The Diego Diaries: Ascension (dd6 280)
-0-On a silvery beach
It was as if time didn't exist. It was as if all that was real anywhere before was captured and contained only in this small beautiful space. The greatest among them short of the Creator Energy Itself, The One or Prime Source was coming from the sea. Silvery liquid slid off His glittering armor. He walked toward them with light streaming from His very Essence, the light of love and creation, that which was His very core. He had silvery armor, a sort of quicksilver, unlike anything anyone of the group watching had seen short of Optimus. Light seemed to surround and suffuse Him as He walked toward them. He was astonishingly beautiful, the most beautiful mech any of them had ever seen. Yet, the greatest feature of His Presence was the enormity of the love that He projected to everyone there. It was a encapsulating gentleness akin to that of His Blessing. The sound of the sea and their own movements seemed to be sucked away. It was as still and silent as vacuum.
He paused with His own first creations, the Greatness of Cybertron, the gods and goddess who He had left to carry the battle forward when it was finally clear to Him that He and Unicron, the One Who Must Not Be Named, were too evenly matched to settle the dispute one way or the other. They nodded respectfully to Him and He nodded back. Then He turned toward Optimus. "Rise, my son. I am well pleased with you."
Optimus stood, his gaze fixed on the intensely blue optics of Primus, the god of his youth, the inspiration of his life, the guardian of his interminably difficult and fated role as Prime, and the very ground beneath his peds. "Lord Primus, I am filled with joy at Your appearance. I have had a difficult decision that required the assistance of the Others. That You would come as well to deliver wisdom to us who need it is a blessing." He bowed low and the others did, too.
Primus grinned. "You have such greatness in you, Optimus Prime. It is a virtue in you that you bear such humility when you also bear such gifts. You are beloved to Me. I am so pleased with you. You never gave up. You try to find the good in all things and you defend often to your own detriment those who need you and are shirked by others. The System of Exception did not break you or your remarkable genitors who We love greatly as well. They gave you all the virtues and none of the disadvantages that others have in abundance." He turned to look at the others.
"General Hard Drive and Commander Delphi … Commander Hercy and Commander Kup. Those of you who serve in the Temple and the Monasteries … those of you who have dedicated yourself to the truth and to The People, I commend you. I believe in you and hold you dear." He looked at Neo who was trembling. She sunk to her knees. "Stand, Neo of Iacon. You have changed your path and for that I have only gratitude. You cannot hide your spark. I know you for your true self and its beautiful to Me."
Neo stood, then stumbled forward. She reached out to touch his ped, then embraced it. "I love you so. I am so sorry. I love you so much."
Prima leaned down, then touched her gently with a digit. "I know," he said softly. He looked at the others. "Heatout, Chrome, Alpha ... brother ..." He grinned at Alpha and Alpha grinned back. Primus glanced at the others. "Lauren, friend … I hear your prayers as I hear all of them from everyone no matter where they are in this or any other universe. I give you My love back."
They bowed deeply, some falling to their knees as Alpha walked forward. "There, there, Neo. All is well," he said as the two embraced.
Primus grinned, then looked at the others. Wirelite who was smiling beautifully, Chromo who was holding her hand, Lesto and 24 who were holding each other in a mixture of fright and overwhelming disbelief, Alejate and Elba who were holding servos, all of them stood as statues, their optics fixed on the figure before them. Cezr who was smiling brilliantly at the god who was his personal favorite gripped Elba's servo. This was their very creator and the love of his life behind Micronus, of course.
Mini-cons forever.
"You are My beloveds. Your service to me in my joor of greatest need was noted and I am in your debt. There is no greater love than to put yourself into harms way for another. You have courage, all of you, and My Blessing." He looked at 24 and Lesto. "You are as dear to me as Optimus Prime. You must believe that and live it. What you know and believe are lies. Let others give you back your truth. Then you must help the others, especially the families of the 22, but do it as a full equal in the optics of The One. We will ever be beside you."
The two nodded even as they clung to each other.
Primus looked at still more of them, going around the gathering as if to see them fully and take their measure. Coln-2, Blackstone, Barron, and their assistants were standing in an awestruck group, rooted to the ground. He grinned at them. "Be at ease," he said gently. Then he grinned again. "Ratchet … welcome. Your family as well," he said as he looked at Ironhide, Blackjack and Raptor. "Rung, Springer and Drift, welcome. Your diligence to The People is not overlooked nor is the long convoluted path you took to get there. It brings Me great happiness to see good will and love granted to others. We all are one. That is Our creed and Our deepest prayer."
Drift was mesmerized into immobility. Springer was stunned. Then he shifted. "Uh, we try hard, sir," he said as everyone laughed.
Primus grinned at him. "I have noticed you fall off your horse sometimes. Nothing is too small for Me to worry about."
Springer blinked in surprise. "I'll try harder."
Laughter filled the space and the air felt lighter. Then Primus turned to the civilians. Waldeen was a pillar, standing frozen in space, rigid even from the moment they had arrived. Not even the Primes walking from the sea nearby had moved him from the intensity of his fright. The other four were on the edge of fritzing out. Traachon fell to the ground and pressed himself against the sand. Lucien and Keystock stepped back, tripped, then sat hard. Cargo slowly eased to the ground to sit with his arms wrapped around himself. "You appear to be ill at ease."
None of them replied.
"I am disappointed in you, that you would hold yourself better than others. Cezr was a slave and he showed courage and a desire for freedom for all. Your actions have undercut his sacrifices. You have undercut everyone your entire lives and that of your ancestors to the detriment of Myself. It lead to the inevitable, civil war. You didn't listen. I have suffered enormously. My body is broken and cast apart. I suffer. Do you understand?"
Lucien stared at him, then rose shakily. "Lord Primus … we didn't … we … we didn't ..."
"You did," Primus interjected. "You broke Me on the wheel of your indifference, greed, self worship, and bigotry. You seem to believe that you are by virtue of your existence better than anyone else here. You have heard their tales. You have seen their dignity and courage. Some serve all of Us with their whole sparks. The smallest child anywhere by anyone is a part of Me. You are a part of Me. I feel all of your pains, triumphs and tragedies because you come from ME. I come from The One directly and it is MY responsibility to create you. The Matrix is the gateway to The One but it GOES THROUGH ME!
"You do understand now, don't you, that you cannot take the Matrix from whom I give It freely, nor do you own It or have special knowledge about It. You do not have the smallest concept of what It is, what It can do or where It reaches. It is the property of Optimus until We call it back and I will tell you directly, We have no desire nor will We in any future you wish to concoct of doing that. He is Dear to Me, he is The One Who Comes. He is the one who was prophesied. Of all the concepts that you will learn from your encounter with Us in this moment, that is the only one you will not take back with you. It is enough to tell you now and know you understand what We assert and demand. We give you the right to learn it all over again back in the world so that you understand on your own what We require.
"Optimus Prime is the One Who Comes.
"There is no hierarchy anywhere. Even in the Matrix. No one is better, higher, more exalted, nor more deserving of anything than any other. None of you are greater than Us, nor are We greater than you. We all come from the same source, from The One. All of Us are part of Him seeking experiences in the Creation that He has wrought. For you to assume hierarchy is to blaspheme the love and connection that keeps all of everything in balance. There is an attachment unseen from you to Us and to everything else no matter how large or small, how defenseless or powerful, how whole or broken, how close or far away, nor how wise or unwise they may be that makes Us all one. It is the bond of love and commitment that The One makes to ALL of Us that we are never alone, that we are never disconnected from Him or His unconditional love. If you feel differently, its because YOU believe that you are alone. You have forgotten that and in your lazy ego-driven self love, you have laid waste to ME! TO MY VERY BODY!"
The place was deadly silent, the energy of the bots listening varying from amusement to outrage. Primus looked at the five. "You have no authority by right of birth over anyone else. You follow that practice at your peril. You have a duty to others of your thinking to disabuse them of it. Your happiness lies in the unity of all of Us, not in the unctuous luxury and smug elitism of the few. You will take care of this. I am the one who holds My brother at bay, He who would kill ALL of you without a thought. I do so through the WILLING sacrifice of My own life and desires. YOU WILL LEARN THIS HIGHER LEVEL IDEAL AND LIVE IT. IT IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT! REMEMBER IT AND PRACTICE IT! I would suggest that you use Optimus as a template. He is the epitome of dignity, wisdom and courage."
Primus looked at the group, nodding to Prowl with a grin. Prowl nodded back with a faintness of processor at the greatness around him, then Primus grinned. "You will now empty your carry holds."
For a moment, the shift was startling, all of them staring at Him with disconnect, then Ratchet turned toward Ironhide with a grin. "Empty your pockets, slagger."
"After you do it," Ironhide said with a frown.
Ratchet grinned, then reached in and set two little mechs on the ground.
Orion and Praxus looked up at him, then each other. "ADA! WHAT YOU? I, ORION, HERE! WHY YOU!?" Then he looked around, froze, then looked back at Praxus. "PAX! SEE THEM!? THEY MY SHES!" With that, he laboriously took Praxus by the hand, then headed toward Onyx and Micronus with all the boldness of a deeply loved child. He paused before the two behemoths, then smiled. "HI, SHE! YOU MY SHE!" he said, then turned toward Praxus who was smiling brilliantly as well. "I comed to there. I falleded in with Eemie. We go sploosh!" he said making arm motions that looked like a splash. Praxus who was listening with fascination was nodding. "We goed down to the place. We go boop," he said as he jolted himself. "I goed to Eemie … Eemie, you not doing. I, Orion, keeped you good. I good, you. I, Orion, doing dis," he said. He wrapped his arms around Praxus and Praxus returned the favor.
"You taked care of Mimi, Orion?" Praxus asked.
Orion who was as oblivious to where they were and who was with them nodded to an equally oblivious Praxus. "I doed," he said with a nod. He then turned toward Onyx. "I sayed dis to my she … YOU! SHE! YOU NOT DOING TO EEMIE! I, ORION, BOOP YOU! I POW-POW YOU!" He glanced at Praxus. "I doed dis," he said, then launched into most of what was his dojo kata. He kicked and punched, whirling in a twirly mix up as he improvised and embellished his 'battle with the She' like all little kids do. He stumbled to a stop, then walked to Onyx's ped and pow-powed him. Stepping back, wringing his servo from the pain of hitting a force of nature, he glanced at Praxus. "I did that. I told my she, I, Orion, taked care of Eemie." He looked at his servo. "Owie."
It was as if the spell was broken as the adults, Pantheon and otherwise laughed. Onyx bent down and touched Orion's little servo. The pain disappeared. "Is that better, my friend?" he asked with a slight grin.
"I GOOD! I, ORION, GOOD, SHE! I LOVE YOU, SHE! YOU MY SHE!" he said, then glanced at Micronus who was howling with laughter. "I LOVE YOU, SHE! YOU MY SHE!?" he asked as he took Praxus by the servo.
"I am. I think We all are, Orion," Micronus said as the others nodded around their grins.
"This my she, Pax. He good. My she good," Orion said calmly as he glanced at his brother. Praxus for his part grinned back.
"There are more," Primus chided.
Holds opened as infants appeared. Hard Drive grinned at Primus. "What genitor or grand genitor wouldn't want their infants to see You?"
Primus grinned as the children began to appear. "I can see your point."
Prima appeared out of Prowl's hold with Sojourner and Solus. Hard Drive delivered Scout, Hero and Prowler. The twins appeared out of the hold of Delphi and ran to the other babies who were congregating around Orion and Praxus. Ironhide pulled Halo out and held her up to Primus. "This is the new one."
Primus grinned. Then He shrank slowly until He was half the size he was coming out of the ocean. He was the size of a planet and they all knew He could be bigger but for now, He was the same size as them to enjoy the best part of their lives, the small children brought here 'surreptitiously'. "You do know that We knew they were here. Stealth is a moot point around Us."
The children stared at Him, feeling the incredible energy that He emitted, then ran almost as one toward Him. They gathered around His feet as He bent down to touch and pet them. "This is the best part of all. These are the flowers of Our communal garden. They are the future. None of them is lesser or more than anyone else."
"We would have brought them all but they wouldn't fit," Delphi said.
Primus chuckled, a soft beautiful sound, then He stood. "We have to change. You do have free will but there are actions that transgress My Will and that of The One who Is all and Ever Will Be. When that happens, We will step in. I decree from this point forward that systems of oppression that have laid waste to Our Peace and the lives of those who are dear to Us, Our most Beloved Children are forbidden. From now until time ends, We are in agreement."
The others nodded, then Primus looked at the children. "We have received too many of you at the Matrix door, so many without a chance to live, to love and experience all that life has to offer. It is unbearable to Me. Heed me well, my most Beloved Children. You are here to learn with all the others. This path is over."
Vector nodded as he held a device. "I agree," He said as He glanced at Primus, then the others. "I have looked down every path whereby the Functionalist and System advocates can take where they still live in the world and none of them end well. All of the ways forward hold many forks in the road. It is the way that life works. A path leads to choices, some taken by individuals and some by societies. All of them that hold these ideas ends in more mass murder and destruction. None of them are a good way forward and whatever lessons may be learned are not worth the death and terror. What say you, Brother?" Vector asked as he turned toward Onyx.
Onyx grew still a moment, then glanced at Vector. "I have seen the past. I have examined multitudinous futures where this cancer is allowed and none of them end well. I concur with you. Your future is now. You can choose another way. But the choice is yours. Know from both of Us that to continue in this vein is to invite ruin. Lord Primus has decreed. Heed it. Either way on every road lies two different fates. One is a future where children live and the other one is where they continue to die."
It was incredibly still, then the sound of a shutter was heard. Everyone turned toward it. Ratchet who was peering over the top of his camera smiled a weak smile. "Uh, I just … the family album?"
Solus smirked as the others laughed. "You are indomitable."
"I try," Ratchet said as he snapped a photo of Her beautiful face.
Primus laughed, then waved his servo. The last thing they saw before they were back in the courtroom was the beauty of the smile of Primus and the riotous laughing faces of everyone else.
-0-TBC 2-21-18 edited 2-22-18