Ves ultimately concluded that if he wanted to expand the user base of the System, it was better to set his sights on his fellow Larkinsons.
He did not know too many outsiders who he could trust with a secret of this magnitude.
Rather than take any further unnecessary risks, it was best to keep this as in-house as possible.
That ca with several disadvantages. Ves feared that the lack of diversity in perspectives might cause his expanding club to still remain too insular and blind to other possibilities.
However, this was an acceptable price to pay for a greater chance of maintaining confidentiality.
He was quite aware that the probability of leaks increased by a considerable rate with the addition of every additional ch designer.
From the mont he brought in Gloriana, Ves already knew in his heart that the secret would co out sooner rather than later.
Ves did not mind this very much so long as he had enough ti to stand his own ground.
"I will need to beco a Master ch Designer at a minimum if I want to fend off most sources of trouble."
While he would still attract a lot of unwelco heat if he beca known as the carrier of the ch Designer System, his right to speak was much greater if he beca a Master ch Designer by that ti.
Now that Gloriana had entered the fast track, Ves had to take his competition a lot more seriously than before.
This was why he soon set aside his considerations regarding the System and directed his attention to one of his ongoing ch design projects.
The Arboreal Project did not see much progress in the last few months. The main reason why the bioch design still remained in a very unfinished state was because the Elental Carmine ch relied heavily on Transphasic Ebony Wood or TE Wood as its principal organic material.
This was a new material derived from the Ebony Wood once produced by the Emperor Tree. It possessed a lot of special properties that granted the first potential Woodsap ch a lot of unique advantages, but the problem was that the Larkinson Clan and the Devos Ancient Clan first had to master this new type of wood!
The biotech scientists of both organizations already spent months on researching, improving and optimizing TE Wood. The more ti they spent on studying this material, the more data and insights they gained.
The most ideal scenario would be to give these biotech scientists several years to thoroughly understand every facet and trait of TE Wood in exhaustive detail.
Once they developed a fairly complete understanding of TE Wood, Ves could obtain all of their research results and readily apply all of the valuable insights into designing a Woodsap ch that fully utilized the advantages of this organic material.
Unfortunately for Ves, he could not waste so much ti.
He may be willing to give the researchers more ti to complete their studies if there was no hurry, but ti had beco especially valuable as of late.
Therefore, against his better judgnt, he transmitted a notification to the science teams to hurry up and summarize their findings regardless of their completeness.
Ves could no longer wait any longer. He needed to make substantive progress in the Arboreal Project and strive to complete the design within a reasonable tifra.
Since he was cooperating with the Devos Ancient Clan, he should be able to rely on its formidable infrastructure in order to speed up the project, so the ideal scenario was to complete the first functional prototype within 4 to 6 months.
It may take a few more months to test and refine the initial design until it reached an acceptable state of maturity.
Even then, Ves was very much aware that this would amount to another rush job.
This would not be the case if he designed an ordinary living ch, but the Arboreal Project was anything but normal.
If the ch design t all of his expectations, then it would beco the first truly advanced Carmine ch in existence.
Not only would it enable norms to beco ch pilots, but they would beco forever changed by the organic ch they had bonded.
Based on what happened with Lanie Larkinson, Ves expected this transformation to beco so profound that it could give the Terrans what they need to slow down or even stall the native alien offensive!
As Ves began to make the arrangents, he soon received a direct call request from a familiar collaborator.
The physical projection of Master Laila Rebecca Devos soon appeared inside his office compartnt.
"Good afternoon, Ves." She briskly greeted him. "You have decided to advance the tiline of the Arboreal Project."
"Yes. You should understand why I have made this decision. We could wait longer to gain a more thorough understanding of TE Wood, but by that ti it is questionable whether the Terran Alliance still remains standing."
The Terran Master ch Designer frowned. She obviously did not like how defeatist that sounded.
Fortunately, Ves was not a Terran, so he was allowed to make such remarks.
"Your decision to speed up the Arboreal Project is inconvenient. It threatens to exclude a major advancent in the applicability of the first version of our Carmine bioch."
Ves raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"We have devoted a research team into investigating whether we can implent a replica of a human nervous system into a bioch based on TE Wood." She explained. "This is not a new concept in bioch design. Since the beginning, many professionals have realized the possibility of turning an organic ch into a scaled-up copy of the human body. If such a bioch can be developed, then the ch pilot can effectively control his bioch as if it is little different from his real body."
This went way further than what a Blood Pact was supposed to enable.
The Blood Pact only created a mystical data connection between the Carmine ch pilot and the Carmine ch.
It did not inherently make the ch easier to pilot, though many did have the illusion that this was the case.
However, it did not change the fact that Carmine ch pilots actually had to learn how to pilot a war machine if they wanted to utilize their bonded Carmine chs to the fullest.
If the control system changed to the point where the Carmine ch pilot was actually able to inhabit the Carmine ch to the point the latter behaved exactly like his own body, but larger, then that would represent a paradigm shift!
"I see. If your research team can make this happen, then that will massively lower the learning curve of piloting the Woodsap ch!" Ves reacted in surprise.
Master Laila Devos leaned forward. "The Yellow Jacket chs have sparked a revolution. For the first ti, norms can pilot chs regardless of their genetic aptitude. However, there are those among us who do not think that you have made chs accessible enough to the common folk. You have left this job unfinished. Far too many people are being hindered from becoming qualified soldiers that are ready to deploy on the battlefield because they are unable to control their Yellow Jackets effectively enough. They lack training."
This was the first ti that anyone told Ves that his Carmine chs were 'incomplete'.
It would have been outrageous for anyone to claim that a ch that was able to turn any human into a ch pilot was not feature complete, but the Terran Master dared to make this statent!
Of course, the two were friends who had already grown familiar with each other's temperant, so Ves did not feel insulted by this remark.
A good ch designer must always have the realization that a ch could always be better.
If a machine had beco so perfect that there was no conceivable way to improve it anymore, then there was little point for ch designers to continue working.
While Ves did not think his Carmine chs were only half-complete, he did not think they were finished either. He wouldn't have co up with the Elental Carmine ch concept otherwise.
What he did not expect was for the Devosans to have a different idea on how to improve his Carmine chs!
"Why do you want to apply this change?" He asked. "Shouldn't it be enough to grant first-class or even second-class C and D-grade ch pilots the ability to pilot the equivalent of a first-class multipurpose bioch?"
The older woman shook her head. "No. It is not enough anymore. We are not content with enabling our first exclusive Carmine bioch to turn into an upmarket and organic version of the Yellow Jacket. What we desire the most is to incorporate a selection of our finest biotechnology and bioch applications into the Arboreal Project. We do not want to beco known as your assistants or technical consultants. We want to be your true and equal partner, and that ans that we must introduce enough innovations that people will not forget our contribution when we finally release the results of the Arboreal Project."
What an ambitious goal. Ves fully recognized how difficult it was for the Terrans to earn a respectable amount of credit under the circumstances.
The star of the show was clearly the Elental Carmine System. By replacing regular human blood with the sap of TE Wood, the future pilots of the Arboreal Project would gain their own form of extraordinary power.
The Terrans faced an uphill battle if they attempted to match the amazing qualities of a Woodsap ch with their own biotech attainnts.
"I have to admit that your idea sounds intriguing." Ves admitted. "Since you Terrans have already developed such a solution, why haven't I heard about it before?"
"There was little point to it at the ti. Think about it, Ves. The reason for improving the control system of a bioch is to make it easier and faster for humans who are not trained in ch piloting to be able to move it as they desire right from the beginning. However, only potentates can pilot the modified biochs. There was no reason in the past to treat them as conscripts and attempt to rush them into combat when they can all beco proper ch pilots after a decade or longer of proper training."
"I see. The modified biochs ended up as a solution looking for a problem." Ves concluded.
"Exactly. It is only now that the right problem has arrived. Carmine chs enable any human to pilot them, but they still need at least 4 to 5 years of intensive training at minimum to reach an acceptable standard, and that is when you have simplified the configurations of the machines in question. The solution that we are proposing will remove the need for all of this training. Our ultimate goal is to convert the best and most elite infantry soldiers in our service into Woodsap ch pilots that can instantly translate their existing combat training into effectively using their new biochs on the battlefield. They only require a handful of months of theoretical training courses that deal specifically with ch combat that can easily be completed in advance."
Ves understood what the Terrans sought out of the Arboreal Project. They recognized the potential of the Yellow Jacket and other Carmine chs to turn ordinary citizens into effective combatants.
Yet they were too impatient to wait a handful of years for even the most prepared Carmine ch pilots to get ready for battle.
If the Arboreal Project was able to incorporate a control system that turned the act of piloting a Carmine ch into a more direct simulation of controlling a human body, then that could save the Terrans valuable ti in raising large amounts of Carmine ch units!
"This idea has a lot of potential." Ves grew awed by the audacity of this vision of the Arboreal Project.
"As the Father of Carmine chs, you are destined to develop many different variations of your greatest work up to this date." Master Laila Devos spoke. "Nevertheless, we believe that turning your only Carmine bioch into a more accurate surrogate for the human body can turn into an unforgettable contribution to our society. Only biotechnology can make this happen, and we happen to excel in this field. Let us help you define the Arboreal Project. We are rely asking you to be more patient and wait until we have developed a more refined control system that is compatible with TE Wood."
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