Chapter 7293: Sidney Particle Cannons The Sigma Drift was not an ordinary machine. Its Spatial Disassociation Engine alone turned it into a genuine superdimensional mech! Ves could easily foresee that the Sigma Drift was specifically designed to counter the native aliens! So long as Major Jankowski broke through and became an expert pilot, then the Sigma Drift could easily be upgraded into an expert mech, allowing it to support the functioning of the SDE. The experimental device possessed serious flaws and constantly tried to destroy itself whenever it became active. Ves was not too unfamiliar with this setup. The tradeoff was normally unfavorable, but as long as a high-ranking mech pilot was able to reinforce the experimental drive with true resonance, its self-destructive nature could be reined in to an extent! This meant that Master Frederick Timpassa Roye clearly designed the Sigma Drift as an expert mech that had temporarily been downgraded into a standard mech. It probably wouldn't take too many steps for a team of mech technicians to complete the planned upgrade. He knew that because he and his wife had adopted the same approach for the Dark Zephyr Mark III and the Riot Mark III. Ves suddenly realized that he had underestimated the importance of the Sigma Drift. It was not just a machine used to test a single theory. It was a true experimental platform that was filled with cutting-edge technologies from beginning to end! He could understand the intention behind its design. The Sigma Drift represented a departure from the old style of mechs. The concept behind the mech was to present a bold new vision for the future of high-end mechs. It contained dozens of small technological innovations that compounded into a distinctly different style of machine that no one had ever seen before. In order to seek the most comprehensive improvement, Master Frederick Timpassa Roye deliberate broke several standards and conventions that had defined high-end mechs for many mech generations. Its configuration deliberately made a point by adopting such an inhuman design. The choice of adding so many tentacles to the machine was bound to evoke a lot of controversy. While Ves could not immediately figure out why the design placed so much emphasis on the odd segmented tentacle limbs, he could vaguely deduce that they played a central role. The masterwork mech practically took pride in its alien design. If he didn't know any better, maybe Ves would have concluded that the Sigma Drift had been designed by an alien as opposed to a human. "Superdimensional technology represents the future." Jovy Armalon said as they examined the Sigma Drift while it was being tweaked. "This machine that you see before you is a sign of things to come. As long as superdimensional matter becomes more accessible, we can produce more mechs that incorporate light to moderate amounts of this new wonder material. We do not necessarily need the most valuable armor-grade and weapon-grade superdimensional matter to revolutionize our high-end mechs. The most ideal solution is to learn how the native aliens are able to obtain their own stock of superdimensional matter." The Survivalist mech designer couldn't help but hint towards the important mission that he wanted to issue to Ves. The strategic importance of finding out the source of alien-grade superdimensional matter was extremely high. No matter whether the phase whales managed to produce it on an artificial basis or robbed the ancient graves of the so-called Elder Gods, red humanity needed it more! As Ves continued to examine the RA masterwork mech, he carefully issued his response. "Superdimensional technology is but one of numerous possible solutions. As powerful as it may be, it is not a material that the grassroots soldiers can easily access. I still think that the focus of the mech industry should be placed on hyper technology and E-technology. Both disciplines are derived from one of the most abundant sources of power in the current age: E energy radiation. The native aliens may have been able to copy our azure energy shields and other tech, but there are design applications that they can never replicate. With Carmine mechs and companion spirits, our race can continue to build up our technological lead. Every mech pilot benefits, not just the champions who can receive a custom mech that contains innovative superdimensional tech." Though superdimensional technology had definitely become the next hot trend, Ves mentally categorized it into an even narrower box than phasewater technology. When it came down to it, both technologies were limited by the scarcity of their key materials. Although Ves had long moved past the point where he had to beg and scrape to obtain just a single handful of phasewater or superdimensional matter, he had not forgotten about the needs of the masses. His incredibly popular Yellow Jackets were doing their jobs of giving norms a chance to fulfill their long-held dreams of piloting their own mechs, but there was only so much they could do on the battlefield. Their economical designs severely limited their combat power. Outside of luxurious third-party variants, the Yellow Jackets were only good as cannon fodder on most large-scale battlefields. It was not that Ves deliberately wanted to weaken the Yellow Jackets. He just considered that if he wanted to introduce the revolutionary Carmine System to red humanity, it would be best if he targeted the bottom segment of the population first. Perhaps many entrepreneurs would have tried to milk Carmine mechs for all that they were worth and start by targeting the top segments before the others, but that did not serve the interests of human civilization. The demand for Carmine mechs was too overwhelming. Leaving too many people frustrated would only cause them to develop the impression that the Carmine System was a rich person's toy. Given the material limitations of superdimensional technology, Ves knew that it could never support the backbone of the mech community. He still believed that it was better to spend his time and energy on figuring out better ways to exploit E energy radiation. Still, these philosophical musings did not prevent him from sincerely admiring the Sigma Drift. "Let me introduce its features to you." Jovy said as he gestured towards the bottom tentacles. "These limbs not only act as legs, but they are also integrated with Omega Laser hardpoints. As long as the mech pilot is able to control them well enough, they can aim and fire powerful Omega Laser beams in every direction. While the penetration power of Omega Laser weapons is excellent, they can also be scaled down and used to clear out cannon fodder." Ves was already somewhat familiar with Omega Laser weapons. The Premier Fleet still fielded a notable complement of Omega Threshers. This allowed him to familiarize himself with both its strengths and weaknesses. "The efficiency of an Omega Laser weapon is not too great even if you dial it down to the lowest power setting, but even then the results are not too great. This is a weapon system that is much more suited to employ against the native aliens." Jovy nodded. "We cannot deny that the Sigma Drift was conceived before the Day of Pestilence, but do not forget that the Sigma Drift is still a multipurpose mech. It must be versatile enough to adequately respond to any situation. Mutated voribugs are tricky and difficult to defeat entirely, but the Sigma Drift should still have the capabilities to defeat them on the battlefield. The Goliath Hive is an especially helpful adversary for us as its princess is developing plenty of Goliaths to temper the mech pilot's skills." A complex expression appeared on Ves' face. He did not entirely buy into Jovy's explanation. "What else?" "Well, the Sigma Drift's hands can carry a large variety of handheld weapon systems." Jovy explained. "We have already brought along a small collection of ranged and melee weapons that are suitable to be used against both the native aliens and the mutated voribugs. In the current situation, it is best for the mech to wield a plasma weapon when fighting against a Goliath and a high-capacity flamethrower when fighting against voribug swarms." This was a relatively decent selection. The problem was that both weapon systems consumed a lot of resources. The plasma weapon would definitely drain a lot of energy while a flamethrower could only be used so long as there was enough fuel in the tank. Ves already noted the presence of an energy link transceiver on the upper rear of the mech, so the Sigma Drift should not have to worry about exhausting its energy reserves too soon. Heat management would remain a serious issue, but the mechers likely took this problem into account and formulated the corresponding solutions. "What is special about these particle weapons?" Ves gestured towards the hardpoints mounted in the upper chest. "It is clear that they occupy a significant amount of capacity on the mech." "Good eyesight. What you are looking at is an early example of offensive superdimensional technology. This is a real superdimensional weapon, not a conventional weapon that just happens to make use of superdimensional parts. The particle weapons possesses traits that are impossible to replicate without the use of mid-grade superdimensional matter." Ves raised his eyebrows when he heard that! He did not expect the Red Association to develop an energy weapon that utilized superdimensional matter in an effective manner to this extent so soon. "That is a significant advancement." He sounded genuinely awed. "Tell me the details." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 "The Sidney Particle Cannons mounted on the chest of the Sigma Drift do not entirely derive their power from the particles that you are familiar with. Aside from utilizing energetic particles that can be generated through normal means, the cannons also employ superdimensional technology to create a one-way energy tunnel to multiple higher dimensions. These tunnels are weak and cannot channel any form of matter, but the energies alone are devastating enough, especially when they are forcibly blended together." Ves took a moment to parse this explanation. He found it amazing that the new tech successfully miniaturized the mechanisms responsible for creating dimensional tunnels! "So these particle cannons... essentially work by charging conventional particles with higher-dimensional energies, am I correct?" "That sounds... extremely dangerous." "Not as much as you think." Jovy tried to reassure Ves. "The Sidney Particle Cannons are originally derived from research related to accessing, probing and scouting the higher dimensions. Ever since your clan introduced red humanity to superdimensional matter, we have employed a variety of methods to explore other potentially resource-rich dimensions. This led to the accidental development of Sidney Particle Weapon Technology. The new weapon tech encompasses rather crude but effective attempts at weaponizing higher-dimensional energies." "That sounds hard." "The challenges are many. In most cases, the energies derived from a single higher dimension is not lethal enough. This was why we experimented on combining multiple different energies together. In most cases, the experiments yielded no positive outcomes. It was only in the rarest of cases that we stumbled upon formulas and combinations that just happened to produce the desired results. We have only discovered half-a-dozen or so effective combinations. The Sidney Particle Cannons mounted on this mech are categorized as Type Sigma. This is where the first word of the name of the mech is derived." Ves finally understood why it was called the Sigma Drift. Both words referred to the superdimensional aspects of the machine. The Sidney Particle Cannons were probably a bigger deal that he anticipated! "What kind of damage can Type Sigma weapons inflict?" Jovy smiled."The superdimensional weapons of this type can produce a variety of effects. Chief among them is breaching through spatial barriers or other forms of strong energy defenses. They also happen to be especially effective against organic matter. That is not all. The consistency of Type Sigma cannons is rather low. Last I heard, there are still problems related to generating the specific effects on demand." "Why does it sound like you are gambling with every pull of the trigger?" (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)