Alien Controller
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| Alien Controller | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Affiliation | |
| Type |
Controller |
| Personal information | |
| Weapon(s) |
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| Game information | |
| Entity |
monster_alien_controller |
| Designer(s) | |
An Alien Controller or simply a Controller (also known as a Xen Master) was a levitating Xen creature, closely resembling the Nihilanth. They were not seen in the Black Mesa Research Facility until Gordon Freeman was about to teleport to Xen where they were encountered in full force. Gina Cross and Colette Green saw them more frequently in the facility, during moments of increased resonance displacement activity.
[edit] Overview
The Controllers share many characteristics with the other Xen creatures, especially the Nihilanth, suggesting that they are a related species. Like these other sentient creatures on Xen, the Controllers had a third vestigial arm growing from the center of their thorax. In addition to this, the Controllers had disproportionately large heads, which could peel open to reveal an apparently mechanical spike or cone, resembling the interior of the Nihilanth's skull. Unlike the Nihilanth, the Controllers had longer legs and were able to levitate without the assistance of a mechanical seat. It is unknown whether this ability stems from their strange psychokinetic powers, or from their seemingly mechanical parts.
They attack by firing multiple spheres of electrical energy (resembling ball lightning) from their hands, in the same way as the Nihilanth. They can also fire an energy ball from their head that is larger, more powerful and has a slight homing ability.
Controllers are usually encountered near places where Vortigaunts are made to work. They seem to have had an unspoken influence over the Vortigaunts, making them fight or toil at a whim. This might indicate that the Controllers share a limited version of Nihilanth's psychic enslaving power or act as an intermediary conduit, although their exact role in the hierarchy is unknown.
Several theories about the Controllers existence in Xen and similarities to the Nihilanth have been created by Half-Life fans. The most common one is that Controllers may be younger or smaller versions of the Nihilanth's species, or similarly that the Nihilanth may be a unique mutant form of a Controller, which gained power over its brethren Controllers.
It has been suggested by Marc Laidlaw that the Controllers may have simply died out after Nihilanth's death.[1]
[edit] List of appearances
- Half-Life (First appearance)
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life: Decay
