The Matrix, Vector Sigma, and Me… Well, Alpha Trion, Actually
There’s one thing that seems to be almost constant with Transformers, whether it’s in the cartoon or the comic. Change. And quite often this change comes out of left field. When exactly did the Creation Matrix suddenly change from a computer program (able to transfer to a human) into a tangible object that has the ability to destroy as well as create? Where exactly did the second season characters in the cartoon come from? Were they always lurking off screen or something? Or Unicron, who made sudden appearances in both media? Primus? Multiple origins for characters and home planets? Spiderman? And this isn’t bringing in Beast Wars/Machines and the sudden existence of new sub-groups considerably smaller than their ancestors, sparks, and the Oracle, among others. It’s so prevalent in Transformers mythos that fans can come up with theories almost on the fly. Give a fan a conundrum and they fill in the blanks like they’re filling in Madlibs.
Yet sometimes people have trouble with these sudden appearances. I suppose it all started with “Transfomers the Movie.” Here we have Unicron, a whole new cast, and a mythical object of great power that is a source of hope for the Autobots that was never even hinted at before the movie. If it was so important, why wouldn’t it be mentioned (aside from the real world answer, that is)? An influx of new characters, new ideas, and new worlds quickly followed. And then started all over again with Beast Wars. New characters, new ideas, and new worlds. Now the Matrix wasn’t just an object of great power, it was a dimension where Sparks went when extinguished and where new life sprang. Dinobot called it Silicon Valhalla in “The Low Road.” The viewing audience even witnessed Rhinox’s attempt at retrieving a spark from the Matrix and Dinobot’s spark float off, seemingly to this Valhalla he waxes all poetic about. And then it started yet again with Beast Machines. The Matrix dimension was a part of the All-Spark. The Oracle, which is legendary to the Maximals but new to the fans, has Vector Sigma at its heart. Enough new concepts to make a casual fan dizzy. And with every change in philosophy, there is some sort of backlash (which isn’t a phenomenon limited to Transformers; just ask Star Trek fans). Some fans see these new ideas popping up without reason or logic. The same things, known to fans of the original show, are being defined differently in the later shows. But perhaps, with a little help from Alpha Trion and one given, maybe these new concepts surrounding Vector Sigma, the Matrix, and the Matrix dimension aren’t all that different.
What’s the given, you ask? It’s that the Matrix of Leadership is a tangible object that is a source of power and a place where old, dead leaders hang out. This much we get from TFTM and “Five Faces of Darkness.” Its origin is unknown, but that’s hardly original with Transformers. And it is shown in “The Rebirth” to have the ability to interface with Vector Sigma.
This fact is important, for I propose that this connection with Vector Sigma is the basis for a theory that the Matrix dimension is connected to the Matrix of Leadership and Vector Sigma. What I propose is that the Matrix of Leadership and Vector Sigma are vessels that living Transformers deemed worthy or that have one of a limited number of keys can interact with the Matrix Dimension.
Before I get to my reasoning behind this theory, first let me address what I’d imagine might be the first question. Even if what I will be stating later in this essay makes sense (and that’s not necessarily going to be the case), why wouldn’t Optimus Prime and the rest of the original cast know about this Matrix dimension and it’s connection to the Matrix and Vector Sigma. Most likely, one some level, they did. They knew that ancient leaders were accessed through the Matrix and that life came from Vector Sigma. Perhaps it was that they simply did not put two and two together at the time but later generations had. There are numerous examples of this in our own history. Gravity always existed, but Isaac Newton described it mathematically. From this, theories like relativity or space-time, which were always there as well, would be proposed. I’m sure there are other examples I could use here, but I’m lazy and I just continue hoping that I illustrated my point. Each new generation gains a better understanding of the world around us. It would be silly not to think that Transformers would do the same thing. Anyway…
Megatron states, in “The Key to Vector Sigma,” that Vector Sigma is the supercomputer that gave all Transformers life and its actions in the episode certainly don’t contradict this. Vector Sigma is a source of the life force of all Transformers. This should sound familiar to Beast Wars and Beast Machines fans, where the Matrix dimension is described in the same way. The Matrix of Leadership can be used to interact with deceased Transformers, as is done in “Five Faces of Darkness” and “The Return of Optimus Prime.” In Beast Wars, it is stated that dead Transformers go to the Matrix. Beast Machines expands a bit more on the Matrix dimension as a source of new life. This is, in fact, where Rhinox fetched Optimus Primal’s spark in “Coming of the Fuzors.” From this, one might be able to see that the possibility that these entities are interconnected.
But there really should be more to it than this to go by to convince people that the Matrix of Leadership and Vector Sigma are ways of getting to the Matrix dimension. After all, these different concepts and the connections in the previous paragraph could simply be a coincidence or unrelated to the Matrix seen in Beast Wars and Beast Machines. To find this, hopefully, more convincing argument, one must remember that Vector Sigma is activated by more than just a Key in the cartoon canon. The Matrix activates it. And so does Alpha Trion’s index finger. In fact, Alpha Trion himself is important to this theory.
Last we saw him in a corporal state, he was sacrificing himself to activate Vector Sigma. In the process, his life force was transferred into Vector Sigma. In other words, he died. Now if there was no connection between Vector Sigma and the Matrix of Leadership, Alpha Trion would only be found in Vector Sigma and not in the Matrix. His life force certainly didn’t appear in Rodimus Prime’s Matrix dive in “Five Faces of Darkness” and his life force certainly did appear to Optimus Prime in “The Rebirth” when he consulted with Vector Sigma. However, there is also “The Return of Optimus Prime.” In this episode, when Optimus does his own Matrix dive to discover something about the Hate Plague, who does he come across? Alpha Trion. Therefore, the Matrix of Leadership and Vector Sigma are connected or Alpha Trion could not possibly be in both locations at once. With the access to life forces, or sparks, with both of these vessels, it makes logical sense that they are connected through the Matrix dimension, a source and depository of life forces (sparks) as described in Beast Wars and Beast Machines.
Beast Machines also connects Vector Sigma directly with the Matrix dimension. Vector Sigma is at the heart of the Oracle. The Oracle is Optimus Primal’s window to the Matrix. Pretty cut and dry, except for the unknown reason for the Oracle’s existence. Even with this unknown, the linear connection stands. Though, I’ve never heard the argument, I’d say that this is the same Vector Sigma as seen in the original show. First, there’s the key, which looks identical and has a similar use as a weapon (not identical, but it’s effects on technological/organic hybrids was never shown in the original cartoon). Also, Vector Sigma was shown to be a guiding hand in the events of episodes (Beast Machines as a whole and “The Rebirth”), culminating in the end that it sought.
This theory is not ironclad, however. I am sure other fans could come up with alternate theories that are completely different and just as correct. The Matrix dimension as a source of new life is discussed less than it has as a place where extinguished sparks go. Then there are sparks themselves. While I use the terms “spark” and “life force” or “laser core” interchangeably, there is little doubt that laser cores are not shown visually and can’t be compared, making it difficult to prove or disprove whether these are the same. If sparks and laser cores are different, then it could stand to reason that the Matrix dimension and Vector Sigma are not interrelated.
Even with these potential flaws, I think this theory, that the Matrix of Leadership, Vector Sigma, and the Matrix dimension are linked, works pretty well. Perhaps most surprising is that this link covers three different shows with numerous writers and story editors and yet still holds together rather nicely. For those times when one wonders where a writer came up with something a certain character trait or whether a story editor ever saw the previous episodes, this could show that the people behind the Transformers cartoons we’ve enjoyed for the past 15 odd years might have done their homework after all.