Once again, thank you, folks, for the reviews and faves! Nice to hear from readers old and new. I'm really pleased to know that a lot of you are getting into this story.
This time, we return to Earth for a short spell to check-in on Professor Isaac Sumdac. And I'm injecting a significant element of the 2007 movie into the TFA universe. We'll see what the result is...
Seven
"Professor Sumdac, we'd like to talk to you about Cybertronians."
Professor Isaac Sumdac was looking between two men dressed in navy blue suits and ties standing before his office desk.
"I'm sorry, where did you say you come from?" Professor Sumdac asked.
"We work for a special government agency," one of the suited men, an oriental, answered. "I'm Nelson Wong and my colleague here is Stewart Simmons."
Professor Sumdac glanced at the man next to the one that was speaking. He was a queer-looking man with curly hair and was moving his gaze around Professor Sumdac's office.
"Quite an empire you've built around yourself here, Sumdac," Simmons commented without looking at his addressee. "Sumdac Systems, the world's foremost producer of automatons."
Simmons brought his gaze down upon Sumdac's desk and focused onto a stationary Pocket-Bot that was on display there. He picked up the small, four-legged device and brought it close to his face for inspection.
"Hard to believe sometimes that humans could come up with such sophisticated technology on their own," Simmons remarked as he turned the Pocket-Bot around under his gaze.
Simmons then looked back to Sumdac with a grin that made the professor instinctively uncomfortable.
"You're quite the engineering genius, Sumdac," he said with seemingly exaggerated enthusiasm in his tone. He placed the Pocket-Bot back down on the desk.
Professor Sumdac's brows furrowed slightly and he clasped his hands together on his desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Simmons," Sumdac replied simply.
"You and your daughter have been close contacts of the group of Autobots that resided here in Detroit for over three years," Wong began. "And you have been in close proximity to their conflicts with the Decepticons on a few occasions, is that correct?"
Sumdac shifted impatiently in his chair and sighed.
"If you gentlemen are here for more information on the Autobots and Decepticons, I'm afraid I am unable to entertain you," he said firmly. "I'm quite busy and don't have much time."
"Please hear us out, Professor Sumdac," Wong requested, holding a hand up. "We're not here for information. We're here for your assistance and expertise."
Sumdac studied the two suited men for a few moments. "What do you need me for?"
"Have you ever worked with Cybertronian technology before?" Wong asked.
Sumdac paused uncomfortably.
"A little," he admitted.
Wong and Simmons glanced at each other briefly.
"We have a few things that you may find interesting to look at then, Professor Sumdac," Wong said.
Simmons lifted a black briefcase onto Sumdac's desk and laid it flat. Sumdac and Wong watched in silence as he punched in a security code, unlocked and flipped open the briefcase. Within was a compact laptop computer which Simmons lifted out, placed onto the desk and started up. After tapping a few keys, he spun the computer screen round to face Sumdac.
"Take a look at these images," Simmons instructed.
Sumdac leaned closer to the laptop screen. There were images of complex machinery and circuitry displayed there. Sumdac spent a few moments studying them carefully.
"Where are these from?" he finally asked, his hand to his chin in thought.
"Believe it or not, Professor, you and the citizens of Detroit are not the first humans to have had contact with the Cybertronian species," Simmons replied with an air of authority.
Sumdac looked up at him curiously. "What are you saying?"
"Our agency has been aware of the existence of alien robotic entities for two centuries," Wong informed. "Because we have possessed one since 2017."
Sumdac's eyes widened. "You have a Cybertronian kept somewhere?"
Wong nodded. "An inactive one. It has been our agency's purpose since the discovery of 'E.R.E.-1', 'Extraterrestrial Robotic Entity One', to study and watch for extraterrestrial life. And since the 'dramatic' arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons over three years ago, we have been monitoring the situation here in Detroit closely."
"All those major battles between the Autobots and Decepticons in and around this city in the last couple of years have demonstrated just how dangerous these Cybertronians are," Simmons stated. "Thus far, we've been reliant on your 'heroic' Autobot friends to ward off the Decepticon threat. But we can't expect them to protect us and our planet all the time. After all, they've left Earth now, haven't they? And we're aware that a few Decepticons still remain here in hiding."
"They'll be back," Sumdac responded automatically.
"All the same, we need to be able to defend ourselves against future Cybertronian threats," Simmons persisted. "Our agency is in the process of developing new defensive technology at this moment."
"And that's where you come in, Professor Sumdac," Wong continued. "We'd like your help in advancing our current work. Your engineering expertise and skills along with your close first-hand experiences with the Cybertronians would make you a valuable resource to us."
Sumdac stood speechless for several seconds. His gaze fell down. For years, Isaac Sumdac had kept the head of the Decepticon leader Megatron hidden in his laboratory, believing he was the only human to have found such advanced alien life. Now, if these suited men were to be believed, it turned out he not was the first man to come into contact with a Cybertronian. How much more did this secretive government agency know about Cybertronians? Sumdac was compelled to find out, but he hesitated. It was because of his very curiosity with Megatron's head as a young man that he had unwittingly saved the Autobot's greatest enemy and allowed him to live again today. Many times since Megatron's rebuilding, he regretted ever finding Megatron's head out in his field all those years ago, though his reverse-engineering of Megatron's internal circuitry had been the source of his company's great success. Sumdac had learnt how dangerous it could be to tamper with technology one knew nothing about.
But then there was Sari, his 'daughter', the most precious thing that had appeared in his life. He had known nothing about her, where she came from, what she was, but he loved her dearly. She had turned out to be Cybertronian in origin as well. She was on Cybertron at this very moment, discovering where she came from and, hopefully, what she really was. Sumdac missed her terribly, but he was sure the Autobots would bring her back soon. He could not fathom what lay in Sari's future, what she could develop into in time. But he did not regret her mysterious entry into his life. For Professor Isaac Sumdac, his beloved daughter had been the greatest joy of his life and a mystery worth taking every risk for.
Sumdac's thoughts returned to Wong and Simmons. Could they and their secret government agency be trusted? He had been gullible enough to be deceived by Megatron before.
"What kind of defensive technology are you developing?" he asked. "I do not get involved in technology for military applications."
"Effective defence often requires good offence, Professor," Wong answered calmly. "One of our current projects is looking at the giant Decepticon war machine we recovered from one of the islands in Lake Erie."
"The Lugnut Supreme?" Sumdac uttered in surprise.
"And our study of E.R.E.-1 has been ongoing since its discovery two centuries ago," Simmons added. "That one's been a tough one to crack."
Sumdac turned his head to look out his office windows. "I...need time to consider."
Wong nodded. "Of course." He dug into a hidden pocket inside his blazer jacket and pulled out a small card. "Here's our number when you decide to contact us."
Wong slid the calling card across the desk toward Sumdac. Simmons had packed the compact laptop back into the briefcase. He shut it with a click.
Wong nodded politely. "Please keep the contents of this discussion to yourself, Professor. It is important that we maintain confidentiality as you can imagine."
"We'll hopefully be hearing from you soon, Sumdac," Simmons said with a sliding smile.
The two suited men then promptly turned and exited Sumdac's office through the automatic sliding doors. Professor Sumdac watched them go then looked down at the calling card they had left behind on his desk. Above a phone number, a simple symbol of 'S7' was printed there.