Dear Universe,
You are a mystery. On days such as this, when the winter drags its heels like some impudent boy who has overstayed his welcome, when the weight of these cold dark months seem to press down on my mind, I must admit, I feel I am not fit company for you or any of the other hairless monkeys about. When I look out upon the world through my porthole of experience (yet, still bordered by the apathetic white of snow), I only see mystery piled upon mystery with nary a hope of unraveling sense from the whole befuddling mess. Now, I see why I have undertaken such a lengthy task as describing the thirty-two archetypes in the body of hairless monkey society. I sigh, turn my collar against the cold despair of late northern New England winter, and set to work. I have this humble preoccupation to help me along. I give thanks for the opportunity, great universe.
And now, I see the wonder of coincidence, for the fellow I forthrightly introduce to you next, is the unflappable and ingenious Detective.
- The Detective
Primary Mode of Operation: Order (East)
Secondary Mode of Operation: Intuition (West)
Epithets: The Inspector, the Strategist, The Devil’s Advocate, Truth-seeker
Mythic Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Encyclopedia Brown
Description: From within the mystery, amid the masses of confused and distraught hairless monkeys, the detective arises to ferret out the culprits and rest his fellows’ minds at ease once again. The definition of mystery is that which perplexes the ordinary, and so like all else in life, you must fight fire with fire. The Detective is the most unorthodox of the Robot Archetypes. Although he has respect for order (indeed, so much so, that he may very likely develop obsessive compulsive personality disorders), his feminine aspect operates through his intuition, a finely tuned instrument, which he wields with the precision of a Scientist. Like the Operator, he is a mechanic, but his medium is reality itself, which takes a mind which is free to make leaps of logic and accept all manner of strange possibilities. Thus, the Detective stands out as a singular creature. Few would be so foolhardy as to guess what is transpiring behind his probing eyes. His manner is often caustic, aloof, and unapologetic.
As a boy and a young man, the detective is fascinated by puzzles and codes. He will often be a rabid chess player, and his strategies are byzantine and masterful. At an early age, his capacity for taking the role of devil’s advocate will frustrate and often enrage his peers, especially those that fancy themselves in a position of authority. Primarily the Detective does this out of an intuitive need to see all sides; but he is not above relishing a chance to prove that he is ultimately more clever than those around him.
He is clever, but this propensity comes at a price. His intuitive understanding alienates him and can be a heavy burden. Often he will develop peculiarities of habit that will be the only thing to soothe the troubled man, vexed by a particularly difficult conundrum or just facing the rigors of dealing with so many people who fail to understand the world the way that he does. This propensity for self-soothing and his urge to experiment also places the Detective as the Robot type that is the most likely to develop substance abuse problems.
The Detective’s primary and secondary functions are from polar opposite positions. He is pulled between needing to intuitively respond to the universe freely and to maintain and construct a viable order from the chaos of existence. This leads to a sense of tragedy in the aspect of the Detective. Often called upon to right situations, the Detective is rarely welcomed warmly by those he is protecting, avenging, or serving. Luckily, the Detective rarely seems to care if the world refuses to see him as anything other than an anti-hero of sorts. The private dicks from twentieth century noir fiction are perfect examples of this anti-hero manifestation.
The Detective is of course not always found working for the police or sitting in their office waiting for a suspicious spouse to hire him. They are very good at doing inspecting work, psychological work, journalism and masters of other sciences as well.
The Detective is the Robot most gifted with preternatural abilities. His intuition which is so internalized that it may appear to be psychic, just may be that. The rare Detective may even develop an interest in the occult and parapsychology, as well, however, it goes as a matter of pride that the Detective will be able to eventually prove his intuitive leaps with cold hard logic in the end.
Being naturally savvy to the inner workings of human motive, the Detective is very often described as being cynical. He is sometimes amused, but rarely respectful of those who are blindly idealistic. He understands too much to believe that man’s darker nature does not have a hand in most of what someone does. However, the Detective does well to remember the difference between those who are honestly striving for a better life, however naively, and those who wear the mask of the idealist in order to wield power for its own sake. When he does, the detective is then the loyal sheep dog amidst the flock, heroically driving away the wolves.
As anyone, the true Detective must defeat his own ego. He must do so that his will to be right doesn’t interfere with his ability to seek out and describe the truth.
The Detective is often attracted to strong female types, but is best suited with the Governess as she has the propensity for keeping his life in a semblance of order. She has a quick mind, which she can use to help the detective think things through, and would prove to be an invaluable advocate for this man who works for law, but yet cannot quite be always constrained by it himself.
Ideal match: The Governess
Challenging types for the Operator: The Revolutionary,
The Shadow Type: The Inquisitor- Although it is the detective’s feminine side which might be the reason behind much of his trouble, ironically it is his adherence to order which might draw him toward the shadow side of himself. When such a thing happens, at the least, he becomes a dispassionate hound, cynical, biting, and distant. He will get his feathers ruffled by the slightest offense to his orderly sensibilities. At his worst, he becomes the Inquisitor, the relentless zealot who is willing to forgo all human mercy and compassion for the truth. It was due to the assistance of these shadow Detectives that such malignant institutions such as the medieval church and the Germany’s Nazi party were able to round up, torture and slaughter so many innocent people. Here the Detective uses the excuse of a cause to let out his most sociopathic tendencies. Here, they gleefully test the limits of human constitution and will.
Again, the Detective must understand sociopathic behavior in order to defeat sociopaths. He is our greatest hope in overthrowing corruption and keeping our loved ones safe. It is through the balance of his masculine and feminine sides that the detective learns to respect human dignity and freedom and value order and law simultaneously.
When the detective is young he may believe that he is an alien. If he realizes that he is in fact a hairless monkey and shares an equal right with all those he encounters, he will know that he is a man, a very special man who is brave enough to skirt the shadows of mystery and bring the light of truth and revelation to those who depend on this clever and wonderful character.
Thanks, good universe, for all the truth-seekers out there, fictional and real, who have inspired our minds and protected our lives and rights.
Love,
Trav
T. L. Barrett 
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