Final Fantasy VIII goes further than Final Fantasy VII into the realm of outer space, that enigmatic ocean of void that surrounds this oasis of life we call Earth. What is Final Fantasy implying about human beings and our future? Perhaps there is an uspoken voice calling from the star-spangled darkness beckoning the human soul to liberate from this birthplace of civilization and traverse the frontier of our imagination's desire. The universe holds limitless possibilities, and it can not be denied that the realms we invision today within the sanctum of our mind will someday be made manifest upon it's grandiose stage.

The challenge of conquering the vastness of space presents itself as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle but as humans have developed intellectually our insaciable desire for knowledge has transcended what was previously thought impossible. We do not try to overcome these adversities because they are easy, but rather because they are difficult. Long ago people said the world was flat, and Christopher Columbus looking for a shorter trade route to Asia proved that it was round and accidentally discovered an uncharted continent. Pioneers valiantly colonized this fantastic New World in hopes of building a better society. Their brethren and decendants tamed the wilderness of the Americas bringing with them a collective spirit of adventure and a curiousity about these undiscovered places. Centuries ago people believed that the earth was the center of the universe, but Galileo proved we were merely a part of an eternal cosmic waltz with the other bodies in our solar system around the closest source of gravity, our sun, and likewise just an insignificant grain of sand in comparison to all the stars of the galaxy. It was once said by people that man will never fly like the birds, and humans created airplanes. We took flight and became masters of the sky. Many who gazed at the Moon admonished those that said humans would ever venture there. Such nonsense was called Science Fiction. In 1969, humankind broke free from this world and landed upon this extraterrestrial place proving that what once was impossible could be accomplished with steadfast determination and a drive to combine intelligence and ingenuity to expand the horizon of human knowledge.

Reflecting on the events of this past millenium it is possible to view the proliferation of knowledge, sometimes used for the advancement of a greater good while other times used as a tool of to gain power by a leader of people or a group to create distruction and war. Knowledge and philosophy propagated science and from science arose technology, an inevitable result of social evolution that all intelligent lifeforms must encounter to progress as a species. Technology has been both exhalted and feared. It has paved the way for making human lives paradoxically simpler yet more complicated. Those who cling to ancient traditonal domains of thinking tend to dread and even deny the discoveries technologies have found because these things present a threat to their very foundations of understanding existance. To evolve is to create, and to create is to evolve. As time marches forward and humans pass their knowledge onward, a seed that was once planted long ago becomes a great tree, but it's roots still remain in the past anchored to the foundation of a single man's thought; a man who chose to expand beyond what was accepted by the society of his time and unknowingly became a voice that reverberates through history. Collectively the efforts of such visionaries to change the way people view and understand their world has afforded the human race a chance at actualizing its dreams. The fate of human beings resides in the responsible and constructive use of all the accumulated knowledge and technology.

The time period we live in today marks the turning point in human history when technology has just begun to give us as a race the opportunity to go beyond the boundary of previous doubt into the realm of that which has yet to be explored and understood, and probe the places that exist so far yet so close to us. Astronomers gaze toward the night sky, plotting the courses of tomorrow's intrepid journeymen. Scientists build machines to chart our solar system and become better acquainted with the mysterious wilderness that will someday play host to humankind's colonization. The spirit of men to discover the truth about themselves and their origins will impower future generations to set foot on distant worlds and bring with them that endearing hope that they will come closer to realizing their imagination's longing for manifestation.

With space travel and occupation directly in the path of human destiny, the unavoidable question of whether human beings are a solitary entity in the universe presents itself more often and with more fervent need for resolution. Many scientists only until recently have believed that Earth represents a very unique state of circumstances transpiring under only very limited boundaries, but with new ideas and discoveries presenting themselves in recent times, this notion has been reassesed. The announcement of ancient microbial life existing on the planet Mars, potential life thriving in warm oceans under the ice sheets of Saturn's moon Europa, and the discovery of numerous extrasolar planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy, have brought a very sobering likelihood to the doorstep of human society. We are not the unique masterworks of God we have so brazenly proclaimed through history. Examining this issue logically, isn't is rather naive to believe that we as a race are the most intelligent beings anywhere, and our average planet represents the only example of life in the entire universe. Our elitist beliefs, harbored since the dawn of philosophy have sheltered us from the potential responsibility of accepting that we don't have all the answers and may be just akin to children in comparison to those who've already grown up millions of years ago and done the things we have yet to accomplish. This latent fear of not being in control of all knowledge has been inculcated into the very fabric of civilization and may postpone our excursions into interstellar space until time and social change adapt the human race to accept this potentially planetwide revolution. Then again, the "aliens" may someday come knocking at our door (they may already have in some places and times), when they see we are ready to play with the big kids and join the interstellar community.

On a clear night, go outside sometime and turn your eye toward the heavenly expanse above that has been viewed upon by peoples of this planet since the dawn of civilization itself, and know that what you see is the future and the past coverging within that one moment. In that thought you have transcended linear time itself and heard the voice of the universe. Those pinpoints of light will someday harbor the adventures for tommorow's trailblazers. Your fantasies may not be final, for these distant places represent the manifold diversities of all that can be created within the mind's eye and beyond.