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If you look at the logic of the Combine, a lot of it doesn't make sense. They were able to take over the world in seven hours. That's exceptionally fast. This just shows how expansive the Universal Union is, and how easy it is for them to take over a supposedly well-equipped planet in hours flat. They are an inter-dimensional empire, vastly larger and more complex than any organization on earth. Ever. Their conquests are eternal, omnipresent and very efficient. It's quite likely that the Universal Union is a lot bigger than we even know Out of Character. So why is it that, even once the human hero who was fabled to be capable of returning the world from oppression shows up, the force that once conquered the world is unable to do it once more? Why aren't they able to crush a ragtag resistance as efficiently as they crushed all of the world's militaries at once? Why do they rely on Overwatch Soldiers and MetroPolice Force units to keep the peace instead of simply sending in their massive biosynthetic creatures to ravage the earth as they once did?
But these seemingly inexplicable fallacies date even farther back. Why was it that they put a human leader, Wallace Breen, in charge of earth instead of giving the advisers direct control? They put a human in charge of every single city, humans kept the peace and humans root out the resistance for themselves. Not once since the Seven Hour War have the combine's true and full war machine set foot on earth, even when it was needed most. Why did they even keep humanity alive after the war? To provide resources? Surely the immense strength of some of the races the Combine have conquered would be much more efficient at this than humans would be. Was it simply too much work for them? Of course not; their enormous and somewhat plebian population could easily be coerced into doing it instead.
No, the explanation is much more complex. It's very rare to find a race with the cognitive abilities of Humanity. The ability to articulate a point, the ability to form a strategy. Only a few of the races the Combine have encountered are much more intelligent than animals. So whenever they do encounter one, and one that is not able to destroy things unarmed as the vortigaunts were, they are quite fascinated as to their potential uses. And, better yet, a race which stands on two legs? A race with prehensile hands? Humanity is extremely adaptable and versatile, yet somewhat innocuous in the face of a giant synth. Their ability to use logic and form plans makes them prime candidates for a leadership role, if a low-ranking one in comparison to the advisers or those higher ranked than them (if any exist). The number of uses for such a race are limitless.
There is a catch, however. An authoritarian interdimensional empire needs to retain a tight grasp, and should the humans prove too feisty, they may not be able to be used. To see whether or not this was to be the case, they organized a test. They would leave Wallace Breen, the one who surrendered to them, largely in charge of earth. He proved, as the conscience-less sociopath he was, to be an excellent leader. The MetroPolice Force was put in charge of street-level pacification in the cities, and did this quite well indeed. Their authoritarian tactics were at first somewhat confusing, but were later identified as progressive for the Universal Union's goals. Humanity was a promising race indeed, and perhaps they would find their place in the Combine Empire. Loyalists hoped to save the human race through co-operation with the combine, but yet another party emerged, one with a different philosophy...
The resistance was, in a way, more optimistic than the loyalists. They believed that the human race could be saved by directly and forcefully repulsing the combine from Earth. Due to the Combine wanting to let the humans sort things out for themselves, perhaps they'd have a chance. However, this became much more difficult with the better-equipped MetroPolice Force and more yet with the Overwatch Transhuman Arm involved. Both the loyalists and the rebels work to save the world, but end up equalizing one another out. The Combine cannot deem their experiment a success and make the earth more self-governing due to the ever-present resistance, and the resistance is unable to save the earth from Combine oppression due to their human support. If one side were to cease fighting, humanity would no longer be in peril of extinction. It is a cruel irony, the strong-headed nature of humanity. If something does not slide the conflict in one side's favor soon, humanity will likely be too much trouble for the Combine, and thus exterminated.
But what would it mean for humanity if the loyalists won? If the Combine were planning to destroy humanity, they would have done it long ago. So would they be enslaved? Some, maybe. But it was the human intellect and ability to articulate that intrigued the combine in the first place. A select few would likely serve as generals and local leaders. Most would remain lower class workers, but certainly better off than they are now. Once the resistance has been rooted out entirely, there will be no need to oppress them quite so much. However, life will not be easy. Many will be forcefully conscripted to the Combine's war machine, and there will be very little chance to raise beyond manual labor. Humanity will be forced to serve as workers for room and board alone, or conscripted as canonfodder. They will likely remain on earth for the most part, providing workers, resources and conscripted soldiers to the Combine's ever-growing war machine. They'll be just another outpost on the Combine's warpath. To the loyalists, this is a better alternative to being wiped out in a failed rebellion.
So both the loyalists and the rebellion work to save the human race, but one is a tad more pessimistic about humanity's capabilities. The fact that both sides work so diligently to thwart one another before they can achieve their goals is more of a risk to humanity's survival than anything else. The Combine are not villains. They are not intentionally trying to oppress and destroy just for the sake of doing so. As soon as an area no longer requires an iron grip (or is capable of instating that iron grip on itself, as was the case with earth), they will not hesitate to direct their resources elsewhere. Their interests do indeed make sense. They are not evil for the sake of being evil, they are evil for the sake of efficiency. If the human race, as a whole, is willing to deal with that, then they would surely survive. However, if humanity came together all at once and quickly removed the combine presence and their access to earth, they would raise both the risks and the rewards.
It is not good versus evil, but rather a safe life which is uncomfortable on the long term versus a short and brutal life to try and preserve the interests of humanity in the long run.
You decide, I'll help.
But these seemingly inexplicable fallacies date even farther back. Why was it that they put a human leader, Wallace Breen, in charge of earth instead of giving the advisers direct control? They put a human in charge of every single city, humans kept the peace and humans root out the resistance for themselves. Not once since the Seven Hour War have the combine's true and full war machine set foot on earth, even when it was needed most. Why did they even keep humanity alive after the war? To provide resources? Surely the immense strength of some of the races the Combine have conquered would be much more efficient at this than humans would be. Was it simply too much work for them? Of course not; their enormous and somewhat plebian population could easily be coerced into doing it instead.
No, the explanation is much more complex. It's very rare to find a race with the cognitive abilities of Humanity. The ability to articulate a point, the ability to form a strategy. Only a few of the races the Combine have encountered are much more intelligent than animals. So whenever they do encounter one, and one that is not able to destroy things unarmed as the vortigaunts were, they are quite fascinated as to their potential uses. And, better yet, a race which stands on two legs? A race with prehensile hands? Humanity is extremely adaptable and versatile, yet somewhat innocuous in the face of a giant synth. Their ability to use logic and form plans makes them prime candidates for a leadership role, if a low-ranking one in comparison to the advisers or those higher ranked than them (if any exist). The number of uses for such a race are limitless.
There is a catch, however. An authoritarian interdimensional empire needs to retain a tight grasp, and should the humans prove too feisty, they may not be able to be used. To see whether or not this was to be the case, they organized a test. They would leave Wallace Breen, the one who surrendered to them, largely in charge of earth. He proved, as the conscience-less sociopath he was, to be an excellent leader. The MetroPolice Force was put in charge of street-level pacification in the cities, and did this quite well indeed. Their authoritarian tactics were at first somewhat confusing, but were later identified as progressive for the Universal Union's goals. Humanity was a promising race indeed, and perhaps they would find their place in the Combine Empire. Loyalists hoped to save the human race through co-operation with the combine, but yet another party emerged, one with a different philosophy...
The resistance was, in a way, more optimistic than the loyalists. They believed that the human race could be saved by directly and forcefully repulsing the combine from Earth. Due to the Combine wanting to let the humans sort things out for themselves, perhaps they'd have a chance. However, this became much more difficult with the better-equipped MetroPolice Force and more yet with the Overwatch Transhuman Arm involved. Both the loyalists and the rebels work to save the world, but end up equalizing one another out. The Combine cannot deem their experiment a success and make the earth more self-governing due to the ever-present resistance, and the resistance is unable to save the earth from Combine oppression due to their human support. If one side were to cease fighting, humanity would no longer be in peril of extinction. It is a cruel irony, the strong-headed nature of humanity. If something does not slide the conflict in one side's favor soon, humanity will likely be too much trouble for the Combine, and thus exterminated.
But what would it mean for humanity if the loyalists won? If the Combine were planning to destroy humanity, they would have done it long ago. So would they be enslaved? Some, maybe. But it was the human intellect and ability to articulate that intrigued the combine in the first place. A select few would likely serve as generals and local leaders. Most would remain lower class workers, but certainly better off than they are now. Once the resistance has been rooted out entirely, there will be no need to oppress them quite so much. However, life will not be easy. Many will be forcefully conscripted to the Combine's war machine, and there will be very little chance to raise beyond manual labor. Humanity will be forced to serve as workers for room and board alone, or conscripted as canonfodder. They will likely remain on earth for the most part, providing workers, resources and conscripted soldiers to the Combine's ever-growing war machine. They'll be just another outpost on the Combine's warpath. To the loyalists, this is a better alternative to being wiped out in a failed rebellion.
So both the loyalists and the rebellion work to save the human race, but one is a tad more pessimistic about humanity's capabilities. The fact that both sides work so diligently to thwart one another before they can achieve their goals is more of a risk to humanity's survival than anything else. The Combine are not villains. They are not intentionally trying to oppress and destroy just for the sake of doing so. As soon as an area no longer requires an iron grip (or is capable of instating that iron grip on itself, as was the case with earth), they will not hesitate to direct their resources elsewhere. Their interests do indeed make sense. They are not evil for the sake of being evil, they are evil for the sake of efficiency. If the human race, as a whole, is willing to deal with that, then they would surely survive. However, if humanity came together all at once and quickly removed the combine presence and their access to earth, they would raise both the risks and the rewards.
It is not good versus evil, but rather a safe life which is uncomfortable on the long term versus a short and brutal life to try and preserve the interests of humanity in the long run.
You decide, I'll help.
