run, rabbit, run
WHO; Jetfire, Nemesis Prime
WHAT; Mad evil dark SCIENCE.
WHERE; Nemesis's 'laboratory', Zone 6
WHEN; Night cycle.
WARNING; (non-PC)Death, (non-PC) mutilation. Nothing too graphic, hopefully, but please take note that this log has potential bad things. :)
( Dig that hole, forget the sun. )
WHAT; Mad evil dark SCIENCE.
WHERE; Nemesis's 'laboratory', Zone 6
WHEN; Night cycle.
WARNING; (non-PC)Death, (non-PC) mutilation. Nothing too graphic, hopefully, but please take note that this log has potential bad things. :)
( Dig that hole, forget the sun. )
And a new chance to consider exactly where his place in it was.
It was a subject he was beginning to worry about, especially with the way the Zones fit everyone into neat sets of easily accessed subjects for experimentation...and with the way mechs had been disappearing of late. In a way, that made him more and more eager to come down into the hovels, getting away from where he could be readily traced or observed and giving him an opportunity to learn without fearing observation himself.
And...what Nemesis showed him....
Well.
It was better to be out of the light for this.
It was better to learn of this, to know both how to combat it and how to use it...because it was one of the few things he suspected even the Transtechs did not know about ( ... )
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Nemesis briefly looked up from his collection, red optics narrowing slightly as he considered the words. "...small portions of energon," he finally admitted. So small as to be considered trace amounts, mere drops were all he could process...or couldn't, rather, those systems being decayed. It was simply that anything more than a mouthful would inevitably cause damage or at least pain to the ill-used systems, as they tried to harvest energy in to that which no longer required it ( ... )
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And then stopped, as he finally got a good look at the work-room they spent most of their time in, and Nemesis' words sank in.
It smelled oddly.
He didn't often sample from his olfactory senses often, but the way the light was glinting off of something oily on their current subject's berth...
Jetfire took a step back, when he saw a finger twitch.
"Nemesis. Where...did you find this one?" Immediately, he began running new scans, checking to see if the mech in question Nemesis was cutting into was, in fact, actually offline.
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Nemesis trailed off, watching Jetfire. Ah. So he had noticed. Here, now, was the true test of Jetfire's character. Whether he was a scientist, or just an intelligent processor playing at one.
"I believe they call it 'The Heap'," he answered casually, setting down the tool and coming from around the body. "They also say it is where mechs go to die. Which would explain the condition I found this one in." He made a gesture towards the body.
"I am not a medic, but I know enough to repair a chassis - and to know when even an expert surgeon's work would be a waste. If you would care to look at his spark chamber."
It wasn't quite a request.
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He paused again, halting just off to the side of Jetfire. Not to prevent him from leaving - the other could certainly move about him, if he so wished, and Nemesis would certainly not stop him from leaving (though he would be rather disappointed) - but to simply watch.
"Consulted?" The Prime made a light noise of derision. "Surely you realize by now the damage to this one's vocalizer. Whoever did this to them wanted them dead, or at least in pain for quite a long time until they did die. The work performed here will be little, in comparison to such.
"Indeed, Jetfire...you almost sound as if you have never performed live experimentation before." He regarded the other thoughtfully. "Surely you know of the sheer amount of knowledge that can be obtained?"
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He couldn't tell if he felt guilty because the mech was dying, or because he still found the situation fascinating despite the fact the mech was dying. There were readings he was getting now that differed, vastly, from the readings he'd taken before when Nemesis had shown him an already deceased individual, and likely these fluctuations could be accounted for by Nemesis's control over the darkness in another individual.
It was...incredible.
And it was also wrong, or should have been wrong.
The problem was, it was on a line. He'd experiment on mechs that were already dead, because that was logic. Especially in a war environment, it was difficult to obtain parts to build equipment, and he'd scavenged what he could. And this mech wasn't dead, but he was dying, and was beyond all hope for help, so was...there...really any difference ( ... )
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"Perhaps that is so, in some universes." He accepted and dismissed the thought, one as quickly as the other. "But in ours - you may as well claim that it is as simple as being an introvert and extrovert. As you say, there are those who do not fit within either name - but are they not still called one or the other ( ... )
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The question was out before Jetfire could stop it, but...he did not regret the asking. So far, the darkness he had studied seemed entirely at the whim of Nemesis, who looked unperturbed by it--but also looked effected by it. The red optics, the strange scans, all of it led to a conclusion that Nemesis, now, must be distinctly different from the Prime he was, before ( ... )
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They were not useful in their state. But as time continued, Nemesis had wondered if he hadn't been too hasty - they could have been entertainment, if nothing else.
"Our 'hosts' have so far shown them to be nothing but oversighted fools. For all their power, their evolution, their processors are no greater than ours. Perhaps less - they have grown soft, rather than great." A sound of derision. "And this leads me to a hypothesis ( ... )
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"The Darkness targets the spark?"
He could see it working, see the visible manifestation of that which defied his logic circuits. It still did not make sense, but that was why he was here and studying it.
But there was more to what Nemesis had just said than simple science.
"You can hurt the Transtechs."
And that...was dangerous. It was immensely dangerous, and sort of thrilling, and led him into thoughts as equally dangerous. If it was not an Autobot nor a Decepticon to lead them...
...then what, and who, would it be?
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Mind you, it was Nemesis's hypothesis since it immediately targeted the spark, such was why; as the Darkness showed little true interest in other life forms, at least in terms of habitation...
He pulled his hand back. "Barring a field test, I believe I can. They seem not to have many threats; I have no doubt that when I have prepared myself, I can win conversation with their Prime. All I need is time...and the assistance of those others who would seek change."
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That had great worth, and Jetfire knew Nemesis was extremely good with words. It was one of the few reasons he was here, now.
"I am more than willing to help assist you with that."
He watched, again, noting how the darkness was reacting and recording internally the signals that it gave...or...really, rather, the lack of signals. Cybertronians were beings of energy inhabiting metal forms--meaning it was the energy that Darkness was most interested in interacting with.
Could...that be it, then?
Another type of living energy? A being composed entirely of absent frequencies, living through the channels that previous life had formed?
"...how much can the Dark possess, before it consumes?"
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There was more than one way to destroy someone, after all. Sometimes in name, sometimes in mind...
"That will be shown through experimentation," he intoned solemnly. "Within the Dead Universe, there was only so much matter to research. Here..."
He shrugged slightly.
"...our understanding can become complete."
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