Written by DBX
I've forgotten what it was like. I've forgotten what it was like to be able to fix any problem with tools. I've forgotten what it was like to live without breathing. I've forgotten what it was like to be a machine. I've forgotten...I've forgotten what it was like before the Great Reformatting.I remember Megatron, his attack on Cybertron, the lives that were lost. And I remember having my spark extracted from my shell. It was strange after that, like I was constantly in motion yet I felt a strange calm, a peace that I can't describe. Then I remember a strange sensation, like I was being torn from that and thrown to the ground. The first moments of my techno-organic life felt so strange, at first I thought I was dying. Having felt the sensation since, I know what it was, it was as though I was running out of air. It hurt, but it was the first time I had ever felt pain, the real pain. Technological don't feel real pain, the data they obtain from their sensors is translated into something like organic pain, but the real thing is far worse. Being reformatted was the most painful thing I had ever felt...or maybe it was being brought back from death. It was something none of us asked for, but was thrust upon all of us. Some accepted it quickly, others refused to accept it and still haven't. What I feel, is that I have no other choice what can we possibly do about it?
A month after the Great Reformatting, life returned to some semblance of normal on Cybertron. It could never be the same, we all had to learn about our home all over again, as well as learning about ourselves. We needed food now, real food that the techno-organic plants and trees provided. We needed water that was brought to us from the sources all over Cybertron. And we needed oxygen. Our bodies no longer required only one power source. Wounds now took days to heal instead of minutes in an R-Chamber. We lived like the humans now, we weren't robots anymore, we were something else.
The six Maximals who had saved the planet took charge at first, their leader was Cheetor but he left the planet to find others who had escaped the planet during Megatron's attack. Something happened to him, he didn't come back. His friends left to find him, they disappeared too. We had a skeleton council, but someone took charge a Cybertronian named Destron. He didn't waste much time with moving his own plans forward. Immediately he ordered the destruction of all non-essential tech. To him, ships were non-essential. The shipyards were dismantled and most of the tech on the planet was melted down. Anyone who landed on the planet was immediately taken to the reformatting centers, while they were there, their ships were destroyed preventing them from ever leaving the planet. Maybe it was to prevent them from warning others about the harsh environment. Cybertron has become a dictatorship. Techno-organic life was rough at first, but now it's turned into a nightmare.
Not everyone is open to Destron's ideas, there's been a lot of opposition but they're quieted quickly. I'm sure if Destron had his way, protestors would be executed on sight. The rest of the council has kept Destron in check for this long, there's no telling what would happen if they weren't around. The protests range from picketing to desecration of the reformatting centers. I only wish that the protests were greater in number, maybe we would have a voice. It's not that I'm totally opposed to techno-organics, I just don't believe it's working very well for Cybertron. If this continues, the planet will die. And not because the techno-organics did it, but because we did it.
I've heard rumors lately of a small group of rebels. A handful of Cybertronians that made it past the reformatting. They say the Technological have been trying to stop Destron from forcing people to be reformatted and to stop the destruction of the ships. I wish they would do more than that. It impresses me that they've survived for this long, the Guard have been patrolling Cybertropolis a lot lately, it makes me believe these rumors. But if the Guard are still out looking for them, it means they haven't been caught, and that Destron isn't trying to convert them, he's trying to kill them. Maybe there is something to all of this talk of a rebellion.
Destron addresses the public a lot talking about working for a new age on Cybertron, one that was totally organic. He mentions visions that the Oracle gives him and that it will only speak to him. He once told us that the creature Noble was only the beginning. That one day all Cybertronians would be totally organic. I'm almost afraid of that day. If techno-organics have turned out like this, what will being totally organic be like? He's up to something. Word is spreading that large amounts of funds are being diverted to an unknown project, and that Destron may be using the tech he so often preaches against. If that's true, then what for? What's he planning? Some are saying it has something to do with the disappearances. During the night, people leave but don't ever come back. There's something amiss here. I've become worried, not just for myself and my friends, but for all of Cybertron.
Destron talks of a new age on Cybertron, but I fear we may already be in our last. In our quest for Cybertron's future, I think we've lost sight of its past. As I said, I've forgotten what it was like before the reformatting, what it felt like to be a robot. Could Cybertron's founders recognize it now?
