Chapter 7284: Cynical Agreement

The Guidance Faction had long maintained a lot of power during the early half of the Age of Mechs.

Many of the members and leaders of the Mech Trade Association consisted of survivors of the final years of the Age of Conquest.

Their desire to smother the independence of humans was great. They were chiefly responsible for turning the MTA into an overbearing institution that deprives the states of their sovereignty and numerous of their rights.

It was not until human civilization had recovered from the ravages of the Age of Conquest that the Guidance Faction's influence started to wane.

While the power of inertia was still strong enough for the Guidance Faction to retain a significant influence throughout the remainder of the Age of Mechs, it was clear that the newer generation of high- tiered galactic citizens rejected its paternalistic behavior.

More and more people who had never suffered the atrocities committed during that apocalyptic past age found the Guidance Faction to be filled with nagging parents and grandparents.

The Evolution Witch especially despised the busybodies who felt it was their sacred mission to guide humanity's development.

Naturally, their wisdom trumped the wisdom of the remainder of the human population. Even powerful god pilots like Divine Lucie Miyazaki had been deemed too impulsive and reckless to be granted a measure of actual control over a large and powerful organization.

Back in the old galaxy, the Evolution Witch constantly chafed under the monitoring of risk-averse peers such as the Chosen Human and the leaders of the Guidance Faction.

Now that the Great Severing left most of those pedantic figures behind, a growing number of tier 1 galactic citizens gradually built up the courage to defy the prevailing consensus and break away from the status quo.

It was actually quite ironic that the god pilot most at risk of going rogue had actually demonstrated enough patience to stay within the Red Association.

Instead, the Huntsman and the Polymath proved to be much more decisive in their actions!

Was it unfair that so many people maintained a guarded attitude towards the Evolution Witch?

Perhaps. Ves did not blame them for their fears.

For all of their selfishness, the Polymath and the Huntsman at least led organizations that remained recognizably human.

Sure, the Cybers and the Hunters both stretched the definition of humanity when they encouraged each other to pursue different forms of ascension, but their intentions remained noble.

People could not say the same for the Evolution Witch. She had never obfuscated her beliefs and ideology.

To her, being human was a transition. Each human had to possess the drive to improve themselves by any means necessary. If that meant giving up their humanity and transforming themselves into a biotechnological abomination, then that was an acceptable tradeoff in her opinion!

This 'open-minded' perspective happened to turn her into an ideal patron for Ves, but it also turned her into a growing concern by others.

"The Missile Messiah must be feeling really bad right now." Ves remarked. "I don't know too much about him, but if he is entrusted by the Guidance Faction to watch over the development of humans in the Red Ocean, then he has most certainly lost control. His actual power and influence must be quite minimal these days."

"You are correct, relatively speaking." Jovy carefully said. "A Star Designer will always wield a great amount of influence. Even the Polymath at her low point still enjoyed a large degree of support and indirect assistance due to the inherent value of her work. His Excellency Kevar Arendstein is still our best missile weapon specialist in the Red Ocean. His work is especially appreciated by the Red Fleet, whose warships are more dependent on this weapon type."

Ves perked up when he heard that. "Is there a possibility that the Missile Messiah might decide to defect to the Red Fleet?"

"The probability is small, but... we cannot dismiss it entirely." The Survivalist admitted. "We still hope that the Missile Messiah will stay true to his roots and remain an upstanding member of the Red Association. Even with the departure of the Huntsman, the Evolution Witch and the Marmedion Dynasty, we can still be assured that the Mech Supremacist Faction along with the Survivalist Faction will remain behind to maintain the core institutions of the RA. At most, we may have to shrink our forces, our direct territorial holdings and our R&D expenditures."

The Red Association was still too strong of an institution to collapse. So long as at least a couple of tier 1 galactic citizens remained behind, it would always exist, though it would struggle to regain the grandeur it once held.

Ves actually felt rather sad that the RA had entered a declining trajectory, but it had no one to blame but itself.

Sure, the Great Severing may have set up the conditions for all of the defections, but the reasons why the likes of the Huntsman and the Polymath preferred to operate alone rather than remain a member of the club was because it failed to satisfy their needs and ambitions.

"Who are the Red Association loyalists?" Ves asked.

"The Lord of Thermodynamics and the Web Mistress for certain." Jovy responded. "Both Star Designers are old enough to have grown up in an era where the fear of returning to the degeneracy of the dark days of the Age of Conquest still loomed over their shoulders. They value the strength and stability brought by the Mech Trade Association. It is safe to say that they are the staunchest members of the old guard. Of the two, the Lord of Thermodynamics is much more of a relic of the past age."

The Web Mistress was significantly younger, so she possessed a bit more modern sensibilities.

However, it was clear that she still believed in the original mission of the Red Association.

Having met and spoken to the Web Mistress in person, Ves knew that she mastered the law of networks

to such a profound degree that she could crack into any data network.

Her abilities appeared to be outright magic from his perspective!

Such a woman could easily form her own independent power base if she wished.

Yet doing so would separate her from a strong institution that already maintained a huge amount of ties with other parties.

The Web Mistress operated best when she was as close to the center of a web as possible.

"What about god pilots?" Ves asked. "Two Star Designers alone cannot support the great cause of the RA. They need hard muscle to enforce their remaining rights and deter enemies from stealing their stuff." The Survivalist had a ready answer. "The Fist of Defiance will most likely stay and support the Red Association. His Holiness is not very political by nature, as you probably already know. He has little ambition to start his own empire. As long as the Red Association remembers its original mandate, then the Fist of Defiance has no issue with staying."

That made sense. The Fist of Defiance did not come across as a deep thinker or a megalomaniac.

He just wanted a good fight.

His lust for power was only limited to his desire to improve his fighting prowess and receive upgrades for his god mech. The Red Association could easily service those needs. Their cooperation made a lot of sense in this regard.

"What about the Xenotechnician?" Ves mentioned a controversial name. "He is also part of the Survivalist Faction, but I have noticed that you have clearly left out his name."

The expression of the RA Senior Mech Designer grew conflicted. "That is an observant remark. I have indeed left his name out so far. That is for a good reason. This is because I bear classified intelligence on the Xenotechnician's true leanings."

"He's a cosmopolitan. Am I right?" Ves bluntly guessed.

"No! Not exactly! He is not a traitor!"

"What do you mean 'not exactly'? These words do not inspire much confidence, you know."

It was clear that there was a problem with the Xenotechnician. Ves had always suspected him of having deep ties with the Cosmopolitan Movement due to his strong obsession with alien technology.

Of course, whether he was an outright traitor remained to be seen. The Xenotechnician remained free, which meant that his peers did not believe he posed a threat to human order. For now, at least. Jovy took a moment to think on how he should formulate his words. His understanding of this complex situation was incomplete. He did not wish to convey an inaccurate impression.

"The Xenotechnician has long attracted suspicion for maintaining improper ties to the Cosmopolitan Movement. He is not the only tier 1 galactic citizen to draw this accusation. As far as 'we' know, there has never been any proof that the Xenotechnician directly cooperated with the cosmopolitans during the Age of Mechs. He has always remained within the boundaries set by the Mech Trade Association."

Ves immediately noticed the keyword. "Directly, you say. What about indirectly?"

"That is... more problematic." Jovy frowned. "The MTA has registered secret cases that indicate that over a dozen disciples and subordinates of the Xenotechnicians have made contact with the Cosmopolitan Movement in one form or another. We do not know whether the mechers at the time have dealt with any of these cases, but it is likely that nothing has happened."

"Let me guess. It was a lot more common to collude with the Cosmopolitan Movement back when it was regarded as a harmless group of rats."

Jovy responded with a wry smile. "I cannot confirm anything. What you just mentioned is just one of multiple possible theories. I am not a high-tiered galactic citizen myself, so I do not have any way of understanding the true situation. What I have been told is that the MTA did not wish to rock the boat. The mechers did not tolerate major transgressions, but it was willing to turn a blind eye towards 'minor' transgressions. The Cosmopolitan Movement in the Milky Way had never been regarded as a serious threat, so colluding with them did not carry the same weight as it does today."

Of course, all of that was in the past.

The Cosmopolitan Movement of the Red Ocean was an entirely different beast. It had inflicted incalculable damage to red humanity. Any red human who still colluded with those human traitors during the Age of Dawn deserved real punishment!

"How has this situation changed after the Great Severing?"

"During the historic conference where you played a key role, we eventually formed a consensus on enacting the Deep Strike Plan. What you did not know was that the Fist of Defiance and the Xenotechnician made a secret agreement shortly after that. The full details are unclear, but I have learned that the Xenotechnician received permission to secretly pursue the Diplomacy Plan. What is notable is that the Fist of Defiance has given the Star Designer provisional approval to directly contact native aliens or cosmopolitans in order to fulfill the Diplomacy Plan."

"What?!"

Ves almost stood up in outrage! It was one thing for the Xenotechnician to secretly make contact with the Cosmopolitan Movement.

It was another thing for him to do so under the provisional sanction of the Fist of Defiance! "Why... why would the Fist of Defiance make such a decision!?"

"Maybe he never had full confidence in his own plan." Jovy shrugged. "Or maybe he wanted red

humanity to have a backup option at its disposal. I cannot divine his thoughts. The fact is that the Fist of Defiance has admitted his role. According to my own guess, the god pilot acknowledges the harm that the cosmopolitans have made, but is still willing to make use of them if that will improve red humanity's

chances of survival."

That sounded typical for this faction. The Survivalists harbored no taboos. They did not care about the

means. They only cared about the outcome.

"The end justifies the means."

"Just so." Jovy cynically confirmed. (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)

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