eugenesis-text

purge-codes would scissor away the hints and spoilers and giveaways. But even so, no one should be forced
to live with the knowledge of their inevitable death, no matter how fleetingly. No one.
‘Are you okay’ said Optimus.
‘Sorry’
‘You began talking about the Quintessons and then something distracted you.’
‘I drifted off. Er, the Quintessons. Okay. Right. They’re a nomadic race of mechanicals who once
acted as enforcers for… a galactic tyrant. We knew about them by reputation. It seems they knew rather
more about us. They once earmarked Cybertron as a planet ripe for colonisation. Number one in a list of
one.’ God knows why, he thought to himself – out of the millions of Empire-owned, fresh-from-thefurnace
cyberformed replicas dotted across the galactic spiral, the Quints wanted the tatty old original.
‘They launched an ill-judged attack on us four years ago, when their home planet was on the way out. We
won. They disappeared.’
‘Until now.’
‘Yes. Galvatron…’ He stopped. Self-censorship was difficult. He thought again of the mind-purge
and the get-out clause it offered. ‘Galvatron, the Decepticon leader, was abducted a few days ago. A highranking
Autobot called Thunderclash was snatched shortly afterwards.’
‘So they’re picking off your leaders.’
‘Precisely. Next thing we know, a Quintesson space fleet is bearing down on Polyhex.’
‘Prowl assumes the Autobots are next and takes precautionary measures.’
Nightbeat spread his hands. ‘You.’
‘I’m your secret weapon’
‘It’s not exactly one against an army. There are still a large number of Autobots on Earth – a planet
you’ll become familiar with in time – and, of course, the main Resistance cell in Iacon. Siren – remember
him – commands a small team in the Sonic Canyons. So we’re not exactly short of manpower. Sorry if this
embarrasses you, but we needed a leader.’
‘I suppose I should feel flattered. Thank you for filling me in. I appreciate that you risk a lot by telling
me anything.’
‘Yes, well… Perhaps I was being overcautious before.’ Nightbeat prodded his abdomen like a doctor
mapping lines of pain. ‘This is called a mind-purge.’
Optimus inspected the object. ‘Intricate. I’ve never seen anything like it – but then I have missed
millions of years of technology.’
‘It’s a recent invention, actually. One of Perceptor’s.’
‘Ah yes, Perceptor. Molecular scientist. Dabbles in metallurgy and quantum mechanics. Posted in
Eocra.’
‘He’s a senior officer now. He and Prowl masterminded your abduction. This device is their safety
net. It taps into your thought-stream and impairs recollective interface… those are Perceptor’s words, not
mine.’
‘So it doesn’t actually erase your memories’
‘I suppose not, no.’ Nightbeat leant forward (awkwardly) and pointed to a slim rectangle of controls.
‘This microprocessor can be magnetically attached to the wearer’s scalp, or you can activate this remote
control and generate a psionic field which affects people within a certain range.’
‘In case I make a run for it, eh’ Optimus laughed. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s all very clever, isn’t it Once
I’ve played my part you can bury all my memories of this jaunt and drop me off in 1984, none the wiser.’
He handed back the device as if it were a broken toy. ‘No puzzling knowledge of my future, no artificial
foresight, no deliberate re-engineering of events. For all I know this might be the hundredth time I’ve been
abducted.’
Nightbeat looked aghast. ‘I promise you, we’ve never – ah. I see. You’re joking. If this all goes to
plan – and I admit that it’s a very audacious plan – you and I return to the wormhole after this mess is
sorted out, I zap you with this gadget and it’s as if nothing happened.’ He couldn’t believe he was talking to
a Matrix Holder like this, as if he was a lowly ridge trooper. ‘After all, would you choose to know what’s
going to happen to you’
‘I can think of nothing worse. High Command need not worry, Nightbeat. I have no objection to
you insulating my mind against these future shocks. That device is my safety net, not yours.’