Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 1

It has been 3 years... I made a connection between this line and the "untouchable one" from the proceeding line, as it's a reference to Fei's disappearance after the events at Elul.

500 years since... Days of collapse = Diabolos Collapse, where the old men all were killed, and thus weren't able to manipulate anything.

In such case..., Gatekeeper This line cleaned up nicely. Nagareru, which was first translated as 'flow', can also mean to stray when applied to weapons (think large, anthropomorphic ones in this case). What's a gatekeeper? A device that allows passage through the Solaris gate, but more significantly in this case it is a tracking device.

Or perhaps... ...from Hyuga? Weltall seemed to need an awful lot of repairs in the beginning of the game...

His fleet... Ramsus' fleet, assumably.

Just as before... Past nuclear apocalypse = the destruction of Zeboim? If so, this passage reflects Miang's imperative-- to purify mankind through a succession of purges until it is fit to become the body of god.

Our flesh. This line is apparently absent in the English version.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 1

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 2

"He" was in the... When the Gazel use "he" or "him" (yatsu), it refers to one of three people - Fei, Ramsus or Karellen. When yatsu is in scare qoutes, it refers to

Nigredo... Raine brought to my attention that the troubling word in this line could be an uncommon Japanese approximation of Nigredo, an alchemical concept that Carl Gustav Jung borrowed for use in his philosophy (and also the prior name of Xenosaga's Gainun Kukai). Oft refered to as the "dark night of the soul", the psycological nigredo is the acknowledgement of one's negative aspects, and the psychological decay that follows that revelation.

(Subject of the M Project)... When there is a difference between reading and meaning in Japanese, the intended meaning is listed first, followed by the reading (in brackets, in this case). I reversed the notation to fit English, so that the Minister says sufradi and thinks subject of the M Project. As for what the passage means, I suspect it's referring to Rico.

It is not impossible... Who in Solaris would have an interest in creating such a scenario but Karellen?

Intend to eliminate him... There is no object in the original text to indicate who or what Cain is talking about. The path the conversation takes from this point suggests Fei, however, and that I have assumed. Such a case gives us a very early look at the Ministry's real intent for their leader...

The result... This passage is apparently absent in the English version. The word sugata (姿) refers to a bodily/physical form-- in the Ministry's case, the SOL-9000 - implying that by indulging in dreams like the Ahnenerbe Cain will unleash another catastrophe like the Diabolos Collapse.

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Gazel Conversation 3

To seek protection... While I did a questionable job of expressing it, this minister acknowledges the fundamental nature of the Church's desire to stay in existence (by ploting to rebel against Solaris). It's a basic desire that the Ministry knows quite well.

But it is so far gone... Until the subject changes to Karellen, "it" = the organiziation = the Church = the Ethos. Whew......

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Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 4

Such lunacy... To be purely literal, replace lunacy with drunken raving. Its kinda... out of place, I thought.

Overwhelming numbers of years ... This whole passage eludes me. I still don't know what it means.

The words of those... I want to call attention to the fact that Karellen refers to the Ministry using kisama (an insulting second person pronoun). No love lost between them. But I'm sure you already noticed. The useage of "mother" here is a bit tricky. While Miang would be the obvious choice as the Ministry sold her out to Shevat, when Grahf speaks of the "mother of destruction" he is invoking Deus.

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Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 5

Before out preparations are put in order... Shevat's Dinah Anima Vessel already aligned to Sophia. But as Bart demonstrated with El Andvari, aligned Anima Vessels can re-align.

Our yorishiro type... Yorishiro is an interesting word. It is associated with Shintoism, and means a physical medium into which kami and spirits can descend - anything from rocks and trees to whole mountains, even animals. The use of this word emphasizes how the members of the Gazel Ministry view themselves as the spirit of god.

The re-education is... Sounds like they did quite a mental overhaul on Nicola. His behavior in the Shevat invasion would support that.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 5

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 6

Ki, Kisama... The word kisama is too versatile. Though it is a derogatory 2nd person pronoun, it is also used as a straight curse as Ramsus does here. It is distinct from how Karellen uses it.

Please calm yourself... I want to call attention to Miang's deferential language. Mother, lover, what have you, but Ramsus has higher rank. Also, I can find no precedence for the English version's translation of kakka (Ramsus's title) as commander.

The lambs are... A particular group of lambs. You know who.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 6

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 7

Set the lambs free... Usually, lambs is rendered as ramuzu in katakana, but here it is the Japanese hitsujitachi, perhaps to further stress that the people are ignorant herds. The line seems to refer to the M Project - converting people into the Malahk hosts, the army of Deus.

As the "mother"... He must mean Miang this time. Miang's interest in Kim's project made her indirectly responsible for the terrorist strike on the Kasim's lab.

The data collection... I added an object to make this line's relation to Emeralda more apparent. From here down, it = Emeralda.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 7

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 8

Sensei... Sensei is sometimes literally rendered as "one who lived before", and is an honorific that can be applied to masters of various disciplines such as teachers, doctors or artists. I think it's a beautiful word.

Un... A sound someone makes when they're just waking up. However that's described in English, I don't know.

The voice that curses you... ...Id's voice?

They are vessels. The Japanese here is odd. I cannot figure out the origin or meaning of this kanji compound that I assume should be read gudai. It may be a typo, and if so, yorishiro may be the intended word. Nonetheless, I will leave my translation until I have more information.

Enemy... Normally read as kataki, but is sometimes used interchangeably with teki (enemy). It implies that Fei has a reason to avenge himself on Solaris and it's leadership.

Your goal isn't to rule... Way to keep them talking, Fei. ^_^

Time of the gospel... The original phrase here, fukuin no koku, is similar but not identical to the one that Cain and Shitan use.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 8

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 9

Planning this pointless farce... Refers to Shitan's leading Fei into the Ministry's hands, and then promptly helping him escape. Incidentally, the only related party who gained nothing from Fei's visit to Etemenanki was the Ministry.

Be that as it may... This marks an abrupt topic shift to the Contact and the number he did on Etemenanki.

we will not be in time... This is a rare moment in which the Ministry refers to Cain as necessary to their scenario. They don't. I can't figure out the significance of this line.

Is there any guarantee... Strict literalism seems to separate the meaning of this line from the rest of the passage. But also, I fail to see how using the Goetia Key would eliminate Fei. I assume Fei, because the next several lines refer to him.

A repetition of our past failure... Past failure = Days of Collapse. The Ministers have commented before on how the current situation is similar to that which lead up to the Days of Collapse.

He was once your ally... Refers to Karellen's alliance to Lacan, the previous Contact, in the Shevat-Solaris War.

We shall leave it at that... I want to call attention to the fact that this line demonstrates that the Ministers know that their fates are in Karellen's hands.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 9

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 10

She was riding... When Karellen says kanojo (=she) that only ever means one person: Elehaym. Incidentally, in colloquial Japanese, kanojo has an additional meaning of girlfriend.

The seal is lifted... Karellen certainly set this up nicely. Sending out Ramsus in order to force Fei to crash near Taura's place, banking on the sage tipping the kids off about the genetic limiters, so that when they undo them, as Karellen wants, it doesn't looks the least bit suspicious. Because that's what he must be talking about here.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 10

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 11

The flesh of our servants... This all ties in to the multifaceted M Project, dedicated to transforming the general populace into the parts required so that Deus can again take to the stars. Thusly, the Wels mutants are an intermediary stage in the creation the Malahk host. The Ministry gives themselves too much credit by assuming that the mutations are happening just because it's almost time. They don't know it's all the work of Karellen and his nanomachines.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 11

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 12

Same as in the past... It always goes back to the Days of Collapse for these old men, as if nothing important ever happened before it. Well, I guess they thought they had everything wrapped up then, and all of a sudden it fell through with a vengeance. It must've sucked.

Our goal will not be fulfilled... The other thing that it always goes back to with the Ministry. It must refer to their overall objective of uniting with Deus and ruling over the universe.

Guooo... A yell of pain.

Nuuu... A sound someone makes when struggling futilely.

back to Gazel Ministry Conversation 12

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 13

He is no longer like us... It's a bit vague, but they're talking about Cain. If I was being strictly literal, I would've had to have put 'That' in place of 'He', which while appropriately derogatory in Japanese, would've made the line even more vague.

He spoke of the possibility of... This whole line needed reconstruction to make sense in English. There is no main subject or verb (which is Karellen and what he said), and no obvious statement of who is being talked about (which is Ramsus).

In that case we will wait... There is no other point at which the Ministry acknowledges awareness of the plot to manipulate Ramsus. If not for this, there'd be no proof against them picking on him just for fun.

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Notes For Gazel Conversation 14

I know you better than anyone else... Miang's speech here is informal and feminine-- clearly, she is out of sub-commander mode.

In the face of that woman... Referring to his encounter with his former subordinate, Elehaym, in which he failed to make good on a threat to squish her. (He ought to know better than to go around trying to squish people.)

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Notes For Gazel Conversation 15

The existence of the mother's persona ... I can't remember anything that could be related to this line.

back to Gazel Conversation 15

Notes For Gazel Ministry Conversation 16

The absolute authority he wielded ... This sentence was a task. I have modified it to be less redundant. Originally, annoyingly similar to the one preceding it, with Cain as the subject.

Did you believe you were self-determining... This 'self-determining' is an important word, I think, and I didn't get all the nuances. It refers to the capability of making one's own decisions. I treated tsumori (=intent) like it's used in the expression nanisama tsumori?, or, 'who the hell do you think you are'?

Ri......DICulous... My own work creeps me out here. ^_^ I'm just trying to capture some of the unsettling variations in script with variations in caps in my translations. The implications appear to be that the remaining minister is fighting to express himself with what little data is left to him.

It is the will of the other... There is an omitted kanojo here. The Karellen/Kanojo rule is of course in effect.

I go to you... 'Go' is a guess verb. I got a sense of motion out of the phrase, but it's still a little bit of Japanese vagueness for you.

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Notes For Cain Conversation 1

The time (age) of the gospel... When there is a difference between reading and meaning in Japanese, the intended meaning is listed first, followed by the reading. I converted instances of meaning[reading] to reading(meaning) throughout the translations.

It depends upon our fate... This line troubles me quite a bit, and it seems that I'm not the only one who was thrown off by it. ^_- So don't trust me on this one.

back to Cain Conversation 1

Notes For Cain Conversation 2

More accurately three times... First in Lahan, second in the desert, and third in the sewers?

Are the Elders... ...trying to test him? Cain would likely be unaware of this move on the part of the Church. Perhaps this is what tips him off, as he later goes to the ministry with findings of the Church's below-board operations.

He is the object of a "fear"... Subject addition - he equals Fei, or more generally the contact. The line harks back to the days of collapse, when a certain very disgruntled Contact killed all of the (remaining) ministers.

back to Cain Conversation 2

Notes For Cain Conversation 3

No need for stewards... Stewards referring to all the old men, most particularly Cain himself, the "ultimate authority" over mankind. Apparently, the advent of the Ahnenerbe gives the people the power to make their own fate.

I shall intrust them to him... This line required the addition of two objects-- Fei as the secondary object, and "them", referring to the people that Cain shepherds.

back to Cain Conversation 3

Notes For Cain Conversation 4

That is why I supported... 'Supported' is a guess-word. But from Gazel Talk 2, it is clear that Cain's got Karellen's back.

"My own means"... Also known as the Ark Project or Project Noah.

"Ramses"... Or, in it's entirety, codename 0808191 Ramses.

back to Cain Conversation 4