Stalkers from the Half-Life 2 universe. How hard is their fate??

As we dive into the game, along the way we meet various characters/NPCs who are, to one degree or another, important to the plot. There are those who have many lines and which can greatly influence the plot and leave an impression on us. And there are those who don’t seem to be around often, and don’t seem to utter a word. Yes, and it would seem that they do not affect the plot. But for some reason we are interested in their fate or their origin. Or maybe some of us wondered - “Why is he (she) here??»

I asked myself a similar question when I played Half-Life 2 for the first time . I think it’s clear from the title exactly who we’re talking about)

Thank you for reading)

I'm so glad you're interested in this blog! I will try to cover the topic fully.

So, we will talk about stalkers. But not about those whom some may think) Unfortunately (or fortunately) I know little about those)
I'll try to study the origin and history of stalkers from Half-life 2 .
Why do they look like this? Where did they come from?? What is their role in the Citadel? Well... Why is it so scary when looking at them??

All these questions were spinning in my head when I was a teenager and played for the first time. The resources to obtain the information I needed were not at hand. That is why this secret has been lurking in the corners of my memory for a long time. Until information began to appear on the Internet with which I briefly became acquainted. After all, for some reason I didn’t have enough courage or spirit to sit down and find out everything from beginning to end..?
Hmm, partly, probably yes. I think that during a certain period of childhood they not only frightened me greatly, but also greatly impressed me. I grew up a very impressionable child)

And over time, some fears gave way to others, triggers changed. But as it turns out, interest has not disappeared)

Let's start in order. Who are stalkers?

A stalker is a person who has undergone an unimaginable number of terrible experiments. Which turned it into a functional unit subordinate to the alliance.
A creature that meekly and mindlessly follows orders.
A creature whose way back is blocked in every possible way.

Is it a good thing that he won’t remember how he became like this?? Well, it's possible.
From the game's lore we can judge that these were ordinary people/rebels/residents of City-17, who in one way or another were disliked by the Alliance.

“This is what happens to those who try to fight... or are in the wrong place at the wrong time.»

Alyx https://sunriseslotscasino.co.uk/mobile-app/ Vance

How did they become like this??

You can read/watch various things about what experiments were carried out on people who fell into the hands of the alliance. Transformation from people to stalkers is carried out in Nova Prospekt.

“It used to be a maximum security prison... Now it’s something worse.”

Alyx Vance

As we dive into the game, we hear several hints about what this place is. And some statements can scare us not by their semantic content, but by the emotionality with which it was uttered:

“He almost took the express to Nova Prospekt!»

Barney Calhoun

That's what Barney Kleiner said.
From these and other phrases uttered by the characters throughout the game, we can conclude what might be going on in Nova Prospekt. Through interventions in the brain and nervous system, a person loses the ability to think and make decisions independently. His will, emotions, feelings, reason disappear. Yes, probably all the main things that distinguish him as a person. Further, the torturers watch as the victim loses the last shreds of similarity with a person, carrying out further their most terrible experiments on him and implanting various nanodevices and implants under the skin.

Appearance of the stalker

In addition to internal changes, strong external metamorphoses also occur. Because of which one can only remotely recognize the victim as a person. Their body is very emaciated, there are no muscles. Exactly like other parts of the body - shins, forearms, ears, nose, genitals. Individual characteristics that could be used to distinguish one from another have been removed. Full identity. Parts of the limbs that were removed were replaced with metal implants (prostheses). And they don't look like arms and legs at all. There are other implanted objects on their body - a forehead plate, a metal “hole” near the ribs and something like a belt.

The stalker moves very little and slowly. The stalker cannot pronounce any more or less articulate words and sentences. From his “mouth” the wildest muffled screams can sometimes come.

When the stalker first appears, the player does not quite understand which side this creature is on, because it does not seem to show direct aggression. It's like he doesn't even notice us. But his presence is repulsive and even frightening.

But still, what exactly? By your appearance? Or the fact that he seems to be watching and inactive? Or maybe. the realization that this creature was once human? Perhaps all together, or maybe everyone, is frightened by something specific in the stalker. But we must not forget about the effect uncanny valley. When we look at something or someone that was once a person, it can't help but evoke different emotions in us. Yes, I understand that many may say that the uncanny valley effect is a little different. But still, I believe that, purely on a psychological level, this applies here too.

What is the role of a stalker?

We smoothly move on to the purpose of the existence of stalkers. I should note right away that here I will touch on the events of Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One.

Judging by the few meetings with stalkers, we can conclude that after all the transformations they are “pawn workers” of the Alliance, the Citadel. They can be seen at control panels and terminals. They almost always seem to be pressing something, adjusting something under the strict guidance of Alliance soldiers. Mindlessly carry out orders.
But also, apparently, their body is capable of withstanding any radiation loads. After all, in Half-Life 2: Episode One they are in close proximity to the core. As I wrote above, their limbs were replaced with something resembling pins. Therefore, stalkers move on their own very little and slowly. Their longer movements both within the citadel and between locations are carried out using special capsules and high-speed trains. It is in one of these that we meet the stalker.

Intersections

We directly cross paths with the stalkers 4 times (if my memory serves me correctly). In addition to the appearance of a stalker once on the screen in one of the rooms of Nova Prospekt.
We first see them in the chapter “Our Patrons”, when we “travel” through the citadel. Here we can not only see them, but also notice what they are doing. Some are located at control panels/terminals, while others can be seen servicing (repairing) the stormtrooper.

The next time we cross paths with them is in Half-Life 2: Episode One, and one might even say we interact directly. One of the stalkers held a force field. When Alix tried to infiltrate, one of them activated a laser emanating from his "eyes". Here we learn that the stalker is actually not so unarmed. Alix eliminates him using a reprogrammed mine, clearing the way for us.

“Stalkers won’t touch us if we don’t touch them”

Alyx Vance

A little later, in the same episode, we meet them again when we are trying to stabilize the core. This is where we learn that stalkers are resistant to the radiation environment. And here they use their laser again.

Well, the last time, I would say probably the most emotional and revealing, happens on one of those very specialized trains that I wrote about above.

Alix and Gordon flee the citadel and board a train to quickly leave this place. But it turns out that they are not alone there. The heroes understand that there are stalkers in special capsules on this train with them. But they seem to be passed out, as if in some kind of amorphous state. Later, the train derails, a collapse occurs inside and at the same second the lights go out. The next moment we see Alix pressed against the wall by a capsule. And in this capsule there is a stalker who has woken up, who has apparently been destabilized. The stalker makes the most terrible uterine sounds, screams and seems to be trying to escape. Alix is ​​terrified. Thanks to the gravity gun, Gordon pulls the capsule away from Alyx, allowing her to escape.

Later, we realize how scared Alix was and remains. She is scared, but nevertheless one can feel her compassion for these people who have gone through cyclopean horror.

Completion

I like exploring the worlds and universes of my favorite games. Put everything into perspective and learn new things. I think that for many people the text will not reveal something completely new. Since the games came out quite a long time ago and there is quite a lot of information on the Internet)

I wanted to take the basic information and add my awareness/view of what can happen to an ordinary person in the world of the Half-life universe.
And how terrible it can be. After all, stalkers are doomed to this single existence until the end of their days.

Have you ever thought - How hard is their fate??

Still, I would like to end with the words of Ted Backman (the artist who created the stalker):

“The idea for the stalker came from wanting something that could crawl in the shadows and then jump at you. We took this crude idea and turned it into something more terrifying, because stalkers are, in fact, victims themselves. When you meet them, they appear as these semi-human entities that you can't help but sympathize with. I was hoping to put enough humanity into them so they wouldn't be just another scary monster. Instead they would present a moral dilemma every time you encountered them, which is a more interesting problem in my opinion. Dealing with a crazed hostage is much more terrifying than dealing with something that just wants to eat your brains.»

Ted Backman