Overmind
The Overmind are an enemy that can be found in the Phantom forest of Final Fantasy VI. Possible sources of inspiration include the TV series "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future", Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End[1] and yoga.
In yoga, the Overmind is the state of consciousness of the gods Vishnu, Shiva et al. It is also referred to as the abode of the gods. The concept of the Overmind was introduced by the Indian Yogi Sri Aurobindo who lived between 1872 and 1950. According to him, there are several states of consciousness to which a man can attain. In the lowest level, there is the ordinary mind of man. In highest levels, there are the Overmind and the Supermind. Sri Aurobindo believed that if the power of the Overmind descended onto Earth, it would undergo a great transformation, whereby all falsities would be eliminated, with the exception of ignorance and the truths of the world would be unified.
In the 1987 TV series "Captain Power", the Overmind is the super-computer villain that consorts with the evil Hitler-esque character Lord Dread.
However, the term is most likely taken from Arthur C. Clarke's book[2], being from the science fiction genre, which is probably closer to the theme of Final Fantasy VI.
In Clarke's classic novel, fleets of extraterrestrial creatures known as the Overlords, descend from the far galaxy onto the skies of Earth. They propose peace and unity, bringing about the golden age of man. They are eventually found out to be subservient to a greater entity known as the Overmind. They are to guide Man in his final state of evolution and to watch over his apotheosis. After which he would be absorbed into the being of the Overmind.
"At the other end of the path? There lay the Overmind, whatever it might be, bearing the same relation to man as man bore to amoeba. Potentially infinite, beyond mortality, how long had it been absorbing race after race as it spread across the stars?"
—Childhood's End[3]
