Cosmic Coincidence and the Radio Frequency Spectru

[Long Haul]

Cosmic Coincidence and the Radio Frequency Spectrum

For the purposes of keeping things simple while advancing role-play, the following assumptions are made concerning radio communications:

1. Each faction has its own radio frequency. Due to bizarre cosmic coincidence, all Autobots, Maximals, and similarly allied Transformers, regardless of home reality and time period, just happened to have been using the same communications frequency during whatever time period they were snatched from. Similarly, all Decepticons, Predacons, and other "bad guys" were also using a frequency of their own. Except for communications specialists (Soundwave, Blaster, etc) no one has yet cracked the other's frequency.

2. There is a central, general-use Cybertronian frequency that is common to all Transformer realities. Odds are, in home realities this frequency was used primarily by the Decepticon-types to taunt the Autobot-types, although the Autobots occasionally launched a barrage of counter-taunting.

3. Each individual has a personal communications frequency, regardless of home time period or reality. This personal communications frequency is shared by their alternate selves from all realities. This has the potential for interesting complications when we get more than one version of a given character. If a plot ever arises where this becomes inconvenient, a character may claim a new personal communications frequency.

4. If it becomes interesting to do so, other special-use frequencies may be declared (say, one that was once used for those responsible for Crystal City's maintenance, upkeep, and protection; individual unit or gestalt-group frequencies; that sort of thing).

5. Communications specialists may hack into other frequencies when it's convenient or interesting, plot-wise, to do so, but are asked not to abuse this ability too much.

This is a rather unlikely and unrealistic treatment of the subject of military communications, but for the purposes of keeping role-play simple and smooth, it is asked that our players suspend* their disbelief.

* Suspend 30-W (Rather than play Disbelief from your hand, you may pay W and remove it from the game with thirty time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, play it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.) Until the beginning of your next turn, you may doubt the logic and validity of this game's Radio Frequency rules.

[Long Haul]

Addendum:

Defections: If a member of one faction-group defects to the other and hands over their frequencies, the defector's new faction may be able to listen in on the old faction's frequency thread for a limited period of time. Once the old faction realizes their frequency is compromised, however, they will change frequencies and the new faction will no longer be able to listen in. Then, thanks to the laws of Cosmic Coincidence given here, new arrivals to the old faction will just happen to have been using the new frequency when they were pulled into the Deadzone reality, and things will return to their default state.

[Starscream]

Also, in the case of situations like RiD, where there are Predacons AND Decepticons, would the frequency just happen to be a universal 'bad guy' frequency as opposed to a frequency for a specific faction?

[Long Haul]

ponyprincess said:

Cosmic Coincidence and the Radio Frequency Spectrum

1. Each faction has its own radio frequency. Due to bizarre cosmic coincidence, all Autobots, Maximals, and similarly allied Transformers, regardless of home reality and time period, just happened to have been using the same communications frequency during whatever time period they were snatched from. Similarly, all Decepticons, Predacons, and other "bad guys" were also using a frequency of their own. Except for communications specialists (Soundwave, Blaster, etc) no one has yet cracked the other's frequency.

In other words, "Yes."

[Starfighter]

Out of a perverse sense of perverseness, what about Mini-cons?

[Long Haul]

I'm inclined to answer, "Eh. I'll worry about them when/if we get any."

Actually... yes, yes I will. They were third-class citizens (at best) in the series they appeared in. The way both the Autobots and Decepticons treated them, I'm inclined to doubt they would be granted the faction frequencies for any faction that happened to have them enslaved (from what I'm hearing, that term even applies to the Autobots) at the moment. Meanwhile, letting them develop a frequency of their own could lead to a revolt, and other fun stuff.

Now, Autobots here aren't into the enslaving game, and many G1 Decepticons are inclined to lose patience with super weapons that walk off all the time when they can just build their own, anyway, so it's possible that any that end up in a particular faction are given the codes frequencies for that faction's channel. They would also have the "central" frequency mentioned in point two (the one that doesn't have a thread because no one's used it).

So yeah. Ruling. I may be overruled by someone else, though.

[Starfighter]

My guess is that Laserbeak (he kinda counts) and the Street Action Team *might* have the frequency as they are a spy and babysitters respectively. Other than that, there's probably a general Mini-con frequency that contains barely-intelligible beeps and occasionally techno opera singing.

Now, Autobots here aren't into the enslaving game, and many G1 Decepticons are inclined to lose patience with super weapons that walk off all the time when they can just build their own, anyway, so it's possible that any that end up in a particular faction are given the codes frequencies for that faction's channel. They would also have the "central" frequency mentioned in point two (the one that doesn't have a thread because no one's used it).

There's also a plot thingie that would come in handy if we get Mini-cons--a Mini-con becomes bonded (mentally, not physically or mystically or whatever) to the person who first powerlinks with it or activates its panel. It's possible to bend the 'rules' and occasionally disobey its master through a strong act of will (see Leader-1 and the Potato Chip Incident) but in general they obey whoever picks them up. So they won't necessarily be running off all the time unless they have a good reason to do so, and most of htem don't seem care about the faction of their owner. A Bulk's a Bulk.

Of course, a lot of this is based on conjecture and the Linkage comic which is about as canon as the stuff you get at Botcon, but there's my two bits.

[Long Haul]

We'll work it out when it comes up. It's really not an issue until then.

[Long Haul]

De-stickied because this information has finally been added to the wiki (where it should have been all along).