The Diego Diaries: Ascension (dd6 279)
-0-Going away
They fell through a long tunnel of whirling energy, one that looked like the inside of a vast computer. It seemed they were blowing away but that could be debatable. After a moment or many, they spun to a stop. They were standing as a group on a silver sand beach. It ran into the distance where it met a silvery sky, one with white clouds and diffuse sunlight. Beside them, undulating with immaculate beauty was the silvery waters of the Sea of Mercury. Hard Drive recovered, then looked toward the beach as it sloped upward to a spectacular house nearby. "I remember this place. It's the beach house of the Primes."
Prowl nodded. "I've been here. It is."
"Our houses are nearby, the beach houses," Raptor said as Delphi nodded. He glanced at Prime who was looking at them without expression. "Are you Prime or are you someone representing him?"
"I am and I am not," the figure of Optimus said. "I am the Gatekeeper, the first one you meet when you return. You would know that but to live in the world you must first forget."
Prowl walked toward him, then bowed. "Tell us what we might do, Gatekeeper. We are yours to command," he said quietly.
"They will come to decide what will happen. Optimus Prime has made a just decision but They always have the last word." He looked at the Council and the 22 others with them. "You will stay here. You will not speak unless They wish it."
The Functionalists looked fearful as they stood together in a group in the middle of the others who had been brought here as well. Cyclonus stared at the figure, then bowed. "Gatekeeper, we are here to settle disputes of belief. We employ one as well at our Monasteries. We will bow to your wishes."
The figure turned toward Cyclonus. "Understood. Also understand … all return to the Matrix. No matter your life and deeds, all are returned to The One. All come back to the Prime Source of All Things, The One. No one is abandoned or left behind."
At that moment, a stir in the ocean was seen as everyone turned to watch. Figures began to rise out of the silvery liquid which slid off them to reveal figures both known and revered. One of them stepped out walking to where they stood, then turned to the group. "I see you have met the Gatekeeper," He said with a grin.
"Lord Micronus," Hardie said as he knelt down on one knee. Everyone else joined him.
Micronus grinned. "Hard Drive of Praxus, rise. All of you rise. You are here for a specific purpose and we must be of sober mind."
More came forward, stepping on the beach to stand before them. They were immensely tall, though not as tall as They would be in other circumstances. They came and came until They were all there. Those of importance to the Guiding Hand philosophy, Adaptus, Epistemus, Prima, and Solomus stood together as the others came forward who were revered in the Temple practice. Solus, Prima again, Vector, Nexus, Logos, Onyx, Alchemist, Amalgamous, and Quintus gathered together. Then Solus stepped forward and knelt. "Alpha, welcome. We return Optimus to you," she said as Prime glanced at Her, then the others with a touch of disorientation. Then he saw them and went down on a knee. "Lady," he began before Solus cut him off.
"Please stand, brother. We are here to support and help you. Please be one among equals," she said.
The others glanced at Prime, then each other. Then all of them turned to the group that they had been taught about and reverenced since birth, some who served with fervor and all had respected their entire lives. Prima grinned. "Well, well, dear brother," he said as he looked at Optimus. "You bring us a knotty problem. We are here to review and decide upon the actions of the Functionalists and the sentence you have imposed for the actions they have taken against the Peace of Primus and The One. I think We need to hear from you, Quintus."
Quintus looked at them ruefully. "I was afraid You would say that, brother," He said as He looked at the bots before Him. "I am Quintus Prime. I am bearer of the Emberstone," He said as He opened His servo to show an enormous and beautiful blue jewel that glowed with a sentient-seeming light. Its blue rays shot out of It as if seeking something in the group that It could entwine with. Before It could, Quintus closed His digits and the light was gone. "I was a scientist, perhaps the first, and I used this stone to create life in the universe. I am afraid that I created the Quintessans." He frowned slightly. "What a sad orn that was, but then, what genitor is not disappointed by Their offspring from time to time? I had no intention for them to become what they have. They were filled with misconceptions and malignant information. They caused great suffering to The People. That was unintentional."
"You brought them to life, Lord Quintus?" Optimus asked.
Quintus nodded with a forlorn expression. "I created many forms," He said with a brighter tone. "I created butterflies. I rather love butterflies. I seem to have gotten better with organic forms later on. The Quintessans were among the first organic forms I ever tried to make. It's a creative urge in Me, you see. There was no malice, only the desire to create beauty and life, to share the empty universe with Us. It was once terribly lonely."
"Sometimes, things don't go Your way, brother," Onyx said. "I remember remarking to You about such things on more than one occasion."
"You do have a way with the natural world," Quintus said dryly. "How be it may, they were part of the universe and that they would come and turn the natural order upside down … that was an unforeseen circumstance."
"They lay down a manner of living that was outside the Will of Primus," Prima said. "Their ideas that some were more important than others is contrary to all that We represent. The Quintessans took advantage of your naivete and your youthfulness, children. They implemented structures that are contrary to everything We hold dear and represent. At no time in the history of The People did any of Us hold to the ideas that they planted and which others nurtured." Prime looked at Traachon and Lucien who were standing beside Keystock and Cargo. "You know that as well."
Traachon stepped back as all of them took in the figures before them. They knew what this was though they had never heard about one happening or knew of anyone who had. This was the ultra tribunal and it wasn't anything that a Prime could call without cause. It was apparent to everyone that this one did and that They respected and admired Optimus enough to show up. "Lord Quintus," he stammered. "I … I didn't ..."
"You did. All of you did. You may not as children but you grew up to see what was happening. You did not follow the law. There is only one law that rules Us all. Until all are one. It is from The One, the prime source of All That Is and the One Rule. It became Our Creed. Our gift to Our children, all of you. There is only love. It is the greatest force in the universe and it is your birthright. It is the birthright of All That Is. Why did you turn that upside down?" Prima asked.
Lucien who looked as poorly as the others stepped back as well. He glanced at Traachon who for once was at a loss for words, then looked at the Pantheon. "You seemed so far away," he said. "We prayed to You and we did what You wanted to remember You but You never seemed here. You almost seemed a myth."
Onyx grinned at Prima. "That one has bearings. They usually don't get that bold around Us. Especially," He said as He looked at them with a hard expression, "when they have so much to account for."
"You took the teachings of all of Us and you perverted them. First, it was the Quintessans," Prima said as he shot a slight frown at Quintus who grinned back. "Then you came, you, the Functionalists with your lies and deceit. You ruled a broken people, turning them back into slaves and you killed over a billion of them in your recalls at that time. What say you to Us, now?"
The Council seemed frozen in place, like a row of parking signs that stood and did nothing more. They finally glanced at each other, then looked up at him nearly as one. "We are confused, Master. We would need time to discuss this," One of Twelve said.
"What is to discuss? You categorized sentient beings into useful/rare and obsolete/common. You took the right away from everyone to decide what they would do with their lives. You benefited, though I will say … it was at a lower level of luxury than your descendants here," Prima said as he nodded to Traachon and Lucien. "You are murderers. You are raising children, the purest of sparks, those who among you are still by virtue of their births close to The One to be killers, too. It disturbs Us profoundly. Everyone of your ruling cartel benefited, though not all of them issued and carried out the actual orders. What say you to Us, Functionalists? Explain and justify recalls to Us who love our Children with all that We possess."
The Council stepped closer together but it was obvious that they had nothing to say that would work or prevail. This was Prima, one of the gods of their practice, the direct progeny of Primus along with Adaptus, Mortilus who was deceased, Epistemus, and Solomus. They had sprung fully formed from His spark and now They were here staring at them with disapproval and there was nothing they could say that would save them from Their wrath, if this was what They were coming for.
Cyclonus who was watching Them with an almost overwhelming sense of wonder stepped from the crowd, then went to his knees. "Lords of the Guiding Hand … I have served You all my life. These mechs have taken Your honor and ground it into the dust. They have no respect for You and what You have sacrificed to give us our lives. I am leading the Monastery and Your ideas and ideals are first and foremost presented. I have strayed," he said. "I fought with Megatron against the evil of this system to free Primus the Great from His fate. It was something I have put aside. I serve only Cybertron, Primus and You now. Tell me what I should do to serve You. I am Your servant," he said as he bowed his helm.
They glanced at each other, then him. "Rise, Master Cyclonus. With you, We are well pleased," Prima said.
Cyclonus rose, his optics never leaving Them. He bowed, then stepped to one side, moving away from the Functionalists and the civilians. It was silent again.
Prima grinned. "There are many paths homeward, my children. There are many stories to tell the tale. But all of them lead to the same house. None of the systems that you practiced, that of the Quintessans who set the poison into the body of the people, that of the Functionalists who maintained it nor that of The System of Exception that put it into its logical terrible climax serves the Will of Primus, the Will of The One, nor does it serve Us. We have always been here. We have always been among you. We gave you a Prime," he said as he nodded to Optimus. "WE GAVE YOU A PRIME! We cannot tell you what to do. You have free will. There are planets in this universe where those who live there do not have that gift. And gift it is. They live in systems like yours," He said glancing at One of Twelve. "They live their whole lives being told what to do and how to do it. It is a rare planet where there is free will. We had gifted it to Cybertron. The humans have it, much to their own despair sometimes.
"We do not step in to save you. We have prevented complete destruction of the world when you came close to protect our brother and We have done our best to guide you with Primes and suggestions made through your aura. I do believe you call that both inspiration and your conscience. It is not Our fault if you chose to ignore that which We could do for you. We received the dead when they came to Us, put to death or killed by your incessant wars or value systems. We comforted them and made them safe. BUT WE DID NOT STEP IN! This is your life. You KNOW what is right and wrong. If you choose genocide, you cannot tell Us that you do not know the consequences or how it will be received. Our BROTHER, PRIMUS, GAVE UP HIS ENTIRE LIFE, HIS FREE WILL TO GIVE YOU SAFETY AND A HOME! He keeps Unicron from finding you and doing you in. Yet, you seem to think that We owe you something. All you owe Us and each other is love. LOVE AND GRATITUDE! Perhaps if you had all practiced those two simple love-based things it would have been different."
"You have done a dangerous thing making some less worthy than others. It makes murder easier," Solus said. She shrank down to their size, then walked toward the group. They went to their knees, the Functionalists and the civilians. The others were too overwhelmed to move. "It grieves Me most deeply, a despair that crushes My spark that you would do and believe what you maintain. Babies came to Us. Babies, children, sub adults, adults, and elders, entire generations of families … they came to Us bewildered. They had no idea what had happened to them at first. They came and We comforted them. It took a while for them to understand that they were as loved by Us and by The One as anyone else. They were beloved and comforted.
"Now, Our brother, Optimus had to sit in judgment over your deeds. He was given the choice about what to do with all of you. He has passed judgment on the twelve but not the rest. He knows this is deeply important and that what happens here will have repercussions in the timeline beyond just you. We are here to weigh in which is Our duty and responsibility given the gravity of the offenses. When its Megatron's turn, it shall happen again. For now, We have to decide about you," she said as she looked at the Functionalists.
They, at last, looked afraid and some of them fell to their knees. Solus turned to the others, then returned to their size, a good 50 feet. They were silent, their optics boring a hole through the miscreants and the terrified civilians who were also standing there. Prima looked at Hard Drive. "General, you and your bond, Delphi, have been judges, those who sought to moderate the problems following the first war. What are your thoughts about this? We trust and applaud your wisdom. That and all of the exempts present."
Hercy and Kup stared at the apparitions before them silently. Millions of years of hardship and effort seemed to weigh them, then lifted up as they watched Hard Drive consider their request in off line conference with Delphi. They both looked up at the gods and goddess who were watching them with varying degrees of attention and amusement. "We're honored to see this moment. You're the very essence of who we are and strive to become. We uphold the Prime. Optimus Prime is an honorable mech, the very epitome of service and courage. We stand by the Prime, Great Ones."
Delphi nodded.
Prima considered that. Then he looked at Optimus. "We feel your verdict is just but We also feel that the service in stasis would be less educational than other things We can do. We are setting aside your verdict, brother. " He turned to look at the Functionalists. "We are going to take you back, all of you. You are a continuing danger to all that exists and you do not have a basic understanding of the magnitude of the debt you owe. We will recall you now." With that, Prima raised his hand toward them and the Functionalists began to fade away. In seconds, they were gone.
Prime stared at the spot, then the Pantheon. "Where are they?" he asked.
It was eerie how silent it was, then Prima spoke. "We have recalled them to the Matrix. They are in need of appropriate educational reformatting. Their crimes are too big for them to stay with you. We will take care of them and show them the right path for all of Us, the one that is paved with love and mutual respect. They will get another life at some point when its clear that they understand their links to others." He looked at the 22 who froze with fright. "As for you, what do you choose for them, Optimus?"
Optimus stared at them, then the Pantheon. "They have children. They were worker bees. They made no decisions themselves. I am in a quandary to decide."
"Then allow Us for you," Prima said. He raised his servo and they were gone. He looked at Prime. "When they show Us that they understand the right path toward others, We will return them. The length of time they are gone is in their servos."
Prime nodded, then bowed. "Thank you, Lord Prima."
Micronus who was standing beside Onyx grinned slightly. "What about these mechs, Prima?" he asked as he pointed to Lucien, Traachon, Keystock, a frozen Waldeen, and Cargo.
Prima grinned mirthlessly as he looked at them with his penetrating gaze. "Yes," he murmured. "What about them ..."
As He did, another mech walked from the sea. Prime who turned to look bent to a knee and bowed his helm. "Lord Primus," he whispered.
-0-TBC 2-21-18 EDITED 2-21-18