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Post by Makeshift on Feb 26, 2008 20:55:53 GMT -5
"I see," Makeshift says to Skyblast, although it's not hard to tell from his tone that he still doesn't quite get the drinking part. Then again, he's been avoiding the high-grade; a tipsy Mini-con with rail guns for fingers is a sure recipe for a lot of blown-out kneecaps. Maybe next time he'll think to leave his ammo behind.
Then Nightbeat starts his presentation. In any variation, the Matrix is unfamiliar to him, but guessing by Rodimus's reaction, it's significant. So he waits for further explanation.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 26, 2008 22:02:28 GMT -5
Skyfire strode up and peered over Nightbeat's shoulder at the display. "Hmm... I'd originally thought the elliptical pattern was some kind of orbital track, though it would have to be a synchronous orbit of some kind. Might still be."
"Given the validity of this pattern, we should check here," Skyfire's finger stabbed out to point at the northwestern hills where the circle and polygon intersect, "here," he pointed at the northeastern intersection, far out to sea, "and here," then at the fields in at the southernmost point of the circle, opposite the point marked at Magnetic North, "for signs of arrivals. If the symmetry holds, those should be arrival points."
Skyfire frowned for a moment. "Symmetry... " he pointed at the center of the circle, at the edge of the sea. "When someone or something goes to that much trouble to set up a symmetrical pattern, the focal point of the pattern just might be something worth looking at. You see a Matrix. I see a lens."
He glanced at Nightbeat. "if we were brought here deliberately, then... by whom? And why?" Skyfire looked up at the sky. "Though from what I've heard from the rest of you on the subject, I expect you have some very good guesses as to why. We need to find this reality's Cybertron."
"The agency that executed this could still be something in synchronous orbit, transporting people to points on the ground, though," Skyfire said, still staring at the sky.
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Post by Pee-Dee on Feb 26, 2008 22:51:00 GMT -5
Pee-Dee insinuates herself in close enough to look at the screen and notice the pattern, catching just enough of the explanation to hear Nightbeat declaring that there's no possibility of their arrival here being an accident.
She frowns at him on general principles, then turns her head to stare off into the night sky. Home is out there somewhere, and she needs to get back there someday.
Then she edges her way off to find something good and hard to down.
---
Pee-Dee is making a stop at the drinks table to grab the hard stuff, but is otherwise out of the thread.
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Jazz
Rookie
SugarSugarBoozeSugarSugarBoozeSugarSugar!
Posts: 175
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Post by Jazz on Feb 27, 2008 0:02:13 GMT -5
Spittakes are so not classy. They're also not anything close to cool, and hip, so it's a good thing that Jazz paused in the whole 'party till you're drunk and they drag you away' routine. (it's OK!) But is that.... a memory scan-- He's seen that shape before, somewhere. In the studies of the native language, perhaps? No. Before that. Before Gillanan. Earth. Or even before that.
"Creation Matrix?" Jazz says, finally. Sinks in pretty fast, doesn't it? Either that or vocal unit is activating before processors fire up. "Matrix of Leadership? Never heard of those-- but that glyph-- if that's what it means..." Processors catching up, shutting down vocalizer for a momentary reboot while Rodimus is getting cranky about it. If it's the source of life and/or wisdom, why's he so pissed off? "So there's a purpose---"
"It's already bilaterally symetrical, Skyfire." Jazz makes his way to the computer, and points towards that Northernmost arrival point. "I don't see how it could be completely symetrical, unless you want to add the outlaying strokes to the circle at the top and bottom-- but that's not how it reads on the cube. It mirrors itself to the east and to the west, with the north pole as its axis. There might be more points where folks arrive, but I haven't heard anyone coming from them."
Nothing about finding Cybertron. If it's as dead as his planet, or eaten by that big planet eating planet... But it isn't like Jazz to keep dwelling on that. These are friends, now. They saved his life-- whatever it was that brought them all here at least managed to do that.
"So. Any ideas on the 'why?', Nightbeat?"
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Evac
Cadet
"Come with me if you want to live."
Posts: 34
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Post by Evac on Feb 27, 2008 14:35:09 GMT -5
The picture, unfortunately, is pretty meaningless to Evac. While it might ring a faint bell, he's not had the study--or first hand encounters--that Jazz likely had. And besides, with the Allspark destroyed in his world, he'd all but forgotten about what might have been etched in it.
"Uh... am I missing something here? I don't get why this is so important. Anybody could've drawn that."
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Arcee
Minor
Token Girl-Bot
Posts: 330
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Post by Arcee on Feb 27, 2008 14:45:07 GMT -5
Arcee had been prepared to tell Nightbeat he was off his rocker, but judging by the reactions from Roddy and the rest...
"What's so bad about it being the Matrix?" she asks Rodimus gently, placing a soothing hand on his arm. "Optimus said it would light our darkest hour..."
And apparently, it would, according to what Kup and the others from the relative future had told her.
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Feb 27, 2008 22:31:48 GMT -5
Grimlock's attentions have forgotten all about Xaaron, and the liquor's affect is fading. Grimlock's activity and build is catching up, so now he's less happy, more irritable, and most dangerous of all - confused.
"Arrival points look like magic coconut. Me Grimlock say 'so what'?" It's not completely out of his system, but at least he's saying his name correctly again.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Feb 27, 2008 22:59:40 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron does not do gobsmacked. He laces his hands together behind his back and looks up and down Nightbeat's presentation with a jaded optic. People are stating the obvious. He hisses, "Yes, it's a Matrix. Very clever. What does it-"
What was he doing when he was transported here? He was trying to mentally contact Primus and ask for a miracle. Primus is notorious for being a tricky old buzzard. Apropos of nothing, he comments, "I think I was the first one here. I can’t be sure. Perceptor and Long Haul were right there, and I have no idea on the Decepticon side, but-" –but he's not making sense to anyone but himself.
Emirate Xaaron looks over at Rodimus Prime. Should he tell him? Should he tell him that Galvatron did the job that a thousand Decepticon hunters could not and found him? Should he tell him that he was trying to speak to Primus? Perhaps the thing inside him of him knows what Emirate Xaaron is – Emirate Xaaron doesn't – but on the off chance it doesn't, can he take that risk?
Jazz's comments snap Emirate Xaaron out of his thoughts. So it's used in other cultures for a wholly different meaning? Interesting. Or an orbital track, according to Skyfire. At least Grimlock seems to be sobering up.
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Nightbeat
Minor
Lord High Instructor, Duke of Snack
Cybertron's Greatest Detective
Posts: 373
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Post by Nightbeat on Feb 28, 2008 22:59:44 GMT -5
Nightbeat takes in all of the various reactions with the typical calm of the detective who's just accused the buttler of murdering his employer and hiding her body in the cellar.
"So bar a couple of people here, we all know what this is. Interesting. I don't have an idea of what this all means just yet... though believe me, I'm working on it. The real question though, is why we have Decepticons here. I mean, Autobots have always had a stronger affinity for it than Decepticons, except for Thunderwing, 'least as far as I know."
He waves his arms wide. "So why bring us here? Depends on which Matrix it is. If it's ours, well, Prime always was saying that Plan B, should something happen to the Matrix, was for all us Transformers, 'bot, 'con, and neutral, to come together as one."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 28, 2008 23:49:21 GMT -5
"Cube, Jazz? What do you mean?" Rodimus asks the sociable tactician. He's heard about 'Allspark,' but he hasn't heard a specific description of what it looks like.
He looks down a bit sadly at Arcee. "I... I believe Nightbeat's right. If it's in the pattern of the Matrix, it's... it's another indication that we were brought here for a purpose. I don't understand why we were pulled from so many universes. But the purpose for which we were created in my reality, and the purpose for which we were given the Matrix..." he shuts up as Grimlock speaks, and allows himself a faint, wry smile. Well. Looks like there are some similarities between this Grimlock and the one he knows, after all.
He can't make much sense of Emirate Xaaron's commentary, but before he can ask for clarification, Nightbeat continues. Rodimus turns towards him quickly, optics wide in shock. "Wait- what?!"
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Post by Makeshift on Feb 29, 2008 1:08:10 GMT -5
"It sort of resembles an eye," Makeshift muses aloud. Even though the "matrix" itself doesn't mean much to him, the though of it as an orbital track gets his attention. One doesn't spend a few million years living in an isolated moon base, with nothing to watch but an organic race taking their first tentative steps towards civilization, including early orbital launches, without learning a few minor hints about space flight. Not that he was capable of it; he'd never figured out how the Cyclonus of his reality had managed to make rotors work in space.
"But why these points?" He looks around at the gathered mechs. "And.....no offense to anyone here, but....why us?"
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 29, 2008 1:50:43 GMT -5
Skyfire looked around, locating the various other Science department folks at the party and noting their respective conditions. Was Synapse actually passed out over there?
"Sounds like we have a lot of conjectures and information to trade. How about we have a brainstorming session when everyone is sober again, toss things into orbit and see what comes back down again?" Skyfire suggested, apparently to the surroundings in general, but really to the leaders present.
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Jazz
Rookie
SugarSugarBoozeSugarSugarBoozeSugarSugar!
Posts: 175
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Post by Jazz on Mar 1, 2008 21:03:03 GMT -5
Wholly different meaning? Hardly, Emirate Xaaron. A primal source of life is a primal source of life. Destroyed though it may be, the AllSpark cubed has something of a parallel with the Creation Matrix... But that will probably be realized at some point down the line.
"In our world, the AllSpark created the Decepticons as well as the Autobots, Nightbeat. Before Megatron's fall, we were all brothers and sisters, so to speak." Jazz steps back from the table, giving Evac a sheepish shrug. Not all Cybertronians had had free access to the Allspark Cube. "We studied the inscriptions and glyphs on the cube, but no one could ever say for certain where it came from, or its true purpose. For us, it was life.--"
There's a certain gleem to the optics, even as Skyfire makes his suggestion.
"That would be tactically sound, Skyfire-- Ain't drunk, but getting all the information in one place makes sense. Maybe onna us will be able to see something that the others missed." As for the physical description of the cube... "The AllSpark is a cube, Rodimus. Sometimes we forget an' just call it that."
Yes. He's sociable. He didn't even lose a bit of that drink in his hand-- or the one he's offering Rodimus-- uh. Where'd he get those? Trust Jazz to manage to get refills and such without trouble. "Here. Y'look like you could use one."
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Evac
Cadet
"Come with me if you want to live."
Posts: 34
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Post by Evac on Mar 1, 2008 23:16:30 GMT -5
"Huh," Evac says, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Guess I should have paid more attention during briefings."
This is quickly getting outside his range of experience.
---
((Evac is now skippable))
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Arcee
Minor
Token Girl-Bot
Posts: 330
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Post by Arcee on Mar 1, 2008 23:21:53 GMT -5
Arcee's concern for Rodimus is only doubled by his shock at Nightbeat's last announcement. "Roddy..." she whispers, sadly. What could possibly be causing him this much shock?
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