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Authors note: I do not own transformers; they belong to Hasbro I believe. The only thing I do own is any of the characters you do not recognize.

Also, this fic is set 20 years after the movie, and it is strictly a movie-verse fiction. The topic of 'humans to robots' is perhaps a little overused, but I enjoy it nonetheless. I feel its important to also say that this is my first fan fiction in nearly 4 years, so don't expect any utterly fabulous writing skills.

Mood music- Gary Jules version: Mad World

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Cold walls reverberated powerful footsteps, the rhythmic sound of two sets, accompanied by the interruption of a third. The walls this far underground were unfinished -- pipes and wires exposed to all who walked its passageways. In the lowest levels of the base, officials and architects stopped caring about aesthetic pleasure, and more about function.

"We had agents in various branches of the government whose purpose it was to report potential candidates. Soldiers with no remaining family members, marital ties, or children were the only ones to be considered. You see, we had hoped to find volunteers before victims." Major General Veers let out a deep rattling chuckle as soon as the words victim escaped his lips, but suppressed it quickly.

The fact that the General had been quick to silence his small outburst only made Sam feel as if the man walking next to him had truly meant what he had just said. He was lost in thought as the assistant behind them continued to blabber to the General now that he had stopped talking. He seemed an overly nervous man, Sam thought. The assistant, whose last name had been something starting with an S and who's rank he could not remember for the life of him, spoke in a chipmunk-like voice and was relaying the days schedule to the General.

Sam had been on the base for only an hour, but he had met so many officials it made his head spin. He knew they didn't expect him to remember them, but the formality of the military did not allow for a simple skipping of introductions. He still found it hard to fathom that he had sat at a table with some of the most important men and women in the armed forces today. Some of them he had recognized from their first encounter shortly after the war.

Weeks after their victory, they had come to him to ask for the Autobots' assistance. They had said they needed to study the Transformers -- to gain knowledge of their race. In the end, the military had gotten what it wanted with the promises that they would not cause harm to the giants. Every two months a different Autobot would appear to fulfill the military's needs for exactly 48 hours. From the information Sam was given, they were analyzing the mechanics of the giant defenders.

They cooperated well, even giving information on things the scientists could not analyze without dismantling the giants. It was thought by all that the military had indeed only wanted to learn more about their innerworkings in order to develop advanced weapons systems in order to counteract any sort of future Decepticon attacks. This theory, however, was put to rest once the briefing had begun.

Apparently, the plans to turn a human being into a Transformer had been underway since shortly after the end of the war with Megatron. The United States government had banded together with several other allied countries in an effort to increase the amount of robotic soldiers fighting for the good of mankind. This was the reason for their research, and this was the reason he had been asked here today. It was well known that he was a friend of the robots, and the government had always gone through him to get to them.

He had not seen the Autobots since he arrived since they were being briefed in an underground hanger. He was not sure if all of them would be in attendance, for even though they have cooperated all these years, he was still not sure if they were willing to place all their faith in the military just yet. Still walking in silence, he observed the cold hallways which seemed large enough to be two lane roads.

His thoughts traveled from the surrounding area back to the Autobots themselves. How would they react to this? The military, if its experiment succeeded, had expressed interest in the Autobots training their new 'toy'. Sam wondered what type of person had been chosen. Maybe a headstrong type who wanted to further his military career, or maybe the power hungry type -- the type of man just wanting an excuse to deem himself better. He honestly could not think of a person who would willingly shed their human body to be tested on and transformed into a giant alien robot.

His thoughts were interrupted by a noise and he turned his head towards the General. Apparently, he had been addressed in the time he wasn't paying attention and annoyance was written clearly on the face of the man next to him.

" Glad to see your keeping up son," General Veers scoffed at him, his eyes turning stone cold. " We're almost there."

The three of them rounded the bend in the hallway and found themselves confronted with an extremely large air locked door. Three armed guards stood in front and one near a control panel. The General left Sam with his assistant and inserted a card he had removed from his breast pocket into the panel. After giving the 'at ease' command to the rigid guards, he motioned for the two to follow once the doors had begun to open. The soft hiss of mechanics and whirling gears filled Sam's ears as he stepped through the hold, and bright lights blinded him.

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Barry Goldwater(1909-1998) U.S. politician

(Dateline: 1960s) "A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away."