Vortex00 
since a number of you haven’t played UMCC I thoguht I would touch on some of the lore aspects of GemCo equipment. Hopefuly after reading this you can get a better idea about the abilities of each ARIA character just by viewing them.
I’ll touch of GemCo itself later but some info can be found in the UMCC bookstore. Also I’ll need to touch on Kahlei itself later also.
for those curious, they actually can be found on a old wikia page. There is not a lot of detail but some stuff is there.
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Gem._Co.
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Khalei
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Khalei_Crystals
eventauly GemCo makes a largo focus on captring a character named Gheist
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Gheist_Yukarimori
Some ideas here have been updated since UMCC was released.
Khalei Weapons
This includes both blades and laser weapons. unlike irl, in the the fictional world where ARIA takes place lasers are compressed Khalei particles, not light.
Sentinels
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Sentinels
As you can see in both ARIA and UMCC, sentinels can unleash their stored Khalei in the form of destructive lasers. and the sential itself can be outfitted to be reconnaissance and/or a attacking type unit.
ARIA gear
in addition to what is written blow since UMCC, ARIA gear also infuses the host’s skin with Khalei particles to enhance performance, to survive harsh environments, and suppress Khalei and Physical damage to the skin. If a sentinel is on back it can also can serve as a jetpack depending on the sentinel. In some cases the sential can be used as a Khalei battery.
the more skin exposed, the better the gear can effect the body. However you body must adapt to Khalei over time, so a novice would be damage by too much Khalei. Some people rely more on physical strength over Khalei enhancement so they use a body suit instead. Also not everyone’s skin accepts Khalei infused in it. So Khalei body suits are designed to train the muscles and resist Khalei and suppress physical attacks similar to the results from Khalei infused in the skin, but many view the body suit as older technology.
Bracers
Goggles
Trench coats
Used to remain undetectable by GemCo sensory goggles, sentinels and other Khalei detection devices. Usually the inside material of these suits are infused with several types of alien or Khalei material. so when the suit is open the user can unleash this hidden power.
Jackets
Jackets are usually very heavy and make from a thick durable material. It is designed for more rigorous training so most only wear them temporarily. However some have got used to the jacket so much that they wear it regularly, and when taken off can freely mover their arms quickly for punching, aiming weapons, deflecting projectiles, attacking with khalei blades, etc.
Suits
GemCo execs and off duty elite agent are issues GemCo finest suits. They are made with physical damage suppression and Khalei absorption material similar to other GemCo suits and materials. Each suit is tailored to the individual and can also have hidden capabilities. Similar to he trechcoat, the suit does a good job at blocking sensory devices to make sure the important execs and agents don’t get ambushed of attacked off guard. Not wearing he suit correctly lessens the effect.
About Author
Fascinating stuff. I read your earlier comment about why the clothing looks the way it does, but I never would have guessed the suits were something more.
Something I think would be really cool would be a PDF we could download that is written in a way that looks like a manual for a new GemCo. employee/agent. It could be filled with information on weapons, clothing, devices, ships, planets, key figures in the company, etc. and maybe some propaganda here and there.
yeah I can make that eventually. current it is in form of books in the bookstore. But I can make something similar for ARIA. Maybe in the date sim game also since you play as a new recruit agent, since one mechanic of those game is remembering certain things. Maybe Riley is impressed by the players knowledge of GemCo.
Explaining some things to the newbies better late than never I guess. I forgot about that Vamp chick! LOL
Her name was I think Belora probably spell it wrong. It was something like that. She is more powerful than the Gemco guys. Since she is demonic by nature. Than there is that arc angel forgot her name. If anyone wonders it takes place in the future. You can see the vamp chick in DoA. Only in the end of the story. Where she finds that Donavik is called Sixxe, and he got her attention.
here is the old thread where we were talking about her:
http://spiralvortexplay.com/forums/thread-385.html
I need to re-read everything before I introduce her in ARIA or something lol. But yeah she is busy going after Sixxe anyways. She is not really involved with space stuff. But after readon some of that suff again. I can see her as being a target for Jeo. since she can absorb all of the Khalei and Magic from a person and transfer it to another person. Jeo would want to absorb strength from other and transfer it to himself. I think the Belora character would be the only way to get Gheist power without killing her in the process. It would be a interesting bargaining chip to get Sixxe to cooperate.
So Khalei is basically Materia, Gheist is a Cetra, and GemCo is Shinra. People who are born or engineered with the power to use Khalei are like SOLDIERs, and wearing or using stuff infused with Khalei makes people absurdly strong as they get used to it. Got it.
So Dr. Natan (Hojo) who is trying to figure out how to create Khalei–like Gheist–is a threat to GemCo’s economic and military dominance, as opposed to life in the universe?
My question now is: what are Jeo’s goal in all of this? Take over GemCo? Lead his own fleet? Let Natan develop OP tech and then kill him and use it to take over? He seems like a talented prick, and if ??? was his mentor then he was probably being groomed for a significant position…but I can easily see him deciding he can go higher and engineering conflict to do so.
the comparison to FF7 is similar but there are differences I should point out heh. yeah a lot of the GemCo stuff were originally thought about a long time ago when I was playing FF7 as a kid but since then have developed into something different so different parts of the story connect and can make sense (as best as possible at least).
Anyone can use or make use of Khalei but some people’s body just rejects it naturally and others might get sick. They can be treated to accept it but sometimes it is useful to pick on traces on Khalei naturally since it can be shielded from senors. GemCo agent are exposed to it over a long period of time. Over exposure too quickly is bad. Buts some people bodies accepts it faster, and yes some are treated to accept it faster and more of it.
Gheist is similar Cetra kind of but not really. Gheist’s ability is defined by her connection to a Cia which is a separate entity. and she wasn’t born that way. and a Cia can appear inside anyone thoguh it is rare to appear in anyone at all. more on Cia:
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Cia
I guess a SOLDIER would be something like Bri since her embryo was literally created cell by cell and not naturally in a womb.
Natan’s plans has nothing to do with Gheist, it is something separate. Natan is a small fry in the list of GemCo execs but has big plans. the guy running GemCo, Gemon Taliff is worried about his monopoly yes. I think there is a book on that in the UMCC book store also heh. I check it out later.
my current thought for Jeo is that he is aware of super natural phenomena that goes beyond Khalei not many in GemCo will believe, also it top secret, and he wants to get his hands on that information and learn to do it himself. First he has to figure out what it is exactly. Doing things like being able to reverse time, not age, create portals to different dimensions, etc. is stuff you see happening on other games like UMCC and DoE. With GemCo’s resources and the right people, Jeo thinks he can figure some of this stuff out exactly. we’ll that is the idea for now at least. First he needs to deal with his current issues heh. He knows for a fact that character like Belohra can transfer physical strength and Khalei between people. and that is not something Khalei infusion can do.
It’s funny you mention that you had the ideas at a young age–I have a few that have managed to hold out, but it’s unlikely that I’ll be working on them any time soon. Khalei itself seems like the crystallization of thought, life, or emotion in the universe. I actually had a theory that Jeo’s sickness was derived from a connection to the local life force, so he suffers a kind of feedback when others die within a certain range; the closer he is, the more violent the effects he suffers.
Khalei must give off some form of wave or radiation, then. How would Bri interact with someone who couldn’t handle Khalei?
The Cia are interesting. I wonder if they’re the force behind the Khalei, or a force created *by* Khalei? …don’t answer that.
By “Small Fry,” do you mean weak or low-status? Jeo mentions that nobody knows about him in the beginning of the game, I think, and ??? is surprised by his report at the end of it. What do you think would have a bigger impact–being able to amp someone’s Khalei compatibility to Bri levels, or finding a way to *reduce* someone’s compatibility, if temporarily?
Jeo is an interesting protagonist. It follows that he’d keep things close to the chest, but he’s going to need to coordinate some serious resources to get a handle on phenomena like that. Look forward to seeing it play out. 🙂
Khalei is not crystals it is energy in form of particles. finding it crystallized naturally is rare to impossible. You have to refine it over a long process to get it into a crystal form.
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Khalei
http://jlck.wikia.com/wiki/Khalei_Crystals
But you can say that is does have some thoughts or emotions evoked because the anomaly of a Cia could appear when a lot of it is generated in a single place.
It’s not all the way worked out yet but a person not compatible with Khalei and is around it many not display any immediate effects. Depends on the severity of the Khalei in the area and the person level of rejection. If both are small eventually the person would show the same signs as a allergies. if it is larger there signs would come faster.
if Bri has no or low level is Khalei infused in her body at the time anyone who rejects Khalei will be fine around her. else they will not having a very good day. Khalei seeps out from the body naturally over time so all agents who have high level of Khalei infused wear GemCo issued clothing is public.
Yeah for Natan I just mean low status. Arielle’s team would not know much about him because they don’t go to school where he teaches math.
as for the bigger impact question. it depends on the person. the bigger impact vs Arielle or Bri would probably be reducing their ability to use Khalei. if you can do it instantly in the form of a bomb or something it’ll feel like their body is on fire for a bit, then they will be like a normal person after recovering. But vs Cain or Roy it won’t do much to affect them. If you have a lot of natural physical body strength (or some non-Khalei power that grants it) and gear that wards off Khalei attacks you are good vs most GemCo agents.
Yeah Jeo keep a lot of stuff to himself but eventually he realizes that jacking the body up on Khalei is not the ultimate power.
Wow! Just Wow!
I love the lore, I had no idea you tought all that stuff and is great how it is a reason why the girls wear they suits and expose themselves like this. Good Job!:D
Yeah if you notice in the opening scene in ARIA. Jeo has on trechcoat. is is why no one could find him so far. Arielle found his ship due to intuition. Then other agents are able eventually to find him in each area by tracking the Khalei since none are wearing coats.
Thanks for providing more background. 🙂
np!
random question, but for your patreon how do the animation previews work? is it just animations for the next update or is it a bunch of stuff? still deciding on my pledge amount.
Thanks, it is normally a animation about stuff further down the line things that will come after the next update.
Why do I see Phia fucking the enemy to death over shooting them?
Phia loves sex but she would not try to have sex with anyone trying to kill her. she would gladly snipe them without a second thought about sex.
as far as i could understand… this khalei energy allows the manipulation of materia in small amounts… am i right?
No not really. Khalei particles compressed down to a crystal form can be used to power things, provide a source of Khalei where there is none, and/or to manipulate weapons. However you can’t manipulate the crystal with even more Khalei, the crystal will commonly only release energy outside of refinement.
Manipulating Khalei is commonly done through machinery/technology but can be done mentally also. A example of machinery is Arielle’s laser or any laser weapon in ARIA, another example is the ARIA gear infusing Khalei in the skin, the gear itself does that. A example of mentally is Bri’s ability to slow down Khalei or destroy it completely. In the Umichan story, Maiko also triggers her Khalei mentally.
sooooo depending on the khalei crystal… it haves diferent effect?
they easy answer is yes, however it depends on what each different crystal is effecting. like for example, if you look through yellow sensory Khalei you can easily see other Khalei, however when applied to machinery, it can power it.