The Mech Touch

Chapter 2753 - Mutated Beasts

"During the Age of Conquest, a number of star nations rose up that stood out for their absurdly loyal populations. When other nations investigated, they eventually found out that the people who lived there were genetically instructed to give their loyalty to certain rulers."

"What happened once this became known?" Ves asked.

"The controversy generated near-universal indignation from other humans. The star nations in question were wiped out." Trisha straightforwardly answered. "The rulers were hunted down to the last man while the rest of the population were cleansed in its entirety."

"What?! They killed all of those poor citizens who didn’t know any better?!"

"That is correct, Mr. Larkinson. While we have developed means to counteract genetic loyalty programming, at the time it was still too new. Extensive debates took place between biotech researchers and various leaders. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that it was too dangerous to let any human who possessed the tained genes to propagate any further. They chose the lesser of two evils by erasing them from existence while they were still contained."

"They really killed everyone?"

"Yes, Mr. Larkinson. Every star nation in the vicinity even extended their search into starsh.i.p.s and their own territories in order to catch and eliminate any tainted humans who had traveled away from their home states. The hunters spilled a large quantity of human blood in those days, but no one voiced any protest. No matter how wholesome these genetically-altered individuals behaved, their lineage could not be allowed to spread!"

Though Ves initially felt horrified, he slowly settled his emotions after realizing that it was probably the best decision to make at the time. By acting decisively, the death toll was kept to the lowest possible level. It was the least-bad choice out of a selection of several awful options.

Another mitigating factor was that genocide and wiping out trillions of humans at a time was not that big of a taboo back then. While slaughtering so many people was certainly frowned upon, the ones responsible this time had a righteous cause backing them up. Ultimately, the people involved in this massive operation were celebrated as heroes. This was a pretty good indicator that a lot of people supported this extreme measure during this period.

"In the Age of Mechs, the use of genetic loyalty programming is even more restricted." Trisha said as she guided Ves to a forest dome where various feathered and unfeathered birds flew among and over the tree branches. "For example, the designer birds that are residing in this biome are still wild. They hold no affection for humans and it will take many generations to tame them through selective breeding alone."

A careful mix of small-sized exobeasts and genetic beasts lived in a single enclosed space that was several square kilometers in size. Ves noticed that the temperature inside was kept hotter than usual. The strange energy screen that covered the entire space was not strong enough to block attacks from mechs, but it was more than sufficient to keep the beasts inside while also regulating the local climate.

"Meow."

Lucky looked rather interested in the birds. His tail swished excitedly at the thought of hunting a couple of them down.

"What purpose do these birds serve?"

"They are not designed to serve a singular purpose." Trisha answered. "The birds in this specific biome are kept as ’wild’ as possible to meet the needs of clients who dislike signs of artificiality in their own menagerie. Our customers may choose them to enrich their gardens, hunt down challenging prey, put them on display or fill their stomachs. Some species are more suitable for certain purposes than others, though. We can provide you with detailed advice and recommendations if you are interested."

"Hmmm. I’d like to keep looking. These birds look interesting, but they seem a little.. dimwitted for my tastes."

"Avians generally aren’t known for their intelligence. Oh, they can be smart, but the incidences of intelligent and sentient avian creatures is actually quite low compared to other types. The lack of articulating limbs of most bird species means that they are not as stimulated to perform complex actions."

Ves had been staring into the enclosed forest for over ten minutes without detecting any hint of a spiritual mind. It was clear that he needed to be more specific in order to encounter a creature that might meet his needs.

"I hold a particular interest in sentient and near-sentient lifeforms. Could you guide me towards the exhibits that feature more intelligent beasts?"

"Why certainly." The attendant nodded and began to walk deeper into the expansive park. "We feature a broad mix of exobeasts and designer beasts that are capable of higher forms of thought. Do note that the intelligence of the species we host are limited. Beyond a certain range, an exobeast stops being a very clever brute and starts becoming a sentient alien species that is capable of developing a civilization. The former is classified as humanity’s prey while the latter is regarded as a competitor of the human race."

Any alien race that could threaten humanity’s dominance in the universe had to be wiped out or restricted as much as possible! This was a universal rule in human space that everyone abided by. Even the LRA abided by this restriction!

This was why even highly-sophisticated designer pets like Clixie were so cat-like despite their high potential. Rubarthan Sentinel Cats were made to be smart enough to protect and provide emotional companionship to their owners, but they were not capable of performing math, writing speeches or designing mechs!

A cat must be a cat. If any of them acted like a human, then they were no longer no longer pets, but potential threats!

Since the distance they needed to traverse was a little further away, Trisha guided them to a transparent platform that speedily transported them tens of kilometers deeper inside the expansive park territory.

Several different biomes flitted past. Ves kept his senses out for any unusual presences, but he failed to detect any spiritually strong lifeforms comparable to Zeigra or Qilanxo.

He knew that this search was a bit of a long shot, but he was determined to look anyway. It wasn’t as if he had any other option if he wanted to gather the ingredients he sought.

If Wexel Park wasn’t able to provide him with any useful prizes, then Ves would just visit the other venues that sold various beasts.

Eventually, the platform soaring through the air slowed down to a stop. It hovered right over a biome that featured a frozen climate with many steep, jagged rocks.

Trisha began to explain the circ.u.mstances of this specific area.

"The arctic, mountainous environment below us is home to a number of designer species designed by Snow Life, which is a subsidiary of Donovan Bioengineering. While they can be a bit difficult to see from this distance, the most popular species are the snow foxes that are constantly being improved by Snow Life. The snow rabbits have also proven to be popular among women."

This wasn’t enough to Ves. He needed an indicator of their positions below him in order to examine them closer with his spiritual senses.

"Can you mark out where all of the animals are located below this platform?"

"Why certainly, sir. Please wait a few seconds."

Soon enough, the invisible platform began to highlight hundreds of tiny shapes below his feet. Ves looked fascinated as he could discern the distribution of different snow beasts.

Some of them huddled in warrens as family units. Others prowled the jagged rocks by themselves.

Now that he knew their positions, Ves began to extend his senses in order to sweep over them one by one. While that sounded rather tedious, he only needed a fraction of a second to determine whether an animal possessed a strong spirit.

"Can you fly lower? We are so high up that I can hardly spot any beast with the n.a.k.e.d eye."

Trisha did not immediately say yes. "We can do that, but do note that this is not a recommended course of action. Any harm or death that befalls you or your entourage is solely your responsibility. While we endeavor to keep our guests as safe as possible, we cannot make any promises as certain exobeasts and designer beasts may hide unusual abilities that can bypass our safeguards. As with any other forms of life, we cannot account for any mutations that might occur."

Ves turned around to face her. He became a lot more interested in what she said. "How often do these mutations occur? How dangerous are they?"

"These mutations only happen a couple of times a year." His guide answered. "In most cases, the mutations are quite harmless, but there are some cases where they pose a threat to our guests and to our other organic products. They are usually taken back in order to investigate whether their changes are replicable and controllable."

"Have these attempts succeeded?"

"I cannot say, but from what I have heard, most mutations are products of very unique circ.u.mstances. Attempts to replicate them have always failed. You must understand that living organisms are always inherently unstable. They grow. They age. They change. They adapt. All of these processes and more result in constant physical developments that generally proceed in a predictable direction but can occasionally go astray."

Trisha began to explain some other interesting facts about these so-called mutated beasts.

Whenever any powerful mutations occurred, the beast in question became very valuable. Yet every time a team of biotech specialists studied the nature of their mutations, they were never able to cultivate an identical mutated creature.

"It is no secret that the biotech researchers of our state have only succeeded in replicating a modest number of weaker and less powerful mutations." She admitted. "Life is very interesting in this way. Mutations can make any beast become more powerful and lethal than their genes allow them to, but we are unable to replicate it on an industrial scale, let alone inside a biolab. Almost every beast designer in the galaxy yearns to crack the secret behind replicating mutated beasts. This is why these specimens are sold for astronomic sums despite the lack of progress in these studies."

The various properties mentioned by Trisha caused Ves to be more and more certain about the nature of mutated beasts.

While the weaker examples were probably beasts who mutated in an ordinary fashion, he suspected that the more powerful ones may have mutated in a spiritual aspect!

Just like how a small amount of humans developed spiritual potential, smarter beasts were probably subject to the same phenomenon!

In order to verify his suspicion, he asked a highly pertinent question.

"What kind of beasts are more prone to develop these mutations?"

Trisha did not hide anything. "In general, these unanticipated mutations occur more frequently among more advanced and genetically complex specimens. Natural exobeasts are more prone to mutation than designer beasts."

"Do sentient beasts mutate at a higher frequency than non-sentient beasts?"

"That is correct. Sentient beasts, whether they are natural or artificial, possess much more genes. They are also more complex creatures. Both of these factors introduce more variables which are all vulnerable to random changes."

This was interesting! If Trisha was right, the biotech industry probably didn’t understand the truth behind these ’mutations’. However, beast designers figured out enough clues to increase the chance of mutations if they wished!

"Could you show me the species that have produced these mutations in the past?" Ves eagerly asked. He acted as if he found a new toy! "I’d like to see what makes these beasts special."

"Sir, I can lead you to them, but please do not expect anything out of the norm. Mutations at this scale are rare and we always take them out of our biomes once we detect anything amiss."

"I understand, but please show me to them regardless."