The world in which our characters find themselves is one of the most severe hardship imaginable, for even before the arrival of the Combine ten years ago, our world had been ravaged by unprecedented environmental disaster. On the 16th of May 2001 the world was changed for ever when an experiment at the Black Mesa Research Facility went tragically wrong and opened a quantum rift between earth and the border-world Xen. Despite efforts by the US government to contain the incident it soon became apparent that 16th of May would be a day that would forever live in infamy. In the days and months following the Black Mesa Incident terrible portal storms began to spread across the planet, opening gateways to Xen and bringing with them hordes of hostile alien life forms. Mankind could do nothing but try to weather the storm as month after month of violence all but tore civilisation apart.
In time things began to calm and some semblance of order returned, yet everyone understood that things could never be the same again, for countless millions had died and the very earth itself had become a hostile, alien environment. Rural communities had suffered the worst and with this came a terrifying shortage of resources as more and more people flocked to the relative safety of the cities. Starvation soon became the number one killer as humanities population slowly but surely declined towards pre-industrial levels. Mankind stagnated, holding on to the precious threads of civilisation as they settled into this new status quo.
In 2010 things were to change all over again, for despite humanities best efforts no one was to know that our world was being watched by intelligences far beyond our own realms of understanding. Without warning portals began to appear across the planet once again, only this time they were not random. Before mankind fully understood that it was being attacked it was all over, for terrible synthetic creatures of war assaulted the planet with surgical precision. The effect was devastating, for by the seventh hour mankind had been forced to offer its total and unconditional surrender to this unknown invader.
In the days and weeks that followed the 7 Hour War humanity was systematically processed with terrifying efficiency, with those too old, too young or to infirm to work being separated along with those that our occupiers deemed dangerous. The fate of these individuals is the both the greatest unknown and direst tragedy, for practically overnight not a family remained untouched and not a child remained. This ultimate crime lead humanity perilously close to annihilation, for just as soon as the shock wore off people began to rise up in anger and desperation. In the early days alien machines and synthetic lifeforms were our sole occupiers, yet their merciless grip only lead to indiscriminate bloodshed. Realising the precarious situation humanity found itself in the puppet Administrator Dr Wallace Breen offered an alternate solution: mankind would act as it’s own occupier and force compliance through more direct means.
It was from this initiative that Civil Protection was formed, a human militia tasked with maintaining the peace and securing mankind’s submission. Although the force today is barely recognisable from what it originally was, Civil Protection was formed out of desperation by those few that recognised the full extent of the situation humanity found itself in, for they knew that to continue to resist would lead to nothing short of extinction. As the years passed and the regime settled mankind found itself herded within vast mega-cities under the oppressive yoke of our unseen masters. Yet even so many came to accept that this was simply the way of things now, impersonal and callous it might be but at least the Combine were able to provide food, shelter and relative safety for those willing to submit.
In time things began to calm and some semblance of order returned, yet everyone understood that things could never be the same again, for countless millions had died and the very earth itself had become a hostile, alien environment. Rural communities had suffered the worst and with this came a terrifying shortage of resources as more and more people flocked to the relative safety of the cities. Starvation soon became the number one killer as humanities population slowly but surely declined towards pre-industrial levels. Mankind stagnated, holding on to the precious threads of civilisation as they settled into this new status quo.
In 2010 things were to change all over again, for despite humanities best efforts no one was to know that our world was being watched by intelligences far beyond our own realms of understanding. Without warning portals began to appear across the planet once again, only this time they were not random. Before mankind fully understood that it was being attacked it was all over, for terrible synthetic creatures of war assaulted the planet with surgical precision. The effect was devastating, for by the seventh hour mankind had been forced to offer its total and unconditional surrender to this unknown invader.
In the days and weeks that followed the 7 Hour War humanity was systematically processed with terrifying efficiency, with those too old, too young or to infirm to work being separated along with those that our occupiers deemed dangerous. The fate of these individuals is the both the greatest unknown and direst tragedy, for practically overnight not a family remained untouched and not a child remained. This ultimate crime lead humanity perilously close to annihilation, for just as soon as the shock wore off people began to rise up in anger and desperation. In the early days alien machines and synthetic lifeforms were our sole occupiers, yet their merciless grip only lead to indiscriminate bloodshed. Realising the precarious situation humanity found itself in the puppet Administrator Dr Wallace Breen offered an alternate solution: mankind would act as it’s own occupier and force compliance through more direct means.
It was from this initiative that Civil Protection was formed, a human militia tasked with maintaining the peace and securing mankind’s submission. Although the force today is barely recognisable from what it originally was, Civil Protection was formed out of desperation by those few that recognised the full extent of the situation humanity found itself in, for they knew that to continue to resist would lead to nothing short of extinction. As the years passed and the regime settled mankind found itself herded within vast mega-cities under the oppressive yoke of our unseen masters. Yet even so many came to accept that this was simply the way of things now, impersonal and callous it might be but at least the Combine were able to provide food, shelter and relative safety for those willing to submit.
