003 - [Audio]

[angleofscience]

[Shortly after this, Jetfire has been attempting to distract himself, having gone to the library but that's not exactly working, and all he can come up with?]

A question, if you will; what would be the difference between science and magic?

[He has accepted the possibility of more-than-natural... or supernatural/divine events, if barely, but that acceptance still doesn't explain a general question of what 'magic' could be in relation to known and quantifiable science.]

... Also, Starscream. Do you... have a moment?

[He's not sure asking this - no matter how interested he is in the answers - will be sufficient distraction, so he'll just go to someone he knows is good at distraction (if only to have all attention on himself).]

Comments

[angleofscience]

Mmh. That would be something I have wanted to take some time for myself, but before the war, too much information and interesting or important areas were being more and more restricted and shut off by the Council, so I didn't have any chance. After that...

[Jetfire trailed off, shaking his helm to himself. After that, he'd become more involved in Starscream's 'group', then left the Decepticons, and then there had been war, and things had been too busy or dangerous one way or another and then... he'd left Cybertron.]

Was he a medic too?

[heavyweaponsbot]

Shut off... by the what?

[Council? What council is this? His world was pretty strictly divided, between soldiers and civilians, with Megatron and Optimus running their respective sectors.]

Yeah. A little. But that was all he did, when war broke out. We needed him to.

[angleofscience]

The... Council of the Ancients. Their design was quite different from the average Cybertronian. They conferred the Matrix on the one chosen to be Prime, and held quite a lot of power. Enough to restrict access to various parts of Cybertron.

[Oh, that story is one he knows well. Intimately.]

War... does that, yes. I would have preferred to dedicate myself to science, even during the war, but that wasn't possible... And, admittedly, not a good use of resources.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[There's a beat, as Ironhide considers this.]

Yeah. Your world is nothing like mine.

... Hmn. Then... Wish you could have met. Pair of you would probably get along.

[angleofscience]

Apparently design isn't the only thing differing, no. [Jetfire smiles slightly at that though; maybe their wildly differing designs should be a pointer to how different everything else is.] How... did the war start in yours?

... Ah. I would very much have liked to meet him.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He shrugs. Ironhide's views on how the war began are... a little biased, to say the least.]

Megatron wanted more power than he had. As if running our army was not enough. He tried to claim it by any means necessary -- wiping out civilians in the process. And we opposed him.

[To the last part, he only nods. And leaves it at that.]

[angleofscience]

[Oh, he'll have to assume some bias; that's perfectly all right. Besides, even if Ironhide had personally talked to the Megatron from his universe about his intentions, unless he was on his side, bias would have to be assumed.]

Mmm... Sounds somewhat close. Of course, Megatron led no armies on my Cybertron... but we're quite sure one of his plans involved turning the planet mobile again. Probably using it as roaming, planet-sized war fortress.

Who knows the reason, or how he even knew of the possibility of Cybertron possessing planetary engines... That, I think, few know.

[heavyweaponsbot]

Your... Your Cybertron was mobile?

[angleofscience]

We have no idea. As far as we can ascertain with the proof we have; planetary engines, exhaust vents... it seems it was, or might have been, at one point. And could be, of course, if we could get them functioning and find fuel for them.

[He knows it sounds rather... outlandish, but there was enough proof found it should be possible to at least make an educated guess.]

[heavyweaponsbot]

... Have to remember that. To tell Ratchet if I see him again.

[It occurs to him, suddenly, that he said if, not when. There's a pause. And he forges on.]

Our world had nothing like that.

[angleofscience]

I'd tell you more if I kenw, but the only one who probably knows the most is Megatron.

[That pause is noticed, and Jetfire quietly waits for Ironhide to forge onwards.]

Considering we didn't know at all, it might, but otherwise it'd simply be another variable in the differences between our realities.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[It's a knee-jerk reaction. But he can't help the low growl that comes with hearing Megatron's name.]

Probably different.

Does not matter, anyway. If our planet were mobile, Decepticons would have destroyed the structures for resources by now.

[angleofscience]

Hm, that desperate for resources then, even when with the sort of advantages a suitably-armed Cybertron would make in addition to being mobile?

[Supplies (as in energon) had started to run out when he'd left on the mission, but at least he'd found out that it had come back on its own later.

... Much, much later.]

I suppose it doesn't matter; we'll not be able to cross-reference and actually find out if your Cybertron either were or are mobile as well, but I'm thankful for you indulging my curiosity... It's not every day you get the chance to compare differences and similarities between universes that are similar like ours.

[heavyweaponsbot]

The only advantage Megatron ever wanted was the All Spark. Nothing else mattered to him.

[He snorts a little.]

Sort of used to it. Happened once or twice on the Elegante.

[angleofscience]

Nothing I recognize... what did he want it for?

[There's a small smile at the reminder that Ironhide has been "elsewhere" before he came here, more because it's interesting than anything else.]

Ah, right. You've already had the experience of being somewhere else before here... Was it with variations of our own universes, or variations of others?

[heavyweaponsbot]

... It was the All Spark. Source of all life, all power, on Cybertron.

There were Decepticons there not from our world. And they did not look like you, either. Frames were all different.

[angleofscience]

... That's quite different. There are no single source of power for Cybertron where I'm from. Actually... It apparently shut down a while after I left, and then came back on its own, I found out later.

[A relief, that, even if it hadn't, ultimately, changed anything with the war. They still had a home. Hadn't driven it into dark and silent non-function.]

Like neither of ours? Interesting. While there's obviously a large gap between our designs, I don't see how many other variations there could be in design... A pity they were all Decepticons.

[heavyweaponsbot]

The planet? It shut down?

[Sure, his Cybertron did -- but that was after centuries of war destroyed it. Not... for any other reason, really. unless there was something the movies didn't say]

They looked more like your design. But... smoother. Less angles.

[angleofscience]

Yes. Lack of energon; the war had used up everything, but it appears that wasn't final. I assume it could even be part of a natural cycle, if resources run low.

[He hasn't had the chance to see the revitalized Cybertron for himself yet, and, considering, might never get to, but he won't lend any greater belief to that.

The description gets a nod, and Jetfire frowns slightly.]

A universe closer to mine than yours relative to any "placement" within the greater multiverse, probably.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[There's... sort of an awkward silence. Yes, he understands what Jetfire is saying. But he doesn't... quite know how to respond to it. Science and research was never really his area.]

Huh.

[Wow. That was a completely inadequate response.]

Good to know.

[Oh hey, a subject he can talk more about.]

Probably. Their war sounded... different, too. They mentioned some council or other.