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I don't want to hurt these children, even for Sakura's sake.
—Juli Mizrahi
I'd heard they were young, but I didn't expect them to be this young...
—Helmer

U.R.T.V. units, or "U-DO Retro Virus" units, are children who were created as a series of biological organic weapons whose life energy wavelength cancels that of U-DO, with the 666th child having the strongest anti-U-DO capabilities.

Background[]

The U.R.T.V.s are the 669 biological clones of Dr. Dmitri Yuriev, head of the Yuriev Institute. They are both Designer Children and Salvators (that is, humans who underwent genetic modification during their developmental phase).[1] They are also considered Life Recycling Variants as a result of the Life Recycling Act.

U.R.T.V.s were genetically engineered from the eggs of an anonymous female donor. All U.R.T.V. units have a serial number permanently imprinted in red on their right palm. [2]

The first 665 U.R.T.V. units all died prior to or during the Miltian Conflict, leaving only the four Variants as survivors: 666, 667, 668, and 669.

Abilities[]

U.R.T.V.s can produce anti-waves designed to resist U-DO, but these anti-waves will not neutralize each other. The waveform collision between these anti-waves will release enormous amounts of thermal energy, resulting in the destruction of anything near them, including the U.R.T.V.s. They can also communicate to other U.R.T.V.s telepathically.

The blond-haired blue-eyed standard U.R.T.V. Units 001 – 665 share one collective group consciousness and are unable to think individually. They regard units 666 – 669 as "monsters", due to being mutants with individual minds and consciousnesses, as well as possessing emotions. 1 – 665 have weaker anti-waveforms compared to the variants.

Most female U.R.T.V.s (such as No. 498) are unstable and usually die very quickly.

Variants[]

U.R.T.V. units 666 – 669 originated from the same embryonic culture as the others, but were then subjected to an induced mutation to develop their unique gifts. This accounts for the differences in hair and eye color despite their shared embryonic origins. These four mutants are known as the Variants.

Jr.[]

Xenosaga_Episode_II_HD_Cutscene_39_-_Two_Classes_of_U.R.T.V.s_-_ENGLISH

Xenosaga Episode II HD Cutscene 39 - Two Classes of U.R.T.V.s - ENGLISH

Albedo and Gaignun reassure Jr. they support him after the standard U.R.T.V.s criticize him.

Unit #666 is nicknamed "Rubedo" and is the leader of the male U.R.T.V.s. His special power is that he can control the rate of growth of his cells, which he half-consciously used to halt his cellular development at the moment he would've made contact with U-DO during the Miltian Conflict, in order to stop himself from being destroyed. He also has the strongest anti-U-DO waveform, which is referred to as Red Dragon mode.[3]

After he was rescued from the Miltian Conflict, he renamed himself Gaignun Kukai, Jr. after a kitten he raised with Gaignun. "Jr." refers to his shorter stature[4] and allows him to dissuade questions about his appearance by posing as Gaignun's son. He does not like being called Rubedo[5], nor being referred to as a U.R.T.V.[6]

Albedo[]

Regenerate

Regenerate

Albedo's regeneration.

Unit #667 is nicknamed "Albedo". His special power is the limitless ability to quickly regenerate his bodily tissue cells. This special ability is activated not by control of the cells of his own body, but by accessing the structure of the U.M.N. itself.[7]

Jr. and Albedo were conjoined twins who were connected at their backs until the 28th week after conception. Canaan comments that this "happens on rare occasions, even with artificially created children".[8] KOS-MOS later adds, "Occasionally, due to incomplete cell division, twins are born sharing some portion of their internal organs".[9] It is unknown whether Yuriev intended for this to happen.

Citrine[]

Unit #668 is nicknamed "Citrine" and is the leader of the female U.R.T.V.s. She functions as a failsafe for the project by preserving the U.R.T.V.s' mtDNA. Her special power is to kill Jr. if Red Dragon mode goes out of control. She has the same powers as Gaignun, except that Yuriev did not intend to use her as a host body.[10]

Gaignun[]

Unit #669 is nicknamed "Nigredo" and unlike the rest of the U.R.T.V.s, he does not react to U-DO's waves. Like Citrine, he can act as a failsafe to kill Jr. - a mission he refused to accept, which led to him fatally shooting Yuriev. He also has the ability to control the thoughts of others and the power of hypnotic suggestion (interference with a person's consciousness), using his voice as a medium.[11] It seems likely that Yuriev gave him these abilities in order to use them for himself after possessing Gaignun's body.

Like Jr., Gaignun renamed himself after they were rescued, and similarly does not like to be referred to by his model designation.[12]

Miltian Conflict[]

URTV2

U.R.T.V.s preparing to descend on Miltia.

Dive_Into_MOMO's_Subconcious

Dive Into MOMO's Subconcious

Jr. cuts the spiritual link.

URTVConflict

U.R.T.V.s killing civilians during the Miltian Conflict.

During the Third Descent Operation of the Miltian Conflict, a special forces unit consisting of U.R.T.V.s with serial numbers in the 500s and 600s were sent in to neutralize the Zohar Control System.[13]

A moment before the U.R.T.V.s were to attempt to destroy U-DO, Jr. had a vision of the Old Miltian planet being destroyed in an enormous explosion. Jr., fearing for the lives of his companions, broke the psychic bond that would produce the anti-waves, which left them with no protection against U-DO. The contact caused the deaths of the standard U.R.T.V.s or else caused them to go berserk, as well as completely changed Albedo's mental state.

The standard U.R.T.V.s stormed Miltia, killing civilians.

After the Miltian Conflict, the only documented surviving U.R.T.V.s were Jr. and Gaignun, though Albedo and Citrine survived as well. However, Gaignun and Jr. hide the fact they are U.R.T.V.s from the general public.

The U.R.T.V.s' True Purpose[]

It is learned in Episode III that it would have been impossible for the U.R.T.V.s to destroy U-DO, as it cannot be destroyed. Yuriev secretly suspected as such, but told the U.R.T.Vs that destroying U-DO was their purpose in order to more easily group and control them.[14]

Yuriev did not actually build the U.R.T.Vs as a means to defeat U-DO, but to collect data on it. Having come into contact with U-DO through an experiment, Yuriev aspired to become a supernatural being equivalent to it, conquering the fear that infected him from his first contact.

Yuriev's contact with U-DO had also given him the ability to spiritually possess the bodies of others, transcending the death of his physical body. The U.R.T.V. project allowed him to create a host for himself to transfer to: Gaignun.[15]

Symbolism[]

Upon those tiny backs, bear they great calamity.
-chaos, referring to Jr. and Gaignun
666

666 imprinted on Jr.'s palm.

In Xenosaga Episode II, during the Miltian Conflict, chaos alludes to the the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse when he and Cannan find Jr. carrying a bleeding Gaignun. chaos refers to Jr. as a "red horse [that] carries war", and to Gaignun as "the black horse [that carries] famine". When chaos learns that Albedo was infected by U-DO, he refers to him as the "rider of the white horse".

This analogy of the Variants as the Four Horsemen is also referenced in Jr.'s marking of 666 on his hand, referring to the Number of the Beast.

The names of the Variants derive from the Magnum Opus, an alchemical term for the process of creating the philosopher's stone, which is often associated with immortality.

Trivia[]

  • In Episode I and II, it's U.R.T.V. However, in the Episode III database, it is URTV.
  • For Episode I, there was a commercial made featuring the births of the U.R.T.V.s.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. XSIII Database, Designer Children and Salvator
  2. Xenosaga: Official Design Materials, pg. 118.
  3. XSIII Database, Jr.
  4. XSI database, Rubedo
  5. XSII, after Canaan saves the group from Richard and Hermann
  6. XSII, during the confrontation with Margulis
  7. XSIII database, URTV Unit Number 667
  8. XSII, as chaos and Canaan rescue Jr. and Gaignun
  9. XSII, Sakura's subconscious domain, Albedo digging graves/Ziggy's "death is rest for the soul"
  10. XSIII database, Citrine
  11. XSIII Database, Gaignun Kukai
  12. XSI, conversation with Helmer
  13. XSIII Database, URTV and Episode II Summary 01
  14. Xenosaga III: Also Sprach Zarathustra ~ Perfect Guide, 31. What were the URTVs?
  15. Xenosaga Episode III Official Complete Guide: The Truth of Xenosaga, 16. The Man who Spits at Heaven (Dimitri's Purpose)
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