Universal stream
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Universal streamis the term used by theTranscendent Technomorphsto describe a specific point in time within the timeline of a single universe/dimension/reality inside theMultiverse,with said point usually, but not always, denoting the universe's point of origin. The TransTech have cataloged over 15,962,782 universal streams (over 1,176,325 of which have "come to termination" ), groupingrelated universesinto what are known asuniversal clustersand devising a classification system used to give each individual stream an alphanumeric designation.
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Universal clusters
There are six "main" universal clusters:
- Primax—theGeneration 1continuity family. Points of commonality between universal streams in this cluster involve the forces ofOptimus PrimeandMegatronbattling over the resources ofEarth.It also includes theBeast Era,a possible future in which those two factions evolve into the small and semi-organicMaximalsandPredacons.
- Viron—the2001Robots in Disguisecontinuity family, a small cluster in whichOptimus Prime's Autobots combatMegatron's Predacons.
- Aurex—theUnicron Trilogycontinuity family. In this cluster, the Autobots and Decepticons struggle over such power-boosting items asMini-ConsandCyber Planet Keyswhile also contending with the threat ofUnicron.
- Tyran—thelive-action moviecontinuity family, a violent cluster in which the search for the lostAllSparkbrings the Autobots and Decepticons to Earth, and humanity becomes heavily involved in the conflict.
- Malgus—theAnimatedcontinuity family, a cluster in which the war has ended andCybertronis at peace, andOptimus Prime's Autobots are superheroes on a near-future version of Earth.
- Uniend—theAligned continuity family,a cluster where Cybertron was poisoned byDark Energonand left uninhabitable for a long time byMegatronin his war againstOptimus Prime.Although previouslyseparatefrom the rest of the multiverse, its quantum membrane was punctured by the passage of theDark Spark.Later events in this cluster's streams involveBumblebeetaking command of a small team of Autobots to fightSteeljaw.
Other minor clusters include:
- Fornax—theKre-Ocontinuity family, home to modular brick-built Transformers.
- Iocus—a cluster essentially made up of overlapping aspects ofotherclusters, it is home to forgettable side-merchandise likeHero Mashers,Bot Shots,Construct-Bots,Battle Masters,andAttacktix,populated by 'bots functionally indistinct from their counterparts elsewhere in the multiverse, giving the outward appearance of worlds in which characters from different universes exist side by side.
- Nexus—the technologically advanced cluster where theTransTechworld ofAxiom Nexusresides.
- Quadwal—the "real world", in which Transformers exist primarily astoys.
- Yayayarst—theGo-Botscontinuity family, home to theGo-BotsofBotropolis.
Clusters in the farthest reaches of the multiverse only tenuously connected to the Transformers include:
- Cymond—the continuity family of variousTakaraTomynon-Transformersfranchises, right on the border between the Multiverse and the widerMegaverse.
- Gargent—theGoBotscontinuity family, home to theGuardiansandRenegadesofGobotron.
- Lukas—theStar Wars Transformerscontinuity family, where theJedibattle theSithusing transforming mecha. This cluster is said to have "thin barriers" with realities from elsewhere in theOmniverse.
- Rovio—theAngry Birds Transformerscontinuity family, a cluster where the dimensionally-displaced"EggSpark"accidentally changed the natives ofPiggy Islandinto theAutobirdsandDeceptihogs.
- Xobitor—theRobotixcontinuity family, home to theProtectonsandTerrakorsofSkalorr.
Deciphering the terminology
- For further information, see:List of universal streams
Each universal stream's name consists of three parts, beginning with the continuity family of origin, a number that indicates the "real world" date of creation, and a Greek letter that denotes the form of media. Supplied by writersGreg Sepelak,Trent Troop,andJim Sorenson,the list of Greek letters and the media to which they refer are:
- Alpha—animated series
- Beta—tech spec/toy/pack-in comic only ( "box" )
- Gamma—comic book series
- Delta—motion picture/live action
- Epsilon—club/convention fiction
Basically, you could classify this as a universe, Primax 490.07-G Gamma cos it's a comic that Grimlock drew in a comic from 7th April 1990.
Someone will do it too. - Zeta—text stories, storybooks, and other prose works (printed)
- Eta—radio/audiocentric universes, books on tape
- Theta—live performance/spoken word
- Iota—Internet-only information (not involved with club/convention)
- Kappa—games (video and otherwise)
- Lambda—covers, still images, and advertisements (there'sso manyLambdas these days that Vector Prime stopped keeping trackAsk Vector Prime, 2015/06/07)
So, for example,Primax 984.17 Alpharefers to the continuity of theoriginalTransformerscartoon,with"Primax"referring to the Generation 1 continuity family,"984.17"indicating the first episode's airdate ofSeptember 17,1984,and"Alpha"denoting an animated series. Using this information, we could, in theory, determine the names of yet-unnamed universes on our own—for example, the "Decepticon Dark Commander Grand Scourge"pack-in comic would be" Primax 915.0 Gamma ".
Furthermore, a minus symbol at the beginning of a universal stream's number indicates that this particular reality is anegative polarity universe,where the morals and personalities of most living beings (especially Cybertronians) are radically inverted. Thus far, at least eight negative polarity universes have been revealed, butVector Primehas hinted at the existence of many more, with the caveat that they are not as common aspositive polarity universes.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/14Epilogue Two
In the case of sources that identical streams of multiple universes could be connected to (such as story collections and anthologies, multiple versions of a video game, or comic book cover variants) a one or two-letter suffix is added to the number to indicate the actual source material. For example, from theTransformers Legendsanthology,Aurex 1104.30-DB Zetais the "Lonesome Diesel"short story byDavid Bischoff,whileAurex 1104.30-JH Zetais the "Fire in the Dark"short story byJohn Helfers.
Don'tCross the Streams
Spatial-temporal powers like the TransTech, the Alternity andFlaternity,and the Transformers of Cloud World could hop reality willy-nilly, andUnicronhas been known to move to new universes after he devours or is driven from one.Primusand Unicron can pluck you out of your reality and put you in another, and "Rhythms of Darkness!","Worlds Collide",and theUniverse Warall involve one or both sending agents to another reality.
For most of the multiverse, however, crossing from one universe to the other is bloody hard. Many never make contact with another universe and those that do, may only do so temporarily and in circumstances hard to replicate. There does exist dedicated technology to link one world and a specific other, as the Quintessons used with Menonia.
In late 2015 Quadwal time, interdimensional travel and communication, even to the hyper technologically advanced TransTech, was rendered nigh impossible as a result ofa cosmic event.Any universes or potential newuniversal clusterscreated after that time are beyond the knowledge of the TransTech and as such do not have a place in their database.
Major streams
Nearly two hundred streams have been named, over half of which exist within Primax realities. Among all of the known universes, however, there are nine known "pillar" realities, a set of universes that can be thought of as "foundational", with unusually high amounts of branching points and quantum echos.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/11/01The origin streams for these nine universes are:
- Primax 984.0 Gamma—theU.S. MarvelThe Transformerscomic.
- Primax 984.17 Alpha—The Transformerscartoon.
- Primax 496.22 Alpha—theBeast Wars/Beast Machinescartoons.
- Viron 901.8 Alpha—the 2001Robots in Disguisecartoon.
- Aurex 802.23 Alpha—theArmada/Energon/Cybertroncartoons.
- Primax 1005.19 Gamma—theIDW 2005 comic continuity/Hasbro Universe.
- Tyran 707.04 Delta—thelive-actionTransformersfilms.
- Malgus 1207.26 Alpha—theAnimatedcartoon continuity.
- Uniend 911.05 Alpha—thePrime/Rescue Bots/Robots in Disguise/Rescue Bots Academycartoon continuity.
See also
Notes
- Cor, all that's really complicated, isn't it! This is down to it originally being a joke on how fragmented the multiverse was back in 2008 (it only got worse!) and to make the TransTech seem more detached and alien.Greg "M Sipher" Sepalak,co-creator of the format, specified that the TransTech gave the universes "techy, unintuitive-sounding terms... since they're really just points of data to them (rather like the naming of exoplanets or individual asteroids and etc) rather than ongoing stories about characters."[1]
- With the termination of the partnership between Fun Publications and Hasbro at the end of2016,no new TransTech fiction has been published; as a result, newcontinuity familiesintroduced after 2016—such asCyberverseorBotBots—do not possess in-fiction universal stream designations and likely never will.
Foreign names
- Japanese:Jikūgun( thời không quần, "spacetime cluster" )
