Sapphire's Transformer Biology

Theories

I've never seen G1 Transformers (the only taste of the old TF's I've had was watching 'Transformers: The Movie' which a good friend sent to me since we don't get Transformers in South Africa.)  All I've watched is Beast Wars, some of Beast Machines and a little R.I.D.

I've written a few fics and placed my own ideas of Transformer biology into them, since their biology was never explained to me.  No one is really sure how Transformers work, and everyone comes up with different theories. So, I've adopted my own.  Other writers have inspired some of my ideas, and I've used a few regular Fan Fiction theories in the following:

The Heart and the Soul

 - are they two separate things for Transformers?

The Spark is truly a complex and interesting part of the transformer.  They can function without it, but only as drones and unstable ones at that.  The spark is both the heart and soul of a transformer, although in my opinion, it is more the soul.  Yes, a fully active, live, intelligent TF needs his/her spark to function, but I believe it is also what makes the Transformer.  That each spark is different and holds the essence of that TF being.

Blood VS Mech Fluid

Mech fluid has often been interpreted as blood in many BW fics.  It was never really elaborated on in the TV show, so this left its primary function up to the imagination.  Mechanical fluid, I believe, is vital for a transformer as it allows the joints to move continuously (especially during the body-stressful procedure of transforming) without these joints etc. receiving too much damage.  What I'm saying is, it keeps them from rusting and damaging, and an extreme loss of mech fluid can severely damage a transformer.  (Whether it can kill him/her depends on how much the transformer needs to move after such a loss of fluid.)

Oil and Cookies

What do TF's eat?  Oil, I imagine, is essential for certain parts of their body, as it is for a car.  But what do they do to power up?

Energon Guzzlers

Energon is what replenishes TF's.  They need it to keep them going, to power up and they absorb it through tubes attached to holes in their body (as seen in Beast Wars when Megatron was recharging)

Recharging = Zzzzzzzz

They sleep, this we know.  Is this recharging?  I guess it is!  I figure after a long day even a TF needs to rest.  When we sleep our human bodies do not shut down, we merely enter another level of consciousness and our bodies are still and therefore have some leisure time to relax and rest.  Transformers are the same, I believe, except they don't need as many hours of rest as we do because their bodies are far stronger and they have much higher endurance levels.

Audios and Optics

Optics are like complex eyes.  Able to see in light, and in the dark with the use of Infra-red.  They display readings and symbols too, which inform the TF of certain things like positions, grid references, a compass, their health etc.  Audios are like ears which, in my stories, they can adjust to strengthen and dim their hearing as they see fit.  They are far more sensitive and acute than human ears, as are optics in comparison to our eyes.

The Gender Issue

There are female Transformers.  Now, if we look at many species here on Earth, we will see that unless the creature is capable of splitting like a cell to reproduce itself, there is a need for two genders: male and female, which combine to create a new animal.  Females are necessary to carry the young and give birth to them (ok, except in the case of some fish and those hard-working male Sea Horses) and the males get the easy and fun job of just...well, you know what I mean.  So, why do these machines have genders?

The Female Transformer and the Male Transformer and....where the fluff did that baby come from?!?

So many fics have baby transformers being born like our babies - small and cute and annoying.  But I don't believe they come out like that at all!  I believe TF's are born fully grown with basic programming allowing them to function and know essential things to survive.  They start off as protoforms which are produced from the ever mystical (and huge) machine: Vector Sigma (don't ask me how...all I know is that it is somehow connected to the Matrix, and no, I don't mean the film)  These protoforms are blank unless a spark is put inside them to complete them and voila, a new TF emerges!  Of course, they can be programmed before they are born (kinda like today where couples are trying, through advancing medical science, to program their babies and decide before it is born what gender it'll be, what hair colour and eye colour it will have and so forth.) A fully grown TF can be put back into protoform state, too.

Daddy....?  Where do babies come from?

Ok, so, we got a femme and a male TF.  How do you get a new, separate spark from that?  Ever read Taratron's 'The Greatest Sacrifice'?  Well, if you have, then you might want to skip this part because it's old news to you well-read folk.  If not, then read on if you are interested.  In any case, I share her view as do a few other writers.  I'm not sure who started this idea, but it is the most credible one I've read.

The spark has another function...to recreate itself.  A male TF opens up his spark plate as does the female, they and their sparks get closer and touch, causing an electrical mini explosion or reaction which sparks off, from their two sparks, another spark! (Phew, talk about repetition!)  The little spark ain't going nowhere inside the male TF (he isn't a sea horse) because daddy doesn't have the right internal equipment to nurture it.  Instead, it zips inside mom, (usually too tiny to be noticed while its parents are having a great time) and heads for her forehead, which has a little space in the front just for baby.  Baby nestles there and immediately, little electrodes emerge and get to work feeding the baby energy so it will grow.  Energon is stored in the female's breasts (which aren't just for show) and this feeds the baby spark until it grows big and strong enough to be born.

Gestation and Entering the big wide world.

Mommy has since discovered she's got a nasty spark in her head and after two weeks, this nasty spark has grown big and uncomfortable (although physically mommy doesn't look any different, a plus if you're a TF model) and both she and the baby want out!  Two weeks of draining her energy is quite enough for both mom and baby and now it's time for Rhinox or some other clever medical dude to take baby out.  (I think I briefly explain this procedure in my Uprising series, but here it is again for those who haven't read it)  Mommy lies down while Rhinox opens a little side panel on her head very carefully and gently.  Then, with a kind of vacuum cleaner thing (except the 'dust' or in this case 'spark casing' is made of glass or some other spark escape-proof substance) he quite simply sucks baby out.  He puts baby in a case, takes baby to his/her new body, produced and sponsored by none other than VC and voila, a child is born!

Right, so, we get that idea.  Then what about Optimus Primal holding two sparks in HIS body?

Op is a male; that is clearly evident.  So, if I'm trying to prove my theory above, how does this work?  Optimus is extra special (some claim) and has the strength to carry a fully grown spark which no longer needs the same nurturing as a baby spark.  He can carry this spark, but it'll have to position itself in a place where he can provide it with enough energy to keep it happy.  He did this for a while as was seen in 'Optimal Situation'.  He can hold a grown spark, but is not capable of nurturing a growing baby.

When a spark ignites, there is great joy.  When a spark is extinguished, the Universe weeps.

Death.  ::sobs:: (Poor Dinobot!)  It happens and it is caused when a TF's body is so damaged it can no longer support the spark within, and it either leaves the body, if it has time, and heads up to heaven (The Matrix, or whatever you want to call it) and the TF is no longer functional.  OR, some nasty TF blows the spark up with his gun and it's extinguished [or the Spark isn't given a chance to escape and simply fades because it is being prevented from doing so (like in the sad fic 'Power Play' ::sob:: (Poor Rattrap!) )].   Anyway, I don't know if they die with time and since I believe it is really rare and difficult for TFs to create babies, I think that TFs live a very long time until they are killed, or maybe just tire of life and join the Matrix? (Like the Elves in 'The Silmarillion' by Tolkien.)

~ ~ ~

This is the end of the first part of my TF biology study.  There's still so much more that I've pondered on like body weapons, how protoforms physically become Transformers and much more!  Tune in next time for more scoop on the uncovered TF!

Email your comments, arguments, flaws you've noticed in my theories, hate mail, nice mail or just-felt-like-emailing-you mail to sapphire15@starplace.com