Nihilanth Speaking

[jabberwock95]

Yeah, I know it has been discussed before, but I have listened to the Nihilanth sound files again and I am still curious.

"The truth... you can never know, the truth" - Interesting sentence, but probably no good speculating about it, we have no information. But feel free to speculate anyway.

"Their slaves... We are their slaves, we are.." - More interesting. So far we have seen no evidence of the Xen aliens being enslaved by another race (apart from the alien slaves, of course).

Could Nihilanth be referring to the combine? Or Race X?
Maybe the Xen aliens never wanted to invade eath, they may have been forced to.
In the factory where we see grunts being created, maybe the Xen aliens may have been forced to create genetically engineered killing machines?

Any ideas?

 

[TriggerHappy]

I don't know, but here are my interpretations of Nihilanth's words:

alone, not you alone, not you alone - he thinks Gordon alone can't make it through Xen and kill him

comes another - he sees another HEV-wearing human coming (Gordon)

deceive you, will deceive you - you'll be deceived by either the G-Man, or maybe the Administrator or the scientists of Black Mesa. Could also just be the Nihilanth trying to turn you back by lying.

die, you all die, you all die - I guess he doesn't like humans too much?

done, what have you done - maybe in reference to all the xen aliens Gordon has killed?

freeman! - shows that he knows your name somehow. Implies he's telepathic or something.

the last, you are the last, you are - I don't know. Gordon will be the last human to set foot on Xen? Is Gordon the last member of an ancient alien race? :O

you are man, he is not man, for you he waits, for you - GMan, Administrator, somebody, and they aren't human

their slaves, we are their slaves, we are - I'm not sure. When does this play? Does it happen when you're in the factory with all the vortigaunts running around? Maybe it's them communicating through nihilanth, or maybe the whole race is subjugated.

the last, I am the last - Nihilanth does seem to be the only one of his kind. Although the controllers seem like mini versions. Maybe he's the last of a dying race of overlords that ruled over the Xen aliens, and now the Xen invasion is a final attempt to free themselves from the rule of Gman and associates?

the truth, you can never know the truth - pretty ambiguous. I don't know.

thieves, you all are thieves, you all are - humans have collected specimens from Xen, enraging Nihilanth

 

[Mechagodzilla]

die, you all die, you all die
When I heard that one, it sounded like 'you all lie, you all lie, you all die'.
probably ties in with the 'theives' comment.

'done, what have you done'
He says that one right after you kill Gonarch, so that's probably why.

Many of those statements didn't make it into the actual game, if I recall.
The ones about 'slaves' and 'you are man' weren't. The 'thieves' one wasn't used until decay for PS2.

 

[FoB_Ed]

the coolest sound ever is whenever Nihilanth shouts "Freeeeeeeeeemaaaaaaaaan!!!" I have that sound as my windows startup sound

 

[SnowBall]

Theres something very strange going on about Nihilanth... other than the fact hes a giant floating baby...
Note how a lot of his body is sewn together? The odd metallic objects streaming from his butt. The appendages around those metal objects that appear as though they were once legs and feet. He seems to know english quite well. Suppose his true origin was really of Xen? I get the feeling hes from somewhere totally different. Its even possible he was once human.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Theres something very strange going on about Nihilanth... other than the fact hes a giant floating baby...
Note how a lot of his body is sewn together? The odd metallic objects streaming from his butt. The appendages around those metal objects that appear as though they were once legs and feet. He seems to know english quite well. Suppose his true origin was really of Xen? I get the feeling hes from somewhere totally different. Its even possible he was once human.

I read an interesting theory on Sierra's forums once. I think maybe even you were there, Snowball. Some guy had a theory that Nihilanth was really Gordon's kid or something, and he was being experimented on, with a third arm grafted to his chest. The "border world" was really the inside of the baby's body or something, and the xen aliens were antibodies, I think? Some crazy stuff, but he justified it all. He even tried to make sense of the scientific babble the scientists spout about resonance cascades and chaos theory and grand unification.

But I agree, there is something wierd with Nihilanth. It does look like he has stitches in him, and all that metal crap on his butt. I don't know... isn't Marc Laidlaw a horror writer? If so, there's probably something scary going on..

 

[Mechagodzilla]

I don't know... isn't Marc Laidlaw a horror writer? If so, there's probably something scary going on..

Scarier than a cyborg alien baby the size of a house that has psychic powers?

With a graphical update, Nilhilanth could be one of the freakiest enemies ever.

 

[Hazar]

No kidding,

I'll have to replay the end to catch all the words.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

The Alien Controllers also had mechanical augmentations on them, so I think Nihilanth is definately still Xenian. Open up a Controller's head, and look for the electronic pyramid thing.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[DEATH eVADER]

the coolest sound ever is whenever Nihilanth shouts "Freeeeeeeeeemaaaaaaaaan!!!" I have that sound as my windows startup sound

Whenever an error message pops up, it say- "Done, what have you done"

 

[SnowBall]

Whenever an error message pops up, it say- "Done, what have you done"

lmao!!!!!
I also remember that Nihilath theory your talking about, Trigger Happy. That was a freaky theory... and everything tied in so perfectly.

 

[PvtRyan]

Whenever an error message pops up, it say- "Done, what have you done"

Whenever you start Office "Thieves you all are, thieves you all are" :burp:

lmao!!!!!
I also remember that Nihilath theory your talking about, Trigger Happy. That was a freaky theory... and everything tied in so perfectly.

Yeah, the skies of Xen even look like they were taken through a microscope.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Best skybox ever, by the way.

If I'm right, the microbe-sky part of Xen is where race-x is from.

 

[Whatup1049]

Are there any Hl2 screenshots of the new xen?

 

[Bing_Oh]

Are there any Hl2 screenshots of the new xen?

There is no "new Xen" in HL2. Valve has already said that Gordon will not go back to Xen in this episode. As for the remake of HL in the Source engine, I have yet to see a single such screen.

 

[clarky003]

you are man, he is not man, for you he waits, for you

you know its the G-man . :O, it makes sense.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Here's a quick rundown of when Nihilanth speaks:

Gordon arrives on Xen for the first time.
"Not another." or "Comes another."
Gordon enters a teleportation deelie.
Gordon warps to Gonarch's Lair. Nihilanth doesn't say anything. Gordon kills Gonarch and warps out.
"Done, what have you done?"
Gordon appears on a big rock full of Xen units.
He gets onto an alien ship, rides it to a teleporter, and jumps in.
Gordon arrives in a busted teleporter in a cave. Outside, grunts are on patrol and Slaves are mining or something.
“Lie, you all lie, you all will die.” or “Die, you all die, you all die.”
Gordon makes it to another teleporter and goes in.
Gordon arrives in the grunt-production factory.
“Alone, aren’t you alone? Aren’t you alone?” or "Alone, not you alone, not you alone."
Eventually, Gordon reaches another teleporter.
He arrives at Nihilanth's shrine.
“Last, I am the last.”
Gordon jumps in, and appears in front of Nihilanth.
"Freeman!!!"
Nihilanth hits Gordon with a teleportal.
He repeats: “Alone, aren’t you alone? Aren’t you alone?” or "Alone, not you alone, not you alone."
Nihilanth hits Gordon with a teleportal for the second time.
“The truth, you can never know the truth.”
Third time teleported.
I didn't hear this one well, but it sounded like: "Disease, you are a disease." (???)
It was probably either "Thieves, you all are thieves, you all are." or "Deceive you, will deceive you."
Fourth time teleported.
“Die, now you will die.” <=== I don't know where that one comes from, but I swear that's what I heard.

And that's it, Gordon wins, game over.

 

[Whatup1049]

Guys how can I open teh steam file with all the wav files in it? I think it's .GCF?

 

[Whatup1049]

GCF scape doesn't work either, they must have changed the files somehow.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

GCF Scape works for me

 

[evil^milk]

LOL, the poor bastard was all like trying hard to convince Gordon he was gonna die and stuff:

And that's it, Gordon wins, game over.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Some other stuff I noticed when playing around recently:

- The G-Man can be seen in the Lambda complex in a room with radioactive sludge all over the floor. He's walking around without any protection in his usual suit and tie. Also, a nearby headcrab ignores him.

- The Nihilanth has shackles on his arms, like the alien slaves. He even has one on his third arm, the one coming from his chest.

- The Nihilanth has what look like two atrophied legs.

- Alien controllers continually spawn from the portal leading to Nihilanth's lair

- At the fancy-looking portal gate that you come to right before Nihilanth, you can hear scientist voices. These are the ones that play:
"Big day today, Freeman."
"We tried to warn them.."
"It wasn't meant to do this in the first place."
"Thank god you're here!"
And one that I hadn't heard before:
"Get him out of there! Shut down the equipment and someone get him out of there!"

Those are all fairly emotional sentences. Perhaps that is why they are playing.

- Nihilanth laughs whenever you hit him, I guess because he can regenerate.

Hope some of that is interesting to someone.

 

[Seraphim]

Some other stuff I noticed when playing around recently:

- The G-Man can be seen in the Lambda complex in a room with radioactive sludge all over the floor. He's walking around without any protection in his usual suit and tie. Also, a nearby headcrab ignores him.

- The Nihilanth has shackles on his arms, like the alien slaves. He even has one on his third arm, the one coming from his chest.

- The Nihilanth has what look like two atrophied legs.

- Alien controllers continually spawn from the portal leading to Nihilanth's lair

- At the fancy-looking portal gate that you come to right before Nihilanth, you can hear scientist voices. These are the ones that play:
"Big day today, Freeman."
"We tried to warn them.."
"It wasn't meant to do this in the first place."
"Thank god you're here!"
And one that I hadn't heard before:
"Get him out of there! Shut down the equipment and someone get him out of there!"

Those are all fairly emotional sentences. Perhaps that is why they are playing.

- Nihilanth laughs whenever you hit him, I guess because he can regenerate.

Hope some of that is interesting to someone.

Wow! Very interesting.

1) I've never noticed this before. Oooh, this is neat. It also supports my theory.

2) Wow, neat. Never noticed it. They must be symbolic, though - they didn't seem to have any use.

3) Hey, if I could fly, my legs would be atrophied too.

4) Hmm. What's up with this one? I'm not sure.

5) I don't remember this. I'll go check it out.

6) Probably.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

You can get to the area where the G-man is walking past headcrabs and radioactive stuff if you take the right portal in that spinning 'core' area.

The specific section of the room where he's standing isn't radioactive, but the headcrab certainly ignores him.

 

[Brian Damage]

I wonder if it's ignoring as in "You're not interesting", or ignoring as in "Um... I'm not here, strange invulnerable blue-suited human person, okay? No need to do anything nasty to me..."?

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Well, the headcrab was just standing there as though nothing was up, so I'd say uninterested.

Then again, they're not the best at portraying emotion. For all we know, he could have been terrified.

 

[Eejit]

Wow! Very interesting.

1) I've never noticed this before. Oooh, this is neat. It also supports my theory.

2) Wow, neat. Never noticed it. They must be symbolic, though - they didn't seem to have any use.

The slaves' collars are used to fire the electricity, as shown in Decay.

3) Hey, if I could fly, my legs would be atrophied too.

4) Hmm. What's up with this one? I'm not sure.

5) I don't remember this. I'll go check it out.

6) Probably.

Hmmm, anyone remember the theory posted a week or two back that all the things the nihilanth says, and the replayed scientist sounds showed he might just be misunderstood, and trying to tell you that Gordon has been manipulated into wanting to kill him?

It seemed pretty good at the time, then I remembered something.
The Nihilanth's name seems to prove he's nasty:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm
Extract: "A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy."

Just thought that might be relevant for analysing what he says.

 

[clarky003]

kool nice find, never thought of that, ,, so valve based his name on a religious type word basically

wow ive also realised that they really put alot of thought into that ending.. I guess knowing that it would be continued.. its awsome stuff.

 

[Brian Damage]

I'm going to look up the root-words of the term "vortigaunt". I know I've heard similar words before.

They're probably something similar to "Vortex" and "Gaunt", but somehow I doubt that "vortigaunt" means "Emaciated Whirlwind"...

 

[Eejit]

Hmm, maybe I should look up 'voltigore'...

I can't seem to find anything for vortigaunt, I'll let you keep looking.

 

[PvtRyan]

The slaves' collars are used to fire the electricity, as shown in Decay.

I doubt that, since we've seen in the E3 2k4 videos that Vort's can also fire electricity without the collars.

 

[Eejit]

It's not clear that the Vorts in the video who shoot are not wearing collars. The one we do see clearly not wearing them does not shoot.
In Decay there is a set of collars attached to an electricity generator which shoot, with a collarless dead slave beside them.

 

[KagePrototype]

The collars are not used for electricity, they seem to be shock collars. I've seen the slaves tugging at the neck collar a few times, and if they run away from you, they get shocked and instantly turn around. I've had slaves that run away that just seem to die for no reason -- I assume this is because they are being shocked.

http://www.hl2fallout.com/pics/content/characters/full/vortigaunt_full.jpg

No collar, yet you see the same vortiguant use electricity. The collars are not there to produce electricity. If it is true that they have been freed from Nihilanth (or something else), then it makes sense for them to not have collars.

 

[Eejit]

Sorry, but you are wrong. The collars are necessary for producing the electrical attack, though they may also be control devices. As I've said, Decay clearly proves the collars discharge the electricity.

The vortigaunt in that screenshot does not product a 'traditional' electrical attack, there's some kind of blue beam between it and the machine, but it's not even clear who's producing it.

 

[SnowBall]

Sorry, but you are wrong. The collars are necessary for producing the electrical attack, though they may also be control devices. As I've said, Decay clearly proves the collars discharge the electricity.

The vortigaunt in that screenshot does not product a 'traditional' electrical attack, there's some kind of blue beam between it and the machine, but it's not even clear who's producing it.

Decay was made by gearbox... and gearbox kinda derailed from the Half-Life universe in all of their games.

 

[Eejit]

Decay was made by gearbox... and gearbox kinda derailed from the Half-Life universe in all of their games.

Wow, thanks. There was me thinking they worked in collaberation with Marc and Valve when making the games, but I guess since that's not your opinion it isn't true.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Decay was made by gearbox... and gearbox kinda derailed from the Half-Life universe in all of their games.

I feel the same way. I'm not assuming that anything from the Gearbox expansions happened in the Half-Life 2 storyline.

Maybe they did, but I didn't feel like they kept the same consistency as the original game, and I didn't like Race-X.

 

[Brian Damage]

Well, I consider them canon.

And I think we need to make the distinction here between the slave collars (The things around their necks), which probably are control devices, and the slave bracers (Which would be the things around their wrists), which could be electricity generators, or at least some kind of amplifier...

 

[NeLi]

Spoiler

"The truth... you can never know, the truth"

 

[Urbanebula]

My theory.

I have used the Model Viewer to look at the Alien slave models. The collars definatly hurt them somehow because theres about 3 animations of the slave tugging at the collar and covering its head.

Also when i looked at the slave in-game the electrical charge comes from the collar but it looks as though the slave holds its green wrist cuffs up to the collar for a second or so then it fires. Maybe the collor can be used to charge the cuffs.

???