Random Headcrab Theories

ríomhaire

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Poison Headcrab Zombie Breeding Theory
When a headcrab takes a host (And then subsequent headcrabs latch on) it injects the victim with its eggs. This causes the host to swell, causing the bloated stomach of the zombie.

The eggs hatch and the young of the various headcrabs compete for food, consuming the host, from the inside out, as well as each other. This ensures that only the strongest of the children survive.

When the host can provide no more nourishment the new headcrabs finally emerge from their makeshift womb and the body is discarded, by the old and young alike.


Mawman Leg Theory
When a headcrab takes a host it injects mutagens into its victim. These are designed to morph them in specific ways. Unfortunately for headcrabs who take human hosts, these were designed to mutate Vortigaunts. A Vortigaunt?s leg is quite different from a human?s, having two knees instead of one.

Because of this, when a human receives the headcrab?s mutagens, his legs attempt to move and harden if physically impossible ways, breaking the legs of the victim. This is what gives the headcrab zombies their distinctive shambling movement.

When a host eventually reaches the gonome stage of mutation, the legs will either have healed or mutated in such a way as so the leg bones no longer need to be intact.

Combine Overwatch soldiers on the other hand have been physically modified in many ways. One such way is that certain bones have been strengthened, including the leg bones.

Because of this, their bones are able to withstand more than an average human?s and they do not break when they mutate. This allows them to move slightly more naturally and even achieve a running pace.


Gonarch Breeding Cycle Theory
At first glace, the gonarch, with her breeding sack, does not seem to posses any way of eating.

What happens is that a gonarch goes into cycles of eating and breeding. During its eating cycle, it has a large mouth located at the bottom of its body. It will consume as much food as possible and store it for the breeding cycle.

When the gonarch has eaten sufficient food, it will grow a large breeding sack and begin producing babies. Once it has birthed enough young or its energy levels are getting low, the sack will shrivel up and fall off, granting it its maw again. It will then eat the sack and go in search of more food.
 
When the gonarch has eaten sufficient food, it will grow a large breeding sack and begin producing babies. Once it has birthed enough young or its energy levels are getting low, the sack will shrivel up and fall off, granting it its maw again. It will then eat the sack and go in search of more food.

Wait, you want it to eat it's own testicles?

MONSTER.
 
Anyways, I like the theories, generally. Though the "broken bones" explanation for their weird movement doesn't sound very convincing to me. I always assumed it was due to bulbous developments.
 
I thought the Gonarch was just a magic reactor full of chemicals. It would explain why it, you know, explodes when you kill it.
 
there is a link to a word doc containing a 100 page report on the headcrab i remember, birth cycles and all..
 
Anyways, I like the theories, generally. Though the "broken bones" explanation for their weird movement doesn't sound very convincing to me. I always assumed it was due to bulbous developments.
I always assumed it was due to them being naturally adapted to Vortigaunts/some other thingy and couldn't get human legs right. The theory isn't meant to explain why they limp, but rather why zombies from ordinary humans do and from Overwatch transhumans don't. Anyway, another theory:

Echo Theory
As a headcrab takes a host, it will monitor nervous systems of a host in order to understand its new body. This also includes signals sent from the vocal chords. Because of this, when a headcrab attempts to use its new body to call out, it will mimic the last words of its host. In the case of most people this is screaming and cries for help, while in the case of Overwatch troops this will more likely be reports of necrotic and parasitic outbreaks. Why only the classic headcrabs do this, I don?t know, but it does provide an evolutionary advantage: If someone hears the screaming or calling for help of their comrades, they are likely to try and help/investigate, leading them to where the zombie is, and where more headcrabs are likely to be.
 
Along the same lines:
I always thought it would be cool if the Combine had some Gonarch sack somewhere that they used to spawn headcrabs. Where else would they get all of their biological warfare materials? I think this was a VALVe idea, but it got cut from the game (for some stupid reason or other o_O)
 
There's a model of an amputated Gonarch sac with Combine technology attached, designed for specifically that purpose.
 
There's a model of an amputated Gonarch sac with Combine technology attached, designed for specifically that purpose.

On this very forum, no less!

I have a picture of the machine!!! but imageshack is down.. posting it as fast as i can.. [EDIT] fixed it! It's from the beta i think the whole model is in the directory .mdl and .mdx




combinebmpod0ag.jpg
 
Ah, that's what I was looking for. Thanks Planetary.
I think there should have been a part in HL2 (or even E1) where you find that in the Citadel, and Alyx says something like, "Oh my god! I Gonarch sac - that must be where they're getting all those headcrabs!", and then you have to destroy the system that keeps it alive.
 
I doubt that the headcrab production facility would be in the Citadel. The reason that it was cut is because there was no place to put it. I for one would think that it would be out-of-place in the Citadel or anywhere else in HL2/EP1.
 
Well, where else would it be? The Combine launches their major combat operations in City 17 from the Citadel. Remember all the Gunships hanging in the rack-like structure when you're riding around in the pod? And the Striders marching down the hallway?
I, for one, hope it comes up in Episode 2 or 3; it'd really explain where the Combine is getting all the headcrabs.
 
Anyways, I like the theories, generally. Though the "broken bones" explanation for their weird movement doesn't sound very convincing to me. I always assumed it was due to bulbous developments.

I think its because the headcrab is controlling the body, but it has no idea how humans are supposed to move, so it just makes it up as it goes along. Or the headcrab mistakes humans for their natural prey, and tries to make them move like their normal prey does.
 
Well, where else would it be? The Combine launches their major combat operations in City 17 from the Citadel. Remember all the Gunships hanging in the rack-like structure when you're riding around in the pod? And the Striders marching down the hallway?
I, for one, hope it comes up in Episode 2 or 3; it'd really explain where the Combine is getting all the headcrabs.
The Citadel was not the sole Combine instolation in City 17. Stalkers and transhuman soldiers were produced in Nova Prospekt, for example (It is also where they built their own local-teleporter). Also, does everything need to be shown in-game? The Combine produce lots of headcrabs, do we really need to know exactly where this occurs? Seems like alot of trouble to go through for something so trivial. Anyway, how could you show it in EP2? Why the hell would the Combine have the headcrab-production facility in the middle of the woods?

I think its because the headcrab is controlling the body, but it has no idea how humans are supposed to move, so it just makes it up as it goes along. Or the headcrab mistakes humans for their natural prey, and tries to make them move like their normal prey does.
But why can they move Overwatch soldiers' legs so much better?
 
Hive Theory
Headcrabs operate out of a hive system, with the gonarch as the queen of a hive, the classic headcrabs as general-purpose workers/gatherers and the fast headcrabs for defence (And possibly to go out with hunting parties). I don?t think that poison headcrabs are part of this hive, but perhaps they could live in/around the hive and both the poison crabs and the hive benefit from each others protection.

As I said, the classic headcrabs act as workers and food gatherers. Headcrabs are naturally adept at digging and could dig out the hive. Once they gain a host they would be even better at this, being able to utilise claws for digging and the maw for transportation of displaced earth?or rather, xen.

For hunting, headcrabs at first are not great for food retrieval, but once they take a host, the zombie?s maw is perfect for bringing food back to nest, to feed the gonarch and other headcrabs, who didn?t catch enough for themselves (poor guys ;().

Headcrabs who perform well (ie, catch a load of food) will progress to the gonome stage, to further increase their performance.

Fast headcrabs are there to defend against attack and to help in hunting parties. They will take hosts and wear them down until they are useless, then deposit anything left with the rest of the food. They will then seek out a new host.

Evidence for:

  • Headcrabs (With the exception of gonarchs) seem to have utterly no interest in self-preservation. This would seem to be a disadvantage to a species that would have to survive a long time and multiple stages of metamorphosis in order to reproduce.
  • Fast headcrabs have no obvious way of reproducing. They take a host which doesn?t seem to be able to sustain itself in any way (Maybe they absorb the blood of their victims directly into their muscles to sustain them? :p)
  • The gonarch doesn?t really seem to have any way of digging out the gonarch?s lair seen in HL1.
  • The name gonarch implies leadership (Note: gonarch, monarch).
  • A zombie, a gonome or a headcrab doesn?t really look like it?s on its way to becoming a gonarch.
  • If headcrabs are left in an area they seem content to stay there, even if there is no food around. They will not attempt to search for food. They will either find an enclosed, dark space (headcrabs) or just sit down and begin to hibernate (zombie). They don?t go in search of food as most animals would. Perhaps it is because they do not know how to function without a hive structure? (Evidence for this: Ravenholm)
  • Headcrabs? natural liking of enclosed, dark spaces (eg, vents), could be because they are used to the tunnels and shafts of a hive.

Evidence against:

  • The gonarch?s lair does not look like a hive.
  • The gonarch?s lair contained two mature headcrabs.
  • A gonarch really doesn?t need the protection of a hive, and anything that it would be vulnerable to will probably not be stopped by nothing short of an army of gonomes.
  • Headcrabs don?t really seem to work together, they generally just ignore each other.
 
Well, where else would it be? The Combine launches their major combat operations in City 17 from the Citadel. Remember all the Gunships hanging in the rack-like structure when you're riding around in the pod? And the Striders marching down the hallway?
I, for one, hope it comes up in Episode 2 or 3; it'd really explain where the Combine is getting all the headcrabs.

If they were going to put it any where they should of put it in lost coast seeing as that is where they had one of the head crab pod launchers.
 
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