re_alignment | video;

That's right. You're your own species... you could change whatever you liked, however you saw fit.

[He's mostly talking to himself there, since this is all still pretty new.]

Shortage? There is a shortage of fuel here?

[Is that why there's no gas? :c]

That's what I'm trying to find out. I told a human being -- a girl -- about it, and she was upset. I don't want that to happen again.

[He glances down, pointedly.] There is a hatch... in front.

Mm, yes, within given parameters and with a mind to limits.

[He shakes his helm then, relief obvious.]

Not here, no, but in my home dimension, the war had led to an energon shortage. This Cybertron, however, seems to suffer no such situation.

[Luckily enough, but that doesn't help you, Kagerou. There'll be no gas.]

Oh? [Following Kagerou's glance, Jetfire frowns thoughtfully, but he is, really, rather confused.] Not the most usual of practical spot, but I don't see the reason to get upset over it...

What sort of limits?

[He nods slightly.]

That's lucky for all of you. I've heard this place is... different than any other world you come from. That must be true for you, too.

[He shrugs. It's the only way he'd ever known to work. But he did sort of live in isolation...]

I didn't either. But she said we were friends. I don't want to cause a problem... for a friend.

Basic requirements and amounts of energon or artificial energon, the connection of intact spark chamber to processor, size and altmode as indicated by favoured frame by the spark and the number of fuel lines to serve the frame as needed...

[A small pause as he taps his chin.]

There might be some other, less significant limitations, but those would be the major ones, except, of course, that no changes be done unwillingly.

[A frown as Jetfire slowly nods, casting a thoughtful look around himself.]

It is... since this is the beginning, and I don't think the Cybertron in my reality looked like this even after everything had ground to a halt for a while. Not that I was privy to seeing that, either.

This is... a blank slate, but at least there isn't a lack of resources.

[... For cybertronians, at least. For anyone else, the resources were slightly more scarce.]

If you feel comfortable refuelling like that, while it might cause less issue, you would still be in your rights to continue like that... and as a friend, she would accept it.

You sound like an engineer. Is that your function?

[He just likes listening to you talk, sir. Don't take it personally if he's a little quiet. That's... just sort of how he is.]

A blank slate... a... second chance? Something like that?

[He shrugs a little.]

I don't like upsetting friends. She... was very adamant about it.

Scientist rather than pure frame-engineering, though I do have knowledge in frame-engineering among my specializations... [He shrugs and smiles slightly.] It would be hard not to, as I've reformatted myself and changed quite a few things.

[If Jetfire would notice Kagerou was silent, he'd hardly mind, even if he wasn't asking questions, however few, he wouldn't really. He was used to most not taking any greater interest in what he said.]

Yes, something like that, at least for my own Cybertron. Here, on this one, we're at the actual beginning, apparently, before most of the initial reformatting and building has been done... Since I can say I'm not even sure when any of the Thirteen last supposedly was on the Cybertron where I'm from.

[So how far back into the "beginning" of this reality were they? How much time would pass until the first actual native cybertronians, beside the Firstforged, turned up? It was a thought.]

Perhaps you merely surprised her, as compared to upset her? Though, admittedly, I don't know enough about human anatomy or culture to say one way or the other.

[Jetfire says this with a frown, because there really won't be any easy and simple way to gain that information. Personal questioning would be a tedious and possibly rather invasive method.]

[Sorry, Jetfire, he's gotten himself hung up on one very specific word there.]

Reformatted...? You were reformatted?

[Gee, from the way he says it, you'd think it was something horrible...]

The Thirteen? Thirteen what?

[He's trying to understand all this, but things keep happening to distract him from learning about this place.]

I don't know either. So I asked.

[Yes, there's obviously something... odd that Kagerou's appending to that word or concept that Jetfire isn't. But, with a frown, he decided to get the easter parts answered first.]

The Thirteen... as far as I can deduce, even if we've only been parted between seven of them, are the same as the Firstforged. [Jetfire pauses and then shakes his helm.] Or rather, with the proof of their existence and the names matched to them, these seven Firstforged are the same as seven of the First Thirteen from the beginning of the Cybertron where I'm from, at least as far as can be meaningfully concluded.

[He shook his helm, slowly.]

And what did she say? As for reformatted... perhaps you'd want to elaborate what that word means for you? What I did was redesign, remodel and rebuild my frame to adapt to new technology and be able to more easily adjust it in the future for future advancement...

While all of us do, of course, change looks and sometimes drastically so while we switch between alternate modes, I had to add quite a bit of mass and height, which isn't usually done, so that made things somewhat more complicated.

[Jetfire briefly let his fingers wander over the keys attached to the small computer in his arm which was recording and broadcasting the video for him, and then the view split in two to show Jetfire on one side, and a still image on the other.]

That was what my frame looked like before. While I could have easily simply changed my altmode and thus look like I do now, with the things I added...

[A shrug.]

[The description there really doesn't help, Jetfire. He looks blank, still.]

None of that... has any meaning to me. I'm not from your world. Any version of it.

[He sort of avoids the question about 'what she said' in favor of something more terrifying.]

It erases you. Changes you. Takes your memory and alters it and you can't come back... there's nothing left.

[He actually shudders, shaking his head, and falling silent. While he listens.]

You...

Wait, you mean you rebuilt your frame...? That's... reformatting to you?

I apologize. the Firstforged, as well as the First Thirteen, are... ah, well. The first. Of our species. Of course, there's lack of proof, but that's what the only sources we have say.

[Hard to explain it in any other way.]

It... [He frowns, optics darkening.] I can see why you'd be... ah, uncomfortable with the word. That is not right. But yes, that's how I, or we, use it. It doesn't mean something as final and reprehensible as that.

[If there could be something final like that, since the spark carried your person, but if the spark was, perhaps, being suppressed... Jetfire frowned again.]

So then... they made the rest of you? According to your sources?

[No, that'll do. He gets it now. Sort of.]

I wasn't aware it had any other meaning.

[Hence his knee-jerk reaction to the word. And the way he's still sitting folded into a ball of ninja robot.]

If that's what it means to you, and those like you, of course that's how you'd interpret it. There's nothing particularly strange with that, even if it makes communication a bit more complicated than it could otherwise be.

[He can't really shake the deep frown at the thought of such erasure, though it does smooth out somewhat as he goes back to his past. As well as, apparently, cybertronian propagation.]

Mmm, not all of us at once. There's only a handful truly old mechs left, and none of them were around at the presumed time the Thirteen would have been around for... But, the most simple conclusion would be that the Thirteen did create the first few cybertronians of the second generation, and it's evolved from there.

[Jetfore's certainly noted Kagerou's position, but he has no idea what else to do other than to answer the questions given and thus keep the conversation going. Whether it'll help, though... Who knows.]

I will remember it's different here.

[He means that -- him and his memory are very close things. If he says he'll remember something, you bet your backside he will.]

Is it strange? Not having your creators present?

[He nods at that, and does believe it, considering what Kagerou'd just described about erasure of memory and such...]

In a way, we do. Our sparks, what makes us what we are usually comes from... or are ignted by a device called the Matrix, which most certainly is present, and there's always someone to teach us the basics after we've been onlined for the first time.

[There's a slight, relucant static sigh.]

And if one is religious, the Matrix does supposedly have a connection to Primus, from which all sparks are said to come from, and who... might... be around.

[He can't and won't say "is definitely", neither for this world nor his own, no matter what he's seen. Because what he's seen has been some form of... power, yes, but he can't swear on more than that.]

This matrix... it's like your programmer, then? [A beat.] As far as a comparison can go. I don't have much else to compare it to.

The last bit, I understand, yes -- having someone there to teach you. That's... familiar to me.

[Because he had been the one to do so. In a way.]

If one is religious.

[HOLY CRAP ROBOT RELIGION WHAT--]

Which... you aren't. From your prhasing.

Ah... Kind of. Though actual programming comes later. The spark... even with all the time dedicated to explore and research it, we don't know yet how it works. The energy is consists of is hard to quantify, and has resisted usual methods of scanning.

[Jetfire nods and then, as Kagerou points out... that thing, lets his vocalizer glitch into something like a cough. YES, KAGEROU, ROBOT RELIGION.]

Er, no. I've had to, ah, concede the fact that there is a power, coherent and distinct, but as to if that's truly Primus or not... [He trails off, shaking his helm briefly and looking off. That was still such an awkward thing, though Sunstorm hadn't truly tipped anything one way or another.]

The spark is different than your programming? What is it, then, exactly?

[You're blowing his young mind, bro.]

Must you decide one way or another? If there is... something... why does it matter what you call it?

There are many words for the same thing, after all. And... many things with the same word.

[Like 'reformatting' :D]

In simple, easily observational terms; energy kept together by its own gravity, usually spread out through our frames but capable of withdrawing to a central location called the spark chamber. It does, however, have nothing to do with fuelling us, but enough damage to our frames will cause this energy to disperse... the spark to extinguish.

[He pauses, frowning.]

If I understand the concepts correctly, the closest thing to compare it with would be the human spirit and soul. It makes us what we are, our... ah, personality. Selves.

[Well, that was a thought, and Jetfire nodded slowly. But... this was not something as simple as different use and understanding of a particular world by different individuals. Jetfire grimaces as he shakes his helm.]

I was an atheist before a particular event, as there was no proof of the existence of what is basically our original creator, the origin of our sparks. After said event... [A small, hesitant shrug, his wings twitching.]

I am still not convinced of what I saw, but words do mean something, and in the case of designations and personified forces of creation... If what I saw was Primus, it would be nothing less than dishonest to call it anything else, but as of yet I can't claim to know either way.

[And he'll hold onto that for as long as possible, but he won't deny proof as given.]

Souls. You have... souls.

[Why yes, that is what he latched onto. Sure, he was listening to all of that, and he's probably going to file it away for later. But that's the part he paid most attention to.]

[He shifts a little, looking uncomfortable.]

... can these be found? Or... created? Here?

[He tilts his head, watching the twitching, listening to the hesitation.]

If it bothers you... then don't call it anything? Not yet?

Ah, yes, as far as these things can be compared, especially as I've yet to see any proof of the concept of the human soul or spirit actually, unquestioningly existing, we do.

[Really, Jetfire understands why... but perhaps not precisely why Kagerou would latch onto this in particular. The other question brings him to pause, however, optics widening slightly and then his expression tightens somewhat, curious.]

Presumably. Perhaps now yet depending on how the sparks of the cybertronians here will be drawn from... where they come from, but if this Cybertron is to have a population of its own besides our... er, hosts, something like the Matrix... or the Well of All Sparks, perhaps, would have to be made, or it might already exist, merely inert.

[Another pause as Jetfire gives Kagerou a quiet, contemplative look.]

I presume you're asking for a reason?

[Nevermind that the most probable reason - wanting one for himself - would actually work. Kagerou isn't cybertronian, and how would it even work?]

Ah... Yes, so far, that's what I've been doing. Since I haven't had any further evidence one way or another.

[A small shrug and a brief glance away. This despite the fact that, all things taken together what had happened in the Well of All Sparks, they do probably consist of enough proof for someone fully following point A to conclusion B.]

[Well, those are better answers than nothing. Not exactly promising, but it's better than being told an outright "no".]

[He takes that all in. If he ever meets one of these beings -- one of those who brought him here, he'll ask them about this.]

No one here has said anything about it yet? No one's... found it?

[At the question, he falls quiet again, seeming to draw in on himself.]

Souls... can't be altered. Can't be changed. Can they?

[This is important. The Most Important part of the entire reason for asking.]

Then I see no reason for you to change.

Not yet, though I'm not sure if anyone's asked or gone looking. If it does, indeed, need to be constructed, as some sort of channel, I'd say Cybertron isn't, in general, ready for a wider population.

[He casts a thoughtful look around himseld, presently being outside and at the edge of Alpha Trion's lake.]

Though, that might merely be the impression I get considering I'm used to a much more... developed Cybertron, and there was no one - as far as we knew or could ask - that would have been old enough to have existed when Cybertron was young in my reality.

[There was, of course, the Council of Ancients... But even if the name idicated some implied age, it wasn't necessary that they all be old enough to have known of the "beginning", or near enough.]

Ah... [He tilts his helm and then slowly shakes it. Curious question-- No. It isn't. With the way Kagerou had reacted and then explained what "reformatting" meant to him, it isn't hard to figure it out.]

No, they can't. Any mind control, erasure or similar attempts at changing would be laid on the physical processor only, and while we're uncertain about what, exactly, and how much of memories beyond personality a spark contains, you can't change a spark's basic properties.

[He wasn't sure what Shockwave had done to Sunstorm, but clones did not necessarily become mirrors of their original. Kagerou's simple point that he shouldn't need to change (yet), has Jetfire briefly smiling, but they are, he can easily see, discussing something a lot more important to Kagerou, so he doesn't comment any further than a small nod.]

If you're all the same... species, then I suppose you wouldn't really need to ask, would you?

[All a bunch of robots with souls. They're all so lucky.]

Then... none of you can ever be erased. Unless you're killed.

[He hesitates. Actually curls up a little, studying something off-camera.]

Your engineer changed the engines on those here like me. Made them compatible with your fuel.

... could... the same be done... for the AI?

Not really, especially as I don't think most of us plan to stay if it at all will be possible to leave at some point. The differece here, I'd surmise, is that whereas the method for new sparks to enter the world would already exist elsewhere, here... it doesn't.

[Shh, Kagerou, friendship will fix everything, right??]

No, not really, no. When the frame is injured enough, the spark extinguishes - traditionally it's said to return to Primus, but there's no evidence of such an event taking place... We do know that enough damage to the frame makes the spark unable to stay anchored, however.

[Jetfire falls silent for a full klik, frowning. This was... well.]

... Perhaps. But how a human-made A.I would interact with a cybertronian spark would be an issue... as well as if your frames would support and not reject a spark chamber, which would be necessary to install if it was possible.

[This is, however, surgery and science on a level he's not sure he'd be willing to experiment with. If something went wrong...]

No, it didn't seem as if anyone planned to stay. I... know those from my world were looking for a way. Promising we could go back.

Why wouldn't it be here?

You're... like humans then. And us. Too much damage, we go offline. But if our AI remains undamaged, remains functional... then we can be rebuilt.

[He listens to that last part, silently.]

[It's really not what he was hoping to hear. He wanted a 'maybe'. At least.]

So there's no way then.

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[Video] I apologize. He talks a lot.

[Video] At least one of them does.

[Video] Jetfire can continue to take the words Kagerou isn't using.

[Video] That'll work.

[Video] Excellent. He might even need all of them.

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