Out of all of the advanced Carmine chs that Ves imagined, Woodsap chs may very well be the most forgiving.
Beginners did not have to be held to a high standard.
They could rely on the Hibiscus System to attain imdiate combat effectiveness at the start, and slowly learn the more advanced elents of their craft as they trained and fought.
It may still end up taking 5 years or more for the Woodsap ch pilots to truly approach the level of professional first-class ch pilots.
Even then, Ves found it unlikely for them to be able to close the gap entirely.
Sure, the battlefield may be the most effective teacher, but there were many lessons that required systematic learning as opposed to obtaining ad-hoc insights.
Still, even if Woodsap ch pilots would forever remain rough around the edges, so long as their overall combat effectiveness reached an acceptable standard on average, it didn't matter too much in the end.
Ves was accustod to this approach.
For example, the Swordmaidens had beco the most renowned close combat combatants of the Larkinson Clan without putting as much emphasis on academics.
They proved with their actions that they could produce the best ch pilots without following the sa route as the more advanced states and organizations.
Of course, the Swordmaidens made it easier for themselves by dedicating themselves entirely to lee combat.
Woodsap ch pilots faced a much steeper challenge. They needed to gain proficiency in both lee and ranged combat. They needed to be able to wield at least half-a-dozen different weapon systems with enough skill to justify their steep investnts.
This was why it was crucial for Woodsap chs to be able to last long enough for their pilots to rise to the occasion and beco truly competent in ch warfare.
Ves raised his arm and called up the data table containing the key performance trics of all of the test pilots.
He not only swept his gaze on the top perforrs as well as the bottom perforrs, but also made comparisons and inferences that went beyond the obvious.
"I see that when it cos to the improvent rate of the test pilots, the recently transford elves all score the highest on this tric. The delta between their apparent skill before the start of the battle and at the end of it is very high. Even if their learning speed slows down in future engagents, it doesn't matter too much because the most crucial part is to overco their weakest period as soon as possible. These elves will definitely enjoy bright futures as Woodsap ch pilots so long as they aren't too unlucky. What truly concerns are the pilots in the bottom percentile. They are not only all human, but they have hardly made any progress during their first real action."
Alexa adopted an expression of concern. "The Terran Alliance has made a great effort to select among the more promising candidates. Before the 120 test pilots had been allowed to bond with their Woodsap chs, they had undergone multiple testing sessions. Many of their fellow candidates fell out of consideration due to lacking qualifications. The remaining ones are survivors without exception. Even if there are differences between good and bad, the gulf between the bottom percentile and the other underperforrs should not be this great. It is clear that there is a small proportion of Woodsap ch pilots that have failed to adapt to their new roles for a ti being. Whether this issue will persist in the coming weeks and months remains to be seen."
There was no reason to feel alard. This was just the first battle. The bottom perforrs still had plenty more ti to address their issues and pull themselves up so that they could perform decently in the next engagents.
Woodsap chs were inherently tough and enduring. Their incredible fault tolerance would grant the less talented pilots a lot of opportunities to turn their situation around. It may very well be possible that they were the late bloors among this cohort. Perhaps they needed a lot more setup before everything clicked together.
Even if they continued to falter and perform below expectations, Ves and the Terrans still had no intentions of intervening. Failure cases still provided a lot of interesting and relevant data. More detailed and informative comparisons could be made by contrasting the performance between the best and the worst.
Still, once their duty ca to an end, Ves doubted that the persistent failures would be able to secure a good future.
"What will the Terran Alliance do if any Woodsap ch pilot continues to underperform at an unacceptable level?" Ves asked the forr Terran scion. "As far as I know, if such cases happened in a normal unit, the pilot would simply get transferred out of his unit. His ch will simply get passed over to another colleague. That is not possible in this case. Woodsap chs are bonded to a single pilot for life. The Woodsap Pact is just as strict as the Blood Pact in that regard."
Alexa already had the answer ready. "I have already inquired about this subject. Woodsap pilots are not ant to be inviolable or irreplaceable. The ability to pilot a powerful Woodsap ch is a privilege. It is not a right. The Terran Alliance can grant this privilege or take it away. You are correct that the individual living biochs are bound to their existing pilots and cannot be transferred to others. The solution to this is simple. If a Woodsap ch has lost its pilot due to death or disqualification, the relevant authority will recycle the biomachine. All of the valuable TE Wood and other valuable materials will be stripped away. The sa materials will then be used to construct a brand-new Woodsap ch. They can also be used for other purposes such as facilitating the repairs of heavily-damaged biochs or be used to promote the growth of Gaia Trees."
"..."
Ves felt a bit repulsed by the Terran Alliance's policies.
This callous treatnt of living chs sounded way too heartless and utilitarian to his ears.
It was very clear that the Terrans as a whole did not fully align with his principle that living chs deserved almost the sa treatnt as humans.
Though even Ves knew that it was completely unrealistic to treat living chs exactly like humans, he still felt that people should at least make a sincere effort.
This was why he felt bad about the future of Woodsap chs that had the misfortune of bonding themselves to incompetent human partners.
If the latter proved so bad at their jobs that they got kicked out of the service, then their bonded Woodsap chs had pretty much lost the entire aning of their existence!
From a rational perspective, the Terran Alliance could not afford to leave expensive materials and units idle.
There was no way the Terran leaders would accept the notion of giving 'orphaned' Woodsap chs a peaceful retirent or a harmless side job.
A typical Woodsap ch held so much value in their materials alone that it made complete economic sense to break them down and use the recycled materials to construct an identical living ch!
This way, the Terran Alliance lost a liability in the form of an 'unpilotable' Woodsap ch and gained a nearly identical fresh and 'pilot-ready' Woodsap ch in exchange!
This form of waste utilization was not optional for a star empire that was being pressured on all sides.
The Terran Alliance may very well live or die depending on how efficiently it could utilize its resources!
In this regard, Woodsap chs could not provide unlimited leeway to their pilots.
The latter needed to take their responsibilities seriously and make an honest effort to improve and keep up with everyone else.
Otherwise, if they did not manage to get themselves killed along the way, their superiors would definitely yank them out of their cockpits and ruthlessly recycle their bonded biochs!
"This is cold, but fair." Ves eventually sighed. "I do not entirely approve, but I am aware that I am in no place to dictate policy to my collaboration partners. I just hope that when our clan adopts Woodsap chs for our own use, we will still have space to apply a more compassionate policy. Orphaned Carmine chs should not be broken down for parts and materials without considering the alternatives."
Alexa did not look very optimistic. "It will be difficult to find other justifiable purposes for living chs that are already locked to individual Carmine ch pilots. If those living machines are loyal to our clan and their fundantal purpose, then they should readily volunteer to get dismantled."
"Perhaps… you are right. There is a difference between willing and forceful dismantling. Perhaps… we can afford to spend a bit of ti on modifying the initial Woodsap chs so that they can better match their individual pilots. Simplifying them and converting them into straightforward ranged chs or lee chs should do wonders in raising the compatibility rate."
"That will demand additional ti and effort from our ch designers. Perhaps this approach is feasible if you pass off this responsibility to our Novices and Apprentices, but only if they are already first-class ch designers who have minored or majored in bioch design. This can actually serve as a good form of practice."
It was too bad that the structure of his Woodsap chs was not as malleable as the structure of his Polytal chs.
Ves began to think about how much the present implentation of the forr contrasted sharply with the future implentation of the latter.
The two couldn't be more different from each other.
One was made out of organic matter and boasted incredible endurance under pressure, but also forced its pilots to adapt to its rigid configuration.
The other was made out of tallic alloys and possessed enormous versatility, but possessed an inherently fragile ch fra that could not endure strong or continuous pressure.
The two advanced Carmine ch concepts did not only differ along these dinsions.
The barrier of entry for a Woodsap ch was much lower than that of a Polytal ch.
The forr was designed from the ground up to be very forgiving and patient to a bonded ch pilot. Woodsap chs could be repaired quickly and easily on and off the battlefield, so even the worst pilots still had a chance to survive and achieve greatness in the future!
The latter probably featured the highest barrier to entry among all of the 5 elental Carmine chs. Polytal chs offered their battle partners nearly infinite customization and individualization options. As long as the smart tal could replicate specific pieces of tech, a single Polytal ch could easily substitute the role of almost any other machine!
Yet all of that choice demanded a mind and intelligence that understood chs far beyond the surface level.
Ves did not intend to dumb down his Polytal ch concept just to accommodate space barbarians.
He intended to introduce Polytal chs with the deliberate intent to convert ch designers into fantastic Carmine pilots!
They could easily weaponize their own knowledge and expertise and apply their own ch designs onto the smart tal chs that could never fail them even if all other chs had failed in their duty!
Perhaps Ves might still end up programming a collection of standard ch configurations into his Polytal chs, but sticking to them without applying any creative upgrades or modifications was a huge waste of their potential!
Ves couldn't help but chuckle.
Pilots needed to adapt to their Woodsap chs in order to realize their full potential.
In contrast, the Polytal chs had to be shaped extensively by their pilots in order to reach their full value!
They existed at completely opposite ends of the spectrum in this regard!
Ves loved the contrast between the two. He looked forward to witnessing which elental Carmine ch would end up getting right a lot better than the other.
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