"Pulse fal'Cie and l'Cie are bad news. That's why Cocoon kicked them out. Live too close to the fal'Cie? One-way ticket to Pulse! That's the Purge in a nutshell."
—Vanille ironically describing the Purge to Hope inside the Pulse Vestige
The Purge(パージ,Pāji?) is a form of social cleansing in Final Fantasy XIII. It is conducted by the Sanctum, the fal'Cie-run government of Cocoon against those "touched" by Pulse, getting rid of them by exile which is used as a cover-up for outright murder.
To the millions who call Cocoon home, the lowerworld of Pulse represents a constant source of fear. Suspected association with Pulse means stigmatization as an enemy of the state and all mankind—even for born and raised citizens of Cocoon.
The recent discovery of a fal'Cie from Pulse near the city of Bodhum caused widespread civil unrest. After placing the city’s entire population under quarantine due to the possibility of contamination, the Sanctum then announced its intent to forcibly relocate the affected to Pulse in an emergency measure dubbed by authorities as the Purge.
"Sanctum logic. They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat. I mean, why carry the danger all the way to Pulse? Why not just stamp it out here? Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."
—Lightning explains the true nature of the Purge.
After the entrance to the ruins from Gran Pulse in Bodhum opened and the Pulse fal'Cie inside was discovered, everyone who was in Bodhum at the time, citizens or visitors, were accused of being tainted by Pulse and were sent to the Hanging Edge to be exiled to Pulse.
To stop the Purge, NORA attacked the Sanctum armies. The outcome of the Purge was the death of Hope's mother among many other deaths, the destruction of the Hanging Edge, the crystallization of Lake Bresha, and the main cast being turned into l'Cie (with the exception of Vanille and Fang).
Purgees were forced to wear special robes with a device that bound their hands. The device is controlled by a special remote held by a PSICOM soldier.
During at least a couple of points during Final Fantasy XIII, members of the party borrow the term for their own use. After the group decides to take on Galenth Dysley, Snow comments "Time to purge a Primarch!" Later, when the group is confronted with several Berserkers on the Fifth Ark, if Sazh is in the party, he will auto-talk "If you gotta purge something, why don't you start with those?!"
In addition to "Purge," the terms "deportation," "relocation" and "migration" are used as euphemisms, with Dysley referring to the citizens involved as "Brave Pulse pioneers." Coincidentally, the trophy granted to the player for taking 10,000 steps on Pulse is titled "Pulsian Pioneer."
The electronic board in the purge train displays the words "CHIBA", "INAGE", etc. in Cocoon script. These are references to the stations of a Soubu Main Line railway line in Japan.
The purge is referenced in a question in the Brain Blast quiz in Final Fantasy XIII-2. The airline providing flights between Cocoon and Gran Pulse came up with a special offer that proved disastrous because of its name: "Smile and say 'Purge.'"
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Concept art of the Purgees in train.
PSICOM loads the Purge train in Bodhum.
Lightning and Sazh prepare to hijack the Purge train.
NORA recruits the Purgees.
Vanille wearing the Purgee robe.
Vanille wearing a Purgee robe in Nautilus.
Concept art of the Purge train.
