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Golden Disk (Voyager)

2010-01-11T07:53:06Z

125.237.207.37: /* Theft of the Golden Disk */

{{disambig3|Golden Disk}}
:''The ''Voyager'' Golden Disk is an artifact from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Megatron GoldenDisk.jpg|right|250px|thumb|DJ Meggy spins the hits.]]
The '''Golden Disk''' from the ''Voyager'' probe is a recurring object throughout the Beast Wars. It plays a major role in the escalation of the conflict between the [[Maximal|Maximals]] and the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] and leads to the death of [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]. It is eventually destroyed, but the Predacon leader, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], recovers one of the shards and uses it to escape capture at the hands of a [[Ravage (G1)|Cybertronian government agent]].

{{bigquote|A seemingly insignificant scrap of metal made by [[human|a small, fragile species hardly worth mentioning]]....and yet this object holds the key to the conquest of the whole of Cybertron. For over three hundred cycles, the Golden Disk has carried the mystery of incredible power under its shimmering surface. I can tell you the tales of a thousand Maximals and Predacons who have hunted this dark relic. Every story had the same ending.....''destruction''.|Cryotek, giving a history lesson}}

==Fiction==
===Theft of the Golden Disk===
[[Cryotec]] ordered Megatron to steel the golden disk but megatron betrayed him and keeped it for him self leaving Cryotec and [[Dirge (BWII)|Dirge]] to the maximal police
{{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

===Dawn of Future's Past===
{{stub}}
{{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon===
Sometime within roughly a decade of when the Transformers aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] awoke in the eruption of [[Mount St. Hilary]] (possibly earlier, possibly later), the humans of planet Earth launched a spacecraft to study the outer planets in their solar system. Attached
to this spacecraft was a gold disk which contained information about Earth. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], the [[Decepticon leader|leader]] of the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], acquired it at some point and encoded an additional message on the disk.

Megatron's message was even more of a "message in a bottle" than the disk itself, although the complete message was never revealed. He orders any Decepticons who might, in the future, come across the message to use [[transwarp]] technology to achieve some particular end.

{{note|Exactly what end is unrevealed because the disk was destroyed before the message was ever played on-camera. Predacon [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] plays only a surviving fragment of the message for [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. Presumably, the rest of the message indicates the location of the Ark
and asks the descendants of the Decepticons to use transwarp technology to travel through time, gain access to the Ark using codes to [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] encoded on the disk, and change history by killing [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], before he can defeat Megatron and win the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].}}

[[Image:Statue rockandrollhalloffame.jpg|right|180px|thumb|A giant statue outside the [[Cybertron Archives|archives]] where it was stored includes <strike>a copy</strike> copies.]]
At some point between Decepticon Megatron adding his message to the disk and the beginning of the Beast Wars, the spacecraft holding the disk—or perhaps only the disk—fell into the hands of the [[Transformer|Transformers]]. It was seemingly considered a precious artifact, even though the
general population of Maximals had no idea what it really was (and even some Predacons—like the reformatted Decepticon Ravage—didn't have a clue). The [[Maximal Elder|Maximal Elders]] were presumably aware of the Disk's origin.

The Predacons stole the Golden Disk from the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] archives. Megatron claimed that the disk held the location of a vast store of energon, with which the Predacon commander believed he could reignite the Great War against the Maximals. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

[[Image:Dinobot GoldenDisk.jpg|left|175px|thumb|"Well look at that. I've ''actually'' talked till I'm blue in the face."]]
[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] broke into the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]] and stole the Golden Disk. He then climbed to a high peak where he pontificated to himself about the potential power the wielder of the Golden Disk could hold, and the potential danger that came with it. On a personal level, he felt that it could either confirm or destroy his own reason for being. He needed to believe himself the master of his own fate, and if history could not be changed, then he could only believe himself a deterministic pawn. He eventually decided that the most prudent thing to do with an item of infinite power was to shove it under a large rock. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)}}

Later, he noticed that the Predacons had been setting up installations around their base in a pattern that matched the shape of one of the symbols on the disk. Realizing that Megatron still meant to alter history, Dinobot rejoined him to discover the truth of his own destiny. He led Megatron to the location of the Golden Disk and presented it to him. Shortly afterwards, Dinobot defected to the Maximals once again, but Megatron escaped with the Golden Disk. {{storylink|Maximal, No More}}

Not long afterwards, Megatron began testing history's mutability, discovering through the images contained in the disk that he had the power to alter the timeline. The Predacons attacked the valley from which humanity's ancestors would emerge, but Dinobot launched a one-man berserker attack on the Predacons, single-handedly defeating them and shattering the Golden Disk with his last bit of energy. {{storylink|Code of Hero}}

Megatron was captured by Covert Agent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] for violations of the [[Pax Cybertronia]], but revealed that he still possessed a lone fragment of the Golden Disk, which contained a message encoded by the original Megatron. He played it for Ravage, convincing the former Decepticon to release and join forces with him. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}}

The nature of the connection between the Golden Disk and the mysteriously similar [[Golden Disk (Vok)|Alien Disk]] is completely unknown.

==Toys / Merchandise==
===Timelines (2006)===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-RattrapDoFP.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Golden Cyber Disk Key Power!]]
* '''Dawn of Future's Past'''
Most of the exclusive toys from [[BotCon 2006]] come with a Golden Disk key. It is a [[redeco]]ed [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] [[Cyber Key]]. It is meant to represent the Golden Disk as it appeares in [[Dawn of Future's Past]].
{{-}}

===Robot Heroes (2008)===
[[Image:Robotheroessilverboltmegatron.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Little bauble," indeed, yesss.]]
* '''Silverbolt vs Megatron'''

[[Transmetal]] Megatron comes with the disk in his tail-claw projector device.
{{-}}

==The real Golden Disk==
[[Image:Eg2-goldendisk.jpg|right|185px|thumb|Ow -8 *..]]
The Golden Disk that appears in ''Beast Wars'' is based on a real object: In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft called ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2'', which flew by our planetary system's four gas giants. (Jupiter and Saturn were visited by both craft, Uranus and Neptune only by ''Voyager 2''.) The ''Pioneer 10'' and ''11'' spacecraft which preceded them had carried copies of a plaque depicting
human beings and showing the location of Earth with respect to several highly-visible pulsars. For the ''Voyager'' mission, a more sophisticated message was composed.

The "disk" consists of a cover or canister—on which a set of pictograms are found—and a phonograph record inside the canister. The record, titled "The Sounds of Earth", has a "data" portion and a sound
portion. In the data portion are over a hundred encoded images including photographs of the Earth and its lifeforms, as well as drawings of human biology and reproduction. The audio portion includes
sounds of natural environments on Earth, wildlife, human voices, and music. The pictograms on the record's cover explain how to play the disc and decode the images.

As portrayed in ''Beast Wars'', the Golden Disk seems to be an amalgam of the cover and the record itself. It appears to be at least a few centimeters thick and has the cover's pictograms on one
side, but the record grooves and title "The Sounds of Earth" on the other. The indication is that the cover is one-sided, and we are seeing the record through the empty rear, as later episodes would present the disc in its real-life, thin, record form.

==External links==
*[http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ NASA's web site on the continuing ''Voyager'' mission]
*[http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html The message on the actual disks]

[[Category:Beast Wars]]
[[Category:Objects]]

The Agenda (Part III)

2010-01-11T02:03:47Z

125.237.207.37: /* Featured characters */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=39
|image=G1Prime BWMegs.jpg
|caption=Head ''off''.
|title="The Agenda" (Part III)
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[March 12]], 1998
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Asaph Fipke]] [[Colin Davies]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''His plans crumbling, Megatron takes a final stab at winning the Beast Wars and changing history.'''

:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Le Programme 3''' ("The Program 3")
:''Japanese title:'' むか～しむかし (''Muka~shi Mukashi'', "Once Upon a Time")
:''Spanish title:'' '''El Agente (Parte 3)'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Programa Tercera Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il coraggio di Grifo - Parte 3''' ("Silverbolt's courage - Part Three")

==Synopsis==
With [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and his [[transwarp cruiser]] backing them up, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] unleash a full assault on the [[Maximal]] [[Axalon (BW)|base]]. [[Rattrap]] changes to beast mode and jumps onto the back of the transwarp cruiser, where he begins cutting into the ship's hull. On the battlefield, [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] are pinned down by the Predacons' firepower, but the autoguns manage to knock [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] from his perch atop [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and a short time later the larger Predacon runs him over.

[[Image:Agenda 3 Rampage axalon.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Who decided to give the experiment awesome firepower?]]
It's not long before Ravage and Rampage bring down the base's shield, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] emerges to fire on Rampage. Ravage has Tarantulas transfer all the cruiser's power into one enormous missile. Before it can fire, [[Rattrap]] bursts into the ship's weapons hold and tosses a pair of magnetic bombs that adhere to Tarantulas's hands. The bombs obliterate [[Tarantulas]], the ship's interior, and Ravage—who faces the onrushing fireball with a stoic cry of "[[Decepticon|Decepticons]] forever!" The cruiser falls out of the sky, coming to rest mere feet from Rampage—who is then blasted by the still-armed missile.

With the cruiser destroyed and his minions out of commission, Megatron flees. [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] notes that he's not headed back to base, realizes where he's probably going, and orders the Maximals to pursue.

[[Image:Ark BWAgenda1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|OK, remember where we parked.]]
Meanwhile, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] make their way into the caves of the volcano, uncovering the object of Blackarachnia's quest—the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Blackarachnia explains to Silverbolt that the ship was launched long ago, containing the Autobots' "finest heroes", and was shot down by Decepticons. The ship has members of both factions stored inside, who will awaken in the distant future to re-start the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Blackarachnia is concerned only with the power it possesses—but Megatron arrives just then, blasting Silverbolt offline and sealing the entrance to the caves behind him.

[[Image:Agenda 3 Blackarachnia codes.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What's it like to see things like Neo?]]
The Maximals arrive hot on his heels, find the sealed entrance, and start digging their way in. Inside, Megatron threatens to vaporize Silverbolt, convincing Blackarachnia to use the access codes to gain access to the Ark (though she vehemently maintains it's only so they'll have some cover in the face of the imminent Maximal attack). The Maximals burst through in time to see the two Predacons sealing the Ark behind them.

Blackarachnia activates the ship's defenses to hold off the Maximals, while Megatron goes to "effect a more permanent solution." Entering the main bridge of the ship, he hovers among the fallen Autobots and Decepticons, eulogizing the Decepticons and cursing the Autobots, until he comes face to face with his intended target—[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], the original [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], who kept the Decepticons from victory (and therefore left their Predacon descendants in a subservient position to the dominant Maximals). Megatron charges his main weapon and prepares to fire.

[[Image:Agenda3 MegatronOptimusPrime.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't worry, we know the drill.]]
In the caves, the Maximals are pelted by fire from the ship's cannon, till Rattrap manages to force a backblast that deactivates the cannon and shields. [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] struggles to open the mighty doors of the Ark. But the Maximals are too late—Megatron unleashes a full-power blast at Optimus Prime's head, destroying it.

A time storm immediately wells up, spreading outward from the Ark and into space. The Maximals find themselves phasing in and out of past bodies—as well as out of existence—as Megatron emerges from the Ark, triumphant.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (3)
*[[Rattrap]] (6)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](10)
|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (4)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (5)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (8)
*[[Tarantulas]] (9)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
|h3=[[Autobots]]|c3=
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] [Flashback] (12)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (13)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (14)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] [Flashback] (15)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (16)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (18)
|h4=[[Decepticons]]|c4=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (17)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (19)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (20)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (21)

}}

==Quotes==
"Decepticons forever!"
:—'''Ravage''''s last words

"What're you looking at?" 
"That star. Well, planet, actually. Venus. It reminds me of you." 
"You mean hot, poisonous, and deadly? Aww, you're sweet." 
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Silverbolt''', with a ref to the former's [[Venus Terzo|voice actress]]

"Stay with the group. When Megatron lands, we'll need all our firepower." 
"Where's he headed, Big Bot?" 
"To the beginning of everything, Cheetor, and quite possibly the end."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Cheetor'''

"I think we're almost through." 
"Then, stand back." 
"Wait, we just—" 
''Silverbolt blows the rocks away'' 
"Uh, never mind. What is it with guys and high explosives?" 
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Silverbolt'''. ([[Michael Bay|Guys]] really don't know either.)

"Aw, man! That ship wasn't built, it was poured!" 
"[[Die-cast]] construction!" [''He [[wikipedia:Breaking_the_fourth_wall|looks at the audience]]''] "It's a lost art."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Optimus Primal''' comment on the sturdiness of the Ark.

"Now I enter these hallowed halls...a conquerer...yesss. Autobots and Decepticons, still frozen in emergency stasis, awaiting the moment, four million years hence, when they will awaken to start the Great War. Hmmm, a Great War, when the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, and thus their descendants, the Maximals, rule we Predacons. Archaic energon [[guzzler]]s! How ''dare'' they? Unwilling though I was to follow my namesake's instructions, it has all come down to this: the ultimate risk, for the ultimate prize. A day of reckoning with ''those'' who made ''us'' slaves!"
:—'''Megatron''' enters the command bridge of the Ark.

"So, we are now face to face, Optimus ''Prime''. In one future, you awaken and become the great leader of the Autobots. But time shall take a different track, now. Computer! All available power to primary weapon! ... And now, Optimus Prime, in memory of the Decepticons...for the glory of the Predacons...for the Cybertron that is rightfully ours—and ''mine''—to rule! ...I unleash the storm of vengeance...''farewell!''"
:—'''Megatron''' rewrites history

"Say goodbye to the universe, Maximals! The future has changed. Yessssss. The Autobots lose! Evil ''triumphs!'' And you...''YOU'' NO LONGER EXIST!"
:—'''Megatron'''

==Notes==
[[Image:Agenda3 opening.JPG|right|180px|thumb|Yes, "Part Eye-Eye-Eye".]]
*Despite every other multi-part episode in ''Beast Wars'' using Arabic numerals in its title (including the first two parts of "The Agenda"), this episode opts for the Roman numeral for whatever reason.
* Megatron, to no one's surprise, is perfectly willing to sacrifice most of his team to defeat the Maximals. Blackarachnia, Inferno, Quickstrike, and Rampage were all originally Maximal protoforms (or, in Rampage's case, the product of Maximal science). If his plan to destroy the Autobots and Maximals retroactively had worked, he would have been left with a team consisting of Waspinator and Tarantulas. (Tarantulas's precise origins are unclear, but he's definitely not a descendant of the Autobots.)
*In any event, Megatron's plan would seem to be [[wikipedia:Temporal_paradox|temporally problematic]], since such a drastic change could've wiped out the Predacons (and himself) just as easily as the Maximals. Small wonder he "was reluctant to follow my namesake's instructions" and regards it as "the ultimate risk". Megatron's ending in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transmetals]]'' video game further elaborates on this, stating that with Optimus Prime dead, there would be no [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], and, as such, nothing to [[The Transformers: The Movie|stop Unicron from destroying Cybertron]], an act that would wipe out Autobots and Decepticons.
*Apparently, Rhinox is afraid of heights. While sitting on Primal's hoverboard, he looks straight ahead, occasionally looking down and immediately snapping straight up with what looks like pure horror on his face.
*This episode marks the commencement of an ongoing error, whereby [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] is frequently pronounced "Tele''tron'' 1". The issue is resolved with [[Rattrap|extreme subtlety]] in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]".
*The word "suckers" is written on the giant missile in [[Cybertronix]].

===Technical/animation glitches===
* After Ravage's ship goes down and the Maximals decide to chase after Megatron, Optimus transforms to flight mode. His front, back, and upper torso are all messed up, to the point that he has to spin around a few times after transforming. (While this is happening, the scene mostly switches to Rattrap climbing on Cheetor.) Optimus is normal again when he tells Rhinox to "Get on."
* After Megatron blasts the entrance shut and the Maximals get off and find it covered, for a split second, the colors on Rattrap's wheels on his back and his rat legs are reversed.

===Continuity errors===
* This episode called into sudden question the location of the Maximal and Predacon bases. The events of "[[Code of Hero]]" seem to place the series firmly somewhere in Africa, where early Humanity evolved; the templates for the Maximals' beast modes (gorillas, cheetahs, rhinos) would seem to back this up. However, the Ark is traditionally seen to have crashed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. If this is the case, the Maximals pursued Megatron across the Atlantic Ocean and over an entire continent! Even if the Ark touched down in Africa in this continuity, in "[[Possession]]", [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream's]] spark is ''clearly'' shown landing in the southwest United States. Also, the early humans still appear after any theoretical "crossing of the Atlantic" took place.
* Either way, it doesn't make much sense that the Maximals make ''no'' attempt to shoot down Megatron while he's still on the run, rather than waiting till he reaches his destination.
*Ravage was in his cassette mode in the ship at the end of last episode, but is piloting it from the cockpit in this one.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Agenda3-AutobotsonArkattack.jpg|right|thumb|300px|At the time, these guys hadn't gotten any work in a while.]]
*In reference to the strength of the Ark, Rattrap claims, "That ship wasn't built, it was poured!" Primal replies "Die-cast construction. It's a lost art," in homage to the original Transformer toys, which featured some [[die-cast]] parts.

*We get to see the Ark launch from Cybertron, along with a brief glimpse of Optimus Prime, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] moving about, as well as a glimpse of the ''Nemesis'' attacking the Ark.

*The final act features a bonanza of cameo appearances by the original Generation 1 Transformers, including Prowl, Optimus Prime, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], Ironhide, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].

===Real-world references===
*Rattrap refers to his vehicle mode as Knievel mode, a reference to [[wikipedia:Evel_Knievel|Evel Knievel]].
*As Rattrap rides the missile connected with Ravage's ship, he lets out a cowboy yell. This is an homage to Stanley Kubrick's ''[[wikipedia:Dr._Strangelove|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]''.
* When Rattrap's torch goes out and he has to break through the ship with his beast mode's teeth, he calls himself the [[wikipedia:The_Stainless_Steel_Rat|Stainless Steel Rat]].
* Blackarachnia refers to Silverbolt as "Jo-Jo", possibly in reference to [[wikipedia:Fedor_Jeftichew|Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agenda part 3}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]