Aliens/Lore

This page describes lore behind the aliens invading Earth. For information about mechanics of alien faction, see Aliens

NO SPOILERS WARNING This article refers to content which can ruin the experience of players that have not yet finished the game. Please refrain from adding any late-game information or other spoilers for at least the first month following the release of the game.

The Aliens/Defense Consensus
Ideology	Tame humanity
Description	PLACEHOLDER
Goal	PLACEHOLDER
Ideological Position
Leader
File:Sword.jpg
Name	Winter's Sword
Leader Title	War Master
Leader Quote	Greetings, faithful servant (Kneel, domestic animal). You are loved (you are nothing)

Aliens come from the Delta Pavonis system. In the past the Hydra were attacked and their homeworld destroyed by another alien race, the Salamanders. The surviving colonies managed to mind-control the Salamanders using their pherocytes. The Hydra decided that every other species has to be enslaved before it could become another threat. They have managed to conquer two other star systems: Zeta Tucanae and Alpha Mensae. One was the home of the Salamanders, the other was the home of the Griffins.

There are also non-sapient aliens. As alien councilors travel on Earth, they spread genetically engineered invasive flora, which negatively affects native population, and may grow into megafauna - a giant amalgamation of plant matter and flesh acting like hostile to all army. There are also alien dogs which are often used along alien armies for scouting, and may be domesticated even by human civilians.

The plan of Hydras is taking covert control of the human nations and using them to construct a network of orbital weapon platforms to keep them pacified. Then humanity can be used as a subservient race like the Salamanders.

Salamanders

Salamanders are alien species enslaved by hydras and used by them as shock troops. Before events of the game, they invaded hydra homeworld, killing all of its population, but were mind-controlled by the few survivors.

Recovered theropod alien corpse

Dead salamander

Initial examination of the body of this "Salamander," as this superficially reptilian creature has been dubbed, suggests a species either bred for war or born in the crucible of it. Its body is pure muscle and sinew, to such an extent that its tail alone could snap a human neck with ease, and protected by a hide tougher than many metals. Yet, for all its bestial aspect, it is — or was — intelligent enough to wield a firearm. This creature is visually frightening to our people; even as a corpse, it is deeply unsettling to behold.

It would be hard to envisage a more effective shock trooper than the Salamander — though the many livid scars which criss-cross this corpse's armored flesh may suggest that its kind do not perform this role entirely willingly.

Captured live theropod alien

Captured salamander

Beauty is not skin-deep, it is said — and neither, it would seem, is monstrosity. The captive Salamander demonstrates neither obvious fear nor compliance, instead bristling with barely-withheld aggression at all times. Yet this is clearly no animal; it watches carefully, choosing its moments and its actions carefully, never recklessly.

The Salamander is a chilling being to find oneself in the presence of — the coiled might of the thing, the eyes that emanate only cold hatred, and most of all the sense that it is patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike. If it is, as we suspect, a mere footsoldier in a war we do not yet wholly comprehend, it is nevertheless one more than capable of its own decision-making.

Device Demystified

Salamanders terrorizing a city

Our captive proved to be surprisingly cooperative on the matter, taking on the tone of someone delighted to be able to show off their knowledge of an obscure technical subject. The provenance of the device is indeed not the Hydras, as our researchers observed, but actually the salamanders which played such a tumultuous role in their history. The Hydra home system of Delta Pavonis was not the only victim of the salamanders’ paranoia, but it was one of the last before the Hydras’ retaliation ended their independence. In the aftermath of the salamanders’ subjugation, an extensive collection of mission profiles and targeting solutions were uncovered. Among them was a planet we know as Earth, orbiting Sol.

We now know the answer as to where the device came from and what its purpose was. According to our captive, it was only the first stage in a two-part mission, intended to function as a sort of “forward air controller” to guide the salamander weapon on its final approach to Earth. But the weapon was never launched - because the Hydras invaded first.

The knowledge that our species was almost completely annihilated on a whim by another alien species, if not for pure chance, has sent many of our researchers into a depressed stupor. Our Hydra captive, conversely, seems almost amused by this coincidence.

Griffins

Griffins are avian aliens enslaved by hydras. They are maladjusted for Earth's gravity, and usually stay on aliens' space assets.

Recovered avian alien corpse

Dead griffin

We have successfully retrieved the body of one of the creatures we have nicknamed "Griffins." A preliminary assessment confirms that it is an entirely different species to the aliens first encountered on Earth — as different from them as we humans are from, say, a dragonfly. Indeed, so thin and hollow are this alien's bones that it seems unlikely it even originated from the same planet as the other aliens. Most probably, it hails from a far lower-gravity environment, which would also explain how rarely this particular species has been sighted on Earth.

While the bone structure arguably invites comparison to avian life on our own world — hence the designation "Griffin" — the similarities end there. This creature is, in every sense of the word, alien.

Captured live avian alien

Captured griffin

Having recovered and performed initial assessment of a living "Griffin" creature, we have no doubt that this is a sapient species. An obvious intelligence glints in its otherworldly eyes — but also what looks for all the world like fear. Despite its grotesque appearance, it seems strangely cowed, even deferential in the presence of humans — flinching when we draw near, and showing no objection to any request we might make of it — those few that it understands, at least.

This behavior would seem to suggest that the creature is accustomed to following orders; whatever place the Griffin occupy in the alien hierarchy, it is surely not one of leadership.

Griffin count is referenced in hab variables in the game.

Alien dogs

Recovered alien war dog

War dog

The body of the creature we have, in the absence of words to better reflect this beast's frightful appearance, named a "War Dog," has been sent for further study. A pre-autopsy assessment has confirmed it to be non-sapient. The brain is small, encased within an unusually thick skull and, as with the canines for which it is named, its appendages would simply not be capable of operating tools or weapons.

The War Dog corpse does display some visible commonalities with what we have observed of the primary aliens, suggesting that they may originate from the same world, but this particular creature bears all the hallmarks of a subservient race. It is quite clearly a natural-born killer, and perhaps even an apex predator, but trained to obey — and to attack.

Xenoforming

Aliens use non-sentient life forms to terraform Earth. Eventually it turns into megafauna. Xenoflora is harmful for humans, but eventually the Servants find a way to negate its effects. Humanity First may genetically engineer animals that destroy it.

Alien life forms detected Scattered and garbled reports of unusual plantlife have now given way to confirmed sightings of vegetation never before seen on Earth. Strange growths have erupted from the affected land, connected by a pulsing lattice of tendril-like roots. Although this unknown flora appears superficially plant-like, its connected nature is more analogous to fungal growth. Furthermore, small movements have been detected among and around these growths, suggesting that whatever has been done to the local environment has enabled other, as yet undocumented, forms of alien life to survive here on Earth.

While these changes remain localized for now, the ultimate purpose of this "xenoforming" is as yet unclear. Do our visitors similarly require it for their own survival, it is to gain some strategic foothold, are they growing something else within the affected environments — or do they seek to transform our entire world into a simulacrum of theirs?

Alien Flora

There was a finite amount to be gleaned from our study of the vegetative lifeform we have dubbed 'xenoflora', but not a lack of trying. The issue is that we have thus far been unable to fully crack its genetic make-up, for elements thereof are so, for lack of a better word, alien as to be thoroughly inscrutable to us at the present time. Neither have we been able to divine any clues as to its origin, other than to say it is most certainly not of this Earth. While we have previously observed some correlation between xenoflora growth and alien crash sites, causation now seems highly probable.

Even its behavior supports this conclusion - it spreads faster than any terrestrial flora or even fungus, and with eerie, almost machine-like regularity. To suggest that the xenoflora has been in some way genetically altered - or even wholly designed - would not be an unreasonable hypothesis. If left unchecked, it could very likely colonize a region in record time, preventing the growth of all other flora. To what end we do not yet know. It would therefore be prudent to find a way to limit the organism's spread, whether through military or biological means.

Pretenders

Pretenders Residents of a town {targetRegionNameSentIn} are claiming that alien infiltrators are stalking the streets in human form.

It sounds far-fetched, but given the global situation, any reports of alien activity are worth investigating.

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uncovered xenofauna masquerading as humans

It was so subtle that our researchers working late at night almost missed it: one of the presumed pretenders was changing color and temperature to blend in with the houses in the background. Once we knew what we were looking for, we were able to isolate and round up all the pretenders without great incident. The townspeople are grateful for our efforts and can breathe a little easier now.

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Hallucinations

A thorough medical examination of the town's residents revealed that many of them displayed highly irregular activity in the frontal lobe and visual cortex. This suggests that these reports of so-called pretenders are nothing more than a mass hallucination. While the exact cause has yet to be fully determined, we can at least stand down the combat teams for now.

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uncovered xenofauna masquerading as humans

While the townspeople were waiting in line to be examined, we noticed a few individuals behaving suspiciously. When security personnel tried to escort them away for individual examination, they turned out to not be people at all, but rather some bizarre xenofauna with mimetic properties. Surprised, the guards opened fire and gunned the creatures down on the spot. The incident was shocking for the townspeople, but in a way it was a relief as well.

Indigo Dreams

Indigo dreams

Local criminal elements have devised a method of harvesting xenoflora and rendering it into a powdered form, with hallucinogenic effects beyond anything currently on the market. Uptake among the local population is already concerningly high as a result.

My Little Friend

Alien cat or something

A child {targetRegionNameSentIn} of {targetNationNameWithArticle} has befriended a small, adorable alien creature as a pet, and she and her friends kept it hidden for some time before her parents discovered it and contacted the authorities and the news media. It doesn't appear to present an obvious threat and seems to want to remain with the child, and the local community has rallied around the family.

Kaiju

Megafauna is a giant amalgamation of plant and animal matter that attacks civilians and destroys infrastructure.

The Initiative has access to unique technology which gives them a chance to control megafauna.

Alien Monsters

A new, and enormous, species of extraterrestrial has been detected on Earth.

Where previously the land altered by the alien visitors was almost eerily still, now mountainous and monstrous silhouettes move through the unearthly vegetation. There were, until now, still those who refuted the presence of extraterrestrial beings on our world, but the startling footage of these immense new entities is something to demolish the convictions of even the most staunch unbeliever.

Their titanic bulk blots out the light; the land trembles at their step. Trees and buildings are pushed aside as if they were tissue paper, or are uprooted by vast tendrils as if they were mere seedlings, and, even miles away, the very air seems to bend at their deafening cry. All the world knows it now: giants are among us.

A massive grouping of alien and Earth megafauna is rampaging across the {0} region of {1}, killing civilians and damaging infrastructure. Only a military intervention can stop it.

Defeated Alien Megafauna

We have begun investigations of the dead titanic extraterrestrial beast.

Initial examination of the creature's colossal carcass suggests that it is not a wholly independent entity, but is instead linked to the plant-like alien growth around them. Think of that strange vegetation as akin to the vast fungal network that grows beneath fecund woodland soil, and of these titans as the mushrooms push through to the surface. There the analogy stops, however, for these giants are not fungal in nature, and they are of course ambulatory — and extremely aggressive.

Their true nature is something of a mystery, for they appear to be some hybridization of flesh and vegetation — quite possibly the result of genetic tampering. This is borne out by the staggering speed at which they reach their enormous size. Our current working hypothesis is that they do not simply "grow," but are themselves part of the aliens' terraforming procedures. Effectively, nearby matter — soil, bedrock, plant and animal life — is absorbed in bulk, then rapidly transformed into creature mass.

While we cannot yet divine the exact nature of this process, one thing is clear: if left unchecked, an insurmountable number of these titans would soon stalk the Earth.