The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6440

Now that the Evolution Witch formally introduced the Red Collective and introduced a new era of cultivation to the masses, the god pilot finally chose to withdraw.

Her exit was much less flamboyant than her entry. Her human body simply faded away until none of it was visible anymore. Even the awesome presence of her God Kingdom had faded from everyone's awareness.

That did not necessarily mean that she had left. The god pilot was most certainly watching over the entire Astral Octagon and its surroundings for any threats. She merely relinquished her right to address red humanity any further.

After all, there was no need for an individual of her stature to announce political appointments.

That job was reserved for mortals.

A familiar figure began to descend from her elevated position and land at the very center of the Shrine of Hall.

It made sense for a fleeter to speak up next. Ves just did not like her very much.

Fleet Admiral Amelie Jameson occupied the exact same position as the Evolution Witch, but possessed none of the latter's divine grace.

The contrast was considerable, but most people did not necessarily think that Amelie was inferior.

No matter what, she was still a fleet admiral, one of the few top-ranking members of the Red Fleet who ended up stuck in the Red Ocean. To be able to climb from the officer ranks and make it all the way to the top of the Admiralty proved that she possessed excellent capabilities.

It was actually even more impressive that she managed to become a tier 1 galactic citizen while remaining mortal.

Sure, she benefited from having access to the best implants and human genetic optimization treatments, but they could never make her as outrageously powerful or intelligent as a god pilot or a Star Designer.

However, the Evolution Witch was proven correct that red humanity most definitely needed to rely on systematic evolution in order to survive the Red War.

Ves sat close enough to the center of the grand chamber to notice that Fleet Admiral Jameson had already begun to cultivate!

He could vaguely sense that she was practicing a fairly safe and clean qi cultivation method that mostly strengthened her charisma and her intellectual capabilities. There may be more aspects that Ves had yet to discern, but it was clear that the fleet admiral maintained her caution and vigilance towards this new phenomenon.

He wondered how long that would last. Making it easier for her to command her subordinates and solve complex command problems was only a fraction of the benefits that systematic cultivation could produce.

With her power, wealth and connections, she should readily be able to transform herself into a phase lord or other powerhouse.

While she did not necessarily have to turn herself into a gigantic humanoid monstrosity and risk alienating herself from the rest of the Red Fleet, there was an endless variety of qi cultivation methods that could allow her to become as powerful as Cynthia Larkinson while still retaining most of her humanity, which the fleeters cared about a lot.

Whatever the case, the cultivation of Fleet Admiral Jameson was not Ves' problem. The fleeters had fought hard to earn an exemption from the Red Collective's mandate, so they should be able to work out a plan by themselves.

"Red humans." The matronly woman said in a stern and authoritative voice. "The selection of the members of the Lower Council has already taken place beforehand. Each of you have been given the opportunity to cast your vote to select who you wish to represent your state or organization in the Lower Council. Today, we shall commence the investiture of the winning candidates and bestow them with the power to appoint individuals to the Office of Executors to serve as the heads of every department."

The Lower Council represented the interests of the people, so its councilors could make a lot of changes so long as they reached a majority.

It was only natural to give the Lower Council the power to choose the people to staff the executive branches of the Red Collective.

One notable exception to this rule was the Enforcement Department. The LC's ability to interfere in this department was limited in order to maintain a proper separation of powers. This scheme was anything but perfect, but it was the most convenient solution on hand.

Shortly after the fleet admiral finished her words, a projection appeared above that listed out all of the names of the Lower Councilors that had won their respective elections.

The distribution of seats was a complicated affair. The Interim Leadership Council had to balance the interests between large but poor powers and rich but smaller powers.

In the end, population size remained important, but what also determined the allocation of seats in the Lower Council was the so-called 'contribution factor'.

A complex formula with many different variables could be used to calculate the contribution factor of a group. As long as the final sum exceeded a threshold, that group earned a spot in the Lower Council.

Certain states and organizations received the right to occupy more than 1 seat in the Lower Council if they encompassed more people or contributed a lot more to the advancement of human civilization.

For example, the Colonial Federation of Davute was fairly sizable in the Krakatoa Middle Zone, and also made a lot of civil as well as military contributions to the war effort. It had received the right to send two representatives to the Lower Council.

The Hex Federation had a lower population than Davute, but was a lot more active on the military front. Its soldiers were more fanatic and its armed forces were more experienced and cohesive. Combined with the enthusiastic use of living mechs, it also earned the right to send two representatives to the Lower Council.

Ves did not know the lower councilors of Davute in person.

He merely noted that both of them came from the original founders and dominant ruling powers of the second-rate colonial state.

One of them was a part of the Clive Consortium and the other hailed from the Dogon Collective.

The Hex Federation dispatched respected female leaders from two of its more diplomatic-friendly matriarchal dynasties.

One matriarch was a member of the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty, which was known for its emphasis on rationality and scheming ability.

Another matriarch was a member of the Soma Matriarchal Dynasty. The Somas tended to prize culture and tended to be gentle in their daily interactions.

Those were very interesting choices. They lacked the aggression of the members of the Victrix or Amorte Matriarchal Dynasties, which were famous for harboring hatred towards men and possessing an endless lust for conquest and warfare respectively.

Ves stared at the Vraken and the Soma representatives and briefly met their eyes. Both lower councilors nodded their heads in silent respect.

It was good to know that he could count on their support if he wanted to get stuff done in the Lower Council, though he personally did not expect to interact with them often.

He could easily shift this responsibility to Chief of Staff Eliza Mo Ragadan and other lackeys.

Raymond was a trueblood Larkinson who had been with the clan from the start.

In any case, Ves noted to his satisfaction that the Larkinson Clan also managed to occupy a seat in the Lower Council.

The Larkinson Clan was too small to meet the population requirement, but its contributions to the war effort was disproportionately high, particularly due to Ves' efforts. It was only right to bestow the clan with a seat.

The Larkinsons had already voted Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson to occupy this seat, managing to beat Chief Minister Novilon Purnesse by a wide margin.

Raymond was a trueblood Larkinson who had been with the clan from the start.

He occupied a good mix of leadership positions in the past, from leading the LMC to serving among the 1st generation of chief ministers of the Larkinson Clan.

His last position was the branch director of the Davute Branch.

Even after General Ark Larkinson transferred to this branch and established a large presence over there, Raymond made sure the largest side branch continued to stay true to the ideals of the Larkinson Clan.

To be honest, Raymond was nowhere near as smart, cunning or charismatic enough to claim a seat in one of the highest legislative chambers of human civilization.

Even though he was only over a single century 'young', he was an old man in body and soul. His cultivation was meager and he possessed little passion for politicking.

Novilon Purnesse vastly beat Raymond in terms of qualifications alone.

It was a pity that the clansmen did not really appreciate superior performance alone.

Raymond had two advantages that the better qualified candidates lacked.

First, he possessed the heart of a true Larkinson. People might doubt his ability to keep up with others in a first-class society, but they never doubted his love and dedication to his Larkinson heritage!

Second, he was the grandfather of Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson. Even though Raymond had very little to do with the success of the first and most powerful ace pilot of the Larkinson Clan, the grandson's brilliant aura still managed to spill over the old man!

Ves personally believed the Larkinson Clan would probably be able to accomplish more if a consummate politician like Novilon Purnesse entered the Lower Council. He would be a natural in this political arena.

He did not mind that Raymond managed to win the election, though. Ves trusted the old but dependable man to represent the interests of the Larkinson Clan without any selfish motivations.

After the fleet admiral completed her introduction of the lower councilors, she began to highlight the other legislative chamber of the Red Collective.

"The Upper Council serves as an additional check on the Lower Council. Appointed by the most powerful states and organizations that have made enormous contributions to the continued survival and development of our civilization, the upper councilors represent the interests of the most effective guardians of our race."

A new projection appeared above her head that listed out all of the members of the upper council.

It took too much time to introduce all 150 of them on an individual basis, so the fleet admiral only mentioned the most important ones.

The final name was the most important one.

"...And lastly, the office of chief councilor that presides over the Upper Council is granted to Professor Ves Larkinson, who you may recently know as the Father of Carmine Mechs."

Ves rose from his seat in a dignified manner. Many guests began to clap to show their sincere respect and appreciation for the inventor of Carmine mechs.

Of course, none of them did anything as crass as yell or shout uncouth words. This event was far too formal to permit such behavior.

Though Ves already knew for certain that he would receive this appointment when he got assigned to the most decorated seat on the floater platform, he still felt incredibly relieved now that the fleet admiral confirmed it with her own words.

It was official now. Ves gained a top leadership position, one that granted him access to many of the exclusive resources and secrets of the Red Collective without needing to do a lot of work in return!

Ves had truly managed to break into the second-highest level of galactic-level human politics at this time.

Unfortunately, his status, power and influence could not compare to the likes of Fleet Admiral Jameson.

The Red Collective distributed its power a lot more extensively among different people. The 5 Executors appointed by the two Councils had much more direct authority at their disposal.

Ves figured that his actual political power was more comparable to that of Admiral Chelsea Mieli.

He had definitely turned into one of the top dogs of the Red Collective, but he was not the first person that came to mind when people thought about who was in charge.

"Before we proceed with the next phase of the founding ceremony, I would like to invite Chief Councilor Ves Larkinson to briefly address the public with his words."