| “ | When Dark Aether was born, our planetary energy was divided. Half for our world, and half for theirs. Should one world gain control of this energy, the other will perish. | „ |
| “ | May the Light of Aether shine upon you! | „ |
The Light of Aether pours from all three temples into the Main Energy Controller.
The Light of Aether, also known as the planetary energy, is a source of energy created from within planet Aether, seen in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Due to its status as a rogue planet, Aether has no sun, but the planetary energy has proven to be a sufficient equivalent, as it allows the planet to sustain many forms of life. Comprised of several types of energy, notably solar, bio, and geothermal[1], it is powerful enough to have not only endangered the planet itself in the distant past, but to also narrowly sustain two planets of equal size.
Long ago, Aether was in danger of being destroyed in the near future due to its supply of planetary energy having reached a critical stage. The peaceful Luminoth prevented this energy from expiring by constructing a Main Energy Controller and three sub-controllers that would collect, regulate, preserve, and radiate the planetary energy all across Aether through a global network. Since then, the Light of Aether is used by the Luminoth to stabilize the planet, sustain their settlements, and power their technology in Agon, Torvus, and Sanctuary.
Usage during the war[]
When a Leviathan collided with Aether, it not only tore the world into two (a light and dark Aether), but divided the planetary energy to both planets, leading to two dimensionally unstable worlds occupying the same area of space. This was likely the result of the impact between the meteorite's Phazon energy and the unique Light of Aether.
Prior to the impact, the planetary energy emitted a yellow color, but this same energy turned red within the opposite world. From the dark planet, the Ing, a warring race who sought the submission of other life-forms, began attacking the Luminoth's world and all its occupants, triggering a war. The Luminoth, desperate to bring a quick end to the conflict, devised a plan to acquire all the planetary energy from the opposite planet and bring it back to theirs, which would cease the existence of the Ing's homeworld and stabilize their own. The Energy Transfer Module was created to interact with and collect the Light of Aether.
However, during the war's final stages, Dark Aether's inhabitants stole the Energy Transfer Module, and with it, took the Luminoth's planetary energy from three of their temples and brought it to their respective opposite temples on Dark Aether. The future of the Luminoth looked bleak, and while the other remaining survivors placed themselves into stasis to await either a painless death or a miraculous salvation, the last Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos, awaited the final enemy assault on the Great Temple, which would result in the taking of the final Light of Aether, and consequently cause the planet's destruction. This is prevented, however, with Bounty Hunter Samus Aran's timely intervention; she arrives at the Great Temple just as Ing-possessed wildlife appears to take the Great Temple's planetary energy. Not only does she dispatch them, she also takes from them the stolen Energy Transfer Module. Samus then meets U-Mos, who explains his planet's situation and respectfully pleads for her aid in reacquiring the Light of Aether stolen from the Agon Temple, Torvus Temple, and Sanctuary Temple.
The Light of Aether is reclaimed from the Dark Agon Energy Controller.
Samus travels across the dimensionally fluctuating world, invading the dark planet, reclaiming portions of the Light of Aether, and defeating the Ing Horde's Guardians along the way. Whenever a portion of the light is taken from a Dark Temple, the sky of that entire region permanently fluctuates with a crimson color. Eventually, only one portion of light remains in the dark world, within the Sky Temple that contains the missing half of the Great Temple's energy, guarded by the Emperor Ing. Samus defeats the Emperor Ing and absorbs the final energy, which begins the collapse of Dark Aether. The start of this collapse is an event similar to an earthquake, but on a worldwide scale. As Samus returns to Light Aether through a nearby Portal, the Ing homeworld is eradicated.
Agon Wastes' Energy is returned.
The last portion of the planetary energy is seemingly brought back to the Great Temple when Samus uses the Light Shaft granting access to the Main Energy Controller room.
Additional usage[]
The Light of Aether seems malleable enough to be used for other means than sustaining planets. The Emperor Ing is shown engulfing the Sky Temple's planetary energy and is stated to be siphoning energy from it to empower itself. Strangely, Samus has absorbed the same type of energy numerous times throughout her mission, yet never gained additional power from it; this may be due to the fact that while the Emperor Ing is absorbing the Light of Aether directly into its body, Samus was merely gathering it into the Energy Transfer Module. The flying insects known as Lumites are naturally gifted in manipulating the planetary energy for nutritional, offensive, and defensive purposes.
The Light of Aether can also be converted into a Luminoth energy transport system if one is wearing the appropriate gear and technology. The Light Suit allows Samus to use this system to quickly travel between all the main regions of Aether, as well as accessing areas that are too high or otherwise impossible to reach. While the Luminoth are stated to use the Light Shafts for transportation, it is never mentioned what gear they require to do so, if any.
Trivia[]
- If Samus tries to leave the area she is in whilst she contains its Light of Aether, a telekinetic barrier will form over the doors. Scanning it reveals that the energy she carries is bound to the area and cannot leave it.
- Prior to the development of the Energy Transfer Module, Dark Aether and Light Aether each contained half the planetary energy. That equates to each Energy Controller, including the Main Energy Controllers housed in the Great Temple and the Sky Temple, having 12.5% of the world's energy.
- Curiously, several Luminoth Lore entries (The Sky Temple, The Final Crusade, Shattered Hope) insinuate that the entirety of Dark Aether's planetary energy could be collected from the Sky Temple's dark Main Energy Controller. Either the other three dark sub-controllers had remained empty until they were filled with their opposites' energy, or these sub-controllers always had their respective 12.5% energy, but due to their link with the main controller, one could absorb all four controllers' planetary energy from the Sky Temple.
- When Samus enters the Sky Temple, prior to the battle with the Emperor Ing, the Light of Aether is red, as is the case with every other portion of this energy found throughout Dark Aether. However, upon killing the Emperor Ing, the planetary energy returns to its original yellow color seen on the light planet; it is the only moment in the entire game when the planetary energy is yellow despite being present within a Dark Temple.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Retro Studios. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Nintendo. English. 2004-11-15. In-game scan: Main Energy Controller: Energy chamber: "Initial analysis complete.
Chamber holds a collection of several types of energy. Notable types include solar, bio, and geothermal energy. Unable to measure exact power levels with current scan equipment."