Chapter 6960: The Innovation Faction |
So far, the minor factions of the Larkinson Clan all sounded like interest groups that possessed a strong core, but possessed limited ability to expand their reach.
The major factions managed to do better. Their leaders are more famous and accomplished while their agendas possessed broad appeal.
That did not mean the minor factions could be ignored. Not only did they comprise a core of strong ideologies, but they also occupied important niches of the clan.
That was especially the case for the last faction that Gavin chose to address.
"The final faction that you should know about is what I call the Innovation Faction. This is the group that bands together the mech designers, the biotech experts, the cultivation scientists and other R&D personnel." He introduced.
Ves immediately understood. As a mech designer himself, he could guess the policies this faction supported.
"I see. Those guys want to make sure that they enjoy a high status within the clan. They also want to make sure the clan keeps channeling lots of funding and resources to them, right?"
"That is correct. The Innovation Faction does not have any strong political ambitions per se. They are not even properly organized and lack a single leader. Gloriana may be able to unite them, but she is far too busy with her own work to bring them all together. For now, the Innovation Faction has no strong reason to mobilize its power. The scientists remain fairly confident that they will do well regardless of who becomes the next patriarch."
They were right. The agendas of the Elite Faction, the Territory Faction and the Enterprise Faction did not necessarily conflict with the Innovation Faction.
Falling behind in R&D directly undermined the viability of their ambitious agendas!
The Territory Faction did not need to rely as much on superior technological advancements.
However, the rapid expansion of the Larkinson Clan and the possibility of colonizing a desirable piece of territory would provide the R&D institutions with much stronger foundations.
Not only would the researchers be able to recruit reliable personnel from a fixed and loyal population base, they would also be able to earn more funds by catering to the needs of their own people.
The larger the state under the control of the Larkinson Clan, the greater the funding and other perks enjoyed by the researchers. The state should also grow an economy that was large enough to support the establishment of many more research institutions and development companies.
Everyone knew that the main reason why the Larkinson Clan was able to rise so quickly in society was due to being led by a brilliant mech designer.
Ves had single-handedly elevated the status of scientists and engineers within the clan. Those that possessed genuine talent and ability could easily enjoy a similar degree of respect as notable mech pilots.
That was quite impressive.
Even if the next leader of the Larkinson Clan was no longer an innovator, he or she must still remain in the good graces of those that designed their future mechs or healed their bodies from grievous injuries.
It was unthinkable for the Larkinson Clan to neglect its R&D arm and become completely dominated by brainless mech pilots.
"The Innovation Faction can become a powerful force within the clan." Ves evaluated. "However, they need a visionary with guts like mine in order to stand out and attract a following from many other groups. That is easier said than done. Gloriana will definitely not be able to succeed on this front."
This was another reason why Ves thought it was hopeless for the Larkinsons to elect his wife as the next matriarch of the clan. She simply lacked the ability to impress a broad range of people. Her personality as well as her work were highly exclusionary.
Ves was the opposite in this regard. Most of his living mechs could be piloted by anyone. His revolutionary Carmine mechs had even managed to explode the pool of potential mech pilots by granting similar opportunities to norms!
Therefore, if the Innovation Faction wanted to be on top again, it needed to be led by a true innovator. Ves could not think of anyone that met this definition.
Gloriana, Alexa Streon and numerous other mech designers that he knew of may have the potential to become great in the future, but they were several decades away from realizing their greater potential.
Perhaps the story might be different once Gloriana gained access to the Mech Designer System. She had already done an excellent job at keeping up with Ves despite lacking access to its powerful facilities.
Once she began to earn Ascension Points to redeem strategically selected rewards, Ves looked forward to how extensively her work improved!
"As for Alexa…"
Now that he thought about it, if Ves was willing to induct his wife into the System, then his trusty direct disciple most definitely deserved a shot.
Ves already put her on a mental short-list. He never questioned her qualifications. He just wanted to focus on Gloriana first. He needed to monitor her for a time in order to ensure she did not make use of the more controversial options.
More importantly, he had to make sure she did not inadvertently leak any details of the Mech Designer System to outside parties.
Once Alexa got inducted in the System, Ves would extend his gaze to other trustworthy and promising mech designers.
Zanthar Larkinson was a little young and could still benefit from a lot of tempering.
However, Ves had taken advantage of the System since his first days as a Novice Mech Designer and still managed to turn out well.
So long as Zanthar maintained enough discipline, he should be able to avoid growing overdependent on the System.
This was a serious problem that Ves could not afford to underestimate. He had already noticed all the way back in the old galaxy that the Carmine mech pilots over there had grown completely lazy.
They did not even bother to learn how to pilot a mech the authentic way.
Instead, they treated the piloting experience as if they were tank commanders. They much preferred to monitor the battlefield and issue orders to their living mechs.
Although no living mechs could become as skilled, creative and brilliant as a professionally trained and battle-tested human mech pilot, their control over their own mech frames was more than adequate enough to perform many basic maneuvers to an acceptable standard.
The Carmine mech pilots therefore focused on obtaining advantages through exploiting timing, positional advantages and teamwork.
Perhaps the combat effectiveness of the Auto Heretics was still disappointing compared to traditional mechs, but the fact that they could be staffed by nearly any human without requiring any meaningful piloting or combat training was a huge logistical advantage!
It was exactly because Carmine mech pilots enabled these clueless norms to gain enough combat power to become useful that so many of them did not feel the need to dedicate years of their life on learning how to control their Carmine mechs manually.
Witnessing how lazy those people had become when enjoying the fruits of automation, Ves wanted to ensure that the people he inducted in the Mech Designer System did not fall into the same trap.
This was why he did not rush to bring in lots of mech designers even though he had the power to do so if he wished.
In any case, Ves should first focus on monitoring his wife. He already made an appointment with her. If nothing went wrong, she would become the third user of the Mech Designer System in three days.
Once that happened, an invisible weight would lift off his shoulders.
He no longer needed to keep this massive secret from her anymore. They could grow closer and raise their collaboration to the next level.
Their future mech designs would definitely become a lot more impressive than the Minerva Mark II and the First Sword Mark III!
Now that Gavin finished his briefing on the various political factions that were on their way to become fixtures of the Larkinson Clan, he began to report on various other matters.
The upcoming leadership transition disrupted a lot of affairs. Chief among them was how much money and resources Ves was still able to mobilize.
"You don't have to worry about funding." He said. "The Yellow Jacket line is hands down the most successful mech model in the Red Ocean. No matter the attribution of your mech designs, you are always guaranteed to earn a share of the earnings. Low-end mass production models such as the Yellow Jackets may not be able to charge high margins, but the quantity of sales more than makes up for it. Mech designers have also licensed the designs in record numbers. Even a fraction of those funds is enough to form the foundations of a second Larkinson Clan. What limits you is not your budget, but another group's willingness to sell you strategic goods and assets."
Ves always had the option of founding another organization.
If the Larkinson Clan did not want him to be in charge anymore, then why not set up a new company or institution where he could once again secure absolute control?
There was little point to it, though. The current economy was doing so catastrophically that it was not only impossible to purchase more starships, but also other essential goods such as superfabs, materializers and titan shields.
Money alone did not translate into power. The power of cash was dwindling with each passing day as more and more people discovered they would rather have a cheap gun in their hands than 1 million MTA credits in their bank account.
At least they had a chance to kill an alien and save their lives with the former!
Ves faced a similar situation, though he stood in a much higher position than an average civilian.
Still, just because money had become less valuable did not mean it was useless. The economy may be falling apart at the seams, but so long as it still remained somewhat intact, he could still get a lot of stuff done.
Ves faced a similar situation, though he stood in a much higher position than an average civilian.
Still, just because money had become less valuable did not mean it was useless. The economy may be falling apart at the seams, but so long as it still remained somewhat intact, he could still get a lot of stuff done.
"Let's use our funding to expand my personal staff." He said. "Before you misunderstand, I am not looking to create a second Larkinson Clan. I merely want to ensure that I won't end up on my own if I am completely isolated from the clan."
"You do not need to be too concerned about that, Ves. I have made sure to steadily expand your staff and support network. While our group is not large and comprehensive enough to meet your demands, we already have the skeleton of one. We can easily draw upon your funds to increase our recruitment. It is just that it will be difficult to ensure their loyalty and commitment without inducing them into the Larkinson Clan."
Ah. That was a big issue that Ves overlooked.
"I created the Larkinson Network. I can easily create a smaller version for myself." He assured his assistant. "In fact, I don't think there is a need for it yet. I am still a member of the clan, and I am completely okay with letting other Larkinsons work under me. They just need to be flexible and open-minded enough to be prepared to work outside of the familiar structure of the Larkinson Clan."
"I see. I will make sure to emphasize that, boss. Since you still have so much money at your disposal, you should also think about spending it on safehouses, private stashes, backup workshops and mansions on various colony settlements in the rear. The expenses will be astronomically high, but it is better to invest in these fallback positions now than later."
Though Ves thought it was a huge waste of money, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Even if he never ended up using these safehouses, his children may be different.
"Do it. I will leave the budget and location choices in your hands. By the way, is there any way for us to secure a private first-class starship for myself? The ship needs to be completely under my control. It must not have any relations with the Larkinson Clan and the Bluejay Fleet."
"Normally, I would say no, but since we are in control of two shipyards, you should be able to place an order for a custom ship."
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