Yet look again —
His horn is free,
Rising above chain, fence, and tree,
Free hymn of love; His horn
Bursts from his tranquil brow
Like a comet born;
Cleaves like a galley's prow
Into seas untorn;
Springs like a lily, white
From the Earth below;
Spirals, a bird in flight
To a longed-for height;
Or a fountain bright,
Spurting to light
Of early morn —
O luminous horn!
His horn is free,
Rising above chain, fence, and tree,
Free hymn of love; His horn
Bursts from his tranquil brow
Like a comet born;
Cleaves like a galley's prow
Into seas untorn;
Springs like a lily, white
From the Earth below;
Spirals, a bird in flight
To a longed-for height;
Or a fountain bright,
Spurting to light
Of early morn —
O luminous horn!
— The Unicorn in Captivity by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (From her book, The Unicorn and other Poems)
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
One of the most notable things about this series, rightly so, would be its writing and effective usage of Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene. Not surprisingly, its dialogue is very memorable, with this quotes page dwarfing most of other entries in the Gundam metaseries.
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Episode 1: "Day of the Unicorn"
Banagher Links: Where is she? Where's Audrey?!
Cardeas Vist: Don't worry about her. This isn't her first time cheating death, and it won't be her last...
Banagher: You left her behind?! You were planning on escaping in this mobile suit, weren't you?
Cardeas: Even if I did, I wouldn't survive...
Banagher: What the hell's wrong with you? You act like you're so superior, but you can't do anything! Audrey came to you trying to stop this war from breaking out, and you had the power to do that, didn't you? Those people... they had plans for tomorrow... for next week... they had a future! They weren't supposed to die like this! I lost my mother, but it was different.. This isn't the way people are supposed to die. It's wrong...
Cardeas: Death should be treated with dignity. We're supposed to respect one another's lives. But once we grow out of childhood, though we know better, we still cause meaningless bloodshed. We've done it to the Earth as well; we've devoured her resources then sought out new frontiers to exploit in space. Humanity grew out of control and must endeavor to regain its dignity. We must revive the hope that was born one hundred years ago.
Banagher: Through the potential that lies within, we will demonstrate the true power and compassion of humanity.
Cardeas: To transcend what is immediate and realize our god-like potential, the greatness within us that is possible. You've come this far, but are you confident that your conviction will not waver? The weight of the burden she has to bear is immense. You'll need the resolve to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders if you go with her. Do you have it?
Banagher: I don't have that resolve, no. All I know is I need her to need me.
Cardeas: Very well, then you'll need this.
(Pulls Banagher's hand into one of the Unicorn's touch screens, which registers his biometric data, then seats him inside the cockpit.)
Cardeas: I've programmed it to respond to you and you alone. If you can prove yourself to be a suitable pilot, the Unicorn will grant you powers unrivaled, and then show you the path to Laplace's Box...
Banagher: What's Laplace's Box?
Cardeas: It's a dark curse that has sentenced the Vist family to serve as its guardian for a hundred years. But if used properly, it can bring light to this Universal Century.
Banagher: What is it?
Cardeas: Anna... Your mother didn't want to see you fall victim to this curse, so she took you from me. She must hate me as I'm sure you do as well. But you must go! Fear not; if you trust in the possibility that lies within and try with all your might, the path will show itself to you...
Banagher: It's selfish. You can't say all that to me now...
Cardeas: Please forgive me... I wanted more... So much... Banagher...
(Lets go of Banagher's hand as he slowly drifts away from the Unicorn's cockpit...)
Cardeas: My wish... has finally come true... Anna...
- — The climactic Falling into the Cockpit moment of Episode 1, Day of the Unicorn
Episode 2: "The Second Coming of Char"
"You mustn't let mistakes weigh you down. Acknowledge them and take what you've learned to move on. That is the privilege of being a man."
- — Full Frontal, Episode 2, The Second Coming of Char
—
Marida Cruz: ...No war is ever truly justified. However, to save human lives, we can't always be righteous.
This was built back when Palau was still in the asteroid belt. When you look back at the earliest space pioneers, they were mostly beggars and political criminals. They sought to settle in space because there was nowhere else for them to live. They say when the Universal Century began, the Prime Minister stated that we were "bringing an end to the Era of God". For the people who lived in the asteroid belt the sun was indistinguishable from any other distant star. They needed a light to guide them.
Banagher Links: A light...
Marida Cruz: Nothing can live without light. But the people abandoned in space eventually found a new light to replace God, and the new light that they found to guide them was Zeon. It gave them hope where there was despair. So they could overcome the impossible and keep living in this cruel world. It held out the shining promise that we could all become better. You might find it foolish to put your faith in something so intangible. There were those who would say that ideas like this are not essential to life. I think that those people must be either very lucky or very deluded.
Banagher Links: Humanity alone possesses a God. Somebody once said that to me. He told me about, ‘ The power to transcend the now, the inner God called "possibility".'
Marida Cruz: He must have been a romantic. A person cannot believe that without a strong faith in humanity and the world. Sounds like a nice person.
- — A conversation on the origins of Spacenoid ideology, Episode 2, The Second Coming of Char
Episode 3: "The Ghost of Laplace"
Banagher Links: What are cyber-Newtypes, anyway?
Dr. Hasan: The result of a delusion; that one might be able to create Newtypes artificially. To make a long story short, that was the sophistry they used to violate their ethics so they could create human weapons. You know the basic Newtype concept?
Banagher Links: Yeah. By living in space, we’ll be able to understand each other without misconceptions.
Dr. Hasan: That’s right.
Banagher Links: If we could be like that, then there wouldn’t be any reason to go to war anymore, would there?
Dr. Hasan: You know, somebody once said to me that mankind was constantly at war because we were stuck on the cusp of a new stage of our evolution. And that if there is any chance for us to become Newtypes, he said cyber-Newtype research should be allowed. If we leave evolution to Mother Nature, mankind will never make it, or kill ourselves off long before Mother Nature has a chance to fix us. I think that’s a pretty sad way of looking at things.
- — A discussion of the abuses Cyber-Newtypes have endured over the Universal Century timeline, Episode 3, The Ghost of Laplace
—
Banagher Links: I’m not even a soldier, I shouldn’t have to take orders from you.
Daguza Mackle: You are not a soldier. And you don’t have to take orders. But you do have the start taking responsibility for your actions. You stepped on the battle field three times now with a powerful experimental weapon. Some lives may be saved, but others were lost. You’ve taken a power for yourself to interfere in the destinies of a lot of people both friend and foe alike. And for that you have to take responsibility.
Banagher Links: But how?
Daguza Mackle: By seeing it through to the end.
- — Episode 3, The Ghost of Laplace
—
Daguza Mackle: To save this world from the brink, a massive space settlement was essential. And to carry it out, we needed an arbiter that was on par with God.
Banagher Links: And that was the Federation Government?
Daguza Mackle: A merciless God that would ruthlessly crush anyone who dared oppose it. The station sabotage was the best thing that could happen to the Federation Government. It kept its authority under the pretext of terrorism prevention, you see.
Banagher Links: You make it sound like the Federation staged the attack itself.
Daguza Mackle: In the grownup world, things like that happen sometimes. There isn't anyone involved then who is alive now. All that survive is the tradition that commands us to fear the Box, and the symbiotic relationship with the Vist Foundation, which has been preserved because of that.
Banagher Links: Tradition...
Daguza Mackle: It can't be changed by one person acting alone, and no one even feels the slightest bit of aspiration to change it. It happens with any organization. But you can't call the cog in the machine evil either, not when they've only been swallowed by the instinct to maintain the status quo. All the Box had to do was to stay put these hundred years.
- — On how the Earth Federation developed as an institution, Episode 3, The Ghost of Laplace
Episode 4: "At the Bottom of the Gravity Well"
Old man: My generation was raised on stories of the bad old days from our grandfathers and grandmothers. Sounds like things got pretty terrible back then. They wanted to do something about it, so they founded the Federation and got the space settlement thing started. Some folks say it was only the poor that were forcibly discarded into space, but there were a lot of people who left of their own accord. They were prepared to stay away until the Earth's environment recovered. But the One Year War undid most of the progress that had been made.
Audrey Burne: We are all hopeless, aren't we?
Old man: Well, what can you do? It all began out of good intentions.
Audrey Burne: Good intentions?
Old man: Both the Federation and the space settlement began with the hope of saving humanity. Like wanting your business to succeed, or making a better life for your family.
Audrey Burne: But that can turn into something better described as egotism.
Old man: Maybe so. But if we denied that, that would be a sad world. I guess there are some who can work for the greater god at their own expense, but there's something shady about it. Like that Char guy with the Neo Zeon. He said he was fighting for the good of everyone, even as he was dropping asteroids on us. Truth is, maybe he was just a guy who never learned how to love humanity.
Audrey Burne: What can we do, then?
Old man: Hell if I know. We never figured that out. I think we tried, but in the end we just postponed paying our debts, and I spent my regretting not being able to do anything for you people. It's all I can do... just make you a cup of coffee.
...
Suberoa Zinnerman: Why are you crying?
Banagher Links: It's so beautiful.
Suberoa Zinnerman: It almost makes you doubt all those stories about the Earth being polluted. Thing is, the air around here is even more polluted than it used to be. And they say the desert has advanced all the way to Dakar's doorstep. It's all humanity's doing. Indiscriminate development, the dropping of colonies and asteroids... If humanity is the product of nature, that makes all of mankind's trash and poison natural products, too. And even if it's rendered unfit for human habitation, I guess that'll be the result of nature achieving a new balance. Mother Nature has absolutely no mercy. Ancient humans understood that. As products of nature, they knew it instinctively.
Banagher Links: So to survive, they protected themselves by creating civilization and societies.
Suberoa Zinnerman: Yeah. But they got too complicated, and before they knew it, people were forced to live for the purpose of maintaining the system. In the end, it made life hard to live. And to escape that topsy-turvy world, they went into space to find new lands. There, they created a different system. A natural development that gave hope and direction to those cast out into space, the Spacenoids. That was Zeon. The old system left behind on Earth rejected it. Because systems from two different birthplaces are never compatible. It always ends with one of them trying to force the other into submission.
Banagher Links: But in the past, a world with a unified government like the Federation and ten billion people living in space must have sounded like a fairy tale. Doesn't humanity have the possibility to do it? To make two ways of thinking merge into one someday?
Suberoa Zinnerman: We are all aren't governed fairly and equally. The hatred of the beaten and downtrodden clings to the Earth to this day.
Banagher Links: That's a sad thing.
Suberoa Zinnerman: Yeah, I suppose it is. Even though we live our lives trying to escape sadness... I wonder why that is?
(Banagher begins to weep)
Suberoa Zinnerman: Banagher?
Banagher Links: I know, I know. A man doesn't cry in front of other people, right?
Suberoa Zinnerman: No. Crying because you care is a totally different matter. I don't trust anyone who never cries; that's my philosophy...
- — Conversations on the sad history of Earth and the Universal Century, Episode 4, At the Bottom of the Gravity Well
Episode 5: "Black Unicorn"
Bright Noa: You seem to be giving the interrogators no end of trouble. Both you and the suit are keeping your lips sealed. Our technical staff are tearing their hair out.
Banagher Links: I can't let anyone see them. If people learn what they are, that place will become a battlefield again and lots of people will die. Just like Ms. Loni.
Bright Noa: Go ahead and keep them to yourself. Did you escape from that camouflaged freighter to get here?
Banagher Links: "Escaped" isn't the right word. I think of it as them sending me on my way. The Captain didn't exactly agree to that operation.
Bright Noa: I don't doubt it. I got that impression from the actions of that ship. You weren't being treated as a prisoner. Does that mean you were free to act as you pleased?
Banagher Links: Yes, I was. I didn't get the sense we were enemies like the Federation says we are.
Bright Noa: Why was that?
Banagher Links: Because I'm not a soldier. I'm not used to lumping people into "friend" or "foe". But aboard that ship, it felt like there wasn't any need to.
Bright Noa: I see. I understand now. Thank you. ... Don't give up. I see strength in your eyes. Strong eyes that can feed off of adversity. As long as you don't give up, you'll be able to seize whatever opportunities come along.
Banagher Links: I don't have strength like that. It's all just dumb luck. Me piloting the Unicorn. Me ending up here like this...
Bright Noa: Is it really? When you first encountered the Gundam, it might have been mere luck. It's been that way for every pilot of a Gundam up until now. However, the decision of whether or not to get into that Gundam rested with you alone. Luck had nothing to do with that. Am I wrong? At that moment, what was it that gave you the resolve to pilot it?
Banagher Links: There's someone that I want to help. Audrey Burne. She's the girl that everyone calls Mineva Zabi.
—
Bright Noa: The Sleeves' Garencieres will carry out a rescue operation during the Garuda transfer. Join the fight on their side. Go into space and rendezvous with the Nahel Argama, which is coming to assist. That is the only way to keep the Box's key out of the hands of the conspirators. The only way to save her. Can you do that?
Banagher Links: I'll do it.
Bright Noa: This is all I can do for you. Just like every other Gundam pilot, I like to think that it chose you. It was always the inevitable outcome. Be it good or bad.
Banagher Links: Capt. Bright...
Bright Noa: The rest is up to you. Don't let the situation crush you. Be brave enough to fight off despair. If you're a Gundam pilot... a Newtype... you can do it.'
— The Eternal Captain inspiring and providing assistance to the latest guy to fall into a Gundam, from Episode 5, Black Unicorn
Episode 6: "Two Worlds, Two Tomorrows"
Captain Otto Midas: I doubt that a man they call the Second Coming of Char simply wants to revive Zeon. I think it's about time that you revealed what your true intentions are.
Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi: I want to hear this, as well. (enters in full Zeonic regalia) Let's hear it, Captain Full Frontal. What are you really after?
Full Frontal: As you wish. [takes off his mask]
Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi: (wires communication lines in the Nahel Argama to broadcast their conversation) Do you mind?
Full Frontal: Not at all. What we Spacenoids desire, first and foremost, is the establishment of our right to self-rule. The Federation will never consent to this. They know that the instant they do, the roles of master and servant would be reversed. The reason is obvious. At present, life in the Earth Sphere depends on the existence of the seven Sides and the moon, including energy production, food production, economic activity itself. The fact is that on its own, the planet Earth is no longer even capable of feeding 2 billion Earthnoid mouths. Spacenoids, on the other hand, could easily support themselves if they were to sever ties with Earth. Zeon Deikun should have used this fact as a weapon. However, while he may have been a great philosopher, a politician he was not. Whether it's the Zabi family twisting Zeon's ideals and exploiting them or the two Neo Zeon wars, it all boils down to the same thing. Until we abandon the goal of forcing them to formally acknowledge us, there will he no victory in our battle against the Federation. We will strengthen the ties between the moon and seven Sides and create an economic zone that excludes the Earth at its center. That is to say, we found the Side Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Londo Bell officer: That makes sense.
Full Frontal: If all the Sides enter into an economic partnership and boycott Earth, it will wither away into a backwater with no economic value whatsoever. The Federation Government probably won't be able to survive, either. The only entity capable of acting as mediator for this is the Republic of Zeon. Although it may be a Federation puppet, a certain degree of autonomy has been granted to it. The problem is that it is set to relinquish its autonomy to the Federation in four short years. If the Republic reverts back to Side 3, and is no longer permitted to act as anything beyond a local government, we will never move toward the Side Co-Prosperity Sphere. And it was at that crucial juncture that the proposal came from the Vist Foundation to turn over Laplace's Box. Yes. Although I doubt that Cardeas Vist was aware of our plans, judging from the timing of the offer, I suspect that he hated the idea that the Federation order would become more entrenched when the Republic was dissolved. It is common knowledge that, with the dissolution of the Republic, the Federation intends to eradicate Zeon. As is embodied by the Unicorn Gundam, a device designed to destroy the Newtype myth.
Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi: So, what you hope to gain by obtaining the Box is time. By threatening the Federation and postponing the Republic's dissolution, you gain time to create this Side Co-Prosperity Sphere of yours.
Full Frontal: That sums it up admirably.
Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi: Now that I hear it, it all seems so petty. You want to create this Side Co-Prosperity Sphere and leave out the Federation. Rather than demanding change from those who refuse it, you will simply ignore them. That is far removed from the ideals of Zeon Deikun, who dreamed of reforming humanity... and worlds apart from the madness, the passion, of Char, who tried to render Earth uninhabitable and bring all humanity into space. Are you sure this is what you really want? If this Side Co-Prosperity Sphere of yours comes to pass, the Earthnoids will probably speed up the redevelopment of Earth, in order to support an economy of their own. It would be a return to the old A.D. calendar days. The new generation that will grow up in poverty might even plot to retaliate against the Spacenoids. Just like when Zeon started the One Year War. There will be no harmony or reform, only the strong and weak endlessly trading places into the future. Is that what a man who decided to reveal himself to the world again really wants?
Full Frontal: I can imagine how you must feel, Highness. It is not a matter of right or wrong. It is simply the way of the world. A vessel does not think. It simply acts in accordance with the collective will it has been filled with. In order to ensure humanity's continued survival.
Banagher Links: You talk like it doesn't affect you. Even though you're talking about your own people's future, what you're saying sounds cold and detached, like it doesn't involve you. That light that enveloped the Unicorn Gundam... It was warm. Like it was the combined feelings of everyone I know. If that kind of possibility is inside humans, then...
Full Frontal: I've seen that same light before. A light that was even larger. A light that may have been the result of the subconscious of every human in the Earth Sphere being gathered via the psycho-frame and converted into kinetic energy. A psycho-field that deflected the asteroid Axis.
Liam Borrinea: The Axis Shock...
Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi: The Char Aznable that I knew truly is dead, isn't he?
— The final debate on Laplace's Box, from Episode 6, Two Worlds, Two Tomorrows
—
Banagher Links: It's always like that. Every time I think, "But... Even so," everything blows up in my face. No matter how hard I fight, it always...
Marida Cruz: But thanks to that, I'm sitting here talking to you like this. The way you feel isn't wrong. "Trust in the possibilities within, and try with all your might to do what you feel you ought to do." That isn't a curse. The person who told you that probably lived his life the same way. Never knowing for sure, simply believing it was right.
Banagher Links: But that's so irresponsible. Not seeing it through on his own...
Marida Cruz: That might be true. But still. Even so... He was lucky to be able to entrust his dream to someone who wasn't a stranger. This must be how the world moves forward a little bit at a time. If you hold on tight to your dreams, if you never give up, if you never become closed-minded... I know your chance will come. When it does, don't hesitate. Get into the Gundam.
— Episode 6, Two Worlds, Two Tomorrows
—
One man cannot be the voice for the wishes of all humanity. Not unless he becomes a vessel. But the only ones who can become vessels are those who have emptied themselves and passed through madness to emerge on the other side. That is no simple matter. Still, you have talent. If you would truly become a vessel, come with me. You, who have been entrusted with your father's dreams and been forced to undergo training, are a Cyber-Newtype of sorts. Now that you have exhibited the power of one, you can never go back to being part of that "everyone". One day, you will run headlong into the same despair that I did.
— Full Frontal to a vacillating Banagher Links, from Episode 6, Two Worlds, Two Tomorrows
—
This is your captain speaking...
We have just set a course for Industrial 7 to carry out our mission; that mission is to locate and secure Laplace’s Box. Although it may seem like we have returned to our original assignment, this mission is not being conducted on orders from the military. We do it to survive; we are conducting this operation under our own auspices.
We cannot allow the box to fall under Full Frontal’s hands. Whether it be his Side Co-Prosperity Sphere, or the future Princess Mineva described, the crux of this conflict is humanity’s potential. Of these two, I do not know which path is correct. But we will not be the ones to make this decision. Rather, it will be our children – the youth who are alive today, and their children – the youth that are yet to be born.
And in order to entrust this choice to them, we must return from this alive. We must return with the box in hand, and then let the world face the truth.
As a soldier, and as a man, I look forward to seeing you fight bravely…
— Captain Otto Midas's Rousing Speech from Episode 6, Two Worlds, Two Tomorrows
Episode 7: "Over the Rainbow"
Proclamation
The Earth Federation hereby proclaims the text below as the Charter of the Universal Century.
Executed at the space residence of Laplace on the first day of U.C. 0001. By the Prime Minister of the Earth Federation, Ricardo Marcenas.
CHAPTER I. Universal Century
Article 1 The Earth Federation and its Member States, to pursue the expansion of space activities and to protect the Earth’s environment, shall adopt the unified era name “the Universal Century” as a symbol of the unity of the human race.
Article 2 1. The Universal Century shall be the sole official era name of the Earth Federation. 2. The Earth Federation shall prepare annual federal budgets and programs based on the Universal Century calendar system. 3. The principal and subsidiary organs of the Earth Federation shall use “the Universal Century” in all official documents.
CHAPTER II. Expansion of space activities
Article 3 The Earth Federation and its Member States, in order to expand space activities for the survival of the human race, must play a constructive role in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Earth Federation.
CHAPTER III. Development of space settlements
Article 4 In the development of space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, the Earth Federation and its Member States shall be guided by the principle of equal emphasis upon both development and the protection of the Earth’s environment, with due consideration of cultural and social diversity.
Article 5 Space settlement projects shall be integrated at a high level into the politics of the Earth Federation and ensured in accordance with the principle of social stability.
CHAPTER IV. Space emigration policies
Article 6 The Earth Federation and its Member States shall execute active space emigration policies so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources.
Article 7 Every citizen of the Earth Federation and its Member States has the right to freely move to and reside in the federally approved space settlements, including the settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, within the limitations of federal laws.
Article 8 The Earth Federation shall manage all space settlements, including the settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies, in the interests of the Earth’s environment and the future of the human race.
Article 9 Each space settlement shall function as a local public agency of the Earth Federation, and its administrative function shall in principle belong to the central government of the Earth Federation.
Article 10 The Earth Federation shall legislate specifically for the space emiguration of displaced persons and citizens of third countries who need the support of the Federation.
CHAPTER V. Rights and infrastructure of the space settlements
Article 11 The Earth Federation, under federal laws, shall pursue the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion, for all citizens of the space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies.
Article 12 The Earth Federation, in order to create and maintain an amenable environment for the human race, shall establish public infrastructure for economics, society, culture, education, and healthcare in the space settlements, including settlements on the Moon and other celestial bodies.
CHAPTER VI. General provisions
Article 13 This Charter shall not be misinterpreted as giving any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of the rights recognized in this Charter.
Article 14 This Charter, authentically written in the English text, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Earth Federation or of such representatives as the Earth Federation may designate.
CHAPTER VII. Future
Article 15 The Earth Federation shall prepare the following articles for the future of the human race with high hopes and expectations.
1. In preparation for an extraterrestrial biological emergency, the Earth Federation shall increase and expand research and preparedness.
2. In the future, should the emergence of a new space-adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government.
The Union of the Earth
— Laplace's Box, aka the Original Universal Century Charter from Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
Syam Vist: I've been waiting. So that I could tell you only one thing. The offspring of my bloodline and the princess of Zeon. There could be no one more fitting to entrust Laplace's Box to.
[cue a room-wide hologram of fauna evolution over billions of centuries]
Syam Vist: It took a billion years for the life that arose from the sea to crawl onto land. Another billion years of countless ups and downs were then required for that life to take human shape. That is how evolution works. It is not something that can be discerned within the limited lifespan of an individual. However, Newtypes represent an expansion of cognitive ability. One in which triggers the reformation of an individual's consciousness.
[cue snapshots of the Laplace Space Station]
Syam Vist: The final night of the old calendar. The instant the Universal Century began, that is when it was woven.
Banagher Links: The Universal Century Charter monument.
Mineva Lao Zabi: That monument, it— Look! Right there! That's different from the one we all know. It has one extra article.
[cue the explosion on Laplace and the reveal of the long-hidden original Universal Century Charter]
Mineva Lao Zabi: "In the future, should the emergence of a new space-adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government." A new human race...
Banagher Links: Newtypes?
Syam Vist: That is Laplace's Box. The true form of the curse that has kept us spellbound these long hundred years. And it is also a prayer.
...
Riddhe Marcenas: Captain. Why do you suppose the Federation has always been so scared of Zeon and tried to prove it wrong? The bunch of devils who dropped a colony. That was the result, not the cause. The real issue is Newtypes. "In the future, should the emergence of a new space-adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government." That prayer, woven a hundred years age, became a curse the instant that Zeon Deikun began proposing his Newtype theory...
Captain Otto Midas: Which means...
Riddhe Marcenas: Ricardo Marcenas, the first prime minister, added that passage entitled "Future" as if to atone for discarding Earth's excess population into space. But he... He was made into a martyr to the Federation political system. The Charter of the Universal Century was rewritten, and that should have been the end of it. If the genuine charter hadn't fallen into the hands of Syam Vist, one of the terrorists who carried out the assassination... And as a result...
...
Gael Chan: This is Syam Vist. The founder of the Vist Foundation, as well as your great-grandfather, Master Banagher.
Banagher Links: You were watching? Everything that's happened, you were watching, but you—
Mineva Lao Zabi: Banagher. Syam Vist. For many years, you have used this to extort concessions from the Federation government. Why give that up now?
Syam Vist: Four years from now, in U.C. 0100, the autonomy of the Republic of Zeon will be revoked. The name of Zeon, along with his ideology, will sink into oblivion. The word "Newtype" will eventually be forgotten as well, and the curse of the Box will return to nothingness. As well as its prayer. Without giving in to despair, without trying to stymie it, a prayer to turn back towards the God called possibility. If we miss this opportunity ——
Mineva Lao Zabi: But if we do this, war will break out again. If it has been signed by representatives of every nation, this monument carries the weight of law. If an anti-government group like the Zeon remnants were to get their hands on it, it would be the perfect weapon to bring down the Federation. If that happens, it will be the One Year War all over again. It's too steep a price to pay for the truth of their goodwill.
Syam Vist: That is why I want to entrust the matter to Newtypes like you.
Gael Chan: The La+ Program is a system designed to identify true Newtypes. Unlike those of Cyber-Newtypes, the psycho-waves of true Newtypes are beyond measurement. That is the key that leads a true Newtype to the Box, whoever that may be. That is what the Unicorn Gundam is. It was all planned by Cardeas Vist. He never considered putting you in it, not even in his dreams. However, I am sure that he... [would have approved].
...
Captain Otto Midas: For something as trivial as that?
Riddhe Marcenas: He was a shrewd man. Even as he blackmailed the government, using the monument as leverage, he never made unreasonable demands. He fostered the development of Anaheim Electronics, which was still an up-and-comer at the time, founded the Vist Foundation...
Captain Otto Midas: And its symbiotic relationship with the Federation began. A system maintained by hiding and revering the original monument, Laplace's Box... Whatever is actually in it no longer matters. The Box now symbolizes the world's order.
Riddhe Marcenas: At first, it was nothing more than a scandal to threaten the administration of the time. But the Principality of Zeon's sudden rise to power changed everything. Whether or not Newtypes really exist isn't the issue. The very fact that the Federation swept that article under the rug would become the ultimate weapon for those who believe in Zeon. They had no choice but to remain silent. So that this world would not be turned into Hell. But in the end, Hell came anyway. The One Year War. The sheer magnitude of the deaths and the existence of Newtypes, which had been proven by the war, lent even more weight to the Box's curse. That's why my father and the others had no choice but to keep the secret. Out of fear that another war of extermination would break out, they chose the path of domesticating the populace under a warped political system. But what's this "order" they've tried so hard to protect?
— The entire backstory of Laplace's Box as revealed in the history of the Vist and Marcenas families, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
[after Magallanica was shaken by a minor attack]
Syam Vist: There is no cause for concern. Magallanica was built tough in anticipation of this day. It would seem that the black lion has come to our aid, as well.
Mineva Lao Zabi: Anticipation of what day?
Syam Vist: As I have spent these many years as the Box's guardian, staying too long in this body, I have had but one desire. If Newtypes truly existed, I wanted to entrust the Box to their care. I believed that they would be able to put the Box to better use and reclaim the future that was meant to be. If technology was being perfected that could touch the human psyche, the soul, I wished to find out if they truly did exist. But that is my desire. There are as many "my only desires" as there are human beings. You could leave the Box unopened, or you could destroy it if you wished. And if that alone would not satisfy you, you are even welcome to strike this old fool dead. What do you desire? What do you wish for in your heart?
Banagher Links: If Newtypes are a new form of humanity, I don't believe that current humans would be able to identify them. So I don't know if she and I have the gifts you're looking for, and I don't know what's best for everyone, either. But... (remembering his moments with Zinnerman, Daguza, Marida and Cardeas) Even so... As just one human being... I want to believe in what lies ahead. In people. In the possibility that humanity possesses.
(Syam gives a tender smile)
Syam Vist: All is ready. You are able to broadcast to the entire Earth Sphere via every communications and broadcast system. Even with all the power of the Foundation, this was no small feat. There is little time. The Federation will do everything in its power to stop you. Now, hurry—
[power blacks out]
Full Frontal: I wouldn't do that if I were you. (steps out from the shadows) This is actually an act of locking possibility away. You should keep the contents of the Box secret and use it as leverage to bargain with the Federation.
Mineva Lao Zabi: Frontal...
Full Frontal: That is what will lead Spacenoids to true prosperity.
...
Mineva Lao Zabi: Leave us, Full Frontal. You're nothing but a man who was made in Char's image who is trying to fulfill his role. Are you certain that this Side Co-Prosperity Sphere you speak of isn't just part of your programming? A man who never believed in humanity's future has no right to—
Full Frontal: That may have been the case at first. But I am no longer empty. It is not I who wished to come here and see the true nature of the Box with his own eyes. In truth, I do not know, either. Whose thoughts are these that have been poured into this artificial vessel? Syam Vist, patriarch of the Vist family. As leader of Neo Zeon, as one who speaks for all Spacenoids, I would like you to place Laplace's Box in my care. This is not a negotiation conducted between proxies. I ask that you do not interfere as you did during the handover of the Key.
Syam Vist: There is truth in what you say. It may be that the Box should remain unopened so that humanity may go on living in the reality it has always known.
Full Frontal: Then why—
Syam Vist: That is exactly why. The Box does not belong in the hands of someone who only views its opening as a bargaining chip. The hands of men like you and me. Hear me, Ghost of Char. The Universal Century will reach the hundred year mark soon. This is no longer our time. Is it so unthinkable that the time has come for us to turn over the reins to the children?
Full Frontal: You believe that they are true Newtypes, then?
Syam Vist: That is of no consequence. They followed the path that led to the Box, and they have made their decision. I intend to abide by that decision.
Full Frontal: Very well. It is not my wish to engage in further acts of war. However... If you cannot accept my request, I will take the Charter of the Universal Century by force.
[Syam activates psycowave-controlled turrets to attack Full Frontal, forcing him to retreat]
Syam Vist: He truly is a ghost...
— The climactic confrontation on Magallanica over Laplace's Box, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
Syam Vist: I wonder, what sort of future will all this give rise to? It's possible that nothing at all will change. Words are nothing more than words. Even laws are interpreted in whatever manner best suits people's interests. Naturally, if the Box is opened, there will be some commotion for a while. There might be a movement to enforce that article. But do Newtypes actually exist in the first place? After all the debate and investigation, a definitive conclusion will never be reached.
Mineva Lao Zabi: Even so. Even so, Banagher will do what he believes is right. Just like the people who etched their sincere goodwill into this monument a century ago. Just as you have done by protecting this monument so that their goodwill could be made known to us now.
Syam Vist: He has found a good partner. (Mineva registers surprise) Princess Mineva. I would like the world to hear the truth from your lips. Tell our only desire to the people living in the Universal Century. In your own words.
— Syam Vist entrusts the future to the Princess of Zeon, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
Full Frontal: Complete nothingness, devoid of light, and even the passage of time has halted. This is how the world ends. A world which has reached the end of time. People may struggle all they like, but the outcome will not change. Surely even you understand this. Hope and possibility are nothing but fleeting dreams glimpsed at the doorstep of this nothingness. Illusions that offer no comfort. They lead people astray and create meaningless conflict. It is Newtypes who know this truth.
Banagher Links: Even so...
Full Frontal: One shouldn't place unwarranted hope in life that merely exists and then fades away.
Banagher Links: Even so!
Full Frontal: Heat... Warm light... Gather up as much of this as you like, it will change nothing. (two conspicuous balls of light surround the Neo Zeong) Yes. Nothing at all!
Lalah Sune: (approaching Full Frontal) This heat warms the universe, doesn't it?
Char Aznable: (placing his hand on Frontal’s shoulder) I suppose it's time.
Lalah Sune: Yes, I think you've let them know enough of those thoughts you had when you were you, Captain.
(Frontal draws his last breath. Lalah Sune leads the Neo Zeong and the Unicorn into the void and back to present space-time, where the Neo-Zeong disintegrates)
Banagher Links: This light, it's...
Char Aznable: (in a disembodied voice) I entrust it to you. That which you believe you have to do.
...
Amuro Ray: (emerging as a blue streak of light) Are you sure?
Char Aznable: Let's leave the rest to them.
(Lalah Sune chuckles in the background, as they ascend beyond time)
— The ghosts of the Universal Century are put to rest, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
Bright Noa: (on firing the Gryps II Colony Laser) Chairman Ronan. If you insist on carrying out this act, I will be an enemy of the Federation from this moment onwards.
Ronan Marcenas: Spare me your bluffs. You have a family, too. Are you sure you want to drag your children into this?
...
Riddhe Marcenas: Laplace's Box isn't just an issue for your family. Our ancestors who ushered in the Universal Century didn't simply abandon the excess human population in space. They embraced a glimmer of hope for the distant future and sent them out with as big a prayer as they could offer. Will that be turned into a curse? Or can we turn it into possibility? That's up to... [us]. There's no harm in knowing that we were blessed when we came into this world.
Banagher Links: If they'd just said that in the first place, it would've been easier to understand.
Riddhe Marcenas: Fathers never say enough to their children. The kids always have to fill in the blanks on their own.
Banagher Links: It's disastrous, isn't it?
Riddhe Marcenas: Yeah.
— The old and new generations of humanity and their ideals, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
I can see things the rest of you can't see now. Here, even time seems to glow. No matter how deep the despair, hope is always born out of it. You are light. Use even sadness as fuel and light the way. Together with the Princess. Humanity is standing on a threshold now. One day, the time might come when they will cross it while still in their physical bodies. The road leads here, over the rainbow.
— Marida Cruz, as a Newtype resonance spirit, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
—
Greetings, people of Earth, of space, everyone living in this world. I am Mineva Lao Zabi. Please forgive me for addressing you all in this manner. I am the heir to the Zabi family that once led the Principality of Zeon. However, the matter I am about to discuss has nothing to do with my lineage. Today, I learned a secret that affects the very foundation of the Federation government. I would like to inform you all of this secret, simply as one human being who lives in this world.
The Charter of the Universal Century was proclaimed at the dawn of the Universal Century. As I am sure you all know, this monument is the foundation of the Federation government and the keystone of its policy-making. It was always believed that the monument, which was erected 96 years ago within Laplace, the prime minister's residence, was lost in the terrorist bombing immediately afterwards.
However, it was not lost. While a replica monument was displayed at the Federation assembly building in Dakar, the original has been kept hidden all these years. Please look. What you see behind me now is the real Charter of the Universal Century that was erected in Laplace.
I believe you have noticed it. The genuine Charter of the Universal Century contained an article that we have never seen.
Zeon Deikun proposed his Newtype theory more than 40 years after this charter was created. I believe that this one passage, which was buried with the Laplace Incident, was nothing more than a prayer offered up to the distant future. But that coincidence has transformed this charter into a curse. What would happen if this passage were linked to Zeon's Newtype theory and spurred on the Spacenoid independence movement? This monument, which originally did nothing more than show the truth behind the Laplace Incident, has since become an object of fear, something which could topple the Federation government.
Fearing its very existence, the Federation conspired with the Vist Foundation, which had the monument in its possession, to keep it sealed away, calling it Laplace's Box. This may have been a misdeed, but it was also a decision that had to he made in order to maintain peace. However, as a result of this decision being passed dawn as an institution, the original intent of the Box was lost, and a mindset that shunned anything resembling Newtypes took root. After the nightmare of the One Year War, that mindset became the very core of the Federation government's inflexibility.
"[In the future, should the emergence] of a new space-adapted human race be confirmed, the Earth Federation shall give priority to involving them in the administration of the government." On that last night of the old calendar... [the monument signed by representatives of every nation].
Everyone who is listening to this broadcast, please discern the truth with your own eyes. And then, just as people did a century ago, I 'd like you to usher in the next century with goodwill in your hearts. Believing in the God called "possibility" that lies dormant within us all.
— Mineva Lao Zabi, revealing Laplace's Box to the whole of humanity, Episode 7, Over the Rainbow
