Mnemosurgery
Mnemosurgery is a technique by which one Transformer can enter the mind of another, viewing the subject's memories and giving the mnemosurgeon the ability to "edit" said memories, even to the point where the subject's personality is completely rewritten. The procedure is accomplished via spikes extending from the mnemosurgeon's fingers, which are typically inserted into the subject's neck. The surgical scars fortunately only show up under ultraviolet light. Mnemosurgery can sometimes lead to surgeons experiencing flashbacks—reliving inherited memories from the minds they've worked on.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Trainee mnemosurgeons practiced with finger-drills before they got the signature finger-needles. Remembrance Day
Mnemosurgery was used by the Institute as a component of Shadowplay—altering the minds of enemies of the corrupt Senate. An Intimate Beheading When Zeta Prime later set up the "New Institute", Tumbler was recruited to study under the mnemosurgeon Trepan and eventually adopted the name Chromedome. Overlord attacked the New Institute, abducting Trepan so he could learn the basics of mnemosurgery. Remembrance Day Chromedome would go on to use the technique on himself, to erase the memories of those he had lost during the war. Under Cold Blue Stars
Chromedome would continue to use mnemosurgery, despite his Conjunx Endura Rewind not approving. He utilized it during the autopsy of Skyfall, reliving Skyfall's suicide by Gideon's Glue. You, Me, and Other Revelations When Prowl attempted to blackmail Chromedome, the latter simply used mnemosurgery to wipe the unwanted knowledge from Prowl's mind as well as any memory of the blackmail attempt. Remembrance Day
While on the Lost Light, Chromedome interfaced with Shock to extract the deceased Autobot's last memories of the Sparkeater. The Chaos of Warm Things Though he was increasingly experiencing false memory recall, he would go on to interface with a Metrotitan beneath Crystal City, You, Me, and Other Revelations and at Skids's request, Chromedome unsuccessfully attempted to use mnemosurgery to unlock Skids's lost memories. Who's Afraid of the DJD?
Chromedome used his mnemosurgery skills on Overlord, whom had been smuggled on board the Lost Light for precisely that purpose. Chromedome succeeded in learning the secret of creating Phase Sixers, however Overlord's own mnemosurgery knowledge allowed the Decepticon to turn the tables, taking control of the procedure so he could learn the code to open the slow cell in which he'd been imprisoned. Remembrance Day Chromedome had, however, left a present in Overlord's mind, embedding a mnemonic through a process known as "Trepan's Trigger", that caused Overlord to panic when he heard the phrase "'Til all are one". The trigger allowed the Autobots to defeat Overlord. Under Cold Blue Stars
Chromedome subsequently intended to erase his own memories of Rewind, who had been one of the casualties of Overlord's rampage, however a final message from Rewind caused him to change his mind (or not change his mind, technically). The Gloaming
Remote mnemosurgery
 Spoiler warning: Plot details for Speak, Memory: Part 1 follow. |
Remote mnemosurgery is the ability to perform mnemosurgery telepathically, without the spikes or any kind of physical contact whatsoever. Sunder is the only mnemosurgeon known to possess this particular skill, having developed it somehow after his arrest, and it may be unique to him. Though he was convinced that performing remote mnemosurgery required him to make visual contact with his victims, this was evidently a ruse on Froid's part, who encouraged Sunder's delusion in order to keep him under control. Speak, Memory: Part 1
Beast Wars: Uprising
A creepy mnemosurgeon called Vampire worked for the Predacon Secret Police. After Stiletto was left traumatized from killing her partner, the MCSF packed her off to the Mandala to have her memories altered by him. Burning Bridges
Notes
- See also: cortical psychic patch
