Transformers: Leader's Proof - Fragile, but Hard to Kill

Chapter 30 Medicine? What medicine? Check it out?

"I can't find the antidote," Arcee's hands searched the surface of the Decepticon data room.

"Are you sure, Arcee?" "I've searched everywhere, and it's not there."

"Then let's search again." Upon hearing this, Arcee exited the interface, went back, and clicked search again.

They had just crossed the land bridge to reach the Decepticon warship and sneaked into the archives to search for the antidote to save Optimus Prime, but it seemed that the database here didn't have it.

"Did you use redundant quantum algorithms?"

"I don't need you to teach me. Do you think you're the only one who cares about Optimus Prime?"

Rosa peered through the door, listening for any sounds outside, just in case someone suddenly came in.

“Buzz, beep (Arcy, come and see this)” Bumblebee walked around the room, as if he saw something. He pointed to a door further inside. Arcee was a little puzzled, but when she went over, she also let out a sigh.

"My God..." Arcee opened the door, and Rosa, who was standing by the other door, also saw the scene inside... Megatron covered in devices.

Good news: Megatron is dying; his life is being maintained by equipment.

Arcee, who wanted to take the opportunity to kill Megatron, was stopped by the Ratchet in the channel. Megatron's brain activity was still very strong. If the Cybertronian plague was caused by the Decepticons, then Megatron is the most likely person to know the antidote, because it may be the only way to save Optimus Prime.

Because he is the leader of the Decepticons.

But someone has to get into his head and find the antidote.

"Enter Megatron's brain? Are you out of your mind?" Arcee asked, puzzled. This was far too risky.

"I'll go," Rosa said, raising her hand first. She had some experience with possession, having tried to possess other killer enemies before, and had also been possessed by the consciousness in her grandmother's tail. She just didn't know if the cortical mental connection could bypass her grandmother's access to see her memories.

There's still some risk involved; the memories can't be seen, otherwise they'll know the real way to kill themselves.

"Rosa! That's cortical-mental connection! Nobody here has ever done anything like that! Not even an ambulance!!" Arcee shouted at Rosa.

"I haven't done any related work, but I have carefully studied the research papers!"

"Let me guess, you're not aware of it when you first go in, and you only realize it later when you do," Rosa said thoughtfully.

"Yes...how did you know?" The ambulance driver was taken aback by her words. "Have you been in contact with them before?"

"Can you delete the other person's memories or restore their memory files? Or allow the viewer to unilaterally log out at any time?" (ps: There's a similar device in Inorganic Killer.)

The ambulance recalled what it had learned from its research: "I didn't see these in the paper; the version I saw only included the parts I could remember."

"So you really have relevant experience?" Arcee and Bumblebee were both looking at Rosa.

"Yes, but it's just a similar device, probably not as perfect as this one, and I'm the one who was possessed." Of course, I've also tried to invade others. Obviously, Rosa didn't say the last sentence. She paced back and forth, hesitating whether to use the cortical mind link.

"Buzzing, buzzing..."

“Bumblebee is right. If Rosa had the experience, she should indeed be directing from outside, not going in. But if she does that…” Arcee murmured.

“In that case, who will go in…” “Buzzing” Bumblebee interrupted Arcee, saying he was willing to go in.

Rosa paused for a moment. She wasn't sure if the cortical-mental connection could bypass the solver's permissions, nor was she sure if the equipment used on both sides was similar. She had been considering whether to take the risk, but now that someone was willing to go in…

Bumblebee and Arcee looked at Rosa, who nodded. "Let's make this clear first, the device I'm using might be a little different from this one, and it might not be helpful." Rosa picked up a tube used for cortical-mental connection, walked around behind Megatron, and connected it to him.

"Everything is ready," Arcee responded to the ambulance after seeing Rossa's "all set" gesture.

"Activate the cortical-mental connection." As Arcee connected Bumblebee, Bumblebee trembled a few times and fell into hibernation, entering Megatron's consciousness.

Just as Rosa had thought, this system was indeed very different from the one back home.

The downlink communication is activated, which allows the ambulance to see Bumblebee's experience in Megatron's subconscious. Bumblebee is now wandering in Megatron's consciousness, and after gradually going deeper, he finally sees Megatron.

Megatron is subconsciously thinking about killing Optimus Prime; well, it's clear that's what he most wants to do.

Bumblebee subconsciously shielded Optimus Prime from Megatron's subconscious mind, and the attack pierced through Bumblebee's body, which also drew Megatron's attention to him.

When Megatron tried to attack Bumblebee, he found himself unable to do so. As he wondered who it was, the Optimus Prime-Bumblebee partition appeared in his subconscious...

Megatron gradually realized something, breaking free from the unconscious connection. "If this is my subconscious..." Megatron looked at Bumblebee.

"Then what are you doing in my head?!" Megatron roared at Bumblebee.

With the sound of a door opening, TF entered: Starscream, Knockout, and Soundwave. Starscream and Knockout seemed to be trying to persuade Soundwave to let Megatron rest in peace, even though Megatron's mind was still active.

However, if Megatron were to die now, Bumblebee's consciousness within his mind would also perish along with him.

-

"The only way you can enter my consciousness is through the cortical-mental connection! But what I'm more concerned about is, what exactly happened to me?!" Megatron's angry appearance startled Bumblebee. In Bumblebee's memories, he saw the Space Bridge explode and him get hurt.

"So it was the Space Bridge that exploded, but now that you've invaded my brain, that means I haven't died yet!" Megatron slowly looked at Bumblebee.

"Tell me, scout, am I still alive?"

— [Bumblebee, we're out of time!]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

“Soundwave, can I take your silence to mean that you agree with the knockout medical claims?” Red Spider was still trying to persuade Soundwave, but that wasn’t the reason for Soundwave’s silence.

There is a cortical mind-body connection device in Megatron.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Bumblebee used persuasion to get Megatron to release the antidote formula.

Even though Megatron only released the antidote formula for a moment, Ratchet successfully saw the formula through Bumblebee's perspective and immediately contacted Arcee via internal communication to disconnect the cortical mental connection.

The connection between consciousness and reality began to collapse. Bumblebee's consciousness returned to his body, and the optical mirror flickered a few times before he woke up.

"Who's there! There's an intruder! And that monster!" Starscream shouted, but the land bridge had already opened, and Arcee fired a shot at the device that Megatron was using to maintain the spark before she left.

Although the pressure of the sound waves eventually forced him to be knocked down and rescued.

-

"That monster! Why hasn't that monster eaten those Autobots yet!" Starscream yelled in the command center. Of course, he had also seen that clip—the clip of the monster losing sanity.

In fact, they knew the monster was still alive as early as when they kidnapped Agent Fuller's Autobot for rescue; he himself had even seen the monster's figure.

Perhaps it was the massacre at the recruit training camp and that fragment that made him subconsciously believe that the monster was waiting for an opportunity to strike, that the monster would definitely eat them, but she didn't.

No! No!