Mako
From Final Fantasy Wiki
Mako (魔晄, Makō, lit. "magic light") appears in Final Fantasy VII. It is the liquid form of the Planet’s Lifestream and the primary source of energy used by most human beings throughout the world (except Wutai and rural areas). The Lifestream can condense into Materia or Mako Stones.
[edit] The Lifestream
- Main article: Lifestream
The Lifestream is a river of spiritual energy coursing through the Planet and is considered to be its "blood".
The Lifestream is also considered to be a swell of souls, a river of the dead's memories. The Lifestream is in fact the sum of all living things on the Planet. In the game's universe, each new life (of plants, animals, and human beings) is "blessed" with spiritual energy from the Lifestream prior to birth. Upon the death of an organism, its spiritual energy returns to the Lifestream, taking back with it the memories of its lifetime, and allowing the Lifestream as a whole to grow and the cycle to continue. The Lifestream is extracted and processed by the Shinra Electric Power Company, creating Mako energy for electricity, and also for forming into Materia at times. However, it may also be considered a real-life equivalent for oil, as in the game it is described as being removed from the Planet by Mako reactors, used up, and then ceasing to be, a process that would eventually lead to the death of the Planet.
[edit] Mako as an Energy Source
- Main article: Mako Reactors
Mako is the most common source of electrical power on the planet, with coal former resources a distant second. The process of power generation via Mako was began by the Shinra Electric Power Company, based in Midgar. Mako extraction and its usage is considered environmentally unfriendly, however, and the rebel group AVALANCHE actively attacks Shinra Mako Reactors in hopes of ultimately stopping the process.
Mako is thought to be similar to radioactive materials in that prolonged exposure can lead to genetic mutation (though this is discovered to be false in the game), poisoning, and ultimately death. People (notably those in SOLDIER) who have had prolonged exposure to Mako are identified by a glow in their eyes, referred to as "Mako Eyes." Besides its electrical uses, the elite Shinra task force, SOLDIER, is made up of operatives that are biologically augmented by Mako. Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, and Sephiroth are examples of people with Mako enhancement.
Members of SOLDIER are not only infused with Mako, however. They are also injected with Jenova cells, an experiment created by Professor Hojo, one of Shinra's scientists. Jenova's cells together with Mako gives them far greater strength and cognitive ability than ordinary people possess, provided they are mentally strong enough to handle the Mako infusion process without suffering from Mako poisoning. When this proceedure is taken too far, the subjects turn into horrible monsters, as seen in the Nibelheim Reactor.
Besides its other uses, Mako, in various forms, is also found in weapons used by Shinra. The Mako Cannon of Junon used a variety of Mako shells, and later, as the Sister Ray, fired a beam of raw Mako energy. As materia, Mako has been employed by some of Shinra's Turk operatives who wielded it in their weapons in Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII and First Class members of SOLDIER were able to synthesize their own custom materia as shown in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- . In addition to the energy resource and weaponry allocations of Mako, the Shinra Corporation was also developing mako-powered cars for civilian purposes.
[edit] Mako Poisoning
Exposure to Mako in its concentrated form can be dangerous to humans and typically results in a psychological disorder known as "Mako Poisoning" in Final Fantasy VII and "Mako Addiction" in Crisis Core. The best-known case of this occurred when Cloud fell into the Lifestream for an extended period of time, during which his identity and personality were phased through by the millions of souls and their memories coursing through the Lifestream. Though he later washed up near Mideel, alive, his immersion in the Lifestream had reduced him to a near-catatonic state, prompting Tifa to undertake the arduous process of restoring his former personality, memory by memory. The incident also led Cloud to "find himself" by casting away the illusion behind which he had been hiding, an event which is crucial to the story and to Cloud's character development.
The second mention of this phenomena occurs in Crisis Core. During the initial escape from the Shinra Mansion, Zack discovers a set of reports referring to himself and Cloud. These report allude to Cloud's mako poisoning/addiction and also state (though later are clearly proven wrong) that the damage done by the disorder is so severe that it is highly doubted he would ever recover. Later when Zack is checking on Cloud he mentions that Cloud's "Mako soaked" clothing may be serving to worsen his condition and changes his clothes so that Cloud can recover. During the final scenes of the game we see hints that Cloud is beginning to overcome the condition, contrary to the reports. During the emotional last moments it is thought by quite a few fans that Cloud's strong friendship and respect for Zack cause him to rapidly recover while at the expense of truly internalizing Zack's words and memories.
Referring back to Final Fantasy VII's main game, Tifa at one point mentions that when she found Cloud he seemed "out of it". This is most likely due to the fact he had not actually fully recovered from the mako addiction, a second case of his addiction showing. Due to this, and the appearance of someone he cared about but felt as though he'd failed, the Jenova cells in his body absorbed a number of Zack's memories to construct the illusionary persona that Cloud uses for an extended period of time in the game.
The third and final occurrence of this condition is in fact as stated above the "Best-known" case. At the point of his immersion in the Lifestream he has not only suffered psychological trauma, from the recent death of Aerith and the revelation that his memories were wrong, but he also has only still recently (within six months of his first steps to recovery) been affected by the mako addiction. Being so recently "recovered" from it when he drifts through the Lifestream he rapidly reverts back to his state of toxicosis, which, as previously mentioned, is remedied with the help of Tifa.
