Combine Empire

[iAmaNoob]

It is mentioned that the Combines are one large intergalactic empire that has attacked and enslaved different planets in different universe. This leads to some question I need to know.

1. In Half Life 2 and its episodes, we have never seen the Combines directly, closest are the Synth forces that the Combines have, half-animal,half- robot, and the Advisors.Is there a main alien race of the Combine Empire?

2. An Empire requires a leader to lead the entire empire. Breen was just a puppet ruler of Earth. Advisors are the 'somehow' true leader of Earth for Breen. But there are more than 1 Advisors, is it possible for the Combines to have one central ruler (Combine Overlord, Combine Emperor)?

3. Although not a question but, why haven't the Combine invaded Xen yet? I have 2 theories.

1. In order to open a portal to Xen, a large concentration of energy and matter is need.( Nihilanth keeping the portal open from Xen, teleportation lab in Lambda Core) I assume that the Combine don't have the technology to teleport to Xen.

2. Xen is the borderworld, it is also the mid section between two dimensions. Maybe the Combines aren't able to attack Xen yet as their teleportation technology can only teleport to any location within the same dimension. In order to open a portal to Xen, concentration of energy is needed or a mineral or crystals charged with energy is able to open an unpredictable portal to Xen.(Black Mesa Incident)

 

What are your theories about the Combine Empire and Half Life Universe?

[The Scoutman]

1. Its hard to say anything about the combine because barely any information is given about then, the only races we know that are a part of the combine are the vortigaunts as slaves, the alien grunts as assault soldiers and the advisors as commanders. Since the combine seems to make his occupation force out of artificial mutations of the main species of the dominated planet, it seems only logical the advisors, being the only ones left by the combine to control the conquered land, are the "main" race.

 

2. Its possible, might be possible that the advisors are 1 mind too, its hard to say since we dont know much about them.

 

3. The Combine DID invade Xen, in fact, their entire "teleportation" technology is based on Xen, in the lore, until Half-Life 2, the way to teleport was, open a portal to Xen, move in Xen until another location/portal, create a portal or use the one there to teleport to a new location in a different world, this is seen on the beggining of the interlooper chapter in HL1 or in the dialogue regarding the new teleportation technology in HL2, although the teleport moved you directly to your destination, it had a big delay, thus why the big interest in the aperture science instantenous teleporting technology, after the events that took place on HL1, its a possibility that the death of the Nihilanth freed most of the vortigaunts, making them enemies of the combine, its possible that we seriously handicapped the combine's teleportation means, because they dont have the nihilanth, the only creature we saw capable of naturally opening portals, and because the vortigaunts are likely to attack Combine's convoys that try to move through Xen to teleport to other planets, in fact, as opposed to the massive teleportation we see from the Combine in HL1, in HL2 they only have one big teleporting machine, that we destroy in HL2.