[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 129: Architecture

Patricia set down her data pad that displayed the Herald's interview with Ves. She sat back on her perch overlooking a peaceful garden at a private island on Leemar. The woman glanced at the projection of a familiar mech as it endured a ferocious missile bombardment.

"Now that you have studied the Young Blood, what are your thoughts, Patricia?" A female voice asked from the side.

Lyri Reywind, a foreign Journeyman Mech Designer under the employ of Master Null, popped a cultured grape-like fruit in her mouth. Since Patricia acknowledged the famed mech designer as her master, Lyri brought her up to speed. Patricia improved remarkably as she supplemented her solid foundation with a couple of intermediate skills.

"The construction of the Young Blood is not remarkable, though it is well-built." Patricia answered after organizing her thoughts. "The overall complexity of the knight type is fairly low, so it is not a large accomplishment for an Apprentice Mech Designer to achieve this result. I can only say that Ves has a strong foundation."

"Is that all you can perceive from his mech? If it is merely a good construction, then it shouldn't be generating the modest amount of buzz in the news."

"The weapon is solid but nothing special. The augments have been improved, but only marginally. The armor's contours have changed and the internal structure is a lot more flexible. Any pilot who steps into the Young Blood's cockpit will appreciate the vastly improved handling."

"These are factual statements that any decent mech designer can make when they compare spec sheets." Lyri admonished her junior while she shook her head in disappointment. "You are a talented mech designer, but you are still too sheltered. Don't look at the design with your brain. Instead, look at it with your heart."

Patricia looked befuddled. Her elegant eyebrows furrowed as she set aside all the numbers and statistics and focused solely on the projection of the virtual mech in battle. She did not know the mech pilot on display, but thought that he or she performed like a natural on the battlefield. Was she looking at a professional?

No. The pilot's skill fell short. Instead, the mech moved fluently and decisively. Patricia did not spot the characteristic pauses and second-guessing of a pilot of this caliber. Now that she thought about it, many of the replays she reviewed had shown that every pilot performed close to their optimum without being burdened by various mental distractions.

"Is there something funny going on with the neural interface?"

"No." Lyri responded. "I've checked the design myself. The neural interface is a bog-standard model that hasn't changed a bit from the original Hoplite design. Think. What can affect a design's performance that does not show up in the schematics or spec sheets?"

"Design philosophy? That's impossible! He's only an apprentice, far from the level where a design philosophy should manifest!"

"The human race is endlessly varied. There are many exceptions to the rule. We lump in everything unexplainable into a concept called design philosophy because only few of us are able to exhibit phenomena beyond our understanding. Master Olson has a good eye for her to spot such a gem in the wild."

Normally, novices and apprentices have only vaguely heard about design philosophy. From their basic textbooks, design philosophy embodied a mech designer's understanding of mech design and signified their unique insights that no one else could imitate.

In truth, design philosophy embodied much more than simple understanding. Patricia knew a little more about the concept. Only those who developed their design philosophy past a certain point broke through to Senior and Master Mech Designers. All others stopped their advancement once they reached the limits of Journeyman.