Editing The Speedway of Central Consciousness

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[Transformers: Beast Wars]]'' #13
|prev=Maximals Strike Back, Part 3
|next=Beast Wars issue 14
|title="The Speedway of Central Consciousness"
|image=BW21 13 cvrA.jpg
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 2]], 2022
|coverdate=February 2022
|written by=[[Erik Burnham]]
|art by=[[Winston Chan]]
|colors by=[[Sid Ven Blu]]
|letters by=[[Jake M. Wood]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]], [[Jazmine Joyner]] and [[Riley Farmer]]
|continuity=''[[Transformers: Beast Wars]]''
}}

'''Cheetor awakens on Cybertron, convinced that the Beast Wars were all a dream...'''

==Synopsis==
[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]'s vaunted speed and agility—skills honed during his time as one of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s top athletes—have served him well in the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], but his lucky streak came to an end during the most recent skirmish against the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s when a stray blaster shot hit an [[energon crystal]] outcrop. Before he can remember what happened ''next'', however Cheetor wakes with a start: not only is he still in one piece, he's on Cybertron! [[CatSCAN]] informs his patient that he's cleared the last battery of diagnostics required to serve in the [[Ministry of Science|Science Ministry]]'s off-world division, aboard the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''; when the bewildered Cheetor stammers that he's already ''left'' Cybertron, however, the medic abruptly pivots the conversation to his unfinished report and asks what Cheetor knows about the "Tiwaz maneuver". Still confused, Cheetor brushes him off and leaves; after stepping out into the streets of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] to clear his head, he drifts into [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] for a drink and stumbles into two of his fans, who can't believe that Cheetor's giving up his athletic career for a life of science. When one accuses him of not even knowing how to modify [[protoform]]s within their [[stasis pod]]s, and the other asks if [[Nyx]] knows anything about the Tiwaz maneuver, a nervous Cheetor makes an hasty excuse and slips away...

On a rooftop, Cheetor tries to piece together his disjointed thoughts; he didn't meet Nyx until the day he boarded the ''Axalon'', and there's no way that anyone else on the planet could've known made that connection. Something's wrong here—when he tries to get his [[onboard computer]] to run a full diagnostic, nothing happens... nothing, that is, except a sudden recollection of a fiery blast. Cheetor quickly realizes what's happened: he must be dreaming after the explosion knocked him temporarily offline. Before he can reconnect his processor back to his external sensors and "awaken", however, an unfamiliar voice cuts in... a voice that belongs to a purple version of himself! The other Cheetor introduces himself as [[Pakak]], a member of the [[Vok]] collective, and informs him that this ''isn't'' just a random dream: for too long, the Vok have allowed the Cybertronians to run amok on their carefully curated planet, and their endless turf wars have threatened the stability of their long-term experiments to the point where the aliens have turned proactive. Cheetor writes off the spectre as another part of his dream, an electronic bug in need of purging... but Pakak's digital avatar proves him otherwise when it telekinetically hurls Cheetor off the roof and threatens to extinguish [[spark]] if he doesn't give Pakak the information he requires. Cheetor just laughs; if he doesn't talk, and Pakak kills him, then the Vok ''still'' won't get what they want. Pakak considers his options, and decides on a different course of action. Cheetor understands racing, so they'll have a race, on a track created from Cheetor's memories: if Cheetor wins, he'll leave, but if he loses, then Pakak will receive full access to all of Cheetor's memories. Cheetor accepts the wager, confident that he's the fastest Cybertronian alive... but is taken aback when Pakak, tapping Cheetor's memories, changes his avatar into an idealized version of the fastest Cybertronian ''ever'': [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]! Pakak dashes off, and Cheetor gives chase, unaware that the "city" they're racing through increasingly resembles Cheetor's own neural circuitry...

In the ''Axalon'''s medbay, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] reports that something's wrong: although they've restored Cheetor's body to full functionality, he won't reactivate—despite that, however, his internal processors have kicked into overdrive. [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] tries to rouse Cheetor... in the dream world, the faint voice of Cheetor's captain causes the racer to momentarily lose concentration and allow Pakak to retake the lead. At the last moment, however, Cheetor picks up a second wind—as he slowly sheds his Cybertronian body in favor of his [[beast mode]] configuration, he pushes past Pakak and crosses the finish line first! Despite his momentary jubilation, Pakak smugly informs Cheetor that he's lost after all: in a virtual reality where both fo them can move at the speed of thought, the entire race was a sham, merely a way for Pakak to easily scan Cheetor's neural architecture. As it turns out, the Tiwaz maneuver was a dead end, but Pakak's intrigued by the information he's gleaned about the [[protoform]] [[Stasis pod|pod]]s scattered across the planet. A furious Cheetor can do nothing to stop Pakak as he vanishes, but not before the Vok upholds his end of the bargain and frees Cheetor from the dream.

Cheetor abruptly jerks upright as he reawakens: although he tries to warn Optimus Primal about the Vok, he doesn't get far before he abruptly collapses—Rhinox reports that someone's hacked his systems and tripped a hard reboot. When Cheetor reactivates, Primal tries to get Cheetor to continue, but Cheetor's just confused: who are the Vok? Pakak, unseen by all, cackles as he retreats back into [[unspace]]...

==Featured characters== 
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in Cheetor's dream.)<br> 
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* ''[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]'' (1)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (2)
* [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] (3)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (4)
* ''[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]'' (8)
* ''[[Nyx]]'' (9)
* ''[[CatSCAN]]'' (12)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s|c2=
* ''[[Skold]]'' (5
* ''[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]'' (6)
* ''[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (7)
* ''[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'' (10)
* ''[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]'' (11)

|c4=
* ''Cheetor's fans'' (13, 14)
* [[Pakak]] (15)

}}


==Quotes==
"I '''knew''' this was a dream. And hey, look at me. I look '''great''' in purple." <br>
"Incorrect." <br>
"I don't think so. I'm a '''great''' judge of style." 
:—'''Cheetor''' meets '''Pakak'''


"So, you'd like us to '''stop fighting''', huh? Hey, this being a dream and all, does it make it '''more''' or '''less''' weird if I tell you to '''dream on?'''"
:—'''Cheetor'''


"I don't just look like Blurr. For all intents and purposes, I '''am''' Blurr. Every statistic, every record, everything you've seen or read. The stories that now live on in your mind. I am now the fastest being Cybertron has ever seen—and I am going to win this race!"
:—'''Pakak'''


==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* While this issue provides the first in-universe glimpse of Cheetor's history as an accomplished athlete, it's not the first time this bit of backstory's come up: during the leadup to [[Savage Landing Part 1|issue #1]], author [[Erik Burnham]] established this bit of characterization in an [[https://www.gamesradar.com/transformers-beast-wars-reimagined-marvel-ultimate-style-for-new-comic-book-series/ interview]].
* Of the [[Vok]] trio who've appeared sporadically since [[Savage Landing Part 2|issue #2]], Pakak's consistently been portrayed as the more liberal of the three, curious to observe the actions of the Cybertronians and, on occasion, test the limits of their factionalism. Clearly, the Cybertronians must've done something to upset all three of the Vok between their last appearance in [[Thicker Skin|#10]] and now, as he's changed his position to align with his usual rival [[Tonrar]] and taken steps to expunge any further contamination of their enigmatic experiments.

===Transformers references===
* It's probably no coincidence that Cheetor's been chosen to lead this story: in the original [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]], Cheetor experienced a number of strange, quasi-prophetic visions while unconscious: most notably for the purposes of this article, he dreamed about an encounter with the Vok in the season three episode "[[Other Victories]]".
* Cheetor's physician [[CatSCAN]] originated as a convention-exclusive redeco of one of Cheetor's own ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#BMNSC|toys]]. In this comic, however, artist [[Winston Chan]] has physically differentiated him from Cheetor's Cybertronian form by giving him a wholly original body; his shoulder wheels and forearm blades appear to take inspiration from the original concept art for Cheetor's unproduced ''[[Transtech]]'' toy.
* Having recently made the big time over in ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Cyberverse]]'', you'll probably recognize [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] as Cybertron's definitive watering hole. Inside, a pair of barflies remind Cheetor of his recent race against a 'bot named "Rev" at the [[Afterburner Memorial Speedway]]: while the racetrack is assuredly named for the [[Afterburner (G1)|hot-headed Technobot]], it's not clear whether "Rev" refers to [[Rev|Getaway's Powermaster partner]], some version of the [[R.E.V.|''Robots in Disguise'' Spy Changer]], or an entirely new character.
* To bait Cheetor into racing, Pakak uses Cheetor's memories to turn his avatar into a copy of [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], the "fastest being Cybertron's ever seen". Beginning with ''[[Spotlight: Blurr]]'', many recent works of fiction have cast the character as an athlete of some kind during peacetime; most recently, he cameo'd as a [[Velocitron]]ian athlete in IDW's ''[[Wreckers: Tread & Circuits|Tread & Circuit]]s'' miniseries. 

===Real-world references===
* The "Tiwaz maneuver" takes its name from the {{w|Tiwaz (rune)|Norse rune}} of the same name.

===Other trivia===
* Originally solicited for February 23rd, this issue arrives one week late.
* In addition to the usual "Maximal Mailbag" feature, backmatter for this issue also includes Winston Chan's concept art for CatSCAN.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Cheetor vs. Pakak, by [[Sid Ven Blu]]
* '''Cover B:''' Rhinox maximizes, by [[Phillip Johnson]]
* '''Retailer incentive cover:''' Optimus Primal, by [[Colm Griffin]] 

<gallery>
File:BW21 13 cvrA.jpg
File:BW21 13 cvrB.jpg
File:BW21 13 cvrRI.jpg

</gallery>

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==External links==
* [https://majorspoilers.com/2022/03/01/preview-transformers-beast-wars-13/ Preview]

[[Category:Beast Wars (2021) issues]]