Photonic crystal
From Transformers Wiki
Composed of metallo-dielectric nanostructures, Photonic crystals are a unique type of mineral capable of holding not simply light and information, but the very energy of a Transformer's spark. This trait makes them not only vital in the cold construction process, but the very substance of the Matrix of Leadership. There is only one known source of photonic crystals.
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Fiction
2005 IDW continuity
After Nova Prime came to power, he sought to enact the Expansion, a galaxy spanning empire of Cybertronians. His plan hit a snag when the spark generating pulsewaves of Vector Sigma began to slow and eventually cease completely. Needing to bolster the population, he ordered his engineers and theoscientists to "tap into the Matrix" to see if it could generate life as the legends told. It could. The scientists extracted new sparks at such an alarming rate that they lacked sufficient bodies to store them in. The Divided Self Until new bodies could be built, the spark energy was stored within photonic crystals, The Lopsided Triangle produced by Rung. The true nature of the crystals' origin was never revealed, with the common bot believing they had been produced in factories. Modes of Production
One of Nova's scientists eventually decided the practice was heresy and stole the Matrix, placing it in the Undergrid, leaving a fake in its place. Unaware of the theft, the rest of the team believed the Matrix had simply run dry and the cold construction program was shut down. The Divided Self Rung left to do other things with his life, with information creep causing him to forget his talent of producing the crystals. Modes of Production
One of the Signs of Affinity was making a photonic crystal "snap" upon placing it to one's chest. Journey's End
After the Great War ended, it was discovered that the Matrix itself was a photonic crystal, designed to split in half. When a light was shone on one of the halves, a map was projected. The Death of Optimus Prime
After viewing Skids's corpse, Rung unintentionally produced a photonic crystal. Some Other Cybertron He later produced six more and showed all seven to Nightbeat. Modes of Production
After touching Anode, Drift experienced a vision where it rained photonic crystals. Some Other Cybertron Modes of Production
Upon seemingly arriving in the Afterspark, Nightbeat found himself following a trail of photonic crystals, whereupon he belatedly realized that Rung had not needed to transform to make the crystals and thus their production could not have been the purpose of his alternate mode. Gathering the crystals helped Nightbeat to deduce what Rung turned into. The God War
The Functionist Universe
In a world where Megatron never came to be, the Functionist Council rose to even greater power, eventually locking up Rung in an attempt to glean the purpose of his alternate mode. Predestination: An Expert's Guide
Two millions years of torture eventually caused Rung to involuntarily produce photonic crystals, which were found by Sweep and reported to One-of-Twelve. Predestination: An Expert's Guide Modes of Production
Though the Functionists' first thought was to execute Rung as the spawn of Mortilus, they eventually decided realized that a Cybertronian capable of producing photonic crystals was Primus's way of endorsing cold construction. They blackmailed Rung into producing hundreds of thousands of crystals, all the while they drilled to Vector Sigma for new sparks, before very invasive surgery by One-of-Twelve revealed a way to produce the crystals without Rung's consent. Modes of Production
