Now that Ves had ended his main presentation, he took a short break before holding a question-and-answer session in a more personal setting.
Hundreds of journalists along with many other VIPs gathered inside Phoca Arena's largest hall reserved for press conferences.
The energy among the crowd was electric. Journalists and ch insiders were still buzzing with excitent from what they had witnessed up to today.
Though not everyone appeared to be taken in by all of the hype, the general consensus among the gathered professionals was that the Fey Fianna may have earned its place in the ch history books!
People wanted more. The information that Ves presented so far only explained his latest comrcial work to a shallow degree.
The exhibition matches and other demonstrations revealed a lot more details about the performance of the two main editions of the Fey Fianna, but that generated even more questions among the experts!
Hence the need for a Q&A session. These obsessive journalists and ch nerds would not rest unless they gained all of the clarifications they needed to soothe their restless curiosity!
Before Ves went up the podium, he briefly conferred with Gavin and Alexa on what he should and should not say.
"The public reaction so far had been overwhelmingly positive." Gavin spoke in a satisfied tone. "That ans that you can take it easy, boss. The worst thing you can do is to put your foot in your mouth. What you need to do at this point is to consolidate our gains and prevent any accidental losses. Saying nothing is sotis better than saying anything, do you understand?"
"I get it. We should play it safe. Alexa, have our people detected any challengers among the VIPs?"
"There are dozens of potential candidates who have the reason and the motivation to challenge the Fey Fianna." The forr Terran ch designer replied. "The exceedingly high publicity surrounding your latest work has shifted the dynamics surrounding this matter. The probability that ch designers intend to challenge your Fey Fianna with drone chs of their own has dropped. The technological and design differences between our latest product and any direct competitors have beco insurmountable at this point of ti. None of the existing drone ch manufacturers are willing to make a direct comparison that can turn this speculative idea into a concrete fact."
That made a lot of sense. It was what Ves would do if he was in their place. There were still other ways for established ch companies to stem the bleeding and retain as much of their existing custor base as possible. They just had to draw attention away from these painful comparisons!
"If our Fey Fianna stands to dominate the market for second-class drone chs, then why should we still fear challenges?"
"Drone chs occupy a smaller niche in the ch market, so hardly anyone invests their full resources into them, sir. In the first year of the Age of Dawn, SKL ch Industries and many other well-established ch companies have devoted much of their effort into designing better versions of their top sellers. The quality and performance of their latest rifleman chs, swordsman chs, light skirmishers and so on are much better than the general standard. Many of them may still be in the prototype stage, but have already made so many gains that they can compete against our Fey Fianna. These are the potential threats we need to be prepared to et."
Gavin agreed with the younger ch designer. "This is an excellent way for rival ch companies to obtain a large amount of free publicity. The risks are great. Losing will damage their reputation and destroy much of the hype around their new product. Winning can give their upcoming products a massive boost. They might even steal our thunder if they crush our Fey Fiannas in a fight."
Ves furrowed his brows. The temptation for rival companies to challenge his new ch was high. It might be a little shaless for them to earn publicity during another ch company's product reveal, but these sorts of challenges were not uncommon in the ch industry!
ch designers needed to stand behind their work. As long as the matchup was not so obviously lopsided, then they were expected to prove the combat worthiness of their own chs.
Although Ves felt that he had nothing more to prove due to the obvious strength and superiority of the Fey Fianna, his honor and his obligation as a ch designer prevented him from refusing every challenge.
That did not prohibit him from gaming the system, though.
Ves continued to pet Lucky who had been lounging in his arms for a while now. The lazy gem cat paid little attention to all of the excitent happening all around.
"ow..."
"Properly speaking, the Fey Fianna should only accept challenges from other drone chs." He said. "I should have much more leeway if rivals want to force the Fey Fianna into matchups against other ch types."
Drone chs were not omnipotent, though it had made a close impression of it during the demonstrations. They were subject to clear counters that could easily tear them apart under the right circumstances.
After a few more exchanges, the ti had co for Ves to address the representatives of the ch industry more directly.
He still wore his overly dramatic and multilayered outfit, but he wore his clothing with so much confidence that it did not look awkward in the slightest.
As Ves stopped behind the podium stand, he briefly swept his gaze across the thousand-or-so people.
The journalists among them were easy to spot. They were all accompanied by their own recorder bots and possessed weak to non-existent extraordinary power.
It was the ones with greater strength that Ves was wary of. There were plenty of Master ch Designers and other figures with strong deanors who may or may not intend to issue a challenge.
He felt both fearful and excited at the prospect. He still found it difficult to decide whether he should proactively embrace these challenges or try to avoid them as much as possible in order lower the risks.
After all, there was not much more that he could gain after the Fey Fianna already attracted a lot of positive interest.
"Good afternoon, my esteed guests. Now that we have introduced our new Fey Fianna ch line to you all, I am sure that you are brimming with questions. I am willing to spend a few hours here to answer them so long as they remain on topic. Please do not use this Q&A session to ask any irrelevant questions. You will be silenced and removed without exception. Now, let's begin."
A lot of hands went up into the air. Ves made use of a randomizer to select the people who would have an opportunity to address him directly.
"Who are you, sir?"
"Nevander Emrich of the Monthly ch Report. Let say that it is an honor to ask the first question to a renowned tier 3 galactic citizen such as yourself." The slender teal-haired man respectfully said before he quickly went on to business. "As far as my question is concerned, it is clear that your new Fey Fianna models will capture a large share of the market for second-class drone chs. Do you have any intention of adapting your work for the first-class or third-class market?"
That was a tricky question, and one that related a lot to the business strategy of the LMC.
Ves did not hide his frown as he issued a calm reply. "The Fey Fianna is conceived as both a second-class ch and a quasi-first-class ch from the onset. Since it is an innovative ch that introduces several radical new technological applications, we will need to observe our products while they are being put to use. Once we have a better understanding of how our Fey Fianna operates in diverse circumstances, we will be able to make more inford decisions about whether to expand its class range."
That was not a good enough answer to the reporter.
"Can you give us any informal indications of what you have in mind? As a forr third-rater, does it not make sense for you to give back to the original community you ca from and grant your fellow third-raters the benefit of piloting a more appropriate variation of your Fey Fianna?"
"The Living ch Corporation is driven by rational decision-making. Our ch company will be glad to adapt the Fey Fianna line to the third-class ch market if it is viable and practical enough. For now, there is not enough evidence to support such a move."
The randomizer picked another reporter before the man from the Monthly ch Report could badger Ves once more.
"Elza Godark of the Davute Star Telegraph. As a forr resident of Davute, you have established a deep and special relationship with the Colonial Federation of Davute. You have already accepted several commissions to design exclusive chs for our colonial state. Will a more exclusive and powerful variant of the Fey Fianna be included in those special commissions?"
What a devious question. This was pretty much a propaganda attempt from Davute.
"Any information related to ch commissions is confidential. It is not proper for any ch designer to divulge private contracts and agreents with clients. If Davute sees fit to share details on any possible agreents or transactions with my clan and I, your colonial state is welco to disclose them on its own accord."
A first-rater finally received the opportunity to ask a question.
"Icarus Hallweather of the Rubarth Daily. How widely will the Fey Fianna be distributed? Will it be available for sale in every middle zone?"
"That is what we are attempting to accomplish." Ves steadily replied. "Our ch company has a sufficient presence in the middle zones of the Red Ocean Union, but we are still in the process of establishing new company branches in both the Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact. In the anti, we are actively looking to cooperate with local ch manufacturers to produce Fey Fiannas to et the market demand in the imdiate regions."
"Thank you for your clarification, professor. Do you have any intentions of selling a first-class adaptation of the Fey Fianna in either the Rubarthan Pact, the Red Ocean Union or both?"
Ves twitched his lips. What was up with journalists and pushing political agendas?
"As I have stated earlier, it is too premature for the Living ch Corporation to consider adapting the Fey Fianna to any first-class market. Drone chs have a very different positioning in the first-class ch community. We may have to convert it into a fully-fledged multipurpose ch in order to fully satisfy the needs of first-raters. This is a major undertaking that our company is not ready for. If this changes, then we will try our best to sell our new first-class chs in every upper zone unless we are hindered from doing so by the polities in question."
"Do you think your first-class adaptation of the Fey Fianna will receive a friendlier and more enthusiastic welco from the Rubarthan ch market as opposed to elsewhere? Our ch community is much more open-minded and willing to experint with new and experintal products. I am afraid that your upcoming ch will not be received well in a staid and stagnant ch market where many custors are accustod to buying the latest editions of ch lines that have largely remained the sa since the beginning of the Age of chs. You should consider whether-"
Ves loudly coughed even as he transmitted a certain command. The annoying Rubarthan reporter imdiately lost the ability to transmit sound from his mouth.
A few seconds later, the floor beneath his feet turned into a hole, causing him to quickly drop out of sight.
Nobody exhibited any surprise that this had happened. No press conference or Q&A session proceeded without at least one journalist trying to cross the line.
"Next."
User Comments
0 comments from readers