Society of Light - History

History

In the timeline of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime, in the dark recesses of space several hundreds of millions of years ago, a white hole released the dark matter of a black hole, as well as a great energy known as the "Light of Destruction", which bombarded the Earth throughout the course of history, propagating wars, disasters, crimes, and dictatorships. The "Ultimate Destiny Card" created by Aster Phoenix's father was corrupted by such energy; having infectious properties that rival the powers of the Egyptian God Cards and Sacred Beast Cards, the card causes both Sartorius and Pro League king, The D, to develop split personalities, with the former founding the Society of Light.

On the surface the goal of Sartorius and his organization appears to be world domination starting with Duel Academy by expanding their syndicate, but Sartorius evidently wishes to put his stalled fate back into motion through the powers of Aster and Jaden Yuki. In the English version, his goal solely lies in enslaving humanity, while in the Japanese version, he aims to put an end to the "age of darkness" by destroying the planet to restore balance to its imperfect state, and create the world (or on a greater scale, the universe) anew.

Members are brainwashed into the Society's fold by losing to Sartorius or one of his representatives in a Duel, using Sartorius' own mystical powers of fate-prediction and his talent for pushing an opponent's buttons to make them lose faith in their own lives and convince them that joining the Society is a much preferable alternative. Duelists reined into the Society in this manner are usually very devoted to its goals, and have a deep obsession with the color white. Only those with incredibly strong wills or those under the influence of outside forces can escape the Society's hold, and at its basic level, Sartorius' mind control is not necessarily absolute; with some duelists, aspects of their old personalities can shine through on occasion, though this can be rectified should Sartorius exercise more strength in using his powers. The signature card used by the highest-ranking members is White Veil, which represents their belief in "light of truth".

Shortly after the second year begins, Chazz Princeton is defeated by Sartorius and coerced into joining the organization. From then on, he serves as means of converting the remaining top Obelisk Blue students (and eventually, the top Ra Yellow students) to their cause. In the process, both Alexis Rhodes and Bastion Misawa are also recruited.

Under Sartorius' request, Chancellor Sheppard invites Prince Ojin of the kingdom of Misgarth (Misralz) to participate in the GX tournament. By defeating him in a Duel, Sartorius acquires the control switch to the country's mind control satellite, along with the two keys for its activation (in the Japanese version, it is instead the most destructive laser satellite in the world, known as Sora (ソーラ, Sōra?). To prevent his evil side from instigating his plans, Sartorius eventually approaches Jaden and Aster, giving them the keys. In response, his evil personality assigns more dueling assassins to win the keys back, but is unsuccessful.

Aster then breaks into Obelisk Blue looking for Sartorius, and finds him waiting in the Society of Light's private duel field. Intending to keep his promise of saving Sartorius from his destiny of becoming a destroyer, Aster considers relinquishing his key to the satellite, but is persuaded by Jaden to do otherwise. Recognizing the present Sartorius as an impostor posing as his friend, he wagers the key in a Duel, but is quickly overwhelmed by the Light of Destruction.

Following Aster's defeat, Jaden takes his place to determine the fate of the world by dueling Sartorius. While the battle is taking place, Chazz successfully reverts most of the Society of Light's members back to their former selves with the assistance of a group of Obelisk Blue students, thereby releasing Duel Academy from the Society's grip. Having obtained both keys due to a blunder on Jaden's part, Sartorius takes complete control of Ojin and orders him to the engage the mind control satellite. Sarina hacks into and disables the satellite's programming, allowing both Elemental Hero Neos and Tyranno Hassleberry to destroy it. Shortly thereafter, Jaden defeats Sartorius, and the Light of Destruction is sealed away.