Thanks to asmoranomardicodais for the inspiration!
Back in the early days of the Internet, there was a popular, prevalent theory that Gogo was the twice-democratic presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson. It came from a very old website that had made up old Adlai Stevenson quotes that sounded very plausible but were also very obviously about Gogo. For instance, Stevenson mentioned that Eisenhower was adept at mimicking what the voters wanted, but that Stevenson was practicing his own mimicry, a quote about Congress being a massive monster ready to swallow you up, filled with callous men ready to push you off ladders if you ever got to close to them… Etc. It’s basically forgotten about now, but it was really popular back in the day, to the point that Adlai Stevenson was mentioned on Gogo’s Wikipedia entry.
There are also other theories that Gogo is Daryl, which makes a bit more sense and is a bit more serious. It’s likely that square intended him to be FF5’s Gogo, but as none of us had played V back at the time (we were still calling ffvi ffiiia!) no one knew to make that connection.
Most people don’t mention that Adlai Stevenson ran for president at least twice (hint, hint):
In both 1952 and 1956, Stevenson was defeated in a landslide by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, but was defeated by Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Maybe it’s actually possible that Gogo mimicked Adlai Stevenson? OK, this would imply Gogo is real, but s/he Gogo can mimic anyone. A Zone Eater sucked Adlai Stevenson underground sometime after 1956.
Why?
Why not?
There, Gogo observed Adlai Stevenson, crawled out of the Zone Eater temporarily, and entered politics. He ran two more times after Stevenson’s first foray. Gogo probably got by mimicking many of Aldai Stevenson’s words and actions while in office, and no one noticed. Sometime in the 1960’s:
President Kennedy appointed Stevenson as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. He served from 1961 to 1965.
But like the World of Balance and Ruin, the political landscape is always changing. Gogo couldn’t keep up with who Adlai Stevenson’s reputation. Gogo can only mimic the plan set before him, but he couldn’t create new policies. So eventually he went back to the Zone Eater, retrieved the original Adlai Stevenson and left politics for good.
But poor Adlai Stevenson; he could keep up with the political landscape either, or his newfound responsibilities. When he went to resume his position in politics, he couldn’t take it and:
died on July 14, 1965, from heart failure (after a heart attack) in London, following a United Nations conference in Switzerland. Following public memorial services in New York City, Washington, DC, and his childhood hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, he was buried in his family’s section in Bloomington’s Evergreen Cemetery.
…where a Zone Eater sucked his body underground.
The End.