Vortigaunt

Vortigaunts (sometimes known as "alien slaves") are a fictional species from the Half-Life video game series. Their native home is the Xen border world, from which they travelled to Earth during the portal storms. They serve as frequently encountered enemies in the original game, and rarely-appearing allies in its sequel.

Physiology


In appearance, a Vortigaunt is somewhat humanoid with two legs and two arms, but has an additional arm protruding from its chest. This extra limb is a feature also found in the other bipedal, sapient species from Xen, including the Alien Grunt and Nihilanth. This similarity, along with other shared features such as red eyes and back-jointed legs, is strongly suggestive of a common ancestry with other intelligent Xen lifeforms. Apparently, this third arm is used for feeding, as both Vortigaunts and Alien Grunts are often seen bending over slain victims while feeding off of it. Vortigaunts have a mottled green-brown skin, sharp teeth, and clawed hands. Vortigaunts have a slightly hunched posture, and their faces are dominated by a large, single red eye, surrounded by five smaller eyes. In Half-Life 2, only two of these eyes are noticeably visible, but closer inspection of a Vortigaunt will reveal the other three.

Intelligence and culture
Vortigaunts are intelligent and social creatures, and often display these traits. Throughout the entire Half-Life series, Vortigaunts are often seen in pairs or groups, and are capable of developing intelligent strategies. When faced with a superior enemy, Vortigaunts will often run away from the scene, and if possible, will group together with others to form a stronger force. Vortigaunts possess their own method of vocal communication, which, in Half-Life 2, they can be heard using and referring to as "flux shifting". This method of communication involves both speakers vocalising at the same time, which separates it from all known human languages. According to the Vortigaunts, flux shifting cannot be understood by "those whose Vortal inputs are impaired", which may suggest that other inaudible components are involved, perhaps explaining why it is incomprehensible to humans. Another explanation is that they are subtly suggesting - via the use of the word 'impaired' - that the senses of humans are not quite as 'advanced' as theirs.

By the beginning of Half-Life 2, however, Vortigaunts have learned to speak at least one human language which, in the English language version of the game is, predictably, English (in international versions of Half Life 2, Vortigaunts speak the appropriate language for the country of the game's release, ie: in the French language version of the game, the Vortigaunts speak French). The Vortigaunts' use of English is slightly strange, however, as they use archaic, even Shakespearian, words and grammatical structures which are largely obsolete amongst present-day human speakers. It is not known whether this is a lack of understanding or a deliberate choice on their part.

Brief glimpses into Vortigaunt culture can be gained by occasional speeches given by them in Half-Life 2, and in scenes in the original Half-Life. In the original game, Vortigaunts were an enslaved species to the Nihilanth, used as factory workers and drone soldiers. Based on comments made by the "All-Knowing Vortigaunt", it seems that the species has endured slavery for many generations, and enforced servitude appears to have formed the bedrock of Vortigaunt history and culture up to the events of the first Half-Life. In Half-Life 2, the free Vortigaunts make occasional references to their species' culture. Vortigaunts have many traditions, including an apparent oral tradition of passing down poetry and songs from generation to generation. They believe in a binding life-force which they call the "Vortessence" (see below), which could be a religion or a popular belief. Due to their use of this force, which remains untapped by the human species, the Vortigaunt species is capable of a form of telepathy, at least amongst their own kind. One particular comment made by a Vortigaunt - "We have lost all dear to us" - suggests that the Vortigaunts have lost their homeworld and civilization, yet are determined to start again alongside the human race on Earth. There also seems to be a possibility, based on phrases uttered by the "All-Knowing Vortigaunt" that Vortigaunts have a collective conciousness through time and space, and that each moment (Gordon killing the Nihilanth, Gordon's arrival at Black Mesa East, etc.) through time appears to them as one.

It is also worth mentioning that there seems to be a sort of practical afterlife available for Vortigaunts. This is suggested by one of the statements of the All-Knowing Vortigaunt: "What seems to you a sacrifice is merely, to us, an oscillation. We do not fear the interval of darkness." The statement implies that, whenever a vortigaunt dies, it passes into "the interval of darkness", from which it may be able to emerge anew, possibly in a new body or in an astral form similar to the 'purple vortigaunts' of Episode One.

Communication and the "Vortessence"
While they have their own language, Vortigaunts are also able to speak in English (and remark humorously on the etiquette of which language to use in Half-Life 2). Vortigaunts can communicate with one another telepathically through a life-force they call the "Vortessence", which they believe is the fabric of the universe, made of "vortal cords", of which everything is woven (and therefore everything is connected). The Vortigaunts are able to read and control this force for their electrical powers, nearly hive-mind telepathy and, likely, their ability to take power from objects. The Nihilanth's powers and enslavement of the Vortigaunts were also gained through control of the Vortessence.

In Half-Life 2, the Vortigaunts are voiced by Louis Gossett, Jr..

Offensive and defensive abilities
In Half-Life and its expansion packs, Vortigaunts are common enemies in both Black Mesa and Xen. While they usually attack aggressively, they often become timid when injured, preferring to run away rather than risk further combat and possible death. They have two modes of attack: an energy attack in which they fire fairly powerful green lightning-like energy beams that require a vulnerable period of "charging-up" before being unleashed, and when close to opponents, they attack with their claws. Significantly, in Half-Life all of the Vortigaunts wear green collars and wrist bands. Later events reveal these to be a means by which they are controlled by a remote master (the Nihilanth). Vortigaunts often act as support for the tougher Alien Grunts in Half-Life, making them more likely to be able to use their attack, as the player is usually concentrating on killing the tougher Grunts.

In Half-Life 2, their electrical attack is far more devastating, tending to kill whatever it hits immediately, and quite often knocks back its target at considerable distance. Only objects with significant mass can resist being knocked back, such as the Strider (which appears to be fully immune to the beam) and Antlion Guards. These attacks occur only once during the singleplayer game when Gordon's view is restricted by rubble, and the only way to see a Vortigaunt in combat is to spawn it with enemies using the console. It is also suggested that Vortigaunts can siphon an opponent's lifeforce with their energy beam attack, as they are heard saying phrases like "Give over your essence!" or "Empower us!" during some of their attacks in Half-Life 2. In the Half-Life expansion Decay, the player plays as a Vortigaunt in a bonus mission, and the beam attack does indeed 'steal' lifeforce from enemies.

In one of the gameplay demos for the upcoming release Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Vortigaunts appear to possess a splash damage ability. After punching the ground a Vortigaunt is shown emitting a huge electrical shockwave, harming enemies around it. In a trailer, one is also seen incapacitating an attacking Antlion before striking it.

Half-Life 2
In Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman meets up with the creatures again. This time, however, they are eager to assist in overthrowing the Combine. In the time between the two games, the Vortigaunts have been freed from their former master, and most remaining on Earth have joined the human Resistance against the Combine. The game also reveals that the Vortigaunts are capable of using their electrical attack productively, in the form of a blue energy stream that can recharge batteries, power electronic circuits and fuse objects together. The Vortigaunts credit Gordon Freeman with their freedom, and hold him in high esteem as "The Free Man" (as it was Freeman who slew the Nihilanth and freed the Vortigaunts), though they also seem to mourn all those "whose chords you [Freeman] cut".

However, not all Vortigaunts have been freed. In the first chapter of Half-Life 2 - "Point Insertion" - it is possible to catch a brief glimpse of a Vortigaunt working under the Combine. Wearing a collar and armbands similar to those worn in Half-Life (with an additional band around the waist), the Vortigaunt is shown slowly and meticulously using a push-broom to sweep dirt and garbage in the City 17 train station. When exploring Nova Prospekt, the player comes across a dead Vortigaunt, wearing collar and armbands, sitting in a restrained chair. It appears that the Vortigaunt has died during electrical torture by the Combine, which would explain Alyx Vance's comments that the Resistance's only knowledge of Nova Prospekt is through telepathic communications from Vortigaunts taken there for torture or interrogation.

Episode One and Episode Two
In the beginning of Half-Life 2: Episode One, a group of purple-colored Vortigaunts free Gordon from the G-Man and save Alyx from certain death after the explosion of the Combine Citadel's interdimensional portal, teleporting both of them to the relative safety of the center of City 17, just outside the Citadel - revealing the Vortigaunts may be more powerful than previously speculated, even to the point of challenging the might of the G-Man (whose mysterious power has seemed unmatched and unstoppable up to this point).

It is debated if the purple-colored Vortigaunts are some type of more powerful Vortigaunts or if it is just a side effect of the filters and lighting used in that scene. The conclusion that is best supported is that the Vortigaunts are purple-colored because they are operating on some other plane of existence. The supporting evidence is that during the explosion where Alyx is rescued, the Vortigaunts appear in purple-colored and semi-translucent although the rest of the scene is unfiltered and lit with realistic lighting.

Vortigaunts are also present in the trailer for Half-Life 2: Episode Two. One is seen carrying Alyx's (possibly dead) body, and uttering "This is more than anyone can bear, but we will persevere", possibly implying they can halt death and reverse it in groups (this is supported by the fact that a Vortigaunt is heard chanting after the scene where the Vortigaunt is shown holding Alyx), or simply stating how they or Gordon feel. However, it should also be noted that the "All Knowing Vortigaunt" and vortigaunts spawned during play also say this line in Half-Life 2. In the action shots as well, Vortigaunts have been shown using their electric beams to fight antlions. In the second  Episode Two trailer, a brand new combat ability for the Vortigaunt is revealed. They appear to gather a ball of green energy in their hands, and then slam it into the ground, forming a shockwave that stuns or injures nearby enemies (in the Antlion's case, it knocks them over) and like Alyx in Episode One, can counter an enemy's attack (an example of this is in a gameplay video where an antlion lunges at a vortigaunt but the vortigaunt grabs the antlion, pins it to the ground and 'energy' slams with its other fist).

This will likely be the first time Vortigaunts are seen in single-player combat in a Valve game using the Source engine, with the exception of a glimpse at fighting Vortigaunts seen behind some rubble in Half-Life 2 during the Combine attack on Black Mesa East. It is also curious to note that, also in the second Episode Two trailer, Vortigaunts are shown to have a less scaly appearance, looking much smoother and slimier than before and with larger eyes, similar to a slug.

Miscellaneous Half-Life titles and mods
In the official co-op expansion Half-Life: Decay, players who manage to obtain an A rank on all of the regular missions may unlock a bonus mission titled "Xen Attacks", where both players play as Vortigaunts. Although short on story, the mission gives some unique insight into the Vortigaunts' role in the Black Mesa incident. The players control "Drone Subjects" X-8973 and R-4913, two Vortigaunts sent to Earth by Nihilanth. The mission Nihilanth has assigned them is the retrieval of crystals stolen from Xen by the Black Mesa science team. Both Vortigaunts are able to regain health by damaging objects or enemies, supporting the theory that Vortigaunts can drain lifeforce/energy with their beam attacks.

There is also a third-party single-player modification for Half-Life known as Point of View, where one can play as a Vortigaunt during the Black Mesa Incident. Point of View 2 is currently under development under the name Azure Stand. This will also be a sequel to another mod by the same team, Azure Sheep, which has a related storyline. According to the developers Azure Stand will "be set during the Seven Hour War".

"The All-Knowing Vortigaunt"
In what appears to be a carefully hidden Easter egg, Half-Life 2 introduces a unique member of this species during the course of the Water Hazard stage.

Near the end of the chapter (d1_canals_13), Freeman must destroy a hunter-chopper that has been following his trail. After this is completed, a large, sliding metal gate must be opened to proceed further. After going through the gate, on the left there are two visible drainage tunnels set into the face of the rock. The grate on the left tunnel is shown to be peeled back. Inside this tunnel, beyond a stretch of radioactive waste is a large, underground cavern, home to a character referred to by fans as "The All-Knowing" (or "Sore Throat") Vortigaunt. While the waste is damaging, there is a large store of healing items near the Vortigaunt, and it is possible to minimize damage by sprinting across it.

The Vortigaunt in question is shown roasting a headcrab over an open fire while chanting, eventually pausing to hack and wheeze for a moment. By talking to the Vortigaunt, the player may hear many cryptic statements pertaining to Black Mesa, Xen, the G-Man, and the Nihilanth, among other topics.

However, given enough prompting by the player, all of the information imparted by the "All-Knowing Vortigaunt" is also spoken by other Vortigaunts encountered in Half-Life 2.