Classical mechs and biomechs may share the same purpose, but their circumstances were different.

Normal mech designers did not have to study complicated biological subjects, let alone figure out how to combine that with principles of mech design.

Normal mech designers almost never worried about their mechs coming to life and going out of control.

Normal mech designers rarely bothered with the issue of trying to gain acceptance for their products from the greater mech market.

During his discussion with the bearded biomech designer, Ves gained a lot of sympathy towards the position of hardworking people like him. Because biomechs went against the dominant trend of human technological development, they had to work several times harder just to keep their heads above the water.

That said, Ves was still an adherent of mechs made out of metal, composites, exotics and other inorganic materials.

In his opinion, it was not desirable to overcomplicate mechs. The forceful insertion of biotechnology resulted in a higher barrier of entry, harsher requirements to progress, a smaller mech industry and a greater distance between mech designers and their customers.

There were many downsides to adopting biomechs. This wouldn't be so bad if Dr. Navarro was able to enunciate a compelling advantage, but so far Ves hadn't heard anything convincing enough.

The various points that biomechs were traditionally known for such as their self-regeneration capabilities and lack of maintenance requirements were useful, but did not really stand out either.

Ordinary outfits were able to service and repair their damaged mechs just fine by hiring an adequate crew of mech technicians.

Sure, it may be annoying to hire so many people, but mech technicians were some of the cheapest people to employ.

Then there was the issue of life.

"Our different backgrounds and life experiences caused us to develop diverging thoughts about life." Ves calmly explained as he sat next to the table overlooking Veoline. "I have never seriously played with all of this biotechnology stuff, so I have never really thought about biomechs when I formed my principles of life. My design philosophy doesn't really care about the form of the mech at all. Whether it is a classical mech, a biomech or a mech made out of energy or other substance, they are all conceptually the same machine that each share the same purpose. The only distinction that I make to consider whether they are alive is whether they have the mental qualities of life."

He tapped the side of his head for emphasis.

Ves was quite happy to have entered into this debate. Being confronted by a colleague who adhered to a different perspective of life generated a sharp and obvious contrast to his own. It was through these direct collisions that he became more cognizant of his special qualities.

His design philosophy centered around life as it manifested in a spiritual sense. Biotechnology had nothing to do with it, so Ves did not need to mess with any flesh-and-blood mech in order to realize his design philosophy.

Dr. Navarro looked more troubled as the debate went on, but he was not someone who lacked a spine. As a Journeyman, he possessed an unwavering degree of confidence in his own design philosophy.

"I can accept your proposition that we are separated by our different views of what constitutes life, but I do not ascribe to your ranking." The older Journeyman retorted. "A biomech may carry some inherent variations, but they are all under control. A mech that changes and mutates out of its own will is not desirable. Neither the MTA nor the public wishes to see mechs that they constantly need to be on guard against. If your living mechs are truly alive in a mental sense, then they should be capable of forming their own opinions on their users and owners. It may be nice if the mechs are content with their situations, but what if they aren't? What if your mechs turn against your customers? Can you handle the consequences of such a devastating event?"

That was a good counterattack, but Ves was ready for it. He had already thought about it a long time ago.

"My mechs are explicitly designed to be part of a greater system. A mech is merely a single piece of the puzzle. The mech pilot is the other crucial piece. Only when they are merged together will they be able to perform greater than the sum of their parts. That is what my work is really all about. The MTA officially recognizes my design philosophy as Metaphysical Man-Machine Symbiosis, which means that my mechs are specifically designed to rule out the possibility of going out of control."

That was not necessarily true, but Ves didn't need to point that out. As far as his public works were concerned, they were all incapable of acting independently or able to inflict real harm on their mech pilots.

Navarro responded with a sharp question. "The possibility still exists, right?"

Ves smiled back in response. "I could say the same for your works, otherwise you biomech designers wouldn't implement so many precautions."

They arrived at a draw in this round. Both had their concerns about their mechs going out of control, but they all developed their own means of making sure the situation was well under control.

After exchanging a few more minor points, the debate slowly drew to an end.

They both held their final statements where they reiterated their true thoughts.

Dr. Navarro took a deep breath as he gazed up at the top of his giant tree complex.

"Your views on life are truly compelling, but they are incompatible with the biomech industry." He spoke. "The mechs that you design are a latent threat to the mech market in my opinion. You may think that your self-thinking and self-feeling machines will serve humanity as you intended to, but the leeway that you have given to them will ultimately come to bite you back. The more mechs you produce, the greater the odds that a catastrophic development might occur where a mech may turn into a man-hating monster. This risk does not exist in biomechs because none of them ever allow for the possibility of developing independent thought. Only the mech pilot is required to provide this aspect. Nothing else."

The living mechs in the doctor's views were biological products that were just as dull as ordinary mechs. Dr. Navarro sounded as if this was good instead of bad. The biomech industry's taboo on sentient or uncontrolled war machines was so strong that he could not bring himself to accept the views of his guests. The consequences were too undesirable.

While Ves was aware of this restriction, it did not change his own views in the slightest. He long divested his approach to mechs from the taboos espoused by the MTA. He only paid attention to the stances of the reigning authorities when the chances of getting caught were too great.

Of course, Ves didn't consider himself to be an extremist in the mech industry. His mech designs mostly fit in the boundaries that the MTA considered safe. His goal wasn't to tear down the existing mech paradigms. Instead, he wanted to supplement them so that the mechs in the galaxy became even better once they gained the qualifications to be treated as partners rather than tools.

He sighed.

"I don't think you are all wrong or misguided. Not really." Ves said his own piece. "I just think it is rather boastful to claim that you are the true designers of living mechs when your products are simply unthinking machines in another form. The way I see it, your biomechs only possess one aspect of life, but it isn't one I value. My mechs, despite being made of metal and other processed materials, each possess their own thoughts and emotions. I'm not the only one who prefers mechs that are alive in this fashion. I have tens of millions of satisfied customers throughout the star cluster who swear by my products due to the benefits that my unique design philosophy can bring. Are you able to do the same?"

He leaned back with a satisfied smile after he spoke those words. This harsh rebuttal brutally underscored the difference in acceptance between the two entrepreneurs.

Biomechs failed to achieve acceptance in the mainstream mech markets. While there were certain regions such as the Life Research Association where the local conditions allowed them to become dominant, that was the exception rather than the rule.

Even if the great advantages of classical mechs were taken into account, it was undeniable that the LMC continued to expand its business operations at an explosive rate. Ves was considerably younger than Frederico Navarro but the Living Mech Corporation was already a hundred times greater than Adaptive Solutions!

"Perhaps the export volume of the LRA's entire biomech industry is greater than the sales volume of my own mechs, but I am only a single mech designer." Ves added. "On an individual basis, I seriously doubt that any of you except for your Masters are able to equal me in this regard. Even if I am wrong, the comparison is unfair to begin with. I am just a Journeyman whose design philosophy hasn't reached its full potential, yet a rapidly-growing group of customers swear by my products. The market has spoken, Navarro. My vision of living mechs has the potential to become the new standard, while your version of living mechs simply doesn't bring enough value!"

Dr. Navarro looked as if Ves had punched him in the face. This was a brutal argument, and one that was grounded in reality!

Biomechs already existed for centuries, but they hardly made any progress in breaking through the mainstream mech market.

In contrast, LMC mechs only existed for a decade or so and only truly became more ubiquitous in the last couple of years. Yet the meteoric growth in sales and popularity far exceeded that of any single biomech designer from the LRA such as Dr. Navarro and other Journeymen of his generation.

This was a naked crush! Ves ultimately gained the upper hand of this debate not by proving that his definition of life was superior, but by appointing the mech market as the ultimate decider!

As mech designers, people like Ves and Dr. Navarro was taught to serve their customers. No matter what bright ideas they had, if the market didn't accept them, then they held little practical value. This was something that was very hard to argue against!

"The mech market is flawed." Dr. Navarro retorted, though his spine had grown a lot slacker. "Laymen don't understand the technical aspects of our mech designs. Biomechs are much more brilliant than they can ever understand. Trying to translate the different benefits of biomechs to the public has always been one of our shortcomings. I've also mentioned earlier that it doesn't help that the dominant infrastructure is not set up to facilitate the use of biomechs. These factors result in significantly lower sales in areas outside of our home market. I believe that if we truly compete fairly against each other, our biomechs will gain greater appreciation from our target audience."

Ves smirked. "Are you willing to put that to the test?"

The other Journeyman frowned.

"What do you propose?"

"In the end, talk is talk. If we truly want to prove who is right, we should proceed with a design duel. I just think we should adopt a different format in order to see whether your claim that your biomechs will earn more appreciation than my LMC mechs."

Dr. Navarro looked uncomfortable with where this was going. He had lost the initiative despite being the host of this meeting. That was a serious failure on his part.

Ves did not allow the other mech designer to block his suggestion.

"Let's do it like this. Instead of holding a traditional design duel, we should adapt our existing works. My Design Department is already in the final stages of completing some mech designs. Let's agree to convene in a month and pit our mechs against each other."

"What is the point of this, Mr. Larkinson?"

"The tally of wins or losses aren't important. What we should look at instead is the opinions of the mech pilots selected to use our products in the dueling arena. We'll give them the opportunity to pilot both our products. After they are done with their duels, we should ask them which one they prefer the most. Does this sound fair to you, doctor?"

"This.."

Ves grinned wider. "I'll even give you a handicap. As long as you can ensure that the mech pilots chosen to take part in this design duel will give their honest opinions, they can be Lifers. These are your fellow citizens! They hold no bias against biomechs. In fact, it's probably the opposite. Therefore, there is no way you can argue that you are suffering from an unfair advantage in this mech duel. Are you still hesitant to accept my challenge?"

Though Doctor Navarro looked quite upset at being railroaded into this lopsided design duel, his pride and confidence in his own philosophy did not allow him to refuse!

"I… accept, though I wish to make some suggestions of my own. I do not wish to take undue advantage of the situation."