#gear cells

It's difficult to say for certain…

As far as can be determined, Frederick's entire body was reconstructed in the "aftermath" of his initial "death".

Yes, technically Frederick died from getting shot in the neck.

But, he woke up in a pool of his OWN BLOOD not long after.

The bullet that entered his neck contained a cocktail not only of the Flame of Corruption "divine seed", but also a genetic "remapping code" that basically converted his entire BODY in to GEAR CELLS.

So even if the Flame seed was removed from his neck… his body is still 100% that of a GEAR.

On the outside he definitely LOOKS human, and his hair even got shorter to normal length (though that could also have been a temporary side effect… Ky, Sin, and Dizzy still have issues where their hair regrows at fast rates).

What makes the Flame of Corruption Seed what it is seems to be related to the key functions of the Backyard itself.

As per the analogy, the Flame is "Adam" and the Scales is "Eve"… bodies of information that somehow governed the Backyard's data on a large scale.

Just as the Absolute World is an "overlap" of the physical world and the data that comprises the Backyard… you could argue that such an "overlap" existed within Sol's body.

Just as demons and ghosts exist outside of human Logic, Sol's existence was a supernatural one on a basic level.

If left unchecked, the Dragon Install would have encroached Sol's body… distorting his body's data and creating something far beyond his body's ability to contain (even for Gear Cells, which were designed to contain that power in the first place).

Perhaps, right now, none of that absurd amounts of illogical information exists within Frederick's body at the moment… but it is true that it shaped and influenced that body on a physical level… if not a metaphysical level.

Hypothetically, if Frederick were to try to re-enter the Backyard in his current state… or even get influenced by an Information Flare… something "could" happen to him… but it's hard to predict what could happen.

To clarify though, just as Information Flares are an excess amount of Magic Information in real space… the Dragon Install is just like other complex "spells" that exist in the world… above all else, it tapped in to the energy of the Gear Cell Core and Divine Seed itself.

Just as other everyday spells can influence the physical body (like healing spells or elemental spells), so too can enhancement spells like Dragon Install exist.

Perhaps not on the same level as before, but Frederick's body can still tap in to the energy potential of the Gear Cells that currently comprise it.

There was drawbacks for even having the Seed inside his body in the first place.

Remember, the Flame of Corruption was encroaching his very existence... in other words Dragon Install was eating away at him.

The end result would create a "giant Gear" (much the same as Justice once was).

I-No witnessed this, and even went out of her way to show Sol what would happen to him in 2192 (Babylon in Five Years).

Pulling the "Mass Information Seed" out of Sol's body would at the very least prevent him from becoming an "Anti-matter Gear".

Remember, Gears are a "fixed existence", if too much information fills their physical capacity... the data that defines them flips and becomes Anti-Matter.

That was true for the Japanese, but it was also true for the Flame of Corruption and Scales of Juno.

The only reason Juno avoided that fate was because Jack-O' used her powers to dissipate that information from inside Justice' original body.

It would have been far worse if Jack-O' failed in her mission to save Elphelt.

Back on topic, Frederick (Sol) is still something that "resembles" a Gear (having Gear Cells), though he doesn't have the same information (magic capacity) as he once did.

Gear Cells basically "mimic" and "enhance" what was previously grafted on to them, so in that sense he is "all right". But by traditional definitions and notions, he will never be 'human' ever again.

I would sooner chalk it up to a "lucky guess" on his part.

Consider that Gear Cells aren't all that different from that of what makes up a Youkai.

Nagoriyuki's sword was originally intended as an anti-Youkai weapon, most likely for fighting vampires and monsters of his own kind.

The fact it had an affect on Gear Cells is essentially coincidence.

This goes back to what I said earlier about Asuka’s methods when he first created the “Gear Archetype”.  Asuka was looking for the perfect biological vessel.

What determines what is and is “not” a “pure Gear” has more to do with the Prime Field, the original Gear Cells that Asuka, Frederick, and Aria created back when the Gear Project was first established.

I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as a “royal bloodline”, but in a sense it is, as it involves the Prototype (Sol), the Progenitor (Justice), and subsequent Inheritor generations (Dizzy, Sin) and Derivatives (Valentines, Ky, Solaria, “Neo” Aria).

What “defines” a Gear, is more or less whether or not they possess Gear Cells (or more accurately, a ‘body’ or ‘body parts’ made of Gear Cells).  The Bloodhound Dog and Owls that attacked Frederick in the research facility (in GG Begin) are a prime example of “basic Gear subject/samples.”

What “defines” a Humanoid Gear (or even a “Sentient” Human-like Gear), has more to do with the Intermediary (Testament, Dr. Paradigm, Gig, etc).  Gears that have existed for a long time and “evolved” Sentience (self-awareness and thought, also identity) also fall in this category, though by this point they are closer to a Youkai if one were to compare.  Gears that originally had humans as their base Intermediary are more likely to retain their sentience (Testament), but some do not (Sheevus).

The “Intermediary” is the former soul/lifeform that was used as the base for the Gear, and copied (dubbed) over.  This could be any animal, any human, or possibly even both or multiple (Leopaldon is one such rare case).  However, the “dubbing” process is imperfect, and even the Gear Cells have certain flaws in them, so they are not without vulnerabilities/failures.  Even the copying process could be considered “death” for the original subject.

Dizzy is a “manufactured hybrid” (a Backup of Justice, similar to Valentines) while Sin is a “genetic hybrid”, and in Ky’s case, he most likely underwent a medical procedure to gain his Gear Cells (which is more often than not very risky).

Most Gears are very “durable” because of Gear Cells, but their ability to regenerate varies from Gear to Gear.

In Ky’s case, because he got shot, yes he regenerated (even Sol had a similar situation happen to him when being shot by several corrupt Police officers).

Sol’s been in situations where his entire back and spine were ripped to shreds and he slowly regenerated (GG Begin events, when Frederick was attacked by a flock of Gear Owls).

Even Testament has an advanced form of regeneration, where his whole body can turn in to a blood-like liquid and he uses that fluid to form his blood scythe.

In Sin’s case, he never lost his eye, he just has no “control” over the power within that particular eye.

Most likely it’s something he inherited from Dizzy’s “Necro” portion of her power, as Venom describes it as a kind of forbidden malice.

It’s just understood that it’s “taboo” for Sin to open that eye.  Last time he did so, a massive shockwave erupted around the area and a thunderbolt came out of the sky (GG2 Material Story events, when Sin was bullied as a kid).

Note that, when Sin charges up his Instant Kill, the red lightning gathered around his body tends to center around that eye, so in essence it serves as a focal point of power for Sin.

This has more to do with the reason why Gear Cells were created in the first place, not simply Gears.

As you should know, Asuka was looking to create an ideal "vessel" to house the Flame of Corruption and Scales of Juno, the Mass Information Seeds that the Original Sage took out of the Backyard.

To create such a vessel, Asuka sought to create a tangible body that could house such massive information.

In that sense, he had to seek out the very limits of stable and durable D.N.A. structures, across a wide variety of species, including species long thought extinct and some completely undiscovered!

Asuka also tapped in to as much information as he could gather from the Backyard itself, meaning that some aspects of Gear D.N.A. go far beyond what is known to exist in this world!  Maybe even beings found in other galaxies, distant and far away.

I wouldn't be surprised if some luck was involved in his discovery as well.

Ultimately Asuka found a D.N.A. structure that could remain stable and become permanently established (or at least... for the most part) in this world.  Frederick had found some "holes" in his cell structure early on (which later created the Gear Cell Inhibitor).

While the Gear Cells were meant to serve as an unbreakable vessel for the Flame and the Scales, even if only as a means to prevent mass extinctions, nothing is by definition "absolute".

Even if Adam and Eve (Sol and Aria) manifest in this world safely... something like the Gear Cell Inhibitor still exists... so even Gear Cells can still be destroyed.

Alchemy is a largely unexplored concept in GG lore, but I wouldn’t say it’s much different than the rules that involve Tuning.

Since Gears can be “tuned” in some capacity (adapted to the Backyard), if Alchemy is complex enough to change the properties of Gear Cells, it might be possible... but the “cost” has to exceed the “density” in terms of what Gear Cells are.

Like Dr. Faust explained, the Japanese have a unique circumstance where they have an "excessive amount" of genetic information in their bodies which can turn them in to Gears given a specific "trigger" that only Bedman and Ariels seemed to know, which would essentially be what turned them in to Antimatter Gears.

Kum Haehyun's "Tuning" seems to lessen the impact of that "Gear gene data" that was implanted in Japanese victims... but it appears to manifest itself in other ways like May's colossal physical strength, Anji's ability to activate the Zessen OutRage (which may be linked to Japanese blood), as well as Baiken's excessive cutting power with her sword.

It was thanks to Kum Haehyun's "colossal efforts" involving the Sakura Tree imbued with Ki energy that she managed to keep the population of Japanese people in Miyabi Colony in check during the Information Flare scare incident with Justice... but the problem still technically remains.

It's hard to say in absolute terms if "becoming Gears" is the "only" way to stabilize the Japanese, but the story seems to be pointing in that direction based on what Raven's ominous words were to Sin Kiske:

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Raven: "One day, humans, who have become social creatures, will travel the same path [of immortality].  'That Man' is only trying to correct that.  Your interruptions only make things harder."

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This suggests that what Asuka is really trying to do is essentially eliminate Gear Cells altogether... or at least the very source of Immortality.

I can't say if Raven is correct in his statement or that it applies to Asuka's "current plans" (based on After Story A and C), or even if such things apply to the Japanese themselves, but...

There may be a way to strike a "balance" between Gear Cells and Human Cells... Living a full life that isn't "stretched thin" like Raven or I-No faced.

I can't even say if this applies to Sol or Aria even, as they are special cases besides... it may very well be that they are the only "absolute case" of "true immortality".

We do know for certain that the Japanese have been a long-standing mystery... and anyone who survived the nightmare that was 2074 when Japan was destroyed is already 113 years old... so Baiken is CLEARLY beyond her years... holding a grudge longer than is humanly normal.

If Baiken has a grudge to hold, it might be towards the Universal Will though... the one who cursed the Japanese in the first place.  Justice was just the tragic focus of that curse...

Come what may, Gears and Humans still have to work together to solve this problem... though some may be better suited to solving it than others at this point.

And given that Ishiwatari is practically starting from scratch here... it's hard to say how far things will go.  Or how long it will take.