Why is mako coming out of the reactors?

[Ventrue_04]

All 8 Mako reactors are shown to emit mako into the air. In the Sister ray FMV, they are even shown bursting to this. What is the purpose of this for the reactors, and why did they open up like that for the Sister ray?

 

[Makoeyes987]

That's mako waste and radiation.

Mako reactors create waste that can still emit magic and cause mako poisoning.

 

[Rydeen]

a e s t h e t i c s

 

[Obsidian Fire]

We... don't know much of what it is. Mainly because we don't know a lot about how mako refining works in general. It's... honestly a very odd process when you get down to it. In part because mako is... spirit energy... which... doesn't have any known chemical properties that we can extrapolate off of. What it has is a lot of mystical properties... and that's about it.

However, Case of Barret gives us some clues. It remarks that mako refining is based on the same technology as oil refining. Which really helps narrow down what should be going on. And helps us know what isn't going on: namely, any steam-based energy production method like nuclear power.

So... this gets into how oil is refined. Which is... honsestly really simple conceptually. It's like making alcohol... because alcohol is the lightest of the hydrocarbon molecules that make up oil. It's just... on a way larger scale. Instead of trying to make alcohol evaporate and then drip down a tube to distill... you're trying to do that with all the different lengths/weights of the hydrocarbons. One you've done all that sorting... you can then "combine" and "break up" hydrocarbon molecules to make bigger or smaller ones. Ideally depending on what kind of fuel is making the most money. I highly suspect the "breaking up hydrocarbon molecules" concept is similar to what is going on in a mako reactor.

All that said, most of all the "smoke" you see coming from an oil refinery is just steam. Oil has to be kept warm (to the point it starts evaporating) which means lots of ways to heat it... which usually involves hot water (which leads to steam). And that steam system needs some kind of pressure release system or else... let's just say that's not good. The same thing goes for nuclear reactors which seem to be the shape mako reactors are based on, even if they don't use nuclear tech at all. The stuff you see coming out of the top of a nuclear reactor is steam... because a nuclear reactor is basically a really fancy steam engine... that uses a way more efficient power source than wood to heat water into steam and there needs to be a way for steam to escape if the pressure gets too high.

It could also possibly be the "gas flare" (or "flare stack)". It's a flare that burns off flamable gas that burns of the gas released by safety valves if the pressure gets too high. It should be noted that most "gas flares" have a lot of flame but not a lot of smoke.B

The other reactors across the game are also more of a mixed bag. For one thing, none of them have that smooth outer casing that the Midgar Reactors do, and that's where the bulk of the steam/smoke comes out. For another, they have a lot of piping... and out of the piping is where the steam/smoke is coming from. The Nibelehim reactor itself has almost no steam coming out of it. The Corel Reactor has some steam coming out of side vents. Any "green light" we see in the reactors isn't really coming from the pipes either. It's all coming from the mako pits which lead down into the Planet. At the very least, I'd say the mako reactors in Midgar are a very different model of reactor than the other ones we see world-wide. Even if just how the outer "shell" looks if not the interior.

My gut feeling about the stuff we see coming out mako reactors is that it's mainly steam. Because the vast majority of the time, that is what it is in real life. Whatever is coming out of the reactors certainly doesn't look like the smoke caused by a flare. And if it is, it's suspiciously missing the actual flare. Unless you want to say that mako itself is flammable or something... which causes a lot of problems given how often we see people fighting in the Lifestream with materia. Also, AVALANCHE would be under that part off the reactor every time they bomb the reactor and we don't see any fire then. We do see lots of steaming pipes though... and mako pits sunk down into the earth with pipes coming out of them...

If someone has an Ultimania reference for about this (or just the mako refining process in general)... please post the pics of it!!! This is (no joke) probably the thing I want to know the most about because it would explain so much about how Shinra gained power and what exactly the Lifestream/mako really is in terms of physical properties. This single topic is... probably the most infuriating for me as far as world-building goes because it's so important to explain why the world is the way it is and yet we know... shockingly little about how it actually works.

 

[Octo]

@Obsidian Fire that was an extremely juicy answer. I doubt there's anything useful in the Ultimania though, you've put in more thought than square ever did.

 

[Makoeyes987]

The short story regarding Aerith's childhood talks about the refinery of mako creating toxic waste that's expelled from reactors.

It emits mako radiation that can also cause poisoning. It's used to poison people.

If also you remember ACC, the radio at the beginning in Seventh Heaven talks about the radiation being emitted from mako reactors in Midgar, finally reaching safe levels since Meteorfall, and safe approach now being possible.

It's clear that mako reactors do emit some form radiation and waste in the refinement process, and just like how nuclear reactors emit radioactivity and waste from wastewater and steam, it's probably the same for mako reactors.

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Could be both. Mano extraction refinement may cause heat, necessitating cooling, thus steam. Shinra have a very fuck the planet for profit mindset, why not let the same steam release system carry toxic shit out of the reactor? Thus glowing green.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The problem with mako is that it's behaving like... nothing that exists in real life. It's form is mostly like oil but... something (we don't know what) also causes it to behave like... some kind of radioactive element. But only when it's relevant to the plot...

Only that can't be what mako is. We see people fall into the Liestream (mako) all the time and they're all fine. Heck, we fight full on crazy boss battles in the Lifestream... surrounded by mako.

The one place we do know of where mako isn't good is with SOLDIER creation... and even then it's only bad for people who don't have "strong wills". Not because of anything chemical in the mako, but because mako is... the literal memories of the dead and having your sense of self battered by that isn't great if you don't have "strong will". So whatever the heck is going on with the mako reactors... it's got to be something to do with the refining process itself. Which we don't know.

Or rather, this is what we know about mako refining:

Truth is, oil was supposed to usher in a new era. We even had us some respectable technology to produce different fuels from oil. But once mako showed up, the technology was carried over to mako applications. And so oil had up an’ vanished from history.

Which is where the "mako refining is closest to oil processing" idea comes from.

I would say... something is probably being added to mako to facilitate... whatever... is being done to it. Either before or after the mako from the lifestream gets... processed... by the reactor. So that could be making things go nuts.

The short story regarding Aerith's childhood talks about the refinery of mako creating toxic waste that's expelled from reactors.

It emits mako radiation that can also cause poisoning. It's used to poison people.

So... radiation poisioning isn't like the poisioning you get from ingesting toxic waste products. The two are... very different.

I find it... very hard to beleive that actual radiation poisioning is going on based on what we see in the slums. If there was... the slums (and the Upper Plate!) should be like... Chernobyl... in all honesty. What kills/poisons you when it comes to radiation is how high a dosage did you get... which has to do with (a) how close you are to the source of the radiation and (b) how long you are around the source of the radiation. If either of those goes over a threshold, you are dead. Given that Midgar has been around for 30+ years at least... and there's... seven mako reactors in Midgar... If some people in the Slums are getting mako radiation poisoning, everyone in the Slums should be. Worse, the most intense radation would be in the mako reactor. And... just about everyone goes in/around those things for literal hours and is fine. So... if mako radiation poisoning is supposed to be based off actual radiation poisoning... it completely fails to be anything like it. At least in terms of how people should be reacting to it.

The tone of the story also doesn't make a lot of sense if mako radiation is like actual radiation... since like... The bombing missions would be the equivalent of purposely causing the Chernobyl disaster. Twice in the same week. In the same location. While... the people setting it off were standing around in the nuclear ractor where the nuclear target and control rods were out! Which... is a nightmare and a half that would be way worse than the Plant Fall ever was.

The toxic waste idea has a lot more merit to it. And has the bonus of being something that could easy happen down in the Slums while not happening on the Plate. There's also a lot more opportunities for it to feasibly become a problem in the Slums at large rather than in specific locations.

The biggest issue I have with mako messing things up for people overall is that it's entirely arbitrary and only works when the plot requires it to. It's... a very obvious plot device rather than something that has any solid world-building behind it that could be used to gauge how any one person is going to react to mako/the Lifestream. Sometimes it does nothing. Sometimes it makes them stronger, sometimes it make them mentally weaker. It's really hard to tell what it's going to do until after the plot gets there already.

 

[Makoeyes987]

The bombing of the reactors actually did spread mako radiation. Shinra alerts during Ch. 2 warn people in sector 8 to clear the way due to risks of mako poisoning.

Also Jessie's dad got mako poisoning from just mako exposure working in the reactor without protection.

It really does depend because it's essentially a magic unknown element. It seems direct contact and very close proximity runs the risk of poisoning. It's essentially dead people so it acts precisely as consistently as you'd expect which is highly inconsistent

 

[looneymoon]

cuz @Makoeyes987 couldn't contain himself

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I brought up Chernobyl for a reason. That should be more or less what we see if the radiation fallout from the reactor bombing was anything like an actual nuclear reactor. That it's not is rather significant.

I'm not saying mako doesn't have radiation. I'm saying that it's not comparable with the type of radiation going on inside a nuclear reactor (mainly alpha/gamma radiation). Which is why when the mako reactor blows up people in the immediate vicinity (like AVALANCHE) don't end up dying in the the next few days from radiation exposure. Which is... more or less what happened with people who were close to the actual Chernobyl explosion.

The fact is... anything that puts out electro-magnetic energy (or subatomic particals) puts out radiation. That's what the term "radiation" means. Anything on the EM spectrum is radiation by definition. How dangerous it is doesn't have anything to do with the term. Infared radiation, radio radiation, ultraviolet radiation, even visual light... all those are kinds of radiation. All that is being said with "mako radiation" is that mako puts out energy. Which... makes sense. If it didn't, it wouldn't be a good thing to make power with! The entire point of a power plant is making radiation of some kind. Usually infrared radiation (heat) so it can heat up water into steam to drive a turbine to power a dynamo. Which probably isn't exactly what is happening with a mako reactor... but... we know mako reactors produce power somehow.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

If we've established one thing about Final Fantasy over the years, it's that it doesn't have to make sense.

 

[S.L.Kerrigan]

Maybe a little out of the box...
If we imagine that Midgar is a sort of plant that manages spiritual energy filtering (a role that could quite well stick to a place which in many ways is akin to hell) (see Jacques Demy's Parking eventually), perhaps the heat necessary for the production of electricity arises from the action of separating the Lifestream from its impurities (unorthodox memories). What would spring from the chimney of the Mako reactors could then eventually be a purified Lifestream, released in order to help continue the cycle of life.

Spoiler: Remake

Pure spiritual energy release could eventually look like this
It would be fun if the Remake's mission to help deliver water system filters was a kind of nod to a potential Midgar and its reactors filter function.

 

[ForceStealer]

Nuclear oil

 

[Clement Rage]

Doesn't one of the novellas tell us that the mako radiation in midgar post meteor was just a rumour the Turks started to keep people away from
them?

In universe, Mako is the kind of thing you need three PHDs to understand fully, an in universe explanation is going to be an approximation or a four hundred page book that the devs don't have time to write that would be read by three people, all of whom are on this site.

It looks similar to refining, but the power plants are called reactors, not refineries.

Mako exposure appears to have some broadly similar effects to radiation poisoning, it causes cell mutations, and said mutations are more pronounced in utero. Also weapons that create giant explosions.

The steam that comes off the reactors is green, right?

My guess would be the process takes the 'memories' part of the lifestream from the 'energy' part, and that's why processed Mako can't be used as planet blood anymore.

 

[S.L.Kerrigan]

Doesn't one of the novellas tell us that the mako radiation in midgar post meteor was just a rumour the Turks started to keep people away from
them?

I think I read that too.

My guess would be the process takes the 'memories' part of the lifestream from the 'energy' part, and that's why processed Mako can't be used as planet blood anymore.

Do you think that in this universe separating memories from energy creates heat ?

 

[The Blindfolded]

***Shin-Ra Company Relations*** (Pages 56-58)
**Keyword>[The Shin-Ra Company]**
The world is actually controlled by this corporate giant. It was originally a
weapons development company called "Shin-Ra Works," but after realizing the
potential in [supplying] Mako Energy, it rapidly grew. [Through use of the
substance] Mako Energy becomes when it crystalizes -- [which is] called
"materia" -- and investing in the elite SOLDIERs, who are showered with Mako
Energy [and] sent to the battlefield, [the company] quickly brought the great
war that had spread across the globe to a conclusion; furthermore, being that
the people had become dependent on Mako Energy for their everyday lives, after
the war, the company controlled the world.

*President Shinra*
Places of appearance: Mako reactor no. 5, Shin-Ra headquarters

President of the Shin-Ra Company. Having taken it from a simple weapons
development company to a corporation that controls the world in a single
generation, he is a remarkably capable manager. He excelled at the art of
predicting human nature and guiding what the public thought. With the legends
of the Ancients' "Promised Land" [in mind], he believes that abundant mako may
lie there, and plans to monopolize it to further the company's development.

(Accompanying screenshot caption)
It is his cherished theory that one can control the world by grasping the
people's hearts with money. He finds the opinion of his son, Rufus, [on how to
control the world] dangerous and ensures that it's kept away from the
company's affairs.

**Lifestream Relation 1: Mako Energy** (005.5A)
The name the Shin-Ra have given to spiritual energy. This nickname is "Mako
Energy." In the Study of Planet Life's philosophy, it is called "Spirit
Energy," but it is called "mako" by others in its use in humans' daily
lives. Both labels are used, but the title of "Spirit Energy" is opposed in
modern times, as the use of mako in peoples' daily lives rapidly spreads.


*Mako poisoning*
The Lifestream is the place to which all life returns, and, as a result, it is
overflowing with knowledge. Consequently, when one falls in the Lifestream,
the surge of information entering their head exceeds their brain's tolerance
level and the danger of their mind shattering becomes high. The state in which
one's mind has collapsed like this is called "mako poisoning," and doesn't
happen only by falling into the Lifestream, but also through being exposed to
mako. Cloud has suffered from this condition on 2 occasions.

------------------------
[Analysis: This section is basically saying that the knowledge of those who
die returns to the Lifestream with their spirits, and there it combines with
all the other knowledge; so the Lifestream is a big sea of spirit energy
filled with knowledge and memories, and when someone else falls into that sea
-- or is exposed to it through mako infusion -- that knowledge fills their
brains. If they're not capable of handling all that extra knowledge that
doesn't belong to them, it can cause their mind to "break," resulting in them
going into a vegetative state (mako poisoning). Members of SOLDIER like Zack
can handle this without losing their own place among all the extra knowledge,
but people with inferiority complexes (most people, including Cloud) can't.]

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/197341-final-fantasy-vii/faqs/42137
From Ryu_Kaze/Ryu Sinclair

perhaps the heat necessary for the production of electricity arises from the action of separating the Lifestream from its impurities (unorthodox memories). What would spring from the chimney of the Mako reactors could then eventually be a purified Lifestream, released in order to help continue the cycle of life.

Uhh....
Sephiroth: Don't smell the Mako. (English: The Mako smells really bad here.).

I think whatever's springing from the chimneys isn't good, if he says that. I don't know how Shinra's hooked it up with the Sister Ray later in the game, but still. I have no idea if something smelling that bad could be purified, either.

While I'm still around, I'd like to say (to give another FF comparison to highlight some stuff). Vector in FFVI is Midgar and the random reactors around the planet, essentially, especially Nibelheim.- you run into battles with soldiers and dogs, for instance, in both the Magitek facility and a the beginning of FFVII. There are canisters holding Espers in FFVI, and canisters holding monsters/Jenova in the Nibelheim reactor.

Now in FFVI, the Empire has exploited the use of magic (that has been forcibly extracted from Espers). This magic is to better human life, such as, the woman who says that Professor Cid (or the Empire) helped her kid learn how to use "Cure". There is also this theme of being the "chosen ones" (as Emperor Gestalt says at the beginning of the game in a flashback). Very interesting, since Sephiroth's theme song is, "Those Chosen By the Planet", which is him acknowledging his superiority as part of a magical race connected to the planet (and also similar to the Magic Kingdom/their residents in Chrono Trigger). The magic powers Magitek armor- big mecha suits, and to be fair, FFVII has its share of large machines/suits (Air Buster, Scorpions), even that may be more part of the Steampunk/Industrial feel. I think Heidegger getting into the Prod Clod at the end could be a Magitek armor reference, but perhaps this is stretching the allegory a bit too far, anyways. The process of converting people into magic users is accomplished by extracting magic from a said esper; this is similar to exposing SOLDIERS to mako in FFVII. If people are overexposed to mako, they will roughly turn into the blue crystalline version of Terra's Morph from Final Fantasy VI; the parallel isn't exact here, but the appearance is similar- not to mention that many who misidentify Terra's Morph form often call her a "monster", which is what Zack and Sephiroth call the monsters in the tanks in the Nibelheim reactor.

Also, when I was looking at the characters for mako in the Japanese, I found out that it was, 魔晄. The first part of that- the very complex character, is term that roughly means, "magic or devil". The two terms together could even mean something like "magical" or "devilish". So, "Mako" is magic. Mako energy=magic energy. Mako radiation= magic radiation.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The big problem with all the "separate the memories from the Lifestream" suggestions is... the Liestream is memories by definition. They aren't two separate things. "Purified" Lifestream is also a problem as... our two examples of "impure" Lifestream have to do with who's will/memories is in them; not what they are "physically" made out of. The mako that makes up Chaos is also considered "not pure", but it's fully of the Planet itself and is part of the Planet's function. It seems to be the part of the Lifestream that Chaos's will/memories lives in. No attempts are ever made to "cleanse" it as... nothing is actually wrong or broken with it!

Geostigma is Lifestream that contains Sephrioth's will/memories (as well as the will/memories of those who are bitter about death he has influenced). The corrupted Lifestream can be "cleansed" after death by Aerith (and other spirits in the Lifestream) reminding the spirits of the dead about what they enjoyed in life. And by Aerith's Great Gospel water which itself has Lifestream in it. Doing all that doesn't destroy the Lifestream either... it just... joins up with the rest of the Lifestream like it was supposed to all along.

Honestly, part of me wonders if there's some kind of cobbled together Cetra device at the heart of each mako reactor. We know the Cetra could manipulate the Lifestream... if you could artificially induce that kind of control somehow... that would give some more wiggle room to explain what is going on at least. The entire reason why mako reactors are bad is because they break the cycle of small parts of the Lifestream leaving for a time and then joining up with the "main" Lifestream... and repeating the process over and over. If the mako reactors were using the Lifestream in such a way they didn't break that cycle... they would be nowhere near the threat to the Planet that they are.

It is worth pointing out that there is plenty of places in real life like tar pits, hot springs and other such geological phenomena that smell bad, but aren't inherently harmful if you're just smelling them (or even going in them for short periods of time like in the case of hot springs). The opposite is also true. Carbon Monoxide is deadly, but it's naturally odorless; the bad smell it has is artificially added so people notice there's a gas leak. That Nibelehim smells like mako isn't a bad thing per say. It's more an observation that there's so much naturally occurring mako in the area that people can smell it... Which explains why there's a mako reactor in the area.

Doesn't one of the novellas tell us that the mako radiation in midgar post meteor was just a rumour the Turks started to keep people away from them?

There's plenty of rumors about Midgar in the Novellas, but that isn't one of them (that the mako reactors are the only safe place to go during Meteor far is a rumor though!). The Slums are still occupied after Meteorfall and we see that shown consistently in Case of Denzel, and The Kids Are Alright. Plenty of people live around and in the Slums even years after Meteorfall.

In universe, Mako is the kind of thing you need three PHDs to understand fully, an in universe explanation is going to be an approximation or a four hundred page book that the devs don't have time to write that would be read by three people, all of whom are on this site.

Clement, I love you.

*really wants to read that 400 page book on how mako works*

Fun note: there is apparently a book written about the Jenova Project in-universe (with a fun pic of Jenova's missing forearm!)! So there being a book written about mako energy in-universe is... very likely!

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I know that the Lifestream is memories, but isn't it, so to speak, depersonalised memories? Individuality ceases to exist in the Lifestream as the spirit energy which animated you is recycled into new lifeforms. Some people with strong wills can fight that process, but it gets them all in the end, even Zack and President Shinra (see Case of Lifestream). Also, every living thing is animated by the Lifestream, so would memories include the memories of every cockroach, every pigeon, every snail, every tree? That would be pretty overwhelming: to experience the entirety of all life on the planet in a single moment.

I guess "knowledge" could be depersonalised memories: a knowledge of what fire is, but not the individual memory of a small child reaching out to a pretty flame and scorching her fingers? Otherwise, I don't know, if those personal memories are never destroyed, wouldn't a person have access to the memories of all the previous lives, human and otherwise, that contributed to the spirit energy currently animating them?

The Turks spread rumours that Midgar was going to collapse. "Following Elena’s suggestion, they spread rumours that Midgar was going to collapse. Many people left believing the rumours. Even without rumours it wouldn’t be long before Midgar, now a nest for disease filled with debris, is deserted." (Case of Shinra).

 

[Clement Rage]

Finally, the respect I deserve. Let that be a lesson to the rest of you.

There's... an in universe book about the top secret research project that no one is supposed to know about? Hmm.

Perahaps the splitting out of the memories is the point, though? Whatever the mako process does, it makes Lifestream into not-Lifestream, which is why it's a threat to the planet.

My basic idea is that we can never know how Mako works because it's a specialised complex field using principles of physics that don't exist on Earth. And that's good, it makes it feel like a real thing. We know very little.

Mako is lifeblood of the planet, whatever Shinra processing does strips it or transforms it into something than can no longer operate as lifeblood of the planet. The land poisoning around reactors seems to be a result of the absence of Mako in the area rather than harmful by-products of the process. Violently explodes under certain unknown conditions. From the dialogue when Hojo takes control of the cannon, it seems to be about being concentrated with no path to escape, because closing off the valve when the cannon is drawing power from the reactors will result in the presure building up until the mako vents itself via violent explosion.

Weaponised Mako Shells from Sister Ray are highly destructive, the only thing that can put a dent in WEAPONs.

The thing about oil refining as an analogy is to the best of my knowledge, oil refining is a different process to oil power plants. Oil refineries are about making particular types of fuel, which are then sent elsewhere to be burned. So if the mako refining process is based on oil refining, then it changes the mako, but then something else has to happen to make it produce energy. It's unlikely this is outright burning it, because Mako reactors don't have smokestacks (although vehicles still have exhaust pipes).

Widely diverse affects on biological matter.

Concentated mako = materia.
Concentrated mako + mentally and physically weak human =monster.
Concentrated mako + physically strong, mentally weak human= mako poisoning/catatonia. And/Or makes people suggestible to more powerful wills.
Concentrated mako + mentally and physically strong human =SOLDIER
SOLDIER + more mako past their limit= Various bad things, depending on the process.

Hojo's SOLDIER programme is the only thing that got this right, otherwise we have the various failed attempts.

Genesis: Mako enhancement worked fine originally, but he got an extra dose of Mako in a training accident, leading to slow death by degradation.

Angeal: No training accident... degradation deliberately induced by Hollander? Unclear.

Ravens=physical enhancement, mindlessness, tendency to go 'keheheh'. Sometimes can regenerate from lethal injuries, but not without limit.
Genesis copies= Subordinate to Genesis will, mindlessness, forced to wear his face. Degrading to slow death.
Deepground= Attempt to mass produce SOLDIER rather than carefully selecting candidates, leading to highly varying results. Of thousands and thousands of candidates, many lose their minds and become monsters. Many others become Mako dependent, requiring regular infusions
Some candidates respond better than others. The best become Tsviets. Of those:

Shelke: Physically weak, mako reliant...stopped ageing?
Rosso: Physically powerful, irrationally violent. May be result of Mako, or simple trauma.
Azul: Physically near invulnerability, mentally stable. Unclear if reliant on Mako infusions, regenerates from death like Ravens, vulnerable only to magic and Shademp.
Nero: Control over stagnant lifestream. Apparently in pain? Physically fairly weak relative to other Tsviets.
Weiss: Physical power, mental stability, no ill effects.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Aside from solar power, I don't off the top of my head know of any method of generating electricity that doesn't involve turning turbines. So is the electricity obtained directly from the mako, or is the mako used in some way to turn turbines inside the reactors? As far as I can recall, we never see any turbines, so the answer would seem to be that the electricity comes directly from the mako. Or perhaps the mako releases some not-known-on-earth type of energy which is converted into electricity by some Shinra-patented method that doesn't involve turbines?

You're absolutely right, Clem, that whatever it is they do to the mako must strip it of its life-giving properties. I'm not convinced that those life-giving properties are memories per se, but they probably have some connection to memory. I wonder what happens to the effluent, the "dead" lifestream, after they've used it. Do they just let it run off into the sea?

 

[S.L.Kerrigan]

Uhh....
Sephiroth: Don't smell the Mako. (English: The Mako smells really bad here.).
I think whatever's springing from the chimneys isn't good, if he says that. I don't know how Shinra's hooked it up with the Sister Ray later in the game, but still. I have no idea if something smelling that bad could be purified, either.

I can't remember where Sephiroth stands when he says that, is he on a chimney ? Maybe he's smelling raw Mako !

That Nibelehim smells like mako isn't a bad thing per say. It's more an observation that there's so much naturally occurring mako in the area that people can smell it... Which explains why there's a mako reactor in the area.

Yes, it all depends on what bad smell means in this context. If it stinks or if it's just heavily present.

The big problem with all the "separate the memories from the Lifestream" suggestions is... the Liestream is memories by definition. They aren't two separate things. "Purified" Lifestream is also a problem as... our two examples of "impure" Lifestream have to do with who's will/memories is in them; not what they are "physically" made out of. The mako that makes up Chaos is also considered "not pure", but it's fully of the Planet itself and is part of the Planet's function. It seems to be the part of the Lifestream that Chaos's will/memories lives in. No attempts are ever made to "cleanse" it as... nothing is actually wrong or broken with it!

Geostigma is Lifestream that contains Sephrioth's will/memories (as well as the will/memories of those who are bitter about death he has influenced). The corrupted Lifestream can be "cleansed" after death by Aerith (and other spirits in the Lifestream) reminding the spirits of the dead about what they enjoyed in life. And by Aerith's Great Gospel water which itself has Lifestream in it. Doing all that doesn't destroy the Lifestream either... it just... joins up with the rest of the Lifestream like it was supposed to all along.

My idea could develop like that:
The mind that dies returns to Lifestream, it is composed of good and bad memories.
Assimilation makes individuality disappear but not the memory of which a corrupted part could become dangerous if it were to develop (the secessionist sensibility of some Cetras from 2000 years ago for example). Hence the need to sort it out in order to maintain control.
According to my theory the only thing that is destroyed is the link between good and bad memories, the consciousness.
The process implemented in the reactor would break this link, which would produce energy (heat).
The good knowledge could be reinjected into the life cycle or come to feed Omega while the bad would be sequestered in the ground or come to feed Chaos for instance.

 

[The Blindfolded]

I can't remember where Sephiroth stands when he says that, is he on a chimney ? Maybe he's smelling raw Mako !

He was near/at Nibelheim. It's during the Nibelheim flashback- I think right after Sephiroth defeats the dragon. So, he's smelling it in the town.

Honestly, part of me wonders if there's some kind of cobbled together Cetra device at the heart of each mako reactor. We know the Cetra could manipulate the Lifestream... if you could artificially induce that kind of control somehow...

Maybe??? It's basically stripping the magic energy off of the whole lifestream. It's scarcely different than how the magic was drained/stripped from the Espers in FFVI, (which were tossed into a garbage heap after being drained of their usefulness. The remaining Espers here are basically the impurities, not much different than "discarding" the remaining lifestream during the filtration process.), where it's likely derived from.

It is worth pointing out that there is plenty of places in real life like tar pits, hot springs and other such geological phenomena that smell bad, but aren't inherently harmful if you're just smelling them (or even going in them for short periods of time like in the case of hot springs).

Sephiroth makes no mention of the smell or if it's intensifying when he's right next the lifestream spring.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

There's... an in universe book about the top secret research project that no one is supposed to know about?

It was more like a binding of pilfered research documents from Shin-Ra's science department. A doctor who used to work for the company has the documents in a book form in "The Kids Are Alright."

Genesis: Mako enhancement worked fine originally, but he got an extra dose of Mako in a training accident, leading to slow death by degradation.

Angeal: No training accident... degradation deliberately induced by Hollander? Unclear.

Their degradation was just a result of the poor integration of their human cells with Jenova's in utero. Genesis's training accident just led to this discovery about his physiology when he was no longer displaying advanced healing and sought medical treatment from Hollander, who spilled the beans.

Azul: Physically near invulnerability, mentally stable. Unclear if reliant on Mako infusions ...

He wasn't reliant. Shelke's status as a Tsviet offended him since she did require mako to stay alive.

... regenerates from death like Ravens, vulnerable only to magic and Shademp.

XDDD

 

[Makoeyes987]

Azul is the furthest thing from mentally stable.

Honestly, none of the Tsviets are mentally stable. They're products of exceptionally violent and traumatic training that has left them with little regard for life itself. Rosso's nuts because she's been sheltered in an experimental training facility and forced to kill repeatedly to the point she enjoys it and she wants to see the outside world. Azul is a violent sociopath, although he was sorta always like that tbh.... Nero is nihilistic yet extremely co-dependent on his brother Weiss. Weiss... Well, I guess he's not that abnormal? He just has an attitude and is proud of how strong he is.