Regarding the Aliens

[SectoidEmperor]

Hi there. Tonight, I'm going to inflict my inability to take any game at face value on the rest of you and ask for your thoughts about the X-com aliens.

 

Basically, WHO THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS?

 

How did the different races come to be working together? Are they all slaves of one master species? If so, how much individual freedom and cultural diversity do they still have? Is their empire really tens of millions of years old, and, if so, what the hell have they been doing all that time? What was the deal with the ruins on Mars? Was the alien brain lying when it claimed to have created humanity? What was the role of that brain in their society anyway (was it an actual artificial intelligence, or just a war coordinator system? If the former, was it self-interested? Is the entire alien empire ruled by such AI's?)?

 

Things get even more confusing in Terror From the Deep. Was the Cthulhu-ripoff a unique entity? If so, where did he come from? If not, are there others like him? What role does he or his kind play in the empire at large? Are they perhaps competitors with the other alien faction that simply happen to use some common slave-races (like sectoids)? Why did the Cydonians wait until they were defeated before awakening T'Leth? And, if T'Leth has been dormant since its arrival on Earth, how were its passengers able to enslave the gill-men?

 

 

I doubt the game developers had answers to all these questions in mind when they made the games. They probably just went through a list of UFO conspiracy theories and Cthulhu Mythos elements and threw everything they liked into the pot. But hell, overthinking every last detail is what gaming forums are for.

[Civilian]

I always had the feeling that the Xcom Aliens were some kind of unlucky survivors of once huge empires. They formed an alliance, gathered together in a huge fleet with their remaining ships and crews and tried to find a new home. (maybe safe from being hunted by whoever hunted them in the first place?) Unluckily they found Mars and earth during their search.

 

As you said, those races are too different to be of one origin, but they do use the same weapons and equipment, so some kind of alliance between them must exist. It would also explain the chaotic things that you mentioned, there simply wasn't enough time for them to develop a clever and working strategy or plan.

 

This would actually make a good background story for a new Xcom game. All the "stray" aliens together with the humans fighting the dark and evil master aliens that caused the whole trouble...

[Bomb Bloke]

How did the different races come to be working together? Are they all slaves of one master species? If so, how much individual freedom and cultural diversity do they still have?

It appears each race has a different story, though there really isn't much canon available to come up with anything concrete.

 

However, we know, for example, that the Sectoids have specific goals separate to the other races - they want to use the lifeforms of Earth to "augment" the genetic structure of their specific race (as per the UFOpedia). It could be argued the only reason they fought in the alien alliance at all was in order to get genetic material from creatures such as the Ethereals (which they closely resemble in many ways).

 

After the first two wars, the Sectoids basically kept on with their own unique goals, as evidenced by the Mutant Alliance in Apocalypse. The other more primitive races seemingly failed to keep on operating (despite the high probability that they still would've had bases on Earth at the time of Cydona's fall).

 

Likewise, in-game research suggests that the Mutons and Floaters you see in the game are far removed from what "normal" specimens of those races should be. Without the Ethereals guiding them, they'd be more like animals then soldiers (assuming the two races weren't "built" from the ground up for use by the motherbrains). Snakemen appear to be in the same boat, though the information presented is less then clear on the matter.

 

While each race obviously has different origins (judging by their radically different appearances and UFOpedia entries), it's also stated in-game that they're all following orders - with the exception of the Ethereals, who are stated to be giving them.

 

Is their empire really tens of millions of years old, and, if so, what the hell have they been doing all that time? What was the deal with the ruins on Mars? Was the alien brain lying when it claimed to have created humanity? What was the role of that brain in their society anyway (was it an actual artificial intelligence, or just a war coordinator system? If the former, was it self-interested? Is the entire alien empire ruled by such AI's?)?

To memory, Interceptor sheds some light on these matters. I haven't actually played the game (will do some day), but I gather it reveals the existence of more motherbrains. As for the ruins and the actual life span of the alien empire, there isn't enough information to provide anything but conjecture.

 

Things get even more confusing in Terror From the Deep. Was the Cthulhu-ripoff a unique entity? If so, where did he come from? If not, are there others like him? What role does he or his kind play in the empire at large? Are they perhaps competitors with the other alien faction that simply happen to use some common slave-races (like sectoids)? Why did the Cydonians wait until they were defeated before awakening T'Leth? And, if T'Leth has been dormant since its arrival on Earth, how were its passengers able to enslave the gill-men?

It's possible the ruler of T'leth was an early example of what would eventually become the motherbrains - or just as possible that it was something completely different. Nevertheless, it's made clear (through the interrogation of enemies with rank) that it does have some link to the aliens from EU.

 

Apparently it went dormant as soon as it landed (which was also when the Gillmen went "missing" from the world - whether they were enslaved or joined of their own free will is not discussed, but since the impact of the ship hardly made the world a hospitable place, T'leth would probably've been the safest place for them to migrate). On occasion, small groups of aliens in the ship would go out to try to contact allies off-planet (using the artifact sites you need to shut down during the course of the game), but they never succeeded.

 

No decent reason is provided as to why they didn't wake as soon as the first war started. It's stated that the distress signal activated at the end of said war did the job, but they still took the best part of 40 years after that time to get their war machine up and running. It would appear the Cydonians didn't know about T'leth at all, and their final signal was simply a distress flare - Or perhaps they did know, but didn't think there was any way they'd be able to help (they'd've been right, as it turned out).

 

As for why T'leth bothered to answer a distress signal four decades on, it could be they figured that other aliens would also answer it, and they'd finally be able to re-unite. If their goal was simply to squash mankind, they likely could've attempted that far earlier then they did - just as well, too, 'cause a couple of hundred years earlier and it would've been a slaughterhouse.

[SectoidEmperor]

I always had the feeling that the Xcom Aliens were some kind of unlucky survivors of once huge empires. They formed an alliance, gathered together in a huge fleet with their remaining ships and crews and tried to find a new home. (maybe safe from being hunted by whoever hunted them in the first place?) Unluckily they found Mars and earth during their search.

 

Sort of like the first Half Life? Interesting.

 

If this is so, then the Brain was certainly lying about their long history on Mars and Earth. They would have just come here recently. Still leaves the question of their relation to T'Leth, though.

 

This would actually make a good background story for a new Xcom game. All the "stray" aliens together with the humans fighting the dark and evil master aliens that caused the whole trouble...

 

I've had similar thoughts. Like, maybe a handful of mutons or floaters manage to free themselves of their masters' control and defect to humanity, or perhaps sought asylum with us after the fall of Cydonia. However, as potentially interesting as that could be, it doesn't fit X-com's grimdark theme.

 

However, we know, for example, that the Sectoids have specific goals separate to the other races - they want to use the lifeforms of Earth to "augment" the genetic structure of their specific race (as per the UFOpedia). It could be argued the only reason they fought in the alien alliance at all was in order to get genetic material from creatures such as the Ethereals (which they closely resemble in many ways).

 

One theory I had was that the sectoids and ethereals are the same species. The sectoids are described as having a "hive-like society." In that case, wouldn't it fit for there to be a disposable "worker" caste and a higher-ranking leadership one? Sectoids and ethereals resemble each other physically, are the only aliens in EU to use psionics, and are the only ones described in the ufopaedia as having self-interested goals rather than being slaves. So, perhaps they are different forms of the same species (which rules over the other, unrelated races in EU)?

 

Likewise, in-game research suggests that the Mutons and Floaters you see in the game are far removed from what "normal" specimens of those races should be. Without the Ethereals guiding them, they'd be more like animals then soldiers (assuming the two races weren't "built" from the ground up for use by the motherbrains). Snakemen appear to be in the same boat, though the information presented is less then clear on the matter.

 

Animals, or sentient beings. Its possible that the mutons and floaters were intelligent and civilized in their own ways before being recruited (willingly or otherwise; we have no way of knowing) into the empire. Of course, its also possible (as you said) for them to be completely bio-engineered races without a specific natural ancestor. In particular, this would fit the mutons, who (according to the lore) have the least capacity for independent thought. If they were bio-mechanical androids, that would make sense.

 

The snakemen are said to be animalistic and predatory when not being controlled. They were probably semi-sentient at best to begin with (maybe chimpanzee-level intelligence). A classic case of the good old uplift.

 

it's also stated in-game that they're all following orders - with the exception of the Ethereals, who are stated to be giving them.

 

I wonder if the ethereals were actually fully in charge. While they definitely had command over the other races in EU, did the mother brain outrank them? Was it their computer, or were they its underlings? In either case, is it possible that whoever was running the Earth invasion (either the brain or the ethereals) was actually answering to someone else outside of the solar system? For all we know, the ethereals could just be middle-management people, managing the lesser races in various operations while reporting to an even greater one. In this case, maybe the Great Sleeper's race are the ones on top of it all?

 

Of course, if the Brain was really in charge, that would imply a post-singularity AI dictatorship. Some poor suckers created a brain-computer that overthrew its masters and then created other brain-computers to rule the universe. Haha, my Metroid fandom is showing...

 

It's possible the ruler of T'leth was an early example of what would eventually become the motherbrains - or just as possible that it was something completely different. Nevertheless, it's made clear (through the interrogation of enemies with rank) that it does have some link to the aliens from EU.

 

On one hand, the Great Sleeper had eyes and tentacles, which would be odd design choices for a biocomputer.

 

On the other, maybe it wasn't always a computer. Maybe the Great Sleeper's species overwent a transhumanist (transalienist?) evolution over the last few aeons, abandoning their natural forms in favor of life as computerized minds. Its also possible that the Great Sleeper was a natural creature that the aliens collected and modified to turn it into a computer, using its natural thought capacity and psionic power for their own purposes. In this case, they could have eventually learned to duplicate this creature's powers artificially, allowing them to build brains instead of having to lug Cthulhus around with them.

 

So many possibilities, so little information...

 

I don't know where to start analyzing why the Cydonia base only activated T'Leth at the end of the war, and why in 65 billion years the T'Leth aliens couldn't get their shit together on their own (but then got everything fixed by one stupid laser beam from space. Really, if that was all it took, it seems like they should have been able to do it themselves, since its stated in the game that small groups of them have been awakening for eons and enslaving gillmen and such).

 

I heard one theory that the Cydonia aliens were actually a rescue mission, sent to pacify the Earth natives and then retrieve T'Leth. In that case though, why the hell would it take them 65 million years?

 

Ugh, the TFTD story has holes no matter which way you cut it. Honestly, it would have made more sense if they just called TFTD a different universe instead of making it a sequel.

[Bomb Bloke]

One theory I had was that the sectoids and ethereals are the same species. The sectoids are described as having a "hive-like society." In that case, wouldn't it fit for there to be a disposable "worker" caste and a higher-ranking leadership one? Sectoids and ethereals resemble each other physically, are the only aliens in EU to use psionics, and are the only ones described in the ufopaedia as having self-interested goals rather than being slaves. So, perhaps they are different forms of the same species (which rules over the other, unrelated races in EU)?

Read that somewhere, once. Can't remember if it was an official source or not. It wasn't in the games.

 

The Ethereals, for all intents and purposes, are the ultimate alien in EU. They're a lot faster and stronger then their physical appearance suggests, but all of that power is overshadowed by their ability to use mind control.

 

The Sectoids, on the other hand, are still attempting to evolve themselves. If they were members of the same race, odds are they wouldn't have that "freedom", or else they'd all likely take on Ethereal form right away (as the one advantage Sectoids have over Ethereals is that they're slightly harder to shoot).

 

On the other hand, there's no obvious reason why they (and the Aquatoids) remain such small weak creatures, so it may be they do have to follow such "rules" regarding how they can and cannot modify themselves. The "mutants" in Apocalypse are more like humans then Sectoids - not only could they pass for human at a glance, but their psychic powers were toned down (they needed a Mind Bender to use them). So they were certainly capable of radical change.

 

No real hard evidence either way, though.

 

I wonder if the ethereals were actually fully in charge. While they definitely had command over the other races in EU, did the mother brain outrank them? Was it their computer, or were they its underlings? In either case, is it possible that whoever was running the Earth invasion (either the brain or the ethereals) was actually answering to someone else outside of the solar system? For all we know, the ethereals could just be middle-management people, managing the lesser races in various operations while reporting to an even greater one.

All seems quite likely - after all, the remaining Ethereals could've given Earth some serious problems after the motherbrain went down. The fact that they didn't suggests they either needed the motherbrain in order survive (in a similar manner to how the Mutons required the Ethereals), or they just couldn't be bothered continuing the invasion without direct orders to do so. It's possible the Ethereals were simply less evolved versions of the motherbrain itself - increased utility at the expense of less psychic power.

 

It might also be they assassinated the world's leaders in secret and have been ruling ever since.

 

In this case, maybe the Great Sleeper's race are the ones on top of it all?

 

.

.

.

 

On one hand, the Great Sleeper had eyes and tentacles, which would be odd design choices for a biocomputer.

 

On the other, maybe it wasn't always a computer. Maybe the Great Sleeper's species overwent a transhumanist (transalienist?) evolution over the last few aeons, abandoning their natural forms in favor of life as computerized minds. Its also possible that the Great Sleeper was a natural creature that the aliens collected and modified to turn it into a computer, using its natural thought capacity and psionic power for their own purposes. In this case, they could have eventually learned to duplicate this creature's powers artificially, allowing them to build brains instead of having to lug Cthulhus around with them.

If I were to guess anything, the motherbrain does seem to be an "enhanced" version of the Sleeper, one that doesn't go off like a nuclear bomb if someone "accidentally" knocks the gigantic life support offline.

 

(Somewhere, an alien engineer is jumping up and down, yelling, "That was a feature, not a flaw!")

 

There's also the matter of the "molecular control" network the Sleeper was trying to activate. The motherbrain didn't need any such thing, nor did it require implants in it's subjects in order to impose it's will - all the way from Mars, even.

 

Of course, if the Brain was really in charge, that would imply a post-singularity AI dictatorship. Some poor suckers created a brain-computer that overthrew its masters and then created other brain-computers to rule the universe. Haha, my Metroid fandom is showing...

You'll've read through this, then?

 

I heard one theory that the Cydonia aliens were actually a rescue mission, sent to pacify the Earth natives and then retrieve T'Leth.

Sure I read that somewhere as well, can't for the life of me remember where. Uncertain as to whether it was "official" material or not.

 

Ugh, the TFTD story has holes no matter which way you cut it. Honestly, it would have made more sense if they just called TFTD a different universe instead of making it a sequel.

Indeed, the entire game starts out with a ret-con (the "signal beam" was really just a bigass surface-to-air laser in the original game) and it only goes downhill from there - the whole "we need implants to use psi now, but not to mind control your guys" thing was just silly, as was the loss of all the technology from the previous war (even if there was an Elerium shortage).

 

But TFTD was more of a third-party title then anything. It wasn't until Apocalypse that the X-COM "universe" started to be taken seriously.

[SectoidEmperor]

Sectoids still trying to evolve themselves

 

That would imply that the aliens are united by a sort of ideology. Races that believe in "improving" themselves toward some abstract concept of genetic perfection choose to join the alliance and submit themselves to the commands of more "perfect" races in order to help themselves on the road to ascension. Races that don't want to cooperate (like humans) are vermin to be used or exterminated.

 

I like it, good thinking.

 

You'll've read through this, then?

 

Yep. Didn't especially like it, though. I felt like it took a lot of the mystique out of the character of Samus Aran by making her too much like a normal human girl (I had been hoping for more of a female version of Ender Wiggin or Valentine Michael Smith, but no), and it portrayed the universe as being too Star Warsy and not Aliensish enough. The thing with Mother Brain was cool, though.

 

Do you post on MDB, btw? I'm Sylux.

 

Indeed, the entire game starts out with a ret-con (the "signal beam" was really just a bigass surface-to-air laser in the original game) and it only goes downhill from there - the whole "we need implants to use psi now, but not to mind control your guys" thing was just silly, as was the loss of all the technology from the previous war (even if there was an Elerium shortage).

 

But TFTD was more of a third-party title then anything. It wasn't until Apocalypse that the X-COM "universe" started to be taken seriously.

 

Not very familiar with Apocalypse, so I can't comment there. However, it might just be prudent to think of TFTD as an unofficial Delta Green strategy game and mentally divorce it from X-com.

[Bomb Bloke]

That would imply that the aliens are united by a sort of ideology. Races that believe in "improving" themselves toward some abstract concept of genetic perfection choose to join the alliance and submit themselves to the commands of more "perfect" races in order to help themselves on the road to ascension. Races that don't want to cooperate (like humans) are vermin to be used or exterminated.

I was thinking that only applied to the Sectoids specifically, but that works too.

 

Presumably, the alliance is powerful enough to force another race to join if they deem them valuable enough.

 

Do you post on MDB, btw? I'm Sylux.

I don't, no. Possible I have an account there, though. I lose track. I'm Bomb Bloke where ever I go.

 

Metroid is a classic case of ret-cons gone mad. At this rate, they'll "rebuild" the entire series before coming out with a Metroid V.

 

Not very familiar with Apocalypse, so I can't comment there.

A brief summary (well I intended it to be "brief", at least, but anyway, spoilers are ahead):

 

After T'leth exploded at the end of TFTD, the Earth was still heavily ravaged (as opposed to the complete destruction that occurs if you lose the game). Most of humanity banded together into a few "super"-city complexes over time as they rebuilt. Other humans migrated to space.

 

Aliens from another dimension, able to warp directly to Earth and back as need be, appear in the city of MegaPrimus. X-COM is again called, funded by local government, to serve the purpose of pest control.

 

Again, the enemies are made up of multiple races with notably different features... but with sufficient research, it's revealed they're all fairly similar in genetic structure.

 

It turns out the entire alien army is controlled by beings called "Micronoids" (very similar to Midi-chlorians, but acting under their own directives - controlling their hosts instead). These can even "infect" humans, placing them under permanent alien control.

 

Sectoids left behind from the old war have integrated themselves into society as the "Mutant Alliance" (though obviously they have to put up with some "racism"). They're now half-human hybrids - basically human, slightly weaker, better psi powers, and they've got Sectoid eyes. These hybrids can be recruited into your own forces.

 

The Micronoids are shown to be separate from the original aliens. In fact, they even managed to pick up their own group of Sectoids - which they eat. You actually gain brownie points with the Mutants by rescuing these captives.

 

Much of the technology from EU is available from the start of the game in evolved forms (but none from TFTD, with the exception of the Vibroblade). For example, an armored trooper can now take significantly more damage then in the first game, and once you start putting your own research crews to work, you'll end up with troopers who could reliably take a blaster bomb to the face and keep fighting.

 

However, the more powerful examples of the "old-tech" are very expensive to use, as X-COM is no longer in charge of the designs nor the Elerium required to fuel them (that said, you can actually go out and steal such equipment if you're having trouble getting it in the market place - it's way more in-depth then the first two games). Of course, new technologies captured from the Micronoids soon remedy this situation.

 

So in short, it's a proper "sequel", but the aliens have very little to do with those of the previous games (if anything, they're shown to be rivals). In terms of gameplay, it lacks the "pick-up-and-play" charm (in that it takes a lot longer to progress through the game), instead throwing in a whole lot more things to do other then keep your score above 0. Do your job badly, and not only will you lose the support of Earth, but members of your own race will start sending in their tactical forces to destroy you. Do it well, and they'll band together with you to fight the invaders.

 

Frankly I think it's a better game, though I tend to play the original more often.

[Tepid tasoth]

Aaaaahhhhh! Finally a thread of my likings: insane theories and Sectoid porn!

 

The TFTD Ufopedia suggests that Aquatoids are simply Sectoids that can live under water. Obviously, they can also breathe above the waterline. Sectoids don't seem to be able to breathe under water. It is nowhere said to be that way but those SORESO stories suggest it in my opinion.

Therefore, either the Aquatoads are an evolution of the Sectoids (becoming amphibious) or the Sectoids are a degeneration of Aquatiods (losing that feature). That would explain why those Sectoids are in dire need of fresh genetic material. They are even more degenerated than the already weak (according to the game's ufopaedia) Aquatoids.

 

I think some Evil Empire From Outer Space expanded, colonializing Mars (Cydonia Mesa) and preparing to colonialize Earth (T'leth), each planet becoming some sort of "branch office" for the Empire .

Apparently, the imperialist big boss bastard got a wee bit too greedy and tried to enslave some races which weren't too fond of that and eventually realized they can simply eat their former enemies. Those races are the Aliens from X-COM Apocalypse I suppose.

As the big boss got snuffed out, the more distant branch offices of his empire lost contact to him and operated autonomously more or less. That would explain why they couldn't get their stuff together for some 65 or so million years.

[Thorondor]

Having read the previous posts I felt compelled to cook up a simple dissertation about Ethereal "raison d'

[chiasaur11]

So, what'd that make the big brain?

[NKF]

An artificially created overseer for directing and running the local operations... er branch manager?

 

- NKF

[Thorondor]

I think you've nailed the brunt of it, NKF.

 

Ethereal 1 to Etherial 2: "Spawn more Overlords!"

 

This single creature, though corporeal, is in effect a kind of multi-entity which acts as an overseer. It abstractly holds the equivalent to something like several trillion Yottabytes' worth of knowledge at any one time and constantly rearranges itself depending on which minds/creatures interface with it.

 

Though different, it kind of reminds me of the Ordos Executrix thing a little (see in Ordos, Emperor: Battle for Dune)

 

It manages, aggregates and coordinates an amalgamation of things whenever its intervention is required. Sort of an always-online service.

 

Talkative bugger too by the looks of it.

 

::

 

Fortunately we blew it away before it really started talking its head off - however that would play out...

[Invertin]

I always thought that one of the species, (most likely the Etherals) or most of them are actually humans from the future, come back to avoid something even worse than them.

 

I just thought it was too much of a coincidence that Etherals look so human, Sectoids look exactly like our stereotypical grey men and that humans have psi abilities. Plus, most of the species are probably cloned species, maybe created by the future humans.

 

But then I found out the plots to the other games and they proved me wrong, oh well.