The Cryptical Bureaucrat
Mystery Man Government Man Our Mutual Friend The Employer
Evil-doerFull NameAliasThe G-ManOriginOccupationPowers/SkillsHobbyManipulating people to his own benefit.
Watching certain people from the shadows.
Goals
Unknown (possibly to please his employers and/or cover up the Black Mesa incident).
CrimesInstigating the Black Mesa incident
Supplying resources for the Black Mesa incident
Destruction of Black Mesa Stalking Messing with military operations Type of Villain
The G-Man is a primary character and on-and-off villain in the FPS thriller series Half-Life, although it remains a mystery who or what he truly is or what his true role and motives are. The G-Man is an older looking business-type man who appears throughout the series in various forms and places, often delivering cryptic messages to the main characters, and seemingly controlling them, or at least observing them at all times. He is usually seen with a mysterious briefcase.
During gameplay, G-Man often makes appearances in areas that are out of the player's reach, only confronting the player directly at the end of the game where he has taken away access to their weapons. In-between Half Life and Half Life 2, he seems to put Gordon Freeman in stasis until the Earth has been successfully taken over by the Combine.
Description
G-Man is seen throughout the game either watching the player, or tending to another task such as talking to other characters or simply walking through the area. His appearance is that of a businessman always wearing a blue suit, tie, and carrying his signature briefcase which upon close observation contains a handgun and photo. Other distinct features being his rough sandy face, flat hair cut and widows peak, and his abnormally light blue eyes. However his most distinct feature is his calm raspy voice, often slurring, pausing between words, and stretching syllables in a way that makes his voice more distinct than others.
This all falls together with his uptight look, he constantly maintains his appearance as he is commonly seen straightening his tie or wiping dirt off his coat, this mixed with his twisted ideals makes him a perfect villain, giving him a calm trust-able facade over a cold monstrous personality.
Character
As G-Man's name implies he acts exactly as an agent of the FBI, with his calm clever personality, and his concerns in taking care of the Black Mesa incident in a professional and clean way, leaving Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard to do that for him. G-man does not appear to work alone, rather he works for his 'employers' as he calls them, saying that he is simply doing what he's told. G-man's job in the incident seems to be simply setting up the dominoes and knocking the first one down, leaving the reaction to occur as he intended in an ultimate effort not to elevate the situation, but to end it.
However he does not seem to be out to stop the problem but to stop it and silence it, leading him to nuke the entire facility and discard of all witnesses except for those he finds useful later on. Though he has a human appearance he is anything but, G-man possesses many supernatural powers such as teleportation, inter-dimensional travel, and even the ability to stop time, also he speaks in a way that seems like he's struggling to pronounce some words, and above all he is completely invulnerable.
HistoryHalf-Life
For most of the game the G-Man watches Gordon Freeman as he attempts to survive in Black Mesa in out-of-reach areas
Once Gordon prevails against and defeats the Nihilanth, the G-Man teleports Gordon to a strange, elevator-like place and removes all of his weapons and tools, claiming they were 'government property', and begins rambling about his 'employers', how Xen is now under his 'employers' control and of Gordon's 'limitless potential', teleporting them around various places of Xen as he does so, once he is done rambling, he will teleport both of them to a Black Mesa tram that appears to be flying through space at high speeds, giving him an offer to work for him, opening a portal to an unknown location
If Gordon refuses to enter the portal, the G-Man sees this as Gordon refusing his offer, enraged but keeping his calm, the G-Man teleports Gordon infront of an army of Alien Grunts, leaving him with the phrase 'No regrets, Mr. Freeman.', in the files their is an extended version of this phrase, 'No regrets, Mr. Freeman, but there are a few survivors of your personal holocaust, who would like the chance to meet the man responsible for the total annihilation of their race.', meaning G-Man knew the Alien Grunts would murder Gordon out of revenge for their race, and to ensure this, never returned Gordon's weapons, leaving him defenseless against the army
If Gordon does enter the portal, the G-Man will congratulate Gordon for his choice, putting him in stasis in his realm to wait for the up-coming Combine invasion to use Gordon as a tool to effectively silence the Combines.
Half-Life: Opposing Force
While Adrian Shephard is training in boot camp, the G-Man accelerates his training without anyone knowing, the drill instructor commenting about it
Meanwhile in Black Mesa, it seems Adrian is finished as radioactive liquids steadily rise towards him, however G-Man opens a door, allowing him to escape the dangerous liquids and saving his life
However later when trying to escape Black Mesa, before Adrian can escape, G-Man closes the door on him, forcing him back into the facility
Even later G-Man re-arms the nuclear bomb Adrian had dis-armed earlier to destroy the Black Mesa facility, leaving the Alien Invasion problem to Gordon to clean-up
After Adrian kills the Gene Worm, G-Man teleports him to safety on a HECU V-22 Osprey, G-Man once again begins rambling about his 'employers' and their wishes to effectively silence all witnesses of the Black Mesa incident, but decides against their wishes and decides to spare Adrian, but he must be detained, however G-Man begins musing about the fact of Adrian's ability to 'adapt & survive against all odds' in Black Mesa, a giant explosion is then seen in the background, signaling Black Mesa's destruction, G-Man then teleports the Osprey to Xen before finally teleporting it into the same void seen at the end of Half-Life, describing it as a place where Adrain can 'do no harm' and 'no harm can come to him', he then opens the cockpit door and summons a portal before leaving Adrian in the empty void.
Half-Life: Blue Shift
The G-Man appears momentarily at the beginning of the expansion pack, appearing to either not notice Barney Calhoun, or is just completely ignoring him.
Half-Life: Decay
Similar to Half-Life: Blue Shift, the G-Man only appears momentarily at the beginning of the expansion pack, appearing to either not notice doctors Gina Cross and Colette Green, or is just completely ignoring them.
Half-Life 2
G-Man awakens Gordon from stasis 20 years after the Black Mesa incident, however after the prologue he once again stalks Gordon from out-of-reach areas, especially during vehicle sequences
G-Man appears at the end of the game after Gordon does critical damage to the Dark Energy reactor, resulting in a giant explosion that would have no doubtedly killed Gordon, however G-Man suddenly slows and stops time, slowly appearing in the area and once again begins rambling about how it is his 'time' again, he then decides instead of offering Gordon the illusion of free will, which is no doubtedly mentioning the fact that G-Man kills Gordon in Half-Life if he refuses his offer, he takes the liberty of deciding for him and once again teleports Gordon to his realm, supposedly leaving Alyx to be annihilated by the explosion, and once again puts Gordon back in stasis, ending the game by straightening his tie and leaving through a door.
Half-Life 2: Episode One
The G-Man appears at the beginning of the game, appearing through the same door seen at the end of Half-Life 2, suddenly a purple glowing Vortigaunts with a blue glowing eye appears, however G-Man seems amused by this sight, another purple Vortigaunt appears, wiping the smirk off G-Man's face, more and more purple Vortigaunts appear, a look of irritation now on the G-Man's face, 2 purple Vortigaunts then appear next to Gordon, realizing the Vortigaunts mission is to retrieve Gordon from his realm, and that the purple Vortigaunts chanting was restraining him, irritation shifts to anger, straightening his tie violently, G-Man replies to the purple Vortigaunts chanting with the phrase 'We'll.. see about.. that.', however before G-Man can break free, the purple Vortigaunts successfully teleport Gordon out of the G-Man's realm and away from his grasp, after this G-Man is not seen for the rest of the game.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Before the Vortigaunts could begin healing Alyx, time suddenly stops, G-Man cals out to Gordon, and explains the Vortigaunts have somehow been preventing him from telekinetically talking to Gordon, he then explains how the Vortigaunts used to care nothing about Alyx as all their experiences with humanity ended with a crowbar coming to them through a steel corridor, G-Man then reveals he 'plucked' Alyx from Black Mesa and used to think of her as nothing more than a child, however he learned to ignore the 'naysayers', and explains he remains confident that she has more worth then the appraisal, he then explains how he wishes for 'repayment' for saving Gordon's life in Half-Life 2, this repayment is safely escorting Alyx to White Forest, then expresses his wishes to not be able to just keep an eye on Gordon, but has agreed to abide by certain 'restrictions', before leaving, he tells Alyx to relay these words to her father: Eli Vance, 'Prepare for unforeseen consequences.'
Once Gordon, Alyx and Eli meet up, Alyx walks up to her father and relays G-Man's words before holding her head, G-Man briefly appearing on the tv screen before she speaks, Eli is disturbed by her words and makes an excuse to make her leave the room, after Alyx leaves Eli reveals he to like Gordon is aware of the G-Man's presence and reveals that G-Man supplied Black Mesa with GG-3883, a substance that ultimately caused the Black Mesa incident and whispered into his ear 'prepare for unforeseen consequences' shortly before the Resonance Cascade, Eli tells Gordon he believes the phrase is a warning regarding the Borealis, and reiterates his belief that it should be destroyed lest the events of the Black Mesa incident repeat themselves, however anything else Eli knew about the G-Man is left unsaid as he is killed by an Combine Advisor.
Half-Life 2: Episode Three
It is unknown if the G-Man will appear in the unreleased third episode of Half-Life 2.
Characters who 'work' for the G-ManGordon Freeman
Gordon Freeman is a scientist in the Anomalous Materials Labs of the Black Mesa Research Facility where the entire incident begins. G-man is very interested in Gordon, seeing him as a perfect employee due to his persistence and skills which ultimately lead him to stop the invasion and save the world. G-man is seen constantly watching Gordon from a distance even before the incident occurs, he is finally confronted at the end of the game explaining that his 'employers' agree with him that Gordon has limitless potential. Though G-man's conversational skills are calm and professional, his negotiation skills are designed to get what he wants. When he confronts Gordon at the end he offers him a job working for him and leads him through a portal which then takes off in Half life 2, but if refused he will teleport him back to the alien homeworld in front of an army of alien grunts leaving him to be massacred by what he addresses as 'survivors of your personal holocaust.'
Adrian ShephardAdrian Shephard is a military operative of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit that infiltrates the facility to combat the alien forces, and Black Mesa personnel. Shephard enters the military academy to become a simple soldier but is strangely bumped up to special training for the HECU. G-man can be seen standing in a window looking down at Shephard in the camp, emphasizing that G-man bumped him up intentionally. Shephard is deployed soon after to combat the incident where he loses most of his squad, and is forced to retreat with the rest of the soldiers, only to be stopped by G-man, denying him escape and forcing him to delve deeper into the facility. Shephard then goes on to deactivate a nuclear warhead placed by Black Op soldiers and destroy the Gene Worm, a large powerful alien coming through a portal in the basement that all the other soldiers failed to destroy. Upon the Gene worm's death Shephard wakes up inside a V-22 Osprey like the one he came to Black Mesa in, except with G-man inside. G-man then informs Shephard that he has done good in his mission and that he has ultimately ended the second invasion.
However as it turns out G-man re-activated the warhead, destroying Black Mesa with an explosion big enough to be seen from the Osprey. He then informs Shephard that there is still the matter of witnesses, which leads him to abandon Shephard in the Osprey which he has teleported to an alternate dimension, leaving him in what G-man sees as 'A state where you can do no harm, and no harm can come to you.'
Black MesaG-man played a major role in the Black Mesa incident, being the one who started and ended it. It's revealed by Eli Vance (another one of his employees) that he was the one who supplied Black Mesa with the Xen crystal that caused the accident, and he also re-activated the nuclear warhead that completely destroyed the facility. G-man's motive for causing the incident is clearly an order by his 'employers' due to Black Mesa being as G-man tells Shephard 'one of the biggest embarrassments'. As it is revealed in the game the Black Mesa scientists were constantly traveling back and forth from their dimension to the aliens and bringing back specimens for study, due to the fact that this was entirely dangerous to do, in threat of causing inter-dimensional rifts, or revealing this to the public, it was decided to silence the entire operation before anything could happen.
Though the invasion did what it was supposed to in destroying the facility, and the nuke wiped out the aliens, the rift that was letting the aliens in remained open, leading him to get Gordon and Shephard to close the rifts for him, leaving him to destroy the remaining aliens and people with the nuke, thereby silencing the entire dilemma.
Notable Quotes
Gallery
G-man negotiating with Gordon.
G-man sees potential in Gordon.
G-man in the Osprey with Shephard
G-man straightening his tie
G-man keeping Shephard from the escape Osprey(behind)
Trivia
Navigation
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The Black Mesa Incident, referred to once as the Lambda Incident,[3] is a catastrophic event resulting from an experiment carried out at the Black Mesa Research Facility, which results in a Resonance Cascade, and ultimately the invasion of Earth by the Combine. Its aftermath sees the teleportation of multiple races of extra-terrestrials into Black Mesa; the resulting battle between the base's personnel, human military forces and Xen creatures conclude in the complete destruction of the facility and the death of almost all of its residents.
Prelude[edit]
The Anti-Mass Spectrometer in operation.
Some time before the Black Mesa Incident, scientists of the Black Mesa Research Facility discover the alien borderworld of Xen while developing teleportation technology.[4] Science expeditions performed by 'Survey Teams' are secretly launched to study and collect data from Xen, using a huge teleport deep within the top-secret Sector F.[4] Despite the deaths of dozens of researchers, Xen inhabitants and wildlife are brought back to Earth for study in the Sector E.[5][6] Soon, members of the Xen Survey Teams recover several Xen crystals from the borderworld, which are to be studied in Sector C's Anti-Mass Spectrometer.
On May 11, 200-, L.M. writes a memo to Colette Green, with C.C. to Isaac Kleiner. In it, L.M. tells Green that the supervision team is particularly interested in Xen crystal sample GG-3883. Although Green's experiments on the sample revealed unexpected spectral analysis fluctuations, she has identified it as the purest and largest sample they have. Therefore sample GG-3883 replaces the original chosen sample, sample EP-0021, in the simulation. L.M. also states that the enclosed materials requisition form required to switch the samples has already been authorized, and is conscious that a sample change made so fast is a violation of normal anomalous material handling protocol.[7] These instructions likely come directly from Black Mesa Administrator Wallace Breen, who is known to have given specific instructions on that matter and is apparently keen on gaining conclusive results, added to behind the scenes influence by the G-Man, who apparently personally brought GG-3883 to Sector C.[8][9]
On May 16, 200-, the majority of Sector C is in full preparation for the experiment, but is delayed by Dr. Gordon Freeman, who is running late for his job in manually operating the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in Test Lab C-33/a.[10] This delay is actually convenient for the science team, who use the time for more preparations, and to recover from a minor system crash across the facility.[8] The Sector C staff also decide to boost the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to 105% power, much higher than the equipment's safety buffer zone of below 90%, in a bid to garner better data.[11]Eli Vance, one of the research leaders, argues against this decision but is overruled.[9]
Another scientist, Harold, warns his close friend Rosenberg about the danger of such an energy boost. Just before the experiment, Rosenberg discusses the matter with fellow scientist Richard Keller, but Keller states he has no power to change the operating levels because Breen insisted that the Anti-Mass Spectrometer run at the levels he set for it.[11] Because of this immense power output, Black Mesa experiences several minor blackouts.[12]
The Resonance Cascade causing destruction and teleports Vortigaunts into the test chamber.
As Dr. Freeman enters the test chamber, now donning his HEV Suit, Dr. Gina Crossdelivers the Xen crystal sample to the chamber while Dr. Colette Green works the Anti-Mass Spectrometer from its lower maintenance level.[11] It is also at this point that Eli Vance is contacted by the G-Man, who whispers to 'prepare for unforeseen consequences'. Vance contemplates aborting the test, but ultimately decides against it.[9] Freeman activates the device without incident, with the rest of the science team monitoring the experiment from the upper control room. As the Anti-Mass Spectrometer is boosted to full 105% capacity, one of the overseeing scientists notices a small discrepancy in the readings, but dismisses it as it goes back to acceptable bounds. The sample arrives at the test chamber, and Freeman pushes the Materials Handler holding the crystal into the beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. The immediate result is catastrophic; the main beam of the device begins to violently pulsate and expand. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer explodes in several sections, and the science team scramble to shut it down, to no avail, and are killed by a violent beam of energy that cascades through the control room window. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer continues to go critical, and a Resonance Cascade occurs, ripping a hole through dimensional space and teleporting Xen creatures into the facility. The Resonance Cascade teleports Freeman to various locations around Xen, and after teleporting back into the test chamber, he slips into unconsciousness.[8]
Immediate effects and military occupation[edit]
The Anti-Mass Spectrometer lies in pieces.
The Resonance Cascade has immediate and catastrophic effects. The Xen creatures, trapped in an alien environment, begin to relentlessly attack Black Mesa employees on sight. The Resonance Cascade also causes serious structural damage to the facility, with elevators collapsing and ceilings caving in.[12][13] Freeman awakes in the test chamber an undetermined amount of time after the Cascade, with the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in pieces and sirens blaring throughout the ruined facility. As Gordon makes his way through what remains of Sector C, he discovers that some of the personnel survived the experiment, including Eli Vance, who Gordon finds treating a wounded scientist. Vance tells Gordon that all the phones in the facility have been knocked out, and sends Gordon towards the surface to get help.[13] Three of the survivors of the initial disaster, Dr. Gina Cross, Dr. Colette Green and Dr. Rosenberg, make their way to the surface and call in the military to help them with the alien onslaught. The military, in the form of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit, arrive quickly, deploying troops, ordnance and vehicles via aircraft and trains.[14] Aside from dispatching the aliens, these troops are also instructed to permanently silence the facility personnel.[15]
A dead scientist in the alien-infested Sector D Office Complex.
The HECU's foray into the facility is initially successful. They manage to establish control of Black Mesa's surface facilities and began to make inroads into its extensive underground facilities, setting up several fortified outposts to keep the aliens at bay.[15] They also manage to capture Dr. Rosenberg, who sent the distress signal,[14] and lock him in a railway cargo car for interrogation.[16] Meanwhile, Barney Calhoun, a low-ranking security guard and personal friend of Freeman's, awakens in an elevator that collapsed moments following the Resonance Cascade.[17] Determined to escape the crumbling facility, he locates and frees Dr. Rosenberg. With his aid, Rosenberg reaches the old, abandoned A-17 Prototype Test Labs used for teleportation experiments. There, he hopes to use an old teleport to escape from the facility.[16] Calhoun helps the doctor first by traveling to Xen and activating a device necessary for successful teleportation, and then by finding and recharging a spare battery for the teleport.[18][19]
Half Life The Black Mesa Incident Lore
As Freeman makes his way towards the surface, he is told by surviving personnel that the military have arrived on the surface to rescue them.[20] Gordon passes through the alien-infested Sector DAdministration Center, and he finally reaches the Sector D High Security Storage Facility, where the HECU have established a large presence. Shortly after arrival however, Freeman witnesses a HECU marine murdering a scientist calling for help, revealing to him and the rest of the surviving employees the true nature of the HECU's presence. Freeman fights his way through the military encampment and takes a service elevator to the surface, only to find that minor air strikes have begun across the facility, and is forced to retreat back inside.[15]
An Osprey Heliplane deploying HECU troopers into Black Mesa.
While HECU establish their presence in the underground, Dr. Green and Dr. Cross, under the instruction of Dr. Keller, attempt to reactivate the damping locks to close the rift, but an alien force keeps it open. They then work to prepare the satellite delivery rocket for launch, which is essential for the work of the prototype displacement beacon, a device capable of reducing the effects of the Resonance Cascade. Cross and Green first find a living security guard who knows the all-clear codes needed to lift the military air-traffic lockdown. The two doctors then enter these codes, successfully lifting the lockdown and allowing the rocket to be launched. However, the launch is aborted when soldiers captured the control room and massacre its personnel.[21]
Calhoun then narrowly escapes through the portal with Rosenberg and his two colleagues, Walter Bennet and Simmons, just as the HECU soldiers storm the underground facility. While the doctors successfully reach the safe area outside of the Black Mesa, Calhoun is caught in a temporal harmonic reflux, traveling between Xen and the facility. However, he soon ends up together with the scientists and the four escape in an SUV.[22]
Escalation[edit]
HECU soldiers battle a Gargantua near the monorail track turntable.
As the battle continues on the surface, Freeman is forced back into the depths of the facility, where he is told that the scientists of the Lambda Complex should be able to reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade.[15] As the Black Mesa Transit System is down, Freeman sets out across the facility on foot, fighting his way to the rocket propulsion test chamber of Sector D, where a large Tentacle has been teleported. Freeman silently works his way around the creature and activates the oxygen, fuel and power necessary to activate the test rocket, then makes his way back to the chamber control room and test-fires it, killing the Tentacle nestled in the chamber.[23] Meanwhile, the HECU identify Freeman as the scientist indirectly responsible for the Resonance Cascade, and mark him as their number one target, using the tracking devices in his HEV Suit to locate him and set traps and ambushes.[24][25]
The HECU set up heavy turret emplacements to stop Freeman, and write graffiti to intimidate him.
Freeman makes his way into the Sector E Materials Transport, where HECU marines clash with a Gargantua on the main track turntable. The Gargantua quickly gains the upper hand and kills the marines. Freeman is told by a dying security guard in the track control room that if he restores power to the main generator he can ride the monorail to the surface. Freeman enters the Houndeye-infested subterranean areas and activates the generator, restoring power to the vicinity. Afterward, he is forced to kill the Gargantua to be able to board the monorail it guards.[26] As Freeman rides the rail car, he is told by a security guard that he must travel to the High Altitude Launch Center to launch a rocket, which Green, Cross, Keller and the Lambda Team can connect to a satellite and reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade. Freeman is continuously hindered by the HECU on his way to the surface, who are intent to kill or capture him, setting up Laser Trip Mines, heavy turrets and rocket emplacements, and even attempt to intimidate Freeman through threatening, albeit misspelled, graffiti messages. Despite overwhelming odds, Freeman fights his way through all of these obstacles and reaches the Launch Center on the surface, by which time night has fallen. Upon clearing the Launch Center of marines, Freeman launches the rocket prepared by Doctors Green, Cross and Keller.[24] Afterward, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green, with the assistance of Dr. Keller, manually raise, power and activate the displacement beacon for the prototype equipment, thus initiating a resonance reversal to help lessen the effects of the dimensional rift, although not aborting it permanently. During the beacon's activation, both Green and Cross are caught in a harmonic reflux, but survive and return to Black Mesa.[27]
A Vortigaunt attacking Gordon in the run-down areas of Sector E.
Shortly after this, in response to the HECU's failing cleanup operation, the US government deploys a Black Ops strike team into Black Mesa to plant and detonate a Mark IV Thermonuclear Device to decimate the entire facility, intending to end the conflict once and for all, with orders to kill anything, human or otherwise, that stand in their way.[28] After the Black Ops' arrival, two Vortigaunts, X-8973 and R-4913, are successful in retrieving several stolen Xen crystals.[29] After Freeman journeys through the abandoned areas of Sector E, killing an Ichthyosaur, and coming in contact with members of the Black Ops, he is ambushed and knocked unconscious by two HECU marines. Instead of taking him for interrogation as ordered however, Freeman is stripped of his weapons and dumped by the two marines into a trash compactor, an event witnessed by Calhoun while caught in a harmonic reflux.[25] He narrowly escapes death and manages to work his way through Black Mesa's Biological Waste Processing Plant.[30] Upon exiting the plant, and restocking on some weapons, Freeman finds himself in Black Mesa's top-secret Advanced Biological Research Lab, where Xen creatures have been contained for study and examination, long before the incident even took place. Within, the HECU have established a considerable presence, but are clashing with hordes of escaped and teleported Xen hostiles. Freeman fights his way through the carnage, obtaining an experimental Tau Cannon in the process, and escorts a hiding scientist to open the main doors for him.[31] Freeman exits the lab and begins his journey across the surface.[32] Meanwhile, Corporal Adrian Shephard awakes in the Black Mesa Medical Lab, after being knocked unconscious following his Osprey Heliplane being shot down by Xen aircraft.[33] Shephard makes his way towards the extraction point, where he is told via radio that the military forces are pulling out of the facility.[34]
View of the canyon from the cliff side, where a HECU soldier waits for Freeman.
At this point, the surface has become a warzone. HECU forces clash with increasingly large numbers of Xen creatures, and require the assistance of M1A1 Abrams' and M2A3 Bradleys, with AH-64 Apaches patrolling the skies.[32] Even these heavy vehicles are not enough, and the tide of the battle begins to turn in favor of the aliens. Freeman makes his way across the surface as hostilities increase, traversing the Sector G dam, and slowly moves through the rocky Black Mesa desert while under fire from an overhead Apache. Freeman descends into the drainage systems and steps out onto a huge military-occupied cliff face overlooking an expansive desert canyon and the nearby river. Soldiers and Sentry Guns guard the cliff side, and after Freeman fights through them and retrieves a RPG on the far side of the cliff, another Apache appears. After a brief confrontation, Freeman destroys the Apache and moves back towards the facility to reach his goal - the Lambda Complex.[32]
Military retreat[edit]
The G-Man prevents Shephard from reaching the evacuation point.
At this point, the HECU determine that they are fighting a losing battle against the Xen aliens and, having continually failed to neutralize Freeman, abandon their mission and begin to evacuate the facility, calling in air strikes and heavy artillery to cover their retreat.[35] The Xen aliens do not relent however, and continue to attack en masse, killing any HECU troops that have not yet evacuated. Freeman is forced to traverse the carnage, and moves through the bombed-out buildings of the Topside Motorpool.[35] Meanwhile, Corporal Shephard and a squad of surviving marines prepare to terminate their hunt for Freeman and evacuate Black Mesa in an Osprey Heliplane. Shephard however, lagging behind, is locked out of the courtyard housing the Osprey by The G-Man. With no time left to spare and no way to open the door, the other marines are forced to leave without Shephard, unaware that The G-Man had even been present.[36] Shephard continues to journey through Black Mesa in search of both his comrades and an alternative escape route after being abandoned at the extraction point. After traveling through a zombie-infested blast furnace, Shephard meets several other marines from his company who have also been left behind. He joins forces with them as they try to escape from the facility.[37]
Gordon Freeman jumping into the Lambda Complex teleport.
Freeman meanwhile, makes his way into an underground storage garage to avoid the bombardments, and eventually fights his way through scores of aliens and several groups of the decimated HECU forces before reaching the Lambda Complex, where he has been told the science team are sheltering from the Xenians.[35] However, he finds that the majority of the complex is now overrun by hostile creatures. He is informed by a scientist that stayed behind that he must flood the reactor chambers in order to access the core, and that a team of scientists is waiting for him at the tip of the reactor.[4] Gordon navigates through the Lambda Core, facing numerous assaults from the Xen forces. After much struggle, Gordon finally reaches the inner laboratories of the complex, where the Lambda Team have been sheltering. Here he discovers that the Lambda Complex is where they developed the teleportation technology that allowed scientists to travel to Xen in the first place. The handful of surviving personnel, who have held themselves up in a small stronghold, inform Gordon that, unfortunately, the satellite he launched was not able to reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade because an immensely powerful being on the other side is keeping the portal between the worlds open, and that Gordon must kill it to prevent the Xen aliens from taking over completely. Before being teleported to Xen, Gordon gains access to several ammunition, health and HEV-charge caches as well as the experimental Gluon Gun, and is finally reunited with the Long Jump Module. After an attempted intervention by Alien Controllers, the scientists activate the teleport and Gordon is teleported to Xen.[4]
Simultaneously, Shephard enters the chamber just in time to see Freeman disappearing into the portal. The Alien Controllers continue to attack, severely damaging the teleport and killing the controlling scientist in the process. Shephard is caught up in the carnage, and stumbles into a small portal discharged by the teleport, where he is transported into Xen. Shephard makes a short journey through Xen, and sees a scientist being teleported from a fatal height, holding the device that got him there - the Displacer Cannon. Shephard uses the device to teleport himself around several areas of Xen and Black Mesa before eventually ending up in Sector E.[38]
Appearance of Race X and last hours[edit]
Gordon Freeman's first view of Xen.
Freeman arrives at Xen after his teleportation at the Lambda Complex, and is almost immediately contacted telepathically by the Nihilanth, the creature holding the portal open, who responds to Freeman's arrival with 'comes.. another..'. Freeman uses his Long Jump Module to traverse the floating islands of Xen, encountering many of the aliens that had been teleported into Black Mesa in their natural habitats, as well as the remains of HEV-wearing researchers that came before him. Freeman arrives at a large central island, and within finds a small portal, which he steps into and is teleported to the Gonarch's lair.[5]
Roblox- The Black Mesa Incident
Race X and Black Ops forces clash on the surface.
As the Black Ops assess the situation through interrogation of captured HECU soldiers, a new and unknown foe appears through the dimensional tear, the so-called Race X.[39] This new foe begins to attack anything left in the facility, including Xen creatures, hoping to clear the way for the Gene Worm, a massive Race X creature, to enter Earth and terraform it for Race X.[40] Meanwhile, Corporal Shephard travels between various biosphere chambers and laboratories featuring massive terrariums used to house Xen fauna being studied by the scientists deep within the Sector E Biodome Complex. While in Sector E, Shephard comes in contact with some of the newly arrived Race X creatures. Eventually he reaches Waste Processing Area 3, and picks up a radio transmission from a group of marines fighting a Pit Worm that has been teleported into a toxic waste chamber.[39] By the time Shephard arrives, the marines have been killed, and he is forced to kill the Pit Worm himself, dumping toxic waste onto the creature, and proceeds to make his way to the surface.[41] By the time Shephard reaches the surface, it has once again become a battlefield, with a fierce battle raging between the Race X creatures, the Black Ops contingent, including several snipers, and the remnants of the HECU. Shephard makes his way through the underground canals and sewers of Black Mesa, fighting through a Voltigore nest, and arrives at the Sector G hydroelectric dam. Here, a Gargantua has been trapped on top of the dam and several marines are attempting to kill it. Shephard uses explosives to destroy the creature and leaves the area through the dam's exposed water pipes.[42]
The Nihilanth battles with Freeman on Xen.
Meanwhile, Freeman battles and defeats the Gonarch and her Headcrab minions.[43] Gordon continues his journey across Xen, with supplies running short, wasted on destroying the Gonarch. Freeman traverses an expansive series of Xen islands, coming in contact with many Xen hostiles, and eventually finds himself in an Alien Grunt cloning facility. Within the factory, enslaved Vortigaunts are forced to work, but do not attack Freeman, perhaps to subtly rebel against their masters. After much fighting, and interception from Alien Grunts and Controllers, Freeman comes across a large, ominous portal on a lone series of floating islands.[44] Upon entering the portal, Freeman is faced with the Nihilanth; the holder of the interdimensional rift, the one responsible for the enslavement of the Vortigaunts, and leader of Xen forces.[45]
The G-Man reactivating the bomb.
Back at Black Mesa, Shephard discovers the mysterious Black Ops' plan for Black Mesa. Shephard finds a group of Black Ops in an underground parking garage under the Ordinance Storage Facility arming the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device that will destroy the facility once and for all. Shephard defeats the assassins, and deactivates the device. However, shortly afterward in a nearby room with a view of the warhead, Shephard witnesses The G-Man reactivating it, and he cannot go back to the bomb, as the path has been sealed making the destruction of Black Mesa inevitable.[46] After making his way through warehouses filled with Race X creatures and Black Ops fighting, Adrian Shephard arrives at an old industrial area of Black Mesa where the enormous Gene Worm is attempting to come through a portal from the Race X homeworld. Shephard uses mounted laser weapons to blind and kill it; in its death throes, an enormous teleportation portal spreads outwards and envelops him.[40] Shephard regains consciousness inside an Osprey Heliplane, confronted by the mysterious G-Man. As the G-Man talks to Shephard, the nuclear warhead detonates and Black Mesa is decimated in the distance. The G-Man then informs Shephard that he will be detained 'in a place where you can do no possible harm, and where no harm can come to you.' He explains this is done because Shephard reminds him of himself, but is still a dangerous witness. The G-Man walks into a portal, and Shephard is detained in a void of nothingness.[2]
The G-Man addresses Freeman on Xen.
On Xen, Freeman engages the Nihilanth in its lair. As Freeman battles the creature, it teleports him to several sub-caverns filled with Xen creatures. Freeman continuously escapes these caverns, and destroys the Nihilanth's shield, allowing him to destroy its vulnerable brain. As the creature dies, it floats toward the ceiling, and explodes in a giant green blast that overpowers Gordon's senses.[45] When he comes to, he is confronted by the G-Man. Both are transported to various locales around Xen, while the G-Man praises Gordon's actions in the borderworld. He explains that his 'employers', agreeing that Gordon has 'limitless potential', have authorized him to offer Freeman a job. The final teleportation takes Gordon to the same tramcar that he rode in on the morning of May 16, but apparently flying through space at immense speed. Gordon accepts this offer by stepping though a portal, and, finding himself floating in nothingness, hears the G-Man's voice one last time: 'Wisely done, Mr. Freeman, I will see you up ahead..'.[47]
Aftermath[edit]
Newspaper clippings on a cork board in Eli's lab, detailing the aftermath of the Incident and the Seven Hour War.
Main article: Seven Hour War
The consequences of the Black Mesa Incident are massive. The relatively small inter-dimensional rift causes Portal Storms to rage across Earth, bringing large amounts of Xen wildlife to the planet. Earth governments set up protection centers across the planet as they try to deal with the hostile aliens. The continuing portal storms and dimensional fluctuations attract the attention of the Combine, an immense inter-dimensional empire that was responsible for chasing the Nihilanth and its minions to Xen in the first place. The Combine mount a full-scale invasion on Earth, prompting the United Nations to declare war on the Combine. The war ended when Combine completely overwhelm Earth military forces and smash opposition in a mere seven hours. The Combine hold position over the damaged United Nations headquarters in New York City where former-Black Mesa administrator Wallace Breen negotiated Earth's surrender saving the remnants of humanity at the expense of their freedom. Breen is appointed as Earth administrator, but is simply a puppet for the true rulers - the Combine Advisors.[48] The death of the Nihilanth also ends the slavery of the Vortigaunt race, earning Gordon Freeman their eternal gratitude.[49] Dr. Eli Vance convinces the Vortigaunts to side with humanity against the Combine, and the two species form an underground resistance aiming to overthrow their alien oppressors.[49]
Although the incident is largely considered to be a terrible accident, there is incidental evidence which suggests it is to some extent engineered. The Nihilanth seems to have been planning the invasion from Xen for some time,[45] and the G-Man more than once hints at his own manipulations of the affair, most notably when he whispers to Eli Vance just before the Resonance Cascade to 'prepare for unforeseen consequences'.[9] To what extent either of these individuals were involved in the authoring of the incident is not at this time known. Adrian Shephard's diary entries also seem to suggest that the event is planned to a degree, as Shephard and the HECU are training and preparing for the mission to Black Mesa a week before the incident even happens.[50]
Known survivors[edit]
List of appearances[edit]Main games[edit]
Other[edit]Black Mesa Lore
References[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://combineoverwiki.net/index.php?title=Black_Mesa_Incident&oldid=427578'
Black Mesa IncidentDateLocation
Black Mesa Research Facility, New Mexico, United States
Outcome
The Black Mesa Incident, referred to once as the Lambda Incident,[3] was a catastrophic event caused by an experiment carried out by the Anomalous Materials department at the Black Mesa Research Facility. The experiment triggered a Resonance Cascade, which allowed numerous extraterrestrial creatures to teleport into the facility and wreak havoc upon its personnel. The ensuing conflict between the responding United States military forces and the alien creatures resulted in the complete destruction of the facility and the death of almost all of its employees.
The Black Mesa Incident would ultimately lead to the invasion of Earth by the Combine and the beginning of the Seven Hour War. Psp cso to iso converter.
Prelude
Sometime before the Black Mesa Incident, researchers at Black Mesa discover the alien 'border world' known as Xen while developing teleportation technology.[4] Scientific expeditions performed by 'Survey Teams' are secretly launched to collect data from Xen, using a huge teleporter deep within the top-secret Sector F Lambda Complex.[4] Despite the deaths of dozens of researchers, Xen inhabitants and wildlife are brought back to Earth for study in the Sector E Biodome Complex.[5][6] Soon, members of the Xen Survey Teams recover several Xen crystals from the border world, which are designated to be studied in Sector C's Anti-Mass Spectrometer.
On May 11, 200-, L.M. writes a memo to Colette Green, with C.C. to Isaac Kleiner. In it, L.M. tells Green that the supervision team is particularly interested in Xen crystal sample GG-3883. Although Green's experiments on the sample revealed unexpected spectral analysis fluctuations, she has identified it as the purest and largest sample they have. As a result, sample GG-3883 replaces the original chosen sample, sample EP-0021, in the simulation. L.M. also states that the enclosed materials requisition form required to switch the samples has already been authorized, and is conscious that a sample change made so fast is a violation of normal anomalous material handling protocol.[7]
The unusual instructions likely come directly from Black Mesa Administrator Wallace Breen, who is known to have given specific instructions on that matter and is apparently keen on gaining conclusive results, added to behind the scenes influence by the G-Man, who apparently personally brought GG-3883 to Sector C.[8][9]
On May 16, 200-, the majority of Sector C is in full preparation for the experiment but is delayed by Dr. Gordon Freeman, who is running late for his job in manually operating the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in Test Lab C-33/a.[10] This delay is actually convenient for the science team, who use the time to prepare more and recover from a minor system crash across the facility.[8] The Sector C staff also decide to boost the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to 105% power, much higher than the equipment's safety buffer zone of below 90%, in a bid to garner better data.[11]Eli Vance, one of the research leaders, argues against this decision but is overruled.[9]
Another scientist, Harold, warns his close friend Rosenberg about the danger of such an energy boost. Just before the experiment, Rosenberg discusses the matter with fellow scientist Richard Keller, but Keller states he has no power to change the operating levels because Breen insisted that G-man told him to boost the power to 105%.
The Anti-Mass Spectrometer runs at the levels he set for it.[11] Because of this immense power output, Black Mesa experiences several minor brownouts.[12]
As Dr. Freeman enters the test chamber, now donning his HEV Suit, Dr. Gina Crossdelivers the Xen crystal sample to the chamber while Dr. Colette Green works the Anti-Mass Spectrometer from its lower maintenance level.[11] It is also at this point that Eli Vance is contacted by the G-Man, who whispers to him 'prepare for unforeseen consequences'. Vance contemplates aborting the test but ultimately decides against it.[9] Freeman activates the device without incident, with the rest of the science team monitoring the experiment from the upper control room. As the Anti-Mass Spectrometer is boosted to its full (105%) capacity, one of the overseeing scientists notices a small discrepancy in the readings but dismisses it as it goes back to acceptable bounds. The sample arrives at the test chamber, and Freeman pushes the delivery cart holding the crystal into the beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. The immediate result is catastrophic; the main beam of the device begins to violently pulsate and expand. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer explodes in several sections, and the science team scrambles to shut it down, to no avail, and is killed by a violent beam of energy that cascades through the control room window. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer continues to go critical, and a Resonance Cascade occurs, ripping a hole through dimensional space and teleporting Xen creatures into the facility. The Resonance Cascade teleports Freeman to various locations around Xen, and after teleporting back into the test chamber, he slips into unconsciousness.[8]
Immediate effects and military occupation
The Resonance Cascade has immediate and catastrophic effects. The Xen creatures, trapped in an alien environment, begin to relentlessly attack Black Mesa employees on sight. The Resonance Cascade also causes serious structural damage to the facility, with elevators collapsing and ceilings caving in.[12][13] Freeman awakes in the test chamber an undetermined amount of time after the Cascade, with the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in pieces and sirens blaring throughout the ruined facility. As Gordon makes his way through what remains of Sector C, he discovers that some of the personnel survived the experiment, including Eli Vance, whom Gordon finds treating a wounded scientist. Vance tells Gordon that all the phones in the facility have been knocked out, and sends Gordon towards the surface to get help.[13] Three of the survivors of the initial disaster, Dr. Gina Cross, Dr. Colette Green and Dr. Rosenberg, make their way to the surface and call in the military to help them with the alien onslaught. The military, in the form of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit, arrives quickly, deploying troops, ordnance, and vehicles via aircraft and trains.[14] Aside from dispatching the aliens, these troops are also instructed to permanently silence the facility personnel who were witnesses.[15]
The HECU's foray into the facility is initially successful. They manage to establish control of Black Mesa's surface facilities and began to make inroads into its extensive underground facilities, setting up several fortified outposts to keep the aliens at bay.[15] They also manage to capture Dr. Rosenberg, who sent the distress signal, and lock him in a railway cargo car for interrogation.[14] Meanwhile, Barney Calhoun, a low-ranking security guard and personal friend of Freeman's, awakens in an elevator that collapsed moments following the Resonance Cascade.[16] Determined to escape the crumbling facility, he locates and frees Dr. Rosenberg. With his aid, Rosenberg reaches the old, abandoned A-17 Prototype Test Labs used for teleportation experiments. There, he hopes to use an old teleporter to escape from the facility.[17]
As Freeman makes his way towards the surface, he is told by surviving personnel that the military has arrived on the surface to rescue them.[18] Gordon passes through the alien-infested Sector D Administration, and he finally reaches the Sector D High Security Storage Facility, where the HECU have established a large presence. Shortly after arrival, however, Freeman witnesses a HECU marine murdering a scientist calling for help, revealing to him the true nature of the HECU's presence. Freeman fights his way through the military encampment and takes a service elevator to the surface, only to find that minor air strikes have begun across the facility, and is forced to retreat back inside.[15]
While HECU establishes their presence in the underground, Dr. Green and Dr. Cross, under the instruction of Dr. Keller, attempt to reactivate the damping locks to close the rift, but an alien force keeps it open. They then work to prepare the satellite delivery rocket for launch, which is essential for the work of the prototype displacement beacon, a device capable of reducing the effects of the Resonance Cascade. Cross and Green first find a living security guard who knows the all-clear codes needed to lift the military air-traffic lockdown. The two doctors then enter these codes, successfully lifting the lockdown and allowing the rocket to be launched. However, the launch is aborted when soldiers capture the control room and massacre its personnel.[19]
Escalation
As the battle continues on the surface, Freeman is forced back into the depths of the facility, where he is told that the scientists of the Lambda Complex should be able to reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade.[15] As the Black Mesa Transit System is down, Freeman sets out across the facility on foot, fighting his way to the rocket propulsion test chamber of Sector D, where a large Tentacle has been teleported. Freeman silently works his way around the creature and turns on the oxygen, fuel, and power necessary to activate the rocket test engine. He makes his way back to the chamber control room, and test-fires the rocket, killing the Tentacle nestled in the chamber.[20] Meanwhile, the HECU identify Freeman as the scientist indirectly responsible for the Resonance Cascade, and mark him as their number one target, using the tracking devices in his HEV Suit to locate him and set traps and ambushes.[21][22]
Freeman makes his way into the Sector E Materials Transport, where HECU forces clash with a Gargantua on the main track turntable. The Gargantua quickly gains the upper hand and kills the marines. Freeman is told by a dying security guard in the track control room that if he restores power to the main generator, he can ride the monorail to the surface. Freeman enters the Houndeye-infested subterranean areas and activates the generator, restoring power to the vicinity. Afterward, he is forced to kill the Gargantua to be able to board the monorail it guards.[23] As Freeman rides the rail car, he is told by a security guard that he must travel to the High Altitude Launch Center to launch a rocket, which Green, Cross, Keller and the Lambda Team can connect to a satellite and reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade. Freeman is continuously hindered by the HECU on his way to the surface, who are intent to kill or capture him, setting up laser tripmines, heavy turrets and rocket emplacements, and even attempt to intimidate Freeman through threatening, albeit misspelled, graffiti messages. Despite overwhelming odds, Freeman fights his way through all these obstacles and reaches the Launch Center on the surface, by which time night has fallen. Upon clearing the Launch Center of marines, Freeman launches the rocket prepared by Doctors Green, Cross, and Keller.[21] Afterward, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green, with the assistance of Dr. Keller, manually raise, power and activate the displacement beacon for the prototype equipment, thus initiating a resonance reversal to help lessen the effects of the dimensional rift, though not aborting it permanently. During the beacon's activation, both Green and Cross are caught in a harmonic reflux, but survive and return to Black Mesa.[24] At this point, Calhoun helps Doctor Rosenberg, first by traveling to Xen (being seen jumping into the portal by Green and Cross due harmonic reflux) and activating a device necessary for successful teleportation, and then by finding and recharging a spare battery for the teleporter.
Shortly after this, in response to the HECU's now failing cleanup operation, the US government deploys a Black Ops strike team into Black Mesa to plant and detonate a Mark IV Thermonuclear Device to obliterate the entire facility, intending to end the conflict once and for all, with orders to kill anything, human or otherwise, that stand in their way.[25] After the Black Ops' arrival, two Vortigaunts, R-4913 and X-8973, are successful in retrieving several stolen Xen crystals.[26] After Freeman journeys through the abandoned areas of Sector E, killing an Ichthyosaur, and coming into contact with members of the Black Ops, he is ambushed and knocked unconscious by two HECU marines. Instead of taking him for interrogation as ordered, however, they strip him of his weapons and dump him into a trash compactor. Meanwhile, Calhoun narrowly escapes through the portal with Rosenberg and his two colleagues, Walter Bennet and Simmons, just as the HECU soldiers storm the underground facility. While the doctors successfully reach the safe area outside of the Black Mesa, Calhoun is caught in a temporal harmonic reflux, traveling between Xen and the facility, where he witnesses Gordon being carried off by the HECU soldiers to the trash compactor. However, he soon ends up together with the scientists and the four escape in an SUV.[27]Then Gordon narrowly escapes death and manages to work his way through Black Mesa's Biological Waste Processing Plant.[28] Upon exiting the plant, and restocking on some weapons, Freeman finds himself in Black Mesa's top-secret Advanced Biological Research Lab, where Xen creatures have been contained for study and examination, long before the incident even took place. Within, the HECU have established a considerable presence, but are clashing with hoards of escaped and teleported Xen hostiles. Freeman fights his way through the carnage, obtaining an experimental Tau Cannon in the process, and escorts a hiding scientist to open the main doors for him.[29] Freeman exits the lab and begins his journey across the surface.[14] Meanwhile, Corporal Adrian Shephard awakes in the Black Mesa Medical Lab, after being knocked unconscious following his V-22 Osprey being shot down by Xen aircraft.[30] Shephard makes his way towards the extraction point, where he is told via radio that the military forces are pulling out of the facility.[31]
At this point, the surface has become a war zone. HECU forces clash with increasingly large numbers of Xen creatures, and require the assistance of M1A1 Abrams' and M2A3 Bradleys, with AH-64 Apaches patrolling the skies.[14] Even these heavy vehicles are not enough, and the tide of the battle begins to turn in favor of the aliens. Freeman makes his way across the surface as hostilities increase, traversing the Sector G Hydro Electric dam, and slowly moves through the rocky Black Mesa desert while under fire from an overhead Apache. He descends into the drainage systems and steps out onto a huge military-occupied cliff face overlooking an expansive desert canyon and the nearby river. Soldiers and sentry guns guard the cliff side, and after Freeman fights through them and retrieves a HECU RPG on the far side of the cliff, another Apache appears. After a brief confrontation, Freeman destroys the Apache and moves back towards the facility to reach his goal - the Lambda Complex.[14]
Military retreat
At this point, the HECU determine that they are fighting a losing battle against the Xen aliens and, having continually failed to neutralize Freeman, abandon their mission and begin to evacuate the facility, calling in air strikes and heavy artillery to cover their retreat.[32] The Xen aliens do not relent, however, and continue to attack en masse, killing any HECU troops that have not yet evacuated. Freeman is forced to traverse the carnage and moves through the bombed-out buildings of the Topside Motorpool.[32] Meanwhile, Corporal Shephard and a squad of surviving marines prepare to terminate their hunt for Freeman and evacuate Black Mesa in a V-22 Osprey. Shephard however, lagging behind, is locked out of the courtyard housing the Osprey by The G-Man. With no time left to spare and no way to open the door, the other marines are forced to leave without Shephard, unaware that The G-Man had even been present.[33] Shephard continues to journey through Black Mesa in search of both his comrades and an alternative escape route after being abandoned at the extraction point. After traveling through a zombie-infested blast furnace, Shephard meets several other Marines from his company who have also been left behind. He joins forces with them as they try to escape from the facility.[34]
Freeman meanwhile, makes his way into an underground storage garage to avoid the bombardments, and eventually fights his way through scores of aliens and several groups of the devastated HECU forces before reaching the Lambda Complex, where he believes the science team is sheltering from the Xenians.[32] However, he finds that the majority of the complex is now overrun by hostile creatures. He is informed by a scientist who stayed behind that he must flood the reactor chambers in order to access the core and that a team of scientists is waiting for him at the tip of the reactor.[4] He navigates through the Lambda Core, facing numerous assaults from the Xen forces. After much struggle, Gordon finally reaches the inner laboratories of the complex, where the Lambda Team has been sheltering. Here he discovers that the Lambda Complex is where they developed the teleportation technology that allowed scientists to travel to Xen in the first place. The handful of surviving personnel, who have holed themselves up in a small stronghold, inform Gordon that, unfortunately, the satellite he launched was not able to reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade because an immensely powerful being on the other side is keeping the portal between the worlds open, and that Gordon must kill the being to prevent the Xen aliens from taking over completely. Before being teleported to Xen, Gordon gains access to several ammunition, health, and HEV-charge caches, as well as the Gluon Gun, and is finally reunited with the Long Jump Module. After an attempted interception by Alien Controllers, the scientists activate the teleporter and Gordon is teleported to Xen.[4]
Simultaneously, Shephard enters the chamber just in time to see Freeman disappearing into the portal. The Alien Controllers continue to attack, severely damaging the teleporter, and kill the controlling scientist in the process. Shephard is caught up in the carnage and stumbles into a small portal discharged by the teleporter, where he is transported into an area of Xen. Shephard makes a short journey through Xen and sees a scientist being teleported from a fatal height, holding the device that got him there - the Displacer Cannon. Shephard uses the device to teleport himself around several areas of Xen and Black Mesa before eventually ending up in Sector E.[35]
Appearance of Race X and last hours
Freeman arrives at Xen after his teleportation at the Lambda Complex, and is almost immediately contacted telepathically by the Nihilanth, the creature holding the portal open, who responds to Freeman's arrival with 'comes.. another..'. Freeman uses his Long Jump Module to traverse the floating islands of Xen, encountering many of the aliens that had been teleported into Black Mesa in their natural habitats, as well as the remains of HEV-wearing researchers that came before him. Freeman arrives at a large central island, and within finds a small portal, which he steps into and is teleported to the Gonarch's lair.[5]
As the Black Ops assess the situation through interrogation of captured HECU soldiers, a new and unknown foe appears through the dimensional tear, the so-called Race X.[36] This new foe begins to attack anything left in the facility, including Xen creatures, hoping to clear the way for the Gene Worm, a massive Race X creature, to enter Earth and terraform it for the Race X.[37] Meanwhile, Corporal Shephard travels between various biosphere chambers and laboratories featuring massive terrariums used to house Xen fauna being studied by the scientists deep within the Sector E Biodome Complex. While in Sector E, Shephard comes in contact with some of the newly arrived Race X creatures. Eventually, he reaches Waste Processing Area 3 and picks up a radio transmission from a group of marines fighting a Pit Worm that has been teleported into a toxic waste chamber.[36] By the time Shephard arrives, the marines have been killed, and he is forced to kill the Pit Worm himself, dumping toxic waste onto the creature, and proceeds to make his way to the surface.[38] By the time he reaches the surface, it has once again become a battlefield, with a fierce battle raging between the Race X creatures, the Black Ops contingent, including several snipers, and the remnants of the HECU. Shephard makes his way through the underground canals and sewers of Black Mesa, fighting through a Voltigore nest, and arrives at the Sector G hydroelectric dam. Here, a Gargantua has been trapped on top of the dam and several marines are attempting to kill it. Shephard uses explosives to destroy the creature and leaves the area through the dam's exposed water pipes.[39]
Meanwhile, Freeman battles and defeats the Gonarch and her Headcrab minions.[40] He continues his journey across Xen, with supplies running short, wasted on destroying the Gonarch. Freeman traverses an expansive series of Xen islands, coming in contact with many Xen hostiles, and eventually finds himself in an Alien Grunt cloning facility. Within the factory, enslaved Vortigaunts are forced to work, but do not attack Freeman, perhaps to subtly rebel against their masters. After much fighting and interception from Alien Grunts and Controllers, Freeman comes across a large, ominous portal on a lone series of floating islands.[41] Upon entering the portal, Freeman is faced with the Nihilanth; the holder of the interdimensional rift, the one responsible for the enslavement of the Vortigaunts, and leader of Xen forces.[42]
Back at Black Mesa, Shephard discovers the mysterious Black Ops' plan for Black Mesa. Shephard finds a group of Black Ops in an underground parking garage under the Ordinance Storage Facility arming the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device that will destroy the facility once and for all. Shephard defeats the assassins, and deactivates the device. However, shortly afterward in a nearby room with a view of the warhead, Shephard witnesses The G-Man reactivating it, and he cannot go back to the bomb, as the path has been sealed, making the destruction of Black Mesa inevitable.[43] After making his way through warehouses filled with Race X creatures and Black Ops fighting, Adrian Shephard arrives at an old industrial area of Black Mesa where the enormous Gene Worm is attempting to come through a portal from the Race X homeworld. Shephard uses mounted laser weapons to blind and kill it; in its death throes, an enormous teleportation portal spreads outwards and envelops him.[37] Shephard regains consciousness inside a V-22 Osprey, confronted by the mysterious G-Man. As the G-Man talks to Shephard, the nuclear warhead detonates and Black Mesa is utterly destroyed in the distance. The G-Man then informs Shephard that he will be detained 'in a place where you can do no possible harm, and where no harm can come to you.' He explains that this is done because Shephard reminds him of himself, but is still a dangerous witness. The G-Man walks into a portal, and Shephard is detained in a void of nothingness.[2]
On Xen, Freeman engages the Nihilanth in its lair. As he battles the creature, it teleports him to several sub-caverns filled with Xen creatures. Freeman continuously escapes these caverns, and destroys the Nihilanth's shield, allowing him to destroy its vulnerable brain. As the creature dies, it floats toward the ceiling, and explodes in a giant green blast that overpowers his senses.[42] When he comes to, he is confronted by the G-Man, who had stripped Freeman of all his weapons while he was unconscious under the excuse that 'most of them were owned by the government'. But stating that he had earned the suit. Both are transported to various locales around Xen, while the G-Man praises Gordon's actions in the border world. He explains that his 'employers', agreeing that Gordon has 'limitless potential' and have authorized him to offer Freeman a job. The final teleportation takes Gordon to the same tramcar that he rode in on the morning of May 16, but apparently flying through space at immense speed. Gordon accepts this offer by stepping through a portal, and, finding himself floating in nothingness, hears the G-Man's voice one last time: 'Wisely done, Mr. Freeman, I will see you up ahead..'.[44]
Aftermath
The consequences of the Black Mesa Incident are massive. The relatively small inter-dimensional rift causes Portal Storms to rage across Earth, bringing large amounts of Xen wildlife to the planet. Earth governments set up protection centers across the planet as they try to deal with the hostile aliens. The continuing portal storms and dimensional fluctuations attract the attention of the Combine, an immense inter-dimensional empire that was responsible for chasing the Nihilanth and its minions to Xen in the first place. The Combine mount a full-scale assault on Earth, and the United Nations declare war on their attackers. The Combine completely overwhelm Earth's military forces and smash opposition in a mere seven hours. The Combine hold position over United Nations headquarters in New York City, and former-Black Mesa administrator Wallace Breen negotiates a surrender at the expense of humanity's freedom. Breen is appointed as Earth administrator, but is simply a puppet for the true rulers - the Combine Advisors.[45] The death of the Nihilanth also ends the slavery of the Vortigaunt race, earning Gordon Freeman their eternal gratitude.[46] Dr. Eli Vance convinces the Vortigaunts to side with humanity against the Combine, and the two species form an underground resistance aiming to overthrow their alien oppressors.[46]
Although the incident is largely considered to be a terrible accident, there is incidental evidence which suggests it is to some extent engineered. The Nihilanth seems to have been planning the invasion from Xen for some time,[42] and the G-Man more than once hints at his own manipulations of the affair, most notably when he whispers to Eli Vance just before the Resonance Cascade to 'prepare for unforeseen consequences'.[9] To what extent either of these individuals were involved in the authoring of the incident is currently unknown. Adrian Shephard's diary entries also seem to suggest that the event is planned to a degree, as Shephard and the HECU are training and preparing for the mission to Black Mesa a week before the incident even happens.[47]
Known survivors
List of appearances
References
Discussions about Black Mesa Incident
This feature was originally published in PC Gamer magazine back in October. If you enjoy this feature, you can subscribe across print and digital.
Has any videogame story been told from more perspectives than Half-Life’s Black Mesa incident?
Including expansions, the vanilla game offers three points of view alone, while countless mods have added to the Black Mesa lore, introducing new playable stories centring on lawyers, black ops assassins and even alien slaves.
Half-Life: Echoes is the latest in this tradition of framing the Black Mesa disaster from a new angle, and it’s easily the best singleplayer mod for Half-Life in years, offering incredible level design, thrilling survival horror and blistering action. It also weaves itself into the broader Half-Life fiction in some clever ways.
Created by first-time modder James Cockburn, Half-Life: Echoes puts players in the shoes of Candidate Twelve, another Black Mesa employee who arrives for a normal day at work when the resonance cascade transforms the facility into the world’s most technologically advanced abattoir. Like Freeman, Shepard and the rest, you must navigate and survive Black Mesa’s labyrinth, battering zombies and blasting marines while the G-Man observes it all.
Familiar ground
What make Half-Life: Echoes stand out from other Black Mesa retellings is the sheer level of craft and ambition that has gone into it. To begin with, the mod’s 20-odd maps are enormous and stunningly detailed. Even the very first area you spawn in, an underground car park, impresses with its cavernous scale and moody lighting.
As with the original Half-Life, Echoes commences with a peaceful tour of its own segment of the Black Mesa facility, though smartly it lets you explore on foot rather than confining you inside a train. When the cascade occurs, it does so at a distance, unfolding as a gradual infrastructural collapse rather than an instant demolition. Lights flicker and tremors shudder through the earth, while the scientists and security guards speculate on what’s going on. One of my favourite aspects of the mod is how smoothly it repurposes dialogue from the old games to assemble its own conversations and narratives. Even when the seams are visible, it’s beautifully done.
Broadly, Echoes mimics the arc of Half-Life, but distils its key elements into more potent forms. The arrival of the marines, which in the original game is barely touched upon, is here given the kind of treatment you’d expect from a Call of Duty game, featuring a jet flyover and an almost parade-like column of solders, tanks, and twin-rotor helicopters.
The first half of Echoes is almost pure survival horror, limiting your arsenal to just a few weapons and making clever use of scripted scenarios to surprise the player. In a splendid Alien-esque sequence, a strange sluglike monster hunts you through a tight cluster of corridors and vents as you desperately try to find a way out. Meanwhile, your personal resonance cascade comes in the form of a gargantuan monster, which traps you inside a train carriage alongside a bunch of other scientists before destroying everything in sight. That same monster hunts you throughout the mod’s running time, appearing at various points just to make your day that little bit more terrifying.
Once Echoes starts doling out the heavier weapons, the mod ups the ante rapidly. Perhaps a little too rapidly, as the difficulty spikes with the intensity, resulting in several transitional combat encounters that are much tougher than anything either before or afterward.
Fortunately, the last hour of Echoes moderates its tsunami of opponents with plentiful weapons and ammunition. The climactic battle happens on a scale that outclasses Half-Life’s infamous Surface Tension chapter, a fight that repeatedly escalates like a microcosm of the mod as a whole. Two decades on, Half-Life’s combat holds up, and Echoes makes fantastic use of its weapons and enemies.
As the work of a single person, Echoes is a remarkable feat of design, while its detailed environment design and sharp pacing more than make up for the outdated visuals. That said, there are a few minor flaws. Although Echoes is vast in scope, in running time it is short, easily completable in a couple of hours. Memoscan u581 update. It also concludes in an abrupt sequence which, while an interesting addition to the overall Half-Life plot, feels artificially bolted onto the tail of the game.
Lastly, and this isn’t really a flaw, but anyone coming to the mod hoping to see new features, such as weapons or enemies, will come away disappointed. Ultimately, these are tiny issues in what is essentially a fourth Half-Life expansion, playable for free. Echoes is that well made.
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