The Diego Diaries: Goofin' and Golfin' (dd7 341)
=0=Around the mulberry bush
Ratchet walked along the street heading for the Children's Museum of Mars, Cybertron and The Empire. It was in Crater District 6, City 5. The museum was part of the School District and the Museum of Cybertron in a collaborative project. The huge multi story building held exhibits that were geared to children of all ages and ranged over the entire history of their species, their technological achievements and all manner of supportive features, interactive exhibits and teachers who were there to answer and demonstrate anything that arose.
There were places to paint, create things, replicate different experiments and see ancient artifacts. Some of the artifact exhibits were designed to be handled including replications of the bones of predacons from the far past. There were play areas and a nursery to put smaller children when coming with older ones and a big cafe to eat together. All of it was geared to children, small to sub adult, with video and audio components.
He walked to the huge doors to enter the building which had children here and there, some with school groups. Walking to the elevator, he went up to the third floor where things geared to peewees awaited. Stepping off, he unloaded his carry hold. Children glanced around, then stared upward.
"ADA!"
Ratchet smiled. "Praxus."
"WHAT WE DO NOW!?" he asked with almost spark bursting excitement. He loved this place.
"Now we play," Ratchet said as the three infants began to run in three different directions at top speed. Ratchet watched them a moment. "Frag."
It would be a madcap joor before they were ready to go again.
=0=Elsewhere
He walked into the depot were the hardware was stacked to the ceiling in all directions. He emptied his hold, staring down at the two tiny femmes who looked upward at him. They held each other's servo as they glanced at him, then everything and everyone around him.
"Atar, what's this place?" Hero asked.
Ironhide glanced around. "Hero, this is the hub of the project. This is the place where things come to go out again to create miracles."
Both femmes stared up at him, Hard Drive, Sun, Jack, Blackjack, Raptor, Alor, Delphi and Turbine. "Miracles?" Hero asked with growing amazement on her tiny face.
"Miracles," Ironhide said with a nod.
The little femmes glanced around, then Blackjack set Scout down on the ground. He smiled at them. "HERO! HALO!" he said in perfect diction.
Blackjack grinned. "That's my boy."
Scout glanced up at him, then Halo. "Halo, what lou?"
Halo smiled. "LOU COMED ME!? I COMES LOU, PLAYIN?!"
Blackjack stared at Scout, then the femmes. "What? Scout?"
Scout looked at his father, then smiled. "ATAR!"
Blackjack grinned. "Scout. You had me worried a moment there."
Scout smiled, then turned to Halo. "Halo, lou doin'."
Everyone watched as the two laboriously joined their servos. Then they both looked up as Hero took Halo's other servo.
"ATAR!"
"Scout." Blackjack stared at his son, a very quiet little mech most of the time.
"LOU DOIN'? WE GOED DERE!?" he asked as he pointed a little fat digit toward pallets of slag stacked nearby.
Blackjack stared at his son, then the other elders who stared at him equally astonished, then Scout again. "Frag," he whispered softly.
=0=The Citadel
They sat on the floor playing with toys from their toy box, one that Prowl had set up and stocked for just such an occasion. Solus and Sojie were building a house while Possibility toddled around them handing them whatever he could grab. Pencils, a door stop and a half finished sandwich that was somehow under a chair materialized as he ambled.
Prowl nearly levitated out of his chair when he saw Possibility bring the limp sandwich to his sisters. "Let me have that, infant," he said as he took the moldy item from the baby with great abiding personal disgust. "How about cookies?"
Everyone was for it.
Prime was as well.
They all took a cookie break together.
=0=Elsewhere
Sunspot and his brothers sat at a table in the library. Mrs. Lyric and Mr. Terradive were doing a group project together. Both teachers were partners and often did such things not only for learning but for socialization. The library was buzzing with voices as the kids worked on presentations of geographic areas of Cybertron. They were gathering information to use to make dioramas of their particular area.
Terradive and Lyric sat together at a table working on this and that, ready to help anyone who needed them. The weekend was coming tomorrow and they would be off for three orns. Given their schedules with almost no time off, a couple of orns of school after Festival wasn't surprising to anyone but the humans. The sharing time everyone had that morning was interesting …
{Okay. Who goes first?} Terradive said in NeoCybex, the lingua franca of the classroom. The humans who couldn't speak or understand it got perfect translations through their gear.
Rain Harris raised her hand. Terradive nodded and she began. [The festival was amazing. I wish someday we can come to the Temple but we know why that's not allowed now. In my country when there's a big holiday event we get a few days off. Why do you go to school so fast after a holiday?]
Terradive grinned. {I never thought about that until now. We believe in school. Most of us wouldn't be here if this were the old days. School is the key to a future of choice, something else we never got before. I'm a Seeker. Seekers could only be soldiers or work at terrible jobs that required a lot of strength. I never got to go to school. I never really learned to read and write fully until here. We believe in education. Having one, learning how to think for ourselves is freedom. The human schools are having these days off. We only take orns off at Thanksgiving, Christmas Surprise and Memorial/Veterans Day. Its how much we care about this}
{The human schools get a lot of time off] Beckley, a Decepticon pilot's son said. [That might be fun but I like school. All my friends are here and I get to learn good stuff. My genitors want me to go to college. I would be the first one to go. My brother and sister will also go. They want us to have a skill and get to choose what we want to do}
{My ada and atar want me to go to college, too. I want to go and become a doctor. Then I want to learn how to make things like ammunition and swords. I'm going to help my genitors and my amma and appa with their store. They make the best things! I will learn, too, and help them}
{My brother got his sword from your grand genitor's store. It's so amazing} Butler said with enthusiasm. {When I'm old enough I'm going to be a Knight, too, and get a sword from them. Those swords are sentient. My appa told me. He has one. I get to see it now and again. It's huge and heavy} M-22 said.
{I watch them make them. I got to make things, too. Solus Prime helps them. She loves them} Sunspot said.
{I might see about getting a tour there} Terradive said as he watched the kids chat. He grinned. Kids chatting was fun.
[Would we come, too?] Rain asked hopefully.
Terradive glanced at Sunspot, then Rain. {I will ask}
They would be able to come.
=0=Elsewhere
"He doesn't talk much," Alor said as he watched his son playing sweetly with the tiny femmes. "He doesn't have to," Alor said as he frowned at Blackjack. "All he has to do is point and you get it. I almost thought he's never going to learn."
"He and I have a system. He points and I fetch," Blackjack said. "Just like with Ironhide."
"And the speech impediment crept up on us with him, too," Alor said. "I sent a message to Roto about this and he texted back. We can bring him in First Monday. He can tell us for sure. If its just because you're fragging around, 'Jack, then things have to change."
"It could be genetic," Sun said as he watched the tiny femmes chatting with Scout with only Hero speaking reasonable correct language. "They're so cute. Femmes are cute."
"They are," Ironhide said. "Both those femmes are champions."
"Won't get an argument from us," Hard Drive said as the little imps walked toward him. He bent down and gathered them into an embrace, Hero, Halo and Scout.
No one would either.
=0=Ratchet
He watched the kids walking around in a giant bin filled with different sized balls. They were having a great time, Orion, Prowler and Praxus, throwing them at each other. As usual, their aim was slag. He read the text that just arrived, then blinked. Staring at the three little mechs, one with a speech problem and two without, he considered that there were likely four in the family now with them. Genetics had to be the answer.
Prowler was neck deep in the pit, slowly slogging around with a big grin on his face. He then stopped, looked down, then up at Ratchet. "Ada?"
"What, baby?" Ratchet asked.
"I dropped my baby," he said with a quivering chin.
It would take a while to find it. He would be ecstatic with joy and relief when they did.
=0=Elsewhere
"This is nice, Miler," Stealth said as he and Miler settled into seats at a place called 'The Great British Bakery'. It was a cafe in Tyger Pax that had opened and was a hit. It served something called teas and some were high. Whether others were low wasn't clear but when the beautifully arranged towers of amazing food came to them with all manner of sandwich, baked good and biscuit, such distinctions apparently didn't matter. The tea was hot and plentiful, the food delicious and the atmosphere was amazing.
"I like this place," Miler said. "I like reading British mystery novels. Alor got me hooked and so did Turbine. This place is based on the sort of place you can find in European countries such as England and other places. I don't really know for sure but I like European food. I have a whole list of restaurants for all of us to try."
"This is such a joy," Stealth said. "I still think its going to be gone when I wake up."
"I used to think that but less so anymore. You will get better. This place is what I always dreamed of. It only really became clear when we had to run. This is the best place for Cybertronians ever." Miler glanced up. "How is Styre?"
"He's having fun. We're working out working." Stealth grinned. "He wants to learn planning and urban landscaping. I think Laslo will help him there. Laslo was the foremost thinker on such things on Cybertron."
"Did you know that his son, Partition is bonded to Ratchet and Ironhide's daughter, Lancer?" Miler asked.
"No. What a nice thing," Stealth said. "I hear that Laslo has really come into himself since coming here."
"He has. He's part of the Squad." Miler grinned. "So now are you."
Stealth stared at Miler as a slow grin formed on his handsome face. "I don't know what that actually is but it sounds like fun. Do we have to bring anything to the party?"
"Only fun and maybe a squirt gun," Miler said.
They both laughed, then settled back to talk, discuss British murder mysteries and grandchildren. It would be a wonderful afternoon. Styre would go clubbin' with the boys. So would Imaldo. Fun, fun, fun would be had by all.
Probably.
=0=TBC 7-30-2020
A Scottish YouTuber was talking about American usage of words. He couldn't understand what the difference was with 'college' and 'university'. LOL! This is what I think it means to Americans. College: Where you're going to go someday after you get out of public schools (kindergarten to high school, 12-13 years) as well as denoting smaller higher education institutions, usually state run. Some higher ed schools are called universities, can be privately owned and have big programs and snob appeal like Harvard or Yale. Universities are big colleges. Huger. :D In my family, college is the thing you're going to do after high school and sometimes if you have enough money maybe attend a huge university. Colleges tend to be smaller and most state oriented entities such as my old one, Southern Oregon State College which was then changed to Southern Oregon University. Why? Who knows. :D
Then again, I could be full of it. ;)