TF continuity is like a Chinese menu: pick some from column A, some from column B...
For G1 fanfic purposes, it's useful to borrow from Marvel G1, Marvel G2, cartoon G1, Beast Wars (as a dystopian possible future), DW G1, IDW G1, and/or Japanese Headmasters G1, just because basic Sunbow G1 is so sketchy. Or you can just make up stuff, but even that comes from somewhere. I notice that both you and Wayward, for example, get a lot of inspiration from Marvel G1 and G2.
Thus the Chinese menu comments; one has to determine how things work in one's own fic-verse because heaven knows, there's little consistency even with G1 continuity. I definitely agree with you about the headaches.
For my own fanfic and personal RP, I believe I decided that the lasercore was the seat of personality/emotion, and that "spark" was originally just an expression for what made you "alive" and not a drone: "spark of life", or soul. Not an actual, visible manifestation of whatever. I think I did some handwaving to explain the difference between BW sparks, "dead" sparks/ghosts, and lasercores to the effect that beings have souls independent of life or death, which aren't the same as BW/TFA sparks. I believe I explained BW sparks as a Maximal-era improvement on the G1 metaprocessor/lasercore combo--all the critical mental functions and personality were concentrated in a holographic energy field--an energy-based processor that was much more powerful than the old matter-based processors. This made spark-using Transformers essentially energy beings wearing physical shells. However, if the energy field--spark--was sufficiently disrupted, it fell apart and the TF was just as dead as if his lasercore had been destroyed. If the body was sufficiently damaged that it could not sustain power to the spark chamber, the spark also fell apart.
Death meant no spark, no spark meant death. Maximal-era Transformers with a poor grasp on metaphysics tended to conflate the "living" energy-processor spark with the soul because of this symmetry, and because souls are really hard to identify and measure, whereas it's easy to point at a spark. For my personal canon purposes (i.e., Starscream's relation to Rampage's origins), this conflation actually impeded spiritual awareness among the elite and intellectuals. After all, if a soul is something you can point at, measure, contain in a cage and alter, anything beyond that is just mythology and ignorant folk-beliefs, right?
(Yes, Ghost-Starscream and his excursion into Beast Wars made me work all this out--continuity-jumping PITA that he is.)
Again, personal canon: since I write Starscream as a real ghost, not a "mutant spark", I explain the Beast Wars comments about Starscream as unreliable testimony. Who said Starscream was a "mutant spark"? Hearsay of "Maximal scientists" regarding a 300 year-old (but apparently well-attested) legend. Would "top men"/"Maximal scientists" believe in vengeful possessing ghosts, or would they try to explain Starscream's antics in scientific terms: "mutant spark" that didn't dissipate on destruction of its containment? Then, "knowing" it could be done, they created a real mutant spark that didn't dissipate on destruction of its containment--Rampage. Oops.
(Anyone ever notice the similiarities between Protoform X and Weapon X? Both are near-immortals created or re-created by an amoral bunch of scientists experimenting on sentient beings. Both are just a tad cranky about being experimental subjects. "Okay, you've just made this guy into an indestructible weapon of mass slaughter--so NOW you let him overhear that you're going to dispose of him. Bright guys, really bright." At least in the movie, the scientist-villains were called on their utter stupidity.)
Caveat: if you are writing a continuity that doesn't have body-jumping Ghostie-Scream running around, it's a lot easier to handwave something consistent regarding souls, sparks, brain components, metaprocessors, lasercores and kumquats. As usual, Screamer makes things a complex mess.
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timeasmymeasure
*goes all rambly*
Date: 2009-06-20 05:10 pm (UTC)For G1 fanfic purposes, it's useful to borrow from Marvel G1, Marvel G2, cartoon G1, Beast Wars (as a
dystopianpossible future), DW G1, IDW G1, and/or Japanese Headmasters G1, just because basic Sunbow G1 is so sketchy. Or you can just make up stuff, but even that comes from somewhere. I notice that both you and Wayward, for example, get a lot of inspiration from Marvel G1 and G2.Thus the Chinese menu comments; one has to determine how things work in one's own fic-verse because heaven knows, there's little consistency even with G1 continuity. I definitely agree with you about the headaches.
For my own fanfic and personal RP, I believe I decided that the lasercore was the seat of personality/emotion, and that "spark" was originally just an expression for what made you "alive" and not a drone: "spark of life", or soul. Not an actual, visible manifestation of whatever. I think I did some handwaving to explain the difference between BW sparks, "dead" sparks/ghosts, and lasercores to the effect that beings have souls independent of life or death, which aren't the same as BW/TFA sparks. I believe I explained BW sparks as a Maximal-era improvement on the G1 metaprocessor/lasercore combo--all the critical mental functions and personality were concentrated in a holographic energy field--an energy-based processor that was much more powerful than the old matter-based processors. This made spark-using Transformers essentially energy beings wearing physical shells. However, if the energy field--spark--was sufficiently disrupted, it fell apart and the TF was just as dead as if his lasercore had been destroyed. If the body was sufficiently damaged that it could not sustain power to the spark chamber, the spark also fell apart.
Death meant no spark, no spark meant death. Maximal-era Transformers with a poor grasp on metaphysics tended to conflate the "living" energy-processor spark with the soul because of this symmetry, and because souls are really hard to identify and measure, whereas it's easy to point at a spark. For my personal canon purposes (i.e., Starscream's relation to Rampage's origins), this conflation actually impeded spiritual awareness among the elite and intellectuals. After all, if a soul is something you can point at, measure, contain in a cage and alter, anything beyond that is just mythology and ignorant folk-beliefs, right?
(Yes, Ghost-Starscream and his excursion into Beast Wars made me work all this out--continuity-jumping PITA that he is.)
Again, personal canon: since I write Starscream as a real ghost, not a "mutant spark", I explain the Beast Wars comments about Starscream as unreliable testimony. Who said Starscream was a "mutant spark"? Hearsay of "Maximal scientists" regarding a 300 year-old (but apparently well-attested) legend. Would "top men"/"Maximal scientists" believe in vengeful possessing ghosts, or would they try to explain Starscream's antics in scientific terms: "mutant spark" that didn't dissipate on destruction of its containment? Then, "knowing" it could be done, they created a real mutant spark that didn't dissipate on destruction of its containment--Rampage. Oops.
(Anyone ever notice the similiarities between Protoform X and Weapon X? Both are near-immortals created or re-created by an amoral bunch of scientists experimenting on sentient beings. Both are just a tad cranky about being experimental subjects. "Okay, you've just made this guy into an indestructible weapon of mass slaughter--so NOW you let him overhear that you're going to dispose of him. Bright guys, really bright." At least in the movie, the scientist-villains were called on their utter stupidity.)
Caveat: if you are writing a continuity that doesn't have body-jumping Ghostie-Scream running around, it's a lot easier to handwave something consistent regarding souls, sparks, brain components, metaprocessors, lasercores and kumquats. As usual, Screamer makes things a complex mess.