Zombification

[the_rebel_medic]

Lets face it, being zombieifed=major copious amounts of pain, it is also disgusting so my first request is so that little kiddies dont get grossed out lets use the spoiler tags

now for my theory

Spoiler

1. the headcrab lands on the....head
2. the headcrab uses its "beak" (removed from lamaar) and slams it into the spine causing central nervous control
3. the zombie mutates and grows its claws
4. the human, in so much pain uses its new claws, jams it into its chest and rips it open due to the pain
5. TADA new zombie

little children, stay away

that is my theory an if you agree or have another one please post

ta

 

[TheSmJ]

If the headcrab takes over the central nervous system, how could the host rip apart it's chest?

 

[MarcoPollo]

1. the headcrab lands on the....head
2. the headcrab uses its "beak" (removed from lamaar) and slams it into the spine causing central nervous control
3. the zombie mutates and grows its claws

5. TADA new zombie

Yeh, no shit? Kinda old, Use the not-so-handy not-very-dandy Search button.

 

[ríomhaire]

Well since the headcrabs natural prey is the vortigaunt I'll say how it happens on vorts
1: heabcrap jumps on
2: grabs neck with claws
3: injects anistetics and mutagents
4: the fingures harden into claws and grow
5: the third arm shrivils up and falls of while a new stomch opens up in chest to store food
6: the organs mutate to be a better stomach
7: a mawman is born.

 

[the_rebel_medic]

If the headcrab takes over the central nervous system, how could the host rip apart it's chest?

The final hurah

 

[Dark Auro]

Everything seems okay except for 4. The chest splits open to create a new mouth for the zombie. And it would be highly unlikely every single zombie would rip their chest open because of the pain. It's just the zombie mutating. Also like TheSmJ said, if the headcrab is controlling the human they wouldn't be able to do that anyway. One of my theories is that because the zombie is so slow is because the headcrab is having a constast fight for control over the body against the human but the headcrab is just a bit stronger.

 

[the_rebel_medic]

One of my theories is that because the zombie is so slow is because the headcrab is having a constast fight for control over the body against the human but the headcrab is just a bit stronger.

interesting theory
quite possibly true as it is obvious when you look at the fast zombies, fast headcrabs MUST be strong as they are capible of making such HUGE jumps in comparison to the rest and the speed..... n e way i see my theory has errors but well would they need to eat as the headcrab is the onlything keeping it alive
keep posting
The Rebel Medic

 

[ríomhaire]

I think zombies are slow because their natural prey is the vortigaunt, look at the difference between a human leg and a vortigaunt leg, they can't use human legs proberly because they try to work them like a vortigaunt's

 

[r2000]

Headcrabs take over the CNS of the victim. The victim experiences great pain, but is concious as the headcrab tears apart the body via mutation. The opened up cavity is used to feed the crab most likely, since in HL1, just before the freezer, we see zombies doing exactly that. It also explains why victims scream at you. While the headcrab just growls.

 

[ríomhaire]

I think mawmen (normal zombies) are like the gatherers for a hive. They stuff their chest mouth (or maw) with food and bring it back to the hive for the rest to feed on (ie gonarch, fast crabs, worker crabs(which I made up) and baby crabs)

 

[FearoftheDomoKun]

The hole in the chest is not a mouth, what you see is the ribs sticking out.

Everything seems okay except for 4. The chest splits open to create a new mouth for the zombie. And it would be highly unlikely every single zombie would rip their chest open because of the pain. It's just the zombie mutating. Also like TheSmJ said, if the headcrab is controlling the human they wouldn't be able to do that anyway. One of my theories is that because the zombie is so slow is because the headcrab is having a constast fight for control over the body against the human but the headcrab is just a bit stronger.

 

[CreamOfetus]

then why are they called Mawmen?

 

[FCBob]

I think zombies are slow because their natural prey is the vortigaunt, look at the difference between a human leg and a vortigaunt leg, they can't use human legs proberly because they try to work them like a vortigaunt's

good point. this may explain why the fast zombies are so fast too. Since the fast headcrabs are combine mutations of headcrabs they could be customed tailored to Humans. But that wouldn't make them as fast as they are so the combine would've had to do more genetic engineering than that.

 

[Flyingdebris]

if the headcrabs were a hive species they'd be much more organized. As is it, areas infested with zombies and crabs just descend into chaos. They have no social order other than to look out for themselves and occasionally stay in groups.


the fast and poison zombies seem to definitely be mutations of the standard headcrab. Unlike normal headcrabs, the zombies the other 2 produce lack any sort of chest-mouth to feed with. Also notice how significantly fewer fast and poison zombies there are to normal zombies.

The way i see it, the fast and poison ones are there to wreak a lot of damage in a short amount of time and eventually starve to death on their own. The standard zombies however seem to be there to make sure that damage to an area continues since they can feed themselves.

BTW the way it seems to me is that the poison ones don't really reproduce on their own, it looks like one of them attaches to a host, and the other 2 just hop on to help to pump it full of toxins and hitch a ride.

Since there weren't any gonarchs or gonomes running around ravenholm, i think the combine genetically neutered the crabs that they put in the shells so that they can't mature past the zombie stage.

 

[ríomhaire]

i think fast and norms come from a gonarch. But on a vortigaunt the fast ones would have access to the mouth so they wouldn't starve to death . The fast one would defend the hive, the normal ones would gather food.

A poison headcrab is a different species, it latches onto a host and injects it full of eggs. The piggy-backers eat from the outside-in and the babies eat from the inside-out and eventually burst out of the chest.

the fast and poison zombies seem to definitely be mutations of the standard headcrab.

Evidence?

Since there weren't any gonarchs or gonomes running around ravenholm, i think the combine genetically neutered the crabs that they put in the shells so that they can't mature past the zombie stage.

Wouldn't you think the queen of a hive would stay hidden? And you also never see a cremator in the entire game, in HL1 you never see any Race-X and you never see any antlions.

 

[Dekstar]

ríomhaire is definately the leading theorist for things like this. I especially like the poison headcrab theory. One thing I would say is that what's the poison for that the headcrabs inject? The stuff that brings you down to 1hp?

 

[mingmong]

yeah, its interesting that they have a poison that knows when you are about to die and counteracts itself, pretty useful for parasites.

 

[ríomhaire]

yeah, its interesting that they have a poison that knows when you are about to die and counteracts itself, pretty useful for parasites.

Are you deaf, the suit synthesises an antidote

 

[DoctorWeeTodd]

I always thought the headcrabs went through the eyes. In all the "decrabbitated" zombie models the eyes are just black spots or sockets.

 

[Flyingdebris]

the reason i think the headcrabs were neutured to avoid being gonarchs is because the combine would have a real pain in the ass of a time trying to kill those off when they send a clean up crew.

and i'm still not convinced they are a hive type species as they exihibit no hive behavior other than moving in packs. If they were a hive species you'd see them behaving much differently.

Antlions for example are a hive species. They way they have underground tunnels, have a king, have a warrior body type, are never found alone, and attack en mass.

Headcrabs don't really have that. Yes they do come from a "queen" however she just gives birth to them and she fends for herself while the headcrabs go off and do whatever. Plus if they really were a hive species zombies would not be lazily lying about on the ground when you encounter them.

 

[ríomhaire]

the reason i think the headcrabs were neutured to avoid being gonarchs is because the combine would have a real pain in the ass of a time trying to kill those off when they send a clean up crew.

but it's nota fact that all headcrabs become gonarches

 

[Flyingdebris]

well its implied that the standard ones do anyway.

 

[ríomhaire]

well its implied that the standard ones do anyway.

How???

 

[Jandor]

the fast and poison zombies seem to definitely be mutations of the standard headcrab.

Evidence?

There different to standard ones. Mutation dosn't neccersarilly mean by the Combine.

well its implied that the standard ones do anyway.

How???

Because a gonarch gives birth to them, generally, babies grow into adults.

 

[ríomhaire]

Because a gonarch gives birth to them, generally, babies grow into adults.

But not in insects alot of the time. And if heacrabs would be clased as anything it would be insect.

 

[rae]

An insect is classed as a six legged invertabrate with an exoskeleton

Headcrabs have four legs and no exoskeleton. Therefor it's not an insect.

So really it would come into a class of its own, xeno, or posibly a reptile or mammal but we can't tell without seeing a real one...

 

[Jandor]

Classic Headcrabs have six legs.

None of the other variants, nor the Gonarch, or any of the Zombies do however.

However, even most insects eventually grow into adulthood. I can only think of Ants and Termites that don't. and even if you think up more, it still won't add up to "alot of the time" .

 

[ríomhaire]

bees, wasps, antlions. OK your right but hives do occur in nature.

 

[Rafa 5.0]

I don't think many headcrabs make it to Gonarch state, in fact, I think the guide said only a FEW make it into Gonarch, it's very rare.

 

[ríomhaire]

The name gonarch kind-of suggests a hive species. Gon meaning something to do with reproduction and arch meaning leader, of highest rank. Although arch could also be refering to it being the final form of a headcrab but if you take it's meaning more litteraly, it's ruler.

 

[VincWZ]

I think every headcrab can become a gonarch. Let me use a theory a friend of mine came up with : The lazily lying around you see is actually the headcrab "pausing" the body to mutate it further , and eventually become a Gonarch.

 

[Jandor]

Very few Headcrabs make it to Gonarch stage, because, well, look at a headcrab, look at a Gonarch. See anything different?
It would take a long time to make those sort of changes, and in such a long time, alot probably die.

It just makes sense for them to grow to Gonarch.

A Gonarch gives birth to them. (Generally babies grow into adults)
They don't display hive like activities. (no Zombies defending the Gonarch)
They wander off on there own and do nothing. (Lone Zombies laying down in vents. etc)

 

[Flyingdebris]

and since there don't seem to be any gonarchs or gonomes in ravenholm despite the fact that it has been overrun for quite some time, thats why i think the ones in use by the combine are "gary colemanized" to prevent them from maturing past the zombie host stage.

No doubt that there are gonarchs roaming about in the wilds outside the cities spawning millions of headcrabs, most likely seeking shelter in caves and abandoned parking garages

 

[Jandor]

I'd always assumed it was because competition for food was so high, with such a high Zombie population.
'Neutured' Zombies makes a lot of sense.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Or it could just be that Gordon just didn't run into any gonomes of gonarches during his brief trip

 

[rynopurge]

aura is right about the zombies mutating. i havn't played HL1 so i need to know what gonarchs or gonomes are. and rebel medic, if you want bullsquids, houndeyes, and maybe assassins, find and download something called squidmod. soz, i just noticed your signature.

 

[ríomhaire]

I sneekely covered the no gonomes in Ravenholm theory in my headcrab theories. In a hive the no. of gonomes is kept down because they need so much food. And there is a hive in Ravenholm.

And why would the Combine stop them becoming gonomes? it would be better if they did. They would need more food and so exhaust the food supply faster and die out quicker.

 

[rynopurge]

maybe they just didn't have parasite rockets big enough, or mauled a vast amount of soldiers before they attacked citizens? im sorry to ask again, but does anyone have a pic of a gonome or a gonarch? they just sound pretty cool to be the evolution of zombies.

 

[ríomhaire]

just altavista image search gonarch and gonome
http://www.altavista.com/image/results?q=gonarch&sourceid=mozilla-search
http://www.altavista.com/image/results?q=gonome&sourceid=mozilla-search

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I sneekely covered the no gonomes in Ravenholm theory in my headcrab theories. In a hive the no. of gonomes is kept down because they need so much food. And there is a hive in Ravenholm.

And why would the Combine stop them becoming gonomes? it would be better if they did. They would need more food and so exhaust the food supply faster and die out quicker.

Yeah, I think you're right there. Most of the Ravenholm zombies look really apathic (just like the majority of mod-teams these days) and sleepy, possibly due to a lack of foodstuffs. Something can't really grow much when it shuts itself down into hibernation due to starvation.

-Angry Lawyer