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AlbatrossofTime
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Time to needlessly pander on about details.
1. Xen is the focal point of Xenian teleportation technology, not "ALL" teleportation technology, ala Combine inter-universal travel through their "tunneling" method which I am assuming is powered by their Dark Energy reactors, which, as we can see through the events of Episode 1, have their drawbacks, in that they are large, volatile, and I'm betting cost-worthy.
2. It's not that the Combine don't have the technology to offer for LARGE shipments, it's that they don't have the capability to teleport SMALL packages, which the G-Man has, as is apparent, through as of yet unknown means.
3. The G-Mans ability or non-ability to interact with things of a temporal nature has not been elaborated on within game. This means we can't conjecture whether he CAN or CAN NOT do this, or what the true nature of those moments happen to be.
The main point of this post is to clarify on teleportation technology within Half-Life, NOT to argue whether or not the G-Man has any interest in any kind of technology whatsoever. For all we know he could be manipulating events for a spiritual purpose. Which would be bloody hilarious, but I digress.
So:
COMBINE TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Transports large amounts of material, through what appears to be strictly universe to universe locations. Kleiner has a quote wherein he mentions that this technology "tunnels" from universe to universe. Might imply a "whatever" between universes through which to tunnel, or it was merely just an image representation Kleiner told people unprepared to adequately understand the actual method. Takes the energy of a Dark Energy Reactor to use, supposedly, as the only things that have been teleported through this method thus far have been the Combine Citadels, and it is a "big deal" whenever it occurs.
XENIAN TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Uses the borderworld as a hub through which to teleport, much like how information is routed through computer networks (I'm making one of those image representation things because of Occam's Razor, damnit). It is implied that this method uses abundantly less energy than the Combine method. I have a suspicion that this hub can be accessed in multiple ways, but have no hard evidence through which to verify the claim. Obviously this was what Black Mesa was working on, and succeeded in, if not exactly mastered. The other races that were seen on Xen have not shown any kind of structures that the Earth tech required to be able to access it, which says that there are indeed other ways to and through Xen. Maybe even non-artificial ones, and that leads me to:
NIHILANTH/CONTROLLER TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
As seen in the events of Half-Life, the Nihilanth had the capability to teleport living and non-living (supposedly, I'm not sure whether the blue-beam cannon seen alongside the grunts was living or not) matter into our universe. The nature of how this was done is unknown, but the most likely way is probably through the nature of the borderworld, the natural abilities of the Nihilanth, or a combination thereof. It is implied that if there is a connection or a "weakening of the wall" already in place between our universe and Xen that it is much easier to do.
VORTIGAUNT TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
Obviously there is a relationship between the Vorts, the Controllers, and the Nihilanth, as is seen through the sharing of the third central arm, but the Vortigaunts as we all know are a strange bunch with many secrets left to be uncovered, and I thought they deserved their own entry. Words to consider: Vortessence, Hivemind, Slave Race, Hierarchy, Biology.
GMAN TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
I have absolutely no bloody clue on any front whatsoever, and neither do you.
APERTURE SCIENCE TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Ah, the best and most important of the bunch for last. Variable size, thus far shown only hand-held device. Relatively small internal power source of unknown capacity and longevity. Short-range in-universe teleportation that does NOT supposedly rely on Xenian teleportation technology. Unknown maximum volume and mass of teleportation subjects. No charge up time. No volatility shown thus far. NO GREEN LIGHTNING.
You bet everyone and their mother is going after the Borealis. Just look at the logistics of the technology.
(Also, why might Eli have been freaking out about anyone accessing whatever is on the Borealis? Why don't you go ask Oppenheimer if he'd invent a better, faster, more efficient bomb and see if he doesn't try to stop you.)
ETC TELEPORTATION ANOMALIES:
The flora and fauna that has been encountered in Xen that has no sapience has nevertheless gotten to Xen somehow, either through the assistance of other more advanced species or through natural phenomena involving dimensional teleportation.
1. Xen is the focal point of Xenian teleportation technology, not "ALL" teleportation technology, ala Combine inter-universal travel through their "tunneling" method which I am assuming is powered by their Dark Energy reactors, which, as we can see through the events of Episode 1, have their drawbacks, in that they are large, volatile, and I'm betting cost-worthy.
2. It's not that the Combine don't have the technology to offer for LARGE shipments, it's that they don't have the capability to teleport SMALL packages, which the G-Man has, as is apparent, through as of yet unknown means.
3. The G-Mans ability or non-ability to interact with things of a temporal nature has not been elaborated on within game. This means we can't conjecture whether he CAN or CAN NOT do this, or what the true nature of those moments happen to be.
The main point of this post is to clarify on teleportation technology within Half-Life, NOT to argue whether or not the G-Man has any interest in any kind of technology whatsoever. For all we know he could be manipulating events for a spiritual purpose. Which would be bloody hilarious, but I digress.
So:
COMBINE TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Transports large amounts of material, through what appears to be strictly universe to universe locations. Kleiner has a quote wherein he mentions that this technology "tunnels" from universe to universe. Might imply a "whatever" between universes through which to tunnel, or it was merely just an image representation Kleiner told people unprepared to adequately understand the actual method. Takes the energy of a Dark Energy Reactor to use, supposedly, as the only things that have been teleported through this method thus far have been the Combine Citadels, and it is a "big deal" whenever it occurs.
XENIAN TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Uses the borderworld as a hub through which to teleport, much like how information is routed through computer networks (I'm making one of those image representation things because of Occam's Razor, damnit). It is implied that this method uses abundantly less energy than the Combine method. I have a suspicion that this hub can be accessed in multiple ways, but have no hard evidence through which to verify the claim. Obviously this was what Black Mesa was working on, and succeeded in, if not exactly mastered. The other races that were seen on Xen have not shown any kind of structures that the Earth tech required to be able to access it, which says that there are indeed other ways to and through Xen. Maybe even non-artificial ones, and that leads me to:
NIHILANTH/CONTROLLER TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
As seen in the events of Half-Life, the Nihilanth had the capability to teleport living and non-living (supposedly, I'm not sure whether the blue-beam cannon seen alongside the grunts was living or not) matter into our universe. The nature of how this was done is unknown, but the most likely way is probably through the nature of the borderworld, the natural abilities of the Nihilanth, or a combination thereof. It is implied that if there is a connection or a "weakening of the wall" already in place between our universe and Xen that it is much easier to do.
VORTIGAUNT TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
Obviously there is a relationship between the Vorts, the Controllers, and the Nihilanth, as is seen through the sharing of the third central arm, but the Vortigaunts as we all know are a strange bunch with many secrets left to be uncovered, and I thought they deserved their own entry. Words to consider: Vortessence, Hivemind, Slave Race, Hierarchy, Biology.
GMAN TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY/ABILITY:
I have absolutely no bloody clue on any front whatsoever, and neither do you.
APERTURE SCIENCE TELEPORTATION TECHNOLOGY:
Ah, the best and most important of the bunch for last. Variable size, thus far shown only hand-held device. Relatively small internal power source of unknown capacity and longevity. Short-range in-universe teleportation that does NOT supposedly rely on Xenian teleportation technology. Unknown maximum volume and mass of teleportation subjects. No charge up time. No volatility shown thus far. NO GREEN LIGHTNING.
You bet everyone and their mother is going after the Borealis. Just look at the logistics of the technology.
(Also, why might Eli have been freaking out about anyone accessing whatever is on the Borealis? Why don't you go ask Oppenheimer if he'd invent a better, faster, more efficient bomb and see if he doesn't try to stop you.)
ETC TELEPORTATION ANOMALIES:
The flora and fauna that has been encountered in Xen that has no sapience has nevertheless gotten to Xen somehow, either through the assistance of other more advanced species or through natural phenomena involving dimensional teleportation.
