Big D, well said. I am very surprised that this crater we speak of has not been implicated in the R=U theory.
But then that may make a little too much sense for our entertainment.

As for ivory; good to see someone keeping in character! However, I would advise that you remain consistent in your posts. After all a little Crono Cross sentimentality never harmed any body.

This crater issue is one of the few areas my rational mind succeeds in. Although, as unexciting as it may seem, I believe that the crater is just a programming device. The few plot associations are merely "vapour ware"... It is about as interesting as the fact that the position of the chocobo forests are almost cardinal directions... I must emphasise the word almost.

I could argue that the chocobo forest is a Taoist retreat. In the future these locations are the solitary refuge from Ultimacia’s time compression and supposedly align with the directions of the Taoist symbol. The guardian of the chocobo forest is a child, who is in essence another symbol of the changing/growing nature of the Tao. The adult material world that exists in the cities has obviously perished in the future, while the magical world of childhood remains untarnished. However, in reality the survival of the chocobo forest acts merely as transportation apparatus to reach the spaceship Ragnarok! The programmers chose to present a problem to the gamer by making the spaceship on first glimpses inaccessible, as Squall can hardly traverse the ocean. Therefore, the gamer was forced to devise a way to reach the Ragnarok. It turns out that one can traverse shallow water atop a chocobo, and thus successfully reach the ragnarok on Disc 4.

In conclusion, it is quite obvious that the phenomena of the crater and the chocobos (my example) exist simply as neat mediums to serve the material “gaming” element of FF8. One can hardly claim to glean truths or even factual information about these events. The fact that these issues are neglected by the plot further cements my contention; that the programmers merely had physical intentions for these locations.