The Diego Diaries: What Now (dd8 130)
=0=There
It was morning and the dawn was coming up bright and warm. The mechs had worked from the moment the ships settled in the meadow nearby trying to figure out what the story was about this place. Food and drink had been sent to them as everyone else settled to relax. Until they knew more they would have to bide their time.
"When are we going to send another message, Raptor?" Will Lennox said as he sat on a stone eating his meal prepared by simply opening the container. It was delicious as well given that the chefs and dietitians of the habitats had designed the meals and the bots the containers.
"About 1200," Raptor said. "I want to give the scientists the time to get this sorted more."
"What do you think it is? Have you ever seen this type of thing before?" Niall Graham asked as he sipped his coffee.
"I've seen this sort of thing but we almost always found the cause right away. It was usually some sort of mechanical device, a machine set up to defend a place or something that was running a long time, got sentient, then struck out on its own," Raptor replied.
"Machines can get sentient by themselves?" Corey McFarlane asked with surprise.
Raptor nodded. "Give a good system enough time and energy, they can do anything. That's not how we started but we know how things can become self aware. Ratchet's genitors do that every orn with the things they make. You can do it if you know how but its very, very rare in my experience. Mostly, things become sentient on their own." He glanced at the humans. "The ability to coax life into inanimate things is a rare and incredibly powerful thing. That's why Ratchet's genitors are so very special. Among other things."
"I wonder how they do that?" Trevor Smith asked. "I go there and watch them. I don't understand the NeoCybex much though."
"It isn't NeoCybex, the part that makes life come to the weapons and tools," Raptor replied. "Its a very special variant of Primal Vernacular, the kind that the priests use around the Allspark. Its so old and complex that only a few remember it. Turbine knows them all including that one. The one that Tie and Ravel know … even Ratchet, is enough to get the attention of The Powers who grant the sentience. That's a very old and holy dialect."
"Not many speak it then?" Olivia Boles asked with a sense of awe in her voice.
"No. You could probably count all of them on two hands," Raptor replied. "I know some very old stuff, code talk its called that the original Cybertronians used around the Quintessans before they could develop themselves and make languages like NeoCybex and Simkeen. My genitors used it when I was young and hot blooded teenager to say what they wanted without me knowing it. I learned a bit of it but not enough not to get grounded a lot." He chuckled. "My genitors speak the first language we ever had, the code talk. Primal Vernacular is older but we weren't using it until Guardian was Prime when they used it for the ceremonial stuff. The people wanted ceremony, the sense of being one."
"It sounded amazing," Olivia said with a sigh. "I think I'd like to talk to them. I'm taking some classes at University that discuss this a little. I don't know if they would talk to me about it but I would love to hear something of those times."
"Ask. You never know," Raptor said with a grin. He liked Olivia Boles a lot. Her reputation among The People was stellar and her husband was coming along nicely, too. "My genitors believe that things must be remembered and learned or they happen again."
"They do," Trevor said with a sigh. "We never seem to learn on Earth."
"You're young and tough. You will," Raptor said. "You have to start somewhere."
"So you think its a machine?" Niall asked.
"No," Raptor said. "This hasn't got a machine-like sensibility to me. I don't know what it is but I'll be terribly surprised if this is mechanical."
Ratchet sauntered in, then sat on a stone. "My, don't you look handsome. The light is playing off Ebio's digit just right on your left finial there, Raptor."
Raptor preened just so. "When you got it, meaning his fingers, then you have to flaunt it."
"That's right," Niall said with a laugh. "You broke off his fingers, then had them made into embellishments for your finials. I heard about that."
"Damn," Will said. "That must have hurt."
"I don't know. I didn't hear a sound but … meep … gurgle," Ratchet replied with his best smile.
Huge laughter and much admiring later, they were joined by Perceptor. He sat, then everyone gave him all their attention.
"What's the word, Percy?" Raptor asked as he caught a beer mix from Sunstreaker who joined them.
"We've eliminated mechanical means, General," Perceptor said in his elegant voice. "Its not like anything we've ever seen. We can't pinpoint any location for the energy that's causing this. The surrounding area is devoid of very much that could even be considered possible."
It was silent a moment as everyone thought, then Lissie leaned forward. "What if it isn't machines or other. What sort of things live here? Do we know?" she asked.
"We need a survey as far as we can reach. I do believe that the Seekers flying around the world even at low altitudes will result in concussions," Steiner said with a grin. "What about sending a shuttle on remote? Maybe it can pierce the domes."
"If it doesn't then some of us have to walk back," Ratchet said. "We do have a good bead on the local area out some distance. Plants, insects, small fish in the streams and a few bird species seem to be what's dominant here."
"What kind of plants, etc?" Raptor asked.
"Mushroom species, that sort of thing. Lots of flowers, some of them big but most small/ There's small fish that appear to be simple in development but beautifully colored and lots of flying insects especially different kinds of butterflies and bees, a sort of bee. Its very bucolic and peaceful here," Perceptor said. "I find it very restful."
"What about the footprint of the colony? The other group as well? Is there anything there about both that might give a clue? We were pulled down here and here specifically," Lissie asked.
"That's a new trail," Perceptor said. "I want to send up a drone to test the parameters of our energetic cage. I'll do that now and see what scans I can get away with. Come with me, Ratchet. I could use your help."
Ratchet rose, then the two walked off together.
The others watched them go.
"Well, it would seem that this puzzle is not letting up on us. This is going to be a very strange nut to crack," Jessie Landon said.
Raptor glanced at her, then grinned. "Or not."
=0=At the other encampment of the 200
They stared at the newcomers through the energy field that had held them prisoner for about 200 human years. The newcomers were Autobots and they were telling the gathered about the colony that Optimus Prime had developed, the taking and remaking of Cybertron and how good life would be when they left here. They listened hungrily, asking good questions and telling everything that they could even guess at about this place.
"Its a good place but we want to go home to be with our own," a big mech said as the others nodded.
"Then you haven't had negative experiences with this place itself … just the others?" Canry asked. He was a science tech from Percy's group.
"No. Just them. But mostly each side ignores the other. There's long stretches where we don't have anything to do with each other," the big mech said.
"And when you do?" Canry asked.
"Sometimes the younger members of that group like to come and heckle us. We ignore them and I think that bothers them worse than if we argued back," the big mech said as the others nodded. "We don't want to fight with anyone. We just want to go home."
Canry nodded. "I know. Thank you. If anyone thinks of anything, no matter how far fetched, let me know. Okay?"
"We will," the big mech said.
Canry walked back but the youngling soldiers with the others stayed to talk a while. It was incredibly pleasant at the meeting site in the forest.
=0=In a Sciences Shuttle
"Well, that's interesting. The birds appear to congregate near the equator," Ratchet said. "They don't seem many here and they're like hummingbirds, the kind that eat nectar and little else. Pretty little things."
Perceptor nodded. "There are no predators here but for among the insects, fish and birds. Those eat smaller versions of themselves. Plants live in profusion and they're very interesting and some beautiful. It's a garden world, a plant dominated domain. I am at a loss to figure this out."
Ratchet nodded. "I can only guess myself."
"What do you guess, Ratchet?" Perceptor asked.
Ratchet considered his possibilities, then told Perceptor.
=0=Home, Ops Center
Joe Bowers, John Fulton and Ron Witwicky sat on the center command console of the Secondary Operational Center at The Fortress. Around them bots worked, some of them coming and going from different places as they brought data or took it to solve their piece of the puzzle. It was interesting to all of them how they weren't more worried than they were. The competence around them was reassuring.
:This won't take a lot of time. The smartest bots are there figuring this out: Ron said.
:I think so: John Fulton said. :I wonder what we have to say, if anything, about this when they get back:
:We'll have a meeting in Glenn's office, then meet with Optimus. It might just be that this is a day trip that got out of hand and nothing more: Joe Bowers said.
The other two nodded, then glanced at the command chair nearby where Prowl and Prime were sitting. A message was coming through.
=0=There
They sat side-by-side on the shuttle. The message was a short one, recorded to give confidence about progress than actual answers. "Hi, Prowler. It's us. We've been doing research on the area and talking to the other group here who've been here about 200 Earth years. There's very little mixing between groups and mostly they're as clueless as us.
"However, I have a theory and nothing more. I'm not even sure how to test this," Ratchet said as Percy nodded solemnly beside him. "We've been thinking its machinery or even a planetary attribute developed for self protection, perhaps placed here to make sure no one comes or if they do they're corralled into a small space. This might be someone's dream toy."
"It could be that its being protected for its sheer beauty and bio-diversity," Perceptor said. "Or perhaps its a greenhouse for plants and small lifeforms to be reseeded on other worlds like sometimes happens. It could mean that they will come to check on their garden or not. I lean toward not. Sometimes things in such scenarios are left a very long time alone to develop."
"Then again, what if something that lives here can do this? It can spot danger and neutralize it before it becomes a problem. What if the mechanism is some kind of group consciousness, a group or hive mind here on the planet? There's very little non-plant life here, just simple versions of fish and birds. What made me think it could be this sort of thing is that almost all the bird life here congregates around the equator but for non-threatening birds in this zone that appear to be like hummingbirds on Earth."
"If that's so, and we're speculating because of a lack of ability to gather data, then something here, some planet or animal utilizes a hive or group mind or consciousness to live in harmony together. Since birds can fly anywhere, why aren't those at the equator? Why are they congregated far south of here almost exclusively in that region? The birds that live here are harmless to anything but the nectar of flowers," Perceptor said.
"We have to discover, if we can what life form here is capable of generating a group consciousness, a hive mind that can defend itself even into space. It would also be a good idea to understand that such a thing would be a terrible enemy to make," Ratchet said grimly.
It was silent in the Ops Center as they listened.
=0=TBC 4-4-2021
ESL
sentient: (sen-tee-ent) alive
sentience: (sen-tee-ensss) self awareness