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| “ | Shion, are you feeling joy? Happy? | ” |
U-DO (pronounced OOH-doo; ウ・ドゥ, U du), short for Unus-Mundus Drive Operation (One World Drive Operation), is a wave existence system that is directly connected to the Miltian Conflict and the Zohar.
Characteristics[]
U-DO and the Upper and Lower Domain, from Perfect Guide.
U-DO dwells in the higher Upper Domain, and can observe mankind in the Lower Domain with his observation terminals, also called his "eyes," Abel and Abel's Ark. It is through this observation that U-DO's power can be accessed. According to Jr., U-DO is an entity humans could not possibly control.
U-DO is often depicted as pink waves, or a huge cloud of reddish-colored gas with long tendrils (similar to a nebula, or to neurons and their axons/dendrons), though occasionally he may appear as a young boy dressed in white.
Connecting to U-DO[]
U-DO's observation, from Perfect Guide.
For most, direct contact with U-DO strikes humans with a powerful fear. Humans who come into contact with U-DO may see the end of all existence, as well as fears of absolute loneliness. This is due to U-DO sharing a vision of the collapse of the universe, which he is trying to understand.[1]
Depending on the person who experiences this deep contact, this exchange can result in effects ranging from headaches, coma, mental instability, trauma, or even death, as with the case of Tethlla Magus.
Many who survive this encounter are overcome with an unquenchable fear, such as Dmitri Yuriev, Voyager, and Albedo. In Yuriev's case, the exchange granted him the power to spiritually possess other bodies by transferring his consciousness.
Others have the ability to contact U-DO, such as KOS-MOS, Febronia, and the U.R.T.V.s.
Descendents of the Immigrant Fleet[]
Aoi Uzuki in a coma.
| “ | The subjects are capable of communicating with U-DO. They can convey their will to U-DO, but that leads to their own death. The test subjects' wills are unable to stand the stress of direct contact with U-DO, and they eventually fall into a coma and die. | ” |
Those descended from the Immigrant Fleet, such as Shion Uzuki and Aoi Uzuki, can carry a higher affinity with U-DO, allowing them to communicate with U-DO. However, this ability goes both ways, as U-DO is able to observe them more directly as well.
The stress that this direct contact puts on a person eventually leads to the person suffering from headaches and fainting spells, before eventually falling comatose. Aoi was comatose by the time Shion was eight, and as an adult, Shion herself began to suffer from headaches and fainting spells when contacting U-DO.
U-DO, Abel and Abel's Ark, from Perfect Guide.
Abel.
Abel and Abel's Ark[]
- Main article: Abel
U-DO dwells in the higher Upper Domain, observing mankind in the Lower Domain with his observation terminals, also called his "eyes," Abel and Abel's Ark.
In order to assure the continuation of the world and perform Eternal Recurrence, Wilhelm planned to seal U-DO's observational terminals, which he called "cover[ing] the eyes of God".
Joshua is also able to seal Abel's power.
Time of Xenosaga[]
Dmitri Yuriev and the U.R.T.V.s[]
Demonstration for Helmer
The U.R.T.V.s at the Yuriev Institute.
According to Jr. in Episode II, Dmitri Yuriev claimed that U-DO was an artificial consciousness or A.I. within to the U.M.N. that was carrying some kind of dangerous waves, but this was "a total lie" and Yuriev knew this from the start and deliberately deceived the U.R.T.V.s. Jr. describes U-DO "as an energy from a higher dimension" and "an entity humans couldn't possibly control," and he feels that it's ironic that U.R.T.V.s are U-DO's anti-existence, but were never told what U-DO really was.
The U.R.T.V.s are specially designed to combat U-DO, and can produce anti-waves designed to resist U-DO, but these anti-waves will not neutralize each other. During the Miltian Conflict, Jr. recognized that the waveform collision between these anti-waves would release enormous amounts of thermal energy, resulting in the destruction of anything near them, including the U.R.T.V.s.
Miltian Conflict[]
Dive Into MOMO's Subconcious
Albedo comes into contact with U-DO.
A moment before the U.R.T.V.s were to destroy U-DO, Jr. (U.R.T.V 666 "Rubedo") had a vision of the Old Miltian planet being destroyed in an enormous explosion. Fearing for the lives of his companions, Jr. broke the psychic bond that would produce the anti-waves. Unfortunately, this left them with no protection against U-DO.
Contact with U-DO slew or drove mad all of the standard U.R.T.V.s., then infected U.R.T.V. 667 "Albedo" and drove him mad as well. The only documented surviving U.R.T.V.s were Gaignun Kukai (U.R.T.V. 669 "Nigredo") and Jr., though Albedo and U.R.T.V. 668 "Citrine" survived as well.
The Abyss as seen in Episode II.
When Albedo made partial contact with U-DO fourteen years prior to Episode I and II (when he was infected by U-DO), it caused a medium-scale space-time anomaly alteration that produced two black holes. The planet of Old Miltia was sucked into those black holes and into a place called the Abyss. Since then, U-DO had been obstructed by the two black holes.[citation needed]
In Episode II, fourteen years after Old Miltia's disappearance, Albedo obtained the Y-Data by intruding into MOMO Mizrahi's mind and used the Y-Data to bring Old Miltia back from the Abyss, destroying himself in the process. After this occurred, the two black holes vanished.
Joachim Mizrahi developed a way to use U-DO as a control system for linking with the Zohar.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht[]
Ye Shall Be As Gods
KOS-MOS confronting U-DO at 3:30.
In the Encephalon, Nephilim Verum explained that a time will come where KOS-MOS will encounter the wave existence U-DO. Febronia and Nephilim showed the group a possible future where KOS-MOS fought U-DO and destroyed him along with the universe.[citation needed]
Gaignun discusses U-DO with Helmer and expresses his concern regarding U-TIC's plans to access Old Miltia, remarking, "[...] we can’t allow that thing to reawaken again. No matter what." Later, Helmer and Wilhelm discuss U-DO as well, and Helmer echoes Gaignun's statement that they can't allow U-DO to be reawakened.
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse[]
The concept of U-DO is explored more in-depth in Episode II, which elaborates on the U.R.T.V.s. Near the end, Albedo contacts U-DO using the Zohar in the Ω System and creates a space-time anomaly.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra[]
U-DO and the Eternal Recurrence, from Perfect Guide.
Dmitri Yuriev used Abel to pilot Ω Res Novae. Abel was the only one who could withstand the construct's power without going mad.
On Michtam, Wilhelm seals away Abel's power using Joshua. The "two Abels", or eyes of God, as Wilhelm calls Abel and Abel's Ark, needed to be sealed away to prevent U-DO's observation of the universe, allowing Wilhelm to perform the Eternal Recurrence.
Trivia[]
- The NA release of Episode III uses "he/him" pronouns for U-DO. The JP release uses 奴 (やつ, yatsu)[2], which is familiar and potentially disrespectful, like "guy" or "fellow." [3][4]
- In Episode III, U-DO's lines are voiced by Doug Erholtz in the English version, and by Hikaru Midorikawa in the Japanese version. Interestingly, Hikaru Midorikawa also voiced Fei Fong Wong from Xenogears, as well as Wilhelm in Xenosaga: The Animation.
- Hikaru Midorikawa also voices Heero Yuy of Gundam Wing, a young mobile suit pilot who endures tremendous stress when interfacing with cutting-edge weapons systems.
- When U-DO is represented as waves, he appears as bright, saturated violet-red. Magenta is an extra-spectral color, meaning that it is not a hue associated with monochromatic visible light, and it does not have wavelengths. As a result, the human brain perceives magenta while trying to make sense of input from cone cells. This phenomenon seems similar to how the story explains the perception of U-DO as Abel, but it is unknown whether this design choice was intentional.
- H.P. Lovecraft's short story The Colour Out of Space is named after an otherwise unnamed impossible color, usually not observable by humans, generated by alien entities. Those who perceive it are driven to madness and may even become physically deformed.
- Yuriev's intense animosity towards U-DO may be an allusion to Moby-Dick and its tale of an all-consuming quest for revenge, considering how prominently the book is featured in Episode II with Moby Dick's Café on Second Miltia.
Quotes[]
Xenosaga Episode III - Chapter 4 - Shion's Feelings - U-DO and Shion
Shion communicates with U-DO.
- "Shion, a word to define an individual. Are you Shion?"
- "Shion... what... do... you... seek...?"
- "I want to know. To know you. To know your world."
- "I am the will of the universe. You identify me as U-DO. What do you desire from the world?"
- "Shion, what fills your heart? Is it fear? Sadness... or joy?"
- "Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid? Are you afraid of being isolated from the world? Are you afraid of people rejecting you? Are you afraid of your eventual death?"
- "What does it mean to be alone? Is it more terrifying than death? Why does your face show such an expression?"
- "This form is what you have defined me as. If you call this form Abel, then I am Abel. I am just one of the ways that U-DO is perceived. U-DO wants to know. About the wills that desire a dissipating world. Everything about you. Everything about this world."
- "Shion, are you feeling pain right now? Is pain a method to recognize yourself? Why do you all seek pain? You don't know. I don't know, as well. No matter how much you hurt yourselves, no matter how much you hurt others, it won't make you feel better so, why? Shion, why do you exist in this world? What does your heart try to see in the abyss of despair? Where is the real you?"
- "I want to know. What am I? Who will define me? That's right. I'm alone. Only that song heals me."
References[]
- ↑ Xenosaga Perfect Guide, 03. What kind of Existence is U-Do?
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Ci65QNl4A6s?t=1020 Jr.: ウ・ドゥとの接触を断つ事なんてできねえんだ。奴は、別の領域から俺達を監視している。 奴から逃れる事はできない。/ You can't cut off contact with U-DO. He's watching us from another realm. You can't run away from him.
- ↑ https://jisho.org/word/%E5%A5%B4-1
- ↑ https://jlearn.net/dictionary/%E5%A5%B4
Gallery[]
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse[]
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra[]
