Matrix Chronicles: Ghosts Chapter 2: From the Notes of Dr H M Malchi, a transformers/beast wars fanfic

TFE

Notes Excript (c8)

Excerpt from the Notes of Dr. H. M. Malchi

As someone who studies both Human Behavior and the Mind, I find myself quite interested in how easily these alien beings can be identified with common human personality traits. It is remarkable really, how very human a 30 foot tall robot can seem.

The one who calls himself 'Jazz' has been of great interest to all of us. His friendly and outgoing nature has made him the most presentable of the robots. He has never turned down a single one of our questions, and indeed, seems interested in learning as much about us as we do about him. He describes himself as a culturalist, and has infatuated himself with our culture, thanks in no small part to the efforts of one Chris Johnson. The two have become close friends, sharing a love of both thrills and music. Jazz in particular has learned to identify himself closely with music, especially that of the 'Jazz' era from where he took his name, though he enjoys almost any modern, or, as he would say 'hip' music just as much.

His close companion Crosswise is an altogether different case. We were very interested to learn that these robots identify themselves with gender, and through our queries, they don't seem to notice that thought much at all. We've learned through them that there is no attempt at 'biological' reproduction among the species, and that for the most part, feminine traits are just part of an individual robots character - there is no real gender as we know it, just robots who choose to identify themselves as such. They have told us, however, that when a new robot is 'born' (a concept they refuse to elaborate on), two robots (often a 'male' and a 'female') will assign themselves to be the primary caretakers for the new life - a sort of universal adoption policy. These bonds are often made far in advance, and are usually forged through mutual friendship. Love, as we may call it, is a foreign concept to them. That isn't to say they don't experience a love for each other, or a love for certain pursuits, but no romantic relationships exist. The closest example we have of the mutual friendship relation is Jazz's closeness to Crosswise, who are close friends, but again, not romance as we would realize it.

Crosswise has been moth helpful with understand this concept, but her primary love is that of our human history. She has told us that she believes that any culture can best be understood through its actions and art, and has focused her studies appropriately. Curiously enough, she doesn't recall any of her own history, an effect of the memory loss that has affected all of them in varying amounts. However, she is more then eager to replace the loss of her home's history with Earths.

Jazz and Crosswise's friendly nature is shared in a slightly different way with Evac, who seems to act as their leader. A bit larger then the other three, Evac engages solely on a personal level. He quickly forms close attachments and forgoes making many friends, instead forming close relationships with very few. In particular, he's developed a mutual admiration with the young Michelle Renolds. Their infatuation with each other is curious, to say the least. I'm hesitant to call it love, but the friendship goes far deeper then just a casual relationship. Evac gets depressed whenever she fails to show up in the morning, and she too seems morose when she is not allowed to see him. To keep Evac happy and helpful, we are forced to allow them to be together as often as possible, much to the dismay of the higher ups.

Besides his relationship with Michelle, Evac carries with him a deep conviction within himself to respect all life. We witnessed him go out of his way to protect a falcon that had flown into the base, and personally escort the creature from the base, which was a rather humorous sight indeed.

The fourth member has been most unhelpful. She seems to suffer from some sort of phobia- or rather, an intense dislike of humans. Hightail is small (less then 10 feet), quiet, and very shy. We believe her to be approximate in mental age to a human teenager, though her complete unwillingness to talk around other humans hinders any progress with her. She refuses to speak to a human alone, and rarely talks to one, even with the others of her kind around. In fact, she'll rarely speak to them, as it appears she is disappointed with their fondness for humans. If she does talk, it's often to Evac, the only one she really seems to have any real fondness for. She is an outcast, due to the fact that while all have memories of each other, no-one seems to remember her, and she only remembers Evac. Why this is, we cannot begin to imagine. Perhaps her memory banks were damaged far worse then the others, or perhaps there is some psychological barrier caused by a traumatic experience that blocks them from her, and her from them.

The last and final member is so utterly different, that we are forced to consider him a different species. Omega Supreme was unable to assume any Earthen alt mode, even in the prehistoric times. The one time he transformed, he showed off an ancient looking vaguely train-like alternate form, far longer then he is tall. This shows that they maintained their alternate modes, even on their home planet. He also has different interior workings and internal structure then the others, being far more simplistic in design and structure. He seems to be a very ancient mechanoid, far older then the others. He is imbued with great strength, and some strange energy-based weaponry which he refuses to demonstrate to us, so the nature and function of these are completely unknown.

Personality wise, he is quiet, rarely speaking at all to anyone. He often assumes a single position, and will remain there motionless for hours upon hours at a time. These habits might cause one to think him dumb, but on the rare occasions when he does speak, that notion is quickly dispelled. He is articulate and sophisticates, it just seems he has nothing to say to anyone. When questioned, he will answer some questions in brief answers, and ignore others he feels are inappropriate, or unwilling to answer. Occasionally, a question will get a full and detailed response, and surprise even us. The only other trait he exhibits is his extreme loyalty to the others of his party. He will make systematic check-ups on them all, to make sure everyone is functional and in good condition. In particular, he shows a deep loyalty to Evac, far surpassing any others. He will do whatever Evac asks, even telling us things that he would refuse to tell earlier without his direction.

There is so much more for us to learn. Never before has humanity had such a wonderful opportunity. It is remarkable and fortunate that our first true contact with an alien race could be so successful. We have learned much, but we still have much more to learn from our guests. Hopefully, they will be here long enough to expand our knowledge even broader.

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