eugenesis-text

‘Oh! Right, right.’ The crimson courier hovered on the threshold. ‘Red Alert’s recovering well, by
the way. First Aid says he should be up and about within days.’
‘Yes, I heard. Excellent news.’ Prowl groped for the door-pad. ‘Well, Quark, I’ll let you get on with
your duties. Is there anything else’
Quark massaged his neck, anticipating the twitch. ‘Prowl – I mean commander – are we, you know,
doing the right thing’
‘What do you mean, Quark’
‘Well it’s just that Rev-Tone and I have been talking and we’re just worried that Autobase isn’t
designed to repel an aerial attack and Rev-Tone says that it’s your call but technically we’re putting
ourselves into a purely defensive position and strategically we’re at a disadva—’
‘I would rather not be lectured on strategy,’ Prowl snapped. ‘Especially not by Rev-Tone. If you
wish to air a grievance you should go through the proper channels.’
‘Yes, sorry, of course, I was just—’
‘You have the right to lodge an official complaint with your squad commander.’
Prowl stepped inside his office, locked the door and listened to Quark’s tiny, tinny footfalls. He
surveyed his office. Everything was in its proper place, everything was as it should be: hard files stacked
neatly on the polished desktop, data-cards indexed and cross-referenced, personal logs and Vorcode samples
(Aarox thru Zzap) freshly filed. He was glad that he still had inviolable control over one aspect of his life.
He faced the monitor screen, called ‘Messages!’ and watched First Aid melt into view.
‘Received at 0273 nano-cycles,’ announced the computer, and replayed the medic’s communiqué:
‘Hi Prowl. You wanted to know how Rodimus Prime’s incapacity would affect his “guest”, and why he hasn’t
taken this opportunity to escape the Matrix. I’m no theoscientist, but my guess is that on some subconscious level
Rodimus is still holding him at bay and staving off the Turning.’
Prowl shook his head, already tired of all the personal pronouns – how long had it been since
Rodimus had banned the ‘U’ word And just because a couple of radical theoscientists believed that the
syllabic composition of Unicron’s name doubled as an ancient code; a kind of genetic password that, if
pronounced correctly, would trigger a subconscious release mechanism in the Matrix Holder’s mind. The
Gateway would open, transforming Rodimus into a living conduit between Matrixspace and the Real
World.
Later on, Prime had confided that he simply didn’t like to hear Unicron’s name – it reminded him of
the demon in his womb – but in many ways it was too late. The ban had, if anything, made the Planet
Killer more powerful by adding to his dark mystique.
‘It may be possible to remove the Matrix without invoking the Gateway, though this would mean, of course, that
the next in line for the Matrix would inherit him. Rodimus once said that, er, the Chaos Bringer’s thought-forms were
too deeply encoded in the Prime Program to be purged by an exorcism. He’s part of the package.
‘Hope this helps. First Aid out.’
Prowl sat down. Was he ready to be a Matrix Holder Was he ready to inherit a malevolent technospirit
How often do you invite the devil into your mind
Not for the first time, he considered destroying the Matrix. He wondered, half-heartedly, whether it
was even possible: break one shell and another always sprung up from somewhere – usually the Acid Wastes
- to take its place. And besides, the shell was just a shell. Sometimes things grew beyond their boundaries,
and who knew what the Matrix really was
‘Received at 0311 nano-cycles,’ intoned the computer. First Aid was back on screen.
‘Just buzzing you to report a seizure Rodimus suffered last night. His bio-readout dipped below 440 and the life
support couldn’t compensate. We had to inject nine quarts to regain stability. He’s now lost three quarters of his neural
circuitry… Commander, on a purely medical level there is now less than an 8% chance of recovery. After last night we’re
pumping purified energon directly into his fuel-stream and it’s a major drain on our resources.’
Prowl folded his arms. ‘What are you saying to me, doctor’
‘I must therefore invoke Section 11 of the Revised Medical Charter and officially request that High Command
give consideration to shutting down Rodimus Prime’s’ life support system. I’m sorry, Prowl. I await your response. First
Aid out.’
‘Incoming message at 0459 nano-cycles.’
‘Commander, this is Chromedome – if you’re there, pick up!’
‘Receiving you. What’s the progress with the modified force field’