Justified Innovation

No matter how much Ves tried to convince Old Man Terrance to share his research gains, the Chukan mech designer adamantly refused.

"The findings I've made are paltry and of limited utility." The man shook his head. "In addition, it's tainted knowledge. In order to further my understanding on how genetic aptitude interacted with neural interfaces, I've engaged in many covert experiments with each mech design I've published. Looking back on my track record, I went too far. Though my customers themselves didn't realize it, I looked closely at how my customers fared. Too many of them fared worse than usual."

This was the blood on the older mech designer's hands. The man raised his wrinkled hands in front of Ves, as if showing off the invisible red stains marring the skin!