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Did the Archelians believe that the seeds they had sown would eventually sprout not into conflict, but rather trust? No one will ever know
—Ensign Mikage Kiryu, entry on her personal diary[2]
Archelias, also referred to as Ancient Archelias, the ancient Archelias civilization, or simply as the Archelias civilization, was an ancient interstellar civilization existing eons before the present. Their society extended throughout the entirety of the known universe and they were responsible for the creation of various humanoid species. Their technology and culture would leave a great influence on future human civilizations, including the Zirellans and the Gatlanteans. Its people are known as the Archelians.
History[]
Rise and fall of Archelias[]
A view of the Archlian ruins on Stravaze, December 29, 2202
The Archelias civilization emerged eons before the present and established its presence throughout the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way Galaxy. They built a network of subspace gates allowing for nearly instantaneous travel through large distances in intergalactic space and established structures on multiple planets, including Balun and Stravaze.[3][4][5][6]
The Celestial Ark
At some point, the Archelians built the Star-Voyaging Ark, a gigantic structure bigger than entire planets, which they used to spread their seed throughout the universe, leading to the evolution of the human species. According to Great Emperor Zworder of Gatlantis, the reason for the disappearance of Archelias was their humanoid form, which intrinsically carries a tendency to violence and chaos. He believed that the Archelians created humanity to leave behind a legacy for their dying civilization, but if that was the case, he questioned why they'd make their creation have the same form that doomed them.[6][2] According to writing on the Star-Voyaging Ark, the structure was created to preserve the Archelian species by spreading the seeds of life throughout the universe.[2]
Together with the Star-Voyaging Ark, they built the Ark of Destruction, a safety mechanism created to wipe out all of their offsprings if they developed into an evil and destructive society. However, the ark was built so that only a human could activate it, preventing it from being used against humanity by outsiders.[7]
Legacy[]
A large Garmillan fleet assembles around a subspace gate
Millennia after, multiple human species evolved from the Archelian seeds, the Iscandarians being the first among them. Archelian technology and culture greatly influenced humanity going forward. The Zirellans considered sites such as the Star-Voyaging Ark to be sacred, and built their culture around it. The Garmillans discovered and used the Subspace gate network which allowed them to become the dominant species in the Large Magellanic Cloud and beyond. The Gatlanteans, an artificial human species created by the Zemurians, developed a profound hatred for humanity, and sought to wipe all humanoids from the universe. To do so, they found and activated the Ark of Destruction and started a series of bloody campaigns to reach their goal.[5][6][2][7]
The Zirellan pilgrims in September of 2199
Following a genocide of their species, a small group of Zirellan survivors escaped their homeworld and hid on the Star-Voyaging Ark, which they called "Shambleau of Archelias". Their reclusive lifestyle was challenged multiple times by the Gatlantis Empire, which sent various expeditions to find the ark and seize its technology. Eventually, in August of 2199,[8] the Zirellan pilgrims decided to reawaken the ark with the help of a group of Earthlings and Garmillas and began venturing into the universe.[3][2]
Professor Redrowz in front of the Stravaze mural
In 2202, following the Earthlings' discovery of the Archelias civilization, Professor Robert Redrowz tried to lead an expedition of the Archelian ruins located on Stravaze with the endorsement of the U.N.F. General Staff office.[9]
Culture and Society[]
Technology[]
A Czvarke fighter flying through the gates' hyperspace corridors
Archelias had access to technology far beyond that of any currently known human species. They had a deep understanding of different dimensions, enough to recreate artificial pocket dimensions where they enclosed particular structures. In addition, they knew how to travel through hyperspace and used this knowledge in their subspace gate network and other pieces of technology, such as the Ghost Link device.[3][2][10]
The Ark of Destruction destroys Saturn in 2203
Perhaps the most incredible feat of Archelian technology is the Arks. The Star-Voyaging Ark, capable of seeding life through the universe, can hide inside a pocket dimension fully undetectable from the outside. It can also change its shape, disguise itself as a planet, and even make itself invisible while traveling at faster-than-light speeds. The Ark of Destruction could also change its shape according to its user's will. It could hide behind a dense gas cover, giving away the appearance of being a gigantic white comet. It could also generate an ostensibly infinite number of weapons and warships, growing them in a factory deep inside its bowels. It could also absorb great quantities of energy and control powerful gravitational forces to use against enemies or to trap entire planets inside a cage-like structure.[2][7][11][12][13]
Archelias architecture is mostly based around the repetition of geometrical shapes to form a building.[3][6][11]
The Archelian mural of Teresa, showing traces of Archelian writing
Language[]
One form of written language is present on a mural in the Archelian ruins on Stravase.[6] The Archelian alphabet[14] is used to also write the Zirel language.[15] A Pan-Archelias protolanguage existed and was the common ancestor of various languages spoken by human species such as the Iscandarian, Gatlantean, and Garmillas languages.[16]
Behind the scenes[]
Archelias is called Aquarius in the English subtitles for Space Battleship Yamato 2199. The correct spelling is seen on screen in Odyssey of the Celestial Ark, and in the episode "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon."[2] The correct spelling is adopted for the English subtitles for Star Blazers 2205[17] and Star Blazers REBEL 3199.[18]
References[]
- ↑ "O Teresa, Cry for Dessler!"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Whisper of the Witch"
- ↑ "Point of No Return"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Out of the Forest of Memory"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "The Trap at Planet Stravase!"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Gatlantis, the Cursed Children"
- ↑ Mikage Kirryu states that the events of Odyssey of the Celestial Ark (outside of the prologue and epilogue) are set one months after Yamato's take off from Iscandar, as that event is stated to take place on July 27, 2199, it can be deduced that the movie takes place in August of the same year. See Yamato 2199 timeline inconsistencies for more details
- ↑ "Shock – Legacy of the Cosmo Reverse"
- ↑ "Dessler's Challenge!"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!"
- ↑ "Escape from the Nightmare!"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.3 p.272
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark
- ↑ Mikage Kiryu's screen seen in "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ "Iscandar, the Dying Planet of Sorrow"
- ↑ "Shocking! The Dezarium's Dark Millennium of History!"
Japanese language information[]
- アケーリアス Akēriasu (Archelias)
- アケーリアス文明 Akēriasu bunmei (Archelias civilization)
- 古代アケーリアス文明 Kodai Akēriasu bunmei (Ancient Archelias civilization)
- 古代アケーリアス Kodai Akēriasu (Ancient Archelias)
- アケーリアス人 Akēriasu-jin (Archelians)