Published at 14th of November 2026 7:42 am

Chapter 7620: Dirty Politics

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Ves figured out what Jovy wanted.

The Survivalists wanted to implement new rules that limited the development and use of superdimensional mechs.

Though Ves only received a one-sided explanation for now, he managed to deduce that the final shape of this upcoming policy was still very much in flux.

Even if it was inevitable for the Red Association to give in to its urges and impose new regulations on an emerging source of instability, the various sides and factions still disagreed on the details.

In this kind of political dispute, respected leaders and visionaries possessed a disproportionate amount of power.

Many people looked up these heroes and role models. This alone could sway the opinions of millions of people, especially if they had not chosen a stance in the first place!

Although Ves was far from the only ’influencer’ that could shift the balance of power in this ongoing dispute, his prominence in recent years ensured that his voice possessed much greater weight than almost any other leading figure!

Hence why the Survivalist Faction wanted to co-opt him first. It made a lot of sense for Jovy to approach Ves in private and attempt to ’purchase’ his influencing power.

"You guys are pretty blatant about bribery." Ves sneered at his mecher friend. "Your approach is devoid of honor. What is worse is that you assume the same of me. Ketis would never react well to this offer."

Jovy maintained an impassive expression. He did not show any displeasure at the accusation. He was not speaking on behalf of himself at this time. He was speaking on behalf of his superiors.

"You are not Ketis."

"You have a point, I suppose."

"You are correct that there is a reason why we have decided to contact you alone. We are not asking you to violate your principles and speak out against your own beliefs. We merely wish to persuade you of the inevitable and earn your compliance in exchange for... our appreciation. I assure you that the opposition will not be able to match our generosity. While we can make do without your explicit support, your potential opposition will complicate our effort and allow our detractors to secure important concessions. We do not want that to happen. With your explicit support, we can end this debate considerably faster and more decisively. We can draft a stricter and more harmonious policy that will largely be devoid of potential flaws and loopholes. The Terrans and the Rubarthans will also be more inclined to align their own laws with ours."

Jovy weakened his bargaining position by explaining how Ves’ support may affect the subsequent developments.

However, the mecher also made it clear how Ves could speed up the resolution of this troublesome dispute and save everyone a lot of time and effort.

"You have been pretty vague about the so-called details." Ves said. "What kind of rules are you arguing about that are so important?"

"There are too many to count. They include the internal and external prices for tokens, how much any single individual or group may accrue tokens, what conditions must be met to raise this token limit, what sort of violations may give us cause to rescind a token, what specifications a superdimensional mech must meet in order to earn a legal status, how much superdimensional matter in absolute or relative terms any single mech may possess at most, how to handle the use of superdimensional matter as consumables, how to regulate the loss of a superdimensional mech and so much more."

Each of these rules would have a profound influence on the use of superdimensional mechs in the future.

The Survivalists were exactly the kind of worrywarts who obsessed over a million different what-ifs. Their compulsive need to account for every possible disaster in advance urged them to hammer out as many rules as possible!

Ves couldn’t help but smile in amusement. "Only you guys would be so bored as to invest so much of your time into regulations. I can’t blame you. I also do not fault you for your behavior. Someone obviously has to do something about it. I may hold a lot of trust in my own restraint when it comes to the use of superdimensional mechs, but I cannot necessarily say the same for others. I still don’t like it, though. I personally prefer a light touch."

"Giving people too much leeway largely defeats the purpose of this upcoming policy." Jovy said while shaking his head. "Trust me, Ves. Far too many outlaws among red humanity will test or outright break the boundaries if they believe they can do so without paying a heavy price. We are not ignorant of the fact that many mech pilots and mech designers have cursed us for being heavy-handed with our laws. However, we would rather be seen as unforgiving and preserve everyone’s trust in mechs than any of the alternatives. Our ultimate purpose is to safeguard the institution of mechs. As a mech designer yourself, you should realize how much you have benefited from our sacrifice."

Though Jovy may be right about that, he may be exaggerating a bit when he used the term ’sacrifice’.

The MTA exploited much of human civilization for over 4 centuries!

Its existence was one of the main reasons why mechs represented an entire age!

Even if the RA was a much smaller and diminished version of its parent, it still possessed many of the same goals and flaws!

Ves crossed his arms. "Don’t waste my time with your noble purpose. It all comes down to power as far as I see it. Superdimensional mechs are bound to become one of the most powerful symbols of this new age that you are determined to place them under your wing. By setting yourselves up to become their supervisors, you indirectly earn a share of their glory whenever they perform a heroic feat. The proposed program will also place the RA above every superdimensional mech in everyone’s minds. This is nothing but a desperate attempt to maintain the relevance of your Association."

The RA Senior did not bother to argue with that cynical description. "We only wish to do our jobs. Some of us may harbor ulterior motives, but you cannot fault us for this. Greed is an intrinsic part of human nature. The most successful and enduring groups never try to fight against this phenomenon, but try to harness it in a productive manner."

"I see."

"You are not so different from us, Ves." Jovy smiled again and extended his palm. "Join us. Help us tame the power of superdimensional mechs. If you agree to support us, we will not only give you the rewards that we have promised, but also listen earnestly to your input on certain matters. You can help us shape our policy and potentially set rules that favor you and your clan the most."

"And what if I choose to stand in opposition?" Ves curiously asked.

"Then you will be joining a futile effort. We know that you are the sort of person who is naturally opposed to greater regulations, but I can assure you that this is as futile as trying to fight against a god mech. At most, your contribution may soften the severity of a couple of rules, but that will be the extent of your influence. The fractured and divided nature of the opposing groups also makes it much harder for you to profit from your decision. The only real benefit you have secured is the futile satisfaction of upholding your values."

He made it sound as if it was a bad thing for Ves to remain honest and voice his true opinions.

"Ugh. Politics." Ves let out a disgusted sound. "It is attitudes like yours that pulls everything related to it into the mud. I really don’t like this, Jovy. You have successfully soured my perspective on high-level panel discussions. I used to believe that respected leaders would sit around a table and sincerely exchange their views and opinions with each other. I know better now. This is a game where everyone with a stake tries to cheat."

"That is an overly pessimistic take on policy making. Politics is inherently based around give or take. Our side may be able to gain the upper hand in this debate, but we will inevitably have to make greater concessions in the next one. The debts that we accrue today must be repaid in the future. The game is much fairer if you look at it from a higher perspective."

"I don’t know about that. I haven’t been playing it long enough to see it this way."

Jovy eventually stood up and spread his palms on his desk. "Enough about that. Now that you have been apprised of the situation, I would like to hear your stance. Are you open to cooperation?"

A few seconds passed as Ves fell into thought.

"A lot of the uncertainty I have about the new policy is the difficulty in earning tokens." He eventually said. "I do not want my clan to become bottlenecked by a lack of tokens. We can obtain superdimensional matter much easier than others, whether through plunder or through mining the Blue Dimension. It would be ridiculous for us to end up with a surplus of superdimensional matter and a shortage of tokens, especially when the latter is completely artificial."

"Rest assured that earning tokens will not constrain you nearly as much as others." Jovy tried to reassure his friend. "I cannot promise that your clan will entirely remain unaffected. I can only tell you that your force has already grown strong enough that it is not difficult for you to exchange merits for additional tokens. You only need to abide by reasonable regulations that prevent your superdimensional mechs from harming other humans or becoming too... perverse."

"Like my Riot Mark III?"

Ves knew that the mechers had long taken a dim view on this particular superdimensional ace mech. His design choices had derailed Saint Rosa Orfan’s life and turned a powerful machine into an unstable bomb.

Though he did not regret his experimentation, he still had to live with the consequences of his decisions.

It could have been worse.

If Ves was not already a high-tier galactic citizen, the Red Association would have cracked down on him for bringing this atrocity to life!

Jovy nonchalantly shrugged. "Whatever we may think about your Riot, I am sure that its existing... eccentricities will be grandfathered in the new regime. We will not be prone to taking action as long as you do not create another absurdly powerful machine that is as prone as losing control. Consider it a reward for taking the initiative to engage in limit testing. The existence of the Riot Mark III has given us a real-life example of how terrible superdimensional mechs can become if we refrain from intervening."

That did not sound pleasant. Ves very much disliked the thought of stopping any further experimentation just because he needed to placate the sensitive mechers.

He still had a lot of expectations for Demoncasting and Demonforging. They provided him with an alternative means of empowering his products that did not already make use of other existing solutions such as superdimensional technology.

While he could restrict his more dangerous experiments to regular transphasic mechs, Ves would never remain satisfied with that alone.

Superdimensional mechs were bound to become the defining standard of the Age of Dawn.

The Larkinson Clan could not match the comprehensive R&D lead of major powers such as the RA and the Cybernetic Empire.

If the Larkinsons wanted to remain competitive at the highest level, they needed to go all-in on their unique strengths!

The development of these competitive advantages would never progress smoothly. Ves anticipated a considerable amount of failures and accidents in the future.

The mechers might not tolerate them, especially if they involved superdimensional mechs.

Since that was the case, why should Ves accept this deal?

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