Oracle (G1)

This article is about Primacron's assistant from the Generation 1 cartoon. For the supercomputer from the Beast Machines portion of the Generation 1 Continuity family, see Vector Sigma.

The Oracle is a mysterious being from the Generation 1 continuity family. It is also known as Primacron's assistant.

Primacron's assistant was a lavalamp?

The Oracle was once the assistant of Primacron, an ageless creature of magnificent intellect. Primacron built the Oracle to help him create life, but the Oracle's corporeal existence was cut short after the birth of Unicron.

Fiction

US Generation 1 cartoon

Voice Actor: Gregg Berger (US), Toshirō Ishii (Japan)

Originally an ape-like robotic creature, the Oracle was badly damaged when Unicron attacked Primacron. His essence fled to a dead world at the centre of the universe, where it resided for millions of years.

When, in 2006, Primacron created a new universe-destroying monster, Tornedron, the Oracle telepathically summoned the "Primitives", all of the animal and monster Transformers from both the Autobot and Decepticon factions to his world. There, appearing to them only as irridescent energy within a subterranean cave, he explained his hope that the Primitives simple instincts could defeat the meticulous planning of Primacron. The Primitives tried their best, but Tornedron sucked their lifeforces dry, leaving only Grimlock, who had been overlooked when Trypticon collapsed on him. Grimlock pursued Tornedron back to Primacron's laboratory, where he saved the day by proving the Oracle right - he randomly chose to flip a switch that reversed Tornedron's energy flow, causing him to dissipate and restoring everything he had consumed to life. Call of the Primitives

(Note: The cast notes for Call of the Primitives explain that the Oracle is the lifeforce of one of Primacron's Primitives, thereby explaining his unusual, ape-like appearance, and bodiless nature. What is infinitely more engimatic about the character, however, is the scene in which we are shown his essence leaving his body - an essence that is visually identical to the Matrix of Leadership. What this means has never been clarified in American fiction. Whether or not it was intended by the writer is unknown (but seems unlikely given that said writer could not care less about the franchise); likewise, if it was something added by someone else, or even if it was just an unintended animation mistake is, at this point, never likely to be known. In Japan, however, the scene is taken at face value, and was the subject of a massive retcon in 2007).

Japanese animated continuity

(Note: In 2006-07 Japan released new timelines that introduced many new ties between series that had only been tangentitally connected in the past. As part of this process, the events surrounding the Oracle were expanded and retconned to be notably different from US continuity. This new version of the Oracle's story effectively merges it with Vector Sigma, the Beast Machines Oracle, and, to some extent, Primus.)

The Oracle possessed the power to bring robotic beings to life, hence his important role in Primacron's experiments. After having his body destroyed by Unicron, the Oracle's essence, encased within a protective shell, fled to a dead planet at the center of the universe, which he proceeded to transform into a verdant, living world. However, he could sense that in the future, Primacron would go on to create another universal danger in the form of Tornedron, and so summoned the Primitives back through time to his planet, where he instructed them in how to destroy the threat.

In time, the Quintessons immigrated to the Oracle's green planet, and the aliens were able to take control of him, transforming him into the mega-computer, Vector Sigma, and obtaining the shell that had held his essence, which went on to become the Matrix of Leadership. Using the power of the Key to Vector Sigma, the Quintessons transformed the Oracle's green planet into the metallic Cybertron.

(Note: In its original form, the English and Japanese version of Call of the Primitives did not imply the use of any time travel. It's inclusion in the new timeline is a retcon designed to prevent the episode from conflicting with the new idea that the Oracle had become Vector Sigma by the time its events occurred.)

Trivia

• The name "Oracle" was never used in the episode-itself, with "Primacron's assistant" being the only name spoken for the character. The name comes from the episode's script as well as Japanese sourcebooks.
  
  
  From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.