Greetings! The wrasslin’ boys Fei and Bart have fallen Gear-first into a dank cave system. We discuss the contextually appropriate but questionably alive organisms down there before we run into your classic old-sage-in-a-cave, Balthazar. This prompts a dive into the influence of gnostic Christian texts, speculation on the creation myth metaphor, Xenogears' internal god-tier systems, and the tight grip on the pen that writes history. A man made god? Created with the wisdom of a god? Such a Gear would have the power of a thousand Gears. In a wave of its arm, it could destroy whole cities. Its battle cries would thunder in the heavens. 00:22 - Intro 01:18 - The boys fall through a sinkhole into a cave / Corvette sidequest 03:17 - Pirate territory and ethics 04:14 - Citan "Foreshadower" Uzuki chats with a silver-haired, very tanned man aboard the Yggdrasil 06:19 - Destroying the local flora and fauna in Gear combat 11:04 - Boulder #2 & Beyond 11:30 - Spelunking & self-sufficiency 12:35 - This cave-dwelling, Gear-fixing dude Balthazar lives here 13:20 - Balthazar etymology 15:40 - FOSSICKER 19:50 - Balthazar's myths and legends. "Omen" (music sample) 32:15 - Gear education and cave switch flipping 35:09 - Bart asks about the "God Gear" and we ask about localization 39:50 - Who's controlling history? 40:39 - Balthazar sees Weltall, the host for the spirit of the slayer of god 43:14 - Balthazar's relationship with Calamity 45:43 - Weltall & Brigandier vs Calamity 52:00 - Meeting up with Sigurd and (Old) Mason...and Citan 52:57 - Outro Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/retroAM, on Twitter @retroamnesiapod, and through e-mail at retrogradeamnesiapodcast@gmail.com.