aliens

Author Topic: X-Com 2 Lore - The 'Great Threat', "For what lies ahead" & the Gatekeeper  (Read 3503 times)

Offline Surrealistik

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In both X-Com 1 and 2, the Ethereals referred to a great pending threat that humanity was needed to help combat: "We who were doomed to feed on the Gift of lesser beings… as we sought to uplift them… to prepare them… for what lies ahead."
Spoiler:
The conclusion of X-Com 2 almost certainly foreshadows/indicates its arrival.
This threat per X-Com 2 is said to be psionic in nature.

I've a theory that the Gatekeeper alien in 2 is in fact a specimen of this threat, albeit one that the Ethereals were able to subvert, possibly via the mechanism of its shell. Autopsy reports have termed it to be an "unusually independent, unpredictable species" one with "immense Psionic power potentially rivaling that of the Elders themselves". Further: "our efforts to analyze the subject have so far revealed little in terms of its actual purpose or intention in the field". This implies that unlike virtually every creation/augment of the Elders, each of which serves an unambiguous purpose, strategic or tactical niche, the Gatekeeper stands separate as something 'unusually independent and unpredictable', lacking a clear role which implies it is not something they fabricated, and in turn, something likely external that they've incorporated on an impromptu basis.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2016, 04:24:54 am by Surrealistik »

Offline Surrealistik

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Also in light of the double meanings in the final mission, his psionic power, his especial connection with the invaders, integration with their psionic network, etc... the X-Com Commander is totally bonded with the Asaru Ethereal from The Bureau.

Offline Starving Poet

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In both X-Com 1 and 2, the Ethereals referred to a great pending threat that humanity was needed to help combat: "We who were doomed to feed on the Gift of lesser beings… as we sought to uplift them… to prepare them… for what lies ahead."

I always interpreted it as more like straight out of Stargate - those who could naturally ascend vs those that tried to force it via genetic manipulation.   I just never got the ascended as a great threat - but that the ethereals were more like petulant children.

Offline Surrealistik

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I always interpreted it as more like straight out of Stargate - those who could naturally ascend vs those that tried to force it via genetic manipulation.   I just never got the ascended as a great threat - but that the ethereals were more like petulant children.

At this point between X1 and X2 it's by now clear that the Ethereals are indeed seeking humanity both as a panacea to their own rapidly degrading bodies and as a means of combating some unknown horror (probably the species the Gatekeeper derives from) which is very much a real threat. Overall they really don't give a shit about mankind beyond its ultimate utility in these regards (their 'benevolent' dictatorship and the prosperous, orderly cities they've erected just makes it easier to control; the 'good cop' to the Piratez 'bad cop' approach).