I haven't had a chance to check on EoFF in quite some time; hopefully I'll be able to again. Beyond that, please note that there will be
UNMARKED FFVII AND AC SPOILERS
throughout. That's probably enough of a preamble, since this thing is pushing 3000 words.
The Black Materia: Explaining its Origins in the Context of Advent Children
The plot of Final Fantasy VII has, in the years following its release, been meticulously dissected by its fans. With even the smallest details being examined, nearly every significant plot device has been, in some fashion, explicated. The only plot points to resist this collective examination lacked the corroborating evidence necessary to come to a conclusion; that is, there was simply nothing in the game itself that yielded the desired information, or even a path of inquiry. Thus, such questions had until recently remained relatively inscrutable.
However, the appearance of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII has resulted in the mythos of FFVII being revisited. This was the case in the CG movie sequel to FFVII, Advent Children. While AC’s plot was relatively simple, particularly when compared to the original game, it introduced a number of new concepts into the FFVII universe. Most of these concepts were introduced to build and advance the story of AC; their impact on our knowledge of the original game was relatively limited. One concept, however, stands out as crucial to fully understanding one of those previously mentioned points of mystery.
The plot point I’ve been alluding to in this long-winded introduction is the Black Materia, and in particular its composition and origin. Despite fandom’s (overly, and I'm included here) zealous quest to fully unravel the universe of FFVII, the information regarding the Black Materia was simply too limited to come to any valid conclusions. Ironically, AC at first glance hardly appears to remedy the issue. The Black Materia and its function (calling Meteor) were details pertinent to the original game, not its movie sequel; in fact, the term “Black Materia” never appeared in AC, nor was that unique materia alluded to in any way at any time. AC did, however, introduce a concept that, while unnamed, was critical to the movie. This concept was implied throughout AC, and finally explicated by Sephiroth soon after his reappearance.
Quote:
Sephiroth: The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead. Those remnants
will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet -- choking it,
corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the
cosmos with this Planet as my vessel -- just as my mother did before
long ago.
What Sephiroth refers to is what I will now term the “Dark Lifestream,” the corrupted Spirit Energy of those individuals who died from Geostigma. Immediately after this statement, Sephiroth literally evokes this “Dark Lifestream;” raising his hand, a dark, ashy substance blackens the sky. Sephiroth, inextricably and perpetually linked to Jenova, demonstrates his ability to manipulate this energy. This is not, however, the first time it appeared in the movie. Several times, Loz and Yazoo manifested Shadow Creepers; these beasts were summoned without the use of materia, and materialized from the same black substance Sephiroth called down from the sky. At the Forgotten City, Kadaj turned the water around him black; the corrupted Spirit Energy intensified and exacerbated the effects of the Geostigma in those who drank the Black Water. This is particularly relevant when one notes that a mixture of Spirit Energy and water was responsible for healing Cloud’s Geostigma. The Dark Lifestream, then, really is a dark mirror of the Lifestream, possessing the same powers, though twisting its effects.
As originally stated during the Nibelheim flashback in FFVII, materia is directly derived from the Spirit Energy that comprises the Lifestream.
Quote:
Sephiroth: A Mako fountain. It's a miracle of nature.
Tifa: It's so beautiful… If the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy,
this fountain will dry up too…
Sephiroth: Materia. When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced. It's
very rare to be able to see materia in its natural state.
Materia, then, is a crystallized form of Spirit Energy. It typically takes on one of five colors: green, red, blue, yellow, and purple. The only exceptions are the two materia most critical to the plot: the Black Materia and the White Materia. White, however, really contains all colors, and glows green when activated. Black, however, is the absence of color; moreover, it serves a purpose (calling Meteor) detrimental to the Planet and the Lifestream from which it was presumably formed.
The introduction of the Dark Lifestream, however, allows for one to view the origins of the Black Materia from another perspective. If the Dark Lifestream possesses properties similar to Gaia’s Lifestream, then it too could presumably be condensed into materia. Moreover, even as materia evokes the power of the Planet through the knowledge and wisdom of the Cetra--
Quote:
Sephiroth: You were in SOLDIER and didn't even know that? …the knowledge and
wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia. Anyone with this knowledge can
freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts
between ourselves and the planet calling up magic……or so they say.
--materia derived from the Dark Lifestream would serve the purpose of the entity that influences and directs it, Jenova (it would also quite naturally be black). Sephiroth is linked to Jenova (obviously) and even comes to embody the same purpose; his ultimate desire is to do the same thing his “Mother” did millennia before FFVII.
Quote:
Sephiroth: The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead. Those remnants
will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet -- choking it,
corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the
cosmos with this Planet as my vessel -- just as my mother did before
long ago.
Quote:
Sephiroth: Then one day we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll
create a shining future.
In short, then, the Dark Lifestream will allow for Sephiroth to control Gaia and head to another planet. However, if the Dark Lifestream only appeared with the “advent” of Geostigma, then the corrupted Spirit Energy that comprised the Black Materia could not have come from Gaia. Rather, it had offworld origins—the Lifestream of another planet had been corrupted. Sephiroth alludes to this as well: he suggests that using an assimilated planet as a vessel to travel the universe was what Jenova had previously done. Thus, it seems to me that Meteor was actually the planet (or a part of it) previously dominated by Jenova; the Black Materia was therefore formed from Meteor’s compromised Lifestream. Had Cloud lost his battle with Sephiroth at the end of AC, Gaia would have become the next Meteor—and the “new planet” with its “shining future” the next Gaia.
This remainder of this essay will be devoted to examining any possible problems with or holes in this theory. Given the limited information concerning the Black Materia that actually appeared in FFVII, there aren’t too many problems readily apparent to me; however, the information contained in the Ultimania Omega guide for Final Fantasy VII presents some problems. This passage, taken from Ryu_Kaze’s translation of the Ultimania, seems to vaguely imply that the Black Materia has Gaian origins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryu_Kaze, Ultimania Omega
**The Black Materia: Meteor** (005.3A)
It is the Ultimate Destructive Magic; it calls to planets [-- meaning
meteor-like rocks --] drifting in outer space and pulls them down to the
Planet. It was one of the magicks given to the Ancients, but due to it
harnessing enough power to destroy the Planet itself, the Ancients feared it
could prove dangerous and sealed it away by their own hands.
After falling into the Lifestream, Sephiroth learned of Meteor from the
Cetra's firsthand knowledge of it, and set into motion a plan to gain mastery
over the life of the Planet.
(Accompanying screenshot caption)
When the Planet is hurt, the spiritual energy that is the Planet's very life
will automatically gather in that spot. Sephiroth planned to make use of this
by intentionally harming the Planet and gaining dominance over its energy.
In the section, Meteor is said to be “one of the magicks given to the Ancients.” This would seem to suggest that the power is derived from Gaia, like the other magicks called up by the Cetra. There are three points, however, which counter this assumption. The first is relatively minor; if one assumes the passage to indicate that the Black Materia is from Gaia, it loses any detail provided in the essay—and is reduced to a mere plot contrivance, simply there to allow Sephiroth to enact his plan. Why else would a materia that the Cetra feared to use be included in the game, or even exist? That having been said, there is nothing in that point that literally counters the passage. The second rebuttal, however, deals with the passage in a literal sense; it is overwhelmingly vague. The Ultimania translation does not explicitly state that the Black Materia is derived from the Gaian Lifestream; it merely states that it was a power given to the Ancients. While this would seem to refer to the Planet, the direct object goes unnamed. Moreover, the circumstances of this bestowal are unknown. Could the materia have arrived with Jenova crashed, and been offered up by an injured Planet? Whatever was intended, the lack of specificity prevents the passage from being used to make any definite point.
Still, the first two defenses of my theory are hardly perfect. The third point is why I feel comfortable retaining the idea. And again, it derives directly from AC.
In Advent Children, mention of Jenova’s arrival on Gaia is frequently accompanied by an image of Meteor. However, the Ultimania itself states that Sephiroth was the dominant figure in their relationship. Logically, then, there would be no reason to associate Jenova (and its arrival) with Meteor, unless it landed on the planet by way of Meteor. We know that Jenova could have potentially guided Meteor to Gaia on its own; Sephiroth’s statement before beginning his battle with Cloud suggests complete confidence in his ability to guide the corrupted Gaia through the emptiness of space.
Quote:
Sephiroth: The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead. Those remnants
will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet -- choking it,
corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the
cosmos with this Planet as my vessel -- just as my mother did before
long ago.
The obvious implication is that Jenova could easily have guided Meteor to Gaia, just as Sephiroth would have guided Gaia to another planet. Now, although such scenes seem to favor my interpretation, and SE has demonstrated a willingness to retcon (that is, retroactively alter the continuity of something) ideas in its various universes, the possibility remains that the Cetra could themselves have summoned Meteor, and thus brought the Calamity from the Skies upon themselves. This idea, however, is contradicted by material from the original game. One point of note is that Ifalna made no mention of calling Meteor when describing the arrival of Jenova to Gast; the catastrophic impact seemed to have come as a total surprise to the Cetra.
Quote:
Gast: Camera's ready! Then, Ifalna, please tell us about the Cetra.
Ifalna: 2000 years ago, our ancestors, the Cetra, heard the cries of the Planet. The first ones to discover the Planet's wound were the Cetra at the Knowlespole.
Gast: Tell us Ifalna... Where is the land called 'Knowlespole'?
Ifalna: Knowlespole refers to this area. The Cetra
then began a Planet-reading.
Gast: Ifalna, what exactly does Planet-reading entail?
Ifalna: ...I can't explain it very well, but it's like having a conversation
with the Planet... It said something fell from the sky making a large wound.
Thousands of Cetra pulled together, trying to heal the Planet... But, due to
the severity of the wound, it was only able to heal itself, over many years.
Gast: Do the Ancients, rather, the Cetra, have special powers to heal the
Planet?
Ifalna: No, it's not that kind of power. The life force of all living things
on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra tried desperately to cultivate
the land so as not to diminish the needed energy...
Gast: Hmm, even here so close to the North Cave, the snow never melts. Is
that because the planet's energy is gathered here to heal its injury?"
Ifalna: "Yes, the energy that was needed to heal the Planet withered away the
land... then the Planet... The Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the
Knowlespole, but...
Gast: Ifalna... Let's take a break.
Ifalna: I'm all right... When the Cetra... were preparing to part with the
land they loved... That's when it appeared! It looked like... our... our dead
mothers... and our dead brothers. Showing us spectres of their past.
Gast: Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave? I haven't any idea.
Ifalna: That's when the one who injured the Planet... or the 'crisis from the
sky', as we call him, came. He first approached as a friend, deceived them,
and finally...... gave them the virus. The Cetra were attacked by the virus
and went mad... transforming into monsters. Then, just as he had at the
Knowlespole, he approached other Cetra clans...... infecting them with... the
virus...
Gast: You don't look well... Let's call it a day.
Moreover, as suggested in Ifalna’s explanation, part of being a Cetra was living in harmony with the Planet. In fact, the Cetra literally communed with Gaia; this is noted by the above passage, as well as the Ultimania itself (also noted is that Jenova did indeed arrive via a meteor).
Quote:
***The Ancients*** (Page 214) (005.2)
The race also called "the Cetra," these people lived on the Planet in ancient
times. The Forgotten Capital and the Temple of the Ancients along with nature
and a single woman are their only remaining traces.
They spoke with the Planet and helped to cultivate it, channeling the
Lifestream to many places, inciting an abundant cycle of life. When Jenova
came from outer space, some of them moved to the North Pole in an attempt to
ease the Planet's wound which had come as a result of the collision [between
the Planet and the meteor Jenova had been riding]. Using its mimic ability,
Jenova got close to the Cetra and released its virus upon them, nearly
driving them to extinction.
Only two Ancients appear in the [game's] story: Aerith and Ifalna. Ifalna is
Aerith's mother and the last pure ancient. Due to her mixed heritage, Aerith's
ability to converse with the Planet is comparitively lower than her mother's
was.
Given this direct communication with the Planet, it is unthinkable that any Cetra would do something inherently detrimental to Gaia. The passage in question unambiguously notes that they sealed the Black Materia away. In fact, in FFVII, Aeris is shocked even by the thought of intentionally injuring the Planet.
Quote:
Aeris: An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet? Injure... the Planet?
In short, it simply doesn’t make sense within the cultural context of the Cetra for one or more of them to use the Black Materia. In conjunction with the idea that Jenova arrived via Meteor, one concludes that the Black Materia is not of Gaia.
Of course, this leads to a new problem; my case as made thus far assumes the existence of multiple Meteors. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for the Meteor summoned by Sephiroth to be the same one used by Jenova two thousand years earlier. This is, however, a relatively minor problem; all one needs to do is assume that a Meteor is a fragment of the original corrupted planet.
The fragmentation of an assimilated planet even has evidence within FFVII. When the party first travels to Cosmo Canyon, Bugenhagen explains the basics of the “Study of Planet Life.”
Quote:
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Yes, it is something, isn't it? Well, let's get to the
subject. Eventually... all humans die. What happens to them after they die? The
body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. What
about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns
to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In
fact, all living things in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return
to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet. They roam, converge,
and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'. Lifestream... In other
words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a
word that you should never forget. A new life... children are blessed with
Spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they
die and once again return to the Planet... Of course there are exceptions, but
this is the way of the world. I've digressed, but you'll understand better if
you watch this.
As the scene continues, the player eventually bears witness to what will happen should Mako reactors continue to suck away the Lifestream. We actually see the planet turn dark, and split in two. If the Lifestream were wholly corrupted, it would be much the same as if it were used up: the vital force of the planet would be gone. If this is sufficient to kill and fragment Gaia, why not another planet?
Also of note is the actual size of Meteor. While it is certainly a large object (its approach at the end of FFVII shows that it is larger than Midgar, the world’s biggest city), it is nowhere near the size of Gaia. If Meteor was originally another habitable planet, its size relative to Gaia suggests that it is merely a piece. The same thing could be seen in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; there, the meteor by which the alien TSW Spoilerghosts reach Earth is a piece of their original planet, and is significantly smaller than Earth.
There may be other problems that arise, and given my tendency to aggressively defend my own ideas, I’ll probably attempt to deal with them in due course. For the moment, however, I see nothing else that raises significant questions concerning my premise.
In summation, then, I feel that the “Dark Lifestream” of Advent Children reveals itself as the substance from which a Black Materia would be comprised. In conjunction with Sephiroth’s speech, it appears that the Black Materia of Final Fantasy VII had extraterrestrial origins, carried by Jenova from the corrupted Lifestream of another world, and that it could be used to call the ruined planet from which it was originally derived.
As always, questions and comments are welcome.
