Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to be spending the 4th in Raleigh...

Are there any good bars that will have a special tonight (the 3rd) and/or tomorrow (the 4th)?

7/3/2007 1:00:19 PM

Four million years ago, on a distant planet called Cybertron, life existed in the form of sentient robots which could think and feel, called Transformers. The race of Transformers was divided into two main clans. Autobots (known as Cybertrons in the Japanese cartoon), led by Optimus Prime, wished for peaceful co-existence between everyone. Decepticons (known as Destrons in the Japanese version), under the command of Megatron, sought conflict and military conquest. Both sides were embroiled in an ages old war for supremacy.

With both sides running low on energy, the Autobots, aboard the Ark, sought out a new source, but the Decepticons, aboard their space-cruiser (later given the name Nemesis in the Beast Wars animated series), ambushed them in hopes of gaining a decisive advantage. The ensuing space battle resulted in both the ships crash landing on a pre-historic Earth, the Ark crashing into the side of a dormant volcano, and the Nemesis crashing in a remote region of South America. (The fate of the Nemesis is subject to retcon. For the full story, see the Nemesis article.)

Four million years passed while the Autobots and Decepticons lay dormant aboard the Ark and the Nemesis. In the Earth year 1984, the volcano housing the Ark erupted, reawakening the ship's computer, Teletraan I, which then modified the Transformers so as to give them alternate modes that could blend in on Earth.

The Autobots and Decepticons, now on Earth, continued their war more ferociously than ever. The Decepticons wished to drain Earth of all its resources, converting it into energon for their use, while the Autobots were committed to stopping them, and to protecting the human race. This era would later be referred to by Transformers as the "Great War." The war was almost ended as soon as it began, as the Decepticons gained an early lead, and were even able to build a space cruiser to leave Earth, however Autobot intervention prevented them from escaping orbit.


Devastator and Snarl face off.New allies were gained on both sides. Humans Sparkplug Witwicky, and his son Spike Witwicky, allied with the Autobots, while the human Doctor Arkeville sided with the Decepticons. Jetfire and the Insecticons were discovered already living on Earth. Both sides even built new allies to join their cause, the Autobots building the Dinobots and the Aerialbots, and the Decepticons building the Stunticons and the Combaticons. They were later joined by some allies who had been elsewhere in the universe including Omega Supreme and the Constructicons.

Despite wild gimmicks on both sides, including attempts to build better weapons, to undermine history through time travel, and even a temporarily successful attempt to warp Cybertron into Earth's orbit, neither side gained an overwhelming advantage, despite the Decepticons being defeated by the Autobots in nearly every episode. In the long run however, the Decepticons took the lead in the Great War, creating a Space Bridge that allowed them to warp individual Transformers to and from Cybertron at any time. This allowed them to claim rule of Cybertron, which gave them the winning edge for many years.

All of this changed in 2005, over 20 years after the start of the Great War. The Decepticons launched a surprise attack on Autobot City, on Earth. Countless Transformers lost their lives in the battle for Autobot City, but the Decepticons were repelled thanks to Optimus Prime's victory over Megatron, a victory that came at the cost of his own life.

Megatron and the other wounded Decepticons were abandoned by the stronger members of the team, in part due to Starscream's desire to usurp Megatron as leader. The God-like Unicron found them drifting in space. He rebuilt Megatron as Galvatron, and sent him on a quest to destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime, was able to stop the Decepticons however. In his first battle as leader, he destroyed Unicron, reclaimed Cybertron for the Autobots, and expelled Galvatron into deep space.

The Decepticons, without focus and dangerously low on energon, retreated to the burnt out world Charr. It was there they waited, until Cyclonus discovered Galvatron was simply expelled and not killed. Upon rescuing Galvatron, the Decepticons renewed their efforts to vanquish the Autobots and to claim complete control of Cybertron.

Both the Autobots and Decepticons soon learned they had a common enemy. A secretive race known as the Quintessons plotted the destruction of both Autobots and Decepticons. Rodimus Prime learned that these "new" Quintessons were no strangers to the Transformers at all. Rather, the Quintessons were the original creators of the early Transformers. Cybertron was a Quintesson factory before it was ever the Transformers' "home." The Quintessons went so far as to destroy their own home world in an attempt to vanquish the Transformers. In the end, the Quintessons, who relied on thorough probability analyses, were outdone by a now adult Spike Witwicky whose actions, unlike those of the robotic Transformers, the Quintessons were not able to predict.

The Great War continued, this time with the Autobots controlling Cybertron, and enjoying the advantage. The war was no longer waged primarily on Earth. Now, the whole universe was their battlefield.

In 2006, a disease called the Hate Plague was released upon the universe. This disease, which infected human and Transformer alike, threatened to destroy everything. With their leader Rodimus Prime infected, the remaining Autobot Sky Lynx and a Quintesson finished rebuilding Optimus Prime, who was able to reclaim the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from Rodimus Prime and use it to eradicate the Hate Plague, draining the Matrix of all the power it had possessed.

Optimus Prime retains leadership of the Autobots. While the Decepticons continue to pose a threat to peace, Optimus Prime vows to resist Decepticon rule forever.

7/3/2007 1:10:41 PM

wow, thanks d-bag.

7/3/2007 1:19:03 PM

if only there were 3 other threads that you could check

7/3/2007 1:30:31 PM

how about you look for the other 5 threads d-bag

7/3/2007 1:30:56 PM

i'll probably stay home tonight

7/3/2007 2:20:23 PM

why would something be going on july 3rd?

7/3/2007 2:24:44 PM

None of the topics I've seen pertain to night life. And if I'm wrong, please point them out to me.

^ Because people can go out and get wild because of no work tomorrow.

[Edited on July 3, 2007 at 2:26 PM. Reason : .]

7/3/2007 2:26:01 PM

Someone in another thread made a list of 4th of July stuff and posted it to http://tinyurl.com/yvuyjo

7/3/2007 2:39:39 PM

all i really know if is ESS lounge is having free cover, $1.50 beers and $3 well drinks tonight. there should be a decent crowd out there too.

7/3/2007 3:12:30 PM