This was an awesome read. Thanks for the unique perspective...totally adds more to the game experience. You rock!

So I find myself curious - you've expressed to me that this story didn't turn out as well as you hoped. Why is that?

I see that you are putting a time reference in now. Year of 324 - I'd dearly love to know a timeline you've put together. Like, when did the things in Chapter I happen? I know a year passed at one point in Chapter I... it just would help so much with cross-comparison - what had Gaspar been told by Melchior and where was he in his own story for example, at various times?

Can I ask you if you gained any insight into what Magus was doing in Zeal? If his goal was to save Schala, why did he let most things happen as they had before? Chrono et al (and Magus once he joined them) were comfortable with wholesale changes for 'the better' but Magus supported things and undermined his own hope, or so it seemed to me. But I never understood why Magus was suddenly supposed to be invested in helping when he really had done the things in the middle ages that had Frog swearing vengeance on him. I realize this isn't about this story so much but either from your own play or having reviewed the script to write this, did you get anything clear on this?

OK, about the chapter itself...

I gather you opened with the Trigger and untwisting timelines because you needed to open up some details to be able to start relating the story... like, you had to start somewhere even if it was later on so that the events were relayed comprehensibly to a reader.

Hmm. I'm wondering how magical resistance plays into the actual method of time travel the game uses, at least before you have the time gates at the End of Time. I don't actually recall how they got back from 600 AD after going back in time thanks to Lucca's pod, before the time travel became routine to the game. Was it magic that was involved... and if not, that's how time was able to be modified since it was resistant to manipulation by magical means.

But what do you mean when you refer to a 'minima' that Gaspar lies about?

Queen Zeal interpreting the Prophet's first statement as a threat WOULD be after the Ocean Palace construction had started, in other words when the Queen was long since changed according to Melchior's tale in Chapter I, where she had excluded Gaspar from a meeting already. Therefore yes, she is more paranoid than Gaspar realized.

When Magus tells her the Mammom Machine project will be threatened... that's where my question above comes in to play. Why does he make things unpredictable for himself in saving Schala? And considering he was around and well-trusted later in this chapter... was he referring to a game event I've forgotten that 'proved' him beyond a shadow of a doubt to the Queen? Anyway, he can't predict his mom fully - as witnessed by his "I didn't intend to." statement, he needs to realize how he's already changing the very future he's predicting... if his youth remembers the Prophet he should realize his quest already failed.

Magus is a liar - he's totally playing games.

I like how Gaspar shuts Magus down with the fact that he's really a scientist and not just about pride where he thought maybe Gaspar was personally miffed and that's why he wanted to work it out.

Or am I reading something into Gaspar's and Magus's conversation here other than what you are putting in it?

So I'm looking at where Gaspar thinks the Queen wouldn't have been suspicious of him a year ago. Timeline-wise, did the Ocean Palace project already start over a year ago? Because she was excluding him from things that soon (though he may, as a result, have not even realized how excluded he was). The fact that Belthasar had to tell him more about what the Prophet was saying points to this too. I know it's now been more than 6 months since Magus ended up in this time but I don't know if it's been a year. And for Gaspar to not be waved in for having come anyway is odd.

So Schala was exiting, but to be talked to later not because she was done. She's not part of this meeting... only the Queen and Prophet were until Belthasar arrived. Huh.

You know, given Gaspar isn't self-interested and how he's not angry and so on... the way Schala was able to talk to him... Magus might really be undermining his attempt to save Schala by undermining Gaspar's advice to the Queen.

I said to you before that I like how Schala picks up on how the Prophet seems to act like she's an equal... "wonder why?" I say :).

So this is after the conversation Melchior and Gaspar had after the meeting he wasn't in, where he talked about the Queen being different.

"A better question might be if you have?" - I love how sharp Schala is.

A year ago and two weeks ago... I'm guessing two weeks ago was Chrono et al showing up?

Speculation for you - I understand why Zeal is figuring time in terms of itself. But do you ascribe the BC/AD dates in Chrono Trigger itself to just be a convenience for the player, or do you think something happened 1000 years before Chrono's index time that the game doesn't touch on? Zeal itself is still 12,000 years before that point of reckoning after all.

Gaspar wondering about ambition with respect to the Mammom Machine and looking up the Sun Stone history... fascinating.

I'm curious about the two or three weeks thing... and should I read more in the "never" from Timeline A or is it just the fact that that Zeal had never had a history change in the first place for Gaspar to be wondering about it?

Did the Mammon Machine not get 'turned on' when Zeal was first corrupted? It was notable when it was turned off at one point. And I realize there's some kind of activation on the ocean floor, but it's on at the moment yes? Otherwise what is Zeal drawing power from?

Where is Melchior's smithy? As I recall he didn't get involved in metal again after becoming Guru except the metal arm that helped construction of the Ocean Palace and when he made the Masamune and of course beyond that in more 'modern' times.

I'm assuming the Year 328 stuff is happening in Timelines B and C but not in A?

Gaspar seemed to truly be a student and not realize that things COULD go awry in a way... Spekkio got his attention.

Magus kinda pisses me off. Especially later when he doesn't realize these people are going to achieve what he was trying to do and he's hampering it. Or he could've just gotten Schala out in the first place. He's prophesying anyway, he could just candidly tell her who she is and prove things to HER.

I'll be curious in later chapters WHY Schala did not leave as she told Gaspar she would. I don't recall if it was brought up in the game.

If he's continuing to work on the Trigger, I know he didn't have a thing yet, but hopefully he had the texts he and Belthasar had worked on instead of starting all over? Did he "pack" them?

So the event that 'killed' Chrono in the first place / had Magus failing again is the event that spiraled Gaspar into the End of Time? Or did something else? And it spiraled the others also? I remember our folks ended up Earthbound by comparison.

"Better prepared and so came out worse?"

Did he 'see' the other two Gurus adrift in time with him and getting deposited or is it more that he felt it happen?

Gaspar not being temporal anymore is an unusual contrast to his previous fealty to Zeal. A little surprising that he DIDN'T choose to go back with the proper gate (when it opened) and try to prevent the disastrous event. I know that by the time it 'happened' Chrono et al were on the case, but at this early juncture it's a surprising thought.

Was the Chrono Trigger just a project to him, or did he still have a mind to fix that went wrong with Zeal? Why didn't he end up using it before giving it to the party? And why didn't he feel pissed at Magus considering how things had gone and maybe hadn't had to go that way?

Simply brilliant. You have enriched one of my favorite stories in the world, and I must thank you for that. I enjoyed every second of reading this. In fact, I could hardly put it down. Your writing itself is excellent, your characterizations were fascinating and believable, and your exploration of the events surrounding all of these crucial developments was nothing less than artful. Had I a hat, I would tip it deeply toward you. Thank you very much for sharing! I will be unable to play the game the same way again. :)

Hey - so my 'review' is my thoughts as I go through the chapter, if you ever wonder what I'm responding to.

You know, it's funny that after some distance from Chrono Trigger, you forget how rich the world in it was. ESPECIALLY since for Chrono, Marle, and the others, it starts becoming trivial to jump 400 years or even millions of years whereas the Gurus and the people around them have to live the events.

Some of that becomes more apparent in later parts of this story, but it's still worth noting that this is really compelling stuff and does a good mix of 'tying in game events' and 'just letting it be in the game's world.'

I was actually never super-clear on how Masa and Mune factored into the Masamune, or what the goal of making it was, when I played the game.

Even though it's just briefly, I remember when I played the game feeling it to be such a shame that the Queen Zeal we met wasn't the mother Schala and Janus had known. It's great to see a scene, even briefly, with the 'original' Queen there - like when she was willing to laugh at the Guru's joke at her expense.

I'm foggy on the details of what impact the machine had on Queen Zeal, though I remember that touching it made her go bad.

A metalsmith and THEN a Guru of Life? A way to make it make sense that he's a weaponsmith. :)

I love that you're working out how they could build on the ocean floor in a situation where they don't live on the surface... but I'm glad you pointed out that 'construction' won't be simple even once you have a landing spot. :)

I like that Gaspar says "Not since before he was Guru, anyway" instead of saying "a Guru"... like there was attainment of something special in that.

I'm realizing just how amazingly developed Zeal was. The technology was probably superior in 12000 BC to 1999 AD (2300 AD in my mind is just the ruined remains of what existed in 1999 based on the story sequences you see).

I've kind of wondered how we're supposed to dismiss "Magus"' actions, even given that he's Janus. I mean, his actions reverberated 400 years later. America's Founding Fathers haven't had that litmus test yet.

I feel like you've made the Gurus each a bit distinct, which is nice to see given that I 'know the writer.' For example, Melchior feels Lavos is malevolent in some way now, but he's not really thinking of not using it... but the other Gurus might approach the idea differenty.

However, I wonder about their reliance on Skyways now that they have the Blackbird... if they can build a flying machine they can build one large enough to ferry supplies, no?

When you say "they both looked irritated" are you talking about the Queen and Dalton? Or Schala and Dalton? I presume the former but the construction was odd.

Hmm, it seems Schala was used to associating with the Gurus and with others and now is yelled at to follow the Queen around.

"That's the right way to look at" (it is missing)

I never understood why Janus, if he wanted to save Schala, didn't undermine Queen Zeal sooner while allies like the Gurus were able to help... why, if he wanted to save Schala, he brought things to the same brink where he had no chance to and expected to introduce a change at that point? The other people in the game who time travel to change things don't hesitate to make their needed changes.

Was Enhasa floating or on the surface? I'm trying to remember it. Or was it not in the game?

After a year, I think Doreen might think "She's not been known to abuse her authority before, but recently..." I mean, it sounds like people in general noticed a change about Zeal but accepted the new more militant ideas since they were the populace hearing the spin. Doreen noticing something wouldn't be too bad.

"If Zeal would be willing to imprison him"... well, you could do something where she was justified. I follow the logic of what he really means, I was just amused at the statement.

When you write that the nightmare could create the conditions required to fulfill it, but not the conditions that justify such an act... The conditions to fulfill it is the thought of treason, and the conditions that justify treason aren't in the dream? Am I reading that right?

Using Janus' trick to be the magic nullifying... that's excellent. Especially given the future Magus and the Masamune have with each other.

"kneel over" where you meant keel over.

I understand he needed a surface excuse, but wow, lying to a fellow Guru. He's getting desperate, changing a bit himself.

Hah, Melchior asked Doreen a question that got answered! :)

I love how you describe magic in your stories. "Spellwork" is one of my favorite words in what I've been reading here.

Hundreds of mages down to dozens - wonder if the Gurus are as powerful as they once were then.

It seems you're suggesting the Masamune started as something other than a sword... and became a sword as it went through the ages later.