eugenesis-text

emembered explaining about a cure, and thinking that the doctor’s expression said ‘too late’ even as
Hound was sent back to Antarctica.
Nightbeat turned as someone synthesised a cough and said his name. Ultra Magnus was standing by
the tree line, looking uncomfortable.
‘We’re leaving. Do you want us to pick you up from here It’s not a problem.’
‘No. I’ll be along in a moment.’
Ultra Magnus half-turned, then looked back at the monument. ‘It’s going to take time, you know.
For all of us.’
‘I know. Maybe one day—’ Nightbeat pressed his forefinger against his audio receptor and mouthed,
‘Personal call’. A moment later his arm had dropped back to his side and he was staring at the fresh batch of
falling snowflakes.
‘Is everything alright, Nightbeat’
‘Hm Yeah… That was Cybertron.’
‘Bad news’
‘On the contrary.’ The corners of his mouth twitched. ‘And I get the feeling I’m the last one to find
out.’
Ultra Magnus smiled. ‘I’ll see you shortly.’
Nightbeat watched him head back to the whitened patch of land where Autobot City had once been.
He thought he had known the future – as if dabbling in time had given him some unique understanding of
how things would work out.
Now he knew differently.
He unclipped his chest plate and placed Muzzle at the base of the monument. Wet white curves
hugged the orb as soon as it settled. It would be safe there.
He picked up the hammer and chisel, crouched low, and set to work on the bottom left corner. A
fresh scar formed, right to left, as he removed letters one by one.
‘L’, then ‘W’.
It was 1 st February 2013: the present day, the absolute forefront of his timeline.
‘O’ came next, crumbling like ash against the blade. R fell as quickly as its neighbour.
Anything could happen. Maybe the war was over. Well, maybe it was.
A final blow, and ‘P’ simply disappeared.
It was never too late to start again, he thought, walking after Ultra Magnus in the thickening snow.