Vector Prime, can you tell us the origins of the Mecannibals and how common they are in the multiverse? And are they the top of the robotic food chain, or is there a worse metal munching predator out there? I'm hoping they're as bad as it gets.
Dear Mecannibal Master,
Of all the myriad races in the galaxy, I feel that the Ferrophagii are perhaps the most unfairly judged—feared by other mechanoids, and despised by organic lifeforms, they are a secretive race who have largely shied away from the galactic community, leaving its worst members to taint the opinions of others.
While we Cybertronians can subsist upon energon, Nucleon, and other efficient fuel sources, some crucial flaw in Ferrophage biology means that these fuels are not compatible with their systems. Instead, they must rely on primitive mechanical analogues to the organic digestive system—a trait that has stymied their evolutionary and social development by a significant degree. While most species eventually reach some kind of unified planetary government before developing space travel, the Ferrophagii have divided their planet into a series of hives and sub-hives, who alternately cooperate and squabble to secure food and territory under the authority of their reigning Master Mouth.
Where they came from is a mystery, even to me: their homeworld is marked by the scars of some prior civilization, and I suspect that the earliest Ferrophagii cut their metaphorical teeth upon the detritus of their fallen cities. Having long ago exhausted most of their planetside food sources, however, the Ferrophagii now compete with one another for the vast mineral wealth of their local asteroid belts. Dedicated teams of scouts and harvesters regularly tow the largest and densest planetoids into orbit around their homeworld, providing great feasts to celebrate the glory of their respective hives.
It is worth noting, however, that the savage “Mecannibals” you know are not quite representative of the race of a whole. Many Ferrophagii are driven by hunger, it is true—but the majority are able to keep their instincts in check. However, rogue individuals or sometimes entire hives might travel offworld specifically to sample the “forbidden tastes” of other mechanical lifeforms, and in doing so have earned the species its unflattering nickname.