Imaginos trigger

Imaginos trigger
The Imaginos trigger in Final Fight.
Statistics
Purpose	Allows the Imaginos Body to undergo an irreversible transmutation process
Creator	Desty Nova
Users	Alita
Debut	Final Fight

The Imaginos trigger was a device developed by Desty Nova that allowed the first Imaginos Body to go through an irreversible transmutation process determined by the user's subconscious. Alita used it to transform herself into the Tree of Life and fuse with the sky hook, securing the docking bolt and preventing Tiphares from falling onto the Scrapyard.

Design

The trigger was a small handheld cylinder with an arrow at the top.

Plot

Desty Nova developed the trigger when he createdAlita's first Imaginos Body. When Melchizedek effectively committed suicide by dropping itself onto Mount Tiphares, this triggered a chain reaction that would collapse Tiphares onto the Scrapyard, destroying both cities in five minutes. When prompted by Alita on what could be done, Nova realized that she could use the Accelerator that had been designed into the Imaginos to quickly reach the sky hook. However to secure the docking bolt, she would have to transmute herself to fuse with it, an irreversible process that would be completely controlled by her subconscious. Alita agreed to go, bidding farewell to Lou Collins before traveling to Alhambra, where she saw Figure Four for the last time and silently apologised to him. Figure did not see her, but sensed her presence. After returning to Tiphares, she zoomed up the orbital elevator, arriving at the docking bolt. Back on Tiphares, Nova suddenly changed his mind about mentioning the trigger, wishing Alita failure as he realized that he could not tolerate "to be rescued by the selflessness of my own experimental subject".

At the docking bolt, Alita contemplated the Earth below, finding herself unable to cry. Thinking that she had never been so lonely, she realized that these feelings would soon leave her as she lay down on the docking bolt and fused with it, transforming into the Tree of Life and saving both Tiphares and the Scrapyard. Seeing the results of Alita's utter selflessness drove Nova completely insane.

Other appearances

The trigger appears in Gunnm: Martian Memory, but much later in the story. When she is about to leave Mars, Gally receives a package from Nova. It includes the trigger and a note informing her that the Imaginos Body has the ability to undergo a transmutation once. She will never be able to return to who she was once she undergoes this, and it could turn out for good or ill. On Phobos at the grave of Tiger Sauer, Gally uses the trigger. She does not transform outwardly, but feels that she has undergone dramatic changes within herself, giving her new capabilities.