The two
other games in the Xenoblade Chronicles series continue the work their
predecessor began: giving gamers a new
mythology for humanity’s past, one that replaces the old divinities with
technology.
Xenoblade
Chronicles X
is more of a side story compared to the original and XC 2, but it
nevertheless has its share of techne-worship and other evolutionary scientism
themes. In XCX humanity is forced
to leave earth because of a war with aliens.
In good mythical fashion, one of the escape ships is the White Whale,
which is an ‘ark ship’, thus replacing the Bible’s story of Noah’s ark. The whale symbol is also important, as it is
linked to death-rebirth (e.g., Jonah and the Lord Jesus), a doorway to
paradise, and a union of opposites:
https://www.worldbirds.org/whale-symbolism/
Death-Rebirth
and the union of opposites (robotic and human, artificial and natural) find
expression in the revelation that the humans on the ark ship are robots
(mimeosomes) who have the consciousnesses of people placed inside them. This furthers the New Noah’s Ark symbolism: The ark ships store the memories and the DNA
of some of the brightest people on earth (a eugenics reference) who will be
reconstituted later on a new, safe planet (‘paradise’):
https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mimeosome
There is
also a stand-in for the Mother of God, the Ever-Virgin Mary (the doorway
through which salvation comes to man), in Elma, a female alien who gives the
people on earth the advanced technology they need start life over on a new
world.
But the
technological mysticism rises to truly absurd heights in Xenoblade
Chronicles 2. Here is the crux of
the story, when Rex and his party meet the Architect (a Free Masonic term) at
the top of the World Tree. We will
include a little backstory to open with:
Year 20XX - The
Beanstalk, First
Low Orbit Station:
Rhadamanthus.
The space station
finds itself defending a vicious attack from outside assailants known as the
Saviorites. Though they fight valiantly, Rhadamanthus suffers heavy losses,
particularly in their arsenal of Echelon Siren mechs. Just as the Saviorites
are about to secure the space elevator, the director of the station authorizes
the use of their ultimate weapon, Aion, and orders the preparation of the
Conduit. However, the station finds themselves locked out of the Conduit by Klaus, a professor on board.
Klaus begins to
synchronize the Conduit to the station's computer, preparing his experiment to
create a new universe. His colleague Galea tries to stop him, but Klaus remains adamant. He calls the
Conduit a gateway to other worlds and a gift from a divine entity. He claims a
new universe is the only way to stop the battle with the Saviorites, given how
they have ravaged both their planet and the sky around the station, and calls
humanity fools. Klaus proceeds with his experiment; a beam of light flies
around the Earth, enveloping it, before the structure and the planet explode.
. .
.
The Architect
announces he was testing their hearts, before revealing himself to the group.
He also introduces himself as Klaus, the same person who destroyed the previous
world. Klaus identifies their trials as alternate paths their lives could have
taken, as well as fears they secretly harbored, and admits that he wanted to
see how humanity had changed. He then reveals the backstory of Alrest.
Klaus first
describes his old universe, and how it was in humanity's nature to harbor
desires. Such was the case with Klaus, but he also lost hope in the species.
When he found the Conduit, he realized it was a gateway to parallel universes,
each normally unaware of the others' existences. Klaus activated the Conduit,
opening gates to parallel universes in an effort to change his own. In the
process, most of the planet and civilization was transported to other
universes; only what would become Morytha remained, along with the right half
of Klaus's body. His left half lives on in another
universe, but Klaus could
tell that his demise in that world was fast approaching. He blames everything
on his past foolishness and describes his current state as punishment, being
denied both the solution he sought and the state of oblivion in which he could
forget.
In an effort for
atonement, Klaus became determined to recreate his previous home. He first
created particles that could both restore and disassemble matter, which collected
into the Cloud Sea. As the Cloud Sea dissolved previous civilization, Klaus
then recreated life in the form of Core Crystals, which contained information
of previous lifeforms. The Core Crystals then bonded with the Cloud Sea, giving
rise to Titans, and eventually evolution would lead to new forms of humanity.
However, Klaus was also aware of the possibility that history could repeat
itself, giving rise to another who would destroy the world in their own quests.
To prevent this, he created Blades. He started with the three cores of
Rhadamanthus's Trinity
Processor, giving rise to
three Aegises: Ontos, Logos and Pneuma. Ontos disappeared into another dimension,
while Logos and Pneuma became Malos and Pyra/Mythra, respectively. Other Blades
would constantly relay information of their surroundings to the Aegises,
including the environment and any emotions experienced. Simultaneously,
evolutionary information would be sent to the Core Crystals to influence future
Blades and Titans. Over time, these processes would allow the new humans to
replace the humans of the old world.
Over time, Klaus
realized that his creations differed very little from the humanity they
replaced. Like their predecessors, humans sought answers for why things happen
the way they do. Klaus wonders if that search is part of being human, and his
realization of these similarities also influenced him. He ultimately prevented
himself from intervening when Amalthus absconded with Logos and Pneuma. He only
watched as Malos unleashed his fury on the world, seeking to destroy it. When
Rex asks why he chose inaction, Klaus replies that he realized his atonement
efforts were fated to fail. While Klaus lost faith in his efforts afterwards,
he found Rex's bond with Pneuma reassuring. And the Conduit has began stirring
once more and with its help the world might change.
The idea of
the singularity, of the merger of humanity with technology, that spans the
trinity of XC games finds its definitive expression in XC 2. This is seen with grisly clarity in the Blades
mentioned above:
They are weaponized life forms linked to a Driver who creates and summons
them by resonating with a Core Crystal. Blades endow their
Driver with powers and a weapon.
--https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Blade
Flesh Eaters are a special kind of Blade in Xenoblade
Chronicles 2. They
have been fused with humanoid cells in an attempt to make them more powerful
and give them unique abilities. Flesh Eaters are mainly a product of the lost
kingdom of Judicium.
They are able to
wield their own Blades, and are able to stay manifested after the deaths of
their own Drivers. However, the process of creating a Flesh
Eater is rarely successful, with many ending up like Cole, without any Blade powers and gaining aging bodies.
Flesh Eaters can
be easily identified due to the red "stains" on their Core Crystals and that of their manifested weapons. One
exception is Jin, whose Core Crystal became completely red when he turned into
a Flesh Eater. His method of transformation was different as Jin took Lora's heart and forced it upon himself. When becoming a Flesh
Eater, Blades may lose their immortality, but still possess large lifespans.
. .
.
Although similar,
Blade Eaters are a different type of entity. They are humans who have been
fused with part of a Blade's Core Crystal. Blades who have been eaten lack part
of their Core Crystals, which usually split in a non-regular shape, as can be
seen in Pandoria's or Fan la Norne's crystals.
Blade Eaters have
a significantly longer lifespan than a regular human. Some Blade Eaters, like Mikhail, have lived for centuries, and are able to use their weapons
as if they were Blades. Others, like Gort, end up as failed experiments, suffering numerous mutations
that barely keep them alive.
Blade Eater
technology was pioneered by the Indoline
Praetorium as military
weaponry. However, it has also be shown to have medical applications. Because
this technology was unheard of before the end of the Aegis War, Mythra fails to
identify the type of resonance between Blades who have been eaten and their
Drivers. Blades which have been eaten cannot return to their Core Crystal upon
incapacitation, and thus may die permanently.
--https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Flesh_Eater
At the
height of the techno-ecstasy in XC 2 is the Trinity Processor (a replacement
for the Holy Trinity in the techno-mythos), a sort of refitting of Joachim of
Fiore’s heretical three ages of history, each corresponding to a Person of the
Holy Trinity: before Christ, the Age of
the Father; after Christ, the Age of the Son (the current age); the Age of the
Holy Spirit is yet to come:
The fruition of the new Age would see the radical
transformation of society. The particularities of this change must be
understood in reference to the other two Ages. According to Joachim, the status of
the Father was characterized by (often harsh) divine justice, from a God who
was fundamentally a bellicose, mysterious and vindictive master of man. The
“spirit” of this era, so to speak, was obedience to God’s law.
Things changed with the Age of the Son. This was a period
ruled by the Gospel, in which God became Man, sacrificing Himself for the
salvation of all. In such, God revealed his benevolence, through love—though it
was not yet revealed in its fullness.
Love. That was the key. In 1260, the Age of the Holy
Spirit would fully unfold, ushering in a new world ruled by a perfect, divine
Love. There would be no more need for laws. Freedom, tolerance and peace would
prevail. Life would be “without scandal, without worry or terror, since God
shall bless it and He shall sanctify it.”
At this time, the Gospel would become subordinate to a
greater, “eternal gospel” (Revelation 14:6). Indeed, for Joachim, Jesus’s
crucifixion was no longer the most important event in history. It was awesomely
meaningful, sure. But something else was coming. Something greater than even
Christ himself. And that was the Holy Spirit, who would bestow on mankind a
perfect and direct knowledge of the divine.
--Lucas Coia, https://www.themindfulword.org/2020/joachim-of-fiore/
In XC 2,
these three Ages correspond to the Aegises of the Trinity Processor – Ontos
(Father), Logos/Malos (the Son), Pneuma-Pyra/Mythra (the Holy Ghost). As in the heretical thinking of our world,
Ontos/Father has disappeared; the current Age of the Logos/Son, while better
than the world of Ontos (the ‘angry God’ of the Old Testament and so forth),
still suffers from evils (thus, Malos); but the Age of Pneuma/Holy Spirit
promises the unending bliss of love. Indeed,
it is hinted at throughout the game (e.g., with the interaction between Tora
and Poppi), but as the end of XC 2 makes clear, the love between Blade and
Driver, between man and machine (not to mention some nods toward bestiality,
lesbianism, and pedophilia), will be consummated in the new age of Pneuma:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JMLAeSU8x4
If you think
this is not predictive programming, think again:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/alarming-rise-technosexuals-132943318.html, (via Drudge Report)
https://nypost.com/2018/05/24/creator-of-lifelike-robot-thinks-humans-will-marry-droids-by-2045/
https://www.buzzworthy.com/meet-men-married-robots/
https://slate.com/technology/2015/08/humans-should-be-able-to-marry-robots.html
https://www.newsweek.com/google-executive-forms-religion-artificial-intelligence-714416
If this
isn’t the direction you think the world ought to take, the answer, as always,
lies in rediscovering the Orthodox Church and what she teaches about the
outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and so on:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/06/20/45-holy-pentecost
https://orthochristian.com/140025.html
http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/A-Christian-Understanding-of-Homosexuality.pdf
Image via https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/switch/204208-xenoblade-chronicles-2/images/1639253 .
--
Holy Ælfred
the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to
the Union!
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