Combine

The Combine is a fictional powerful alien race and empire from Valve Corporation's 2004 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2. During the game, it is also referred to as the Universal Union, and as "our benefactors" in propaganda.



Introduction


The Combine is a vast empire spanning multiple parallel universes. The empire is inhabited by an unknown number of sapient species, and appears to be governed by a race of bizarre, artificially evolved Advisors (see below). The Combine expands its empire by invading worlds and enslaving the dominant species to be exploited as it sees fit. By manipulating these inhabitants through methods including bioengineering and implantation, the Combine creates a race of super-soldiers uniquely adapted for the environment of that particular world. This process results in a highly mobile and adaptive military force which is able to respond to any threat and crush any opposition. The reasons behind the Combine's imperialism remain unknown throughout the game.

Vocal stress is placed on the first syllable. The name is pronounced as the noun COM-bine, as in combine harvester, as opposed to the verb form com-BINE, as in "to join together or unite." Dr. Breen refers to the Combine Soldiers and Civil Protection as The Transhuman Arm of the Combine Overwatch in Nova Prospekt, verifying that "Combine" is an accepted name of the empire, even by the empire itself.

Until recently, many players speculated that the Combine may have possibly controlled Xen, based on the similarities to some practices and technologies used by the Nihilanth. However, Valve Software marketing director Doug Lombardi has stated that the Combine had, in fact, invaded a different homeworld from which Nihilanth's race was forced to escape. The defeated Nihilanth sought refuge in Xen, where the Combine could not (or would not) follow. We had a glimpse of the larger threat when we were working on Half-Life 1. In other words we knew that once you cleared out the Nihilanth, you were going to discover something worse beyond it. We knew that some immense threat had chased the Nihilanth and its creatures out of their own world and into Xen, from which location [i.e. the world beyond Xen] they were all too glad to seize the opportunity to continue on to Earth with suppression through the citadels. But the exact nature of the threat was left to be solved in Half-Life 2.

This does, however, establish that Nihilanth and the Combine are former enemies who would have had knowledge of each other. When contacted, Marc Laidlaw provided more information: I'm pretty sure Doug was restating something I'd told him; I [am not] clarifying it, since it's the foundation on which the series continues. What we saw in HL1 was the very end of a long struggle between the Combine and the last of the Nihilanth's race ... The Nihilanth's "world" (if it could be said to have) was long since in the past as far as the Nihilanth was concerned; Xen was their final retreat, and they had their back to the wall, as it were, when the fissure appeared that let them spill into our dimension. Xen itself is sort of a dimensional transit bottleneck--an area of continual contention.

Subsequent to the invasion of Nihilanth's unnamed homeworld, Earth is the Combine's most recent known annexation, acquired following Earth's surrender at the end of the Seven Hour War. Following the standard Combine process, members of Earth's dominant species have been modified to form a new arm of the Combine military. Whilst these soldiers are primarily used as a permanent Combine garrison on Earth, in-game dialogue suggests that units of the Transhuman Overwatch are used across the Combine Empire.

Combine Advisors


The Combine Advisors are the face of the Combine Empire, suggesting that they are probably the original master race behind the alien empire. They briefly appear in the game, in Doctor Breen's office, on giant monitors, and they can be seen several times during Episode One. Physically, they resemble large grub-like creatures, belonging to a species which most likely passed its singularity long ago. As a result of their expertise in developing advanced technology, the Advisors have evolved to an artificial state which may be vastly different from their original physical state. Given their unwieldy physicial form, they seem to be unable to manipulate objects or move around on their own, they are quite possibly blind, and have a large number of other physical handicaps. As a result, the Advisors are probably totally dependent on their highly advanced technology in order to survive, unable to live without their mechanical aids.

In Episode One, they are shown preparing to evacuate themselves from the damaged Citadel while their soldiers and other minions are ordered to destroy the Citadel's dark fusion reactor to send an unknown message to the main Combine "nation". This indicates that they are of a high position in the known Combine hierarchy, as their minions have no chance to evacuate once the reactor begins to detonate, whilst their escape pods ensure they can flee to a safe distance.

In terms of size, an Advisor is about as large as a rhinoceros. They have not been seen in motion within the game (other than within the escape pod-like capsules), but it has been theorised that they are able to hover using some form of anti-gravity technology. Advisors are virtually featureless, with no visible eyes, ears, mouth, or limbs. This may be the explanation for the many mechanical augmentations they bear. They have no visible eyes, though they do possess an eye-like mechanical device attached to one side of their "head." Their "faces" are covered by what may be some form of respirator, though as the hose attached to it does not lead to any obvious tank, the device's true purpose is unknown. Advisors rest inside a metal cradle which has two mechanical claw-like arms protruding from the upper section. Each Advisor wears a stitched olive-green body suit, leaving only the mostly featureless "face" and part of the tail fully visible. The suit also has a black collar adorned with golden hieroglyphs on it.

Despite their crippled physical state, the Advisors seem to have become highly evolved mentally. They are never heard speaking in-game, and yet Doctor Breen is observed having an extended conversation with one, suggesting some form of telepathy. Slashing animations revealed by the Half-Life 2 Model Viewer suggest that at one point during the development of Half-Life 2 the player may have been intended to fight one of these creatures.

After the events in Half-Life 2, one or more Advisors began taking great interest in Gordon Freeman. During Episode One, they are seen on various monitors throughout City 17, tracking Gordon and Alyx and dispatching Combine soldiers to apprehend them. Also, the developer commentary track included with Episode One states that the Advisors play a big role in a new story arc for Episode Two.

In Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, designer Ted Backman mentions that the immense, worm-like form of the Combine Advisor was inspired by the work of Frank Herbert, most likely the images of the Spacing Guild Navigators and Leto Atreides II from the Dune novels.

Combine teleportation
Despite the advanced level of the Combine race, it seems to be lacking considerable skill in teleportation. Dr. Mossman explains that the Combine can only teleport from one universe to another, but not to different locations in the same universe. The teleportation method used by Dr. Kleiner and Dr. Eli Vance (and indeed by the other Black Mesa scientists and even the Nihilanth before and during the Black Mesa Incident) can do this, though, which is why the Combine wants the technology. Dr. Mossman was actually helping the Combine build a teleporter capable of doing this in Nova Prospekt, but as Nova Prospekt was destroyed during Alyx and Gordon's escape, it seems that the Combine gained little in the end.

The Combine's method of teleportation, as limited as it is, still requires a large amount of power and huge machinery to perform, as seen at the end of the game, where Dr. Breen was attempting to escape from the Citadel using a Combine teleporter. This teleporter required an entire reactor, called the "dark fusion reactor," to power it, while the teleporters designed by humans require only small amounts of power, and very little machinery in comparison. (Xenian teleporters seem to require even less machinery – sometimes even none at all – and even less power. However, this could do with the nature of Xen rather than Xenian technology.) The reason for this is because they use Xen as a "dimensional slingshot," bouncing off of one universe to another, and from one location in a certain universe to another in the same universe, while the Combine don't, instead having to "tunnel" straight through dimensions to the target universe.

Invasion of Earth


Following the Nihilanth's demise, the Combine were able to use the portal storm that was occurring at the time to continue on to Earth, where it launched a massive invasion that culminated in the Seven Hour War. Statements made by the G-Man suggest that the human race was unable to mount any effective resistance to the Combine armies, and that Earth's military forces were almost instantly overwhelmed. Former administrator of the Black Mesa Research Facility, Dr. Wallace Breen, negotiated a surrender on Earth's behalf and was therefore appointed the administrator of the Combine's forces on Earth – the Overwatch.

Combine dominance on Earth
The Combine rules Earth from giant towers known as Citadels, the most important being in City 17 where Dr. Breen runs his administration. At the end of the game, as Doctor Breen attempts to teleport off of Earth using the dark fusion reactor, a massive portal is created and, through it, several buildings that resemble Citadels are visible.

At the start of the game, the Combine appear to have almost complete dominance of the remaining pockets of civilized Earth, and do not identify who Gordon Freeman is. However, Doctor Breen immediately informs a Combine Advisor of Freeman's appearace during a teleport accident, in which Gordon Freeman appeared in Doctor Breen's office for a brief amount of time. Only a few handfuls of rebels, loosely organized in a ragtag resistance, are secretly opposing the Combine. Gordon Freeman's actions after his return eventually inspire a massive insurrection against the Combine in City 17, which results in a full-scale street war between the citizens and the Combine forces.

The reasons behind the Combine's desire to control the Earth are unknown, other than the absorption of Earth's resources, the use of human teleporter technology and the enslavement and exploitation of its dominant species – the humans – for either menial work or military service, considering that "permanent off world assignment" is threatened to soldiers who fail in their attempts to kill/capture Freeman throughout the game.

Suppression field
The Combine, since gaining dominance on Earth, has imposed something known as a suppression field. The suppression field's main effect is to bring the human birth rate down to zero by prohibiting certain protein chains important to embryonic development from forming, effectively ensuring that the humans currently alive will be the last generation. Doctor Breen addresses this issue to the people via a broadcast during the early levels of Half-Life 2, as the response to a letter written to him by a "concerned citizen," and claims that the field will be deactivated once the humans prove they no longer need it. During the game, resistance members occasionally make humorous remarks such as: "When this is all over, I'm gonna mate," about the suppression field. It was initially thought that the suppression field somehow prevented human sexual urges, mainly due to Dr. Breen's statement that it was suppressing "the urge to reproduce".

In Half Life 2: Episode One, it has been revealed by Dr. Isaac Kleiner during his transmissions throughout the city, that with the near destruction of the Citadel, the suppression field has been disabled. He suggests that everyone "should do their part" in the repopulation of the human species if they have escaped City 17, "before the Combine attempt to restore their dominion."

Mind control and memory replacement


Comments at the train station at the start of the game suggest that the Combine have been drugging (if not outright poisoning) the populace through their water supply. One citizen remarks "Don't drink the water...they put something in it, t-to make you forget. I don't even remember how I got here." This is not mentioned outside this one piece of dialogue; but the idea is reinforced by the numerous soda machines stocked with "Dr&gt; [sic] Breen's Private Reserve", which freely dispense water in a standard 12-ounce can.

The insinuated reason for this supposed mind control is so that humans forget why they hate the Combine, and will willingly accede to their (and Breen's) demands, and to create a fresh new template (the human's mind) for forced re-education.

In addition, a Combine radio transmission to Civil Protection officers states: "Reminder, memory replacement is the first step to rank privileges." This could explain why none of the CPs are able to join the resistance after the uprising; their memories may either forbid them from harboring any negative thoughts toward their Combine overlords or program them to believe that the Combine must be protected.

Information about forced memory replacement can be found in the games data files, in this specific model named "soldier bed", seen later inside the Citadel during Episode One. This model closely resembles that of concept art in Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar. The machine itself consists of Combine emitters and equipment, attached is an arm-like device holding a human body. Lastly, a shell-like apparatus envelops the head; containing three different screens and panels. Accompanying this model is a small group of sounds resembling harsh subliminal messaging; this video/audio messaging system explains the military training used by normal post-human individuals.

This model, in addition to several bizarre sounds of voices in the data files, suggests that this "brainwashing" memory replacement is an important part of the transhuman operation. The process of erasing memories, Combine propaganda, and eventually, memory replacement results in a soldier incapable of rebelling against the Combine influence, as well as enabling transhumans with no military background training to become part of the Overwatch forces.

Human genocide


Some players theorise that all remaining children have been killed by the Combine. Evidence such as the ghostly laughs of children that can be heard in the playground outside one of the apartments in the first level, the crying couple that can be seen shortly thereafter, the fact that the player doesn't see any children in the most human-populated areas, remarks by resistance members such as "I'm glad there's no kids around to see this," and the presence of discarded toys such as baby dolls supports those theories. However, it could also be argued that they are only reminders of the past.

Of course, there is the possibility that this could have been a design issue; a game where children could be shot could have become a contentious issue in the media. Several other violent video games, such as those of the Grand Theft Auto series, have no children for that reason. However, some who are in opposition to this theory may bring about the fact that no non-player character in the game who is meant to be an ally (such as members of the human resistance or Vortigaunts) can be intentionally shot by the player. Furthermore, laws exist in some European countries that expressly forbid children appearing in violent situations in computer games. Their absence can therefore be easily explained as a way to ease the adjustments needed for European release. Just as there are no children in the game there are no babies and adolescents present either. Despite their absence as characters in the game, throughout City 17 and other areas the player can find many graffiti paintings of what appears to be either a Combine soldier or a Resistance member holding a baby.

A more likely explanation is that the Combine placed the suppression field immediately following their victory over Earth's forces, and given that the Combine have been occupying Earth for nearly twenty years, the humans that Gordon sees throughout the game are possibly the last humans born naturally. According to commentary from Viktor Antonov and Dhabih Eng in Half-Life 2: Raising The Bar, a setpiece for Gordon's journey that was a factory run by child labor and child citizens had been designed, but it became apparent to the design team that the Combine had suppressed human reproductive cycles for many years.

There are many evident acts of genocide or at least random killing perpetrated by the Combine throughout the game. The town of Ravenholm was shelled with the intention of killing all the residents, and throughout the Highway 17 chapter, the player encounters numerous bodies in the houses of the coast including some that have been burnt by the Combine in a bonfire (though these may also have been zombified humans - while the Combine uses headcrabs as a form of attack, they apparently cannot control them or the resulting zombies themselves). Towards the end of the game Eli Vance explains to Dr. Breen that he has witnessed "genocide [and] indescribable evil."

Depletion of Earth's resources


It is evident at several points in the game that the Combine are depleting Earth's natural resources. One of the official Half-Life 2 descriptions details how Gordon Freeman must return to "an Earth infested with aliens and being picked to the bone." One of the most noticeable signs is that Earth's ocean levels have dropped dramatically. This can be seen during the coastal chapters Highway 17 and Sandtraps, and the waterways of City 17 in Route Kanal. The coastline is littered with boats and ships resting on what was previously the seabed, and there are various docks and piers that are no longer standing in water, but instead jut out of the old seabed. At the beginning of Highway 17, Gordon arrives at a harbor which is now a considerable distance from the water's edge. Indications of the previous sea level can be judged by moss which had previously gathered on harbour structures at the edge of the water, but which now lie several metres higher than the ground level. It is mentioned in the book Raising the Bar that this massive, planet-wide water drainage is accomplished through the presence of a giant Combine "drain," actually a teleporter, which sends the water to other Combine-enslaved planets.

More generally, parts of the game world are flooded with parasitic headcrabs and toxic waste, making them generally inhospitable to human life. Infrastructure is either decaying (as with Highway 17, which is in a state of incredible disrepair and littered with old rusting cars) or rendered completely useless (as with Nova Prospekt, where the traditional prison area is mostly flooded and run down, if not outright destroyed by the explosion at the end of Entanglement). Judging by the state of the wastelands outside of the city, agriculture and farming is completely nonexistent; farm animals and implements are never seen in game suggesting that the animals are either extinct or at least critically endangered. The Fisherman in Lost Coast comments that there's no fish left to eat, only leeches which devour anyone who steps into the ocean, posing a further threat to humanity.

Additionally, City 17 itself is being devoured, as Combine walls spread outward from the Citadel, consuming the city's buildings. It is unknown whether the Combine are purely using this method to destroy the city, or whether they're actually gathering raw materials from the city's structures. Because of all of the above factors, even if Combine rule ends, extensive rebuilding, cleanup and xeno-extermination would have to take place to make the planet habitable again.

During the development of the game, the Combine originally had a huge industrial facility which was referred to as the "Air Exchange," which gradually absorbed Earth's air and replaced it with chemicals and other substances which were harmful to humans, but most likely ideal for an environment that the Combine master race could inhabit. It was up to Gordon Freeman to travel to the Combine Air Exchange via a ship called The Borealis, which was captained by a man named Odell. Gordon's actions at the Air Exchange were to trigger the human insurrection against the Combine in City 17, but as the level was dropped, this was instead made to happen due to Gordon's actions at Nova Prospekt. The Air Exchange concept was dropped during development, and it's uncertain whether or not it exists in the official storyline of the game, but as there are no in-game references to it, it is likely that it does not exist. This is especially true as according to Raising the Bar the air exchange's effects forced the remaining humans to wear gas masks apparently constantly, as implied by an official concept-text. The fact that no humans are witnessed wearing said masks means that the idea was almost definitely removed completely.

Humanoid Combine
The primary military force of the Combine on Earth is the humanoid Combine Overwatch (referred to by Doctor Breen as the "Transhuman arm of the Combine Overwatch"): humans who have been modified into "transhuman" (or "post-human", as referred to by Dr. Kleiner) cyborgs. They are the most frequently encountered foes throughout Half-Life 2. This could also be another possible reason why they are called the Combine, because they are a "combination" of humans and alien technology. It is important to note that the Civil Protection foes are not hybridized and are in fact, human.

Combine synth
Synths are creatures that, over a course of imposed evolution and adaptation by the Combine, have come to fit a particular niche in the Combine military. Once self-replicating, organic, but robot-like creatures that spread across different worlds, they were enslaved and assimilated into the Combine to become the backbone of their military.

Various types of Synth have been brought over to Earth by the Combine, but other types of Synth are likely to exist. The total number of different Synths is unknown. It is likely that Synths were the primary forces used by the Combine during the Seven Hour War, as the human-derived Combine units, as well as technology such as hunter-choppers and APCs, would have only started appearing after the Combine's rule on Earth had been established.

Combine combat tech
The Combine, since gaining dominance on Earth, has invented a large number of devices and machines, some of which are offensive, and others which are used in the day-to-day policing and surveillance of the general populace. A majority of the Combine's technology present on Earth is actually nothing more than human technology re-interpreted and re-made by the Combine, using its own materials. Technology such as helicopters, turrets, and wheeled vehicles are all human technology, re-engineered by the Combine.

Static and non-combat Combine property
A common trait of Combine structural engineering seems to be making most of their creations resemble imposing, fairly featureless monolithic constructs, save for the odd irregular patterns that dot their surface. On the other hand, some seem to be unnecessarily complex, while others exhibit properties that defy conventional physics.