moments

"The Empire is evil, but not ALL of its citizens are," Edgar tells Cyan in FF6 as he attempts to convince him to trust Terra and Celes. The quote not only speaks about those two characters, but about several in the series. So I have set aside this page to be dedicated to those who had the courage to stand up for their beliefs.

Cecil and Kain: The first true Moment of Conscience in the series is when Cecil expresses his dissatisfaction about the raids of the Red Wings that he commands. Cecil turns fully on Baron, which is commiting horrible acts throughout the world to obtain the Four Crystals. Kain, be it because of loyalty to his friend or because he is also dissatisfied with the situation, also speaks out against the king's actions. I put Kain in this Moment, because he does turn against Baron, despite his being controlled later in the game. These two risk everything in their lives to do what is right, and it does eventually turn out well in the end for them. Cecil and Kain'a Moment of Conscience stands as a monument in the series, like so many other things in FFIV, because it was the first.

Celes and Terra: I include Terra here as the secondary Moment of Conscience in FFVI, because she was never really working for the Empire, only controlled by them. However, she does have to choose her path, and sides against those with whom she had been "working." Not an altogether easy thing to do when you can't remember anything, so she does get mention in the Moments. But, it is Celes that has the true Moment in this game. She has been working freely with the empire, and had been granted her powers by them. After seeing what a horrible plan she was mixed up in, she defects from the Empire and its cause, risking, and even expecting, a most painful death for her actions. It is only through the actions of Locke that we are allowed to see the real danger Celes put herself in to stand up for her beliefs.

Cloud: The Moment of Conscience that Cloud goes through doesn't seem to be as much of a risk as those previously mentioned. He is not one of the highest ranking officers in Shinra's army. He is, in fact, considered a failure within Shinra. He does, however, turn against his former emplyers by joining AVALANCHE, a resistance movement headed by Barrett. Cloud's Moment may not have been quite as dangerous from the outset as those of Celes, Cecil (interesting...), and Kain, but it was no less of a struggle for him. After all, unlike the previous characters suffering through Moments, Cloud had not been raised in the environment of that against which he turned. He WANTED to be in the Shinra Army, he wasn't raised to be in it. Changing one's mind about a desire like that can be a very difficult experience. So Cloud's Moment of Conscience is just as well merited as those before.

Squall, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine: This Moment involves as many characters as all of the previous moments, and is a bit more involved than just turning on an evil empire; these five are forced to choose whether or not to kill the person that took care of them for the first few years of their lives. Aside from Zell, they really had no other family to speak of. They are forced to decide if they will kill the only real family they have ever known. That makes this particular Moment the one that stands out in my mind as being the most difficult, even though they are in no present danger from making their descision against Edea.