Confiteri: Marry the Machines: Xenoblade Chronicles X and 2

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.

--https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Xenoblade_Chronicles_2_(plot)#Final_Chapter:_And_thus.2C_boy_met_girl

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