saint General come up with that should hopefully win him back a lot of votes? He proposed to let the Larkinson Clan join the Cybernetic Empire! "According to his logic, the Cybernetic Empire is extremely powerful but geographically and culturally isolated from the rest of red humanity. The Cybers may as well be separate species from humans given how much they have replaced their flesh with cybernetic components." Gloriana said. "They need assistance from groups that are popular, trusted and built up a reach that can easily stretch across our entire society. Our clan happens to fall into this category. There is good potential for a win-win relationship, especially if the Cybers promise to elevate every member of the clan into first-raters This alone is a compelling attraction to many clansmen." His uncle was not wrong in his analysis. Even if he was being a little too optimistic about the Larkinson Clan's various strengths, it was very clear that any major power would love to absorb a powerful group that possessed proven accomplishments on and off the battlefield. "How popular is this trial balloon?" Ves asked. "It is not particularly popular within the Premier Fleet." His wife answered. "That is why few Larkinsons here are talking about it. I am not entirely sure about the expeditionary fleet, but considering that the Saint Commander still retains a strong influence over there, I do not think his proposal has caught fire. However, I am certain that your uncle has at least attracted significantly more sympathizers over there. They see little hope of promoting to the Premier Branch by relying on their own merits. They have a greater chance if the Cybernetic Empire is willing to use its enormous wealth and resources to bring the entirety of the Larkinson Clan up to its standards." "Let me guess. The Larkinsons stationed in all of the side branches are strongly in favor, correct?" Gloriana smirked. "That goes without saying. These are generally the least competent and ambitious Larkinsons. Yet if they have a chance to become first-raters for free, then why not take the chance? In any case, the Larkinson Clan will become much stronger and more secure once we have gained the solid backing of the latest superpower of the Red Ocean." "And give up our autonomy and independence in the process." Ves flatly said. "Not every Larkinson values independence as much as you, Ves. They did not suffer as much from the various states that you once placed your trust in. They do not bear the same scars as you, so they are not on guard towards a new and promising star empire such as the one that is based in Bridgehead One." He had to admit that his wife made a good point. Not everyone could remain calm in the face of such a massive temptation. "Has the Cybernetic Empire responded in any fashion?" "No, and we do not think the Cybers will do so before the election is held. It would give off the impression that they have directly meddled into our internal politics. They should at least wait until the popular vote has ended before opening up a formal dialogue with our clan."