Once Ves and Gloriana reached the Mech Nursery, they stopped by the infirmary to check up on William .
The Urbesh clansman still hadn't woken up, but there were some encouraging signs . His brain activity began to normalize . The doctors predicted that he would wake up within two or three days .
If William still hadn't woken up by that time, then he needed to be moved to a better-equipped hospital in Bentheim .
Ves preferred it if they didn't have to resort to this cumbersome movement . Not only would it take time to get William back to Cloudy Curtain, there was a chance that William would find some way to escape his clutches .
No test subject was allowed to run from Ves before he was done with his experiments!
"I think William will be fine . " Gloriana remarked and gestured at some of the doctors wearing different uniforms . "I've assigned some of my own men to facilitate his care . "
Ves noticed that . Some of the medical equipment in the infirmary looked very different .
While he didn't mind the changes, it rankled Ves a bit that she didn't ask for his permission .
"Gloriana… I thought we talked about this . Don't make any unilateral decisions when it concerns us both . The Mech Nursery is still my property . "
"Ah, I'm sorry . It slipped my mind . "
Ves could already tell that this would be a recurring habit of his girlfriend . Whenever she saw something imperfect that she could address, she would go ahead and fix the problem in her own way .
The root problem with Gloriana was that she was far too used to acting decisively that asking for his approval was still something alien to her . Perhaps she was capable of deferring to others, but the only people she answered to was her mother or other authoritative women .
Even Gloriana stated that she didn't see Ves as a boy, she was very much a Hexer . Her unconscious bias against men and boys still affected her conduct while she stayed with him on Cloudy Curtain .
He foresaw a need to have another serious talk with Gloriana . Not now, though . He wasn't in the mood right now .
Once Ves and Gloriana headed down to their lab, they convened together with the four Larkinson seeds .
They hadn't been staying idle all this time . Ketis had been attentive in guiding their studies while the others were preoccupied with other matters .
"How are the kids, Ketis?" He asked .
"They're all very bright . " She replied with a smile . "Not as smart as me, but at their age they're already quite impressive . "
Ves turned towards the four Larkinson teenagers and studied them with a scrutinizing gaze .
As expected, none of them could keep their composure when their idol studied them in this manner .
He didn't stare at them because he wanted to intimidate them . Instead, he was looking out for certain abnormal signs .
He finally managed to spot something abnormal . Maikel Larkinson's neck featured a very faint blue mottled pattern .
No normal human possessed skin that looked like this . Unless it was a bruise, it was very likely that Ves detected a disconcerting sign!
"Did any of you undergo genetic modification?"
All four Larkinsons nodded .
"Yes, sir . " Rennie Larkinson answered . "Before we got sent to Cloudy Curtain, our family sent us all to an exclusive gene clinic at Rittersberg . The clinic is very renowned there for selling genetic mod templates that increases intelligence when applied to someone's genes . "
"I see . " Ves said flatly . "How much did it cost?"
"Around 80 million credits per operation . "
"That's a very significant amount of money to invest in a person . "
Zanthar Larkinson confidently smiled . "Our family is very hopeful about us . We were all doing very well at school before we've been selected to study under you . Now that our genes have improved, I have no problem with keeping up with my studies while spending lots of time here!"
The other three Larkinsons nodded in agreement .
Ves sighed and placed his hands against his hips . "What about the side effects? There's always a catch . "
The four of them exchanged awkward glances .
"Tell me now, or I'll ask your parents . Either way, I'll find out . "
"You don't have to, sir . We'll tell you . There's a bunch of side effects, but the main one is that we need to hydrate ourselves more often . The gene mod template was derived from an aquatic species . "
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad . What else?"
A bunch of other quirks and warnings followed . None of the potential side effects sounded very serious to Ves . No wonder it cost 80 million bright credits per operation at pre-inflation levels .
The side effects were severe enough to make them a bit bothersome, but not so cumbersome to require a reduction in price .
It wasn't really that expensive to apply a gene mod template to someone . The main reason why the price was jacked up so much was that the templates were often licensed from biotech companies at exorbitant prices .
The experts in genetic modification that were qualified to conduct such operations were also very hard to come by . It took a lot of study and training for people to become capable of applying genetic treatments to a variety of different people .
Once Ves finished questioning the four kids, he turned to Gloriana . "What do you think?"
"The template doesn't sound very good by my standards, but its footprint isn't very big . I think there's a lot more room for improvement and alterations . The genes of these kids aren't set in stone yet . "
That relieved Ves a little . He was afraid that the Larkinsons had inadvertently ruined the future of their little seeds . Fortunately, they already took these issues into account .
"Are you okay with our genetic mod template, sir?"
"It's fine . " Ves casually waved his hand in dismissal . "Genetic augmentation is something that is very common in the upper ranks of society . If you ever find yourself in a position where you can go further, then continued augmentation is pretty much essential . You have to make sure that you apply the right treatments to your genes . I'll talk to the Larkinsons about this later so they'll refrain from doing this again . As for you, don't undergo any further augmentation unless I say so . I'll kick you out myself if I find out you went behind my back!"
"Why are you making such a big fuss out of it? Isn't it good that we've all become smarter?" Maisie Larkinson asked in confusion .
"Not every gene mod template is as good . " Ketis answered for Ves . "I can speak from personal experience that applying the wrong templates on you can potentially lock your future or ruin your life . I managed to correct my mistake, but many other people are stuck with their choices for life . "
Ves nodded in appreciation towards Ketis . "She's right . Reckless genetic modification is one of the reasons why the second half of the Age of Conquest became such an awful time was because the cutting-edge gene treatments turned many leaders mad!"
"That's in the past, right? Genetic modification is a lot more regulated these days . "
Ves and Ketis scoffed . Even Gloriana slightly shook her head!
"Naive!" Ves shouted . "Genetic modification is just as dangerous as before . The same technologies from back then are being used today! The only difference is that geneticists are a lot more careful and actually pay some attention to the repercussions of their works . That doesn't mean that they've managed to remove the effect their treatments have on someone's personality and emotions . "
Ves, Ketis and Gloriana each lectured about this topic to the four seeds . Maikel, Maisie, Rennie and Zanthar all grew more grave when they learned how much they risked when the Larkinsons paid for their gene augments .
If the Larkinsons hadn't been diligent enough and paid so much money, they could have all been screwed!
After an hour of lecturing, Ves clapped his hands .
"That's enough I think . We're mech designers, not geneticists . Let's turn back to our work . You four can sit back and listen while we discuss our next projects, okay?"
The four seeds nodded . Obviously, this was not the time for them to raise their hands to ask questions or provide suggestions .
Seeing that the four Larkinsons understood his intentions, Ves turned to Ketis and Gloriana . "Alright, let's get to the next three projects I want to start . You're all up to date on the request issued by MinDef, right?"
"Yes . "
"Yes . "
"Then let's talk . " He said . "Out of the four variants that MinDef suggested, Gloriana and I have already ruled out the Worthy Soldier . Its concept deviates so much from the Desolate Soldier that it actually calls for designing an entirely new mech . "
"Maybe that was what the government was after . " Ketis speculated . "If you fell for their trick, then they would have pretty much gotten an original mech design for the price of a variant . "
Ves harrumphed . "If they think I'm stupid enough to fall for that trick, then they've severely underestimated me . Let's put that aside and focus on the variants that I've agreed upon . "
The three of them began to discuss their thoughts and expectations on the Prideful Soldier, Militant Soldier and Peaceful Soldier .
"I'm not really digging those names . " Ketis remarked . "Peaceful Soldier doesn't match my impression of the Planetary Guard . Maybe we should call it by another name?"
Ves shrugged . "If you have any suggestions, then feel free to raise them . I think it's a decent name . "
He did not say that because he coincidentally owned a custom ballistic pistol called the Peaceful Repose .
"I don't have much of an opinion on the names . What I'm worried about is how much time we need to spend on developing these variants . " Gloriana stated . "Just look at the list of requirements for the militant Soldier and Peaceful Soldier . They're very divergent from the original Desolate Soldier . We'll have to incorporate entirely new components and redesign the internal architecture of those mechs from the ground up . Even if the variants resemble the base model on the outside, their insides won't be anything alike!"
"I know it's a lot of work, but we're mech designers . " Ves replied . "I think we can finish these projects in a couple of months, especially if we run them concurrently . In fact, I can finish the Prideful Soldier in a matter of weeks . The demands for this variant are by far the lightest . "
Ves could retain much of the same design while substituting some components with cheaper equivalents . He also had to tweak its X-Factor so that it was not as obnoxiously pure .
Apparently, gangs and other underground organizations really didn't like it when their mech pilots acted like goody two shoes .
Both Gloriana and Ketis saw no problem with that .
"We still need some help if we want to run two projects at the same time . " Ketis remarked . "Neither Gloriana and I are very useful in this project . "
Ketis specialized in swords and swordsman mechs, while Gloriana's strength lay in custom mechs . Neither of them could showcase their full ability in projects centered around mass market mechs .
"I have a suggestion . " Gloriana raised her head . "The government settled lots of refugees on this planet, right? Why don't we visit the local administration and see what kind of people have ended up here . There's bound to be a number of destitute mech designers among the refugees who have fled their fallen states . Maybe we can offer them all a job . "
Ves looked skeptical . "I'm not sure if any mech designer is among the refugees here . They're not exactly average people . Those who are good enough have probably found better passage, while those who don't meet my standards are better left at the temporary farming settlements . "
"That's just your opinion, Ves . Who knows what kind of hidden gems are hidden in the masses . I think we should head out and look for useful people to recruit . This is a great chance!"
Though Ves wasn't initially sold on the idea, he became more and more intrigued as Gloriana advocated for this suggestion .
Was there really a treasure hidden among the refugees?
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