Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 191 Negative Examples

Shockwave's questioning was arranged in the adjudication hall attached to the judicial center, where there was more space to allow the entire steel cable team to enter.

The Steel Cable Squad arrived early, still in robot form.

Steel Cable stood at the very front, his size estimated to be about the same as Megatron's; Flying Darts stood next to him with his arms crossed, his wings folded behind him.

Howl seemed somewhat impatient, his fingers occasionally scratching at his arm armor; Mud stood a little further back, looking down at the ground; Iron Slag remained silent, his optical glasses fixed on the center of the adjudication hall.

-

Shockwave entered the adjudication hall precisely on time.

The purple machine paused for a moment at the doorway, its single eye sweeping over the steel cable team before turning to the gravitational vector sitting behind the adjudicator's seat.

They took their seats in the designated area.

After confirming the attendees, the vector reader got straight to the point and looked at the documents on the table.

"This inquiry mainly addresses the issue of Shockwave's unauthorized detention, experimental modifications, and forced alteration of the deformable structure and vehicle form without the consent of the Steel Cable Team members."

"The relevant records were previously submitted by the victims and were supplemented before and after Operation Aquitron; they are now being formally processed."

Shockwave said, "The modification has been remarkably effective at the tactical level."

Howling looked up immediately, and the steel cable reached out to stop him.

The vector is directed toward the oscillation wave.

"I haven't asked you yet."

Shockwave paused: "Received."

The steel cable team also managed to suppress their restless anger.

The vector opened each document and made inquiries.

"Shockwave, do you admit to modifying its body without the explicit consent of the Steel Cable Squad members?"

"Did you forcibly alter their transformation structure during the modification process, causing their vehicle mode to transform into a mechanical dinosaur mode?"

"Did this process not go through any judicial, medical, or subject rights review procedures?"

"Does this mean we acknowledge that the participants in the experiment were not volunteers?"

The shockwave's answer to the above questions is:

"admit."

The steel cable's fingers were intertwined, as if this could strangle Shockwave's head.

The vector glanced at the steel cable team.

Did the mechanical dinosaur form demonstrate high adaptability in subsequent battles?

Steel Cable hadn't expected her to ask that, and after a moment's pause, he replied, "Yes."

"So, do you want to revert to your original vehicle form?"

This time, the Steel Cable Squad remained silent for a longer period. Howl turned its head away unhappily, while Mud stared at its arm.

Iron Slag finally spoke: "No need."

The steel cable continued, "This shape suits us."

In case a machine finds a logical reason, he quickly added:

"But that's not a reason for him to force us to make changes directly."

The vector nodded, closing the document while looking at the oscillation wave.

"Whether it's suitable or not, you have no right to decide for them."

Shockwave's one-eyed creature turned toward her.

"Experimental simulations show that this form has advantages in high-intensity close combat, adaptability to complex terrain, suppression effect and group tactical benefits, and is highly compatible with the original organic structure of the steel cable squad."

"Shockwave." Vector rubbed his temples. "It's not that the process can be ignored just because the result is logical."

Shockwave offered a slight explanation: "In wartime, efficiency takes precedence."

"That's not the case anymore, let's start over."

The shockwave fell silent.

The vector leaned back against the chair, and the optical mirror remained calm.

"Even if they were your prisoners of war at the time, without submitting an experiment application, explaining the risks, and obtaining consent from the individuals involved, these are not your rights."

Howling followed her words and muttered something under his breath, but this time the steel cable didn't stop him.

The vector heard it, but did not stop it.

Shockwave said, "This judgment has an ethical gap."

The darts glared at him, howled, and leaped up, only to be caught one by one by the mud and slag.

The vector tapped its finger on the table, and the courtroom fell silent once more.

"Let's continue discussing solutions."

"First, the involuntary bio-modification of the Steel Cable Squad by Shockwave will be fully recorded in the judicial central archives. Parts involving individual bio-structure, spark response, and medical privacy will be appropriately obscured, but the nature of the case, procedural violations, and ethical issues of the experiment will be made public."

The brightness of the single eye of the shockwave changed slightly.

"Secondly, this case will be included as a case study in relevant courses at Cybertron College."

The Steel Cable team seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but Shockwave spoke first: "This project has reference value."

Yin Xiangdong sneered: "After all, he's a negative example."

Shockwave paused for two seconds again: "...Logical."

Feibiao laughed out loud, and his howl also spread across his face, the steel cable visibly loosening considerably.

Vector continued, "Third, Shockwave needs to formally apologize to the Steel Cable Squad."

The shockwave turned towards the steel cable team, and the attracted vector spoke without much hesitation, its posture upright.

"Steel cables, iron slag, silt, darts, howling."

"I have detained and physically modified you without your permission."

"This behavior violated your wishes, and I should bear the consequences and repercussions caused."

He paused: "I'm sorry."

She stared at him, howling, trying to determine whether this counted as an apology.

The mud seemed barely accepting, and Feibiao snorted but wasn't as angry anymore.

Iron Slag looked at Shockwave: "So you know you can't do that anymore, right?"

Shockwave replied: "It has been incorporated into the new restrictions."

He howled and sneered, "That doesn't sound like normal speech."

Shockwave said, "My statement is logical."

Howling: "..."

The vector almost wanted to cover its head, but it continued anyway.

Fourth, economic compensation.

The steel cable team all looked over instantly.

The vector projection displays the compensation list.

"Compensation for involuntary modifications, compensation for losses during the postoperative adaptation period, compensation for unauthorized experiments during wartime, compensation for damage to principal rights, and subsequent maintenance funds."

The optics of the dart shone as brightly as a flashlight; howling, looking at the numbers behind him, stopped his rising anger.

Silt stared at the string of numbers for a long time: "This is actually for us? So much?"

"Mud." Steel Cable coughed, trying to maintain the proper seriousness in the adjudication hall, but he couldn't keep it up himself.

Shockwave's assessment of the list was: "The amount exceeds the basic damage estimate."

Yin Zong raised an eyebrow and asked him, "You want to appeal?"

The shockwave paused: "No."

"very good."

The vector is deactivated to disable compensation projection, and the next ruling is initiated.

Fifth, the responsibility to uphold it for life.

Inside the adjudication hall, several mechanical dinosaurs stared wide-eyed through the optical lenses, each one looking more surprised than the last.

"Since you modified the mechanical dinosaur form without the subject's consent, you will be responsible for all issues related to this form free of charge while the Steel Cable Squad retains it, including: structural wear and tear, adaptation problems, daily maintenance, battle damage repair, and subsequent safety calibration."

Shockwave's single eye shone even brighter: "Deadline?"

"Until you die, or the Steel Cable Squad members die."

He howled and laughed without any restraint, slapping his thighs repeatedly, and raised his hand to cover the lower half of his face with a dart.

The corners of the steel cable's mouth should be shoulder to shoulder with the light bulbs on the ceiling of the adjudication hall.

The mud asked a bunch of questions excitedly:

"Will I come to you for tail repairs from now on? Teeth? Dart wings?"

Shockwave: "...if it is related to morphological structure, then yes."

Then Shockwave returned to her, her tone less flat: "Long-term maintenance costs are expected to be high."

"That's the cost you incurred by changing it without asking in the first place."

Shockwave seemed hesitant to speak, and finally said, almost frustratedly, "It makes sense."

The Steel Cable team was all very comfortable, and Steel Cable even seemed willing to give Vector a big hug on the spot.

The vector then states the last term:

"Sixth, from today onwards, all your experimental projects will be subject to full supervision by the judicial central government."

The energy loops of the shockwaves all paused briefly.

"These include Decepticon-related projects, personal and potential future cross-faction collaboration projects, and any experiments involving body modification, consciousness processing, spark reactions, shapeshifting structures, live samples, alien ecological data, and non-native model sources."

She went on and on, feeling like she was exhausting herself explaining the shockwave.

"Before each experiment can be launched, an application must be submitted, specifying the purpose, target population, risks, remedial measures, and ethical review results. Experiments may not be launched without approval."

"The authority over experimental funding, sample retrieval, equipment usage, and experimental subject recruitment has been reduced and is subject to real-time monitoring."

"If a violation occurs even once, the judicial authorities have the right to shut down the laboratory."

Even the Steel Cable Squad didn't say a word this time. Even with the mechanical dinosaur's brain, it was clear how severe this punishment was, especially for Shockwave, who loved scientific research.

Shockwave sat there, staring at the terms on the projection for a long time with his one eye, and said, "This regulation will significantly reduce research efficiency."

"It will also significantly reduce your chances of getting into trouble," says Vector.

Howling's shoulders jerked, and Steel Cable suddenly turned its head.

Shockwave's single red eye met her gaze quietly, without arguing. In that brief pause and change in brightness, the vector could discern a hidden... grievance and dissatisfaction.

She looked back at him speechlessly: "What are you complaining about?"

The shockwave moved forward a little, getting closer to her.

"The excessive compression of research resources will affect the progress of multiple projects."

"You almost put the entire Steel Cable Squad on the lab bench, and now you're talking to me about resource allocation?"

Shockwave: "..."

The vector stared at him: "Still feeling wronged?"

Shockwave didn't say he wasn't aggrieved, but ultimately admitted, "I accept regulation."

"You're smart to know what's good for you."

After the ruling was officially entered into the system, BICk0 confirmed it and said, "The above terms shall take effect immediately."

The Steel Cable Squad and Shockwave were glaring at each other again the short while after BICk0 confirmed the terms.

In the entire adjudication hall, the calmest person was actually the gravitational vector. It wasn't that he wasn't angry, but he had suddenly realized in the past few days that Cybertron had another mess to clean up and he was at a loss.

"I know you're angry."

Steel Cable turned to look at her, howling coldly. The dart fell silent, and the optical lens of mud and iron slag landed on her.

"This is something Shockwave did wrong."

"I am very grateful that you are willing to hand over your appeal to the judicial center and listen to my handling of it here."

"Also, you performed very well on the battlefield of Aquitron."

Steel Cable paused, Flying Dart's wings flapped involuntarily, and Muddy gripped the chair armrests a beat later.

Vector: "You did a fantastic job encircling, advancing, suppressing, and protecting the wounded's escape route."

"These will all be included in the system and will serve as models for combat-related courses in the academy in the future."

Howling tried to pretend he wasn't reacting, even though he was shaking his leg with excitement. Flying Darts looked at the ceiling, trying to turn the corners of his mouth into underscores, but he failed.

"There's one last thing." She leisurely activated the training ground access. "If you still need a more direct solution, the Judicial Center training ground can be opened for half a StarCraft hour."

Shockwave's body froze, and the atmosphere in the Steel Cable Squad changed instantly.

Howling immediately stood up straight.

"But there are restrictions: attacking the fire pod or causing irreversible damage is prohibited, and the training grounds of the judicial center must be friendly."

Shockwave made a final stand: "This arrangement does not constitute a necessary legal process."

The vector slowly turned its head.

Shockwave shut up.

-

The training ground was ultimately opened for twenty-seven minutes.

BICk0 reminded them that there would be another round of inquiries after the shockwave.

When the steel cable team came out of the training ground, their mood was noticeably better.

The shockwave was the last to appear, leaving a noticeable dent on the left shoulder, several scratches on the edge of the breastplate, and shallow cracks on the outer shell of the back.

Overall, the steel cable team held back, considering the pile of compensation they had just received and the influence of the vector.

When the shock wave returned to the adjudication chamber, the gravitational vector was still in its original position.

"Do you need medical treatment?"

"It does not affect inquiries."

After scanning the marks on his body and confirming that he was unharmed, the vector sensor took out another document.

It records information from an organic planet far from Cybertron.

"Now let's talk about the source of your model."