Though not everyone appreciated the history lesson, Ves believed it was important to fra his work as the confluence of successive developnts in ch design over the generations.
He already knew for certain that his Carmine System would serve as a major historical turning point, so he might as well play up this angle.
"Since the start of the Age of chs, many different ch designers have contributed to the overall developnt of chs over ti." Ves continued to address his audience, many of whom were probably watching at their hos or workplaces. "Countless ch designers have managed to produce minor feats of brilliance that have resulted in incrental improvents or an expansion in the variety of chs that can be made. These small gains are almost unnoticeable when we view them in isolation, but can reach a considerable scale when conglorated."
Many ch designers who had grown old enough to be realistic about their limited prospects identified with this description. These ch designers may be good enough to earn a comfortable living, but they were not brilliant enough to invent anything big.
Despite this shortcoming, they still ended up with fulfilling careers as they knew that their ch designs and technological applications played a small role in broadening or deepening the foundation of ch design.
This was the strength of a cohesive, united ch industry under the leadership and the supervision of the ch Trade Association.
"Yet there are also other visionaries who have succeeded in changing the landscape of chs with a single invention." Ves continued to speak as he grew increasingly more enthused about his speech. "This happens much less frequently, but the rich and expensive ch industry always offers room for more ambitious, capable and far-sighted ch designers that have pursued ideas that others considered impractical until it appeared in their faces"
He had been the victim of this as well in the past. Hopefully, he would not be t with as much skepticism once he made his explosive announcent.
"Let us briefly go over the major advancents throughout the history of chs." Ves said as a massive projection appeared above his head that displayed an image of what he ntioned. "ch archetypes. Destroyer weapons. Beast chs. Aquatic chs. First-class multipurpose chs. More extensive miniaturization, Smart tal chs. Support link technology. Transphasic chs. Hyper chs. This is just a small and insignificant selection of successful technological advancents that defined their generations as soon as they beca available or reached mass adoption."
The display of key technologies that improved chs for the better inspired a lot of people.
ch designers felt proud of what their predecessors managed to accomplish in the past.
ch pilots felt grateful to the diligent and hard-working ch designers who developed all of these amazing techs.
Technology bound them all together. The universality of the technologies they worked with allowed them to form a large community that united people from every corner of human society.
The ch industry was different from every other industry because of the unprecedented unity and collective will of all of its participants.
"Through the efforts of many diligent and hard-working ch designers and other professionals, we have steadily managed to solve many problems that proved insurmountable in the past. Only twenty years ago, no one would have taken you seriously if you claid that a ch can traverse interstellar distances without a carrier ship. Now, enough chs are equipped with minidrives and transphasic flight systems that it has beco an attainable if expensive product. Just think how much much has changed due to the introduction of a new technological paradigm. Before humans got their hands on phasewater, only god chs possessed the capability to travel faster-than-light and travel to other star systems on an independent basis."
That was true. chs had always beco inseparable to carriers from the beginning.
Unless chs were produced on the sa planet and assigned to defend it against extraterrestrial visitors, all machines had to be ferried around by large and cumberso chs.
The availability of phasewater technology finally liberated chs from this limitation, at least in theory.
In practice, it did not make economic sense to equip minidrives to every ch. Still, turning an impossibility into a possibility was already a feat worthy of celebration! "I am proud of what my predecessors and contemporaries have accomplished so far." Ves spoke in an uplifting tone. He straightened his back even further and allowed his flowing coat to billow behind his back. "With every passing generation, the ch industry has produced both incrental and revolutionary results. Both types of gains go hand-in-hand, as the forr often builds up to the latter and vice versa. Yet..."
He deliberately made his posture more subdued. Above his head, the giant projection that previously displayed the many successes of the ch industry started to portray different footage.
A lot of people's expressions grew troubled as they witnessed the all-too-familiar sights of 10-year old children who just received the results of their genetic aptitude tests.
In the vast majority of the cases, the children suffered their first major setback. Their dreams of becoming heroic ch pilots crumbled into pieces as the reality of their inadequate aptitudes dealt them a fatal blow!
In a society that worshiped chs and idolized ch pilots, the revelation that you could never feasibly pilot a real ch was enough to plunge teenagers into years-long depression!
Fortunately, these instances happened so frequently that every state and society had their own way of healing these broken children.
Many of the people in the exhibition hall and watching by remote had gone through their own ordeals. As they continued to grow older and wiser, they eventually ca to accept their lot and found ways to enjoy pursuits and passions.
Yet... the younger they were, the more they still harbored regrets and longing about the future they could have lived in. What if a quirk of their biologies just happened to twitch to the point where their genetic aptitudes improved?
"I can feel your pain and regret at being denied a chance to pilot a ch." Ves said as he gently pressed his palm on his chest. "I feel it as well. Back when I was a teenager myself, I often cursed my fate for being born in a military family, yet unable to continue its greatest traditions. I was immature back then, so I often blad others for my own inadequacies and bad luck. It was quite common back then for school children to gather around and curse the stupid and lazy ch designers for failing to expand the restrictions imposed by our reliance on neural interface technology."
What he just said was part of the childhood of every norm. Many people adopted familiar and reminiscing faces as they recalled their own reactions during this phase of their
teenage years.
The giant projection changed to display a simplified wirefra model of a neural
interface.
Ves began to pace back and forth, with Lucky silently floating behind his back. "It is surprising how little neural interface technology has improved over the centuries. Yes, I am aware that it has experienced many incrental and a handful of revolutionary improvents over the generations, but progress has been much slower in this field than elsewhere. Certain people attribute this to the high entry barriers of this field. Others bla the extensive restrictions that the MTA and RA have imposed on this sensitive and dangerous tech. Whatever the case, whatever improvents that neural interfaces have received during the entire span of the Age of chs, they are so subtle and refined that most people can't notice the difference!"
That elicited a bit of laughter, but of the cynical variety. Ves gave voice to an incredibly common and much-shared complaint. Both layn and ch insiders decried the excessive caution and lack of daring experintation in the field of neural interface
technology.
Still, there were plenty of people who reluctantly agreed why the chers preferred to err on the side of caution. A lot of human experintation related to neural interfaces tended to produce an unusually high rate of brain damage and fatal accidents among the
test pilots. ssing around with neural interfaces was no different from poking a tal rod into a ch pilot's brain before stirring it around!
"I am not here to question this policy." Ves said as he spread his arms. "For over four centuries, neural interfaces have simplified our control of chs and allow potentates to control them as their second bodies. This is an amazing benefit and one that has served as the most foundational technology of chs. Nobody can imagine a ch that lacks this very crucial tech. We even go as far as calling them by different labels such as battle bots and manually controlled chanical constructs."
The more clever and insightful people among his massive audience already started to have a clue what Ves was working towards.
The very notion of it sounded so insane and impossible that they could never bring themselves to admit that it could actually be true.
Yet... their hopes and dreams compelled them to listen and find out whether Ves truly produced a miracle.
Ves could easily sense the rising tension and excitent in the air. The thoughts of more and more people all directed towards Ves, causing him to have the illusion that he would have been able to harvest an imnse amount of faith energy if he possessed the power
of a true god!
Alas, Ves was still too far removed from that stage, so he could only allow all of that highly potent energy go to waste.
"Let be frank with you all." He said in an earnest if sowhat apologetic tone. "I am not a neural interface specialist. My design philosophy has little to do with them. I am not here to announce a much-desired breakthrough in the field of neural interfaces." That disappointed a lot of people, but they did not entirely lose hope.
Ves wouldn't have talked so long about neural interfaces if he did not have a purpose in
mind.
He began to smile. "In fact, I never thought about expanding the eligibility of who can pilot a ch. To understand what I an, let start at the ch that brought here
in front of you today. This... is the Bastion."
The giant projection changed to display a slightly outdated quasi-first-class expert space
knight.
There was still much about the large and imposing machine that attracted the admiration of ch designers and other ch connoisseurs.
Ves had poured a lot of love and passion into the design and creation of the third order
living ch.
It did not start out as a masterwork ch, but gradually evolved into one as the vestiges of the Bastion's previous incarnation fed the machine with power.
"The story of the Bastion is not simple. Her pilot, Venerable Jannzi Larkinson, previously
piloted another living space knight of my own design that unfortunately fell in battle." Another projection briefly showed the mont where the Shield of Samar lted from the potent acid sprayed by the Skorpion Kommando.
"The downfall of the Shield of Samar was especially traumatic to Venerable Jannzi." Ves solemnly explained. "You see, the expert pilot developed a deep bond with her living ch. Her machine reciprocated these deep feelings because she was alive enough to experience the sa thoughts and emotions. Over nurous years, Jannzi and the Shield of Samar developed a bond that transcended physical boundaries. I dare say that it had turned into an extraordinary phenonon that truly existed despite the lack of empirical proof. It was due to this that Jannzi took the loss of the Shield of Samar much harder than most ch pilots. She was one of those ch pilots who fell in love with a ch at first sight and refused to pilot another ch."
Such pilots were rare, but not unheard of. ch pilots tended to be emotional people,
and they often developed 'unhealthy' relationships with their chs, especially if they had not been assigned to other chs over their careers.
Most ch organizations tended to treat it as a ntal disorder. It was wrong for ch pilots to make their chs out to be more than just lumps of tal that happened to be
good at fighting. Ves used to think so as well, but he was glad he never tried to 'cure' Jannzi.
"I did not know it at the ti, but my desire to reconstruct a more modern and powerful
version of the Shield of Samar, which also included that extraordinary bond between ch pilot and living ch, changed everything."
More and more people leaned forward and sat on the edge of their seats in order to
listen to every word.
Though Ves still hadn't said anything that truly excited them, the energy in the
exhibition hall kept rising without end.
People looked at the appearance of the Bastion and tried to guess what it contained that led to the presentation today. What revolutionary tech did Ves put inside this extraordinary machine that attracted the strong support of the Red Association? The projection slowly ford a series of thick letters that ford a fairly long and
convoluted phase. [EMPOWERED BLOOD SHARING SYSTEM]
"This was my initial attempt to fill the void in Venerable Jannzi's heart."
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