The Diego Diaries: Glimmer (dd7 71)
=0=Exit stage left
They stood on the sidewalk shooting the slag, then began disperse. Ratchet headed toward the Processor Hospital to do his check ups and see if there was anything there that required his assistance. He was also going to check out Pico and Carbide for release to Hardie and Raptor. They were going to take them in and help them sort out their situations now that things had changed.
He ambled in, passed security and the front desk, then went upward to the data center. He found an open station, then considered a thought that was germinating in his mind for some time. He began to pull up names.
Sio.
Sunee.
Lucien and Laslo.
Turquoise and Copperton.
He went through his databanks until he had the files of nearly 20 families and their biographies from the olden days on Cybertron. A swift search by Teletraan brought that up and something else, the registry information for each of them through the Heraldry Society of Cybertron. It was a huge database of family genealogies that the hoi-poloi kept to show their line of family descent. Apparently, it was a thing. It was also good for business and tax evasion since doing this sort of thing promoted one and eliminated a lot of the other.
Ratchet grinned. He knew his tree and none of them were gold plated. However, all of them were hardworking and decent so for him he won the CNA lottery. Sitting back, he began to formulate data, then called for a number of individuals to come have a chat. They would include Jarro, Rung and Turquoise.
=0=Half a joor later in a conference room in the Processor Hospital
They gathered there, the four of them and greeted each other. Ratchet spread out his data pads, linked into a monitor and pulled up a screen. "Thanks for coming. I read somewhere or heard someone mention something that sparked an avenue of inquiry that none of us have discussed before. I want to show you preliminary information and ask a few questions. If you don't want to answer them because they're personal, that's okay. Hear me out."
The three nodded.
"I was thinking about Sentinel and how his was a dynastic family. He came from wealth and was highly networked into all of the biggest, richest and most powerful families. Guess how many dynastic bonds there were in his family tree," Ratchet said with a grin.
Everyone glanced at each other, then Ratchet. Turquoise spoke. "Two or three?"
"Actually, there were eleven," Ratchet said.
Even Turquoise was shocked. "I never met anyone who had more than two or at least would fess up to anymore than that. I have one in my family tree and I know that Copperton has two. But eleven?" he asked with surprise.
Ratchet nodded. "I've been collating and mining data here regarding the number and kinds of dynastic bonds there are in the upper castes. I don't have any of that in my family and you seldom find it outside of a few Stanix clans that do it. But its pretty common in the high castes. I've dug out a representative group and need to know more because it might be the start of an idea that could lead to better treatments of some of our patients."
The three nodded.
"I've pulled Proteus and Madura, you, Turquoise and Copperton, Hobbes and Edict, Vinn and Joon, Decimus and his family and several others. Neo and Laret are included. These are the number of dynastic bonds in each family. Proteus had three, Madura had none. Turquoise, you said two for Copperton and one for you," Ratchet said as Turquoise nodded. "There are six for Hobbes and none for Edict, Neo had three, Laret had one, Decimus had twelve and his bond none." He read out four more names, then sat back.
"That's intriguing, Ratchet. What are you getting at?" Jarro asked.
"When the twins bonded with Blue, they had Kaon pretty quick. There was a question of whether close bonds, incest if you will, would be a problem. But for them, a split spark twin … no. They have identical CNA, thus the CNA was simple and binary. However, I'm curious what part the bonds of these individuals have on the outcomes in their families of impacted children," Ratchet said.
He glanced at Turquoise who as a geneticist and code reader got it right away. "Your family is included as a control. So are Neo and Laret. The others have had difficulty with their ability to accept the paradigm and some of them have children here. I want to know if the CNA pools plumbed and created have played a factor in that."
Turquoise considered that. "Our outcomes genetically are not random. They pretty much follow family programming. I can have a son, design his protoform and behaviorally make him into a functional individual or not, but the idea of the families crossing over and creating perhaps problems by doing so is something I've never heard discussed."
"Perhaps the stranglehold that the high castes had on things kept that bit of business from being pursued. It would adversely impact them if it was. Did you find any studies in your searching?" Jarro asked.
Ratchet shook his helm. "No. There were vague inquiries here and there but nothing in the big mainframes or anywhere else both here and on Cybertron," Ratchet replied.
"Then it beggars two possibilities," Rung said. "Either it was known but quashed for obvious reasons or it wasn't. Perhaps this is a new line of inquiry, Ratchet."
"It might be. Most of the dynastic bonds among those with high numbers of them were from the same general families. They were spaced apart but they were made over and over with the same CNA lines. It might be that we're looking at CNA damage that's producing individuals like Sunee and Sio. Maybe if we understand this we can treat it at the source and not in the processor where the end up is inevitable. Maybe we're treating them in the wrong ways," Ratchet said.
It was silent a moment, then Turquoise leaned closer. "I will offer my services to read the code if you can get it to me. I want to figure this out. There are too many high castes like Decimus who don't seem to be able to comprehend that reality isn't what they say was but rather what it actually is. I know that Edict and Hobbes miss their son and feel like they let him down. If this turns out to be so, then they might feel a lifting of burden."
Ratchet nodded. "I also think there's a major study involved with the siblings of such individuals to see where one went wrong and the others didn't. We might want to nip this in the bud medically as some of them are bonding themselves and the inevitability of children make this urgent. We need to solve this before it continues to perpetuate."
"If this can't be done, solving it that is … then at least we have another window into their thinking and make up," Rung said.
Ratchet nodded. "I want Traachon and Waldeen … Millow as well out of here and on their way to happiness, whatever that might mean to them."
They spent a joor going over the procedures and plans, then broke up to get on with it. Ratchet walked to the sun room on the seventh floor, then sat down next to Waldeen. He took Waldeen's servo into his own. "Good morning. You look fit and well."
Waldeen who had come to expect Ratchet leaned against his shoulder. "I feel better. The game was great last night," he said.
Ratchet grinned. They would sit and talk for a while, then Ratchet would journey onward. Waldeen was actually making improvements. Ratchet would see if they could be more and frequent. Their names were on the list as well.
=0=On a street corner
They peppered him with questions as he waited for the lights with Halo and Hero in cute gear sitting on his arm. He'd lifted them from family for their 'Sunday Soiree' which meant riding on the trains underground then taking a ride in a caboose on a train from the Industrial Parks that ran above ground to all the cities. It was becoming a hoot for the locals to sit on or sneak onto the caboose when they could. Plans were in place to make a passenger train for that purpose. It would be another means of transportation for the colony.
"So you're going to be on a football team, too?" a youngling mech asked with great excitement as he walked across the street at the light change. Several others were with him and they had gathered to discuss championship basketball as well as the new football expansion with a major player.
"The Crater Comets," Ironhide said as they walked to the Metro that would lead to the private lines that Munitions used underground. "We're going to win that one, too."
The kids laughed. "I want to play football."
"Have you tried rugby? That's a mech's sport," Ironhide said. "Or maybe you can organize a civilian team league, you know, like the little kids have. I'd go to the games."
They slowed, then halted as they gathered around Ironhide again. "Who do we ask?" one of them said.
"Ask Password. Go to the League HQ at the public arena and tell him Ironhide sent you," he said with a grin.
The kids glanced at each other, then smiled. "THANKS!" they said, then fled down the street to go to the Arena District.
The three watched them go, then Hero looked at Ironhide. "Atar, will they play football?"
"I think so," Ironhide said as he grinned at his little femmes.
"I want to play football," Hero said with a big smile.
"Then you will, Princess," Ironhide said with conviction.
"ATAR! LOU I GO DOIN'?" Halo asked.
Ironhide chuckled. "Sure," he said as he continued onward. They would go down to the heavy security entrance, enter, hop a flatbed, then ride it to the Industrial Park Cities miles away. They would have a blast doing it, too.
The kids would get their league.
=0=Elsewhere
"AMMA!"
"WHAT!?"
Orion laughed. "Amma, lou doin' cookies?"
Turbine stared down at the living image of his son and grandson. He was awash with love once more. "I do."
"AMMA, I, ORION LOVE LOU!" Orion tackled his ankles.
Turbine laughed. "I, Amma love lou, too, pudding."
"Amma, Poo-Poo a cow." He exaggerated the 'ow' in cow to get it out, then laughed. "I, ORION SAYED POO-POO! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
Turbine stared at the cackling twinkly opticed little pirate who brought back endless memories of another little pirate from long ago. They had all had a hand in raising each generation of kids from Raptor down to the current crop of shorties. Being around them was intoxicating. "You sayed poo-poo?"
Orion hugged himself, then nodded. "I DOED! I SAYED POO-POO! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!"
"Well, that means we have to tell everyone. Come with me," Turbine said as he walked into the office of their apartment. Raptor was getting lunch for them and would be back soon. He sat, then parked Orion on the desktop. He stood beside his Amma as Turbine dialed in family.
"Hardie here. Where are you, Turbine, and why do you have my squeezy toy?" he asked. He was at the dojo with his brothers shooting the breeze with the geezers.
"I have him. He has a thing to tell you, right, baby MINE? Turbine asked pointedly.
Sitting in the dojo with a big crew of (worshipful) young to (mellow) old, everyone watched the monitor on the wall nearby. Turbine was sitting in his office and a twinkling smiling little Ironhide dollie was standing on top of the desk staring at them with delight.
"Orion, you should come to me," Hardie said with a grin.
Orion stared at him, then Turbine. That was when he started to walk to the edge to either jump down to find Appa or fall off.
Turbine caught him, kissed him, then set him back. "Appa has to wait his turn. Tell him what you told me, imp."
Orion smiled at him, then the punters on the screen.
Raptor stepped into view next to him but Orion didn't see him yet. Raptor grinned at his father, then the baby who was cackling.
"APPA! I SAYED TO COME TO AMMA! I SAYED TO AMMA COOKIES! THEN I SAYED TO AMMA POO-POO!" It was then that he lost it, fell backward laughing and was caught by Turbine. "I SAYED POO-POO! BWAHAHAHAHA!"
Raptor grinned at his father, then Orion. "Pup is a caution."
Everyone in the dojo who was laughing, nodded.
"He's mine. I want you to know that little fact," Springer said as Drift nodded.
"Come on over and join us," Sun said as he laughed. "Bring the shortie. We can show him some moves."
"That's what he needs," Turbine said. "More moves."
They signed off, glanced at each other, then head for the dojo for the fun.
=0=TBC 6-27-19
:D This CNA thread is from a reader with a good idea. HUZZAH to the readers!
:D:D:D