The Mech Touch

Ves managed to overcome almost every obstacle that stood in the way of turning the Elegant Rage into a Woodsap mech.

Venerable Lanie Larkinson's consent to undergo unprecedented body modifications in order to effectively replace her blood with Emperor Tree Sap was far-reaching.

Such a massive change could never be accomplished by any regular genetics lab.

Ves had to turn to the Transhumanist Faction in order to research this radical solution and convert Lanie's body as soon as possible.

"There is no need for you to feel concerned about this matter. The demands that you have issued are heavy, but it can still be done. This is what our Transhumanist Faction is working towards." Professor Vector Loban reassured Ves shortly after he teleported to the surface from the Bluejay Fleet.

"Will the Survivalists agree to let your faction take charge in transforming Venerable Lanie's body?"

"The Mace of Retaliation who has taken your exiled expert pilot under his wing is not a small-minded individual. He trusts us to do our jobs, and we will. I am sure that if the Evolution Witch is not currently preoccupied with military affairs, she would have definitely put all of her support behind your current project. With that in mind, our faction is prepared to invest serious resources and manpower into this job."

Given his interactions with the Evolution Witch, he knew that Loban was not exaggerating.

The elemental Carmine System exemplified much of what Divine Lucie Miyazaki strove for. She was practically the embodiment of embracing extreme physiological transformations in exchange for greater power and longevity!

Just as the Evolution Witch had been forced to make permanent, life-changing changes to her congenitally deficient body, Venerable Lanie had to bring herself to fundamentally shed her familiar human physical traits and essentially become an alien just so that she could excel on the battlefield!

Ves was quite familiar with this dilemma. He too had become very far removed from his original baseline human incarnation over the years. While he did not exactly agree to undergo much of his extreme body transformation procedures, he would be lying if he said that he hated all of his changes.

It was nice to be strong.

It was nice to be able to survive while being thrown into the vacuum of space without a hermetically sealed suit.

It was nice to know that most assassins had no way of killing him anymore unless they employed lots of first-class mechs or a weapon of mass destruction.

In a galaxy and age where survival once again became a serious concern, becoming stronger and more resilient on a physical level was definitely not a dispensable luxury!

"A part of me feels reluctant to unleash inventions such as Woodsap mechs to human society." Ves shared his doubts with the Transhumanist liaison. "I know it is too premature to determine whether this project is a success, but if it does… how will that affect red humanity in the long run? Will an increasing number of mech pilots become tempted by the promise of power and other benefits and gladly abandon their humanity? I am not sure whether we will be able to recognize what our society has become after so many of our soldiers have willingly become transhuman."

"You are not thinking far enough, Ves." The 50-year old Transhumanist spoke as he crossed his arms. "I would argue that the body transformations required to pilot your Woodsap mechs and other as-of-yet developed elemental Carmine mechs go beyond patching up the weaknesses and shortcomings of the human physique. I believe that the extreme changes that Venerable Lanie must embrace in the following months will eventually turn her into a posthuman."

The emphasis on the word 'posthuman' immediately induced greater discomfort in Ves.

"Are you saying that you are going to change Lanie into a monster?"

Professor Loban shook his head in disapproval. "The differences between transhuman and posthuman are enormous. Have you ever truly thought about what sets them apart, Professor Larkinson?"

Ves shook his head. "One goes pretty far to improve humans, and the other one goes much further in order to perform better."

"That is correct, but you are not thinking deeply enough of what they represent. They are more than words. They are ideologies. The premise of transhumanism is to evolve humans to become better versions of themselves. With the premise of retaining one's spiritual humanity as much as possible, classical transhumanists seek to upgrade their existing human traits into better but still recognizably human improvements. To put it in different terms, transhumans believe that our race is already strong, and that we only need to refine our existing endowments in order to achieve transcendence from that basis."

Ves received Vector Loban's underlying message.

"Transhumanism is based on the assumption that it is already great to be human. There is room for improvement, but there is no need to go too far because doing so may cause us to lose the qualities that make us so successful as a collective." He stated.

"That is a good description. It is not a coincidence that the human race has managed to overcome the Seven Apex Races, which were long considered to be the most superior races of our native galaxy, and conquer half of the Milky Way. We may be physically weak and not all that intelligent, but it is our relentless drive to overcome our human weaknesses that has allowed us to draw out much of our potential compared to all of the alien races that are too lazy to move beyond their natural gifts. Transhumanism as an ideology is fundamentally based on the premise that being a human is already one of the greatest blessings in our lives."

Ves frowned in thought. "I take it that posthumanism thinks differently?"

"That is a logical deduction. Posthumans approach the state of humanity in a different light. They agree with the transhumanists that humans are not all that strong, but they disagree on the assumption that there is value in retaining one's humanity as much as possible. To them, the vestiges of humanity are shackles that must be released one by one in order to turn any individual into the best possible version of himself. To embrace posthumanism is to literally attempt to leave one's humanity behind and embrace any alternative that is superior, whether the improvements are derived from strong alien genes or completely artificial products that have no equivalence in nature."

Although transhumanism and posthumanism sounded similar, they were ultimately very different in thought and approach.

"I see. I think I get it, Vector. The central premise of posthumanism is that being human is awful. It is a virtue if a person is willingly able to give up aspects of his own humanity to become more powerful. Since this is what posthumans pursue, how does that fit into your faction?"

Professor Loban smiled. "The Transhumanist Faction is large and encompasses a variety of ideologies and opinions. Before the Great Severing, our faction was mainly led by the Chosen Human. We had other leaders, but Divine Hussain Albedo unquestionably set most of our policies. Now, which camp do you think he represents?"

"He's a classical transhumanist without a doubt." Ves immediately answered. "Even a child can figure this out. He is widely regarded as the most perfect human to exist. He is the epitome of the peak that the human race can attain if it managed to unlock its full potential. It is too bad that an aberration like the Chosen Human has only ever emerged once."

There were actually a lot of wild and crazy rumors on the galactic net that the Chosen Human was anything but a freak accident of nature.

Many conspiracy theorists claimed that the Chosen Human was the product of extreme boundary-breaking experiments.

People simply couldn't conceive of the idea that a potentate with S-grade genetic aptitude could never exist unless a cabal of biotech scientists gone rogue sacrificed a dozen powerful ace pilots and merged their brain tissue into a designer baby that was conceived in a test tube!

The Mech Trade Association always refuted these crazy conspiracy theories, but it could never stop people from gossiping.

Ves did not know what to believe either. He felt that there was definitely a big story behind the Chosen Human's conception, but there was no point in speculating over it. The famous god pilot was stuck in the Milky Way Galaxy and had no way of extending his reach into the Red Ocean.

"Under the Chosen Human's regime, the Transhumanist Faction maintained strong restraint towards any augmentation research. Our scientists and developers had to make sure their work did not exceed the relatively restrictive boundaries set by our highest leader. Divine Albedo was never shy about delivering punishment in person to any researcher that dared to engage in taboo research. You cannot believe how much his continued existence has deterred many scientists from engaging in groundbreaking research projects."

Ves smiled back. "I guess that era is over now that our side of the greater beyonder gate is cut off from the Chosen Human."

"That is correct. In fact, before the Great Severing occurred, the Transhumanist Faction in the Red Ocean already developed the habit of conducting more extreme research, particularly in relation to phasewater and the native aliens. Many transhumanists who originally felt dissatisfied by the limitations imposed by the Chosen Human opted to move to another galaxy in order to distance themselves from the Divine and his large army of supporters. Once the Age of Dawn has begun, many Transhumanists who found themselves stuck in the Red Ocean actually celebrated their separation from the Milky Way. They no longer have to work under the old regime anymore!"

"I guess it helps a lot that the Evolution Witch is the opposite to the Chosen Human from an ideological perspective." Ves remarked. "The history of your new leader is much different from your old leader. Divine Miyazaki never had any reasons to appreciate the intrinsic strengths of the human race. She suffered so much from her human frailties that she was eager to transcend from her own humanity as quickly as possible. According to your definition, the Evolution Witch is probably the epitome of a posthuman."

"Yes, and now her ideology has gained primacy in the Transhumanist Faction. Several years have already passed since the start of the Age of Dawn, but we have already developed ten times as many revolutionary innovations as we did in the last handful of decades! The Evolution Witch is a much more tolerant and encouraging leader. Under her new regime, our scientists are not only permitted to undertake radical posthuman research projects, but they are actively encouraged to push the boundaries of what it means to be human. Strong results matter more than any attempt to preserve the original meaning of humanity."

That sounded like paradise to some, but a nightmare to others!

Though Ves was normally a strong proponent of rapid and less restricted innovation, he was not sure whether it was a good idea to remove so many limiters in human augmentation research.

The excesses of the human race during the latter half of the Age of Conquest came to mind!

"Aren't you guys afraid that we will end up repeating history?"

"Not really." Professor Loban casually shrugged. "We have learned from our mistakes. We are not as complacent as before. Besides, one of the reasons why humanity ended up driving itself to the brink of extinction was because we no longer felt pressured by strong alien enemies. That is not the case for red humanity. We have so many powerful external enemies that we can channel any excessive aggression outwards instead of inwards. As long as our alien foes are the ones that suffer from our overeagerness to abandon our humanity, then can we still treat this as a problem?"

"That is… remarkably convenient."

Professor Vector Loban was not wrong. It would be terrible if powerful human soldiers changed so much that they lost control and lashed out against their fellow humans.

However, if those same crazy posthumans began to rampage in alien space, then they would not be regarded as monsters.

Instead, they would definitely be treated as heroes!

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