The Diego Diaries: Matrix (dd7 333)
=0=There
It was silent a moment, a heavy kind of density of emotion. Then the youth stepped closer. "What is at the core of you, Optimus Prime?"
Optimus considered the question. "Hope," he said softly.
"And service?" the Matrix asked.
Prime nodded. "That, too."
"It defines you because to be a Prime is to heed a special desire. It is not a job, it is a calling. That is what separates every Prime between you and Guardian into a lesser category of being. Both of you understood your situation and acted upon it with wisdom and compassion. Having service to others as such a big part of who you are makes this true. Service to others is the highest form of love."
Prime considered that, then walked to a crate nearby to sit. He stared at the ground. "I have lived my life according to the principles of the elders of my family and the dictates of being a mech as I saw that to be. I do not see it as a simple thing, any of it nor do I believe I am as prepared as I wish to become. Too many came before me with all their problems and strengths, yet still we failed as a civilization. I have studied them and do not make the same mistakes."
"Many of them didn't make mistakes," the Matrix said as he sat down on a pile of bricks that were stacked next to him on the curb. "They made choices with their optics wide open. They knew what they did and how those choices would turn out. They did it anyway without caring about the consequences to others. That is why they are not remembered well, nor are they ever going to be. They were less than they were supposed to be by choice."
"This life is spark crushing. Look around you. This is what we bore. This was our fate. It takes more than many have to become whole in spite of this. I do not judge them because I know the obstacles and barriers to being happy and successful from this life. Some, many did not have the support of family like me nor did they find it in themselves after the hardship and dangers to rise above it." Prime stared at him. "You have been my friend for a very long time. You know me well. You know the truth of me. I do not allow myself to be held up as a virtue for others who could not reach the light. I do not judge such things. I had support and I had indomitable will to help our people become who we were meant to be. Because I was given love and taught what it meant to keep it and to give it away, it made it easy to care. Not everyone is so fortunate."
"No, they are not. Megatron had no family. He was forged for a specific purpose and was taken in by those who wanted to exploit him. He was filled with potential that was never met. You on the other hand had greater hope," the Matrix said. "That is why you have always been a beacon for others. They understand on a basic level that you care and love all of them, that you will guide and protect everyone. No other Prime short of Guardian would have done what you have accomplished now. None of them were ever placed in their sparks to understand why it had to be so. The rise of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire is because you care about everyone."
Prime vented a soft sigh. "I lose recharge sometimes thinking about where our people are and what might be happening to them. Are they safe? Are they in danger? What are others doing to them? We are not seen as beings but rather troves of technology to be exploited by more species than I care to conjecture. Even the mere idea of our children being held and handled thus keeps me ill at ease most of the time."
The Matrix stared at him with compassion a moment. "You do understand that all life is sacred and that all of this is an illusion where you come to learn and act out the scenarios of your lives. You choose those lives before you come. All that happens to you is a choice. Some choose easy lives and others pack them with dilemmas, hardships and dangers. They forget when they get here but it is so. We have to honor their choices even if all our spark dictates is to save them. The impulse to help someone even when it isn't in their spiritual best interests marks a good mech. You are a good mech, Optimus Prime."
Prime stared at him. He considered the figure before him, a construct of the device he carried in his chest. "Are You Primus or are You separate?"
"I am both. Duality, Optimus. It exists here, there and everywhere. Good and evil. Black and white. Short and tall. I am Primus, yes, a fractal of His spark and I am Me, a separate entity bound in service to the Holder and The One because I understand and give love, too." He stared at Prime a moment. "You are too hard on yourself. You hold high expectations for what you do and who you are. Your intellect is enormous and your spirit is ancient.
"Because you hold responsibility, you have a tendency to become morose and downward spiraling when things don't reach the level you expect or aim for. It is your glory that you get up and try again. Things often don't end they way you wish they would but you have the greatness to make them as good as they can be made. Be easier on yourself. You do so much good. Remember that. Everyone needs to remember this."
"My grandgenitors and genitors were my entire world. They taught me everything and sacrificed for me. I miss them terribly," Prime said softly.
"That is why this time the focus is you. You cannot help anyone if you don't help yourself. You can't care for anyone if you don't care for yourself. It always comes back to the beginning … you. You must be focused on yourself first, then everyone and everything else secondly. It seems backward and selfish if you don't think about it but consider this … if a house has a faulty foundation, it will not stand very long. Your place is essential and vital. You are the foundation of The People. If you cannot do what you need to do, then everyone is harmed by that."
Prime considered that. "Perhaps. I will think upon it. What do you have to tell me? I feel that more is coming."
"That and more." The Matrix grinned at him. "The Great Lord said He will help you move Cybertron when you do. Lord Primus is aware of the fraught nature of such an action given so many will be on the surface without any ability to leave for the transfer. He will temper the interior and hold things in check when the transfer is made. The actions He must take will not require his awakened state. The One and Myself will be managing this for the duration of the transfer and planetary insertion. It is not outside the plan for this world and all of you who bear this responsibility. The One does not wish Lord Primus to suffer or be lost in this move. It is not in his life plan for such things to happen, thus the intervention. We, however, are concerned about your unease about this and therefore, We have decided to tell you this to help you."
Prime deflated a tiny bit. "He said it would be so but it is so dangerous because no one can leave when it happens. There are many factors that make this such a frightening concept. Thank you. It eases my spark a lot."
The Matrix youth grinned. "When you are ready, He and the rest of Us will be as well."
It was silent a moment, then the youth stood. "You have adventures ahead. The One Who Is Not Spoken Of is still ravaging a vast empire. It is written that it will be so. Do not think about it. They both chose their sides before they came. For now, you are safe to build and rebuild, going from strength to strength. The People will keep coming and you will also find them and bring them to safety. You will have to find those who have our tech. Do not fear what you have to face. You are up to the task. No Prime ever lived that was in your league. Guardian set the path forward and you are the only one who followed it.
"I have been a part of all of the Primes since I left the hilt of Prima Prime's sword. You are the only one besides Guardian who makes Me feel happy to associate in this manner. I am the conduit to Primus and Primus is the conduit to The One. The One has given you gifts which will appear today at that moment when they must. It is because you are loved and supported that such things happen. Though it may be strange, remember who is the Creator of All That Is." He grinned. "I have to go and so do you." With that, the Matrix faded and so did the construct.
Prime was standing in front of the Well of Allsparks and the inscrutable slowly turning Allspark. He stared at them, then turned to walk up the stairs to the floor above and the open doors of the Temple to the place where his people waited. He did so swiftly, then walked to the doorway to pause.
Everywhere he looked were the faces, colors and shapes of his people. They were beautiful to him even if they were strange to others including some humans. They were him and he was them. He was their leader and he felt their love and expectation. He glanced at the priests, nodded to their bows, then stepped closer to the crowds. As he did, a thunder of light burst from the inside of the Temple, went through the roof and roared upward to pool a moment before falling downward to envelope the crowd, the colony, the planet, the solar system, the galaxy and if they were clear on the truth of it, the entire universe in which they existed.
=0=Earth2
The light engulfed them immediately, its soft gentle energy soothing in a way it would take a lifetime to try to explain…
=0=Several enemy bases around the local area
Razorclaw felt the energy surround him blocking his view of the area. It was also happening with Ominous and Polity. On a rock planet near Ominous, the Mistress of Flame felt it wash over her as her spark felt the love and grace of the Powers. Optimus Prime was The One Who Comes. She would feel the blessings, then head for Simfur through a bridge for the ceremony there. It was with a sense of absolute awe that she and her delegation would.
=0=Earth 1
It came to them, too, and they were enfolded in its embrace …
=0=Consulate, Unidad Terra 1 and Prima Station
They were overrun with the soft sentient soothing white mist that almost seemed to appear out of thin air it traveled so fast. It seemed to hold them in an embrace and in the midst of it they could hear the soft murmur in their own languages of words of love and encouragement …
=0=Earth, Saturn, Cybertron, the Local Group, the bad guys (minus one group) and everywhere else
It came to them covering entire worlds, the loving embrace of The One. It originated in the Allspark, that vessel in which the Creator of All That Is came into the world to view His/Its/Her creations. It was there holding them and then It disappeared …
=0=Mars
They felt it leave, the warm loving embrace. Glancing around, they began to cry out. That was when another wave came, that from Primus Himself. It flashed faster and was gone even more so but the sensation was still the same.
Everyone in The City turned back to Prime who was watching them with a detached manner. Then he opened his spark chamber and the Matrix, its pure blue light visible to all burst into an illumination that was instantaneous. Everywhere that anyone was, It reached them, held them, then was gone.
=0=Family Tower
They felt It come and go, waves of love and deeply felt emotions. It embraced them, then left, then came again. When the last wave left, the children turned to the adults who were staring at the screen and Prime.
"That was great," Anna said as the others nodded. "That was Primus Himself and The One."
=0=On the steps of the Temple
The light vanished and so did the Matrix, back into the chest of the bearer. It was silent a moment, then Prime walked to the edge of the platform dialing into everyone's transponders who were there and those everywhere else in the colony. "The Solemnities are over."
Before another sound could be made or another word spoken, a voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd. "UNTIL ALL ARE ONE!"
In seconds, millions of voices joined him from worlds and places all over the Empire and Earth, all of them repeating the creed of The People together. It was a roar of sound and it lapped against Prime like waves as he watched them from the Temple steps. He stood in the love, staring at his people and wished that Guardian Prime was with him. The Matrix stirred, a soft warm feeling as he began to walk down the steps. He reached Prowl, took Miracle, then spent a moment in the circle of friends that were as dear to him as family. Only then did he begin to walk back toward the tower.
It would take a long time to get there.
=0=On a plane far away and very near
"That was a good experience for him," Solus said. "His family is dear to him."
"They are," Solomus said. "Now they must go to the Temple in Simfur."
Prima nodded. "They must. He will be shocked to see what The One has done."
"Shocked in a good way," Solus said as They faded out of view.
=0=TBC 7-20-2020 edited 7-22-2020