Overwatch Voice

The dispatcher (voiced in-game by Ellen McLane) speaks to Civil Protection units via their communication radios and to everyone via a PA system (in City 17, Nova Prospekt and the interiors of the Citadel). She will usually issue warnings of resistance infiltration or instructions to nearby units, and can be heard speaking after a CP unit is killed, saying "lost bio-signal of Civil Protection team unit" in a distinctive flat, clinical tone of voice with a British accent. Some examples of these messages could be "lost bio-signal of Civil Protection team unit, XRAY 9", or "unit down at Jurisdiction Block 514, respond code 3", or alterntavely "Unit down at zone 5-14, response code 3". Her disjointed speech, similar to that of telephone banking systems, and ability to apparently broadcast to more than one location at once suggests that she is an artificially intelligent computer system. Judging by the source of the voice in game, PA broadcasts appear to emanate from The Citadel, although it appears to also be possible to broadcast announcements to specific blocks.

Her role, while small, offers significant insight into the inner workings of the Combine, as she uses a type of medically-inspired Newspeak to describe resistance activity in the context of a bacterial infection and treatment. Additionally, some of her announcements display the coercive and violent tactics used by the Combine to ensure conformity:


 * At times, and to various people (usually citizens or Overwatch personnel) the dispatcher announces the threat of "permanent off world assignment/relocation" as punishment for either mission failure or not informing on potential "anticitizens". Doctor Breen also uses this threat at the end of the game.
 * It is announced very soon after the start of Route Kanal that "inaction is conspiracy", encouraging local residents to turn in Gordon Freeman, who is just beginning his insurrection. As proof of this, food credits are deducted from humans as punishment for what is termed "inactive coercion".
 * Freeman is progressively referred to as "staph infection" and "malignant". Instructions are issued to CPs to "inoculate", "shield", "clamp" and "pacify". His implicit citizenship (he could not be a legitimate citizen, as he has been presumed missing or dead for some time) is revoked due to his "multiple anti-civil violation." In this case, Freeman is addressed as "individual," and declared "malignant." When the Overwatch soldiers are introduced and the resistance movement is in full rebellion, she euphemistically orders them to "treat" and "amputate" rebels.
 * It is announced near the start of Water Hazard that the "judgement waiver" is in effect, presumably allowing Civil Protection to deal with humans as they see fit.
 * At Nova Prospekt, turrets are referred to as "sterilizers" in keeping with the medical theme, and Combine attention is to start with focus upon an "exogen breach," presumably the antlions present in the complex, some of which are under Gordon's control.
 * Gordon is referred to as "Anticitizen One" starting roughly around Water Hazard, and retains this designation until the end of the game. As Gordon progresses within Nova Prospekt, the announcer refers to him once as "Anticitizen Freeman", the first and apparently only time he is referred to by name by the PA.

The fact that the dispatcher's could say Freeman's name suggests that the woman that provides the voice is still alive and present, or that the voice is synthetic, created by a computer program. Parallels can be drawn between the dispatcher and the telescreen news announcer in the 1984 film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, who serves a similar role and is somewhat similar to the dispatcher in terms of voice. Also, the dispatcher's voice is very similar to the MFP dispatcher in the film Mad Max.

Whether or not the transmission is intended for receipt and processing by the Dispatcher, Combine soldiers use a code phrase to signal that some force has broken through their guard. The last soldier in the unit will call "Outbreak! Outbreak! Outbreak!" over the radio the moment the second-to-last soldier is killed.

In Episode One, the tone of the dispatcher changes drastically. In the Citadel, her voice is now slowed down, looping, and sounds confused at times. This new tone adds to the feeling that the Citadel's functions are failing, and supports the PA is likely an AI of some sort. All of her statements, such as "Warning bypass detected" and "Deploy, diagnose, deploy, diagnose, present singularity, present singularity" are reused from City 17 broadcasts, some Citadel broadcasts, and some are possibly from Nova Prospekt. However, when Freeman goes through a containment field, which supercharges his gravity gun, her voice returns to normal, and the dispatch for the Civil Protection units remain the same, which could mean that the Civil Protection dispatcher could be a separate system. The dispatcher's citywide broadcast is not present in City 17 itself during the duration of Episode One.

Related Pages

 * Civil Protection