Let's start with Ghi itself, which -- full disclosure -- has been one of my favorite things about the Gaian world since zOMG! was first released. For those who haven't really followed the zOMG! plot and don't really know much about it, Ghi is a very, very powerful energy with a lot of applications.
First and foremost, when applied to an inanimate object, it converts it into a monster derived from all properties of the original object. This includes some more abstract concepts, like intelligence -- the Wish Tree was able to speak due to the words written on the tanzaku papers hanging on it, and the Sealab X was completely loyal to LabTech X due to the controls programmed into it. These are exceptions, though. By default, the monsters created from the Ghi are like wild animals who attack humans (this is touched upon, but the reason why is never explained).
On top of that, it also powers the Rings, which can perform a command in a method similar to a spell. These, too, seem to be derived from the physical properties of the ring -- for example, Bandage will heal you, and Meat will give you a larger health bar. Most of them are attacks, though. These all respond to the Gaian wearing them, and the strength of the command is derived from something called "Rage". A theme of aggression, much like the Animated.
The third application is particularly interesting, I think. Prolonged exposure will cause the Gaian to become imbued with the Ghi, which creates stat bonuses. Stronger, faster, even luckier. It transforms them into better warriors.
Long story short? It is, as I described it somewhere else, magic that you can contain in a test tube.
But what
is it, exactly? This isn't fully explained. The best information comes from LabTech 123... or as we now know him, Frank:
Quote:
You think all THIS is just about ruining G-Corp? Well...sure...we all have our grudges here, but the demise of that empire is a mere byproduct of our true purpose. This sealab is about much more than Gambino's paltry vision of financial domination! This is about POWER!
What sort of power?
Why here, so far under the water?
That fission event that attracted the Zurg detonated nearby...and when that occurred, it left a signature behind...a sort of *wound*...that's leaking energy into our world in way that has never before occurred.
You mean Ghi energy?
Is the world wounded?
The leak is massive, but even so, the world is gigantic in comparison. We didn't even know there was such a thing as a biosphere or Ghi energy before, but we know it's size now and this leak should bear no threat, even now at its increased dimensions.
What the heck's a biosphere?
Increased size? You mean the rip is getting bigger?!?
Apparently, we're *all* part of the biosphere. The world seems to contain the biosphere's energy somehow, like a charged battery, and as near as we can tell, we all pull a charge constantly. We usually call it 'life', but that's messy nomenclature, so we call it Ghi energy instead. Same thing.
And then he moves on into details more relevant to the zOMG! plot, that NeXuS began farming the rift to use the Ghi for their own devices, causing it to get bigger. We'll get back to that in juuuust a second.
So, based on what we know now about who Nyx is and how the gods create life, we can already draw one very big conclusion:
There's more than one kind of life energy. The one fueling the Animated was noted as Nyxian, meaning there's probably one for each of the five gods. That would make the life energy of the average Gaian
Meilian.
Which means we can make a second conclusion, which is that the gods are not the
source of their respective energies, because we didn't all drop dead when Meili did. We can further speculate that the relationship actually goes the
other way, since Nyx's plan wasn't set into motion until Ghi energy started flooding the world in quantities never seen before.
In light of that, here comes crackpot theory number one: The five gods exist independent of a physical form. Are they, perhaps, made
of their respective energies?
This also raises a big question about who's running on what, since there's three gods we've only heard
of, and they have their own creations as well. However, given the physical differences between Meili's creations (humans) and Nyx's creations (Animated), we'd need to assume that there's a similarly huge gulf for the remaining three gods.
Crackpot theory number two: Remember the stars, like Saiph and Hatsya, and their little star cats? I don't doubt you do, unless you've been ignoring your Announcements. These seem to fit the bill nicely, and we have a god(dess?) who looks sky themed... could they be the creations of another one of the Gods?
Crackpot theory number three: What about the Zurg? Honestly, I think they might be truly alien to Gaia -- not just the planet, but also its biosphere. They did say that they were 'incompatible' with Gaia, and aliens (not Zurg, but bugs and preda-pups) are among the few non-Animated things you can fight in zOMG. Perhaps other biospheres exist, created by other global deities on the same level as Gaia herself?
There's another important detail to consider, and that's that Nyxian energy doesn't just bring things to life, but also alters the physical form a bit. This might help explain a lot of the form changing around Gaia -- the flesh is the same, but there's a different flavor of Ghi running through it, and each has its own signature changes on the body itself.
Crackpot theory number four: That could be the rough science of how Gaia can take immortal beings -- like lesser gods and titans -- and turn them into ordinary mortals. Immortals are probably running on a unique brand of energy related to the goddess herself, and so all that needs to be done is for Gaia to swap that out for something more mortal, like Meilian, and let the body change accordingly.
All right. I could spin theories about this all day, but I have a bigger speculation train to catch. Let's ask ourselves: if Ghi is not generic, store-brand life energy but Nyx's own variety, what does that change about the story?
Well, Ghi was first made known to we Gaians in 2008, with the release of zOMG!. But based on what we learned from that, it's been running in the plot for longer. zOMG! pins its appearance with what the game the
Gambino Event, but X informs us that Ghi was a thing before the rift was opened:
Quote:
Even so, I was loyal. It was I that saved my father *and* his birth son, Gino. It was I that released the pent up Ghi energy with a timely injection of a critical catalyst.
When we knew Ghi as
just life energy, I don't think anyone thought twice about this statement. Two Gambinos in one Gino-sized package... that's a lot of compressed life. But knowing what we know now...
Quote:
It was I that released the pent up
Ghi Nyxian energy with a timely injection of a critical catalyst.
... we have to ask ourselves:
How did Nyx get into the equation before the rift did?!
Well, let's examine
the actual fusion event. (Yes, this is already bridging Nyx to plots from 2005.) We can pretty much rule out Johnny and Gino from being the source of the Nyxian energy, because they were the ones endangered by it. But there's two other things in this equation that I think are worth considering.
First, we have Zhivago's bullet. Carrying a Nyxian-charged payload? Perhaps.
This is the less likely of the two, I think, but I'm not ready to rule it out yet. Vampires are completely laced through this plot on Nyx's side -- particularly if you count DMS, which we certainly can -- and if the Von Helsons were actually working for Nyx before the Kuro gang ever became involved, the rivalry between the two families would match the gods' war in a nice, symbolic parallel.
There's some holes that are easily patched: For example, why didn't Zhivago use Nyx's weapon from the start? Because there wasn't enough Nyxian energy in the world to fashion him one yet. Why only use Zhivago as an assassin, and Don Kuro for the actual summoning? Because Zhivago is not so easily manipulated as Don Kuro.
But there's not much I can think of in the ways of actual evidence that this is the case. More to the point, there's a big gaping hole in this theory, namely that the Vampires have been turning against Nyx and the Dark Elves. It's still viable, but it assumes we haven't gotten the whole story.
The second, and in my opinion more viable theory?
The G-Virus.
This lovely little plot device is already pretty much married to the Ghi, conceptually, and I don't just mean the common letter. And color. In both cases, we have a general idea of how they work but not the details. Both have a history of turning non-living things into living things, and both have a common theme of aggressive results (which
we know isn't caused by the reanimation itself). I've long theorized that the G-Virus was infusing high doses of Ghi into its subjects, though I never thought much of it before now. I mean, come on -- one of the first monsters you fight in zOMG! is a
Gramster.
The implications are a little much to take in, though. It would mean that Nyx's entire gambit to come back has been going on since at least 2004 (and probably earlier than that). It also means that Gaia's speculation is wrong about what's engineered his return. It's not dark magic -- it's science, sponsored by
the Gambino family.
Well, Nyx
is a trickster. And as intelligent as he is, X has major blind spots in terms of his own actions. He's made a point, both in zOMG! and more recently
on the forums, of spelling out that he's always been loyal to Gambino. But this hasn't fully reflected in his actions, and he's had his hands in
a lot of the pieces of Nyx's larger gambit. His daddy issues make him almost as vulnerable a target as Don Kuro... perhaps he's been unknowingly deceived by Nyx for years.
But maybe not. For all we know, the G-Virus was just a convenient accident. I think it's something more deliberate, but this is an area ripe for theories.
Here's the last thing I have to point out about this particular theory. And when I first realized this, I repeated it back to myself, and after hearing the words aloud I knew this speculation had officially taken me on the express train to crazytown...
There is one incident in Gaia's history that must now be reexamined. An act that should have been caused by the G-Virus itself, but which no one can quite understand how it got there. "Maybe it was residual?" An act that had very curious results, much like how some Animated are vicious monsters but under certain circumstances can be much nicer, such as we see with the Buddies. An act that involved a very large amount of energy we
know came from Nyx...
Diedrich was spawned because of
the Nyxian energy in Zhivago's weapon.