Cybertronian Mechabiology

Overview
(See also: List of Cybertronian Organs, Full List of Cybertronian Ailments)

Cybertronian mechabiology is simply what makes a Cybertronian tick. It includes their digestive systems, respiratory systems, nervous systems and reproductive systems. The study of mechabiology is called biomechanics, and the individual organ systems within a Cybertronian may be called biomechanisms. Nurses and medics who study these systems are also called biomechanics.

Many of the elements of Cybertronian biology is borrowed from other animals - such as variants on organs by-frame, such as flying frames having crops similar to a bird's.

Internal Organs
Internal organs are the systems within a Cybertronian that makes them work. They are similar to organics in structure and even function.

Tanks
Tanks are very simply put the stomach of a Cybertronian. They are hard and cylindrical, and Cybertronians bear two of them. The volume of each tank varies from frame to frame. Inside the tank there is a powerful acid with a pH of 5.05/mL (five times the pH of 100 millimetres of pure sulphuric acid). The acid quickly digests consumed contents and converts it into fuel - even things that the body of an organic would dispose of - eliminating the need for excrement. Water that is consumed simply evaporates into vapour and exhaled alongside exhaust.

Water and other liquids, however, drastically mute the effects of the acid to a pH of 3.5/mL (roughly the same pH as gastric acid). The tank is lined in a durable, rubber-like substance similar to an organic stomach lining, which is powerful enough to resist a pH of up to twenty. This protects the tank itself from being rotted by the powerful acid within.

Calorie Intake
The average Cybertronian needs as much as three-million calories per-year (roughly eight-thousand per day on Earth). Cybertronians are able to last three years without eating using backup energon reserves. One may choose to eat all three-million calories at once, or gradually. Calories are called Enscores on Cybertron.

Energon Reserves
Energon reserves are small tanks nestled beside the tanks that are filled with dense, heavy energon. It is about the same density as mercury. This pure concentrated energon is one of the several types of energon in the Cybertronian biology and is known as tanken. If a Cybertronian's tank runs empty, their body will switch to burning these reserves. They refill naturally should the tanks be refilled.

Tankard's Disease
Tankard's Disease (shortened to TD or Tankard's) is a disease that targets the tanks and the air sacs (see: respiration) and causes them to rot and decay. The disease weakens the lining of the tank, allowing the acid within to corrode the metal. The air sacs become thin and weak and ventilating becomes difficult. It is not contagious. It has a high lethality rate of 70 - 90% of everyone who contracts it. Those who do, however, come out with a significantly weaker mechanoimmune system, and even a simple cold (see: freezecog) can kill.

Symptoms include tank pain, air sac pain, high fevers, flaking paint, pain during transformation, loss of appetite and coughing up blooden. The onset is quick, and the affected live hardly longer than two months.

Energon Leakage
Energon decay primarily affects the energon reserves. It is characterised by the tanken leaking from its containment. It is not a particularly lethal illness and can be tended to with medical care and antibiotics. It's common among sparklings and those with weak mechanoimmune systems.

Air Bladders
Air bladders are the lungs of the Cybertronian body. They serve as filtration, as well as (in seeker frames and aquaticon frames) a balance during flight/in water. Breathing is optional for this species, however, most prefer it as it helps with cooling their systems and expelling vapour produced from digesting liquids. It also keeps the energon healthy by introducing oxygen into the system.

Vents and Exhaust
Vents and exhaust pipes are scattered throughout the body. They aid in regulating body temperature, and keeping a steady amount of oxygen in the energon, as they are part of the respiratory system.

One's health can be determined by their exhaust.

Fruit of Yggdrasill
(See also: Reproduction, Ratchet's Logs, Experiment 45.98-DAY66, The Firstborn, sparklings) The Fruit of Yggdrasill finds its origins on the Cybertronian Great Ash. These Fruits were large, amorphous sac filled with amniotic energon that was used to expand the Cybertronian species. They are warm to the touch with thick, durable skin that is covered in thin veins like an orange's flesh. The skin is soft and leathery and covered in a thin velvet. The top is solid and plated in bark, and connects to the Great Tree via a large, thick vine. The vine, however, is seamed. When one of these vines die (or, the whole tree itself) it sheds the sacs it holds for then-unknown reasons. If left for too long, the sacs dry up. They are fertilised by the parent(s) latching themselves onto the sac near the top and depositing semenoenergon into it via the small slits that line where the sac meets the vine. The rest is done by the Tree. One single sparkling is able to have a practically infinite amount of parents. The more different parents, the more varied the genecodes will be.

The amniotic energon within is dense and thick, less of a liquid and more of a gel. It feels like "A weird, velvety Ziploc bag filled with lukewarm hairgel" (Rafael Esquivel) or "Like someone microwaved soggy bread for like, 30 seconds" (Jack Darby) and it has even been described as "A giant one-of-those gel filled pads you can freeze or heat" (Miko Nakadai). The amniotic energon within is hotter, however, and self-maintains a steady temperature for the fetus within.

Cybertronian gestation can last as short as three months, and as long as four years. The Fruits glow vibrantly and brightly when fertile, and dully when infertile.

Hulls
Hulls are made of Cybertronian alloy. This alloy is a metal, but it also behaves similarly to skin.

It is subject to blemishing, scarring, infection, and in some cases even bleaching (which is an equivalent to a tan or a sunburn).

This metal is able to be melted down and repurposed into other things, even though this is commonly reserved for funerary rites depending on the region of the deceased's origins.

This organic metal is capable of decaying like flesh does typically rusting first.

Cybertronians' hands, feet and faces are covered in silicone. This organic silicone is able to be scarred, blemished, damaged, and even wrinkle with age. Sometimes, the padding on the hands and feet can form a hardened outer layer (similar to a dog or cat's paw) which can prevent irritants. This hardening can be reversed with hand and foot cream.

Modesty Panels
Modesty panels, to put it simply and in the only way that's possible, are shields that are designed to fold over the valve and spike (see below) in order to protect them and prevent them from getting dirtied or damaged, and to keep unwanted things out and away. It makes getting kicked in the dick far less painful.

Fruits of Yggdrasill in The Cybertronian Body
Before the War, the Fruits were attached to the Cybertronian Great Ash. There the tree nurtured the sparklings within, and the sacs are filled with warm amniotic energon which sustains a consistent temperature in which to nurture the sparkling inside. If the Tree or part of it dies, it sheds the sacs for what was then an unknown reason. Cybertronians also possess chest and stomach cavities, which for the longest time was believed to be useless, until the War killed the Great Tree and it shed its Fruit and in a desperate hope to continue their species, the people of Cybertron flocked to the nurseries that connected to the Great Tree, and those who were able to carry them placed them within these cavities. It was for the sake of the survival of their species.

Cybertronians with smaller frames stored the Fruit in their stomach cavities (to spare room for their spark chambers) while larger framed Cybertronians stored them in their chests (as, having such a large body, had the room to spare). For the longest time, the species collectively wondered if that effort was in vain and that their species truly was doomed by their own foolish combats. However, the Fruits attached themselves to the Cybertronians' bodies and became part of their very mechabiology in a matter of weeks, and there was a new hope for the survival of their people and their species. They just had to hope and believe it was going to work (See: Ratchet's Logs, Scorponok's Logs).

Cybertronians as A Species with Dual Sex Characteristics
Cybertronians are a species which possesses typically male and female sexual characteristics. They possess organs that are conventional male and female sex characteristics, despite the fact that Cybertronians do not have two-binary genders (such as male and female). They have over 16. Cybertronians are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction, one involving intercourse (which needs no explanation) and the other involving a trigger of mechanohormones by the parent or the consumption of a semenoenergon pill either created from their own semenoenergon or a partner's. After that, things just go where they need to go and do what they need to do! The only difference is that asexual reproduction with no parent provides less randomisation of genecode than with a partner, and unlike asexual reproduction in some of Earth's creatures (see: amoeba) that produce offspring identical to the parent, Cybertronian asexual reproduction with one parent still produces offspring that is drastically different from the parent because of randomisation of genecodes (See: Ratchet and Daybreaker).

Valve
The valve is similar to a human vagina and is positioned behind the spike. It is lined in a thin, net-like mesh and soft rubber. It possesses a clitoral node, and is attached to a tank that is designed to store deposited semenoenergon, similar to a cat and being superfecund (in other words, one litter of kittens can have multiple fathers). Some sexually-sired sparkling(s) can have multiple parents as a result (see: Soulfire).

Spike
The spike is similar to a human penis and is positioned at the front. The bottom of the shaft is lined in biolights which glow dully. Don't get kicked there. It hurts.

Tethers
Tethers are long cables that are attached to the backs of Cybertronians. They are typically concealed under small flaps which can be pulled out and attached to other bots, or carried similar to a leash. They can also be used to tie alt-modes together. They are commonly seen used by parents to keep track of their sparklings, as they have a tendency to run off.

Neck Rubber
(See also: Scruffs)

A Cybertronian's neck is encased in a thin, strong layer of rubber. This is to protect the joints in the neck (as the neck is sensitive), and to aid and improve flexibility. A Cybertronian's neck rubber is strong enough to support their entire bodyweight, and because of this it is not at all uncommon for Cybertronians to carry each other around by the scruff similar to a cat and her kittens (However this behaviour is more common with sparklings). When the rubber is pinched hard enough, the Cybertronian in question experiences pinch-induced behavioural inhibition, in that they become limp and cannot move, however they can speak. This can stun them for as long as two minutes. Seekers can be scruffed by the wings.

Seeker Frame
A Seeker is generally seen as a flying Cybertronian, typically transforming into a jet, plane, or some other form of jet powered flying vehicle. These Cybertronians are often most comfortable up high, often roosting on large bird perch like structures looming high over city streets.

These flying frames typically have crops like a bird's. This may act as a second stomach, storing food for a later time, either for themselves or others. It's disgusting, but if one is starving to death it might be their only option. Sometimes, what is stored in the crop can be processed into fuel if one is flying for extended periods of time.

These frames are typically extremely light, given they have hollow bones and lighter alloy. A bot Megatron's size could easily perch on the arm of a much smaller bot, like Ratchet or Arcee's size. This also means their weight-to-height-to-size ratio may be somewhat disproportionately small.

Their feet are also similar to a bird's - the most common type of foot layout being zygodactyl (like a parrot's, with two toes in the front and two in the back) or anisodactylite (similar to a crow's, with three forward pointing toes and one rear pointing toe). Sometimes, because of their layout, these feet can be used like additional hands.

Other Frames
(See also: List of Cybertronian Subspecies)

Combiners
Combiner frames are two or more Cybertronians that are capable of combining their alt modes into one larger being.

On their own, their alt modes may appear relatively useless (unless they are a dual- or triple-changer and have an additional mode as a result) until they combine with their companions. These gestalts often form intimately connected fraternities, sororities or co-eds. Sometimes they are biological siblings, sometimes they are family members, and sometimes they are close friends. Sometimes, they even form polycules together.

The amount of members in a gestalt can determine the size of their combined forms. Sometimes, these combined forms can become bigger or smaller depending on the amount of members gained or lost.

Gestalts are an intimate show of respect and connection to someone one considers close.

An example of a combiner is the Constructicons into Devastator or Oingo and Boingo into Weird Science. Jetfire and Jetstorm into Safeguard, so on and so forth.

Reproduction
(See also: Fruit of Yggdrasill)

Birth and Carrying
(See also: Fruits of Yggdrasill in the Cybertronian Body)

After storing the Fruits within their chests or stomachs, Cybertronians were able to "host" sparklings within them. This, is, to put it simply, a pregnancy. Anywhere from 3 to 47 (earth) months later, birth takes place. It involves the slow and quite painful breaking of the Fruit's thick membrane, with the parent usually laying comfortably on their back or side. Some even prefer sitting or even standing. Their torso cavity is opened and left open during the entire "labour" process. Sometimes, if the parent is under high enough stress, the membrane would burst suddenly, quickly and painfully instead of gradually splitting. Sometimes this process is strenuous on smaller frames, and medical intervening may be required to assure both parent and sparkling(s) are safe.

Typically, Cybertronians build nests. These are on either ledges, in hammocks, in burrows, hanging from ceilings, on walls, or simply on the floor. This behaviour is typically associated with siring and caring for sparklings, however, that is not always the case. Nesting is not indicative of carrying.

Sparklings
(See: Sparklings)

Sparklings, also referred to as cubs or pups, are the offspring of a Cybertronian or Cybertronians. Cubs are able to stand immediately after birth, however, they must learn how to walk. After birth, they are to be given an oral syringe full of fruit juice or supplemental energon or medicine. This is to balance their systems from the shock of suddenly being removed from their Fruit.

Cybertronians follow platypus logic, but rather than being an egg-laying mammal (of action), they are non-mammals that give live birth. They behave similarly to birds in the fact that they build nests, especially when carrying or accompanied by young sparklings. They're kind of like a mix between oviparous animals such as birds, and mammalian animals such as cats in terms of behaviour and reproduction.

Cybertronians must be weaned into their alternative modes once they reach a month of age. By the time they are three to four weeks into the weaning process, they should have mastered their alternative modes and the basics of transformation. If not, the transformation cog becomes retarded and may lead to issues in the future, such as pain during transformation or even manual transformation in which the Cybertronian in question must be assisted as they transform.

Ratchet's Logs
(See also: Daybreaker)

Scorponok's Logs
(See also: The Firstborn)

Trivia
Many elements of Cybertronian biology is inspired by animals on Earth, and the natural world.