Chapter Thirteen:

Experimental Programming

"... I still say that starting at the Spark and its supporting systems would be the best way to go," Pyrus argued, "It's essentially who you are, right? Your lifeforce… your essence… ahh… soul? Shouldn't we set up protections there first and then let it flow out to the other systems?"

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't concentrate on the Spark. We need to protect it at all cost," Ratchet sighed, "But I feel that it will leave other important systems vulnerable, the malware will just head straight for it. Some of those systems are essential to everyday functions. Without them, Bulkhead's other systems will fail."

"We would be stretching our available resources to the breaking point," Pyrus was still concerned, "... we are stretching technological theory into the fringe at this point. I don't even know if the Faraday cage will work. That is just a working theory."

"If our readings are correct, then it is most likely the malware was able to communicate between Bumblebee and Bulkhead through their comms," Ratchet pointed out, "If this Faraday cage does as you say, it should isolate them from one another. We've already tested it with Optimus and Prowl and it seemed to work."

"Sorry," Pyrus sighed, "I don't mind experimenting. I revel in a good experiment, but the stakes are high. This isn't one of my simulations. This is real life. There are lives on the line," she looked over at Bumblebee and Bulkhead, "I know that you understand that more than I do…"

"What choice do we have?" Ratchet let out a heavy sigh.

Sari was only half listening to the pair. They soon would be commencing in a strange and dangerous experiment. She didn't want to think about it though. She understood that what Ratchet and Pyrus were attempting had a very small chance of working. The fact that they were still working out the details didn't give her much hope. Instead, she just sat next to Bumblebee. She wished that she could sit close to both Bumblebee and Bulkhead, but their 'beds' were too far apart. She just sat there not sure what she was doing. She tried talking to Bumblebee and Bulkhead, but started to feel weird as she wasn't sure if they could even hear her. She had always heard that people in comas could hear things and sometimes remember others talking. Maybe it worked the same with Autobots. Maybe their memory banks or something would remember her talking to them. Trying to encourage them to be strong and to wake up soon. Maybe she was hoping it would make her feel better. Maybe, but it really wasn't helping. Letting out a sigh, Sari looked back over at Ratchet and Pyrus. Their discussion sounded more serious than when she had stopped listening.

"... there are just too many systems to protect if what you say is true," Pyrus sighed, "I understand the intricacies of how systems are interconnected, but… hmm… I wonder…," she went to work on her holo monitors.

"What are you thinking?" Ratchet looked to see what she was doing.

"... everything is an electrical impulse. Right?" she looked over to him.

"Huh?" he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Okay," she brought up an image of him and her, "It is electrical impulses that tell your servos and gears to move the way you want them too. It's electrical impulses that tell my fingers to move across the keys of a computer," the images moved as she spoke, "See. Electrical currents carry signals across our bodies and allow us to move. Even though you're made of metal and circuits and I of muscles and nerves, we both use electricity to command our bodies and minds. I think we can use that to our advantage…" she collapsed the images and began to type once more.

"So everything we do is based on our brains zapping our bodies to make them do things?" Sari tried to boil it down to simpler terms that she understood.

"Sure…," Pyrus really wasn't listening.

"So how are we going to take advantage of these electrical impulses?" Ratchet wasn't quite sure what Pyrus was thinking.

"We can use it to push the Downgrade to the other systems much quicker," she explained as she brought up a 3D image of Bulkhead, "If my understanding of how your species' work and are connected…"

"Hold on," Ratchet stopped her, "Let's get Prime and Prowl on the comms."

"Why bother? They won't understand what I'm about to explain anyway," she shrugged her shoulders, "You're the only one here that could even begin to comprehend and appreciate what I have in mind."

"Just when I was starting to feel sorry for you…," Sari rolled her eyes.

Pyrus snorted, "I thought I said that I don't need pity. I wasn't looking for when I… never mind," she sighed.

Ratchet just let the two organics bark at one another. He really thought that maybe they had made a breakthrough or come to an understanding. Optimus had told him what happened… about what Pyrus had told Sari. What was underneath her hood. Ratchet understood that Pyrus had been through something very tragic and painful. This past is what made her like she is. He could respect that. The war changed him from the bot he used to be.

"Prime. Prowl," Ratchet called over the comms, "Pyrus might have a solution. Just thought you two should listen in so she doesn't have to explain it twice."

"I don't think that she would explain a second time anyway," Optimus appeared on the screen.

"You're probably right," Ratchet agreed.

"What is her solution?" Prowl asked.

"Something about using electrical impulses… that's about as far as she got before I called you," Ratchet admitted.

"Electrical impulses?" Optimus was intrigued.

"Pyrus thinks she can use these impulses to 'push' the Downgrade through Bulkhead's systems," Ratchet still wasn't sure how.

"It's a working theory," Pyrus piped in, "I don't even know if it will work. Which is why I didn't want Ratchet to call you two," she snorted in Ratchet's direction, "I have to get a lock on the energy's frequency and wavelength, see if my program can match it and then run several thousand simulations to give me an idea of if this will work…," she looked at her screens and typed something, "Anyway. I rather not go into an explanation if I don't know the possible outcomes. Whether they be positive or negative."

"Please Pyrus," Optimus just wanted to hear anything.

She grumbled and mumbled to herself for a moment.

"I wouldn't bother Optimus," Sari rolled her eyes, "It's like trying to get blood from a stone."

"Stones have blood?" Ratchet was a bit disgusted by that thought.

"It's an old idiom that means whatever you're trying to do is nearly impossible," Pyrus explained, "Kind of like what we're trying to do…," she sighed, "... Look, "she brought up an image of Bulkhead, "Ratchet and I have hit a roadblock, if you will. We have too many systems to protect and too many to clean," the image flashed with blue and red respectively, "Normally when I debug my own computers, I can go through them at my own pace and leisure. But we don't have that kind of time. Hydra will take full advantage of a slow pace. What I want to do is use the natural electrical impulses in Bulkhead's body that stem from his Spark…," she explained as she worked on her holo monitors, "The Spark's energy moves throughout his body. Piggybacking off of that electrical impulse, we can move the Downgrade…"

"You mentioned Downgrade? What's that?" Optimus interrupted her.

"This is why I wanted to explain all of this when I had a better idea if this would work," she grumbled, "Ratchet, if you please? I've got to nail down this energy wavelength."

"Right," he didn't want her to get even more frustrated, "Pyrus and I have come up with a program that mimics my operating system. It won't overwrite theirs, but it will create a shell program over any areas that are currently free of the malware and keep it from infecting them. As we've learned, the malware doesn't seem to be able to infect my system… still don't understand how or why," he admitted.

"I've explained it several times now, Ratchet," Pyrus sighed, "Due to Halberd's inability to burrow into anything, it caused it to degrade. Even though Hydra is a separate virus, it still depends on Halberd to get into a system initially. Therefore if Halberd begins to degrade before it can infect a system, Hydra will also degrade. Currently, Hydra is in stasis. It will only 'wake up' when it senses that it has entered into a suitable system that will serve its needs. Your operating system is incompatible. So Halberd degrades with Hydra inside. Hence why your systems are nearly clean. Understand?"

"... No…," Ratchet was still confused.

"I just… you… in the simplest terms…," she stuttered, but took a deep breath and let it out, "Okay… the details don't matter as long as someone, I.E. me, knows what's going on. Ratchet please continue," she went back to her work.

"Well… umm…," Ratchet picked up where he left off, "With the uninfected systems protected, we need to somehow get it to the infected systems. That's where we hit a wall…"

"That is until I came to a realization," Pyrus brought up several holo monitors, "I've managed to map Bulkhead's electrical 'circulatory' system. And it will be perfect to distribute the Downgrade."

"Circulatory system? Like how energy moves through our bodies?" Prowl asked.

"Yes," Pyrus was more interested in what was on her screen.

Ratchet snorted, "I could have given you that."

"I already took what you had and enhanced it," she brought up the screen, "Yours just had basic pathways. Mine shows the energy exchanges and minor interconnections between systems."

Ratchet looked at what she brought up, "By the Allspark… this is more detailed than anything Autobot medicine could map out… this could…"

"Think about the possibilities later," Pyrus got him to focus, "Right now, this is our ticket to getting the Downgrade throughout Bulkhead's systems… just have to sync it with the Spark's energy frequency…"

"How!? How is energy moving around his body going to help?" Sari asked impatiently.

"We can use the pulses from Bulkhead's Spark to push the Downgrade to afflicted systems," she crossed her arms, "Kind of like how Hydra was transferred through Bumblebee's electrical attack. Granted Ratchet and I will have to do some clearing out first," she thought for a moment, "Cerberus could probably…"

"NO WAY! I'm not letting that ill tempered program near my patients' processors," Ratchet growled as he came over to Pyrus.

"There are many things wrong with me, but my hearing isn't one of them!" she growled right back at him, "As for Cerberus, I wouldn't let it run amok in their systems. It would be way too complex for what I would have to do to make sure it wouldn't destroy who they are or other essential systems. I would have it on a very tight leash."

Ratchet snorted, "No offense, but Optimus told me that Sari's Key tore off your leash protocols and that's why your program decided to turn the computer into a scrap heap. I don't know how good you think your 'leash' is, but it didn't seem to do anything."

"That is a separate matter," Pyrus scowled, "That Key is unlike anything I've encountered. It has an intelligence that is probably greater than my own," she looked down at the key that hung from Sari's neck, "I would very much like to have a long discussion with it. I'm hoping it can help me with a little problem…"

"Good luck," Sari rolled her eyes, "It does what it wants. I have no control over it."

Pyrus bent down and looked directly at the Key, "You showed me before what you did… I'm pretty sure that you understand that things are dire… My plan has a fatal flaw. I can't replicate or even begin to sync with the Spark's energy. If I can't do that then we can distribute the Downgrade… you understand what that means, don't you?"

"Like I said," Sari snorted, "It does what… huh?"

The Key suddenly lifted up and began to glow. Without Sari's consent, it pulled her towards Pyrus' computer. Sari had no choice but to go along with it. Pyrus quickly stood up and wanted to see what it would show her. Instead of shifting and changing like it usually did, it just floated in front of the computer. Almost like it was waiting for something. Pyrus seemed to understand and brought down one of her holo monitors. The Key went to touch the hologram, but suddenly a low buzzing like growl filled the air. From the holomonitor emerged a very angry looking dog head. It growled and snapped. This caused the Key to pause, but it did not budge. Sari slipped the langer from around her neck and took shelter behind Pyrus. She was surprised that Pyrus actually patted her on the head to soothe her. Sari was still a bit scared, but she felt better knowing that Pyrus would protect her.

"Cerberus?" Pyrus was a bit confused by its reaction, but she suddenly recalled, "Oh… you still had a bit of connection to the antiviral program I gave to them. I saw what… well… whatever is inside that Key, did to that piece of you. You fought until it made you obey it. You don't like being forced into doing something. You never have. I assume once it had full control, it cut you off from that piece. You did seem a bit more irritable. I noticed that, but didn't think much of it. I'm sorry," she reached out and gently patted it on the head, "I'm sorry I didn't pay more attention to you and how you were feeling. Then again," she looked over her shoulder at Prowl, "I had other things to worry about… Anyway," she turned her attention back to her program, "I know you don't want the Key anywhere near your home, but right now it's going to help me with a problem. The sooner it helps me, the sooner you and I can crawl back into a dark, secluded hole and never have to deal with this lot again. What do you say?"

The program seemed to ponder her words, but wouldn't retreat from the holomonitor.

"If you don't want to be near the Key while it shows me what I need, then come into the processor on my gloves," she patted her right arm, "When it's done, you can go back. Okay?"

Cerberus seemed to agree to this. It took its gelatinous form and slithered from the monitor to Pyrus' glove. The lights on her gloves flashed as the blob touched it. It didn't disappear but made its way down Pyrus' body until it came face to face with Sari. They just kind of 'stared' at one another for a moment.

"Umm… hi…," Sari meekly greeted it, "... umm… sorry about before… you're not still angry… are you?"

The green blob just stared at her with unseen eyes for a moment. With one swift moment, it had nestled around Sari's shoulders and seemed quite content. Sari was a bit confused by the program's reaction. She looked up at Pyrus who was trying to stifle her laughter.

"Cerberus obviously forgives you and is angry with me for letting something else into its home," Pyrus explained, "Just watch after it until I get done with whatever the Key has to show me."

Sari just nodded her head as she was still just so confused. Cerberus rubbed up against her cheek and almost seemed like it was humming. Without much thought, she began to rub it as if it was any other pet. It was all so strange.

"Alright," Pyrus came back to the Key, "Show me what you got."

The Key flashed in response and once again headed for the holo monitor. The screen came alive with Cybertronian letters and symbols. They began to mix with what Pyrus had been working on. Two sets of lines ran parallel to one another. They criss crossed until they become one. The Key's glow began to fade until it eventually disappeared. It started to fall, but Pyrus caught it midair.

Looking down at it, she questioned, "Who or what are you? … not going to tell me? Fine," she held the Key out towards Sari.

Sari took it quickly as she still wasn't sure of Pyrus. Cerberus lept from Sari's shoulders and back to its creator. Anything to avoid contact with Key. It was so scared that it flung itself into her hood. It went with such force that it pulled the hood from Pyrus' head. Her long, curly blonde fell across her shoulders. There was an annoyed look on her face.

With a roll of her one open eye, Pyrus snorted at her program's behavior, "Looks like I need to upgrade backbone protocols. Let's see what the Key did… hmm… oh…," she seemed surprised.

"What is it?" Optimus and everyone else wanted to know.

"I know that you won't understand this," she shared her screen, "but the Key basically matched the Downgrade wavelength with the Spark's. It did all the work, but is not showing it. It's hiding the Spark's… information behind a very heavily coded barrier in what I assume is Cybertronian. Cleaver," she smirked, "Its protecting the secrets of your kind… alright… That's fine," Pyrus looked over at Ratchet, "We now have the means to get the Downgrade across Bulkhead's systems and possibly Bumblebee. We need to finish up prep. I'll get Cerberus ready. You begin to map pathways we can use to spread the Downgrade."

"I told you…," he started to yell, but the glare from Pyrus' one eye got him to use a quieter tone, "I'm not letting that thing near them. Find some other way."

"Ratchet," she slowly walked towards him, "I respect your skill. I respect your opinion. I respect your devotion. However," she grew very serious, "we are out of options. They are running out time," she released a deep sigh, "Ratchet… Cerberus is our only hope to purge Hydra from their systems. Please."

Ratchet knew she was right, "I'll begin prep. Just make sure that thing is on a very tight leash."

Pyrus crossed her arms with a huff, "Cerberus isn't a thing. Please respect that it is an advanced program that is fluttering on the edge of becoming a true A.I."

"Fine… just make sure it doesn't attack anything that it isn't supposed to," he warned.

"I'll be in complete control," she promised, "Cerberus will be on its best behavior."