#otherworldly comedy

[magmas-stuff]

Virtual Reality weapon: The Phantom Ruby

The Phantom Ruby is one of the coolest gizmos in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. This post aims to analyze the properties and history it has demonstrated throughout the series.

Powers

The Phantom Ruby is a mysterious object that first came into Sonic’s world after a sudden dimensional breach in the atmosphere, bringing down with it the entirety of Angel Island and sparking interest from several parties. From the get go, this artifact already demonstrated an unprecedented amount of power the likes of which even Eggman sought to replicate (to varying success).

As Tails explains in Sonic Forces, the Phantom Ruby is able to feed false information to the brain and trap its victims in extremely lifelike illusions that can draw from their own thoughts and imagination. This includes Phantom Copies, which can look and act like pre-existing individuals, albeit without "souls."

Perhaps its most interesting property, however, is its ability to react to the sense of being and will of others. Paralleling the Chaos Emeralds' “power enriched by the heart,” it can be said that the Phantom Ruby possesses "power enriched by the mind." This is perhaps better demonstrated in Sonic Mania, where the Hard Boiled Heavies suffer radical changes to their appearance and mannerisms based on the minds of the animals powering them as a result of exposure to the Phantom Ruby.

This trait of the ruby is explored to its extreme in Sonic Channel's Otherworldly Comedy, where Dr. Eggman engulfs the planet in various illusions that reflect the people's own impression of themselves, erasing their memories and having them live out alternate lives and scenarios until then only possible in their dreams. This is done by utilizing a weapon still charged with the aftermath of the Phantom Ruby’s energy. The doctor also uses a modified leftover prototype to power himself up to a form akin to Super Sonic, being able to manifest alternate worlds in a whim and create Phantom Copies of creatures as powerful as Perfect Chaos, seemingly having no limitations in regards to energy consumption like Infinite did, although it's unclear to what extent this prototype was modified.

History

The Phantom Ruby's first chronological appearance, Sonic Mania, has Tails convince Sonic to go and check the unique energy signature detected in Angel Island that caused it to fall to the ocean. Dr. Eggman, who detected that very same signal, has also deployed his elite Eggrobo squad to retrieve its source. The Hard Boiled Heavies, granted new powers and greater freedom of thought by the Phantom Ruby, attempt to escape with it, and thus begins the adventure to prevent the gemstone from falling in the wrong hands.

After Sonic and friends, who are in possession of the seven Chaos Emeralds, wreck Eggman and his Phantom Egg, a mech designed to make use of the Phantom Ruby's energy, the group is taken to what appears to be a dimensional void created by the ruby. There, Super Sonic gets caught in the middle of the conflict between Eggman, riding his Klepto Mobile, and the Phantom King, who at this point has long since betrayed his maker, both fighting to get ahold of the gemstone. In the end, Sonic leaves victorious, being teleported to the future alongside the Phantom Ruby.

In the aftermath of this battle, the Phantom Ruby winds up in front of one of Eggman's facilities. The doctor begins to study it closely, learning how to make use of its abilities after his base is attacked by the Jackal Squad. He performs his first real test on Angel Island, creating copies of Pachacamac's village and Chaos, god of destruction. Seeing it in action, Robotnik deems the jewel even more powerful than the Master Emerald itself.

Beholding the Phantom Ruby's incredible power, Eggman aims to replicate it. In this pursuit, he manufactures various faulty prototypes in Mystic Jungle until he can finally perfect it, gifting the final product to the new leader of his army, Infinite.

Eventually, six months after taking over the world, Eggman orders Infinite to dispose of those prototypes, seeing as he had no need for such liabilities. The jackal does a poor job, however, leaving a few unattended. One in particular, the one he dropped while fighting Silver in Mystic Jungle, is discovered by the Avatar, whose heroism would prove enough to activate it.

At the climax of the Eggman War, Infinite uses his Phantom Ruby's power to summon an illusionary sun above the battlefield, aiming to wipe out all of the resistance. The Avatar manages to dissipate it, however, losing his own prototype in the process. Weakened from spending much of his energy to create that sun, Infinite tries to take on Sonic who, aided by the Avatar, beats the mercenary one final time. This causes him to lose control of his powers and be pulled into the Eggman Empire Fortress' decoy reactor, ultimately being consumed by the original Phantom Ruby.

After Infinite's defeat, Eggman reveals he has incorporated the Phantom Ruby into his new Death Egg Robot, claiming to have surpassed Infinite as the ultimate form. Just as the Phantom Egg before it, however, this mech is destroyed by Sonic, his classic self and the Avatar, ending the war and sending both the Phantom Ruby and Classic Sonic back to the past.

Classic Sonic, returning from the future after aiding the Resistance in winning the war, is still chasing after the Phantom Ruby. The gemstone falls into the hands of Heavy Magician, who uses it to reassemble her fellow Hard Boiled Heavies. Thus, Sonic is forced to go on his earlier adventure again, though this time accompanied by Mighty and Ray as well.

As Eggman's plan once again fails, he is sucked into a Phantom Ruby portal, presumably finding himself stuck in Egg Reverie Zone. This is the original Phantom Ruby's last appearance, leaving its fate ambiguous.

Meanwhile, back in the future, the modern Dr. Eggman has yet to give up on his Phantom Ruby exploits. Seeing as how he still had a weapon charged with Phantom Ruby energy, the doctor decides to put it to good use and begins another world conquering plot. By covering the entire planet with the Phantom Ruby's energy, he used what Tails calls "cognitive frictional energy" to generate extreme amounts of energy from the discrepancy between the world's original reality and the new reality overwriting it. By absorbing this resulting energy, Eggman created his ultimate weapon, the Egg Field, a mech capable of reshaping the world around it to erase all of his past failures.

Sonic manages to destroy the weapon by turning into Super Sonic, forcing Eggman to transform into "Super Eggman" by making use of his modified Phantom Ruby prototype. The doctor attempts to persuade Sonic by arguing that these fake scenarios cause harm to no one, but the hedgehog refutes this by saying that the thoughts of Earth's denizens should not be forced out of their minds, and to do that would be to inflict suffering upon the planet. Eggman also attempts to create a fake world tailored to Sonic's every whim, but he manages to see past it and defeat Robotnik, allowing things to return to normal, even if slowly due to how massive the scale of the illusions were.

Eggman, beneath the wreckage of Eggmanland, contemplates fixing his modified Phantom Ruby prototype and using it once more, but Infinite, who was briefly able to leave the Phantom Ruby during the whole event, snatches it from his hand. Initially seeking revenge, he instead accepts his fate as his body disappears once more, dropping the prototype into the lava.

Conclusion

And that was essentially my write-up of the Phantom Ruby! It's a topic I learned I really like, so I hope this was enjoyable to read.

[magmas-stuff]

Infinite: (Not) Weak (character overview)

In this post I'm tackling the short-lived antagonist of Sonic Forces, Infinite, and some of the characteristics that make him a, surprisingly, thematically resonant and just overall good villain.

Overcorrection

To talk about his character, it’s pretty important to talk about the events that led to him adopting the “Infinite” persona. Before the events of the game, he was the ruthless leader of the Jackal Squad, calling himself “The Ultimate Mercenary.” Following an encounter with Dr. Eggman, Infinite accidentally revealed his deep-seated wishes to “change the world” and plunge it into anarchy and destruction, seeing as he’d grown tired of the world as it was. The doctor, taking advantage of this, hires the jackal as the new general of his army.

Several months before Eggman took over the world, the Jackal Squad was assigned to guard Eggman’s Mystic Jungle Facility, where the Phantom Ruby had undergone analysis. Despite their skill, they were all completely wiped out by Shadow the Hedgehog. By request of Eggman, their captain decides to confront the Ultimate Life Form by himself, but is beaten to the ground and overwhelmed with fear. Never before had he felt so powerless, so incapable, so weak.

To Shadow, it was just another grunt in his way, but to his opponent, it was an unbearable amount of humiliation. Vowing to never feel “weak” again, the jackal discarded his old self and was born anew as Infinite. Now, with the help of Eggman, he had the power to make all yield to his will, power unmatched even by the likes of Sonic himself (or so he believed).

Style

As part of his new identity, Infinite also adopted a much colder, intimidating demeanor, showing no hesitation when taking the lives of others. He revels in the fear of his opponents, perhaps to reassure himself that he is now above such behavior.  While Shadow strives to achieve perfection in all he does, Infinite is instead content with having his own flair, his “authenticity,” believing it to be superior, which is actually sort of one of his healthier traits.

Before anyone knew it, a live music club was there. The performers, let alone the audience, don’t remember much about why they were here. Still, everyone enjoyed this moment… except for one. “Don’t get in my way. You’re holding me down.” After the concert, Shadow coldly declares this to his partner. The poor attitude towards the audience, the shoddy performance… a stage show with him was far from the perfection Shadow was looking for. But when questioned, Infinite laughed boastfully and slowly closed in on Shadow. “It’s good enough for a runt who can’t understand authenticity. I have no interest in following your smugness in playing at perfection.” “So, you admit you’re a fake. Surely you understand that.” (Translation by @browniestash!)

Infinite deems friendships, as with many other things, a sign of weakness. Even though he led his own squad, one that valued him as a leader and comrade, the jackal did not feel the same way, even disregarding their qualms when allying himself with the Eggman Empire. Infinite, at the very least following his shift in identities, sees friends as naught but fleeting illusions, stating that your own strength is all one can rely on.

Obsession with power

Infinite, as a result of his encounter with Shadow, seems to be quite insecure about his strength, being obsessed with attaining more and more of it to the point of letting his own body be modified with the Phantom Ruby prototype. Referring to his past self as pathetic and unsightly for losing that fight, Infinite takes every opportunity to prove he is no longer that weakling. Even when facing unequivocal defeat, the jackal will refuse to retreat and insist on continuing to fight.

When everything you know has come and gone, (You are at your lowest, I am rising higher) Only scars remain of who I was (What I find in the ashes, you lose in the fire!) When there's no one left to carry on, (This is an illusion, open up your eyes and...) This pain (persists), I can't (resist), But that's what it takes to be Infinite

After Sonic Forces, Infinite actually seems to reevaluate his need for power and his reliance on the Phantom Ruby prototype. After Dr. Eggman’s Otherworldification plan fails, Infinite is briefly freed from inside the Phantom Ruby and snatches the last remaining Phantom Ruby prototype from the doctor’s hands. As he is about to put it on again, the jackal is suddenly filled with doubt and hesitation. He ponders whether or not he really wants to resort to using that again. But before he can make a decision, his body vanishes with the light as the world returns to normal, which he seems to thinks was for the best.

“Heheheh, it really is a modified Phantom Ruby prototype… Just as I thought! If I put this on, I’ll have power once again!” Infinite’s shoulders were shaking with joy as he placed his hand on his chest where he had once worn the Phantom Ruby… but suddenly a cold wind blew through his heart. (I’m resorting to this again…?) His heart’s craving for power and his pride, which was deep within him, causes doubt in Infinite. He hesitated for only a few seconds before deciding whether or not to put “this” on his chest, and that’s when it happened. “…Ah?!” The elimination of otherworldification occurs in Infinite, and his body disappears with the light. The core in his hand slips through and falls into the glimmering lava… with a sizzling sound, it is lost to the world forever. Infinite was wide-eyed and stunned, but… “H-Heheh, haha…” He smiled wryly, lightly shaking his head, as if to say that it was for the best, and then vanished with the light. The world has been saved once again by a strange fate that no one had any way of knowing. The wind was merely blowing in the sky. (Translation by @browniestash!)

Conclusion

To end on a positive note, Infinite is not definitely dead! He's a character I really like from the one game he got to shine in, and Eitaro Toyoda has expressed his desire to see him come back, so we may actually see more of him in the future.