Editing Gnosis

[[Image:Gnosis swarm (XS1).png|right|thumb|A swarm of Gnosis.]]
The '''Gnosis''', also known as the '''Pilgrimage Fleet''' are an alien race in the ''[[Xenosaga]]'' series. They first appeared en masse in T.C. 4753 during the [[Miltian Conflict]]. They've been threatening [[human]]ity since then.

==Description==
Gnosis come in a variety of shapes and forms, with the largest on record being the [[Cathedral Ship]]. Larger Gnosis tend to resemble sea creatures from [[Earth]] such as blue boxed whale-like Carriers, amber colored seal-like Cruisers, and the stingray-like Bombers. In form, Gnosis are a purely non-physical existence. They exist in a unique dimension separate from the physical plane. Only through use of the [[Hilbert Effect]] can they be manually drawn into the physical realm. Gnosis also have the ability to possess machinery and make use of the abilities said machinery has. The Gnosis' bodies are comprised of sodium chloride. When translucent, their bodies are mostly made up of water and sodium hydroxide. The color of Gnosis blood is blue.

While the word "Gnosis" is most often used to refer to the mysterious creatures, it more broadly encompasses any metaphysical existence in the [[Imaginary Number Domain]]. The creatures known as the Gnosis are, in actuality, consciousnesses who have separated from their deceased physical bodies and attempted to escape or reject returning to the [[Collective Unconscious]]. The use of the Hilbert Effect draws these imaginary existences into the [[Real Number Domain]], where they can be physically harmed. Before the Hilbert Effect was developed, the Gnosis could only be damaged by attacking their [[Klein Point]] (the point at which Gnosis enter Real Space to attack people), which was detected using the [[D.S.S.S.]], a sensory system equipped on the [[A.G.W.S.]] and various other weapons.
===The Whitening===
{{main|Whitening}}
If a human comes in contact with a Gnosis, the victim disintegrates into salt, a process known as the whitening. In some extreme cases, victims will become a Gnosis themselves. [[Shion Uzuki]] and [[Andrew Cherenkov]] are the only characters known to undergo the process and survive, although Cherenkov [[Gargoyle (XS1)|mutated]] into a Gnosis not long after.
====Process====
<gallery>
Whitening touched by a Gnosis.png|The victim being grabbed by a Gnosis.
Whitening.png|The victim's body turns into salt.
Whitening shattering.png|The victim shatters.
</gallery>

==Story==
===History===
Before the [[Miltian Conflict]], Gnosis sightings were rare with the only confirmed Gnosis attack occurring on [[Michtam]] only 6 years prior due to a {{XS|Zohar}} experiment going wrong. It wasn't until the third descent operation of the Miltian Conflict, when [[27-Series Asura|poorly-calibrated combat Realian]]s killed the parents of a young [[Shion Uzuki]], causing her abilities to resonate with the {{XS|Zohar}} in despair, that the Gnosis started to appear en masse. Publicly, it was later believed that it was [[Joachim Mizrahi]] who called the Gnosis in the first place.

===''Episode I''===
The Gnosis are first introduced when they attack the [[Galaxy Federation]] cruiser [[Woglinde]], aiming to take the [[Zohar Emulator]] within, with Goblin-type Gnosis acting as "shock troops" during the raid. [[Shion Uzuki]] is nearly killed by one before [[KOS-MOS]] intervenes. Unfortunately, the Gnosis are successful in taking the Zohar Emulator and destroying the ship. A stray Gnosis later attacks [[Andrew Cherenkov]] onboard the [[Elsa]] but it gets destroyed by [[chaos]] with just a single touch.

The Gnosis later appear when they drag the Elsa out of hyperspace and draw it into the [[Cathedral Ship]], the largest recorded Gnosis. While exploring the interior, the party come across Cherenkov who transforms into the Gnosis {{XS1|Gargoyle}} in which they kill. The Elsa eventually escapes the Cathedral Ship with the party members, but is pursued by the remaining Gnosis. Not even assistance from the [[Durandal]] is able to stop their advance. As a last resort, [[KOS-MOS]] awakens with blue eyes and uses the X-Buster, effectively absorbing the remaining Gnosis.

The Gnosis later attack the [[Kukai Foundation]], attracted by the presence of the [[Song of Nephilim]], prompting the [[Dämmerung]] and its accompanying cruisers to deploy the [[Rhine Maiden]] against the Gnosis. After the party rescues [[MOMO Mizrahi]] from the clutches of [[Albedo Piazzolla]], the remaining Gnosis are absorbed by [[Proto Merkabah]] to power an attack aimed at [[Second Miltia]]. After the party bests Albedo at the core of Proto Merkabah, he unleashes a large Gnosis that he fused with the reactor, [[Sophie Peithos]] in which they destroy.

===''Episode II''===
The Gnosis played a relatively minor role in ''Episode II'' as enemies. Most of them appeared in the post-game dungeons, {{XS2|Desert}}, [[Factory]], and [[Heaven's Ruins]].

===A  Missing Year===
After [[Abel's Ark]] swallows the original {{XS|Zohar}}, the Gnosis phenomenon intensified. A half a year before the events of ''Episode III'', a man known as [[Grimoire Verum]] unleashed controlled Gnosis to attack capital cites on several planets. This event is known to the populace as the [[Gnosis terrorism]].

===''Episode III''===
The Gnosis are first seen in a flashback at the beginning of the game where they are seen destroying the planet [[Michtam]] after a Zohar experiment went wrong. The only survivor was a young [[Kevin Winnicot]] whose mother gave him a special [[Shion's pendant|crystal]] before being Gnosified.
{{incomplete}}

==As enemies==
Gnosis appear throughout the entire ''Xenosaga'' trilogy as the main battle fodder.
===''Episode I''===
{{incomplete}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Name!!Location!!Type
|-
|[[Goblin (XS1)|Goblin]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Normal enemy
|-
|[[Golem (XS1)|Golem]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Normal enemy
|-
|[[Manticore (XS1)|Manticore]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Normal enemy
|-
|[[Gremlin (Woglinde)|Gremlin]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Normal enemy
|-
|[[Sky Fish (Woglinde)|Sky Fish]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Normal enemy
|-
|[[Minotaur]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Cyclops]]||[[Woglinde]]||
Boss
|-
|{{XS1|Gargoyle}}||[[Cathedral Ship]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Tiamat]]||[[Encephalon (Miltia)|Encephalon]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Gigas]]||{{XS1|Kukai Foundation}}||
Boss
|-
|[[Ein Rugel]]||[[Song of Nephilim]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Doppelwogel]]||[[Song of Nephilim]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Great Joe]]||[[Durandal]]||
Boss
|-
|[[Mintia]]||{{XS1|Kukai Foundation}}||
Boss
|-
|[[Sophie Peithos]]||[[Proto Merkabah]]||
Boss
|-
|}

===''Episode II''===
{{incomplete}}
===''Episode III''===
{{incomplete}}
====Unused content====
There is a Gnosis-like enemy that has been gone unused in the game.
<gallery>
Unused enemy (XS3).png|The unused enemy.
</gallery>

==Database==
{{Xenosaga Database
|xs1 title=Gnosis
|xs1 content=Entities shrouded in mystery, of which the only known attribute is their hostility toward mankind.<br>

Gnosis exist in a unique dimension, separate from the physical plane. Therefore it is normally impossible to come into contact with them.<br>

Due to the variations in external appearance, the standard practice is to name them after mythical creatures.
|xs3 title=Gnosis
|xs3 detail=All beings within imaginary space.
|xs3 content=Non-physical beings that exist in another dimension, perceived as aliens from
the viewpoint of mankind. Ordinarily, they have not materialized, so physical
attacks do not affect them. When they have materialized, their constituent
matter seems to consist of things like water and sodium hydroxide; why such
matter would hold hostility against the human race is unclear. They have many
types of external appearances; for the sake of convenience, they have been
named after mythological creatures.<br>

Since they exist in "imaginary space," cut apart from normal phenomena, all
attacks on them using current weaponry based on the laws of physics are
ineffective. When a Gnosis attack, however, it brings the part of it attacking
into local normal space. The D.S.S.S. system was developed to take advantage of
this and predict the area of normal space that would be created, but its
performance has been below expectations.<br>

Later, the Hilbert Effect and 100-Series Observational Units were developed by
Joachim Mizrahi, making it possible for people in normal space to interact with
them.<br>

Space in this world is made up of normal space and imaginary space, placed on
top of each other. If you picture normal space as matter, or the body, then
imaginary space can be seen as consciousness, or the mind. The word "Gnosis"
refers to all forms of existence in imaginary space.<br>

All things, not just humans, have an imaginary space component, so things like
the "Gnosis planet" which appears in the story also exist. In imaginary space,
all consciousness is in a state of full awareness, allowing things like
"another person's animosity," for example, to be directly experienced.<br>

If a human comes into contact with the fear held by imaginary space and chooses
to escape or reject it, he or she is Gnosified.<br>

At first, it would appear that they act in groups, but each one moves with its
own consciousness of rejection, dissipation, and proliferation; they could be
seen as wandering in search of a kind of salvation. One could say that this
consciousness of rejection and dissipation is putting all of space in peril.<br>

Wilhelm is attempting to concentrate all of this--the negative consciousness of
man--into Zarathustra, and to awaken the eternal recurrence in order to return
once again to the world mankind hoped for.
|xs3 title 2=Pilgrimage Fleet
|xs3 detail 2=Another term for the Gnosis.
|xs3 content 2=Another term for the Gnosis. See the Gnosis heading.
|xsds title=グノーシス
|xsds content=別次元に存在する非物質的な存在で、人類側から見たエイリアン。<br>
平時は実体化しておらず、物理的攻撃も効かない。<br>
実体化した際の構成成分は、水や水酸化ナトリウムのようなものでできているようだが、それがなぜ人類に敵意を持っているのかは明らかになっていない。<br>
外見上はさまざまなタイプが存在しており、便宜上、それぞれに幻想生物の名が付けられている。<br>
本来、実在事象とは切り離された“虚数領域”に存在する為、物理法則にのっとった現用兵器での攻撃はすべて無効化されていた。<br>
ただし、グノーシスがこちらを攻撃する際に、攻撃する部分を局所的に実数化させることを利用し、その実数化箇所を予測するD.S.S.S.が開発されるが、思うような成果は得られなかった。<br>
その後、ヨアキム・ミズラヒによりヒルベルトエフェクトと百式観測器が開発され、実数世界の人間による干渉が可能となった。
|xsds title 2=巡礼船団
|xsds content 2=グノーシスの別称。
}}

==Trivia==
* Most of the Gnosis enemies are named after creatures from various mythologies.

==In other languages==
{{in other languages
|en = Gnosis
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}}

==Gallery==
{{main|Gnosis/Gallery}}

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[[Category:Species]][[Category: Lore (XS)]]