eugenesis-text

‘Don’t ask me how we did that,’ said Nightbeat, rubbing his eyes, ‘just be grateful that we’re still in
one piece and not scattered in ten thousand temporal directions.’
The control room was golden and muggy. Spears of sunlight plunged through the ceiling, freckled by
ash.
‘Unbelievable!’ said Sunstreaker. ‘We’re actually here!’
‘And home is just a stone’s throw away,’ said Hoist, nodding to the wormhole. Through the fidgeting
frame they could see the inside of the Celestial Temple.
‘Look at the mist on the floor,’ said Nightbeat. ‘It’s still moving. Amazing… We’re talking about
contemporaneous time-streams. 2012 is progressing at an identical rate to 1984. We must be on our guard.
Touch nothing. Tamper with nothing. Anything we do might have cataclysmic knock-on effects.’ He
pointed to the portal. ‘If we cause any lasting changes, that future might not be the one we return to. Let’s
find Optimus and get out of here.’
They switched on their torches. Filled with deactivated Transformers, the control room looked as
though it had hosted a mass sleepover or a communal suicide. They picked their way through Starscream,
Huffer, Ironhide and many more, careful not to crease a single circuit board.
Nightbeat froze as the overhead lights flickered into life. ‘Who the hell did that’ he hissed.
‘Er, that would be me,’ said Hoist, resting his hand on a console. ‘I just thought that we’d be able to
find Prime quicker if we could see what we were doing.’
‘That’s not the point! I want us to have as little contact with the past as possible. Don’t you realise
what a dangerous position we’re in’
‘Oh come on, Nightbeat! Hoist just turned on the lights – it’s not as if we’re going to jump forward
to 2012 and find the planet being devoured by the Swarm, is it’
‘You can’t make any assumptions, Sunstreaker. I’m edgy enough as it is without people disobeying
orders and—’
‘What’s a “Sidestep Drive”’ asked Grapple.
‘It’s a type of cloaking system,’ replied Nightbeat, exchanging a worried glance with Sunstreaker.
‘Why do you ask’
Grapple pointed to a monitor and read the flashing message: ‘Sidestep Drive deactivated… What’s up,
Nightbeat Why are you looking at me like that’
‘Now do you see why I’m so worried By the Celestial Spires! We’ve been in 1984 less than two
minutes and you’re already making our presence felt! The Sidestep Drive was the most advanced cloaking
device of its time. Skids worked out a way to vibrate the molecules of the Ark at a speed that would put it
slightly out of sync with its surroundings, rendering it invisible.’
Sunstreaker picked up the thread: ‘Optimus intended to conceal the Ark in space after we cleared a
path through the asteroids. He knew Megatron would follow us. We were going to cloak ourselves,
recharge and launch a pre-emptive strike, but the Decepticons attacked too soon. When Optimus set the
Ark on a suicidal course for Earth he did so to prevent its secrets from falling into Decepticon hands, but he
wasn’t just talking about the boarding party. He activated the Sidestep Drive so that the Ark’s remains
would never be found. He wanted to ensure that no Autobot or Decepticon search parties ever had a
chance to repair their comrades.’
Hoist looked puzzled: this was new to him. ‘Why would he do that’
‘To end it,’ said Nightbeat. ‘To end the war. Don’t you see’ He gestured at the sleeping giants, at
Thundercracker, Skywarp, Brawn and the others. ‘These Transformers were never meant to be resurrected.
We were never meant to get this far.’
‘Only I’ve just shut down the Sidestep Drive,’ said Hoist, ‘… and de-cloaked the Ark.’
‘Exactly. And I have neither the time nor the inclination to ponder the consequences.’ Nightbeat
looked around. ‘Now where is Optimus Prime’
Sunstreaker led Hoist and Grapple into the outside corridor, leaving Nightbeat to calm down.
As the detective looked from body to body he thought of the rumours that had circulated after
contact was lost with the crews of the Ark and the Nemesis: four million years of Autobot and Decepticon
propaganda. Deathsaurus spread stories of Megatron eating Prime’s brain module. Trannis, possessing a less
lurid imagination, reported a total Autobot surrender then a crash on the way home. Theo-scientists had
both spaceships tripping an event horizon and sliding into a pocket universe comprised entirely of sentient