One day before the start of the increasingly more hyped product reveal, Ves received an important guest at the Palace of chanical Marvels.
Ves suspended his supervision and t with the guest on an upper floor,
Down below, he could clearly see the various historical exhibits showing a portion of the seminal works that defined the Age of chs.
From half-broken and salvaged knight chs to a rare surviving copy of a famous superlarge quintuple combination ch, the ch museum offered visitors a glimpse of the wonders that ch designers ca up with in the past.
Not every invention beca successful enough to gain widespread adoption, but that did not stop them from influencing the direction of the ch industry and make other products stronger.
ch designers only had a relatively short ti to build up a legacy, but they managed to beco extraordinarily productive during the Age of chs.
Under their collective efforts, chs had beco stronger, more efficient and more intertwined with human society than ever before.
It was hard to imagine that chs could lose their popularity at this point. Not even the rise of cultivation and the imminent founding of the Red Collective could damage the eagerness for people to admire and worship chs.
The only reason why chs failed to expand its footprint into people's lives was because only a fraction of humans possessed the genetic aptitude to pilot chs.
Whether the 3.5 percent figure was accurate or not, there was no denying that the heavy limitations of neural interface technology disqualified many hopeful children from pursuing a career in ch piloting.
While this requirent also ensured that most states wouldn't beco overmilitarized, it had ruined the dreams of far too many people.
How many of these hopefuls possessed the seeds of greatness that made them no less talented or capable than the likes of the Chosen Human?
Yet because of a single disqualifying trait, so many humans never got the opportunity to prove their ttle.
As Ves looked down at the historical exhibits, he beca increasingly more cognizant. that his invention would change everything.
He did not possess enough foresight and understanding of human society to account for all of the disruption his Carmine chs would cause, but that was okay.
The chers possessed plenty of intelligent people who could account for all of the shocks his invention would produce once it beca known to the public.
This was why the Survivalist Faction and the Transhumanist Faction needed Ves to keep his Carmine System a secret for so long. The chers had been frantically working to prepare red humanity for the introduction of the Carmine System.
"You are doing well for yourself." Master Dervidian noted with a pleased expression as he lifted up a delicate tea cup and took a gentle sip of his exotic brew. "The Battle of Mazepan has not shaken your resolve. That is good. Many parties are watching you and evaluating you. Even now, they continue to devise more ways to test your qualities to see whether you will fail their high expectations."
Ves frowned. What the Transhumanist just said spoiled his mood. He did not even bother to drink his tea, not that it did anything to quench his thirst anyway due to the size of his true body.
"I am not too happy with the Evolution Witch and those other figures who are hovering above my head. Why do they have to ddle with my life so much? Can't they just leave alone and invest their valuable ti in their own projects?"
Master Dervidian ruefully chuckled at that. "Oh, Ves. Your excellence is exactly the reason why they have decided that you are valuable enough to rit their attention. You may not like to hear this, but you have beco one of their latest pet projects. The individuals who outrank you cannot help but test you and temper you in order to ensure that you have what it takes to beco a competent and responsible steward of red humanity. If they ever retire from their leadership roles, they want to know that the next generation of leaders can take over their mantle without abusing their newfound power." That only made Ves feel even more disgusted at this behavior.
"Am I the only one who receives so much 'special treatnt' from the bigwigs, Master?" "Yes... and no. Other erging leaders usually co from established institutions that have developed a mature and ti-tested talent developnt system. Talented chers such as Professor Jovy Armalon and scions of Terran ancient clans such as Lady Alexa Streon have been raised and educated to exacting standards. Their training does not end after graduation. Once they enter the workforce, their employers will continue to test their limits and realize their potential. Through this semi-structured training regi, many talents eventually reach their limits and exhaust their potential. What matters is that a minority will find a way to break past their bottlenecks and continue to excel in the face of difficulties. These are the promising young leaders that we most look forward to taking over after the passing of our generations."
As the patriarch of a large and growing clan himself, Ves kind of understood this approach. He admittedly employed a bit of this to the Larkinson Clan.
However, he felt he was being a lot more fair about the process. Ves had always emphasized transparency. He hated it when people played gas and toyed with the lives of others.
As far as he was concerned, the Larkinson Clan should offer plenty of opportunities for
talents to excel and promote themselves, but never force any of its clansn to embrace a life of stress and constant performance.
This was why Ves also insisted that only the main branches of the Larkinson Clan should put pressure on the clansn to unlock and realize their potential.
If there were any Larkinsons that just wanted to do their duty and relax in their free ti, then they were free to join one of the many planetary side branches. Life in those idyllic branches was much slower and less consud by competition.
Of course, the mbers of the side branches shouldn't expect to earn as much either. The rewards had to be comnsurate with risks and responsibilities.
The Evolution Witch, the Huntsman and all of those other high-and-mighty figures apparently engaged in the sa activity, but at a much grander scope.
Red humanity was much bigger and more important than the Larkinson Clan, so the tier
1 galactic citizens imposed much higher expectations to the best of erging young
leaders.
The more outstanding Ves beca, the more those bigwigs acknowledged that Ves deserved a place in this exclusive club!
The problem that Ves had with this unwritten arrangent was that nobody ever asked him whether he wanted to receive this kind of treatnt!
What really happened was that the Evolution Witch forced him to beco the Deputy Chief Councilor of the Interim Leadership Council. That was probably the signal flare that unofficially announced his participation in this high-level rat race.
If the damned Evolution Witch did not force Ves to prematurely take part in high-level politics, he bet that there was a large probability that the ambush would have never
occurred!
The journey from New Constantinople to Yernstall should have turned into an
uneventful trip.
Ves sneered. "So the fact that I essentially rose up from nowhere and don't have a big state or organization to supervise my growth ans that I am fair ga to all of those ddleso god pilots and Star Designers?"
The RA Master ch Designer did not deny this. "The short answer is yes. We are aware that you have a prominent mother, but... since she has not taken the initiative to prepare you for your future responsibilities, other prominent individuals have taken upon themselves to do her job. This may sound unseemly to you, but it is more common than you think. What you need to rember is that the aforentioned tier 1 galactic citizens have good intentions when they invest in your life and career. It is not their intention to tornt you. You will beco better off as long as you satisfy their expectations. Haven't you managed to claim a rare and much-coveted phasewater production system after your latest battle? This is a treasure that you can never attain through normal ans."
He may be right about this, but Ves felt anything but goodwill towards all of this ddling. He refused to accept that those tier 1 galactic citizens harbored good intentions towards him! As far as he was concerned, those bigwigs were just bored and wanted to have fun by torturing their juniors.
"I don't need a PPS so soon." Ves grumbled and crossed his arms. "It will be years or decades before I am eligible to promote to a greater phase lord. My original plan was to patiently build up my retinue of first-class ace chs and sic them onto any greater phase lord that is stupid enough to fight my greatest champions instead of fleeing on the spot. I don't need any help from others to obtain my own phasewater production
system."
Master Dervidian clearly saw that Ves felt far too upset to accept this explanation, so the older ch designer did not insist any further. He had co forward to explain the behavior of so of his superiors, but that did not an he was obligated to defend their
actions.
"I can tell you that the Evolution Witch is particularly satisfied with your performance. When you et with Her Holiness after she has concluded her planned announcent, she is willing to grant you a more thorough explanation. You are a crucial elent in not just one, but several of her plans. Since you desire to obtain clarity, she will try to oblige you at that ti."
Though Ves felt skeptical towards this promise, it was acceptable enough to lt a
portion of his hostility.
"Fine. She better have a good story when the ti cos. Are you aware of what she is planning to announce?"
"I am." Master Dervidian curtly nodded. "She has recently disclosed one of her projects to a small group of confidantes. Her plan is... highly disruptive, perhaps even more so than the unveiling of your Carmine System. Unlike your work, we do not have much advance warning to prepare the rest of our society for the widespread changes that will follow after she has initiated her plan, but I think that our society will be eager to embrace this upcoming developnt."
That aroused Ves' interest. "Oh? Can you tell what she is working on besides fighting
the native aliens?"
"Your na is not on the list, so I am not allowed to divulge any information. You will
have to learn the news at the sa ti as everyone else. It is only a week, so be patient. If the Evolution Witch successfully executes her ambitious plan, then she may very well end up saving red humanity from extinction."
"That sounds like a big deal." Ves looked both impressed and wary. "Please tell that she doesn't intend to pull off another Polymath or anything." Dervidian laughed. "Oh, not at all! We would not remain silent if that was the case. We are not as unreasonable as the Survivalists. I can promise you that the Evolution Witch does not seek to subvert or take over our civilization. What she has in mind will
genuinely benefit us all. In fact, you have played a small but indispensable role in this endeavor. This is one of the other reasons why she favors you to an increasing degree."
"That sounds... nice."
"This will be a week of change. The first revolution will begin tomorrow when you finally present your Carmine System to society at large. Since your invention threatens to upend the oldest and most established rules of the ch industry, be prepared to face a large amount of skepticism and challenges. There will be individuals who will seek to put your Carmine chs to the test."
Ves frowned at that. "My Carmine chs aren't exactly... premium. Their Carmine pilots
are not professional either. They won't perform all that well compared to conventional machines controlled by professional ch pilots."
"There is no need for concern. Everyone will take the limitations of Carmine chs into account. We shall make sure the challenges will not be excessive. What matters is that
your work can prove that the basic concept works. People will already beco satisfied if a norm can pilot a ch. There is no imdiate demand that a norm can perform well enough to defeat a potentate. You can work on that in the future."
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