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- "Tell me, Dr. Freeman, if you can. You have destroyed so much. What is it, exactly, that you have created? Can you name even one thing? I thought not."
- ―Dr. Wallace Breen
The Uprising is an ongoing conflict fought between the Resistance and the Combine. The war takes place about 20 years after the Black Mesa Incident, the Seven Hour War,[1] and the Combine's conquering of Earth.
Prelude[]
The occupation of Earth[]
Prior to the Seven Hour War, the Black Mesa Incident had caused Portal Storms to spread across the planet, attracting the attention of the interdimensional Combine. Their motive for invading Earth is unknown, though it can be assumed they wished to take control of the planet's natural resources and enslave its population. The Combine had invaded Earth through the use of the storms and rapidly defeated all of Earth's armed forces in what became known as the Seven Hour War. Dr. Wallace Breen, formerly the Black Mesa Administrator, negotiated a surrender on behalf of the surviving humans. As a reward for his loyalty, he was installed as the interim ruler of Earth by the Combine, whilst they rounded up the remaining Humans into large, tightly controlled cities. Breen chose City 17 as his base of operations, and the planet's main Citadel was constructed there, as the headquarters of the Combine Overwatch on Earth.
The Combine stood virtually unchallenged with a calculated oppressiveness, restricting human liberties and assimilating Earth's natural resources into their empire. Dissenting humans were captured and transformed into Stalkers, or simply killed. A Suppression Field was activated to prevent humans from breeding, another measure to control the population more effectively. Many humans were forcibly assimilated into the occupational army on Earth, with all of the Combine's infantry forces on Earth consisting of trans-Human troops, biologically augmented with synthetic technology.
In response to the Combine occupation, a number of escapees from the Combine's rule formed the Resistance, a highly decentralized, loose network of underground guerrilla fighters, outlaws, spies, and refugees dedicated to overthrowing the Combine oppressive rule. Unable to combat the Combine's powerful armies directly, the Resistance instead sought to undermine the Combine strategically. More experienced Resistance members such as Barney Calhoun were able to infiltrate the ranks of Civil Protection, relaying inside information to the Resistance. Others smuggled weaponry, set up supply caches for other members, and helped civilians escape the Combine controlled cities. The Resistance set up a sophisticated network of hidden bases throughout City 17's sewers and canals area to help ferry escapees to the countryside. Others set up dedicated outposts such as Ravenholm (until its destruction, with the exception of Father Grigori and the Shorepoint Base), Black Mesa East, White Forest, as well as a significant presence along The Coast.
According to Judith Mossman, the Combine was aware of the Resistance and its activities, but their efforts to undermine them were largely ineffective on the whole, and as such, the Combine did not consider them an appreciable threat. Nevertheless, they suppressed Resistance activities at every opportunity, raiding the homes of suspected resistance members or sympathizers, and destroying Resistance outposts. The most infamous of these was Ravenholm. Rather than attack the town directly, the Combine shelled the settlement with Headcrab Shells, with only one known survivor. Nonetheless, the Resistance science team had made significant headway in technological developments, such as the advanced teleportation technology developed by former Black Mesa scientists Isaac Kleiner and Eli Vance. Other developments included the anti-Strider weapon developed by Arne Magnusson, and plans to shut down the portal between Earth and the Combine Overworld using Black Mesa's satellite array. Many of these plans, especially the latter, could not be put into effect until the Combine were significantly weakened.
The Resistance also benefitted greatly from their Vortigaunt allies, as the sentient alien species had united with the humans to oppose the Combine. Though they were formerly foes at the time of the Black Mesa Incident, the Vortigaunts proved a valuable asset, as their unique powers allowed them to spy on the Combine, heal their allies, and unleash devastating electrical attacks on their enemies. Using the gift of the mysterious 'Vortessence', the Vortigaunts were crucial to victory and were heavily involved in several pivotal events during the course of the war. Some, such as Uriah, also joined the Science Team and aided the human researchers in developing their technologies.
The Combine's empire spanned several dimensions and became Earth's brutal totalitarian rulers after defeating all of its militaries combined in the Seven Hour War. After negotiating a surrender with Dr. Wallace Breen, they established the former Black Mesa Administrator as Earth's interim ruler. Once all of Earth's population had been rounded up into tightly controlled cities, they began the subjugation of Earth's populace and assimilation of its natural resources. Earth's oceans had receded significantly with the planet ecologically devastated as the Combine eroded local culture by the time of the Uprising, and the cities became comparatively safe under Combine rule after Xenian wildlife had infested the countryside. The Combine's control of Earth was brutal and calculated; while it did not consider the Resistance an appreciable threat to its rule, it suppressed Resistance activity whenever possible.
The Combine often raided the homes of suspected Resistance members or sympathizers, commonly using the pretext of one home being raided as an excuse to search the entire block. Captured Humans were either killed or imprisoned in facilities such as Nova Prospekt, where they suffered from miserable living conditions and torturous interrogations before being transformed into Stalkers or integrated into the Overwatch. The Combine's forces on Earth almost entirely consisted of trans-Human infantry forces, supplemented with Synth technology such as Striders, along with a number of human collaborators forming militarised policing units such as the so-called Civil Protection. Their formidable technology, weapons, and numbers prevented the Resistance from a direct confrontation; however, despite this, they lagged behind the Resistance in some areas. The Combine utilized dark energy cosmic strings to form their portals, which required an enormous amount of energy to sustain, and could not tunnel to another location on the same planet. The Resistance, on the other hand, utilized the Black Mesa-pioneered Xen relay, allowing them to easily translocate to another point within the same universe. The Resistance also possessed the technology to shut down portals using the old Xenian resonators.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their vast power and resources, the Combine were slow to mobilize in response to threats to their rule on Earth, a weakness the Resistance was able to frequently exploit in the years preceding the Uprising. The heavy centralization of the Combine occupation, with its sole link to other worlds being housed in City 17, would prove another weakness, one that would lead to disaster for them at the outbreak of the Uprising.
Return of the Freeman[]
Gordon Freeman was inserted into City 17 by the ominous G-Man approximately 20 years following the Black Mesa Incident. Intercepted by Barney Calhoun, who had infiltrated the ranks of Civil Protection, Freeman was sent to Isaac Kleiner's hidden lab to evade the Combine. A quasi-mythological figure since his disappearance after the Black Mesa Incident, Civil Protection teams began trailing him. The disturbance quickly garnered the attention of the Combine Overwatch, promising additional food rations to citizens as rewards in exchange for cooperation, whilst deducting rations from entire apartment blocks whom had been collectively charged with "permissive inactive coercion".
Freeman was almost captured by several of these patrols until his rescue by Alyx Vance, who escorted him to Kleiner's lab. Kleiner intended to teleport both of them to Black Mesa East, the largest Resistance stronghold in City 17's Outlands. A teleporter malfunction, however, resulted in Wallace Breen becoming aware of Freeman's presence in the city, whilst also forcing Freeman to reach Black Mesa East on foot.
In response, Breen put the Citadel on full alert, a status which had seldom, if ever, been seen by the city's populace. Thousands of Scanners, Airwatch, and Civil Protection teams were deployed in an attempt to locate Freeman. To restrict Freeman's movements and prevent a coordinated effort by the Resistance to aid him, Combine surgical strike teams launched raids on all known bases along the so-called "Underground Railroad". Citizens who refused to aid Civil Protection teams were threatened with permanent off-world relocation. Similarly, Civil Protection teams who prematurely terminated their assignments were threatened with permanent off-world assignment.
Although most of the outposts along the Railroad were silenced, they failed to acquire Freeman and he escaped to Black Mesa East. Acting on intelligence from a Combine informant, Combine troops launched a major raid against the base, neutralizing it and capturing Eli Vance, along with his research on the Xenian relay teleporter technology. Using this knowledge, the Combine constructed a facsimile teleporter at Nova Prospekt. Nevertheless, the Combine failed to acquire both Alyx and Freeman. Freeman was forced to navigate through the zombie-infested town of Ravenholm to reach the Resistance outposts along the coast, intending to rendezvous with Alyx at Nova Prospekt to rescue Eli.
Though firm control over the coast eluded the Combine due to the presence of the Antlions, the Resistance's hold on the coast was tenuous at best. Tracking Freeman from base-to-base, the Combine attempted to stop Freeman by deploying its Trans-Human military arm with significant synth support to the coast, launching systematic raids against these settlements. Though many of the smaller observation posts and the strategically important Bridge Point were overrun, large raids against Shorepoint and New Little Odessa were repulsed. A determined assault was launched against Lighthouse Point which was successful, although with heavy casualties. Freeman however escaped to the Vortigaunt Camp.
The Uprising[]
Attack on Nova Prospekt[]
Approaching Nova Prospekt, Freeman disengaged all the Restrictors, and, utilizing the Myrmidont's pheropods, managed to overrun and breach the perimeter with hordes of Antlions, whilst Alyx infiltrated via the rail route. With the Restrictors offline, the Antlions swarmed into the facility en masse, stretching the garrison's defensive capabilities to the limit. The Overwatch ordered the garrison to deprioritize containment of the Antlion incursion in favor of neutralizing Freeman, and killed all captured Resistance prisoners to prevent a breakout.
While the Antlions laid waste to the facility, Freeman successfully rendezvoused with Alyx Vance at the train depot. Together, they located both Eli and Judith Mossman, in the process exposing Mossman's role as a Combine informant. Using the Combine's facsimile teleporter, Alyx intended for all four to escape directly to Kleiner's lab. However, while distracted by Combine troops, Mossman teleported herself and Eli directly to the Citadel, leaving Alyx and Freeman to fend off the Overwatch.
While the pair were successful in defending against the Overwatch's attack, their assault damaged the teleporter. Once they were sent to Kleiner's lab, the teleporter's primary reactor exploded, destroying the prison entirely. Alyx and Freeman were stuck in the teleporter's cycle for over a week and were almost listed as missing by the Resistance.
Battle of City 17[]
The destruction of Nova Prospekt, a hated symbol of Combine oppression and cruelty, was taken as a signal by the populace to openly defy the Combine's Overwatch. All out war and revolution had begun.
For a full week, the Combine's attacks drove the majority of the population into the arms of the Resistance, while both sides became embattled in a bitter deadlock. Civil Protection found it nearly impossible to hold back the Resistance's guerrilla attacks, and Overwatch reinforcements were sent in. At the time of Freeman and Alyx's return, the Resistance largely controlled the suburban districts, while the Combine held the strategic areas in and around the city center. Despite the Combine's vastly superior technology, they found urban combat against a determined guerrilla army difficult to counter.
Freeman and Alyx joined with Calhoun, whose Resistance cell launched attacks against the Combine's generators within the city center. However, Alyx Vance was captured shortly thereafter by the Combine, and taken to the Citadel. Proceeding deeper into the city, Freeman and Calhoun's cells found the Combine's field headquarters; the Overwatch Nexus. Infiltrating the building, they disabled the building's suppression device, allowing reinforcements to flood into the central areas of the city. A determined Overwatch counterattack, complete with Gunships and Striders was eventually beaten back by the Resistance, impairing the Combine's counter-offensives into the city. With the Resistance closing in on the Citadel, the Combine turned loose the Striders and Gunships. Despite inflicting severe casualties on the resistance, they could not prevent the elusive rebels from reaching the base of the Citadel. Freeman managed to infiltrate the Citadel by traversing an old sewer network that ran under the city.
Once inside, Freeman allowed himself to be captured and taken to Breen's office. Mossman, in a bout of guilt, freed Eli, Alyx, and Freeman, after learning of Breen's plans to kill them. Breen fled to the Citadel's reactor, intending to teleport to the Overworld. Freeman managed to overload the teleporter's reactor, causing it to explode. The G-Man prevented Freeman's death; however, the Vortigaunts intervened with his plans, burying Freeman and Alyx in the rubble at the base outside of the Citadel. The explosion of the teleporter's reactor blew the top of the Citadel away, and overloaded the building's power grid, causing a fatal meltdown of the Citadel's Dark Energy reactor core. As a result, the city's force fields and thumpers shut down, allowing Xenian wildlife to invade the city. The destruction of the main Citadel in City 17 also damaged the Combine's worldwide network, isolating Combine forces on Earth.
The overload of the Citadel's reactor had caused the formation of an infant superportal, into which the Combine wished to transmit a message, requesting for reinforcements to destroy the rebellion. Alyx and Freeman managed to stabilize the Citadel's unstable reactor, giving the Resistance additional time to evacuate more citizens. Meanwhile, the Combine withdrew the bulk of its forces from City 17, leaving behind only a handful of rearguard units in a desperate bid to stall the Resistance's escape. When the final trains of refugees left the city, the Combine sent their transmission packet, overloading the Citadel's primary reactor. The shock to its power grid caused the Citadel to explode in a Dark Energy flare, destroying the remains of the City and most of the surrounding area.
Battle of White Forest[]
With Combine rule effectivity broken after the destruction of the Citadel, caused the destabilization of its main reactor had caused an infant Superportal to begin forming, which if matured could be used by the Combine to bring in reinforcements to defeat the Resistance and retain control over Earth. Since the destruction of the reactor and the retreat of the Combine from City 17, the remaining soldiers intended to use the Citadel's unstable reactor to send a transmission packet to the Combine Overworld, requesting reinforcements. However, to send this transmission would overload the reactor, causing it to explode. Freeman and Alyx managed to obtain a copy of the transmission, and temporarily stabilized the reactor core, giving the Resistance more time to evacuate citizens out of the city, however, the transmission was sent in the end, causing the Citadel to explode. Meanwhile, the Resistance had evacuated their forces and had taken refugees in White Forest, while Judith Mossman had gone on a mission to investigate rumors of the existence of the Borealis.
Alyx and Freeman began to make their way to the White Forest; however, Alyx was critically wounded by a Hunter, and almost died. Due to the intervention of the Vortigaunts, however, she survived. However, the complete focus on saving the life of Alyx allowed the G-man time to interact with Gordon and subconsciously relay a message for her father to Alyx. The two continued on their journey, and found themselves advancing parallel to a large contingent of Combine soldiers, who had re-grouped from their defeat at City 17, planning to attack White Forest. A large detachment of Overwatch soldiers and Hunters ambushed the pair at the White Forest Inn but were beaten back, allowing the two to escape. Soon after reaching White Forest]], the Overwatch launched an attack against the base, and managed to breach the compound. Despite them gaining a foothold, the Resistance managed to fight off the attack, and the Combine withdrew.
In the meantime, Magnusson, Kleiner, and Vance worked on decoding the transmission packet and using its information to seal the Superportal with the old Xenian resonator in Earth orbit. However, the Resistance's observation teams had spotted a significant force of Striders advancing toward White Forest, escorted by Hunters. Knowing that a single Strider could destroy the rocket, Magnusson directed Freeman in the use of an advanced anti-Strider weapon; the Magnusson Device. The Resistance mobilized their troops, after which the Combine launched their main attack; around two dozen Striders, each one escorted by two to three Hunters. This force destroyed many of the outlying buildings; however, the valleys and hills were not ideal terrains for the Striders, and they were easily ambushed by Freeman using the Magnusson Devices. The attack was eventually repelled, and the rocket was launched successfully. The Superportal was sealed shortly thereafter, stranding the Combine presence on Earth.
Following the major victory over the Combine, Alyx and Freeman prepared to leave White Forest in search of Mossman and the Borealis. Isaac Kleiner wished to use the Borealis, previously thought to be a legend, against the remaining Combine on Earth, whereas Eli Vance believed the technology to be far too dangerous, and urged Freeman to destroy the ship in fear of another Resonance Cascade. Shortly thereafter; a pair of Advisors attacked the Hangar, killing Eli Vance, and presumably learning all of the information he knew of the Resistance, before being driven off by Dog. An alternate timeline, however, was created in the ending of Half-Life: Alyx where she, with the help of the G-Man, kills the Advisor. The G-Man puts Alyx in stasis, leaving her missing and Eli alive. In the post-credits scene, Eli Vance wakes Gordon Freeman, and tells him that Alyx had disappeared, before handing Gordon his crowbar, telling him that "we've got work to do."
Future[]
The future of the Uprising is not certain as it is an ongoing conflict. The most notable Resistance victories, chiefly the destruction of the Citadel, the closing of the Superportal, the loss of Wallace Breen and the deactivation of the Suppression Field, have given humanity several major advantages over the occupying Combine. With the Combine isolated on Earth and the humans once again allowed to breed and grow their number, humanity has the potential to continue to resist the Combine through multiple generations, provided the Suppression Field is not reactivated.
City 17 and its Citadel served as the central command and control headquarters for the Combine on Earth, and with its destruction, Combine rule began to collapse as its forces fell under the direct command of the scattered number of Advisors. But the remnants of Combine is now without reinforcements, as they are cut off from the Combine Overworld, and it is unclear whether they will be able to re-establish a connection or continue to be a threat to humanity in the future.
It can also be speculated that the Uprising is perhaps a global event. News will likely have spread of the Combine's defeat in their own capital city, and this has the potential to galvanise the population in other cities around the world. It is not clear if this is the case by the end of Episode Two. Breen's death would likely send shockwaves throughout the world, and if the citizenry took up arms as they did in City 17, the beleaguered Combine Overwatch would struggle to contain such widespread insurrection, especially in their current state.
However, though disorganised and wounded, the Combine Overwatch is still a formidable enemy in possession of superior weaponry, technology and great numbers. Earth remains a hostile, polluted wasteland teeming with alien wildlife, posing an existential threat to humanity, who are already comparatively few in number and also trying to coordinate a planet-wide war against a superior foe. Even if humanity were successful in destroying the Combine on Earth, it is unclear if any reconstruction efforts would find success.
Leeches has presumably driven most marine wildlife extinct, and alien fauna on Earth's landmasses have done to same to most species of livestock, which are crucial for any society to survive. Environmental hazards are widespread, such as toxic spillages, radiation, and bio-contamination. It is unlikely that humanity would recover to their pre-Black Mesa state any time in the near future, as most human infrastructure has collapsed and Earth's biosphere has suffered a series of irreversible changes which make it extremely difficult for long-term survival.
Trivia[]
- It should be noted that Wallace Breen may still be alive, although the only physical evidence to support this is a leaked (and most likely official) concept art photo for Half-Life: 2 Episode Three.
Currently the only evidence supporting that Wallace Breen may still be alive. It is a grotesque and harrowing depiction of Breen as some sort of alien larva, nicknamed the "Breengrub".
Engagements of the Uprising[]
- Fall of Ravenholm
- Canal Raids
- Raid on Black Mesa East
- Coast Raids
- Attack on Nova Prospekt
- Battle of City 17
- Attack on White Forest
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
Episode One: The story so far on Half-Life 2's official website (Archived)
 Combine Occupation of Earth
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