Nihilanth

"The last... I am the last..."

- Nihilanth

The Nihilanth was the leader of the Xen armies and the primary antagonist of Half-Life.

Half-Life
Gordon Freeman was tasked with killing the Nihilanth because it was the only force holding the dimensional rift open after the satellite delivery rocket was used by the Black Mesa Lambda Labs to reverse the resonance cascade.

Upon entering its lair, the Nihilanth attacked Gordon by launching two different types of energy spheres: a swarm of blue-colored electrical orbs which would cause immense damage (30 per sphere) and a slow-moving, green-colored orb which would home in and teleport him to other sections of the Nihilanth's lair populated by other Xen aliens. In addition, these green spheres would also teleport creatures into the Nihilanth's main chamber on impact with the cavern walls to help defend against intruders.

A series of gold-colored "energy spheres" orbited around the Nihilanth's head, rendering it impervious to damage. These were consumed as the Nihilanth attacked or summoned assistance, but specialized crystals within the upper portion of its chamber replenished the spheres as they vanished. After Gordon destroyed these crystals, the Nihilanth's head opened up like a flower, revealing a shining, vulnerable brain. After dealing a significant amount of damage to this, the Nihilanth floated up to the roof of it's chamber and exploded in a massive green explosion.

Appearance
Physically, the Nihilanth resembled a gigantic, oddly-proportioned fetus with a massive head atop a smaller body. The creature's minuscule legs appeared either to be vestigial or the remains of amputation, so it relied on a mechanical levitation device for movement. The Nihilanth's body featured what appeared to be the remains of some sort of surgical procedure and, like the other intelligent Xen races, it had a third appendage protruding from the middle of its pectoral chest region. The creature's unusually long arms ended in disproportionately huge hands and fingers and it wore metallic wristbands, similar to bands worn by the enslaved Vortigaunts.

Transcript of Nihilanth's speech


There are several cryptic phrases either spoken or telepathically broadcast by the Nihilanth once Gordon Freeman reaches Xen, but are difficult to understand in-game. Below are transcripts of several speech files extracted directly from the Half-Life data packs. Note that these transcriptions may not be entirely accurate, as the exact contents of the Nihilanth's speech are fairly difficult to make out due to unclear articulation and the low, gravelly manner in which it speaks. Included are comments explaining the most common interpretations of each quote.


 * "Comes... another...": Said when Gordon enters Xen for the first time, this most likely means that Gordon Freeman is another human to enter this world, as evidenced by human corpses found on the way.


 * "You are man... he is not man... for you he waits... for you...": Most interpret this as a reference to the G-Man, who the Nihilanth implies is not human. This seems extremely likely in light of the facts that the G-Man is the only "man" who is portrayed in Half-Life with any significance besides Gordon himself, and that the Nihilanth's saying this predates any plans for either of the game's two expansion packs. It is known that the G-Man's employers aren't human, as he said to Shephard, "...my employers are not so trusting and, rather than continually subjecting you to the irresistible human temptation of telling all..." Said when Gordon enters the second part of "Interloper" at the alien camp.


 * "The last...I am the last...": Said when Freeman enters the final part of "Interloper" near an eerie, coral-like altar with a red portal. It is unknown what is meant by himself being "the last." A fan theory states that it may mean he is the last of his species as nothing else like him is seen on Xen-with the possible exception of alien controllers (this was later confirmed by Valve). It could simply be a nod to the fact that he is the final foe in Gordon's path. It is interesting to note that at this portal to the game's last battle, the voices of scientists that Gordon has previously encountered throughout the game can be faintly heard, although hard to hear in-game through the alien sound effect around it, with no proper explanation as to why.


 * "Win... you cannot win...": Said when Gordon enters Gonarch's lair. The most obvious interpretation would be that this is some sort of taunt to discourage Gordon — this follows from below ("Done.. what have you done...") implying the Gonarch's death was not predicted. It could, instead, not be about Gordon's ability to slay the Nihilanth or Gonarch, but rather about his ability to stop the Combine. Or, it could mean his inability to ever leave the service of the G-man, which would also foreshadow that Gordon would arrive under the G-Man's service as he is not "hired" by the G-Man until moments after this battle.


 * "Done...what have you done...": Said when Gordon enters the chapter "Interloper." This almost definitely refers to the Gonarch and its defeat. As the Gonarch creates headcrabs, Gordon's interference (perhaps the reason for the name "Interloper") has halted the production of the headcrabs. This could have a major effect since Gordon has fought headcrabs throughout the entire game. Also, the first section of this level is the last time headcrabs will appear, and only a few are seen.


 * "Die...you all die...you all die...": Probably spoken out of anger, may be related to above phrase. Probably also referring to the other human visitors to Xen, whose corpses lie scattered around the world. Nihilanth may also be speaking of humanity in general, implying that humanity will cease to be (either because of him or the Combine).


 * "Now die...now die...now...": Said during the battle with the Nihilanth. Probably said just to intimidate Gordon.


 * "Their slaves...we are their slaves...we are...": Probably a reference to the Combine, as they enslaved the Vortigaunt species prior to the first Half Life game.


 * "The truth...you can never know...the truth...": Seems to suggest that the overall plotline will remain filled with unanswered questions. Another possibility is that this statement breaks the fourth wall, signifying that Freeman will never know that he is being controlled by the player.


 * "Thieves...you all are thieves...you all are...": Similarly vague. Possible reference to one of the crystals from the Nihilanth's chamber that was taken back to Earth, along with countless Xen specimens for zoological study. Or it could possibly be that most species want to control Xen to use it for their portal technology (as human teleporters are dependent on Xen; even intra-dimensional teleportation is achieved by "swinging around" Xen), and they, to the inhabitants of Xen, are stealing it.


 * "Deceive you... will deceive you...": This is quite possibly a reference to the G-Man and the way he employs (and uses) Freeman. This may also be a reference to Breen and how he may be preparing Xen for the combine's swing to Earth.


 * "Alone... not you alone... not you alone...": Unknown. Probably means that other people are "employed" by the G-Man. It could also mean that the G-man is with or simply watching Gordon.


 * "Alone... aren't you alone... aren't you alone...": Exact phrase as above, but has a different meaning, the Nihilanth is thinking simply that Gordon is surrounded by no one; this is most likely as the Vortigaunt slaves in the first room of the 3rd map of "Interloper", where this is heard, go about their tasks instead of shock Freeman unless he stays there for a long period of time, at which point one or two slaves will attack.


 * "FREEEEEMAAAAAANNN!!!!!": The Nihilanth screams out Freeman's name at the very beginning of the game's final battle, indicating that it knows Freeman by name. (Assuming that the messages are delivered via telepathy, this is quite credible; such an assumption would also explain how the messages come to be in English, it is assumed this is said rather than telepathically broadcasted.)

Behind the scenes


Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar states that the first part of the Nihilanth's name is reference to nihilism (from the Latin nihil, meaning nothing), while -anth is a common suffix that is related to flowers and is a reference to how his scalp peels open like a blossom.

Trivia

 * Based on some of its speeches and what appear to be surgical scars and amputated legs similar the that of the Stalker's, it is thought the Nihilanth was once a slave to an obscure higher power (presumably the Combine).

Appearance list

 * Half-Life
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar