Title: The Human's Guide to Understanding Autobots
Description: A series of oneshots from the early days of the Transformers on Earth, accompanied by excerpts from a book written by Carly and Spike. G1, all characters, inspiration from various sources.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Duh. But I would be quite irate if someone were to steal from me.
Author's notes: Official title page, table of contents and foreword of the book written (mostly) by Carly, Spike, and a couple others. Excerpts from all of these chapters will appear at some point, accompanying oneshots of various characters up and down the spectrum.
The Human's Guide to Understanding Autobots
Written by Carly Witwicky, Ph.D in Robotics and Engineering (MIT)
Co-Authored by Spike Witwicky and Autobots Ratchet and Wheeljack
Foreword by Autobot Leader Optimus Prime
FOREWORD: Together We Stand (Optimus Prime)
Introduction: Autonomous Robotic Organisms (or AUTOBOTS)
Chapter 1: Speaking Cybertronian: From My CPU to Yours
Chapter 2: Alt-Modes: More than Meets the Eye
Chapter 3: First Aid and General Maintenance
Chapter 4: Programming and "The Spark"
Chapter 5: Human-like Similarities and Tendencies
Chapter 6: Human-Cybertronian Interaction
Chapter 7: The Decepticon Question
Chapter 8: A (very) Brief Overview of the Autobot-Decepticon War
Chapter 9: Diplomatic Standing Between Earth and Cybertron
Chapter 10: Mechanthropology: An Emerging Discipline
ENDNOTE: Closing the Gap
FOREWORD: Together We Stand
Optimus Prime, Autobot Leader
For countless eons, our kind has had little need of allies on other worlds and less need to call any of them friend. As our war raged on, decimating our own world and others, something happened to change that. That that great, unlikely something was Earth.
A world so small and rich, its people capable of kindness beyond measure, compassion beyond understanding, courage beyond belief. We could never have expected the bond we would forge, nor the changes that would come to pass because of it. For Cybertron ... and for Earth.
And now an even greater thing is coming to pass. You.
You who read these words, who have taken it on yourself to learn about us as we have struggled to learn about you, to understand our ways though they are not your own, and to embrace us though we are strangers. For that, we extend our hand to you in return. Because in understanding, we draw the remaining gap between us ever closer.
And on the day that gap closes we shall all stand together, Human and Autobot, as equals, as partners, and as friends.
I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and I say: Thank you ... friend.
Note:
I know Carly is more of a science nerd than an engineering nerd. I figure maybe she got inspired to switch majors at some point. This is also for everyone who, like me, wondered what she ever actually did with her MIT degree.
Also, I would totally buy a book with a foreword by Optimus Prime. Holy crap, instant sell.