fate of emperor varis at the end

[Edax]

, nobody was aware Zenos would become for most intents and purposes immortal because of it..

Apparently technological immortality is just that easy to develop. Accidently.
And apparently technological immortality is just that easy to be lost. Because only one guy worked on it apparently.

[Crushnight]

Apparently technological immortality is just that easy to develop. Accidently.
And apparently technological immortality is just that easy to be lost. Because only one guy worked on it apparently.

These are the people who know Zenos is nigh immortal(We will kill him eventually just when):

1. Elidibus
2. Varis
3. Estinien
4. Gauis
5. Zenos

So how was Garlemald suppose to know they had created a near immortal being(and who is to say the other experiments Varis had used on Zenos didn't have any effect) when their leader and a deserter are the only 2 garleans besides Zenos who know so from anyone looking at the Resonant project they would deem it a failure.

A failure until Zenos makes a proclamation, he may very well ask the project be resumed in a way to make himself more powerful to fight us and once people see what it can produce, curiosity will take over and others will try and get it for themselves(Immortality is a high reward people would be willing to pay for) so right now the Resonant project could fade away or be brought back in the limelight who knows at this point except the writers/Yoshi.

[Cilia]

Apparently technological immortality is just that easy to develop. Accidently.
And apparently technological immortality is just that easy to be lost. Because only one guy worked on it apparently.

Unexpected results do happen.

Given as Zenos probably only started developing Resonance after getting to Ala Mhigo (he was inspired by Gaius' reports), and the project was an extension of Aulus' brainchild, I seriously doubt the rest of the Empire knows about what they were doing (except for Varis). Aulus was lambasted by the Imperial court except for Zenos. While Aulus did have assistants, it's pretty unlikely his research reports and notes were received by the greater Empire because they thought he was a crackpot and as far as we know his attempts at genetic modification were unsuccessful.

... and again nobody, not even Elidibus, even considered that his Resonance would give Zenos Ascian-style immortality or was aware that had happened until he attacked the Imperial palace. Even Zenos himself was surprised.

[Edax]

Unexpected results do happen.

Given as Zenos probably only started developing Resonance after getting to Ala Mhigo (he was inspired by Gaius' reports), and the project was an extension of Aulus' brainchild, I seriously doubt the rest of the Empire knows about what they were doing (except for Varis). Aulus was lambasted by the Imperial court except for Zenos. While Aulus did have assistants, it's pretty unlikely his research reports and notes were received by the greater Empire because they thought he was a crackpot and as far as we know his attempts at genetic modification were unsuccessful.

... and again nobody, not even Elidibus, even considered that his Resonance would give Zenos Ascian-style immortality or was aware that had happened until he attacked the Imperial palace. Even Zenos himself was surprised.

I can't for The Bismarck restaurant to accidently cook a hot dog capable of destroying Zodiark.

[Anselmet]

I have a feeling the next character we play as will be Estinien. And of course we will be saving Gaius during the fight.

[Absimiliard]

I have a feeling the next character we play as will be Estinien. And of course we will be saving Gaius during the fight.

Would much rather play as Gaius saving Gaius during the fight.

[geekgirl101]

I highly doubt he survived or will be coming back. He was interfering with Zenos's sick and twisted game and choosing in Zenos's words a coward's way of dealing with the enemy was detestable and unforgivable, Zenos would've ensured his death was ultimate even if he was his own father. His taste of death and returning from it has further deepened his psychosis on a much more darker level, I dare say he's more darker than Lord Vauthry and Emet-Selch put together. We are in for a very chilling battle when we face him off a 2nd time.

[Absimiliard]

Trouble is, that might become the hotdog that ended the world. If the first sundering of Zodiark split the world into its many shards, what would happen if you split him to the point of complete dissolution?

[Kallera]

Trouble is, that might become the hotdog that ended the world. If the first sundering of Zodiark split the world into its many shards, what would happen if you split him to the point of complete dissolution?

I think that is the question no one is asking about the sundering’s supposed “benefits” to supporting life.

[LineageRazor]

On the topic of the Garleans' raging incompetence, whether Aulus's project went relatively unnoticed depends on a lot of factors that we currently don't know.

I think we can agree that Zenos had little interest in sharing Aulus's research. The question, then, is why the Empire was willing to fund those projects. This depends a lot on how tight the Empire's purse strings are. If times are not lean (and the Empire's runaway military success prior to running into Eorzea could well mean their pockets are currently quite fat), it could well be that Zenos's rank alone was enough to get him all the funding he needed - or, at least get it with a minimum of fuss. His budget report might include, for instance, a line reading, "Aether manipulation and Echo Research - 200,000,000,000 gil". Varis is presented with it, rolls his eyes at his son's quirky hobbies, and mashes it with the "APPROVED" stamp. His son's keeping the peace, Varis is willing to indulge these little side projects to keep the guy satisfied with his lot.

If purse strings are tighter, the research could be something Varis is outright keeping hidden, lying to Aulus about one day showing the world his work, while privately intending to keep it for his own purposes. It's impossible to say how much of Aulus's equipment is standard-issue Garlean tech that's been re-purposed and modified for his research.

Those are reasons why the Empire would have few details about the research, while simultaneously allowing it to continue. It is incompetence, in a way - the same kind of incompetence which is inherent to any totalitarian rule. If a leader gets an idea in their head, there aren't many with the authorization to tell him "no". Also remember that this research is relatively recent. It would not have begun until after Zenos assumed control of Ala Mhigo, which was about five years ago. Aulus could have been doing work before that, as well, but it's stuff no one took seriously. There may be papers around someone could dredge up, if they bothered to look.

So, after the project succeeded in creating immortal super-soldiers, why didn't the word get out? As others have mentioned, too, immortality was not an intended and expected goal, and by the time anyone learned it could be a result the project had been dismantled by the rebels - and given the horrific nature of the experiments, chances are high they destroyed what they could find of the research, as well. The aforementioned scattered papers are likely all that remains of Aulus's work, and as his theories were in their infancy at that point, they likely would not provide much help in restarting the project. Plus, the only folks around who KNOW about the immortality are Varis, Elidibus, Zenos, Estinien, and Gaius - none of whom have much incentive to get the ball rolling again.

And what about the runaway success of Fordola? Again, as others have mentioned - WHAT success? She had one successful brawl with Lyse. The soldiers present might have been impressed by her performance, but unless they knew she was augmented AND managed to escape with that knowledge, we once again are reliant on Zenos's reports to the Empire to fill them in on any details. He'd also need to leave out mention of Fordola's string of failures, including the fact that the Alliance managed to completely undermine Fordola's Resonance - and that's if he was trying to IMPRESS the folks at home, which doesn't sound very Zenos-like at all. Aulus was likely thrilled, if he got word, but whether he was allowed to brag about it depends on how firmly Zenos has him under wraps.

At no point in the storyline was the Resonance shown to be a success. Only two "super soldiers" were successfully created, Fordola and Zenos. The former's performance was not stellar (and she's now suffering from Echo-induced guilt trips strong enough to make her question her loyalty to Garlemald), and the latter is Zenos, who is such a monster that he's ALREADY pretty much a super soldier. Indeed, the only talents he seemed to gain were the ability to control a Primal (which he did once, purely in order to play with his beloved frenemy, the WoL), and his immortality (which, again, no one knew about until the most recent cutscenes in the game).

tl'dr: the project was Zenos's baby, and he had little reason to share his baby with anyone else.

I think that is the question no one is asking about the sundering’s supposed “benefits” to supporting life.

I think that the prevailing popular theory on the forums is that the only benefit the Sundering brings to supporting life is that it removes Zodiark from the equation. Apart from Zodiark, there's strong indicators that the Sundering was HARMFUL to existing life, since it apparently removed the memories of all affected (a fate many consider akin to death).