The Universal Union, better known as the Combine, is a vast alien empire spanning across multiple parallel universe, the true extent of which nobody knows. Machine-like and unknowable the Combine are interested in only one thing, expansion. To them humanity is little more than a dumb animal that just so happens to be in the way of their far greater plans. A simple analogy to describe our relationship with the Combine would be that of a construction firm coming across an anthill in the way of the dam they are building, as advanced as that colony might be said builders are going to show little in the way of compassion when it comes to building that dam, the most these unfortunate ants can hope for is the unlikely event that these ants may somehow prove themselves to be a useful resource.
Their regime is a harsh and unforgiving one but to call the Combine evil would be to misunderstand them entirely. For although the Combine are directly responsible for some of the greatest crimes our species has ever endured, they do not do so out of malice or spite, they do so purely and simply because to them we are not men and women, we are a resource. For the Combine resources are all that matter, whether it be earth’s rapidly depleting natural resources or the sweat of our industry, the Combine may provide us with the basic essentials to survive but only through our collective slavery. It is from this calculated outlook that the single greatest atrocity of the Combine’s rule occurred, for at some point during those early days of being processed those too young, too weak or too infirm to work simply disappeared to an unknown fate. This terrible tragedy is the great unspoken horror that will forever haunt mankind, no matter the course our history may take. There is no question more terrifying than the one left unspoken, what happened to the children?
In the very first days of the Combine occupation a great tension loomed over mankind, for we knew that our so called Benefactors could snuff us out in an instant, even if we couldn’t understand their motives. Yet the Combine are not so ignorant as to be completely oblivious to human affairs, and it is for this very reason that planetary administration was handed over to their human puppet; Doctor Wallace Breen.
Much of what we have come to recognise as ‘Combine’ is in fact very human indeed, for organisations such as Civil Protection and the Civil Workers Union were established under direction of collaborators such as Dr Breen and although the former is directed by the inhuman AI known as Overwatch, Civil Protection was only established as a way to enforce humanities submission. Breen and others like him understood the Combine well enough to appreciate just how close to extinction we truly were.
Under the yoke of the Combine humanity has no future, at least not in its current form. They wage a war on not only our spirit but our very biology, claiming that instinct is our greatest enemy. Behind closed doors they are carefully dissecting the human race, altering us through aggressive means so that we better suit their purposes. These ‘transhumans’ are an abomination; for they are little more than flayed husks of our unaltered selves, yet the only other alternative is extinction. The existence of these transhumans is not exactly common knowledge, although hushed whispers might ripple through the citizen populace only a select few truly know the true extent of this macabre programme.
The Combine’s war on instinct is driven by the simple fact that a completely submissive population is easier to herd. Human nature is anathema to them, yet they understand enough about our biology to appreciate what drives our behaviour. The Combine suppress mankind through many different ways, the obvious of which is the planet-wide suppression field. This suppression field interrupts the human reproductive cycle, rendering all females infertile. The official story is that the suppression field is temporary and that it will be removed on the day when mankind proves itself worthy, whether there is any truth behind this however remains to be seen.
Their regime is a harsh and unforgiving one but to call the Combine evil would be to misunderstand them entirely. For although the Combine are directly responsible for some of the greatest crimes our species has ever endured, they do not do so out of malice or spite, they do so purely and simply because to them we are not men and women, we are a resource. For the Combine resources are all that matter, whether it be earth’s rapidly depleting natural resources or the sweat of our industry, the Combine may provide us with the basic essentials to survive but only through our collective slavery. It is from this calculated outlook that the single greatest atrocity of the Combine’s rule occurred, for at some point during those early days of being processed those too young, too weak or too infirm to work simply disappeared to an unknown fate. This terrible tragedy is the great unspoken horror that will forever haunt mankind, no matter the course our history may take. There is no question more terrifying than the one left unspoken, what happened to the children?
In the very first days of the Combine occupation a great tension loomed over mankind, for we knew that our so called Benefactors could snuff us out in an instant, even if we couldn’t understand their motives. Yet the Combine are not so ignorant as to be completely oblivious to human affairs, and it is for this very reason that planetary administration was handed over to their human puppet; Doctor Wallace Breen.
Much of what we have come to recognise as ‘Combine’ is in fact very human indeed, for organisations such as Civil Protection and the Civil Workers Union were established under direction of collaborators such as Dr Breen and although the former is directed by the inhuman AI known as Overwatch, Civil Protection was only established as a way to enforce humanities submission. Breen and others like him understood the Combine well enough to appreciate just how close to extinction we truly were.
Under the yoke of the Combine humanity has no future, at least not in its current form. They wage a war on not only our spirit but our very biology, claiming that instinct is our greatest enemy. Behind closed doors they are carefully dissecting the human race, altering us through aggressive means so that we better suit their purposes. These ‘transhumans’ are an abomination; for they are little more than flayed husks of our unaltered selves, yet the only other alternative is extinction. The existence of these transhumans is not exactly common knowledge, although hushed whispers might ripple through the citizen populace only a select few truly know the true extent of this macabre programme.
The Combine’s war on instinct is driven by the simple fact that a completely submissive population is easier to herd. Human nature is anathema to them, yet they understand enough about our biology to appreciate what drives our behaviour. The Combine suppress mankind through many different ways, the obvious of which is the planet-wide suppression field. This suppression field interrupts the human reproductive cycle, rendering all females infertile. The official story is that the suppression field is temporary and that it will be removed on the day when mankind proves itself worthy, whether there is any truth behind this however remains to be seen.
