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transformersmr-hq · 5 years

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Worldbuild brought back from graveyard - CNA? Nah dude it's just DNA

(Worldbuild brought back from graveyard: TFMR worldbuilding posts which are brought back from retcon beecause it is still relevant)

Short version: “Cybernucleic acid” my aft!

Long version:

(Was under the cut before but don't know how to do it on mobile anymore)

CNA? DNA!

In Transformers: Mobius Run universe, Cybertronian genetic materials are neither any kind of acid nor carried inside some cyber-cell’s nucleus. Rather, it is a kind of program that has converted from the electromagnetic signature of a spark. It is called DNA, shortened for Digital Nanobiotic Algorithm. I know it is a random science-y words patched together for the sake of acronym, but at least I didn’t rip off a piece of Earth biology and slapped “cyber” in front of it!

Relationship between EM Signature and DNA

All sparks have unique "characteristics" within their electromagnetic emission (intensity, frequency, fluctation etc), which makes it possible to tell one spark apart from another. This is called “EM Signature”. It’s something like human fingerprint, as it is almost impossible for two different spark to share same signature (Split-spark twins or some types of combiners are exception).

When a proto-egg is formed from a newly-emerged spark, the spark gathers the minerals from the soil with its hot temperature and magnetism. Right after the proto-egg finishes building stable outer shell, the rest of the materials become nanites that builds up protoform and other body parts. This is where the EM Signature comes into play. The nanites converts EM signature into strings of codes, which then become a kind of program that orders the nanites to build the body parts according to it. This “digital blueprint” is what Cybertronian scientists refer to as DNA.

TL;DR: Pulse Signature is the light coming out from spark. When nanites sees it and write a blueprint out of it, it is called DNA.

How similar is it from human DNA?

Aside from the acronym? not much. Unlike human DNA(hDNA), which can be extracted with some science tools and chemicals, Cybertronian DNA(cDNA) is not tangible because it exists as information. Cybertronian forensic scientists do not “extract” DNA. They “transcribe” it onto some other medium.

Another thing is that cDNA is relatively more difficult to acquire compared to hDNA. Humans can simply pull out a hair or rub inside of their mouth with a q-tip. Cybertronians have to take blood energon samples, which can be an unpleasant experience because their fuel lines are hiding deep inside the body while being protected by layers of thick armor. The only alternative would be to snip a bit of protoform tissue underneath their armor, which means literally cutting off part of their flesh so obviously it also hurts like pit. This is because cDNA is carried only by nanites. Nanites are not present in armorplates. The “inactive” ones form Cybertronian flesh, and the “live” ones circulate their body mixed with energon and other stuff. It IS possible to transcribe cDNA from inactive nanites, but live nanites taked from blood-energon yields the most accurate and up-to-date result.

Due to some weird coincidence, *cough*cheapplotdevice*cough* cDNA also uses hDNA’s “4-alphabets-grouped-into-3” format. If humans have enough technology to understand and compare cDNA to hDNA, they would be able to convert cDNA into hDNA form or the other way round - It wouldn’t have much point in doing so, however, because that would be like writing what a foreign language sound like in english rather than its proper translation (e.g. cDNA code=“Привет, мир!” / Ideal translation=“Hello, world!” / what actually “translates” into hDNA code=“preevyet, meer!”)

DNA and magnetism

Ever seen Youtube vids where a laptop is wiped clean with huge magnets? DNA can also be wiped clean from nanites if they are treated with magnets,though it can only be done when they are outside the body (away from spark's EM field) and has not been converted to inactive state. These “blank nanites” can be given to any bots who suffered major protoform loss almost without any side effecs. Since hospitals need these blank nanites a lot, they took blood-energon donations from healthy bots.

A living bot can also be negatively affected by strong magnets, but as long as their EM field is protecting them their nanites ate safe. If every nanites inside a bot were to be wiped clean, they would have to be thrown into Jupiter or something.

DNA and bodily modifications

Cybertronians are made to shapeshift. Whenever they scan a new vehicle form, their nanites also have to update their blueprint to match with the current body. T-cog is the organ responsible for keeping DNA up-to-date. Yes, their DNA changes. Two blood samples taken from same bot won't always show the same result.

Bodily modifications, such as surgery, also triggers DNA update if it is drastic enough. For example, when a bot born with limb malformations undergoes surgeries to get functioning set of legs, their DNA will change as soon as T-cog recognizes the body.

Still, there is a part in DNA that won't change no matter how many transformations a bot goes through. It's like a tag with their name on it. Two blood samples taken from same bot may not always yield same result, but proving that both came from one bot is not difficult.

The inactive protoforms are like fossils, which contains DNA of the time right before they went inactive. A piece of Bot's protoform may show the entire history of the transformations they have gone through.

#transformers: mobius run #writing #worldbuilding #wbbfg #cna #dna #cybertronian biology #cybernucleic acid? seriously?#maccadam

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