It was a lovely day out in Veoline. Millions of locals and foreigners went about their day in the lively capital city of the bustling comrce-oriented planet.
Organic shuttles and transports regularly ascended into space or descended from orbit. The spaceports saw constant traffic, but no matter how many people or goods were being moved, no congestion took place.
Every vehicle and vessel that traveled under the banner of the PHTS followed a single unified schedule that made sure that there was never too much or too little traffic in any place.
This was quite beautiful to behold even though the view at Dr. Navarro’s service center was a bit too far away.
Through the various policies enacted and enforced by the local authorities, Prosperous Hill VI remained bustling without exhibiting any hint of disorder. On the surface, Veoline was a city that traders would love to visit again. The restrictive rules and regulations didn’t sound as bad anymore if they produced an orderly city like this. Even Ves felt it might be great if he and his clan settled down on this prosperous planet.
Sadly, a life of peace and quiet was not in the cards for him. His ambition reached higher and he urgently needed to grow stronger to get ahead of latent dangers.
Ves didn’t imagine he’d be able to progress as quickly as he wanted if he shackled himself to a single state. No matter what novelties the Life Research Association offered, eventually Ves would not be able to gain any valuable insights and inspiration from the local biotech industries.
He was determined that constantly moving was the right way to go. There were countless states and regions in the cosmos that were dozens of tis more interesting and unusual than the LRA. It would be rather pathetic of him to end his grand expedition just when he had stepped outside of his native star sector. This was hardly an endeavor worth celebrating!
As Ves continued to admire the calming view, he went back to considering the issue that Dr. Navarro had introduced.
One of the fundantal reasons why biochs were unable to threaten the dominance of classical chs was because they did not provide any substantial advantages.
Sure, they did offer plenty of unique features, but that only made biochs sidegrades at best. There was no specific property of biochs that stood head and shoulders above any feature that normal chs were able to offer.
The only consolation to bioch enthusiasts like Dr. Navarro was that biochs were still competitive enough to hold their own in the brutal ch market.
"If biochs beca the established standard in human space, then the infrastructure that is ubiquitous in our state would have been more common throughout the galaxy." The host calmly spoke, breaking the montary silence.
Ves followed up on that observation.
"If that happened, then the infrastructure for classical chs wouldn’t be as vast and common. The direct consequence is that it becos more expensive and troubleso to produce, sell, field, maintain, repair and dispose of purely chanical chs. On the flipside, biochs are cheaper and easier to work with. No matter if you are a designer, producer or user, if the entire galactic community is set up to make the most out of biochs, then hardly anyone would want to make their lives more difficult by choosing the less popular alternative."
"That is indeed what many of us in the LRA think. Human civilization progressed and ascended to the stars by leveraging their growing mastery of the chanical. This is a trend that has continued for many millennia. It is too hard for contrarians such as us to convince the rest of our fellow humans that biotechnological alternatives have their uses as well." Dr. Navarro sighed after he took a sip of his tea.
His drink did not cool at all due to the organic warming chanism embedded in the cup. It kept the tea at exactly the temperature that he enjoyed the most.
"It is exactly because mainstream humanity has depended upon and enjoyed so much success with their chanical inventions that they are committed to classical chs." Ves stated. "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. While this expression sounds crude, it reflects the reality that continuing in our current direction is the path of least resistance. It presents the least difficulties while yielding the most results."
Dr. Navarro adopted a contemptuous expression. "How lazy. Humanity is too short-sighted. Too many people are incapable of looking beyond their noses. If they actually bothered to do so, they would know that the future of tech requires the cooperation of both organic and chanical technology."
Ves blinked. "That is a bold statent, doctor. I doubt many people outside the LRA agrees with that notion."
"That is because they are leaving themselves out of the equation." The bearded man grinned and tapped his c.h.e.s.t. "We humans are organic in nature, are we not? While it is true that classical chs such as your own products are made of tal, composites and other inorganic components, they always feature a conspicuous cavity in their c.h.e.s.t. Do we fill this gap with another machine? No! We always put living, organic humans in this space. chs are specifically designed to be useless unless we provide at least one organic elent to them. In fact, many other chanical creations are the sa."
"That is mostly a function of our need to control the machines that govern our lives." Gloriana couldn’t help but respond. "We never want to be at the rcy of AIs and automated machinery, so we create products that are always kept in check by a human elent. If we drop this precaution, any determined enemy can collapse our whole society in an instant by hacking or subverting our automated conveniences."
Ves supported this sentint as well. "I fully agree with my wife. Dr. Navarro, the point that you have raised is not a problem that is exclusive to chanical machines. It applies to every powerful device, no matter if they are made of tal or organic tissue. Both kinds of creations are at risk of going out of control."
Ves thought that Dr. Navarro was just spouting philosophical nonsense. Putting a living being inside a ch did not make it partially organic. It just ant that it was controlled directly by a human, as it should be. This had little to do with the competition between classical technology and biotechnology.
The bioch designer did not make a convincing case for his cause. While he was cognizant of the reasons why biotechnology was not able to supplant conventional technology outside of its established niche, he did not present any compelling reasons why the rest of the galaxy was wrong.
Whether they were talking about biochs or broad applications of biotechnology in general, both of them were unattractive to most people. Biochs were freaky, unnerving, incomprehensive, expensive and difficult to work with. Why bother with them when an ordinary ch already accomplished the job?
Even Ves held the sa view.
"Forgive for being blunt, but opposing the mainstream just because you are a contrarian is not enough. You need to provide substantive reasons to make others acknowledge biochs and biotechnology to a greater degree. Your failure to do so here is a n.a.k.e.d reflection of the fact that you are unable to explain why your viewpoint benefits humanity as a whole. While humans are irrational to a degree, they still have enough common sense to avoid any solutions that just give them more trouble. Call them lazy if you want, but they are just being efficient in my eyes."
Dr. Navarro was taken aback at the firm tone that Ves adopted. He felt a bit offended for a mont, but a ch designer of his caliber knew that venting his heating emotions would not advance his viewpoint in the slightest.
Instead, he decided to take a long sip of his tea.
"I see now why you are called the Devil Tongue. You do not mince words."
Ves nonchalantly shrugged. "I only do so when my patience is being tested. I did not want to give you this harsh dose of reality, but you continued to press with your flawed argunts. If you wanted to avoid my reaction, then you should have done a better job with conveying your point."
"Ah, it’s too difficult to do so. If I was discussing this matter with another bioch designer, we would have been speaking the sa language. There would have been no debate about the utility and usefulness of biochs and biotechnology."
"Let ask you a question, doctor. Have you ever ventured outside of the Life Research Association in your life?"
"I did." He replied. "I briefly traveled to the MTA’s sector headquarters in Majestic Teal when I beca a Journeyman. The star system where their headquarters is based is beyond amazing. It is unfortunate that I did not feel comfortable to be around so much chanical technology. I returned quickly after I was done with my pilgrimage."
"That’s your problem. You returned ho way too quickly. As a Journeyman, how can you not know the importance of traveling around? When I ended my visit to the sector headquarters in my ho star sector, I took the opportunity to travel for an additional year before I returned ’ho’. I learned so much during my experiences. I broadened my sights and beca more aware of how other ch designers approached their work."
Dr. Navarro started to look indignant. "I have not isolated myself, Mr. Larkinson. I have ventured several tis throughout my career. It is just that the ch community outside of the LRA has little to offer for bioch designers such as myself. I have visited and interacted with over a hundred peers from my state. The lessons I’ve learned and the inspiration I’ve gained has propelled my work for decades."
Ves refrained from shaking his head. He really couldn’t believe what he heard.
"Has not a single bioch designer bothered to venture outside this state?"
"There is little point. Outside of business reasons, there is no benefit to exploring the ch industries of other states. Biochs and classical chs have too little in common. If we spend the sa amount of ti on visiting other bioch designers, we can gain much more tangible results."
"Have you ever thought that you’d only be learning what every other bioch designer is able to learn? There are only so many insights that a single ch industry can provide."
The host fell silent for a ti. "Maybe you are onto sothing, but there are too many hindrances. The fact that we do not share the sa infrastructure, the sa design principles and even the sa base of knowledge ans that classical ch designers such as you do not welco us. In fact, most ordinary ch designers who decide to visit our kind mostly do it out of curiosity. They never gain anything substantial out of exchanges. We are too different."
Ves crossed his arms. "I can see how that can happen. I’m different."
"How so, Mr. Larkinson?"
"I’m not looking to gain anything too specific. I just keep an open mind and take whatever I can get. I’m already satisfied with what I’ve gained so far. Even if my new insights do not affect my subsequent work, I am still enriched with what I’ve learned."
Dr. Navarro smiled. "I am glad to hear that. Our state has seen worse ch designers."
"While this is certainly an interesting discussion, my schedule is rather tight." Ves coughed. "I’d like to address the main purpose of my visit here today. Why do you wish to challenge to a design duel?"
He received a mild smile in return. Dr. Navarro did not appear all that upset despite failing to convince Ves with his rhetoric.
"Let’s say that I am curious about your design philosophy. You claim to design ’living chs’. Yet how can a ch be alive when it is solely made out of cold hard tal? If you have taken at least a cursory look at the biochs that are being serviced downstairs, then you should know that they are organic creations. They nearly have all of the elents that et the definition of life! Let return the favor and ask you this question. Are biochs not more alive than your so-called living chs?"
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