GoBots

This is part 14 in a series.

And now we’re on to GoBots.  There are going to be some major changes here to really make GoBots fit into the Hasbroverse as we’re creating it.  GoBots in America have always kind of been looked at as a low budget knock off Transformers, so we’re going to lean into that.  Instead of the GoBots being aliens like the Transformers, what if the GoBots were humanities attempt to create beings like the Transformers?  That’s interesting.  Why would humans create Transformers like beings?  Well, if we’re to spread to the stars we’ll run into Cybertronians and may come into conflict with them or other alien races. Also, we’ll potentially need to extend the lifespan of our astronauts, depending on how fast our ships travel.  In GoBots lore, the GoBots began as organic beings like humans and then built themselves what are effectively immortal robot bodies.  Let’s do that but for humans, with a few full robots in the mix.

Now, obviously it’s somewhat unethical to just convert humans into robots, but what if the humans that went through the process volunteered.  And what if said humans that volunteered were paralyzed or quadriplegics or otherwise didn’t have full use or command of their bodies?  What if the GoBot process was an experimental treatment for those types of diseases/conditions?  Well, we’d have a small sample of test subjects probably, which would explain the need to also try building a few just purely robotic GoBots, since to colonize the galaxy you’d need large numbers.  And what if the Benton that appeared briefly in Sky Commanders and Centurions oversaw this project?  I think we’re getting somewhere.

But how do we get the Guardians and the Renegades?  Well, this whole project is carried out on Earth, and Unicron’s body is still sleeping at the center of the Earth separated from his spark.  Unicron’s body has been known to cause AI to act erratically in the past.  So, all those fully robotic GoBots that were created, they all go rogue, some of the human subjects also go rogue, driven insane by Unicron’s influence.  These are the Renegades.  However, not all the human subjects go rogue, some maintain their sanity, these are the Guardians.  And then the Guardians must stop the Renegades from acting out Unicron’s will, which is the annihilation of the human race.

And after the GoBots series is when we first see some legal ramifications to AI constantly going haywire.  All research into advanced AI on Earth is outlawed.  Advanced AI is still allowed to be researched off planet, but advanced AI can no loner be developed on Earth.  After this series, the Benton we’ve been following decides to give back, after all the harm his research has caused.  He starts Starlight House and Starlight records.  The Hard-light technology and the AI he created to run it is used to do special effects during concerts.  We’ll get into the exact mission of Starlight House when we cover Jem and the Holograms.

And I think that’s pretty much it for GoBots.  If you think we’ve already gotten deep into the weeds, just wait until the next post.