Belthasar

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Belthasar, the Guru of Reason, is a non playable character (NPC) in the Chrono Trigger video game.

Early in the game Belthasar appears as a scientist in the Keeper's Dome in A.D. 2300. Initially he is busy working with a Nu on some mysterious project. Later in the story he comes back to play two vital roles. Belthasar was banished to the future by Queen Zeal after protesting against using the power of Lavos. Belthasar is the mechanical genius who created the Blackbird, the Mammon Machine, as well as his last and greatest invention: the Epoch.

It is later revealed that Belthasar is not of A.D. 2300; he is actually the Guru of Reason, a wise and respected sage of the Kingdom of Zeal. Upon the awakening of Lavos, he is drawn into a time vortex, along with the Guru of Life, the Guru of Time, and Queen Zeal's son Janus. Whereas the Guru of Life (Melchior) was deposited in A.D. 1000, the Guru of Time (Gaspar) went to the End of Time, and Janus (later known as Magus) went to A.D. 600, Belthasar was sent to 2300 A.D.

At this point it becomes quite evident Queen Zeal considers the Gurus (and likely her two children) as threats to her power. Thus she welcomes their banishment across time, though, prior to this, Belthasar and the other Gurus had already been imprisoned or silenced in some manner.

Belthasar's arrival in A.D. 2300

After being sealed off from 12000 B.C., the heroes need a means to return and this quest eventually leads to Belthasar's dome and his last invention, the Wings of Time, given the name "Epoch" by the party. By this time Belthasar has passed on and his assistant Nu (which has had Belthasar's actual consciousness implanted in its mind, presumeably causing Belthasar's body to die) provides Crono with the ship and instructions on its use. Following Crono's death at the Ocean Palace, Belthasar's final gift enables you to bring back Crono. If you have the Chrono Trigger (also known as Time Egg) and a Crono Clone in hand, Belthasar's Nu executes its last programming code and sends three Poyozo Dolls to Death Peak to help you traverse the perilous path to Crono's salvation, which results in freezing time at the point of his death, and replacing Crono with a clone. After which, he kindly asks the party to "turn off" the Nu, so that it may rest for eternity.

Belthasar's English version name is taken from a religious reference. Belthasar is another form of the traditional name of one of the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus. While Gaspar has a name that is also a slight variation of its traditional religious equivalent, Melchior's name is identical to his traditional religious counterpart. The three gurus each had different names in the original Japanese version of the game; Belthasar known as Gash, Melchior as Bosh, and Gaspar as Hash.

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