Chapter 7063: Ves the Trapped Fly

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มี.ค. 2569 17:22

What the Web Mistress presented to Ves was ambitious beyond his own imagination. To think that the Polylife concept could potentially result in the birth of a pseudo-fourth order living mech. Ves' expectations for his Polymetal mech design project continually rose as he continued to exchange his thoughts with the Web Mistress. She might not be a living mech expert, but she was still the definite authority on networks in the Red Ocean, so she was in a unique position to provide a lot of relevant consultation on this specific mech proposal. The notion that Ves may be able to create a living mech that broke past the threshold of the third order excited him beyond all measure! Ves became even more committed to his ambitious Polymetal mech concept! Its attraction grew so strong that even the Web Mistress expressed a personal interest in the outcome of his experimental idea. "Your ingenuity and boldness as a Senior Mech Designer is a refreshing surprise." She complimented him. "Regardless of whether you have what it takes to realize the full scope of your mech proposal, the journey towards developing it should already form a valuable component of your growth trajectory. You are still young enough that you can afford to make many mistakes." Ves disagreed with her assessment. He may be young, but human history was unfolding at a very rapid pace. The Red War, the Voribug Outbreak and the arrival of a hostile God King from Messier 87 in a few decades all loomed heavily over his shoulders. He lamented the limited status and capabilities of a Senior Mech Designer. He urgently needed to progress his design philosophy and realize it in order to gain the power he needed to produce more meaningful changes to society. The Arboreal Project was making good progress now that the Terran Alliance had thrown its full support behind the collaborative effort. Ves expected to see the first Woodsap mechs roll out of their growth pools in a handful of months at most. Being able to develop a solid outline and theoretical framework for his Polymetal mech should allow him to complete its development within one or two years by his estimation. There was no reason to expect any major delays so long as he was able to use the Web Mistress' guidance to solve the most difficult technical problems in advance. That still left him with three more elemental Carmine mechs to complete. The one based on the water element had become stalled as the Hunting Association had yet to decide on whether to go through with the Mergewater mech concept that he proposed. The one based on the fire element had yet to enter the planning stage, but Ves was confident he could make good progress on it due to the data and experience he accrued when he bestowed life to the Dominion of Man. Only the one based on the earth element remained a mystery to him for the time being. He had yet to develop a solid idea on the configuration or central concept for a mech after all this time. He had been lacking in inspiration on this front. Ves was not worried yet, but it would grow into an increasingly more severe problem if he still hadn't managed to come up with a killer idea for an earth-based Carmine mech. "Your time is running out." The Star Designer reminded Ves. "Regardless of whether your Polymetal mech is capable of becoming a so-called fourth order living mech, you must first ensure that its Polylife Network is capable of producing this result. Let me explain my theory and proposed solutions to you first." She began to get technical, using a projection to draw out an elaborate and detailed theoretical model that involved many different variables. Although the basic premise of the Polylife Network was not too complicated, Ves needed to incorporate a lot of additional factors in order to control and regulate the fusion between an uncountable amount of nanomachine-scaled life forms. The Star Designer claimed that every step was necessary to reduce the failure rate and avoid any undesirable complications, and Ves believed in her judgment. The good news was that much of her layout consisted of pure E-technology. Ves just had to put on his spiritual engineering hat and work out the specific implementation to her suggestions. The more challenging parts came from trying to modify the designs of the individual nanomachines to better facilitate the creation of a superintelligence. "Smart metal is a specialized field that possesses a high threshold to enter. A non-specialist such as yourself will not know how to modify the carefully engineered designs of the NanoGatherer and NanoSmith. You will have to seek out a mech designer who specializes in nanotechnology and designing smart metal mechs to fully realize this blueprint. You can take your chances without completing this step, but I do not advise you to skip this essential step. It is abundantly clear to me that the Polymath never envisioned that these two nanomachine products would ever be used to form a living mech and a Polymetal mech no less." As much as Ves wanted to deny it, he knew she made an important point. The components had to fit the design. The base versions of the NanoGatherer and NanoSmith were solely designed and optimized with lifeless mechs in mind. Even before he met with the Web Mistress, Ves already thought about implementing numerous tiny changes to them so that they would better support the functioning of a living mech. As Ves wondered where he should seek out a smart metal specialist, the Star Designer voiced her own proposal. "You do not need to seek out a reliable and competent collaborator. I can refer you to a mech designer that can fully assist you in analyzing and modifying the designs of the CE nanomachines. As an upstanding member of my Mech Supremacist Faction, I can vouch for his competence and trustworthiness. While I will not order him to offer his services to you, I do not believe my intervention is necessary for you to persuade the individual in question to fully cooperate with you, even up to the point of agreeing to strict conditions such as signing a non-disclosure agreement." Ves looked up at the Web Mistress with a hint of vigilance. Of course the Red Association wanted in on his ambitious mech design project. The Polymetal mech concept had very strong implications for their profession. It was impossible for the mechers to ignore its potential and let Ves keep it for himself. "I suppose you guys are offering me the expertise of a smart metal specialist for more reasons than giving me a hand, right?" The Star Designer responded with a coy expression. "Come now, Ves. You would not have come here and presented a revolutionary Carmine mech design that can change the mech designer profession forever if you did not already consider the decision to collaborate with the Red Association. This experimental project of yours is precisely the initiative we are willing to welcome with open arms. It is unthinkable to leave us out of the development of this promising endeavor." She was right, but that did not mean that Ves would welcome RA intervention with the same degree of enthusiasm. The initial version Polymetal mech should ideally be a product made by himself and used by himself. He wanted to retain the freedom to publish or withhold his work in order to fish for greater concessions, but the Star Designer was onto his game. She clearly wanted the RA to get involved from the start of the design project so that it could become an important 'shareholder' while the cost of entry was still relatively low. The mechers would most certainly wanted to gain valuable concessions in exchange for their extensive support. "We can use your collaboration with the Terran Alliance on the Arboreal Project as a template for our own contract. We do not ask much from you, Ves. In exchange for providing the relevant mech designers and R&D support that you require in order to develop a powerful and future-proof Polymetal mech, we would like to obtain exclusive distribution rights and other related rights to our collaborative efforts. You may use the resulting Polymetal mech model and its variants as you wish in the Larkinson Clan, but outside of that we must obtain control over who is permitted to receive and pilot such machines." That was pretty much the same deal he made with the Terrans about the Arboreal Project. It was not a coincidence. He would not accept a stricter proposal, and the mechers would lose out if they gave up ground on the exclusivity issue. "Do I truly need the help of you mechers?" He asked even though he already knew the answer. "You must. The Cybernetic Empire has admittedly done an excellent job in developing the NanoGatherer and NanoSmith models, but they are both products of an environment that is devoid of E energy and had no access to superdimensional matter. Are you truly willing to settle for an inferior product that lacks the benefits of hyper technology and superdimensional technology? Let me inform you that it is impossible for you and your clan to develop superdimensional versions of the aforementioned nanomachine models, especially if you seek to make use of the most volatile high-grade superdimensional matter. You require external support, and it may as well come from our Association." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞 Ves felt as if he was a fly who got caught in her web. She made a number of valid points. He could not refute her arguments. Ves wanted the best for himself, and that meant upgrading the outdated CE nanomachine designs with the two technologies that the Polymath had not been able to access until recently. The only issue that he could push back on was whether Ves could only collaborate with the Red Association on this project. That was not true. The Terrans, Rubarthans and even the fleeters could help him solve his technical problems, but did they have the right experts and resources, and were they willing to put them all at his disposal? That remained unclear. He could even seek to collaborate with the Cybernetic Empire on this project. However, its attainments on superdimensional technology would definity be at least half a year behind the other major powers. The thought of dealing with inferior tech and implementations repulsed him to the point of dropping this alternative. If Ves wanted to obtain the best and fastest results, then collaborating with the mechers was truly the most optimal course of action, and both of them knew this was the case. How could a fly possibly dislodge himself from a sticky web when he voluntarily flew into it in the first place? A part of himself already predicted this sequence of events. He may not like it, but the outcome was not completely unacceptable. Gaining the buy-in of the mechers drastically increased the success rate of his experimental project. He would not have to worry about trying to develop high-grade superdimensional nanomachines because the mechers would do all of the heavy lifting. The Web Mistress gave Ves an additional assurance. "If you agree to collaborate with us right away, then I will guarantee your project in my name. This means that you will not encounter any hindrance from others inside or outside of our Association. Trust me, Ves, the subversive implications of your Polymetal mech concept will attract a considerable amount of opposition. With my guarantee, no one but other Star Designers are qualified to object to your work, but they are unlikely to confront us over this endeavor. It will also be easier for us to mobilize more restricted personnel and assets." That pushed aside any lingering hesitation that Ves had left. "Fine." He replied in a resigned tone. "I can agree to collaborate with the Rec Association on the development of the first Polymetal mech. As long as you stick to those terms and let me be in charge of the design project, I have no further objections. I would still like to let our lawyers hash out a formal contract." "That can be arranged. My contract lawyers will make contact with yours. Let us finalize this matter quickly. The sooner we sign the contract, the sooner we can get to work."

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