Energon

To Cybertronians, Energon is quite literally life. There are a few things that everyone should know about Energon though, at least in terms of its uses and qualities in our theme here at TF2005 MUSH.

Raw Energon: There's no such thing as 'raw' energon as it was shown in the Beast Wars timeline. Energon is never in a crystalline form, nor is it naturally occurring. Energon is not a solid, even in cube form it is measured as a liquid fuel, much the same as one would look at a 20oz bottle of cola. The cube itself is merely a recyclable container.

Energon is a highly refined fuel source, much like gasoline is for humans. The difference is that while gasoline can only be refined from liquid petroleum, Energon can be refined from nearly any energy-producing material. Even electricity itself can be used to produce energon in great quantities.

Energon is much more efficient as an energy source than anything currently used on Earth. Only Nuclear fuels like Uranium and Plutonium are anywhere close to the potential of Energon. A few drops of it could easily power an automobile for an entire year, although Energon is not available as a consumer product on Earth. It is however, used by many of the Military forces across the globe to fuel their war machines.

Energon does come in different 'grades' although the blend used to fuel both Autobots and Decepticons is essentially the same. Decepticons as an army prefer a more pure blend, mostly due to the belief that it makes their weapons more effective in combat. In truth, Decepticons only add a small amount of a chemical compound that makes the Energon 'feel' more pure as it burns. High Command knows this is not the best solution, but so long as the ordinary troops believe that they have an edge of any kind, they allow them to hang on to that belief. Scientists on both sides however, have long ago proved that 'High Test' or 'High Octane' Energon is a misnomer. It is more pure, and does allow troops to become inebriated if they imbibe too heavily, but it is actually much less efficient in battle scenarios because it does burn so quickly and purely. The standard Energon formula is the most efficient form of fueling a Transformer, and has remained so for millions of years.

Energon is a highly unstable compound, and as such precautions must be taken while handling it. Dropping an energon cube could cause a chain reaction ending with an explosion. In proximity to other cubes, one small explosion could trigger a much larger one. While energon can be transported in subspace pockets it is very dangerous to do so. The physics of subspace pockets are still not fully understood. In some cases a Transformer can carry an energon cube for decades or centuries in their subspace pocket with no incidents, and in others the cube explodes as soon as it is shunted or retrieved. Damage to the carrier can also breach subspace in certain instances and cause a secondary explosion from within the body, resulting in massive damage. Carrying energon in subspace should be done only in extreme circumstances, and never in great quantities because of the possibility of a chain reaction that could destroy the carrier completely.