andersonh1 wrote:Onslaught Six wrote:Are we ever given any indication that the TFs can purge their new altmodes? Ever?
Why could they adopt them but not discard them? That wouldn't make any sense.
The Maximals are shown using the CR chambers to change form in the first episode of Beast Wars, in conjunction with the aerial DNA scanners. Later on that scanners are used with the stasis pods as seen in "The Spark" and the episode where Silverbolt and Quickstrike first show up. The ability to alter form is not internal at that point. It requires an external mechanical procedure. There's no reason the same procedure that altered a mechanical being into a synthetic beast couldn't then alter that same beast back into something more mechanical. If the modification is possible one way, it should be possible to go back the other direction.
Now it may be the case that not all of the organic molecules can be removed once the re-conversion has taken place. This may be what Megatron's problem was in Beast Machines. Even if he went into a CR chamber and converted out of the dragon form into some vehicle, traces of organic material would remain. And he couldn't stand the idea. Hence his continuing attempts to simply purge his existing body of all organic 'contamination'.
That's somewhat what I'm thinking; they would've had to have some way of discarding their organic modes, after every expedition - it wouldn't make sense if they didn't, since they visited worlds that may not have had flora or fauna compatible with the flora or fauna of the previous world the visited. Botanica is actually a great argument for that; her crew visited and adopted the forms from a planet full of sentient plantlife; visiting such a planet after visiting Planet Beest while still having the organic animal form from the latter would be disastrous. As I said, the only way i can see any DNA form purging mechanism available on Cybertron not working for Megatron would be if, as you said, the purging wasn't perfect and complete, or the Transmetal 2 body he had was so far removed from the typical "season 1" beast modes that Rhinox has and would've been typical for expedition crews at the time, that the purging mechanism just couldn't handle trying to remove it.
On the other hand, I must requestion why the Oracle decided to go with such a complicated plan to make Cybertron technorganic, when it's clear the Transformers were already heading in that direction, on their own; the advent and widespread use - and eventual internalization - of the DNA scanners seems to indicate the population was bucking their aversion to "fleshlings", and were starting to put deeper investigation into organic life and how it could benefit them. That's the main problem I have with the Oracle's plan; it's pretty much forcing the populace to "evolve" (and yes, I know that's not how evolution works, but just go with it) into the technorganic beings they are ALREADY becoming, on their own. Maybe it got impatient with the slow process upon which it was moving? How would the Transformers world be like, if the Oracle took a look at its plan, realized "the populace is already doing my work, for me, and this would be way too inefficient and risky to achieve the same result", and scrapped it in favor for letting the DNA scanner development continue?
