Did the Time Devourer "select" Serge?

[Ris]

Schala's compassionate interference on Serge's behalf by sending a clone to 1006 AD directly resulted in Lavos surviving the 12,000 AD battle with Crono and co, but not necessarily because it kept Serge alive.  What's important isn't necessarily whether Serge lives or dies, but that some human makes contact with the Frozen Flame and then manages to stay alive afterwards.  My reason for believing this is a quote from Belthasar from after you defeat the Dragon God TD.

Belthasar:
   The one who connects with
   the Frozen Flame, in effect,
   links with Lavos itself.

Belthasar:
   As the mediator between Lavos
   and living things, that one will
   gain extraordinary powers!
   By binding with the new
   seed of destruction...
   the '"Devourer of Time!"'

I think that what Belthasar is suggesting is that Serge will fulfill for Lavos the role that was once filled by Queen Zeal, the only difference being that Queen Zeal was linked to Lavos by the Mammon Machine, whereas for Serge it's the Frozen Flame.  If this is the case, then upon contact with the Flame (and the formation of a connection to Lavos) Serge immediately gained eternal life (as long as he isn't killed) and probably would have eventually gained Zeal-style magical powers (perhaps Luminaire is an early manifestation).  Also like Queen Zeal, it means that Serge, over time, would have become more and more Lavos' puppet.  It doesn't really matter who it is that comes in contact with the Flame since Lavos can guide their actions to ensure that they do whatever needs to be done to change the timeline so that Lavos survives.

The reason that Schala hears Serge's cries isn't because there's something special about Serge or because his cries were particularly compelling, but rather because the Time Devourer allows/causes her to hear them, because it has calculated that Schala will interfere in a way that will cause Serge to come into contact with the Frozen Flame (which is seen by the TD as the easiest/surest way to ensure a human comes into contact with it), and probably also calculated that her interference will nullify the side-effect of Serge's 1010 AD death.  Since the TD had some influence over Schala's mind, it may also have played a role in determining what her reaction would be.

Remaining, however, is the question of how Serge "saves" Lavos.  The best I can come up with is that he would have lived until 2300 AD and either killed Crono and co. when they time traveled there, or just prevented them from seeing the "Day of Lavos" video.  However, that creates a paradox that would have to be worked out somehow, since Serge would have to experience the Day of Lavos (since Crono and co. only travel to the ruined future) "before" he saves Lavos.  Alternately, Serge might in the future travel back in time to 1000 AD, 600 AD, 12,000 BC, 65,000,000 AD or the End of Time and kill Crono and co. before they reach the Ocean Palace, but that explanation is far more speculative.

[ShoeMagus]

Its an interesting idea. But I have to disagree on the subject of Serge later becoming a puppet. If Serge was going to become a puppet, then Lynx need never have taken over Serge's body. If I recall correctly, wasn't the Time Devourer controlling Fate to some degree?

I think that due to Serge's nature, he couldn't have willingly become a slave for Lavos.

Another thought: If the FF was inside the Mammon Machine then Queen Zeal would have had a similar link to Lavos. But notice that she embraced Lavos before and that was what allowed her mind to topple.

[Zaperking]

I actually like this idea.
Though, I don't really think that the TD chose Serge. I mean, Schala would probably save anyone. After all, Belthasar planned it all, yet it's still not explained why Serge was the one that was heard. Though, I always think that Serge is related to Schala, like as in Magus is related to Schala. Who knows. I know that Magus supposedly exists co-herently in that era, but Serge could always be a reincarnation of Janus from another time or you know, an essence or something like that.

As for Serge saving Lavos - he doesn't. It's Chronopolis that almost saved Lavos, but Lavos couldn't pull Chronopolis far back in time. What Serge is going to do, is that he is the final key. As the arbiter, and until he dies or passes that power, he is the other link to the flame and the other component of Lavos' final transformation. He's the arbiter because he not literally controls the future. It's just his decision. If he runs and doesn't merge with Lavos, Lavos will just evolve later. If Serge defeats him and dies, it's over. If Serge willingly merges with him, it's all over. But if Serge fights, with everything that he has, with his friends, and with the help of the 6 melodies of the 7th element, the Chrono Cross will free Schala and Lavos will be reborn as another being, or go back to Zurvan (I finally understand what Schala was going on about in the end).

As for Schala and the flame. Schala is still the old arbiter, Schala talked through the flame, her mind is probably in sync with Lavos'. The Flame isn't a seperate consciousness, but it is a seperate entity. The flame wouldn't have told her. And remember, at that time of Serge's panther attack, Schala was falling through time, according to the script. If that is so, as she was outside the 1006AD, she could have seen through it parallel in her timestream and reached out and helped. Then she fell into the DBT and got merged. That or Schala was still struggling fighting Lavos, and then heard the crying. W/e.

As for Zealian Style Magic, Luminaire isn't that great. Remember, Crono and co except Magus only have primitive magic compared to all of the Zealians.

As for Queen Zeal, maybe. I still find Schala more of the arbiter as she was the one who controlled the machine. Zeal just went along with Lavos, thinking that he really liked her. I mean, in the end, he really didn't help her. All she did was drain the Mammon Machine's energy for herself.
But Schala - she is special. The fact is that she obviously has some power as she kept Lavos going. I mean, come on. Lavos obviously wasn't totally gona die if he could wait in the DBT till Schala arrived, especially the fact that he can grab onto her and merge, and then later fight through her barrier and fight Serge.