Hobbies And Interests
Appearance
The Gnosis do not take their own corporeal forms most of the time because they are comprised largely of sodium. Called "white horrors," they appear like a blob of shadowy mist when characters see them as they truly are. The player battles Gnosis that look like robots, animals and even people, but that is purely due to Gnosis possession. Gnosis act as parasites when they overtake a host's body. The Gnosis you will encounter in the game include possessed dragons as well.
Parasitism
When a Gnosis encounters a being it wants to be its host, the creature will attack. Some robots, animals and people disintegrate when Gnosis attack them. They turn to salt because they are not strong enough to handle the possession. If a machine, animal or person does not disintegrate, the Gnosis is able to move into the new host. After the Gnosis possesses its host, that machine, animal or person kills without thinking. A rare number of people retain their minds after possession and call themselves "enlightened."
Objective
The Gnosis have destroyed 10 percent of all humans before "Xenosaga" begins. Gnosis exist in a separate intersecting dimension called "imaginary space," which is why their natural forms appear shadowy and indistinct. Spoiler: After playing the games, you will discover that Gnosis are deceased human spirits. The Gnosis are people who died but refused to move on to the afterlife because they lived lives full of fear or had severe distrust of humanity. Although they do not think like a human enemy might, the Gnosis are compelled by their once-human wills to destroy humanity.
Battling Gnosis
The main characters of "Xenosaga" can battle Gnosis even before they attach themselves to a physical host. An anti-Gnosis technique called the "Hilbert effect" acts as a physical barrier that pulls the Gnosis into physical form. While under the Hilbert effect, Gnosis are susceptible to damage. Spaceships and special fighters can use the Hilbert effect at will.