The Predacon Manifesto

Transformers Timelines text story Beast Wars: Uprising
"The Predacon Manifesto"
Publisher	Transformers Collectors' Club (online exclusive)
First published	December 19, 2016
By	Jim Sorenson and David Bishop
Continuity	Beast Wars: Uprising
Chronology	late 24th century

Preditron ponders the future of his race.

Synopsis

Preditron watches as Maxima, first daughter of Fortress Maximus, is laid to rest. Already, the Builders and their loyalists are seeking to exploit her death. Those who consider themselves the descendants of the Autobots are beginning to rally around a new insignia, that of her lupinoid steed. While Preditron admits that the proto-races have much to learn from the Autobots, he contends that there is just as much to learn from the legacy of the Decepticons; to this end, against the wishes of the Builder Assembly, he sets out to teach the next generation of Transformers the lessons he has gleaned from great Decepticons throughout history.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals	Predacons
Maxima (2)	Preditron (1)

Notes

• Characters mentioned but not seen include Fortress Maximus, Alpha Trion, Yoketron, Star Saber, Guardian Prime, Jhiaxus, Trannis, Razorclaw, and the Builder Assembly.
• This "story" was released within "Safe Spaces", translated into Cybertronix and sprinkled into that story between page breaks.

The Decepticon pillars

• Ambition: Not the blind ambition of the vainglorious, but the laser-focused ambition of a bot who understand the universe and seeks to secure his or her highest place in it. To stand still is to fall backwards.
• Honor: In understanding that one's word is bond, and that those who violate oaths will soon find themselves mistrusted and, eventually, ostracised. Remember, too, that honor is down the wrong path, perhaps your understanding of the situation needs revision.
• Valor: It is on the field of battle that one is most fully alive. Never shirk from this reality.
• Pride: The earned pride of a bot of accomplishments, not the foolish hubris of those who are slaves to their own ego.
• Loyalty: Loyalty based on mutual respect, given to a superior or subordinate or equal based on their history. Loyalty is not a shackle, to be welded on and never shed, but a rope by which you can pull up your allies when they stumble, by which you can collectively ascend to the highest peaks.
• Justice: Those who do ill to you or your kin should face the appropriate retribution. Those who stand by you in times of tribulation, likewise, are deserving of your unswerving support.
• Sacrifice: Nothing in this universe comes without effort. Be willing to give of yourself when the cause is worthy.
• Cunning: A fair fight is one in which you might lose: avoid fair fights. Seek every advantage, as long as you can do so with your head held high.

Continuity notes

• The Predacon Manifesto was previously mentioned off-handedly by Rampage in "Cultural Appropriation", where he noted the Tripedacus Council had been subverting it somehow.
• Maxima is referred to as the "First Daughter" of Fortress Maximus in reference to "Head Games", where it was revealed that Cerebros was the 'bot responsible for negotiating with the Human Confederacy and creating the Maximals and Predacons, the next-generation "proto-races".
• The circumstances behind Maxima's death aren't made clear, although "Safe Spaces" has Preditron mournfully note that he and Maxima were not enemies "by choice".

Transformers references

• Cited grand Autobots are Alpha Trion, Yoketron, and Star Saber. Also mentioned is Guardian Prime, the founder of the Autobots. Cited worthy Decepticons are "the philosopher king Jhiaxus, the tactical geniuses Trannis, and the indomitable guerrilla Razorclaw". (the fact the original take on Jhiaxus was a blood-soaked bastard playing at being a rational philosopher is likely the whole point).

Real world references

• Many manifestos and ways of living in our world have "pillars", and often eight of them: one example is The Book of Joy, set out by Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, and another being NHS Scotland's 8 Pillars Model for dementia care. The oldest example of the term would be the Five Pillars of Islam.