TF: Deception: World

TRANSFORMERS: DECEPTION

A show bible written to get the idea out of my head

 

THE WORLD

 

PRIMUS AND CYBERTRON

 

        Primus: the primordial creator god. Though the stories say his consciousness now lies dormant, the planet Cybertron is said to be his living body, as evidenced by the fully autonomous planetary engines called Vectors. Utilizing these Vectors are the humanoid silicon life forms who call themselves Cybertronians.

 

        Cybertronian society is generally a peaceful one. Employment is varied, as are skills and opinions, but nothing, not even the passions of politics, truly divides the people. There are no race-splitting factions; there is no war. How could there be, when there is no energy shortage over which to fight?

 

        The “Fuel Pump of Primus,” the titanic cube Vector Omega, provides all the energy that Cybertron could ever need. Vector Omega converts matter – any matter – into its component energy according to the equation e=MC^2. The energy comes out condensed into cubes and fluid of the hard-light substance called energon, the primary food and fuel for all Cybertronian life and technology.

 

        And so the chief concern of the Cybertronian race is not acquiring new sources of energy, but acting on the Prime Dictate, the first and last words Primus spoke to his creations: “Go forth and learn.”

 

        Four million years of following that singular commandment led to the development of the Space Bridge, an enormous teleportation unit. This crowning achievement of Cybertronian technology draws from the purest light in Cybertronian reckoning: the infinite “Spark of Primus,” the pocket dimension inside the great sphere Vector Sigma, the origin and mortal destination of all life on Cybertron. (There was little social resistance to connecting the Bridge to what was essentially God’s Heart; the more religious Cybertronians practically demanded it.)

 

        Fueled by the infinite power of Vector Sigma, the Space Bridge could send a ship to literally any solar system in the galaxy. It worked by scanning the cosmic expanse for gravity wells, determining which ones belonged to stars, and establishing a temporary wormhole to their systems, one at a time. With an open door to the entire galaxy, Cybertronians built a massive fleet of ships called Arks and sent them through the Space Bridge – some alone, some in groups – to parts unknown.

 

        Their function: Explore. Study. “Go forth and learn.”

 

THE EXPEDITION AND THE MATRIX

 

        Ten thousand years ago, a pair of Arks traveled through the Space Bridge to our Sun and found that its third planet bore a fledgling civilization: ours. The Arks, Prime and Minor, landed in secluded locations on our world and their respective crews began their quest of observation. The crew members infiltrated our villages, our farms, our cities and our homes, taking the form of anything that would allow them close yet unnoticed contact. Their alternate forms, superficially perfect duplicates, ranged from animals and buildings to machinery and weapons, even in eras where the highest technology was made of wood.

 

        The Cybertronians remained perpetually close at hand through ten millennia of human history, but never revealed themselves. Nor did they ever interfere with human affairs, either to help or to hurt, though the temptation was often high. Such was the policy of Sentinel Prime, leader of the expedition and unquestioned superior officer of both Ark Prime and Ark Minor.

 

        Why was Sentinel Prime unquestioned? All Space Bridge expeditions had a single Prime to direct work and maintain order, and each Prime did so with the authority and power of a Matrix of Leadership.

 

        Each Matrix was a manufactured relic, both a tool and a sacrament. Their energy was drawn directly from the bottomless well of Vector Sigma, spiritually linking each of the Primes to Cybertron and to Primus himself. More practically, however, the Matrices served as beacons to the Space Bridge. Should something go awry on an expedition, or should a Prime deem the expedition complete, the Matrix of Leadership could be activated and the Space Bridge would automatically open by the nearest star for easy rescue or return.

 

        Holding the only key home has insulated Sentinel Prime from policy dissents for ten thousand years. But now, in the Earth year 2035, humanity’s advancement has convinced some members of his expedition that the time is ripe to finally reveal themselves to the natives.

 

        The crew of the Ark Minor, led by a figure named Megatron, sees great things in humanity – great, useful things. All humans need is a nudge in the correct direction, even if that direction is ultimately against human interests. And if Sentinel won’t allow it, well, humans have shown them so many ways to remove a leader….

 

EARTH, 2035

 

        Human society is as it always was, but the past twenty-odd years have seen the species finally come to grips with its dwindling energy reserves. Wind farms, wave farms, and solar plants dot the landscape, but the planet hasn’t run out of petroleum quite yet. While there are some new forms of computer and vehicle tech, modern-day cars have not gone completely obsolete and modern conveniences are still recognizable.

 

        Many of the planet’s cities are between two worlds. You can still see beat-up old clunkers driving past stunning architecture that would put Dubai to shame, while 20th-century towers still clinging to life in New York City have eight-wheeled electric cars parked on the curb. Out in the country, even the most remote farmhouses can tap into global high-speed Internet, and geosynchronous orbit is positively crawling with satellites and space-junk cleaners.

 

        Battlefields still exist, for Earth, unlike Cybertron, has limited and uneven resources. Most of the weapons are familiar guns and vehicles, but some are entirely new machinery. Things in development now have been used in combat for many years, and today’s new technology remains as effective to wars of 2035 as 1970s aircraft carriers are today.

 

        The Cybertronian observers keep very up-to-date on world events and new technology. The crew of Ark Minor, in particular, has intimate knowledge of the ways we kill or ruin one another.