Gonarch: Biological weapon?

Darkside55 said:
Edit: And when did the poison headcrab become non-beta knowledge?
Click to expand...

Dunno about "poison" (It probably snuck through, several spoilers seem to have done that, either people didn't care too much, or they were expecting it...), but we've seen a couple of different headcrabs in the newer(older/crappier) screenies and the "student-cam" footage.
 
Darkside55 said:
I'm sorry, there's no way that Nith had anything to do with the Gonarch or the headcrabs. They're just animals. They attack on instinct, either because you were in their territory or big momma was trying to give her babies some food. Gordon seemed like a perfect trial run for her children to learn how to hunt.

Just because Xen has one sentient controller over the entire planet, it doesn't mean he's responsible for every creature that exists there. Think about it. We humans have world leaders...do our world leaders go around making our elephants and rhinos and lions into biological weapons?

hmm yes , respect :thumbs:







I think Eber's got the right idea. Only thing is, I personally believe that the gonomes and subsequent evolutions of zombies do become the Gonarch. Consider how rare it probably is to get through all those stages of evolution, all while eating and absorbing energy for metamorphosis, gaining bulk, transforming another's body. It's probably some evolutionary rite-of-passage; if a headcrab can make it through all those stages, it deserves to be the Gonarch. If there are two or more Gonarchs, they probably slaughter each other until there's only one left, then the cycle starts over.


Edit: And when did the poison headcrab become non-beta knowledge?
Click to expand...
thanks but a headcrab becoming a zombie is no evolution its kinda metamorphosis.
 
Now you're just being technical. :p Evolution, metamorphosis, transformation, all the same to me. Granted it's not evolution in the strict dictionary sense, but I kind of like saying "headcrab evolution" rather than "headcrab metamorphosis", if for no other reasons than it sounds cooler and for sake of brevity while retaining the same meaning. My meaning is understood.

Of poison headcrabs, well, now that the cat's out of the bag that's something new for us to discuss.
 
Just a few points...
Darkside55 said:
I'm sorry, there's no way that Nith had anything to do with the Gonarch or the headcrabs. They're just animals. They attack on instinct, [...] because you were in their territory [...]
Click to expand...
Remember that you could say the same thing about snarks, which the Xen aliens stuff into laser tripmines and use as weapons.
Just because Xen has one sentient controller over the entire planet, it doesn't mean he's responsible for every creature that exists there. Think about it. We humans have world leaders...do our world leaders go around making our elephants and rhinos and lions into biological weapons?
Click to expand...
They used to, using horses to ride in battle and Alexander the Great's troops used elephants as what could be construed as biological weapons, riding them into war. Trampling made a great weapon in many situations.

Same with germ warfare today, and attack dogs are technically a biological weapon too.

Also, I think that Headcrabs are like Xen's ants The headcrabs themselves only serve to protect the queen. In any case, Gonarch is definitely a queen.

I just noticed this now: Gonarch =====> Monarch =====> Queen :D
 
Hrm, Gonarch ===> Monarch makes sense, but it really doesn't seem that the headcrabs exist to defend her, or that her babies are trying to either. Just that they're looking for a meal.

And if the Gonarch were a singular entity, or such an important creature to be used in warfare, it would have guards, wouldn't it? Some controllers flying around? They could've put a big fence around it to protect it and keep it safe from harm while producing more babies to be used.
 
The main reason why I guess the headcrabs are defensive is that they hang around Gonarch and basically don't move. It's a rare occurence when a headcrab actually starts walking somewhere without detecting prey.

And I think that the Gonarch was quite capable of defending itself. Just not capable enough to stop Gordon. And she was pretty much alone on a rock in the middle of space. I think that beats a fence any day. :)

Actually, if you think about it, either the section of Gonarch's lair that Gordon visited was only the tip of a larger landmass, or the headcrabs would have no prey...

unless something teleports them off the rock and sends them to other places. ;)
 
Well, she was sitting on a teleporter, even though that was only exposed when she died. You raise a good point though. Thing is, I just can't see the controllers or Nihilanth intentionally transporting them to Earth, not any more than other creatures, which I don't think were purposefully teleported either.

I never thought that the Gonarch's lair was part of another landmass; seemed more like an island to itself. There might have been parts we didn't see, though, although I don't see where those parts would've been...the island flowed through those three section where you fought the Gonarch, and that was it. So to get off the island I'm guessing the headcrabs might've had more teleportation "hot spots" like the one beneath the floor in Gonarch's lair.

Still doesn't really explain how there were so MANY headcrabs scattered around everywhere. Either they all file through warps like lemmings, or there's more than one Gonarch producing them. Or maybe they reproduce some other way, too.
 
Funny you should say Gonarch ==> Monarch. I would have said Gonarch ==> Gonad. :P

Still, with the sheer amount of Xenofauna being transported to Earth, I definately think they were put there to soften up any resistance. Headcrabs especially.

-Angry Lawyer
 
I think you may have actually hit it on the head there. That's the sort of thing I've been thinking for ages. Not Gonad exactly, but the root-word... It think it's just "Gon"... Something to do with reproduction, anyway...
 
Hehe, I started laughing the first time I saw the big ballbag on legs run around :)
 
well there HAVE to be more than 1 gonarch because there are mny headcrabs in h-l2
and headcrabs producing headcrabs ? sounds dizzy to me nah thats wrong
 
Guys have you ever thought that maybe the Gonarch is actually the mother of all snarks? Look at the little snark hives. They look similar. And the things that it releases are baby snark hives. Because babies have sacs under them too.
 
Erm, no, because the Gonarch's concept art states that it releases "Infant Parasite Creatures", and I believe the name of the models for the little creatures it drops is "Baby Headcrab"...
 
Though one does have to wonder where the snark pods come from... Oh, and the Gonarch's babies don't actually look similar to the High-Def snark pods...
 
snarks and headcrabs are verry diffrent
snarks just kill for fun . . . . well i guess
and headcrabs dont really kill they try to take over other lifeforms to make things easier for them ;)
 
eber said:
snarks and headcrabs are verry diffrent
snarks just kill for fun . . . . well i guess
and headcrabs dont really kill they try to take over other lifeforms to make things easier for them ;)
Click to expand...

I don't think they kill for fun, they're just very territorial. Look at the times snarks attack you in the game - it's when you get too close to their 'hives' or they're released from the alien tripmines.
 
eber said:
snarks and headcrabs are verry diffrent
snarks just kill for fun . . . . well i guess
and headcrabs dont really kill they try to take over other lifeforms to make things easier for them ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah... we kind of already know that. Although I'd always assumed that snarks were kind of hyper and insane. Kind of like being naturally rabid...
 
hmm but why do they explode after a few seconds , they have a very short life -. . .
 
Sulkdodds said:
Well, I've known since I heard the name! You could have just asked... ;)
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can someone tell me what "gonad" means ??
 
I think they only go hyper (And hence, explode) when they sense a threat to their territory. Some sacrifice themselves, like bees. Or it would only be some of them, if they weren't being used as a weapon.

And the term "Gonad" refers to a reproductive organ that produces reproductive cells, such as sperm or ova, I believe...
 
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