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| [[Image:|right|300px|thumb|"Where'd you get that?" "Editing mistake- in my favor!"]]
| | #REDIRECT [[Unspace]] |
| '''Subspace''' one name used by <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformer" title="Transformer">Transformers</a> to refer to the extra-dimensional "space" that exists between realities. Although more properly known as "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transwarp" title="Transwarp">Transwarp</a>",
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| those who use the "subspace" term do not commonly realize that the two
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| concepts are related (or are not even aware of the existence Transwarp
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| in the first place).
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| Specifically, subspace, referred to with that name, is used as
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| a medium for faster-than-light communication, and as an
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| extra-dimensional storage space for Transformers to keep their weapons
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| and other personal paraphernalia.
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| {{-}}
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| <a name="Fiction"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Fiction">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Fiction</span></h2>
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| <a name="Binaltech"></a><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Binaltech">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">''Binaltech''</span></h3>
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| After numerous <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Autobot" title="Autobot">Autobots</a> were rendered unfit for duty by the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cosmic_Rust_%28disease%29" title="Cosmic Rust (disease)">Cosmic Rust</a> virus, Wheeljack invented the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/GT_System" title="GT System">GT System</a> to increase their manpower. Using this system, a Transformer's <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Spark" title="Spark">spark</a> could safely be stored in subspace, and from there, they would be able to control multiple <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Binaltech" class="mw-redirect" title="Binaltech">Binaltech</a> bodies via translink ports installed on them. <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Smokescreen_%28G1%29" title="Smokescreen (G1)">Smokscreen</a> was the first to undergo the process. <sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a></sup>
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| Later, when <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Prowl_%28G1%29" title="Prowl (G1)">Prowl</a> came under attack by the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Decepticon" title="Decepticon">Decepticons</a> in the vicinity of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Saturn" title="Saturn">Saturn</a>,
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| Wheeljack attempted to use the GT System to save his friend's life.
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| Operating from his workshop on Earth, Wheeljack attempted to transfer
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| Prowl's spark through subspace into a new Binaltech body that he had
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| built there. Alas, the system malfunctioned, and Prowl's spark was lost
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| in the depths of subspace. <sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a></sup>
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| A few years later, Prowl's spark found its way through the infinite vastness of subspace and materialized in a <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_%28cartoon%29" title="The Transformers (cartoon)">parallel timeline</a>
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| where the Binaltech project had died out. Unfortunately, this did not
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| put him beyond the reach of his timeline's Decepticons, who used a
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| neuro-net frame, hooked up to subspace node, to locate his spark across
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| the dimensions and drain energy from it to power a synthetic <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Electrum" title="Electrum">electrum</a> monster they had created. An Autobot from the timeline Prowl had travelled to, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bluestreak" title="Bluestreak">Bluestreak</a>,
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| voyaged across subspace to team up with the Autobots of Prowl's home
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| time, stop the Decepticons, and restore Prowl to his true body. <sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a></sup>
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| <a name="Timelines"></a><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Timelines">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">''Timelines''</span></h3>
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| <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Scattorshot" title="Scattorshot">Scattorshot</a> explained the function of subspace storage pockets and their relation to Transwarp space to <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jackpot" title="Jackpot">Jackpot</a> and <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hubcap" class="mw-redirect" title="Hubcap">Hubcap</a>, who had trouble wrapping their heads around the concept. The two were familiar with subspace radio, however. <span style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-width: 0pt 1px; padding: 0pt 5px; font-size: 10px; background-color: rgb(236, 236, 236);" class="tt1_nowrap"><a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gone_Too_Far" title="Gone Too Far">Gone Too Far</a></span>
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| When his spark was hijacked and transferred into a "lowtech" body, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bulletbike_%28TransTech%29" title="Bulletbike (TransTech)">Bulletbike</a> had a subspace storage pocket in his left forearm. <span style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-width: 0pt 1px; padding: 0pt 5px; font-size: 10px; background-color: rgb(236, 236, 236);" class="tt1_nowrap"><a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/I%2C_Lowtech" title="I, Lowtech">I, Lowtech</a></span>
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| <a name="Fanon"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Fanon">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Fanon</span></h2>
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| [[Image:|right|350px|thumb|Ravage mtmte subspace.jpg]]
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| The idea that Transformers can store equipment or portions of their body in an extradimensional space has been popular in <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Fandom" title="Fandom">fandom</a> for decades, essentially arising as an answer to perhaps the most famous question of all: "Where does <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_%28G1%29" title="Optimus Prime (G1)">Optimus Prime</a>'s <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trailer" title="Trailer">trailer</a> go when he transforms?" When the Autobot leader transformed into robot mode in the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_%28cartoon%29" title="The Transformers (cartoon)">Generation 1</a>
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| cartoon, his trailer would almost always slide out of the frame, not to
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| be seen again until he transformed back into truck mode, at which point
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| it would come sliding in to connect back up with him. Rather than
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| believe that the trailer was constantly following Prime around like a
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| puppy, conveniently perpetually out of shot, fans warmed to the notion
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| that it was, in fact, being shunted into this extradimensional
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| "subspace", where it remained until Prime summoned it back.
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| [[Image:|left|300px|thumb|Say hello to my leetle friend!]]
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| This "subspace" theory also helped to explain where characters'
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| weaponry disappeared to when they transformed into vehicle mode, and
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| happened to line up well with very occasional instances in the show,
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| which featured the animation "cheat" of having some characters' weapons
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| appear or disappear in a simple flash of light. This technique occurred
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| as early as "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/More_than_Meets_the_Eye%2C_Part_2" title="More than Meets the Eye, Part 2">More than Meets the Eye, Part 2</a>", when <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ravage_%28G1%29" title="Ravage (G1)">Ravage</a>
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| transformed into cassette mode, and his hip-mounted missiles vanished
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| in a flare of purple energy. Despite this early precedent, the effect
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| was ''very'' rarely used in the American series, occurring only a few more times: with <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Kickback_%28G1%29" title="Kickback (G1)">Kickback</a> in "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/A_Plague_of_Insecticons" title="A Plague of Insecticons">A Plague of Insecticons</a>", with <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cyclonus_%28G1%29" title="Cyclonus (G1)">Cyclonus</a> in "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dark_Awakening" title="Dark Awakening">Dark Awakening</a>", and with <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Blurr_%28G1%29" title="Blurr (G1)">Blurr</a> in a Season 3 <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Commercial_bumper" title="Commercial bumper">commercial bumper</a>. Conversely, later Japanese series ''<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Super-God_Masterforce_%28cartoon%29" title="Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)">Super-God Masterforce</a>'' and ''<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Victory_%28cartoon%29" title="Victory (cartoon)">Victory</a>''
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| used the effect like it was going out of style, with characters
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| regularly manifesting weapons of all kinds in their hands, with light
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| flashes of all colors, including white, golden, blue, green, purple and
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| pink. Notably, in "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Resurrection%21%3F_The_Decepticon_Fortress" title="Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress">Resurrection!? The Decepticon Fortress</a>", the idea of plucking weapons out of thin air was actually made into a plot point when <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Deathsaurus" title="Deathsaurus">Deathsaurus</a> was unable to summon his weapons due to depleting his personal energy supply.
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| [[Image:|right|180px|thumb|"Jesus Christ, Doc! You disintegrated Einstein!"]] | |
| This "subspace glow" effect also saw some limited use for other
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| means in the American series. In "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2",
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| when <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jazz_%28G1%29" title="Jazz (G1)">Jazz</a>
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| retracts his hand and replaces it with his grappling hook, his entire
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| forearm glows orange in-between. In one particularly notable instance
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| from "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Ultimate_Doom%2C_Part_2" title="The Ultimate Doom, Part 2">The Ultimate Doom, Part 2</a>",
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| the effect was even applied to Prime's trailer; although it still
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| rolled in from offscreen, rather than materializing out of nowhere, it
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| was shown to be glowing with yellow light.
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| [[Image:|left|180px|thumb|Father, eject. Operation: Forgive them, for they know not what they do.]]
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| In a similar vein, subspace also helped to explain the assorted cases of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Size_changing" title="Size changing">size changing</a> in the cartoon series, with the notion that characters who shrank when they transformed, like <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Soundwave_%28G1%29" title="Soundwave (G1)">Soundwave</a>, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_%28G1%29" title="Megatron (G1)">Megatron</a>, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Perceptor_%28G1%29" title="Perceptor (G1)">Perceptor</a> and others, shunted their extraneous mass into subspace (because their mass ''was'' going ''somewhere'',
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| since they became proportionately lighter when they shrank, rather than
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| remaining the same weight). Again, the idea intersected well with one
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| particular instance in "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transport_to_Oblivion" title="Transport to Oblivion">Transport to Oblivion</a>",
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| which saw Soundwave's body emit a "subspace glow" as he transformed and
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| grew back to robot mode (although admittedly, out of the scores of
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| times characters changed size when they transformed, this was the only
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| time such an effect was employed). While the original cartoon never
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| addressed the concept of size-changing, numerous explanations for the
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| process would be featured in later continuities (see the concept's own
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| article for details)
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| [[Image:|right|180px|thumb|Dock it in yer pocket.]]
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| Although the subspace theory originated with the cartoon, evidence to support it could even be found in the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Generation_1_%28Marvel_comic%29" class="mw-redirect" title="Generation 1 (Marvel comic)">Marvel comic</a> series; specifically the 1986 story "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dinobot_Hunt%21" title="Dinobot Hunt!">Dinobot Hunt!</a>",
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| in which Jazz was shown to open a panel on his hip and remove a tiny
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| version of his gun, which subsequently grew to full size. Years later,
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| even ''<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars" class="mw-redirect" title="Beast Wars">Beast Wars</a>''
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| would feature an animation cheat that subspace could be used to
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| explain, which would involve characters drawing their weapons by
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| reaching behind themselves, despite the fact that any shot of the
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| characters' backs did not show a rear holster or anyplace to keep a
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| weapon.
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| Regardless of the popularity of the concept in the fandom, subspace remained firmly in the realm of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Fanon" title="Fanon">fanon</a> for years, until it finally received its first named appearance in fiction when <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hirofumi_Ichikawa" title="Hirofumi Ichikawa">Hirofumi Ichikawa</a> featured it in his ''Binaltech'' storyline in 2005 and used as a means for faster-than-light communication. A few years later, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Greg_Sepelak" title="Greg Sepelak">Greg Sepelak</a> and <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Trent_Troop" title="Trent Troop">Trent Troop</a> <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Canonizing" title="Canonizing">canonized</a> the whole shebang when they featured subspace by name in the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers_Collectors%27_Club" title="Transformers Collectors' Club">Transformers Collectors' Club</a> prose stories "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gone_Too_Far" title="Gone Too Far">Gone Too Far</a>" and "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/I%2C_Lowtech" title="I, Lowtech">I, Lowtech</a>".
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| These stories officialized the long-standing concept of subspace being
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| used as personal storage space for Transformers (a previous story by
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| the two authors, "<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Force_of_Habit" title="Force of Habit">Force of Habit</a>", had mentioned <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Extra-dimensional_storage_pocket" title="Extra-dimensional storage pocket">extra-dimensional storage pockets</a>
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| without explicitly referring to them as subspace), while at the same
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| time tying it into the cross-dimensional Transwarp space from the ''<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars" class="mw-redirect" title="Beast Wars">Beast Wars</a>'' animated series.
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| Following these canonizations of long-standing fan concepts,
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| about the only thing subspace hasn't been used to officially explain is
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| size-changing. Even then, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/IDW_Publishing" title="IDW Publishing">IDW Publishing</a>
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| has made use of the idea of extradimensional mass-displacement to
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| explain characters' size-changing in their Generation 1 timeline. So
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| were just waiting for you to clarify where the mass is getting
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| displaced to, guys!
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| <a name="See_Also"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See Also">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">See Also</span></h2>
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| *<a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Extra-dimensional_storage_pocket" title="Extra-dimensional storage pocket">Extra-dimensional storage pocket</a>
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| <a name="References"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2>
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| <div class="references-small">
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| <ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-0"><a href="#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> Binaltech story chapter #4
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| <li id="cite_note-1"><a href="#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> Binaltech story chapter #12
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| <li id="cite_note-2"><a href="#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> Binaltech story chapters #16 & 17</ol></div>
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| <a name="External_links"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Subspace&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2>
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| *[http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/%7Esstoneb/tf/faqs/tffaq.txt Subspace is discussed in Steve-O Stonebreaker's Transformers FAQ, from the late 1990s]
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