Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler

General information
Species	Robot
Location	The Great Clock
Offense	Weaponized sonic waves
Defense	Forcefield

The Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler is a boss in A Crack in Time. It is a robot used by Dr. Nefarious that creates weaponized sonic waves, capable of harming the Zoni and disrupting their hivemind.

Dr. Nefarious deployed the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler on the Great Clock after betraying the Zoni, damaging the Clock. Clank later fought and destroyed it, but the damage had already been done.

History

Orvus attempting to resist the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler.

The Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler was used by Nefarious in the Tombli Outpost, Zanifar, two years prior to the events of A Crack in Time. There, Dr. Nefarious used it while interrogating Orvus in the hopes of gaining access to the Orvus Chamber. However, Orvus vanished before Nefarious could learn anything from him.

The Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler chasing the Zoni.

At the beginning of A Crack in Time, inside the Great Clock, Nefarious deployed the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler after the Zoni had denied him access to the Orvus Chamber's location while scanning Clank's brain. Due to the machinery's susceptibility to sonic weaponry, it also allowed Clank to escape. In "Escape Dr. Nefarious' Clutches!", Clank ran away while the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler dealt damage to the Great Clock, causing the 117,000 Zoni there to flee. The damage to the Clock's equipment also caused time anomalies to appear throughout the universe.

After Dr. Nefarious left the Great Clock, the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler remained behind, causing havoc and allowing teratropes in. Throughout "Travel with Sigmund to meet Orvus", while Sigmund showed Clank around, it continued to destroy the Clock's equipment even after Orvus had repaired it, causing frustration. Eventually, in "Destroy the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler", Clank used his Chronoscepter to destroy the device.

Characteristics

The Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, like much of Dr. Nefarious' forces in the Polaris Galaxy, resembled its creator with its green dome and visible cranial components. It was a floating device with two spherical openings on each side that released sonic waves. It also had a laser blaster with two pincer-like appendages which unfolded from underneath when activated. It could also slam into the ground, creating shockwaves.

The Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler destroyed Great Clock equipment due to its susceptibility to sonic weaponry. This, in turn, led to time anomalies appearing throughout the universe. The sonic waves also seemed to harm the Zoni, suggesting sound waves as one of their weaknesses.

Behind the scenes

The device resembled and often made sounds like a boombox.

The original version of the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler appears in the Insomniac Museum. It was much smaller, appearing as a floating, black spherical robot with a hypnotizing spiral, and its design heavily based on the IT-O Interrogator from A New Hope. With the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler being so destructive to the Great Clock, the development team felt that it needed to be beefed up to a larger shape, that way it could smash through walls and be a little easier to identify from a distance.