Princess Artemis Thinking too Hard about Perceptor

In Which Princess Artemis Rambles Long About Her Favorite Transformer...

General Personality Observations and Quirks--

Here's a longish run-down on the personality traits I've noticed about the calm, collected scientist...

First off, his name: Perceptor. It sizes him up very well, as far as I'm concerned. One Who Perceives. Let's bust on out the thesaurus on a few variants of perception...we get apprehension (not the feeling, but the apprehending of ideas), cognition, discernment, recognition, understanding, insight, thought, observation, awareness, keeness, alertness, incisiveness, acuteness, clear-sightedness... Well, it's a bit bigger word than just "seeing". Perceptor sees and then some. If we took off the mystical qualities of "seer", that word would work for him too. Then again, sometimes some of the stuff he pulls could be considered seer-like, just because he happens to have the vision and the mind to act on things fast enough that it might look like seeing into the future or having a unique sight for things that others can't see.

He's got a big vocabulary. Is there someone out there that doesn't know this? He likes to explain things, and when he does, he will never use one syllable when four will do. This seems to be a source of annoyance for other Autobots, who have been known to go from "What did he say?" to "Just shut up and do it!" It isn't that uncommon for the 'translators' of Perceptorese to get a few details wrong. It really makes me wonder about these big giant alien robots who apparently can speak several Earth languages fluently...why can't they understand big English words? He doesn't talk in jargon that often, at least not that I've seen, although I'm sure if you stuck him and Wheeljack in a room and gave them a sticky problem to solve, none but the staunchest thesarus-eaters would last more than a few minutes. Anyway, he is capable of talking in small easily digestable words, but his natural preference is the big'uns. I suspect this is because he likes precision, and little words are often not as precise as big ones--he is, after all, an instrument of extreme precision. And strangely enough, he understands Beachcomberian but apparently doesn't speak it. Imagine that. Perceptor understands and can translate hippie.

Back to explaining things...he likes that. My feeling is he wants people to know what he's doing and why, probably because if someone was doing something he didn't understand, he'd want an explaination himself. He's a gotta know kinda guy. Not everyone has the patience for it though; either that or they know if they let him go on, he might not stop...

If he could find a way to learn everything there is to learn, he could die a happy 'Bot. If there's one thing he values more than anything, it's learning stuff. If he finds something that piques his interest, he'll drop everything and investigate. Still, in all his studies and learning, he prefers physical sciences; molecular stuff, chemical stuff, physics, that sort of thing. He likes life sciences too, but it seems like anything he can get under his 'scope is something that'll really strike his fancy. Still, xenobotany and xenomicrobiology are subjects he has a good deal of knowledge in.

He's a pretty handy inventor and has a good handle on the finer points of Transformer medicine; he seems to have taken up the Wheeljackian mantle for season 3, except without the stuff blowing up in his face. He apparently also has a better understanding of Autobot cryptography than any other. I suppose if he were human, he'd be the kind with a good dozen, dozen and a half doctorates and terminal degrees in about every science you could think of. The official word has him specializing in metallurgy, electrical engineering, and molecular chemistry. So...what does this not cover? Haven't spotted anything in psychology or zooology yet. Doesn't mean he's not intested or doesn't know about it; he probably does.

So, a quick rundown on sciences I've spotted him using: microbiology, chemistry, botany, electronics, cryptography, medicine (TF style), astronomy, astrogation, engineering, particle physics...

Well, with all that on his mind, he does tend to be a tad on the absent-minded side. Not horrifically so, but he'll forget to do things (and end up endangering himself in the process--hello! They're shooting off the Morphobots! Maybe you should have got the rest of them outside before they tried to eat you!) or forget he's having a conversation with someone. He's easily distracted by interesting (to him) things. New things to learn are the "shinies" of Perceptor's existence, and certainly an annoyance to those around him.

He's also an incredibly fast thinker. Finding solutions to problems doesn't take him long at all. Energy-vampire-zombies? No problem. Figuring out Quintesson science enough to disable their toys? 'Tis a cinch. Finding a way off a planet populated by giants? Easy--he figured out not one but two ways home! Smart little bugger to retrofit a toy rocket to be spaceworthy...

Being so fast on his feet makes him a little hard to frighten, but it is possible. He doesn't like to be helpless; he can get into a panic if he's stuck transformed, since the only thing he can do to protect himself in that mode is move slowly and blast things...it's not a particularly defensable mode if someone gets close enough. Also, threatening to take out his universal emulator really gets him upset--that's by far the most helpless form he can be in.

Here's an interesting quirk--he's brilliant, he knows he's brilliant, but he doesn't really get an ego about it unless The Plot Dictates. I only recall him once ever disparaging the intelligence of another, and that was in "Grimlock's New Brain". Otherwise...well, he is extremely self-confident, he knows his worth, but he doesn't make an issue of it.

This self-confidence makes him very hard to insult and equally difficult to daunt. He doesn't get in a lot of verbal sparring matches, but when he does, he holds his own. Brawn learned that...but I'd say he had an easy time with it, since he could have gotten a lot more than smart remarks for his trouble. A less confident 'Bot woulda busted Brawn one, rather than calmly firing back with not insults but reasoned arguments. And when Optimus Prime is shouting "Just do it!" or Ultra Magnus is giving him the glazed-optic treatment? Not insulted. He just tracks off his motormouth and does what he needs to do. Also, this self-confidence evidences itself when he happens to get trapped by Decepticons. It happened twice; once he was captured with Seaspray, and they both took advantage of 'Con moronity to make an escape attempt (although I have to hand it to the Decepticons, they were smart enough to take his lens barrel). Perceptor didn't seem that frightened. And when Megatron swiped him in "Cosmic Rust", Perceptor knew full well they needed him for some reason and so there was no fear at all. The only time I recall off hand where Perceptor was actually insulted was in the third season...someone didn't believe him when he knew he was right about something. He got snippy about that, busting out essentially with a sulky "I told you so!" That seems to be, at least from the show, the only way to get under his armor...don't believe him when he's right. Maybe he doesn't like the lack of faith in his abilities, or maybe he has a touch more confidence than he needs. A little extra ego there perhaps, or a stubborn streak.

His self-confidence also gives him a rather remarkable ability to adapt to less than perfect conditions...such as getting turned into a little 'geisha' robot. He just figures out how to work the little robot and goes about solving his problem. I don't know how many Transformers have a highly developed body-consciousness...I know Sunstreaker and Tracks are more than a little enamoured with their looks, but Perceptor seems to have absolutely zero concern for his. If he did...he was turned into a 'geisha' for cryin' out loud! But he doesn't care if anyone sees him like that. It's a complete non-issue. Seems to me Perceptor could get stuck as a garbage can and he wouldn't care. He just goes along, rolls with the punches...and in the case of the 'geisha'...right after that he got stuck as a Quintesson ship and he had the presence of mind to fool with their gadgets and ruin their plans. Others less self-possessed might have panicked in the same situation. Not sure how this translates to "willing to dance in the middle of a bunch of Junkions to Weird Al songs", but me oh my, that had to take some guts.

Another tie-in to his self-confidence is a realistic sense of his own abilities. He's not stupid; he knows he's not the strongest 'Bot in the world. He's reasonably brave; he'll go stomping around Megatron's insides or offer to go to Charr with Rodimus Prime, but...well, if Rodimus warns him off, he's not dumb enough to press the matter. I would say his comment that it was a waste to send guards with him in "Forever is a Long Time Coming" came not out of an over-estimation of his strength, but the thought that he was just going to a little asteroid to examine some peculiar readings, not expecting there to be Quints all over.

He's not really leader material, though. Still, the few times he's called on to lead a mission of some sort, he handles it well enough, if he has some back-up. He doesn't have the force of personality or the charisma to lead on his own.

Here's a fun little quirk--he talks to inanimate objects. He's also not above kicking something in frustration in an attempt to get it to work.

He might have a violent temper that he hides very well. Not a terribly violent temper, but a tendency to get physical with things when he's upset. It's hard to tell, since Perceptor is normally very hard to upset--rattling him is down right difficult. This may be why he isn't a pacifist. He's got a rifle, he uses it--he's got a light cannon, and he uses that too. He has missles in his arm, he uses them. He fights when he needs to, and doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He doesn't go out looking to get in trouble, but he doesn't shy away when trouble finds him. He's got something more, which he doesn't use...but I'll get to that in a minute.

One bit of his personality I respect a great deal is his tendency to self-sacrifice and the value he places on other's lives. Sometimes he's more than a little stupid about it...he knows he's weak, so maybe he knows a flock of cassettecons could do some serious damage to him, but in the movie he does tell Blaster to get away while he can. Guess he forgot about Blaster's cassettebots while Rumble was pounding on his head :) But other times I think it's very admirable. Anyone who values the life of his friends (and especially his enemies!) over his own is OK in my book. "Cosmic Rust" is a great example of this, and "Forever is a Long Time Coming" demonstrated that he'd rather risk more damage to tell what needs to be told than sit back and let others try to figure it out.

Sadly, not a great deal of humor is in evidence with Perceptor...but then again, that may be circumstances. He talks to microchips! He can't be all serious. The official word is he's friendly and good-natured, and he seems to be a pretty nice guy in general. Probably he does have a sense of humor, there's just not a lot of opportunity in the show to see it... I would imagine him to have a very dry wit, deadpan...and possibly very pointed.

I get the feeling that he and other Autobots find it mutually difficult to be real friends because of the way he talks; a lot would probably view it as insulting, and so he would be very easily misunderstood. Being strongly on the workaholic side doesn't help (just remember, for him, a lot of his work is really play...he genuinely enjoys it). It's also possible that no matter how friendly and guiless Perceptor is, there are going to be some who find him intimidating for his intelligence. I imagine he's a bit on the lonely side. Wheeljack would probably be the closest friend Perceptor could have. Anyone else would have to be willing to learn Perceptorese and have enough of their own self-confidence not to be intimidated...and they would also have to be persistent enough to distract him from his "shinies"! It would probably be worth the effort, but I doubt there are many 'Bots willing.

One last thing before I go off on to his "toys"...I haven't figured out why yet, but Perceptor has successfully kept what I would judge to be a large secret from the rest of the Autobots--his third transform. This is something that he hid so well that if it weren't for two episodes and the hints they provide, I could just say that in the show, he couldn't transform into a tank. But he can. In "Desertion of the Dinobots", the blue extenders that form part of his tank mode are shown (used a bit differently, but still present), and in "Child's Play", he is actually mobile in his 'scope form. Now why in the world does anyone make a 'scope mobile? But there you go--he has tank treads on his legs. So in the show it appears to me that he does have a tank mode, but never once uses it. I wonder why? Why keep a secret like that? Some Autobots must know about it. And...why would he have a form like that in the first place? The scientist that's armed to the proverbial teeth? Certainly adds an interesting facet to his character.

The Boy and his Toys--

There's always the fun little things Transformers can do, like retract their hands and replace them with something more useful at the time...Ratchet keeps doodads in his fingers, Jazz has a winch in his arm, that sort of thing. Perceptor can do that too. But he's got some fun toys that are pretty well unique to him...

First toy out of the box is the obvious one, his lens barrel. Official word says he can use it as an electron scanning microscope as well as an optical microscope. I wonder if he can use it as a scanning tunneling microscope (the kind that can make images down to the atomic level)? Probably. An optical microscope and an electron microscope are two very different animals, so why not? I'm sure Transformers have the technology. Obviously he can also use his lens barrel as a telescope...a very precise one at that.

What's even more amazing about this multi-functional observation device is that he can use it to create beams of light--everything from a surgically precise laser to a light beam powerful enough to knock Devastator apart! Perceptor can use his lens barrel-turned-light cannon to fire blasts that are about equivalent to his rifle in robot mode, but it gets big and ugly when he transforms, very much like Megatron's fusion cannon. (Then again, he could be powering down the cannon in robot mode, since it doesn't appear to have anywhere to let the equal but opposite reaction go...in other words, he would knock himself off down if he used it at full power on two feet.) Transformed, he can use it to fire a beam of light at a small object 2000 miles in the air and hit it with pinpoint accuracy. The beam is no small thing either; certainly not as powerful as Megatron's cannon in gun mode, but probably close; it's the same width as his barrel, and has a good deal of initial flare. Close enough at least to give someone pause if it happened to be aimed at them. Possibly it doesn't get any more powerful in tank mode, but since Perceptor never transformed into a tank so we could see, there's no way of knowing. However, in tank form, the mirror for his microscope form could easily direct light straight into the cannon, making it even more powerful. I don't have a clue how the thing works in the first place, but I'm guessing that he somehow absorbs ambient light and magnifies it (in what is technically the wrong direction). Channeling the light straight into the cannon without relying on ambient light would probably, at the least, make it so he expends less energy using it. His cannon is also "backwards" in tank form, which might have an effect on its power since his lenses magnify in one direction, and that would be in the direction his cannon points out in tank form. I would guess tank cannon blasts would not be as precise as robot form or 'scope form blasts, but more powerful by an order of magnitude.

On top of that, this light cannon of his can be hooked up to a larger telescope and channel power from energon cubes to make a flippin' TRANSPORT BEAM. The blasted thing is precise enough to land the Transformers using it on the surface of a planet who knows how many light years away. That's one heck of a blast. I don't imagine it would be terribly useful for regular transport, but in a pinch, Perceptor could sneak into an observatory, hook up his lens barrel (it's removable too), and beam Transformers just about anywhere the larger telescope could point.

Quite a little gun he's got, huh.

The second toy out of the box isn't really a toy, but an ability that he probably has. When Perceptor transforms into 'scope form, he can stay normal sized, which would be a good large telescope size for a human, or he can shrink to human microscope sized. It doesn't really matter to him either way, and he doesn't transform small very often. But...well...when Blaster transforms, he shrinks too, and he can transform back to robot mode without growing again (thus, allowing him to ride around inside Cosmos, who he happens to outsize by at least twice.) Perceptor can ride in Cosmos too, and Perceptor is a good bit taller than the minibot as well. (Both of them appear to be about a head taller than the car Autobots, regardless of the fact that both tower over the car Autobots as toys.) So circumstantially, it seems that Perceptor can stay shrunk in robot mode. If he stayed proportionate to his small microscope size, that would mean he'd be about a foot tall or so.

Don't ask me how any of the Incredible Shrinking TFs manage it though. Subspace pockets is the most likely anser, since they have to shunt the extra mass somewhere; they don't increase in density transformed small. Witness the number of people who can pick up Soundwave, Blaster, and all the cassettes.

The last toy out is the most interesting to me. It's ye olde universal emulator. Normally something like that would be a mighty useful toy...I mean, say an Autobot's got something broken, doesn't have the right equipment to fix it on hand, so as a stop-gap they can tap Perceptor to use his emulator. An emulator is something that pretends to be something else...like how a PlayStation 2 can pretend to be a PSX, or how a program on a PC can pretend to be an Atari 2600. A universal emulator though...that can pretend to be anything, and in the show, it pretends to be two wholely different technologies, at least one very alien from Transformer tech.

To be of any use to Perceptor at all, he has to be able to use it without taking it out however, because it just happens to be him. It's his soul, brain, spark, laser core, whatever you want to call it. Without it, the rest of him doesn't work (but it doesn't die either; apparently he was designed for the emulator's removal). So there must be some way he can use it without removing it...probably he can route it through his hands or something, maybe he has doodads in his fingers like Ratchet does. It was never showed that way though, at least, not that we were told. An interesting property of his emulator actually being him is that if it's taken out and put in something else, so is Perceptor. Thus we have little Nijika working with Perceptor's personality, or Perceptor pulling tricks on Quintessons who apparently didn't know where the emulator went he followed. The Quintessons knew about it, but if they knew ALL about it, I'm sure they would have taken more precautions to keep him from screwing them over...assuming there was anything they could do to stop Perceptor from doing whatever the heck he wanted once he got stuck as their ship.

This is probably one key reason why he doesn't have any body-consciousness...if you were a little box that could be taken out of your body and put in another, maybe you wouldn't care either?

Anyway, I have my own little theories about this toy of his. It seems to be canon that Transformers have brains in their heads, and that damaging said brains would be a lot like damaging a human brain...major league Not Good. I think Perceptor has a brain in his head too. But...since everything he is, up to and including his intelligence, happens to be in his emulator, that leaves him as having two functional brains. This would certainly explain why he's so smart and such a fast thinker...with twice the brains as most, it's kinda hard to avoid it. I suspect he uses the brain in his head as a whole bunch of extra processing power. That's just me tho'. Maybe he doesn't have anything in his head. Certainly blowing it off wouldn't kill him, it'd just shut him up :)

Strengths and Weaknesses--

The good stuff -- Major firepower (equal to Optimus Prime's!), built like a tank (because he is :), smart as a whip, skilled in very nearly everything he does. Incredible sight both microscopic and telescopic; optics have a higher discriminating ability at close range than most TFs. Can sense energy output and pinpoint it.

The bad stuff -- Hard to understand, very slow moving, lenses easily broken, relatively weak physically (or at least, it appears that he thinks he is, since tech specs say he's above average on the strength scale), not particularly charismatic.

Silly "temperment" deal--

Ever heard of the Myers-Briggs temperment sorter and Dr. Kirsey? That'll help with this if ya have. If not...you can ignore this short bit.

I think it's very very safe to say Perceptor is an NT of the most extreme degree. N stands for intuition, T for thinking. NT is one of four major temperments in Kirsey's thinking (like all psychological theories, it doesn't cover everyone, but it works well enough for most)...and NT happens to be the type the must know, it's what moves them. Sound right? For humans, intuition isn't something we can necessarily follow the path of--that's why it's called intuition. I think though, for Perceptor, he does know where his intuition comes from. He probably knows himself just as well as he knows anything else, having mapped out his own thinking over millions of years, and so he would see the leaps in logic that make up intuition for what they are. I don't think Perceptor has hunches...he's too aware of his own thought processes to have a 'gut feeling' about something. If he had a hunch or gut feeling, he would very quickly figure out where it came from and how he arrived at that conclusion. Then again, maybe he's so used to his own intuition that he doesn't bother tracking down the logic behind it, thus wasting time. We are talking about a guy at least several million years old. Could be if he just knows, he trusts that the intuition is sound because he's already learned by now if his intuition is logical or not!

I talked a bit about intuition there...mostly because I don't think it's something people would really say...that 'Bot's real intuitive. I think he is, but in such a way that it wouldn't look like intuition as we know it. I don't think I need say anything about the thinking part of NT.

There are two other letters that go with these Kirsey temperments...introvert/extrovert and...erm...judging/perceiving. One person I know said the last one was procrastinating instead :) I tend to agree; the J/P names make absolutely zero sense, and a P type is a procrastinating type! Anyway, I think it's reasonably safe to say Perceptor's on the introverted side. We can go two ways from INT...either be an architect of ideas (who doesn't necessarily build anything -- P), or someone who does build on their ideas -- J. My guess is Perceptor would be an INTJ (he certainly does follow through on his ideas)...which has the interesting statistic of being one of the rarest types in humans, and according to Kirsey, being one of the most difficult to understand. Mostly because they don't need to be understood to do their thing, so make little effort to make themselves accessable. I don't think that last reasoning fits Perceptor well...official word has him being friendly and such but not easily drawn into activity other than his work, so I don't think his being difficult to understand is really so much him just doing his own thing, but more that he's simply hard to draw out. Maybe he doesn't recognize any need to be drawn out. Doesn't mean it isn't there.

(For the record, I've taken this particular personality test several times over the last ten years, and have come up INTP, INTJ, and INFP...occasionally ENTP or ENFP...which means either I've changed a good deal or the test is subject to moods! I've also met someone who came up XXXX on the test, which meant, in essence, that it is an incomplete theory, since it couldn't account for whatever this guy was.)

Go back to Scientific Journals