Questions asked:
1. What is the nature of the Chronopolis ghost workers?
2. When was El Nido terraformed?
3. Why does the plaque at Chronopolis read 2400 A.D.?
4. What is phase metastasis?
5. What is the nature of the universe?
6. How could interaction with the outside world cause a paradox for FATE?
Note: I retract that relevant dimensions theory, as there is just not enough evidence out there concerning "incomplete dimensions" and such. In addition, the ghosts were talking about simulations, not real dimensions.
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1. Chronopolis ghost workers
Transition Theory
After Chronopolis went back in time and the inhabitants were dispersed to settle El Nido, a skeleton crew was retained and somehow transitioned to ghost workers still capable of physical interaction who would be immortal and staff the facility from thereon. This included the Chronopolis Chief. However, the process was not perfect; while some ghosts retained individual consciousness, others were doomed to repeat events leading up to the Time Crash endlessly. Eventually, when FATE was destroyed by Serge, the ghosts disappeared as their power source was lost. If you count the ghosts, notice that there are enough to sufficiently man each machine; no extras are shown. FATE may have also opted for a skeleton crew to increase the El Nido population more quickly; notice that the desk before the entry to the main part of Chronopolis lacks a secretary.
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2. When was El Nido terraformed?
The ghost was talking about the defense islands, as pointed out by bubblebobby2000. Question closed; no analysis needed.
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3. Why does the plaque read 2400 A.D.?
It could have been a clock, or simply a rededication; no analysis needed.
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4. Phase Metastasis
Record of FATE Transmission (D_H_Magus)
Metastatis means, "transmission of pathogenic microorganisms or cancerous cells from an original site to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, usually by way of the blood vessels or lymphatics." Taken in a different light, it could mean the introduction of new neurotransmitters to the brain by Records of FATE as they overwrite personality and memory to control the citizens of El Nido biologically.
Gate Statis (Aitrus)
Just going from the roots, and a scientific point of reference, it would most likely refer to keeping something in a constant, unchanging state of matter, such as keeping a material in a plasma form, or some such thing.
Quite possibly, he is refering to either a) some key component of FATE, B) FATE itself, or c) something unrelated and pertaining to their understanding of time travel.
It's entirely possible that Lucca's Gate Key has something to do with the afforementioned Phase Metastasis. It could be that it operates by forcing the Gate into a single state, or "phase," and holds it in stasis there, possibly through some electromagnetic field, therby allowing travel through it.
As for the FATE possibilities, it could be that FATE is a plasma creature, like the Dragon Gods were, and that the entire computer only works because it is in "phase metastasis."
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5. Nature of the Universe
Stability through Observation
There are countless dimensions and universes; the world is only stabilized from the viewpoint of the observer. For the Chrono series, the events take place in one dimension (two in Chrono Cross, one being an offshoot of another), called the Keystone Dimension, and later Home and Another Worlds. Dimensions run parallel to one another, never touching save through two exceptions. These includes the Missing Piece Observation and the Omnidimensional Existence Possibility notations. In the first case, an element from one dimension can travel to another if one of the dimensions is split directly from the other one. Concerning the second, certain entities may be aware of more than one dimension. At any rate, dimensions are closed universes and cannot be traversed normally. Each dimension contains its own history, called a timeline, which can be rewritten by time travelers; the discarded timeline would be sent to a Darkness Beyond Time in this scenario.
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6. Fate Paradox
Shift Disaster Possibility
Under Bubblebobby2000 and GrayLensman's theory that the entire Sea of Eden was realigned with the world of ten thousand years in the past, and judging from the Dead Sea's creation in Home World, it can be inferred that whatever occurs in the future will have a direct impact upon the Sea of Eden, which, since it exists ten thousand years beyond the outside world, would directly reflect the state of things. The Dead Sea was created simply because Lavos destroyed Home World beyond 1020 A.D. after the dimension came into existence. FATE fears that irrevocably changing the future will cause a such a disaster, and that Chronopolis must be created under the same conditions present in Keystone T-1. This does not mean that Chronopolis's existence hinges on probability or possibility.
