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Transistor Mac icon

The Transistor as seen in the game's desktop icon.

The Transistor is a powerful tool wielded by Red. Described by Royce Bracket as "a brush, with the [Processed] City as its canvas," it possesses the ability to instantly alter Cloudbank in any way according to its current User's whims. It controls the Process, which is implied to originate from within it. The Transistor's docking point and intended location is the Cradle.

Unknown resides within the Transistor following his integration, from where he communicates with Red. For the majority of the game, Red is unaware of the Transistor's functionality as a tool, and only uses it for combat.

Appearance[]

The Transistor resembles a large, broad sword. It is composed of a thin gold and silver hilt, a neon teal "blade" that somewhat resembles a microchip or circuit board, gold extensions on the far side of the blade, and a large red "eye" in the center of the blade.

As Red drags the Transistor on the ground, elaborate illuminated teal and yellow circuitry is revealed, and there is a noticeable lack of any sort of metal-against-ground sound; this hints at the Transistor's role in shaping the city.

Whenever the man in the Transistor speaks to Red, the central neon blue component of it glows and fades in time to his words.

Under the effects of the Spine in Highrise, the Transistor's "eye" glows intensely red, and Unknown's speech makes the circuit board glow red rather than teal. This effect happens on playstation controllers aswell. Upon returning to Goldwalk, the entire Transistor glows red continuously, and the circuitry revealed on the ground is instead red. While under this effect, Unknown’s speech also becomes somewhat slurred and confused.

History[]

Prior to the events of the game, Royce, an engineer that actively worked on shaping Cloudbank, discovered the Transistor and its power, as well as the Process. He was utterly fascinated by it and took to studying both, making notes of his discoveries in the form of encrypted comments within the Transistor's Limiters. The Limiters themselves are a product of Royce's testing. He mentions having found it near the Cradle, or possibly within the Cradle itself.

Sometime between his discovery and his studies, he granted the leader of the Camerata, Grant Kendrell, access to it, who became the device's current User. Under the Camerata's control, the Transistor was used to assassinate people the group deemed dangerous towards their goals or useful, granting it new Functions.

The night before the game's opening scene takes place, under Sybil's direction, the group sought out to integrate Red at the Empty Set, likely citing her massive influence. Unbeknownst to everyone but Sybil, who secretly wanted to integrate Unknown, Red was not alone like every other target up until now. Upon attempting integration, Unknown took the hit for her at the last second. Presumably due to the fact he was an 'off the grid' citizen who had no files on record, the Transistor malfunctioned and integrated Red's voice as well as Unknown's Trace, killing him, and teleported the pair to Goldwalk Channel. There, Red is granted User access to the Transistor upon picking it up.

As the Transistor requires an active connection to the Cradle to maintain control of the Process, in the interval between Grant's loss of the Transistor and Red's inadvertent User sign-in, the Process escaped control.

With Red as its current User, the Transistor only carries two Functions. She gains access to previously integrated by the Camerata Functions via using the Transistor in combat against the now hostile Process.

Upon coming within range of the Spine, Unknown becomes fatigued and disoriented, but the Transistor otherwise functions correctly.

Towards the end of the game, Royce communicates with Red via proxy and explains the Transistor's history and functionality. He then urges Red to seek out the Cradle and allow the Transistor to be re-docked in order to control the Process.

Upon placing the Transistor into the Cradle, Red and Royce are transported to a location within the Transistor. There, multiple Transistors are seen to exist, ranging in size from the one Red wields to ones on the scale of buildings. Royce is seen wielding his own separate Transistor, stating that the only way out of this area entails one of the two of them being integrated.

After their battle, the Process is back under control, and Red is returned to Cloudbank. She uses the Transistor to restore the Fairview bridge, in accordance to Royce's explanation of the Transistor's capabilities. She makes her way back to the location in Goldwalk Channel where Unknown's body lays. There, she attempts to restore him, but is unable to. In the game's closing cutscene, she sits beside his body and uses the Transistor to integrate herself, reuniting with the man within the Transistor.

Relationship to the Process[]

It is heavily implied the Process originates from within the Transistor. Royce states that the Process comes from "elsewhere," and details that the Process are the unseen, behind the scenes sculptors of Cloudbank with which every change is made; furthermore, he describes the Transistor as being the key to completely controlling both Cloudbank and its environment, via the Process.

Terminating a single Process leads to it becoming a Cell, which is then absorbed into the sword; the first time this happens, Unknown remarks that they've gone "back where they belong," suggesting that the "elsewhere" Royce claims they come from may be inside the Transistor itself. Likewise, when the first Limiter is activated, Unknown remarks that "something's happened. In here." This suggests that rather than being simply a game mechanic, Limiters are a way for the Transistor to directly reconfigure the Process' behavior without being docked to the Cradle.

Functions[]

Main article: Functions

The Transistor's main utility comes in the form of multiple Functions, which grant it the ability to increase its functionality in shaping Cloudbank. Red uses them solely for combat. Functions are derived from coming in contact with one's Trace. There are sixteen equippable Functions.

The only Function that is not explicitly stated to be derived from a Trace is Turn(), a Function that allows the Transistor to pause time and queue up movements and attacks, allowing the user to plan attacks against the Process. Turn() is a function innate to the Transistor, as demonstrated when Royce is able to commence his own Turn() when using his own Transistor.

The User is able to alter the Transistor's current Functions upon reaching an Access Point.

Limiters[]

Main article: Limiters

Limiters are a functionality of the Transistor that was added by Royce; without Royce's interference, the Process would be much more dangerous. They function as a debuff during gameplay, as equipping a Limiter effectively removes a safeguard placed by Royce. Having Limiters equipped grants the User more experience points from combat, as well as more challenging gameplay.

MEM[]

Each Function installed in the Transistor allocates a specific amount of it's available memory, called MEM. Functions take up anywhere from 1 to 4 MEM upon a single installation. Red can choose to unlock four additional MEM slots at certain level ups, while the maximum amount of MEM the Transistor can have is 32. The Limiter Responsibility removes access to 6 or more MEM.

Unknown's behavior under the effects of the Spine is likely a case of MEM overload, as the Spine itself is a massive Process operating under the Transistor's memory.

Trivia[]

  • Those aware of the Transistor's true nature are able to command it without holding it, as seen by the way Grant attempts Red's integration, and the way Red uses it in the game's ending.
  • Royce is very protective over the Transistor. He calls it a star, and is upset at Red when he discovers she was dragging it on the ground. This is likely due do his fixation both on it and the power it holds.
    • He states that one may hear the voices of those contained within the Transistor if they knew them beforehand. Red very clearly and effortlessly hears the unknown man's voice from the Transistor, with whom she was romantically involved with, suggesting that the stronger the bond was, the clearer the User can hear the voices of those integrated.
      • Royce doesn't seem to be aware that Red can hear Unknown from within the Transistor, and cannot hear him himself.
  • Unknown states that when he "looks up to where the sky should be" within the Transistor, he sees Red.
  • While Unknown communicates with other people as their Traces are integrated into the Transistor, he subsequently does not seem to see them there with him, and Red cannot hear if they are speaking to him from within.
TransistorRootAccess

The Transistor's Root Access area in an early version of the game.

  • In an early version of the game, Red could enter an area called a "Process Socket," comprised of a silhouetted side-scrolling platform with circuit lines in the foreground and background; this was described by Unknown as the "home" of the Process, suggesting that it is contained within the Transistor. It contained an edifice providing root access to the Transistor, which allowed Red to unlock new levels and upgrades.
  • A real transistor is an electronic component that allows one weak electrical signal to either amplify or shut off another signal. Transistors can be combined together to make logic gates, which can then be further combined to make sophisticated digital circuits like those found in CPUs. The transistor is one of the most important inventions in computing history; it acts like a vacuum tube, but is many times smaller, more efficient, more reliable, and easier to manufacture in bulk. Without transistors, it would be impossible to make computers small and cheap enough for regular individuals to own.
  • The Transistor may have been inspired by the Aleph found in William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Mona Lisa Overdrive, as both are electronics within which a reality is contained, and both involve a person's mind being directly uploaded onto them.

Gallery[]

Characters
Major Protagonists RedUnknown (The Transistor)
The Camerata Asher KendrellGrant KendrellRoyce BracketSybil Reisz
Minor Integrated (Trace Bank) Bailey GilandeFarrah Yon-DaleHenter JallafordLillian PlattMaximilias DarziNiola CheinOlmarqPreston MoyleShomar ShasbergWave Tennegan
Other Amelia GarburMinor Characters
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