The Mech Touch

Chapter 7437  A New Source of Division

A lull ensued after the pair of elven leaders issued their shocking announcement.

They granted the audience an opportunity to process what they learned and debate with each other.

Everyone had an opinion on the issue!

Even though most of the attendees consisted of citizens of the Terran Alliance, their opinions still remained split on this subject!

Not every Terran had a good reaction towards the decision to turn their colonial star empire into a home for both humans and elves.

Many of them felt betrayed by their own leadership. How could those clan leaders and other high officials take such an extreme step without properly taking the opinions of the masses in consideration?

Even if the Terran Alliance had entered into a state of martial law — thereby granting its leaders much greater rights than usual — creating a new race and expecting it to integrate into its territories made people regret the current state of affairs!

"So elves are a thing now." Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson uttered in stupefaction.

His response may be the mildest among the gathering at the table. The ace pilot did not really care much about the elven race, but he never imagined that the Terrans would pull off such an extreme move.

Many people voiced their own reactions, mostly out of a need to voice their disbelief.

So many of them harbored doubts to the point where they actively wished that the Terrans pulled off a prank!

"This can't be happening." Jannzi spoke as her protective aura grew unstable. The Terrans had shaken her will. "Why would they do this? We are humans. To transform into another race will lead to a split in society. We have already seen how dwarves have become ostracized to the point where they are actively wishing to drive humans away from their territories. Now that elves are about to proliferate in the Terran Alliance, a new source of racial tension will emerge! This will turn into a huge distraction in a time the Terrans can least afford it! They should be uniting their forces in order to defend against their common threats. Instead, they are inventing entirely new reasons to squabble amongst each other!"

The latest saint of the Larkinson Clan made a good point. The Terrans took a huge risk by presenting the elven race, especially during this sensitive time.

Humans had an awful history of dealing with racial conflicts. This was partially deliberate as the ideology of human supremacy encouraged people to worship the human form.

Any deviations from the human norm had long been vilified, especially after learning from the lessons of the Age of Conquest.

To augment and transform oneself into an inhuman form eventually affected one's psyche.

The less humans they appeared, the less sympathy they held with people.

This made it easier for inhuman leaders to massacre huge amounts of humans as they no longer considered themselves part of the same groups.

In short, by inventing and embracing the elven race, the Terrans had committed a terrible taboo.

If the mechers and the fleeters still maintained authority over human civilization, then they would have stamped this stupid idea out before it could get off the ground!

Fortunately for the Terrans, they already clawed back their sovereignty not too long ago. Ves somehow did not think it was a coincidence that the Terran Alliance unveiled the elf race so quickly.

Ves and many other people felt uncomfortable about this. Sure, the Terrans regained the freedom to do what they wanted, but was it for the better?

Not every proposal was worth pursuing!

"I don't like these elves either, but the Terrans wouldn't have gone through the trouble of bringing them to life if they couldn't make a difference." Saint Dise calmly analyzed. "These elves must be taken seriously. Each of them have become more powerful somehow. I can feel it. These men and women are no treehuggers. I am looking forward to how they perform once they pilot their Woodsap mechs. I believe we will witness the true power of the elves at that point."

Ves and other Larkinsons agreed with this assessment. Although the elves already possessed plenty of notable characteristics by themselves, they had not forgotten that the original purpose of all of these changes was to make the test subjects more compatible with the products of the Arboreal Project.

"Did you truly remain in the dark about this Terran development?" Jannzi asked suspiciously. "Did you set Gaia on this path in the hopes of creating some sort of backup plan or fallback position?"

"I truly did not know, Jannzi. I learned about the elf initiative at the same time as you." Ves answered while holding up his palms in innocence. "Trust me, if the Terrans attempted to bring me into this crazy plan, I would have objected to it. I have strong feelings about the human race. Don't forget that I am the one who raised Caramond and Furia into ancestral spirits. I am still an adherent of human supremacy, sort of. While I support the evolution and diversification of the human race, the key point is that those who eventually transcend their mortality still count themselves as humans. I fear that the newly created elves will not see themselves as a variant species of human, but treat themselves as members of their own separate race."

He voiced his honest thoughts in the open in order to make his stance clear.

Ves had no doubt that many important people and organizations paid close attention to his opinion. His identity as a tier 2 galactic citizen as well as the lead designer of the Arboreal Project meant that he had an outsized influence on this matter.

The Terrans had put him in a tough spot. Though Ves at least made it clear that he did not directly participate in this secret plan, many bystanders would still blame him regardless of the facts!

Fortunately, the fact that the Terrans truly kept Ves in the dark should at least convince the movers and shakers that he was not actually responsible for this matter. That should insulate him from the most important backlash.

Though Jannzi narrowed her eyes in suspicion, she truly detected no falsity in his words.

Her ability to discern truth from falsehood had grown considerably stronger now that she had attained sainthood.

This left her with no ground to push her accusation. She reluctantly drew back her shoulders and maintained a dissatisfied expression.

"Even if you are not the mastermind, you are still culpable." She spoke in a somewhat petulant tone. "Your inability to manage Gaia and your work on the Arboreal Project created the conditions that enabled the Terrans to enact this divisive plan. I hope for your sake that the rise of the elves will not result in a fracturing of human-occupied space."

Ves grimaced. "Rest assured that I will make it very clear to the Terrans that I have questions. I am just afraid that the proponents of this initiative will not be receptive to my well-intentioned concerns. Ultimately, I am just a mech designer. How my clients make use of my output is their choice and responsibility. The Terrans have made it very clear that they cannot accept a reality where they are forced to obey the directives of outsiders. For better or worse, the Terrans have chosen freedom over control. I am inclined to respect their decision. They should be allowed to make their own mistakes."

"Even when it threatens the unity and survival of the human race?"

"If the Terrans go too far, I am sure that the other major powers will find a reason to intervene." Ves smoothly responded. "I am inclined to give them a chance despite the risks. This is a time of crisis. Desperate measures are the name of the game here. I am sure that this will not be the last time that a group comes up with a crazy idea."

The discussion continued. While outsiders mostly doubted or rejected this initiative, the Terrans themselves became increasingly divided among themselves.

The most ardent human supremacists strongly objected to the creation and inclusion of a new 'race'.

"Do not tell me that these 'arboreal variant humans' belong to the same race as us! They are elves! Every fantasy work that I have read or seen always portray them as a different race! This is such a strong concept in entertainment that it has already predisposed our population into treating elves as a different or maybe even superior race! No amount of marketing or propaganda can reverse this long-held trend!"

"It won't matter. From what I have learned, the process to transform humans into elves is expensive and inaccessible to most of the general public. There will not be enough elves to threaten humanity's grip on the Terran Alliance. Their numbers will not be too great, but they will still be strong enough to relieve the pressure on the frontlines."

"Even if the conversion process is too expensive, these elves can still reproduce naturally! It will only take a few generations for their population to explode, especially if they set this as their priority!"

"I have received assurances that this will not happen. The scientists responsible for the elf initiative have considered this potential issue in advance. It is not their intention to have their new creation breed like rabbits. The elves have naturally low libido and fertility rates. They are physically and mentally discouraged from expanding their population too quickly. Raising and feeding elves is also expensive, though there are ways to make it more affordable."

No matter whether they were called elves or arboreal variant humans, people talked about them as if they were Frankenstein's monster.

They infused life into a construct that did not exist in the past. By doing so, they created a powerful form of life that could either turn into their saviors or their doom!

Right now, it was too early to tell which outcome would come to pass. The ambivalence was killing people. Many of them had already made up their minds, which was why they argued furiously with each other!

Ves turned to Master Laila Rebecca Devos. The woman seated nearby had conspicuously kept her mouth shut. She declined to share her opinion and mainly paid attention to the initial reactions of other individuals.

"Master Devos." He addressed the woman. "You knew about this beforehand, am I correct? Were you actively involved?"

She nodded. "You are correct on both counts. I indeed played a modest but integral role in the elf initiative. I helped to ensure that the elves not only retained their existing compatibility with Woodsap mechs, but also implemented solutions that increased it even further. My design team and I have created new variants of the base models that are especially configured for elves. They do not work as well when piloted by humans, but I can guarantee that you will be impressed by their performance when utilized by the transformed test pilots."

That sounded interesting. "Transmit their designs to me. I want to see exactly what you have modified. Perhaps I will be able to suggest improvements of my own. I don't know too much about these elves, but I am sure my expertise can provide relevant input."

"We will share the new design schematics with you after the conclusion of this event." Master Laila Devos promised. "Elves possess numerous special properties that can open the door for new and more powerful synergies with Woodsap mechs. The former is literally made for the latter. If certain factors such as skill and experience are taken out of the equation, we believe that even the best human Woodsap mech pilot cannot match the comprehensive performance of an average elven Woodsap mech pilot. This should give you an impression of the gap between the two groups. The elves must justify their existence, just as mechs."

Ves was not surprised that a mech designer voiced such an opinion. It was in their nature for mech designers to constantly justify their investment in their own products. If they could not do so, then they were not being productive by their standards.

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