The Black Omen: How does everyone know?

[Xshu]

I never really thought about it, but how does everyone who comments on the Black Omen in 1000 and 600 AD know its name? I mean, it's understandable that they don't flip out about it, since it's been there for thousands of years, but how do they know what it's called?

[Chrono'99]

It's simple game mechanics. They call it by the same name because it would be unnecessarily complicated if they called it with all sorts of different names. It's like how everyone speaks the same language in all the timeline, with the only variations being in the prehistoric era.

But since Queen Zeal says "Black Omen" only once in the entire game, it could also be theorized that it was the people of the world who named that floating fortress "Black Omen", and Queen Zeal simply observed them and used that term when speaking to Crono's party so they would knew what she's talking about, regardless of what name she would really have in mind for the fortress.

[Xshu]

That second one makes sense to me. Thanks.

[V_Translanka]

Maybe it's part of their folk-lore or something...But, I mean, "Black Omen" is a pretty vague name for something black and ominous floating in the sky, yeah?

[maggiekarp]

I kinda have a theory that Lavos controlled the world a bit more than we'd like to think. The language, for example. Humans in the early ages didn't speak their own language, but a choppy version of what the Reptites had developed and spoke for years, and that was the language of the planet from then on (with the exception of Magus' spell chants). It's the Black Omen(Dream) because that's what they wanted us to call it.

The only major flaw in this theory that I see is that, with Lavos gone, languages would change and morph into completely different things like normal, and our poor heroes outside of the time stream would have no idea what people were saying to them all of a sudden.

[Generality]

I don't really think we can take the fact that everyone speaks the same language regardless of country or time period as strictly canon, at least from a story point of view. It's one of those things that you do in a video game to avoid certain headaches. I think if the Dream Team bothered to come up with a reason (t.i. excuse) for why everyone speaks the same language, they'd have mentioned it somewhere in the game.

[alpha]

"Hey bob... whats that ominous black thing in the sky?" " I dunno bill. a black omen?"

[justin3009]

I really don't know everyone knows about it.  Maybe when it rose, it kinda triggered a time altering thing that kinda made it seem like "it's been there since the world started."  But that still doesn't explain how it would alter time or anything.  Meh...weirdness.

[Dark Serge]

Yeah, you're right, I remember people saying stuff like "The Black Omen sure is shining today" or something, after the Black Omen had risen.

[justin3009]

Yea, I don't really get that.  Meh, just one of the minor flaws in CT.

[Chrono'99]

I don't get what's the problem?

[Dark Serge]

The problem is, before the Black Omen rises you don't hear anyone talking about it, but after it rises, everyone talks about it like it's always been there.

[Kebrel]

12000 b.c. Black omen rises and in 600A.D. people act like its always been there. Well It has always been there to them. 12600 years is a long time. If they don't remember Zeal then They wont remember The Black omen rising.

[Dark Serge]

Then what the hell happened with it BEFORE Crono and friends meddled with time? Apparently the Black Omen never rose, and the Ocean Palace never sank. So just what happened at the Ocean Palace? Did Lavos just destroy Zeal? Very weird.

[V_Translanka]

The Gurus interrupted, flung everyone in time so Q. Zeal never had any cause to raise the Black Omen. Maybe Lavos just absorbed her or something...*shrugs*