Chapter 6483 Engineering the Descendants of the Larkinson Clan

Chapter 6483 Engineering the Descendants of the Larkinson Clan

Ves visited the Dragon's Den for many reasons, but his first concern was the work facilities.

The Larkinson Biotech Institute had become more and more important over the years. It had constantly increased in scope and importance, but the Dragon's Den had failed to keep up with this growth.

As Ves toured the interior of the capital research vessel, he could observe plenty of signs of upgrades, yet there were limitations to everything. The Dragon's Den clearly needed to spend at least a year in an orbital drydock in order to undergo a

comprehensive overhaul.

That was clearly a waste of time. The Larkinson Clan was better off buying or commissioning the construction of a brand new bioresearch ship.

Ves vastly preferred the latter solution, but twas unlikely that he could convince any shipyard to accept this order.

The Red War raised the priority of military vessels so much that it was criminal to waste valuable shipbuilding capacity on a non-essential research vessel.

Ves could forget about commissioning a replacement hull or overhauling the Dragon's

Den.

Ves actually owned two orbital shipyards himself, but Starfarer Bay and the E-66 Experimental Yard were both too small to accommodate a 3.3 kilometer-long capital ship.

Vice Director Maria Abselon shook her head. "I can understand the importance of keeping our most sensitive research activities contained aboard a starship that is fully under our control. Not only can we minimize potential leaks, but also avoid massive losses stemming from an inability to fully evacuate a fixed research site that has come under attack. It is just that the intensification of the Red War makes it risky to set up fixed research sites."

This was the reason why Ves still chose to drag his feet with regards to the construction of planetary settlements.

He did not want to invest a huge amount of resources into so much real estate, only for an alien fleet to swoop into orbit and bombard all of the buildup into smithereens.

However, just because he was afraid of putting all of his eggs in one basket did not mean he was completely opposed to setting up small-scale labs.

"I think we need to bow down to reality and make a compromise decision." Ves spoke. "The LBI should construct a dozen or so new research labs on various different. planets, preferably in the upper zones. I am aware that it will be difficult to guarantee security and confidentiality by doing this, but we can limit the scope and priority of their research activity to minimize any potential damage. If that is not enough, we can always invest into expanding the facilities of these planetary research complexes. What do you think?"

The female biotech director furrowed her brows. "It sounds fine in theory, but it is difficult to conduct large-scale research if all of the assignments are split up and assigned to different research labs. It is also difficult to keep the egos of different star researchers in check. There is great convenience in keeping every related research activity under a single roof. Communication over the galactic net is insecure, so we may need to resort to transferring valuable research materials as well as encrypted data containers in order to share progress with each other. It is a logistical and managerial nightmare."

"But it can be done, right?"

"Perhaps..." Maria Abselon reluctantly said. "Do not expect it to work well in the initial years. We will suffer many teething problems as we slowly transition to a more decentralized form of conducting research. However, I suppose it works well to safeguard the Larkinson Biotech Institute against alien invasions, sabotage, terrorist attacks and other potential disasters. In a time of war, the most secure option is not the most efficient, but it is the least prone to suffering ruinous losses. If you believe that human-occupied space will become much less secure in the future, then I have no objections to transitioning to a more decentralized approach."

Ves looked impressed. Compared to the dangerous spiritual operations that he conducted on his then-unborn children in the past, this systematic approach sounded

a lot safer and more reliable!

While the potency of the results might not be as great, that did not matter as the

young children and their immature companion spirits would have plenty of time to grow into their power!

"I am impressed." He admitted. "Has this formula been verified? What is needed to impart a designer baby with a companion spirit?"

"We have not yet conducted any longitudinal studies as not enough time has passed for us to collect the necessary data. However, our geneticists and other experts are quite optimistic about the outcome, so much so that we have begun to accept volunteers who are willing to raise such children at a discount in Larkinson merits. Forming a designer baby with a companion spirit seed is not too difficult. The genes are not the most important components. It is the companion spirit fruit that we have pulped and inserted in the cultivation tank at the moment of forming the first biological cells of the new baby."

The procedure sounded incredibly crude compared to all of the technological sophistication that went into forming a designer baby, but as long as it worked, Ves

didn't care.

"Companion spirits can make our Larkinsons a lot more powerful. That said, we cannot hand them over to every clansman for free. They need to work hard and prove they earn the right to obtain them for themselves or pass them onto their offspring"

Maria Abselon nodded. "We have no objections to that principle, sir. The cost of this special designer baby formula is still steep even taking the current discount into account. Enough mech pilots and high-ranking members of our clan should have accrued enough Larkinson merits to afford this service. The most successful Larkinsons are able to help their next generation start off on a stronger footing." There was an implicit warning about aristocracies and suppression of the lower-ranking members, but Ves could do little about this inevitable trend. Even in a meritocracy, the descendants of the rich and wealthy had much better

annortunition to hasama mora maritorious than the children of the rank and fila

As long as the Larkinson Clan had enough rules and policies in place to properly reward the clansmen as long as they performed well, it should be enough to keep social mobility at an acceptable level.

The clan was not old enough for Ves to worry too much about this problem. There was still a lot of room for promotions.

Ves began to rub his hairless chin in thought. "I have a few ideas on the development of subsequent designer baby formulas. Transhumanism and posthumanism have both become ascendant. We need to make sure we can keep up with the competition, or else we will fall behind in the long run.""

"What do you have in mind, sir?"

"Do you think it is possible to embed a cultivation method into our designer babies?

Can we make it so that they can start to cultivate right when they are still inside the wombs of their mothers?"

"...I cannot respond to that question."