Chapter 7452  Early Tempering Plan

His wife held a lot of concerns about her children. It was in her nature as a mother to worry about their lives.

Yet she always wanted her children to excel in their respective careers. Ambition burned within her tired eyes.

"I have spent a large amount of thought about the meaning of the Age of Dawn." She whispered to Ves even as she shuffled closer to lean against his chest. "This is an age of gods and miracles. It is to our benefit that we have entered the start of it. Think about it. We previously lived through the Age of Mechs that has run for over 4 centuries. All of the early movers have already monopolized most of the power and resources available in our society. The wars had already been fought and the power plays had already resulted in the institutionalization of the Big Two, god pilots, Star Designers, grand admirals and so on. The only way we could have risen to the top in the old system was to follow the rules set by others."

"The old system has crumbled." Ves responded.

"Exactly, dear." An opportunistic glint shone on his wife's eyes. "We no longer have to play by other people's rules, knowing that the established powers are far better at playing this game than us. The Age of Dawn has put everything into disarray. In this grand reshuffling of power, brand-new ways of climbing to the top have emerged. You have already done so by gaining the allegiance of hundreds of human phase lords. Unlike most pioneers who mindlessly kept obeying the old rules, you willfully violated them and took advantage of opportunities that everyone else has missed. This is the kind of attitude that a winner must possess in the early phases of every age cycle."

"You sound as if you have conducted a study on this subject."

Gloriana briefly grinned. "I have, in fact. I dove into the historical archives and skimmed through the accounts of the winners and losers of every age. Did you know what I found? The latter always consisted of those who behaved more proactively than their peers. The latter more often than not consisted of established groups who had grown far too comfortable in their own skin. Their stability allowed them to extract the greatest amount of benefits in their golden era, but as soon as the circumstances had undergone a drastic change, that same stability held them back from adapting quickly. This pattern occurs so often that I have concluded that we must be braver if we wish to thrive in the Age of Dawn."

She was very correct in her assertion. Ves knew from his understanding of biology that species that evolved to adapt extremely well in a specific ecosystem tended to do great during this stable time scale.

However, no period lasted forever. Once the ecosystem became disrupted, the previously pampered species always found themselves struggling, with many of them going extinct outright!

The species that tended to do a lot better during these transitions generally tended to be the species that previously struggled to occupy a niche under the oppression of the previously dominant species.

Since the former had to work a lot harder to survive, many of them inherently possessed the capabilities that allowed them to adapt and thrive in different environments.

This pattern was so universal that it had been observed on countless untamed planets in both the Milky Way and the Red Ocean.

It could also be observed in domains beyond biology, as Gloriana had learned.

"What you have described is not an absolute rule." Ves gently retorted. "While I agree with you in principle, you are speaking of generalities. There are exceptions such as the Terrans. These people have declined over millenia since the peak of the Terran Empire, but always possess just enough flexibility to maintain their foundations in the next ages. There are also many enterprising groups and individuals who acted recklessly and suffered massive losses as a consequence. None of my actions can guarantee success. Sure, we enjoy greater advantages than most, but it only takes one catastrophic misstep to see everything fall apart. We are still dancing on a knife's edge."

His wife shook her head. "It is better to strive for greatness when the opportunity arises than to settle for mediocrity for the rest of our lives. This is one of the lessons that your Larkinson Clan has taught to me. I admit my judgment is tainted by all of our successes, but that only provides further proof that this age is practically made for us. The introduction of exotic radiation is the best accelerant to our ambitions. I am not blind to the consequences of failure, but I would not be a true Larkinson if I let my fears override my ambitions."

"That may be easy to say for adults like us, but our children…"

"Our children are destined for greatness." Gloriana spoke with such conviction in her soft voice. "Andraste wants to become the best warrior of her generation. Marvaine wants to follow our footsteps and become an innovative mech designer like ourselves. Most parents would react to this by giving their children encouraging words, but not much more. Not us. We are different. We are Larkinsons. We are wealthy and capable enough to help our children realize their childish but precious ambitions. One of the essential steps that we must take is the opposite of what many parents are doing, which is to flee as far away from active warzones as possible and raise their offspring in the safest and most peaceful regions imaginable."

He understood her point. She had become a strong believer in the premise that a harsh and challenging environment tempered the greatest heroes.

Though she used to start off as a pampered and privileged scion of the Wodin Dynasty herself, she may have convinced herself that she had become just as deserving of greatness as her much more successful husband due to accompanying him throughout all of his wild expeditions.

Ves had plenty of ideas on how to temper his children, but he did not want to go too far with them. Andraste had not yet reached her 10th birthday, though it was awfully close. Marvaine was far too young to consider such matters. The only reason why the possibility even existed was because his learning and maturation rate was uncommonly high!

"So what do you propose we do for our children?" He asked as he decided to throw the ball in her court.

"Bringing Andraste and Marvaine along with us as we journey behind enemy lines is dangerous, but an essential part to teaching them the reality of living in a dangerous time and galaxy." Gloriana meticulously said. "In order to justify the risks of doing so, we must ensure that they will be able to make the most of this experience. Though young, our children should not be treated as passengers, but very young trainees. They must actively participate in the Nemesis Campaign in order to gain first-hand experience of struggle and conflict."

That was her true intention!

Though it sounded ridiculous for a pair of pre-teens to actively participate in a major military campaign, it was not entirely impossible in this case.

Ves still held very high authority in the Larkinson Clan, and his control over the Bluejay Fleet was significant. It should not be particularly difficult to arrange a few easy but fulfilling side jobs for his kids.

Perhaps they might not be as useful as university-educated interns, but their study programs already exceeded that of most first-raters at the same age ranges.

"I think… your proposal has merit." He slowly said. "I still insist that our kids should enjoy their time as kids. We cannot diminish their free time too much. We would be doing them a disservice by depriving them of the hours they spend on playing and fooling around. My suggestion would be to cut back on the time they spend on learning book knowledge and fill up the free slots with 'light' work sessions. While they are not qualified to do anything more than odd jobs, these are still valuable opportunities to learn the principles of hard work and diligence. They can also come into contact with soldiers or workers who can impart valuable stories and lessons."

He thought back on his own early and highly formative years as a mech designer.

From starting his business on Cloudy Curtain to getting drafted into the military by the Bright Republic, a part of Ves still thought fondly of those early years.

Sure, he might have shed his innocence and naivete at a distressingly fast rate, but all of those dangerous and exciting experiences also built him up to become a leader of his generation!

Did he want his children to undergo similar experiences?

Hell no!

Ves would rather settle on the next best solution, which was to control their exposure to risk and ease their way into a more dangerous but rewarding life.

Dangers could not be negated entirely, but he could do his best to minimize them while still making the experiences authentic enough to leave a profound impact on his children.

The goal was not to traumatize his children, but to allow them to learn valuable life lessons first-hand that they could never truly understand in a classroom.

Ves inwardly chuckled.

Back when he was still an Apprentice Mech Designer, he used to rage at the Bright Republic for recklessly and wastefully forcing mech designers into active warzones.

Yet it was exactly because of this policy that the Bright Republic fostered a community of hardy, tempered and less frivolous mech designers.

The 'removal' of a lot of potential deadweight made his old state a lot more efficient over the long term, allowing it to maintain equilibrium with the then-larger and more formidable Vesia Kingdom.

Of course, all of that had turned into ancient history a long time ago. Ves did not even recognize the Komodo Star Sector of the present day anymore.

Though he would never put his children through such a dangerous and callous trajectory, he could still give them more moderate exposure to stuff they would have to deal with in the future.

"We can have Andraste do odd jobs with the infantry assigned to our ships." Ves mused. "Naturally, she won't be accompanying them when they go on their deployments. Boarding enemy warships and landing into hostile alien cities is no place for a kid, even if she is skilled with both blades and firearms. I think it is already enough for her to learn how to clean and maintain equipment, participate in virtual training sessions, voice her opinions during planning sessions and maintain overwatch through a remote-controlled drone."

His wife smiled. "Andraste will definitely be ecstatic if she can control a drone. It is not as good as fighting the aliens in person, but it is best if she is able to spill alien blood on occasion."

Ordinary parents would definitely feel horrified at the thought of letting young children take the lives of sentient beings, even if they were enemies of the human race.

Neither Ves nor Gloriana fit into the category of ordinary children.

Perhaps it was too much to expose a little boy as young as Marvaine to bloodshed even if it took place from a distance, but Andraste should be more than up to the task of killing.

Her designer genes included plenty of bioprogramming that allowed her to cope with the heavy consequences of taking lives much better.

Other enhancements, both planned and unplanned, should ensure her mentality should largely remain within a healthy range even if she ended up spilling human blood!

"As for Marvaine, we can have him tag along with the maintenance crews as they do their work." Ves continued. "He already spends time with us in the Design Department as we work, but he won't be able to learn all that much from us at this stage of his development due to his limited scientific foundation. It is better to increase his exposure to the practical side of mechs and machinery. He can even learn how to operate simple machinery that is responsible for cleaning or conducting light repairs. If he is doing well, we can gradually elevate his responsibilities. There is always work to do on a carrier during an active expedition or campaign."