Cloningfactory of the Combines ?

[sharp]

I saw the full demo yesterday and at the part with Gman speaking you see at the background moving little chambers picked up at the end (reminds me of the matrix) So the combines are actually cloned organisms ?


Could this be located in the high towers ?

 

[Darkside55]

I have absolutely no idea what those things are, but the June 2003 PC Gamer had a Half-Life 2 concept art booklet that came with it, and the art for those chambers was labeled as, "Gulag."
I happened to study Western Civilizations during my first year in college, and one of the things we learned about was the Soviet Union. A gulag is a forced labor camp, usually for political prisoners. They were a lot like prisons, extremely strict and heavily guarded (watchtowers, guards carrying rifles who were ordered to shoot if someone tried to escape, etc.).

Someone had a theory that City 17 is actually one of the secret Soviet cities. Having a gulag in the Combine Citadel would seem to back that up, at least as an influence on Valve.

Just as a side note, the concept art showed these chambers, but they seemed fastened to the walls, instead of moving around like those in the video. Also, the art shows two cranes carrying large, unidentifiable black shapes with red lights on them.

 

[Brian Damage]

It's freaky, whatever it is...