The Mech Touch

To be fair, a lot of human biotech researchers invented artificial species all the time. There was much to gain from creating a new race that possessed interesting properties or performed better than more ordinary organisms.

The overwhelming majority of new species never saw the light of day. They were mostly grown in labs and usually took part in numerous experiments throughout their short lifespans before they were unceremoniously \'recycled\' in order to reuse their biological matter for the creation of a different or improved species!

Only a tiny proportion of artificial species and organisms were deemed adequate and profitable enough to be put on the market.

A Rubarthan Sentinel Cat like Clixie or a designer baby like Aurelia both fell within this category. They were both artificially designed life forms that were meant to be superior versions of the species they were based upon.

Geneticists and exobiologists used to be a lot more unbridled about inventing new species. They created all kinds of monstrosities while enjoying way too much freedom and way too few oversight.

After the Age of Mechs commenced, one of the main priorities of the Big Two was to rein in all of the excesses of the biotech industry.

The policy change succeeded in cleaning up this sector, at least on the surface. Though there were figures like the Supreme Sage that managed to get away with creating monsters, most people that entered this industry largely abided by the rules and built regular and respectable careers as a result.

What Ves had encountered in Purgatory was different. From the moment the Golden Skull Alliance first came in touch with the fish-whale race, he and several other people already figured out that the natives of the pocket race were unusual in several ways.

With the theories mentioned by Ranya, he was finally able to figure out the possible context surrounding the development of this race!

"Which of the two theories do you favor?" Ves asked the exobiologist. "Do you think this entire scheme is meant to revive the Flesh Conqueror in a new and improved body, or do you think this is just his attempt to replace the original phase whale race with a superior variant?"

"I cannot say, sir. There are more possibilities besides the two that I have mentioned, but they are the main ones. We have far too little information about the phase whale that has created the pocket space and set all of this into motion. If the Flesh Conqueror is as cruel, self-absorbed and greedy as some of the source material has claimed, then it is imaginable that this is an attempt for the ancient tyrant to come back to life."

The logic was sound, but there were still a lot of holes to this story. "It took over a million years before this plan came into fruition. Also, the fish-whale community inside Purgatory completely degenerated. If the Cerebral King did not succeed in learning the Flesh Conqueror\'s craft, it would have never been able to evolve its body to the point of solving the major physiological problem that prevents the phase whales from unscrupulously adding different organs to their bodies!"

Way too many factors had to go right in order for such a plan to come to fruition!

Ranya shrugged. "Perhaps the degenerated phase whale did not intend to come back to life in such a convoluted fashion, but maybe it was caught by surprise at how rapidly its body decayed. It barely had time to set up the Royal Tomb before it had to enter into a mode of extreme hibernation. That might also explain why the alien has set up such a strange entrance mechanism beneath the Violet Ridge Mountain Range."

"There\'s also the second theory that you have mentioned." Ves said. "As a creator myself, I understand the sentiment of trying to leave behind a legacy before death. If the Flesh Conqueror is unable or unwilling to extend its life, then why not leave behind a magnificent creation that can live on and continue to influence society for a long time? I imagine that the phase whales that chose to go cannibalistic have developed a lot of resentment and misgivings about proper phase whale society. The fish-whale race may be the Flesh Conqueror\'s own little form of revenge against the stuffy old phase whales that are way too slow and conservative."

Although Ves was not an expert in phase whale society and political ideologies, he could make his own inferences based on what he learned.

The phase whales were the most individually powerful organic life forms in the Red Ocean. Few intelligent natives who were connected to the galactic society denied this truth.

However, it was well-known that the phase whales actually possessed a lot more potential than that! They could have grown powerful to the point where they could have dominated the dwarf galaxy as the super race, similar to how humans had come to dominate the Milky Way!

The reasons why the phase whales never got to this point was because they lacked a couple of essential traits.

First, the phase whales reproduced extremely slowly. According to the articles that Ves had read, the race produced offspring roughly once every few centuries!

They invested a lot of time in research and other related activities. It took a lot of time, effort and ingenuity for them to be able to invent new organs that could augment their existing capabilities.

How could they spare so much time to mate and raise new baby phase whales?

Second, the powerful biotechnological organs that the phase whales researched with so much effort were usually unique and difficult to transfer to others.

As far as the humans knew, the phase whales never sold or traded their organ designs to others!

Apparently, even if they did so, the research performed by other phase whales were mostly unique and tailored to a specific individual. It took a lot of time and effort to convert the designs to work for other individuals!

Whatever the case, it was extremely difficult to adapt and proliferate organs of the same design to other phase whales because their bodies diverged from each other when they grew up. They could only custom-develop their own organs.

Suffice to say, this was an extremely inefficient process of societal and technological advancement. If not for this major flaw, the phase whales would have quickly grown stronger as a whole!

Instead, the phase whale race had to reinvent the wheel in countless different variations whenever a new offspring grew into maturity!

As both Ves and Ranya thought about the possibility of the fish-whale race rising up as the potential replacement of the original phase whale race, their expressions grew heavy.

Ranya recalled all of the traits of the fish-whale race and shuddered.

"Ves…"

"Yes, Ranya?"

"The fish-whale race cannot be allowed to spread across the Red Ocean and beyond."

"Are they really that awful in your eyes?"

"Don\'t base your evaluation of the potential of this artificial race by looking at how primitive and underdeveloped they were back in Purgatory. This was only because they were stuck in a small, isolated pocket space that is relatively barren in resources and contact with other advanced alien societies. Think about their advantages and try to imagine how much better the fish-whales will be able to develop in a richer and more expansive environment."

The fish-whales reproduced quickly depending on the subspecies. Maybe not all of the subspecies were able to breed as quickly as the Swarmers, but the other ones should definitely not fall behind!

They were also highly adaptable. They could grow up in vacuum environments and generally did not have any high demands on rare and special resources.

Sure, they only really became powerful enough when they absorbed phasewater, but they did not necessarily have to possess any in their bodies to grow strong in their own way.

They were also fast growers. Though Ves wasn\'t sure how much time it took for them to reach maturity, he bet that the fish-whales grew up a lot faster than the phase whales!

All of these factors and more gave Ves the idea that the fish-whales may truly be able to contend against the phase whale race for supremacy!

Whatever the case, the rise of fish-whales would definitely turn into a disaster for the humans that emigrated to the Red Ocean!

The new frontier was much richer and more resource-abundant than a tiny place like Purgatory!

If the fish-whales succeeded in breaking out and running off to many different star systems, then maybe they could become a new scourge that was greater and more destructive than the voribugs!

The most egregious part about all of this was that Ves essentially bore most of the blame for releasing this powerful race into human space!

"Damnit, what is the MTA doing?! Can\'t the mechers take action already?!"

Ves opened up a new projected screen and sought out the Simile Halifax in order to see what the ship was doing.

It turned out that the MTA frigate had quietly parted from the expeditionary fleet before she disappeared.

"Huh? Where did Jovy\'s ship go? Why is she gone from our sensors?"

He quickly ended his talk with Ranya and contacted Calabast.

"What do you want to know, Ves?"

"Tell me where the Simile Halifax has gone!"

Calabast smirked. "Oh, that little ship? Well, after she left the center of our fleet formation, she moved in the direction of Auralis before entering warp travel."

"The MTA frigate sped up towards the planet that is in the process of cracking apart?"

"Yup. I think it is safe to say that the mechers have definitely noticed what is taking place and are moving in to handle the situation."

Ves felt reassured, but only a little bit. He was glad the MTA was taking this crisis seriously, but he hoped that the Simile Halifax did not intend to solve this problem alone!

"I really hope the mechers stationed on the Simile Halifax have called for help."

"The only way to find out is to wait and see." The spymaster shrugged. "Our scout ship is still relatively close to Garimel I and has continued to maintain contact with our fleet. We should be able to tell what is happening with minimal delay."

Time passed by as everyone waited for something to happen.

Auralis continued to crack as if it was a giant black egg that was on the verge of breaking apart. Volcanic activity had gone crazy on that planet and it was only growing worse!

At some point, the Simile Halifax slipped out of warp travel and arrived at a respectable distance away from the unstable heavy metal planet.

"What is it going to do next?" Ves wondered as he leaned in to focus on the projected feed.

The MTA frigate did not spend much time dawdling around. Once she stabilized her condition, her energy emissions spiked as the ship generated a portal, and a large one at that!

Ves had seen ships from the Big Two generate portals before. They were a highly convenient means of bringing in other ships from afar without needing to enter a space with minimal gravity.

Now that Ves looked at it, the portal generated by the Simile Halifax and similar vessels resembled the one generated by Purgatory\'s ancient spatial gate!

Were the technological principles between the two more similar than he thought?

"A large MTA capital ship is emerging from the portal generated by the Simile Halifax!"

An immense hull slowly but smoothly passed through the active space tunnel.

Ves\' eyes widened more and more as he beheld the size, construction and external features of the newly-arrived vessel.

"Is that a battleship? She\'s armed with several huge turreted guns."

"That\'s not quite right. She\'s a research vessel. Don\'t you see all of those sensor arrays and other research-related modules?"

"Wait! Look at how many mechs are launching from her hangar bays! She\'s a carrier!"

The Paracelsus Optimus turned out to be a ship that encompassed all of these roles and more.

The newly-built vessel was developed specifically for the Red Ocean and was officially classified by the MTA as a research battlecarrier!

At 7 kilometers long, the Paracelsus Optimus might not be a ship that possessed the greatest firepower, but she was more than capable of holding her own against a myriad of powerful native threats in the new frontier!