So, how 'bout that “Greater Master?”
you mean Nihilianth?
Read the Quotes. It would seem that the Nihilanth is the Lesser Master, and the Vorts are still enslaved by something, though the latter could just be a reference to the Combine.
Also, what’s with the “Miserable Rock” stuff?!
The way I interpreted it, they were referring to the Combine. The lesser master was the nihilanth, a Combine slave who had rallied the Vorts, controllers and grunts and escaped to Xen: a world of very little use to the resource-hungry Combine and thus the perfect place to bunker down, continue to produce Grunt synths developed by the Combine from vorts or some similar species (the similarities are there) and wait for the time to act.
At some point, though, HEV suited scientists from our own dimension started popping up and stealing their crystals and capturing specimens for study. There were instances of armed conflict: Scientists started bringing weapons with them and the US government formed the HECU and enlisted Black Ops to contain any outbreak should it occur. Once the resonance cascade finally ripped the fabric of reality the Xenians saw it, justifiably, either as another invasion and acted to defend their final stronghold or as an opportunity to move into some fine new real estate. This was probably an impulsive decision on the part of the nihilanth otherwise they would have been more cautious that their old masters or any other multidimensional colonists were paying attention (Referencing the Race X not as canon to support the hypothesis here but as a possibility of them becoming canon and still existing within the theory).
Of course the greater master could be the GMan. Apparently the Vorts and Gordon “serve the same mystery” but that could refer to anything: the vortessence, fate itself, the player in a bit of 4th wall breaking Valve slipped in there for the lulz. The point is to be mysterious and have the fans use up bandwidth debating it 
Plus I don’t think we can say much about the GMan until we’re given something more concrete.
To run with the alternate Earths thing (I used to watch Sliders, can you tell?) , It could be that the GMan’s employers are some interdimensional secret service attempting to control the multiverse. Gordon’s assignment during HL2 was to destabilize the Combine, a big multidimensional ‘superstate’ that was getting a bit too big for the status quo to tolerate. Dimensions are probably lost and retaken all the time and Gordon’s Earth was just a single spot in a huge game of Risk spanning the fabric of reality.
People like Gordon and Shephard and possibly thousands of others are just useful pawns to the GMan’s employers or any other groups that govern the multiverse that can bid high enough (one gets the feeling the Gman is a bit of a rogue element and his loyalties can certainly never be relied upon if his investments can no longer give returns). For all those people clamouring for Shephard’s return, for all we know he’s on some alternative world doing some further task as all part of this Great Game between different factions.
Of course the Vorts, being one with the vortessence and being fully aware of the scale of the multiverse, have decided to steal Gordon from the GMan and see to it that a mere destabilisation of the Combine becomes a full-on rebellion. They have a good thing going on here in this dimension, they get on with the native population, probably because they don’t tend to want to enslave them, and there’s as much headcrab as they can eat. So now they’re using the Freeman to ensure that stays so.
But the GMan has the ability to ‘adapt and survive against all odds’ so he’s no doubt found a way to work this change in plan to his own advantage and perhaps sees this backwater little dimension, this ‘miserable rock’ as being worth a lot more than the initial appraisal. This all depends on what happens during Episode 3 of course. :freeman:
That’s more or less accurate to what Mark Laidlaw has said himself.
Well, it’s pretty miserable isn’t it? Mankind was already wrecking it and then the Combine come and make things even worse.
Also, interesting idea Hazelwolf.
I must admit I share your opinion almost completely.
Ok, since I can’t find a single sentence I wouldn’t agree with, you can probably drop the “almost”.
Glad I meet the johnyo seal of approval 
Yeah, it more or less is agreeable. I can’t honestly say I read it thoroughly, though.
Now, how about we discuss the subject matter: Freeman’s connection with the Vortigaunts.
Anything in particular you wish to discuss. I get the feeling we’ll just cover old ground.
The interplay between Alyx and the Victory Mine Vortigaunt is interesting to note.
‘Our bonds are ones of nature, they require no gratitude.’
The vortigaunt view of the world is very social, probably born of being a hive mind and perceiving the world on a higher dimension than humanity. They view death as a transition to a peaceful state of being.
Yet his reaction when Alyx gives him a thank you kiss spoke volumes in its simplicity. A blink and a shake of the head. What could that indicate? Irritation? puzzlement? maybe a reaction to sensing an unfamiliar human emotion?
(in b4 someone mentions something to do with the Alyx Vance stimulating his ‘vort essence’ bow chicka wah-wah :fffuuu
Now, the question I want answered is why Gordon can’t shoot lighting. The Vorts say something about how “you are not so different from us, if only you would see it.”
I really hope he sees it in Episode 3. :awesome:
Because he has rubber boots.
For srs though I feel the vort was talking about transcendental matters rather than gameplay mechanics. plus, Gordon’s human. Shooting lightning is something we generally aren’t biologically adapted for. The only way Gordon’s going to be shooting lightning is if he found a shockroach.
Strictly speaking, I don’t think the vorts are quite at the level of a hive mind. Certainly they have a strong form of telepathy among them, good enough to send images to another vortigaunt, as evidenced by Alyx’s statement that sometimes vorts get sent to Nova Propekt and send pictures back, and binding enough that affinities and mannerisms can spread between them without contact, as evidenced by the Victory Mine’s use of Magnusson’s expression “What next in the parade of constant interruptions?” However, a hive mind in science fiction usually refers to a single consciousness sharing many bodies, which is not the case with the vortigaunts, who retain a good measure of individuality. A hive mind could also refer to a superorganism, which is defined as “a collection of agents which can act in concert to produce phenomena governed by the collective”, but that sort of term is generally attributed to organisms with very little intelligence of their own but that can accomplish complex tasks in great numbers. Vortigaunts, while communal, are quite intelligent themselves and do not seem to be exhibit greater intelligence in groups any more than humans do.
I agree with this. However, despite his physiology the All Knowing Vortigaunt says “We are a tapestry woven of Vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it.” This suggests that whatever power the vortigaunts tap into to use their abilities, such as telepathy and yes, electrical discharges, could also be used by humans if they knew how.
“What seems to you a sacrifice is merely, to us, an oscillation. We do not fear the interval of darkness.” On the wiki this quote was suggested to mean that vortigaunts might have the power to reincarnate in new bodies after death through use of the vortessence. I’m not sure that’s what was originally meant by the quote but it’s an interesting idea.
Good point. I was tired and hive mind felt like a good catch-all term, but your description sums them up much more accurately. It’s more like their society exists mostly on the telepathic level rather than the physical as humans do. They certainly seem to put greater emphasis on the community than the individual. The Bugbait Vort in HL2 refers to himself as “this one” and the concept of names, as humans understand them, seem to be a new thing. Uriah seems to have taken on a few mantels of individuality, probably to do with being in a position of honour.
It’s a possibility if the electrical abilities and Vortal manipulation stem from a higher mental state rather than anything biological, a channeling of the vortessence itself. Even so, although a portion of Ep3 spent as a Vortigordon, facing down advisors backed up with purple vorts blasting away with vortal energy, would be all kinds of win, I doubt it’ll come into play. Unless it were just a momentary thing for the game’s climax much like the super grav gun. It would make for an interesting option: the choice between the power of Science the Borealis offers or the power of the Vortessence.
:facepalm:
If you think you are funny you are wrong. You little crockroach eeeeh… gargantua. You are not going to win fans by doing such stupid things in this forums.
The idea is a good possibility but I think it’s more like that of they would like to die for honor if with their deads they can save someone or something.
Protip: look up the term “interval”
As forthe vortessence I don’t think it has anything to do with shooting lightning. That power seems to be more of a physical (biological) ability of the vorts (not unlike spitting acid for the antlion workers). I can’t remember the vorts ever using the lightning for any kind of ritual. IMO the vortessence is about what the vorts did at the start of ep1 and healing alyx in ep2. Apparently Gordon (or any human in general?) can also access the vortessence to some extent. Or maybe the quote just implies that all living beings share something in common. (this does not fly well with the “if only you would see it” part.) OOOOOOOOHHHHH! Gman uses the vortessence!!! So Gordon can do it too, he just doesn’t know how!
no, G-man does not use it, the vortessence is more telephatic and healing powers than teleporting and stop time ones… the G-man has other powers wich can be stopped for a while with the vortessence… When a vort uses the vortessence it turns purple/blue, I didn’t see any G-man purple/blue yet… Hell can you imagine him in those colors?
Source?
Source?
I guess you’re right here. Since he can manipulate the time?space in that state (showing different locations from the present and past and even blending them together) and don’t see how he could avoid turning purple (which, by the way, could be exclusive to vorts, thus voiding your argument completely.)
No source, from playing I have not seen any vort ussing vortessence for anything wich isn’t heal OR stop G-man.
You love avoid my arguments don’t you?
my sarcasm detector’s in the shop so I’m not sure if that’s what you’re being here. But meh, why not run with it. I suppose it comes down to what the vortessence actually is and whether it’s something specific to the Vortigaunt psychic interconnection or if it’s simply their name for the life force of the multiverse that connects all living and sentient creatures, much in the same way ‘humane’ refers to the ideal of fair and ethical treatment which is not necessarily unique to human beings. The overwiki seems to go with the latter.
In which case it’s very likely that the GMan uses the same principles to interact and control Gordon. How that has any bearing on his implied time travelling and use of portals is uncertain, but the Vorts do make mention of being able to perceive moments in time simultaneously, seeing gordon both in the present and in the nihilanth’s chamber. So time and space when perceived within the context of the vortessence become one in the same so it could be that the GMan uses the same principle.
The purple? probably something specific to the Vorts or something mystical and sciencey. It’s very unlikely that the GMan’s actual appearance, whatever that may be, is in any way like the grey-toned human we are accustomed to so it’s likely it’s all a deception to allow him to appear unnoticed to humans and to keep his true nature hidden. In which case he can appear however he wants when using the vortessence if that’s what it is. He seems to have a thing for negative shading