Chapter 6498 Who Chooses

Chapter 6498 Who Chooses

"Only a fool like you would think about rejecting the Evolution Witch's goodwill."

"You don't know her as well as I do, Gloriana. Everything she says has double meanings and everything she does is tinged with ulterior motives! The Evolution Witch's infamy is completely justified!"

"She is your backer! She is on your side! Why are you being so unreasonably suspicious about her motivations? Get a grip, Ves! Saint Isobel Kotin deserves better than remaining stuck in a vat with just her brain and parts of her spine intact. Who knows whether the LBI that you love so much is capable of fully reconstructing her body? You are expecting far too much from your biotech researchers! Rather than make this uncertain gamble, we are all better off if you transfer Saint Isobel to the Evolution Witch's care."

Ves let out a frustrated grunt as he pushed back against the projection of his wife. "You are being too naive! This situation is anything but simple! You are disregarding the value of keeping all of our efforts in-house, and you are overestimating the Evolution Witch's good intentions! Just because she is a god pilot doesn't mean you have to chuck away all of your common sense and engage in blind obedience!"

"I cannot believe how you can still remain stubborn when the life of one of our precious ace pilots is at stake! Do you think Saint Isobel wants to remain incomplete and infirm for 5 whole years?! It is pure torture for a model soldier like herself to remain stuck in recovery! Your caution is well-founded at times, but this time you are completely off the mark! You are being too paranoid for no good reason!"

"I am just doing my due diligence as a clan leader! It is you that is wrong! You accuse me of being paranoid, but the way I see it, you are way too gullible for your own good! The clan would have been ruined already if you were in charge!"

"YOU INSOLENT BOY! DO NOT ACCUSE ME OF BEING INCOMPETENT WHEN YOU HAVE FAILED TO ARRANGE SUPERIOR TREATMENT TO SAINT IS—"

Ves emphatically transmitted the command that forcibly ended the call.

It also blocked any form of communication from his wife for at least two hours.

It also transmitted an instruction to his personal assistant and his staff to not convey any messages sent from his wife.

He had issued this string of commands so often that he had turned it into a custom macro command. It only took a single thought to activate this handy sequence of instructions.

There were times when talking with his wife could lead to productive results, and there were times when they were less than useful.

As much as Ves grew annoyed at his wife's lack of caution, he could not entirely dismiss her arguments. She was not actually stupid. She just tended to put way too much

undeserved trust in female authority figures.

If Ves removed this particular factor, he could still find arguments that favored the Evolution Witch's proposal.

As tricky as she may be, she still adhered to a bottom line... even if it was a lot lower than that of other god pilots.

In any case, the Evolution Witch had formed a close partnership with his mother, so it was unlikely that the female god pilot would stab him in the back anytime soon.

That did not mean that the Evolution Witch was not allowed to do anything at all. She could 'legitimately' attempt to poach Saint Isobel Kotin and bring the ace rifleman mech expert under her wing.

The god pilot would be obligated to pay compensation to the Larkinson Clan, but no amount of goodies could make up for the loss of a young ace pilot that had not only demonstrated enormous offensive capabilities, but also possessed excellent growth prospects!

How could the mechers possibly resist the urge to convince Saint Isobel to fight on behalf of the Red Association?

Although Ves believed that Isobel Kotin had developed a moderate attachment to the Larkinson Clan, it was not as strong as it could have been.

Unlike Tusa, Jannzi and Joshua who married fairly early and already began to raise kids among the Larkinsons, Saint Isobel remained committed to her career.

Ves was not aware that Isobel possessed any notably strong friendships within the clan. This meant that there was an absence of strong anchors that could keep her tethered to the Larkinson Clan.

As long as an outside force offered enough incentives, Isobel Kotin may very well choose to go elsewhere!

The best way to avoid this possibility was to prevent Saint Isobel from getting into contact with the Evolution Witch and the mechers.

As Ves mulled over his dilemma, he began to feel more and more inclined to stick to his original plan.

The only problem was the expected recovery period.

The physical projection of Alexa Streon paused for half a minute before issuing a reply.

"Isobel herself should be the one to make this decision. Since she has not left any next of kin in the clan or this dwarf galaxy as far as we know, you have the right to decide on her treatment. This is a heavy responsibility, and you have an obligation to choose what is best for her, not necessarily what is best for you or the clan. Of course, it is best to form an arrangement that satisfies all three of you, but that is not always possible."

"What is your recommendation then, Alexa?"

"Do not make a hasty decision" Alexa strongly recommended to Ves. "As long as you still harbor doubts and concerns, try to resolve them. It is best if you communicate directly with the Evolution Witch, or a Transhumanist who is responsible for this matter. Good communication can erase a great amount of misunderstandings and bring the two sides together. By that time, you should be able to make a much more sober and rational

decision."

In other words, Alexa indirectly rebuked Ves' haphazard way he lived his life

He preferred to take frequent action and climb the wall that I have never been able to

ascend.

Ves still appreciated her words. "You have done the right thing by putting yourself in the perspective of the wronged student. This is what every proper mech pilot should do. The fact that I failed to assume the right perspective was because I strayed from the

mech designer's creed."

A mech designer existed to serve mech pilots.

This was a fundamental rule and principle that all mech designers should abide by, but

rarely managed to do so in practice.

Alexa's physical projection smiled in response. "You are welcome. Back to the topic at hand, I think you can afford to delay your decision by a week or two. Be warned however that the longer you remain undecided, the greater the chance that all of this would lead to massive explosions. There is a time limit. Doing nothing is worse than committing to

a single path."

"I see. I shall definitely take your words under advisement. By the way, how much have you progressed since you initially came up with the idea of building living mech dynasties?"

"Do not get me started." Alexa looked glum again. "Original research is always the hardest

path that we can pursue. It is still necessary for us to understand in an age of rising

resentment and conflicts. The greater the violence, the less researchers are able to invest their time into materials science."

Both Ves and Alexa understood the importance of original research. They did not want

the clan to be filled with unimaginative engineers that were doing the bare minimum to remain employed on the ship.

After Ves talked with a few more other familiar friends and family, he gradually started to lower his objections towards sending Saint Isobel Kotin to the Evolution Witch.

Perhaps he had grown up and matured.

Perhaps he was acting too impressionable to a crowd of strangers.

Perhaps he ate the wrong food and felt bad all day.

Whatever the case, Ves was gradually letting go of his paranoia and letting trust fill in

the void.