Combine -- why do they want us?

[Cheomesh]

It's been established that the Combine conqure a planet, and enslave the useful species they find there for use in their military machine. This is where I'm asuming we get the Strider, the Gunship, and the other species we come across in the Citadel (frog thing, etc). I'm assuming that they grow their replacements in a lab, or atleast the biological bit of it, and graph the weapons on when matured. Could also be that they keep those planets under their control and let them grow normally or on ranches, similar to old school warhorses on Earth.

We've also seen non-synth combat technology, some of which apparently comes from Earth (chopper).

It's unknown what sort of infantry, if any, the Combine used in their attack, so we don't know if they control homonid species other than us.

So now they're here on Earth. As par Combine MO, they turned some of the found species here into weapons, such as Headcrabs (not sure if they found these before or what) and humans (Overwatch, etc) and slaves (stalkers). But what about the populace? Originally they where going to have child laborers, but that got cut. What do the citizens of the cities do? Do they produce things? You would figure someone would have to build the MP7's, Pulse Rifles, bullets, manhacks, etc, though it would be plausable for the Combine to have automated production facilities. I didn't see any crop fields near City 17, though I didn't see everything, and crops might be grown elsewhere in the world for the food I've seen being vended to citizens. The fact that we're fed leaves me to believe we're doing SOMETHING for the Combine, fulfilling some useful function. They obviously don't want us solely for military application, as the CP/Overwatch are apparently volunteers, and they have the abilitiy to simply transform us all into soldiers if they desire. They don't apparently have any long-term plans, as they've prevented us from breeding, and are draining our oceans/atmosphere.

So why are they here? It can't be totally for resources, as they're apparently only taking the water/atmosphere; don't seem to be doing any mass harvesting of trees; but they could have slave-driven mines somewhere.

I don't see why they expend the resources feeding and clothing us, and taking volunteers for their military if we (or atleast City 17's citizens) arn't DOING anything for them.

M.

 

[Yar Jar Rar]

Boy, that's one big heap of letter. Anywho, I think we can all agree that the combine are here because they want to take over our planet. Does anyone care to proove me wrong?

 

[Jintor]

They want our BRRAAAAAIINNNS.

 

[Aki]

We make a nice side-project while the rape the Earth for resources. Anything they expend on us is repaid many fold by the ability to easily supply other worlds in their Empire with water from Earth and such.

 

[Barnz]

They want our BRRAAAAAIINNNS.

No, they want our women!

 

[Asknoone]

The Combine have the ability to evolve every species they encounter through the force of their own technology. Essentially, Earth in Half-life 2 is undergoing a kind of transformation period; humanity is being absorbed into the Combine war machine, the planet being transformed into an outpost of kinds. The people in the cities are being gradually taken from Earth; transformed into Stalkers - an immortal life of servitude - to be put to use elsewhere. Humanity's suitability as part of the Combine is being put to the test. (I think the end of HL2 is supposed to mark the failure of that, since we don't defeat the Combine, we defeat the Overwatch).

An important part of their presence is Breen allowing the resistance to develop their local teleportation tech, which the Combine are pretty much hell bent on acquiring.

 

[Saltpeter]

No, they want our women!

They want our women's brains!






Oh wait...what did I say? :imu:

 

[ríomhaire]

I'd bet that Breen was making a good few false promises to the Combine, to keep the charade of holding humans in the cities and letting them live going.

 

[Narvi]

They're using our good traits in making us into synths. They aren't just modding us into mindless slaves; they want us to essentially be as we are currently, only totally loyal to the Combine in warfare.

 

[kineaesth]

They're using our good traits in making us into synths. They aren't just modding us into mindless slaves; they want us to essentially be as we are currently, only totally loyal to the Combine in warfare.

But, realistically, what good is some human/combine soldiers when you've got stuff like Striders and Gunships?

 

[Qhartb]

Interesting point. I don't think the Combine are entirely devoid of morals. They're an assimilating empire rather than a destroying one, after all. The earth had surrendered in the Seven Hour War. To keep killing civilians after a surrender would be seen as barbaric by some of the Combine. (The Stalkers would be resistance members then, not random people off the street.)

Not only that, but I don't think the Combine are overt in their methods, if given the choice. Their plan to keep people around and let them join. First, let them volunteer for Civil Protection. Want to run faster? We have an implant for that. It doesn't seem to do any harm, so people become less wary. More people want them and other upgrades, so they can stay competitive in a world where their body is going obsolete. Eventually, most of mankind's humanity is traded away for modern convenience. No killing involved.

Why stop breeding, then? Well, possibly they want to minimize the population of young children, who would take as well to the surgery. I think it just as likely that they want to dampen the emotion that goes along with sex, birth and parenting. Those emotions and experiences are incompatible with the Combine way of life. People are less likely to willingly join if they realize that they have to give up those things, so the Combine take it away instead, so people don't feel like they losing anything.

 

[Narvi]

But, realistically, what good is some human/combine soldiers when you've got stuff like Striders and Gunships?

Battlefield commanders. Engineers. A new way of looking at things, for making new strategies. Every little bit helps.

Hunters, for instance, can't exactly set up complicated shaped charges.

 

[soulslicer]

there surely must have been some two legged creature that was a primary infantry of the combine..

 

[Cheomesh]

But, realistically, what good is some human/combine soldiers when you've got stuff like Striders and Gunships?

What good is a bunch of US Infantrymen when you've got good stuff like Nukes and Tanks?

 

[Qhartb]

But, realistically, what good is some human/combine soldiers when you've got stuff like Striders and Gunships?

Well, with Striders and Gunships, you're seeing the "Combinified" versions. We don't know how different they were before the Combine got to them. No way did Striders naturally have a cannon on their underside, for example. Naturally, what they had going for them was the sharp stabbers at the ends of their legs and a hard exoskeleton (and these traits have probably been genetically enhanced by the Combine--likely the original shell couldn't take multiple rockets without cracking). I could imagine them living by large shallow bodies of water on their home planet, stabbing sand-ray-like creatures for food, while being tall enough to keep their head above the water for "air" or whatever they used to breathe.

The Gunships didn't have guns and couldn't fly. Possibly they didn't even have the exoskeleton naturally--the Combine could have cross-bred (artifically, using splicing or whatever equivalent these lifeforms have to DNA) to share attributes. People always sat they look like manatees, and it's possible that's how they started, not as anything you'd think has military value.

The humans enemies in HL2 are just a place for the Combine to start from, and have the advantage that humans are less willing to kill other humanoids as compared to "monsters", and the empathy we naturally feel with each other could make it easier for others to want to join. The full biological assimilation of the species would take generations. Given their experiments with Stalkers, it looks like laser weaponry is one possible addition they have in mind for us. If they can't do anything about how frail our bodies are (say, by crossing use with the synths), they could make use much quick and more agile. On the other hand, they might not use us solely for military purposes. The Combine is not just made of fighters, that's just what we've seen because of the circumstances that Earth is in. We could get assimilated to the "civilian sector" of the Combine, or in many places in the empire, possibility leading to divides in our species.

 

[Asknoone]

When inducting a new race into their empire and applying unnatural and forceful evolution to them in order to ensure immortality, the Combine have no need for the race to breed. It gives them a whole new dimension of control over the race in question, allowing them to index and pinpoint every last surviving member of it.

 

[MJ12]

The only reason the populace exists is because of Dr. Breen, if it wasn't for him they would have overtaken us all.

 

[Fred333]

Either way the combine is assimilating everything we are in order to conquer another world and allow them more incite into domination throughout the universe.

 

[soulslicer]

I have said this before, I always believed the combine had some sort of a homeworld or home planet. From there, they plan their operations and expand outwards and capturing various planets by waging endless wars. Earth must have been a strategic point for attacking another perhaps bigger planet or war, thus they decided to take over it. I mean, there is no actual natural resource here that the combine want..

 

[Cheomesh]

Perhaps they think we'll make great weapons? They could have eyes on another, tougher, planet that we may be of use for.

 

[Asknoone]

I highly doubt the Combine have a 'homeworld'. I find the idea that they do fairly cheesy, and ever so lame. If the original Combine race were eventually devoured by their own technology I get the idea that, as they expanded, their original place of origin was simply lost in the layers of races and planets they consumed. Earth itself is just an outpost.

 

[Kevin]

Pretty much all the planets they have conquered are they're homeplanets

 

[xvillanx]

They propably didn't let us breed so they can force us to evovle quicker.

 

[Kevin]

What does that have to do with evolving faster?

They would just put someone, willing to be modified, into some machine, or whatever they use to surgically do it.

Even if we would be able to breed, it would'nt have any effect on the assimilation of the humans.

They just wan't the current human generation, to be the last.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Aye, it makes things simpler when your a massive multiverse empire.

 

[Kevin]

Not much...and theres not so many humans left anyway...so it still oesn't change anything.

 

[Cheomesh]

They propably didn't let us breed so they can force us to evovle quicker.

That would prevent us from evolving at all...

 

[xvillanx]

Its forced evolution...

 

[Cheomesh]

It's augmentation. None of those traits could be passed down to offspring.

 

[Asknoone]

Forced evolution through technological means. Not related to the not breeding though; that's just a bid for more control.

 

[xvillanx]

I know forced evolution through machinary wouldnt work , but the combine still do it , and if they transform every human to tranchman , then it would be easier if there wasnt chirldren.Yeah i suppose it dosnt relate to it much though.Also taking children awawy will make people fell no emotions(?)

 

[Kevin]

They modify them to have no emotions, so they could kill the children in the first place. Only the citizens have feelings.

 

[Azner]

They Want Our Watzer

 

[soulslicer]

since when were children killed? and yes, they drained our water, but why? to fill it with something more combine/advisor habitable?

 

[Cheomesh]

When it comes to stealing natural resources, I'm surprised they didn't take our forests and all that. I'm sure they could find some use for wood (break it down, use it for carbon sources, etc). As for water, ocean water has

Element     Percent
Oxygen       85.84 	
Sulfur 	      0.091
Hydrogen     10.82 	
Calcium       0.04
Chlorine      1.94 	
Potassium     0.04
Sodium 	      1.08 	
Bromine       0.0067
Magnesium     0.1292 	
Carbon 	      0.0028

So use your imagination as to what they need it for.

 

[Narvi]

When it comes to stealing natural resources, I'm surprised they didn't take our forests and all that. I'm sure they could find some use for wood (break it down, use it for carbon sources, etc). As for water, ocean water has

Element     Percent
Oxygen       85.84 	
Sulfur 	      0.091
Hydrogen     10.82 	
Calcium       0.04
Chlorine      1.94 	
Potassium     0.04
Sodium 	      1.08 	
Bromine       0.0067
Magnesium     0.1292 	
Carbon 	      0.0028

So use your imagination as to what they need it for.

I'm surprised that list doesn't account for trace elements like gold or...er... was it uranium? Something, anyway. Where'd you get it?

 

[Cheomesh]

Googled a page on seawater. I'm assuming the other elements you're mentioning are extremely trace.

 

[Planetary]

They are rare, relatively. But a few meters off the top of the ocean, multiplied by their surface area, well, that's alot of anything.

 

[McCoy]

Seems to be an unexplored area as of.......wait......now!

But on a more serious note, it seems that the Humans always resist whatever the combine do or at least try to. This proves to the combine that the humans never give up and are good for work on any planet. Wait that can't be right. XD

 

[Kevin]

I read the combine built a giant portal, similar to the one seen in the end oh HL2, only a lot bigger, in the bottom of the sea.

So it acts like a drainhole.
The combine drain the earth of it's water, to send to places, that need it.