The spiritual foundation of a ch represented the machine's intrinsic life. The greater the foundation, the greater its strength in certain aspects.
Ves believed that strengthening the foundation in this way was a convenient way to quickly infuse a ch with more life.
Obviously, it was unrealistic to apply it to every copy of his ch designs, especially his mass produced models.
It took a decent amount of spiritual energy to empower a design to full saturation. The amount was far more than what a typical ch pilot could ever provide through spiritual feedback under normal conditions!
Although it sounded nice to empower an individual ch to the limit of what it could take at the beginning of its life cycle, the risks were very evident as well.
Imparting tools with life was not always a good idea.
How did a nutrient pack feel when it lay in so dusty crate for a couple of centuries?
What would a handgun think if its owner never bothered to perform maintenance on the weapon?
Not everyone treated their tools with care and reverence. Those who used them as disposable items and those who picked up bad habits never thought about changing their behavior.
Why should they?
Tools were lifeless objects.
It may be different if they were pets, but chs were far from that. There was no particular reason to treat them any better.
To be sure, Ves did not want to usher forth a future where every single object, from nutrient packs to his shaving bot, gained sentience!
In the context of his current experint, Ves believed that chs were worthy to gain more life. They were much more expensive and much more impactful than sothing as trivial as nutrient packs. They were ant to last for years or possibly decades and their performance in battle directly affected the lives of millions or billions of people.
It was worth it to empower them. Ves loved anything that could increase the cooperation between his chs and ch pilots!
However, his enthusiasm tempered a bit when he reminded himself that not every thod was safe.
As the first ch with 100 percent saturation was about to go online, Ves began to grow a little worried.
He vividly recalled the instance where a pirate ch pilot's head exploded due to his inability to take in so much spiritual input. The ch back then was too strong. If the ch ever exerted any pressure, then the huge disparity in power gave no chance for any ordinary ch pilot to resist!
As Ves observed the projection of the ch pilot entering the cockpit, Ves quickly recalled the fellow's na. He had already inspected each and every Avatar ch pilot assigned to the Bright Warriors and noted down their spiritual strength.
The first one to co up possessed no spiritual potential. That paradoxically ant that this particular Avatar had a higher chance of surviving any accidents due to the difficulty of affecting his tiny but elusive spirit.
In contrast, soone with vivid spiritual potential such as Imon Ingvar had to endure greater risks. This was because his greater spiritual potential had to expose itself and thereby open itself up to external attacks.
All of this sounded rather strange and counterintuitive to Ves, but this was the way the rules were set. He had no choice but to work around these conditions.
"This ch is different from the others." Ketis stated as she continued to observe the sa projections that he was watching. "Your posture has grown a lot tenser than usual when this machine has co up. You look as if a fight is about to start."
Ves did not hide the reason for his tension. "The last batch of Bright Warrior chs are the most special ones of them all. If you imagine the previous ones as partially filled bottles, these ones are filled to the brim. The pressure within these chs are the greatest, and if any of it spills to the ch pilot, then I need to be ready to shut the ch down."
She gazed at him with concern. "How can that be? You always make sure that your chs are as comfortable to your ch pilots as possible. Well, your Doom Guard is an exception, but these are Bright Warriors. They are so of the best chs for our Larkinson ch pilots."
"Let explain this in a way you can understand. Take your big CFA greatsword." Ves gestured towards the giant sword sheathed in a floating scabbard following Ketis from behind. "When a Swordmaiden wields this weapon, will she ever cut herself?"
"Absolutely not!" Ketis shouted back. She looked insulted that soone would even entertain this thought! "Learning how to control our blade is one of the first lessons we learn. We are never allowed to hold a real blade until we can prove with our practice weapons that we never let our blades get the better of us. The Swordmaiden must wield the sword, not the other way around."
"That's a good lesson and outlook. The sa applies to this situation. I fear what is about to take place is much like handing soone such as Maikel your sword. It's far too powerful for him. Even holding it is risky."
Then.. if it's so dangerous, why go through with this test?"
"Because we have no choice." Ves ruefully smiled as the ch pilot was about to activate his ch. "The danger of wielding your sword is great, but so is the power you can exert. In an ergency, we need to put as many swords in people's hands as possible. All I want to see now is whether our Avatars are strong enough to harness their empowered chs."
The mont that Ves had been waiting for had co. The ch pilot booted up the ch.
It was as if a hibernating monster woke up. The ch pilot quickly sensed sothing profound through the man-machine connection that was just starting to go active.
"What is this..?"
Ves and Ketis both looked at the projection of the interior of the cockpit and the ch pilot's life signs.
The latter already began to fluctuate wilder. Evidently, the ch pilot was experiencing increased activity and stress right away.
Roughly a minute passed as more of the ch beca active. With each additional system that ca online, the man-machine connection beca more intense.
Suddenly, just as the ch was ready to move, the ch pilot suddenly convulsed in his seat!
"AAAAHHH! IT'S TOO MUCH! MY CH.. IS.. TOO STRONG!"
The Avatar contorted against his seat in an ugly fashion, so much so that the sight shocked everyone who witnessed the sudden turn of events!
Not only that, but the Avatar ch pilot's life signs also began to enter dangerous territory! The mont so of the indicators such as heart rate and brain activity spiked into the red zones, Ves imdiately pressed the shutdown button.
"Abort the current test! dics, enter the cockpit and stabilize his condition!"
A prepared crew of dics and doctors led by Ranya Wodin imdiately moved into action once they received the command.
Though the bootup process had gone wrong, the Avatar ch pilot only suffered for less than ten seconds. Though his brain had co under enormous stress, it shouldn't have incurred too much damage. Hopefully none of it was permanent.
Ketis and the assistant ch designers in the design lab all looked horrified at what happened.
How could this session go so awry so quickly?
Before, the Avatars ch pilots that had co before all experienced varying degrees of euphoria. They achieved significantly better scores when they piloted their newly-enhanced chs.
It was only now that the bestanders realized that this change wasn't as positive as everyone thought.
While the dics took the injured Avatar ch pilot away, nobody knew what to do at the mont.
"Resu the test." Ves spoke with a heavy voice. "I need more data. A single doesn't necessarily point to anything. I need at least a few more observations."
"Is that a good idea?" Ketis frowned.
"I.. don't know. This could have been a fluke. If I want to rule it out, I need to run this test multiple tis. Out of consideration of the danger to our ch pilots, I'll lower my demands, but I need at least three more tries."
Ves contacted the ch pilot who was supposed to go next.
"I need you to be brave. You may refuse to participate in this test. I won't bla you if you turn away. However, if you think you have what it takes to control your ch, then I won't say no if you wish to proceed. What is your answer?"
The man looked a bit discomfited, but he put on a brave face. "I am an Avatar! I will do what is necessary!"
"Good man! Then head inside the cockpit of your ch and ntally ready yourself."
Ves briefly smirked as he closed the private channel. There was hardly any chance his Avatars would refuse his demand. As long as he phrased his request as an expectation, any Avatar would feel compelled to et it! As the golden boys of the Larkinson Clan, how could they ever disappoint the clan patriarch's expectations?
As the second test with a different ch at full saturation comnced, Ves beca extra alert.
Initially, the bootup process looked similar to the last one. The second Avatar ch pilot experienced the sa profundity from his newly-empowered machine.
Yet just a minute later, the man's life signs imdiately spiked into the red zones straight away!
"I CAN'T HANDLE IT! IT'S TOO STRONG!"
Ves had already slapped the shutdown button the instant the life signs went crazy. Due to his faster reaction, the ch shut down five seconds faster than the previous one. The ch pilot even managed to stay conscious this ti!
That said, there wasn't much to celebrate about with this test. Two successive ch pilots evidently experienced much more spiritual input than they could handle.
Ves hadn't seen any signs the Bright Warrior chs had turned against their own ch pilots. The beginning stages of the formation of the man-machine connection went smoothly in both cases. The Bright Warrior chs obviously liked their familiar ch pilots, yet sothing went wrong anyway.
The most likely explanation for this detrintal outco was the analogy he had just shared with Ketis. Maybe the fully saturated chs were too powerful for their own good. Their ch pilots simply weren't capable enough to harness the most radically-altered chs.
Hardly anyone thought the experint should still proceed, but Ves wasn't satisfied yet. Currently, he only had two instances of ch pilots failing to endure the strain exerted by their fully saturated chs. Both of the injured Avatar ch pilots just happened to possess no spiritual potential.
What if the ch pilot was stronger this ti? What if he put soone Imon Ingvar up next?
Ves hesitated. Those with greater spiritual strength also beca exposed to more damage whenever sothing went awry. Perhaps Imon's head would be the latest test subject to feel what it was like to have his head blown apart.
"That isn't supposed to happen." Ves bent his head and rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "If my theories are right, then a stronger ch pilot should have better chances of harnessing a powerful ch."
Despite the bad outcos that had just occurred, they concurred with his theoretical frawork. "My predictions should still be accurate!"
Ves commanded Imon Ingvar to go next. The ch champion was different from the last two Avatar ch pilots. The forr noble possesses a more robust piloting foundation and his spiritual potential might be able to provide him with enough strength to keep up with his empowered ch.
"Mr. Ingvar, I expect more from you. Will you go next?"
"I will!" Imon said with fiery eyes. "I don't know what you have done to our chs, but I think they're all stronger. I don't want my ch to be weak. Please let proceed!"
"Then go, Mr. Ingvar. Your ch is ready to receive you. When you are ready to interface with your ch, keep our motto in mind. Per angusta ad augusta!"
"For the clan!"
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