Proto Merkabah as it appears in Episode I.
Proto Merkabah (天の車, ten no kuruma) (known as The Wheel of Heaven in Xenosaga: The Animation) is a large space station created by scientist Joachim Mizrahi when he was working for the U-TIC Organization.
Functions and purpose[]
Realians[]
Its surface function was to research and develop Realians, among other things. MOMO Mizrahi, the 100-Series Observational Realian, was also created in the heart of the facility by Dr. Mizrahi, but it was not the primary function of the facility.
In Episode III, it is revealed that the U-TIC Organization used Proto Merkabah as a base for reconfiguring Realians. Ostensibly they were being treated for neurological disorders, but in fact they were being programmed to malfunction, causing much of the chaos during the night of the Third Descent Operation during the Miltian Conflict.
Superweapon[]
However, as Juli Mizrahi clearly explained, the Song of Nephilim was designed to dock with Proto Merkabah and the Zohar. The Song of Nephilim summoned the Gnosis, which were collected by Proto Merkabah, then used as a medium to collect the waves from the Zohar as an energy source. Juli states that the original purpose of the facility was to "discover the true form of the universe; the form we ourselves were meant to have".
The database for Episode I says the Proto Merkabah has the power to absorb Gnosis and convert them into a power source. Joachim actually used this ability not as a weapon, but to resurrect his deceased daughter's consciousness within MOMO.
It was also intended to be a mobile fortress for Proto Ω, just as the Tactical Warship Merkabah became the base for Ω Res Novae fifteen years later.
History[]
According to the remaining fragments of the Y-Data, the Proto Merkabah is a device that existed since ancient times.[1]
The Proto Merkabah was probably transformed sometime between T.C. 4720-4753. It is also owned by the U-TIC Organization, and Joachim Mizrahi oversaw its development. Originally, it was planned to serve as the mothership of Proto Omega alongside the Song of Nephilim; after losing Sakura, however, Joachim used it as a plant to create MOMO. MOMO claims it was "originally constructed as a manufacturing facility."
Immediately after the Miltian Conflict, the Galaxy Federation/S.O.C.E. apparently intentionally left it into the Abyss after recovering MOMO, since if the Proto Merkabah, the Song of Nephilim and the Zohar were all linked together, it would become a weapon too powerful for mankind to have. This is claimed by an S.O.C.E. member in Episode I.[2]
A datalog in Episode III suggests there's more truth to the matter: "At this time, at Juli's suggestion, Proto Merkabah was sealed into the depths of the abyss--but that is merely what the records show. The truth would be hidden by Ormus-affiliated Parliament members and members of the military."
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht[]
After taking fragments of the incomplete Y-Data from MOMO, the rogue U.R.T.V., Albedo Piazzolla, discovered that it could thus be used as a superweapon, and summoned Proto Merkabah from the Abyss as part of a three-pronged strategy. First, by establishing his power with the Song of Nephilim, summoning the station would draw Shion Uzuki and friends to the station. However, the incident would also harass the Second Miltian Government, and destroy the remaining Federation forces around Second Miltia. It was part of a grand plan to divert attention from the Immigrant Fleet and to the U-TIC Organization.
Xenosaga Episode I HD Cutscene 130 - Mizrahi's Abomination - ENGLISH
MOMO calls the Proto Merkabah an abominable machine.
Proto Merkabah was destroyed when Shion and friends entered the massive facility in a bold attempt to stop Albedo. Using MOMO's schematic records of the station, the party quickly made it to the core, after facing powerful defenders like Proto Dora and hoards of powerful Gnosis on the reactor elevator. Unfortunately, after Albedo was defeated, he fused a massive Gnosis with the main reactor, spawning the deadly Sophie Peithos. During the confusion, he escaped.
Xenosaga Episode I Escape
Proto Merkabah disassembles.
However, the facility was on course to crash into the capital of Second Miltia. In a calculated gamble, KOS-MOS offered to stay behind and break Proto Merkabah into tens of thousands of compartments, thus allowing the bulk of the station to disintegrate in the atmosphere. KOS-MOS narrowly made it back to the Elsa as it escaped the crumbling space station just in time. The plan succeeded, and Proto Merkabah was destroyed and the compartments burned harmlessly into the atmosphere of Second Miltia.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra[]
The Merkabah in Episode III.
- Main article: Merkabah
A massive space station closely resembling Proto Merkabah appears, simply named Merkabah. This station appears to have a much sharper and smoother base. Merkabah is being constructed by the Galaxy Federation and the Zohar Project in orbit of Fifth Jerusalem and has some sort of relationship to the war on the Gnosis.
Etymology[]
Merkabah is the Hebrew word for "thing to ride in/cart". When used untranslated in English, it is meant to refer to the "Chariot of God" in the Hebrew Bible, most often associated with the one described in Ezekiel's vision (1:4–26). It is also the name of a school of early Jewish mysticism based around Ezekiel's visions.[1]
Merkabah is also the same name as to Deus's transportational system in Xenogears (mistranslated as "Merkava" in the English version), which is in line with the many references established between the games.
Gallery[]
