The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2813

Chapter 2813 - Downside of Living Mechs

The final score abruptly widened to 4-2 in favor of Ves!

While the result was a bit predictable in hindsight, a lot of people still reacted negatively to this outcome.

"Are they even Lifers? How could they choose a metal mech over a biomech!"

"It’s over for us if the mech pilots base their decisions on the win-loss records!"

"Traitors! Why didn’t they give the Faerie Stinger a chance? It’s clearly the better-looking of the two mechs!"

"I need to see what the fuss is all about. Are the Ferocious Piranha’s truly special?"

The audience sounded more perplexed than angry for the moment. They never experienced the two mechs up close, so they found it very difficult to understand why the Ferocious Piranha merited so much praise.

Only by coming close to the mech in question would they be able to learn why Rez Killigan and Katarina Volsimar kicked the Faerie Stinger to the curb!

Once the discontent voices died down a bit, the show resumed.

Six mech pilots had issued their verdicts by now. Four still had to voice their opinions.

The likelihood of that happening seemed very bleak, but Ves didn’t rule out any possibility. An upset might very well happen if the remaining mech pilots all misinterpreted their orders and used flawed logic to come up with their answers.

This was the problem with receiving any feedback from mech pilots. Their highly-specialized mech academy training turned them into great mech pilots but not much else. They didn’t learn any advanced sciences, learned nothing about culture and probably didn’t even know how their own government worked!

Many states believed that mech pilots had to be pure soldiers. Forcing them to learn non-combat subjects not only reduced the time they spent on developing their fighting skills, but also inserted their minds with potentially-dangerous thoughts!

If mech pilots became more political or assertive, then they might very well pose a threat to their states one day!

Therefore, the overall consensus throughout human space was that mech pilots had to be raised as grunts. If they were subjected to any intellectual courses, then they should purely be geared towards turning them into qualified officers, not great scientists or other professions that required great thought.

For this reason, many mech pilots weren’t exactly clever outside of battle. Unlike scientists and engineers who studied the scientific method and learned how to anticipate and compensate for many different biases that were capable of skewing the results, mech pilots didn’t bother with all of that. They simply spoke what was on their mind regardless of whether their answer was related to the original question.

This was the accepted practice towards any study that involved mech pilots. Their initial answers were always the purest ones that best reflected their true feelings and thoughts.

Any attempt at coaching them or guiding them to answer a question more correctly would put undue influence on their judgement.

Therefore, despite all of the shortcomings related to the current approach, it was still considered better than the alternative.

"In my first match, I lost with Mr. Larkinson’s mech. In the second match, I lost with Dr. Navarro’s mech. My experiences with both the Valkyrie Redeemer and the Frokyn could have been better. I.. I don’t know if I’m the right judge for this, but what I have gone through while losing with both mechs is different."

The recently-graduated mech pilot looked quite bummed because of this. His two losses not only reflected poorly on his piloting skill, but also denied him the opportunity to experience the mechs at their best.

At least there was a bright side to this outcome. Carter Day displayed a sheepish smile.

"Mechs are supposed to win, but not every fight ends in your favor. What I have just gone through has taught me that mechs can make a huge difference when you are on the losing end. In this regard, I did not feel as if the Frokyn had my back. It failed to perform as well as in the first match, and that was a big letdown to me. I know it was in a rather exhausted state when I got my hands on it, but I expected more."

The male mech pilot shrugged. "I heard a few stories about the Valkyrie Redeemer model. It’s supposed to be a mech that is exclusive to Hexer women, though this particular mech was altered. I don’t know how the original version is supposed to work, but I think I know why Hexers fell in love with it. The Valkyrie Redeemer is like a second partner to me. Even though I lost badly against the Frokyn while I piloted it, I always felt as if my mech supported me to the very end. It made me fight harder and always kept me company to the very end."

Carter Day then proceeded to voice his most devastating words.

"When I piloted the Frokyn.. I lacked all of that. The biomech was pretty much dead to me. I was left on my own, and I can’t get over that. The only mech that is alive of the two is the Valkyrie Redeemer. Hexer mech or not, the version I piloted is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to use! I wish I was a woman, though. I could have gotten much more out of it if I wasn’t a man!"

His answer depressed the crowd even further. Carter Day’s arguments were much better thought out, and that left the Lifers with little means to reject them. That left many people frustrated!

It didn’t help that the Frokyn hadn’t performed up to expectation during the second phase. The recency bias must have amplified his negative experience.

"Is this a mistake?" _{free𝑤ebnovel.com}

On the other hand, she explained her misgivings about Ves’ interpretation of living mechs. Her concerns were valid. If Ves had designed more mechs, then he could have made use of more neutral mech models for this design duel, but because he was too young, he didn’t have much choice! Adapting the Transcendent Punisher to a foreign mech pilot was the best he could do to fill up the fifth slot of his dueling mech roster.

Since Gwineth Ulser’s reply wasn’t entirely clear, someone had to decide how to adjust the score.

Master Cline broke the silence.

"I will interpret Madame Ulser’s answer as a vote in favor of Dr. Navarro."

Everyone waited for the final mech pilot to issue her verdict. Ilse Lieberman had already listened to the answers of nine mech pilots. That caused her to approach this issue from multiple angles.

"I think the mech pilots who spoke before me already touched upon many of the points I wanted to say. They all have a point. Mr. Larkinson’s mechs are truly amazing. I can even see why they are called living mechs. While I agree with what Ulser said about mechs, I don’t see that as a reason to reject them. Mechs are our partners. As long as we treat them well, they will definitely return the favor when we need it most."

Her eyes turned a little dreamy. "I think that you need to develop a relationship with mechs like these. I really wish I had months to do so with the Transcendent Punisher. I would have probably fought a lot better if I did! As for the Swarm Monarch... I’m sorry, Dr. Navarro, but I don’t see why it should be called alive. I know for certain that the mech will largely remain the same even if I invest months into developing a relationship with it. No matter if it’s a biomech or a classical mech, nothing will come from befriending it as long as it’s not designed by Mr. Larkinson!"

Her answer was loud and clear. She voiced her support for Ves, thereby changing the final score to 7-3 in favor of Ves!

This score happened to mirror the outcome of all of the matches!

Now that the mech pilots made their opinions known, the design duel had formally come to an end.

As much as Master Cline wanted a different outcome, he had no choice but to recognize reality.

"Of the ten mech pilots, seven of them have voted in favor of Mr. Larkinson. Three have offered their support for Dr. Navarro. The outcome is clear. Ves Larkinson... is the winner of this design duel."

A momentary silence ensued. The Lifers already received a lot of forewarning, but when it finally happened, they were still stunned!

Some of the conservative-leaning mech designers and officials immediately began to get angry! "I object!"