Cradle

"Transistor plus Cradle equals no more Process." -- Royce Bracket

The Cradle is a construct associated with the operation of the Transistor. It is used shortly before the end of the game.

Overview[]

Located on Fairview Island in an area mapped as the Bracket Residence, the Cradle normally interacts with the Transistor in such a way as to control the behavior of the Process. Loss of connection between the Transistor and the Cradle allows the Process to run unguided until the connection is renewed.

When the Cradle is approached, a text warning beside it reads: "Connection lost."

Spoiler warning!
This article contains major spoilers for Transistor.

The Transistor was disassociated from the Cradle when Grant Kendrell allowed it to leave his hand while trying to kill Red, causing the Process to run amok throughout Cloudbank. Without access to the Transistor, the Camerata were unable to reestablish the connection and could not prevent the Process from consuming most of Cloudbank and almost all of its inhabitants.

Once Red reaches Fairview Island, Royce Bracket claims that once the Transistor is returned to the Cradle, the Process can be persuaded to "go away," and warns Red that she too will inevitably be consumed unless she complies with his advice. While returning the Transistor to the Cradle does stop the Process, it also traps both Red and Royce inside the Transistor, where they must fight among a graveyard of Trace Banks to determine which of them will escape.

After the escape, the winner is left in control of the Transistor and is able to carry and wield it with its connection to the Cradle secure.

Trivia[]

The logo of the Camerata resembles the Transistor interlocked with the Cradle.
Either the Cradle or the Transistor may be the "unusual phenomenon sighted in the northwestern corner of the city" about which rumors and urban legends spread, later to be investigated by Lillian Platt. The fact that she learned the truth in her last moments of life makes it likely that the phenomenon was the Transistor.