Gem’s bodies function in much the same way that Star Trek holograms do, being light that can interact with its surroundings, either from force fields (Star Trek) or some kind of false mass (Gems). The Doctor from Voyager (in later seasons) is even more like a Gem, being a corporeal hologram with a mobile emitter. So herein lies point 1: Gems could be some sort of AI, their gems being their emitter/CPU.

But how could an AI such as this come to exist? At this point, the answer is probably so ancient, it does not even matter. I posit that they were the artificial client/servant AI of an even more ancient race, and when that race died off, the Gems eventually forgot their origins. That could explain why they have a caste-like system, those were their original purposes.

Corruption, then, simply becomes the result of file errors within the AI. It maintains the ability to emit a massed hologram, but the underlying structure and personality has become screwed up. The big geode that Greg taped up? That could have been a data virus bomb, which added corrupt data to every gem on earth that wasn’t shielded. If Steven or the other gems can create some sort of anti-virus, they could uncorrupt gems.

Steven is going to find a way to uncorrupt Centipeedle (my bets are on it being Jade), and Lapis. “But wait a minute, Lapis isn’t corrupt!” NOT YET! You see, every gem-related character has been the opposite of their outside appearance. Garnet seems cold and independent, but she is the most loving to Steven, and is literally a co-dependence. Pearl seems wise and eloquent, but has shown to blurt things out and has made dumb decisions. Amethyst is confidant, but inside has self-esteem issues. Lapis was shown to be kind (to Steven) and scared, but WHOOO BOY does she have rage issues. The stress of holding together Malachite will mess her up, and Jasper too. I see Jasper realizing her follies, she’s a Quartz, taken down by subordinate due to her own plans, and healed by her enemy. Lapis may get corrupted from the stress (her corrupt form is a cthulhu-like entity), but Steven will save her.

Also Lapis is a superweapon commissioned by Blue Diamond. She’d going to want her weapon back.

This has been crackpot theories with Mr. ofCheese