The problems that Ves encountered during the developnt of Woodsap chs taught him an important lesson.
A price had to be paid for ch pilots to form a bond with an elental Carmine ch.
Baseline or regular augnted human bodies could not tolerate the substitute dium used by one of the five as-of-yet-developed elental Carmine Systems.
This was a major problem and setback. It effectively ant that anyone who wanted to pilot an elental Carmine ch needed to make a drastic sacrifice in order to make use of its power.
Was it fair to ask his custors to undergo extre life-changing physiological transformations just to bind themselves to really weird versions of Carmine chs?
"The biggest question is whether it is worth it." Ves furrowed his brows.
He was unable to answer this question because he had yet to produce an actual elental Carmine ch.
He intended to turn the Elegant Rage into the first ch of this new sub-category of chs.
However, his plan required him to persuade Venerable Lanie to act as a test subject for a new and completely untested design application.
Even though Ves believed his planned implentation of a Woodsap Carmine System was theoretically sound, the lack of empirical verification ant that there was always a risk of accidents.
He needed to talk about his problems. He felt too burdened by what he had to impose on his custors just to make his elental Carmine System concept work.
His wife thought he was moving way too quickly.
"You haven't completed the developnt of a mature Carmine System yet." She poke as she held Marvaine in her arms. "Trying to develop a more advanced version of this tech will lead to many preventable problems. Have you ever thought about slowing down and taking this step by step? You will be in a better position to develop a proper Woodsap ch in a decade."
Ves shook his head. "I can't wait that long! Look, I don't disagree with your logic, but reality is forcing to move faster than I am comfortable with. There is only one chance to convert the Elegant Rage into a Woodsap ch. If I refuse this opportunity and turn the mutated ch into a standard Carmine ch, then that represents a lot of lost potential. Venerable Lanie will not be able to derive as many advantages from her Blood Pact."
"And that matters how, Ves? Last I heard, our clan has exiled Venerable Lanie Larkinson. Her interests are no longer important to us. We are supposed to maintain our distance from her, or else the exile will have no aning anymore."
"That is how exile should work in theory, but it doesn't work that way in practice." Ves patiently explained to his wife. "No matter what, everyone will look at her record and her last na and assu she is still a representative of our clan. Her conduct, performance and accomplishnts will inevitably reflect on our clan. It is in our best interest to make her as powerful as possible, especially if she chooses to pilot a living ch that is originally ours. The more she manages to stand out among the chers, the more those snooty fellows will appreciate our work."
Gloriana briefly thought about it, but then proceeded to plant a kiss on Marvaine. "Your bias is showing. Your family affection towards Lanie is clouding your judgnt. From what you have described, Woodsap chs go much further than Carmine chs in imposing demands on ch pilots. There are too many chances that this will go wrong. If you insist on pursuing this, then you must be thorough in order to avoid this gambit backfiring on you. Do not be afraid of consulting the Red Association for technical support."
Though his wife was not as helpful as he hoped, she reminded him of a few important considerations.
Ves turned to another ch designer for additional feedback.
His student Alexa understood his dilemma, but she did not think the requirents were excessive.
"To be honest, sir, the mandatory requirent that the ch pilot must be paired with a single ch for the rest of his or her life is the most onerous one. Once a ch pilot agrees to form a Blood Pact with a Carmine ch, that individual has already made the bravest and most life-changing decision of his career. If you subsequently ask that ch pilot to undergo radical body modifications in order to beco eligible to pilot a Woodsap or Bloodfire ch, then that is not a particularly heavy demand."
"You make it sound as if we are entrapping our potential custors and clients with a sunk cost fallacy." Ves flatly responded.
The forr Terran shrugged and smiled. "That is because it is true. If we try to entice a pilot to commit to using a single Carmine ch for the rest of her life, she may as well make the most of this decision and make a greater commitnt. When a pilot decides to form a Blood Pact, she has already chosen to reject a normal progression trajectory. Any soldier who is willing to go above and beyond is more likely than not ambitious. As long as your elental Carmine chs are stronger than other products, and as long as you have gathered solid proof that a more exotic Blood Pact can increase the probability of breakthroughs, you will find that demand for this solution will skyrocket."
Her argunt made a lot of sense. It all ca down to whether a Woodsap ch or other elental variant could deliver solid benefits to its ch pilot.
As long as such a ch was able to provide both enhanced performance and greater growth prospects, Ves would not have to worry about running out of custors!
"Thank you for sharing your perspective with , Alexa. How well do you think Woodsap chs will catch on in the Terran ch market?"
"That is a complicated question, sir. The Terran ch market is notoriously hard to enter. It is oligopolistic, which ans that it is large but also dominated by many large competitors. The custor base is predominantly made up of large and dium-sized organizations, each of whom prefer to establish long-term relationships with trusted ch companies. It is difficult for a new entrant to persuade Terran custors to try out experintal ch models that have yet to prove themselves on a wider scale. Strict regulations also limit the release of highly innovative products that have not undergone extensive field testing. This is ant to stabilize the ch market and ensure that every product is safe and reliable to use."
Ves frowned. He knew that Alexa was not wrong in this. The Terran ch market was insanely profitable, but only for the large players that had already carved out their own market positions.
Not just any ch company could succeed in the Terran Alliance. The company in question needed to possess capital, relationships, regulatory advantages in abundance in order to gain a solid foothold in the market!
The rather extensive suppression of new entrants prevented the Terrans from getting their hands on the latest and most cutting edge technologies unless they went private and made use of other channels.
That was not to say that there was no room for innovation in the comrcial ch market. The Terrans simply looked up to the largest and most reputable ch companies to keep up with industry trends and make sure they remained competitive.
Most Terran custors simply had no reason to take a look at the eclectic and unreliable products sold by smaller players.
"What about the Rubarthan ch market? I heard that it is a lot easier to get started over there." Ves proposed.
"The Rubarthan ch market has its own challenges." Alexa chuckled. "The good news is that the ch market is not as dominated by an oligopoly. The custor base is also more adventurous and willing to try out more experintal chs designed by smaller players. The issue is that competition is extrely fierce. Not only will competitors try to compete on price, they may also choose to license your designs to hijack your product advantages or develop their own technological substitutes in order to steal your custor base. As long as the ch companies do not go too far and break any hard rules, they are allowed to fiercely compete against each other. Only the fittest of competitors deserve to survive in this cutthroat market environnt."
Ves huffed. It was typical for the Rubarthans to maintain a more liberalized ch market. This resulted in a considerable uptick in chaos, market disruptions and other unpleasant business.
Despite all of these downsides, the Rubarthans felt it was critically important to promote competition and to prevent any market leader from becoming too complacent.
"So I should have a better shot at introducing Woodsap chs in the Rubarthan ch market, is that what you are saying?"
"Not necessarily." Alexa replied. "The Terran ch market is not as inaccessible as you think, especially for a ch designer as famous as you. There are two different strategies that you can choose from. The first strategy is that you can prove the concept of your Woodsap chs by introducing them to the third-class and second-class ch markets. This is the strategy that I am currently pursuing for my own living chs. It will take years to prove that your innovations are promising and reliable enough to be applied to first-class chs, but it will allow you to retain greater control over your own works, assuming that a first-class ch designer did not manage to develop a substitute before you are ready to enter the first-class ch market."
The Evolution Witch pretty much forced Ves to adopt this approach for his standard Carmine chs. That ant that even a god pilot saw a lot of rit in this strategy.
"What about the other strategy?"
"Partnerships. If you want to produce results in a shorter ti fra, then you can approach an established player in a first-class ch market such as Isthmus Manufacturing. You will be responsible for providing the ch designs, while the ch manufacturer is responsible for production, shipping, sales and aftermarket services. This is a common arrangent in every industry, but is the best way for new players to enter the first-class ch market."
Ves saw the rits of this strategy, but the price was also considerable. The LMC would have to give up a lot of profits as well as an extensive amount of control.
Was this the most suitable approach to take for his elental Carmine chs?
"I don't mind the premise of giving my partners a fair share of the profits, but I do not particularly like the sound of relinquishing so much control." He said.
"The partner is not a pure profiteer, sir. The Terran and Rubarthan ch manufacturers are highly experienced and have a large staff of ch designers and other experts at their disposal. They can not only help you tailor your ch designs to their ch markets, but also provide extensive R&D support. For example, you can obtain imdiate and extensive support from a willing Terran or Rubarthan ch manufacturer if you are willing to sign a contract related to Woodsap chs. You only need to convince them of the value and the future potential of your speculative innovation."
That was easier said than done, but it was a valid direction that Ves could take with his Woodsap chs.
It was too soon for this, though. Ves only sought to convert the Elegant Rage into a Woodsap ch. He was still far from developing a mass production model that incorporated a more tested version of the Woodsap Carmine System.
"I will take your advice under consideration." He told Alexa. "You have given a lot of ideas and reminded of the options that I have available. For now, I want to keep things as private as possible. For now, I just want you to search for research institutions that can help increase the phasewater tolerance of Emperor Wood and more specifically ebony wood. The priority shipnt from Reticula Corein V is due to arrive on another day. We can experint with real samples by that ti."
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