Origins of the Locust - A study of the Lambent, the Sires, the Locust and Myrrah

[Artiodactyl]

Great read!

[Criminologgy]

Wow, I suspected a few things myself but this goes so in depth its great, amazing thread, thanks for taking your time to write this out OP, its appreciated

[Amphedark]

In response to Joveus - I think I just solved the case.

I did have an extremely long post completely explaining every detail, but the internet browser just raped it from my hands. *sigh* Anyways, I was doing a lot of research on real-life mutagens and teratogens to get some insight on the issue. Please bear with me if it sounds dreadfully simplified.

Essentially, Sires are what happen to males infected with Imulsion and Berserkers are what happen to females, hence why they lobotomize females for breeding in the Hollow. It's basically a berserker (an infected female), but she's obviously much more docile. Drones/Kantus were selectively bred to be controlled mutations, keeping the desirable traits and leaving the undesirable. Mutation essentially passes on to any future generations, and if an infected miner had a child, the child would have the same degree of genetic mutation as their parent. As a result, the child would be infected by Lambency at birth. If a Locust/Sire mated with an infected human/Berserker, it would be Locust by birth - likely retaining many of the mutated characteristics of the father.

This explains why corpsers can still breed, and give birth to corpsers, for example. They are still very much mutant, but they are so genetically advanced through the generations that they are now a completely unique species.

Tai would've either been killed or turned into a Sire, one can assume. Being that a Sire is useless to them, they probably would've killed him.

As for the quote from Jim Brown, I was almost 1000% sure this was the case prior to getting any inside knowledge - the Lambent all communicate with the central super-organism, just as the Queen communicates with her Locust. Do you know where you saw this?

[Joveus]

As for the quote from Jim Brown, I was almost 1000% sure this was the case prior to getting any inside knowledge - the Lambent all communicate with the central super-organism, just as the Queen communicates with her Locust. Do you know where you saw this?

From a thread about how RAAM and Myrrah communicated during RAAM's Shadow. There was a phase shortly after Gears 3 released when some of the Gears developers would post in threads explaining some of the more obscure details of the lore. Most of them are in my third post detailing "Nashtygate".

I was intended to be a "hive mind" communication of sorts. Hence the effect along the edges of the screen when she's talking.

[Amphedark]

From a thread about how RAAM and Myrrah communicated during RAAM's Shadow. There was a phase shortly after Gears 3 released when some of the Gears developers would post in threads explaining some of the more obscure details of the lore. Most of them are in my third post detailing "Nashtygate".

Awesome! Finally we have some material evidence of the Locust's "telepathy", so to say. That makes me a very happy person... I'm still not entirely sure about the whole Locust baby thing, though. Because of their behavior, one would suspect something like the Skaarj almost instantly. They live in a "hive", they have a Queen, the workers are Drones.

It makes me think back to that far-fetched wretch theory again, I don't know why... the whole Skaarj turning from pupae thing, perhaps. I just can't throw out the fact that wretches scream like Kantus, look humanoid, and explode bigger than any of the smaller Lambent... barring drudges, of course. What significance does that have? I just cannot seem to stamp out the offspring question, no matter how hard I try.

There are kryll, wretches, nemacytes, shriekers, heart leeches, tickers, rock shrews, and... well, those are pretty much our options. None of those sound like a Locust offspring to me, except for a wretch. Unless the Locust just pop out of holes in the ground... *cough*... then we've probably already seen their children somehow. Do you think they grow up extremely fast, or what?

Then again, I will admit that Kryll are decisively extremely mysterious, can be controlled by RAAM, and were scheduled to appear in Gears of War 2... but I can't really see them being young Locust.

It's clearly stated that drones are bred to be bloodthirsty killers. Where the devil do they come from? Or maybe Locust offspring would be too close to children for a violent video game? I have no idea.

[Sir Wonderboy]

You are a genius. The most interesting/entertaining and informative post I have read on these forums. All questions answered, the code is cracked, and thank you for all the apparent hard work you put in to studying this.

[Towel]

From a thread about how RAAM and Myrrah communicated during RAAM's Shadow. There was a phase shortly after Gears 3 released when some of the Gears developers would post in threads explaining some of the more obscure details of the lore. Most of them are in my third post detailing "Nashtygate".

If she could speak through telepathy, there wouldn't have been any need for the microphones in Gears of War 2. Again, another mistake through out the gears series.

[Amphedark]

If she could speak through telepathy, there wouldn't have been any need for the microphones in Gears of War 2. Again, another mistake through out the gears series.

Technically, that could be the same idea as a cult leader burning a message into their minds. Telepathy is more complicated than that.

[DragonzZilla]

I don't think it's telepathy in a traditional sense. I think that band on the back of RAAM's head is a form of receiver for electronic signals sent by Myrrah. His vision getting cloudy makes it so he knows he should be paying attention.

[Amphedark]

I don't think it's telepathy in a traditional sense. I think that band on the back of RAAM's head is a form of receiver for electronic signals sent by Myrrah. His vision getting cloudy makes it so he knows he should be paying attention.

Also a very good possibility - or it might just be an amplifier.

[GeneralGreasy]

As a result, the child would be infected by Lambency at birth. If a Locust/Sire mated with an infected human/Berserker, it would be Locust by birth - likely retaining many of the mutated characteristics of the father.

By "infected human" do you mean a Sire or a human who has been contaminated by Imulsion? If it's the latter, then it would coincide with a rather disturbing yet interesting theory by Senator Ivy a few pages back that Drones rape human females or something like that, like a birthing creche.

[Amphedark]

By "infected human" do you mean a Sire or a human who has been contaminated by Imulsion? If it's the latter, then it would coincide with a rather disturbing yet interesting theory by Senator Ivy a few pages back that Drones rape human females or something like that, like a birthing creche.

Yes indeed I did imply that, as disturbing as that seems. It would basically be a berserker, for all intents and purposes... except lobotomized, so she wouldn't care.

...if that's even how Locust reproduce? *sigh*

DAMN THIS ENIGMATIC SPECIES!

[Joveus]

Personally I think there's minimal connection between the Wretches and the Kantus, though their similar shouting abilities may share a common origin. Brumak's are genetically altered apes, and Wretches are referred to by Ben Carmine as "monkey-dogs" (how can someone be ignorant of Wretches 14 years into the war? That's the biggest mystery...) which may not be too far off the mark. I think Wretches are mutated monkeys; partially because they share the three-toed structure the Brumak and Kantus do, and that lends itself nicely to the idea that all primates follow similar genetic mutation - and partially because they are found inside the sealed areas of New Hope behind the big locked door. Since the Locust haven't blown their way in through the back yet, the only way they can be there is if they were already there. Monkeys are used in trials when something is going to be used on humans (yup, I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and I think the first Wretches were created at New Hope along with the Sires. Later on other creatures were experimented on - dogs, apes, uhh... krakens - and somewhere along the way they stopped trying to cure the mutation and started deliberately causing it.

All this raises two questions in my mind (one of which I've mused about in this thread somewhere);

1 - If the Wretches in New Hope have been there since the beginning, how long do Locust lifeforms live? (Joveus' answer = Long times!)
2 - What exactly happened to the New Hope scientists? Did they become sterile through imulsion exposure themselves? Is that why Myrrah seems to be the only human with the Horde? Is she the only one left because the scientists themselves struggled to have kids? It would explain a lot about her, no wonder she considered the Locust to be her family.

Myrrah calls the Locust her "children" (just like Niles did) and the Trinity of Worms says "the Queen makes Drones" (just like Niles did). I really don't think Locust breeding has changed too much in the last century.

[Mysterion Rises]

Personally I think there's minimal connection between the Wretches and the Kantus, though their similar shouting abilities may share a common origin. Brumak's are genetically altered apes, and Wretches are referred to by Ben Carmine as "monkey-dogs" (how can someone be ignorant of Wretches 14 years into the war? That's the biggest mystery...) which may not be too far off the mark. I think Wretches are mutated monkeys; partially because they share the three-toed structure the Brumak and Kantus do, and that lends itself nicely to the idea that all primates follow similar genetic mutation - and partially because they are found inside the sealed areas of New Hope behind the big locked door. Since the Locust haven't blown their way in through the back yet, the only way they can be there is if they were already there. Monkeys are used in trials when something is going to be used on humans (yup, I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and I think the first Wretches were created at New Hope along with the Sires. Later on other creatures were experimented on - dogs, apes, uhh... krakens - and somewhere along the way they stopped trying to cure the mutation and started deliberately causing it.

All this raises two questions in my mind (one of which I've mused about in this thread somewhere);

1 - If the Wretches in New Hope have been there since the beginning, how long do Locust lifeforms live? (Joveus' answer = Long times!)
2 - What exactly happened to the New Hope scientists? Did they become sterile through imulsion exposure themselves? Is that why Myrrah seems to be the only human with the Horde? Is she the only one left because the scientists themselves struggled to have kids? It would explain a lot about her, no wonder she considered the Locust to be her family.

Myrrah calls the Locust her "children" (just like Niles did) and the Trinity of Worms says "the Queen makes Drones" (just like Niles did). I really don't think Locust breeding has changed too much in the last century.

So how would u say locust breed? Something I'm still not 100% on as well as "processing" please explain joveus

[Joveus]

So how would u say locust breed? Something I'm still not 100% on as well as "processing" please explain joveus

Alright, here is one of my own quotes from page 12 of this thread;

Two things I'll clarify;

First, depending on the evolution of imulsion, the mutagenic effect on humans give the following outcomes;

100 years ago - Humans --> Sires
Present day - Humans --> Formers

It doesn't go Humans --> Sires --> Formers. As imulsion evolves over the years, the result of human mutation does too. Like it says, "Adam suspected they weren’t linear stages of the same thing but evidence that imulsion was evolving, diversifying just like the first life on Sera had done.”

Secondly, Myrrah does make Drones, but it doesn't go;

Human + Processing = Drone

Instead it's more like;

Human + Processing = Lobotomized, braindead human.
Lobotomised braindead human + controlled imulsion exposure = Lobotomised braindead Lambent human.
Lobotomised braindead Lambent humans + artifical biotechnological breeding program = Drones.

It's complex, and it's time consuming. That's why it's taken so long for the Locust to make the final push into Ephyra. They lost way too many lives on E-Day, everything since then has been trying to recoup their losses while fighting on two fronts.

That is based on the breadcrumbs of information that have been provided. The specifics of Processing and Locust breeding are never delved into in any greater capacity and I don't like filling in the gaps with my own creations, I prefer to wait for the next breadcrumb to come along and be added to the... loaf.

With that in mind I'm experiencing a sense of Deja Vu. Haven't we had this same discussion before? Two or three times...?

[Amphedark]

Lobotomised braindead Lambent humans + artifical biotechnological breeding program = Drones.

You've explain that theory before, I'm just wondering where exactly these kind of devices might've been? Why we never saw anything like that? Do you think it was just overlooked?

With that in mind I'm experiencing a sense of Deja Vu. Haven't we had this same discussion before? Two or three times...?

Just trying to come to clear conclusion on all of this... they obviously have the ability to multiply relatively quickly, but do you think there's a larvae or infant stage involved?

Also if I might point this about Myrrah- she has a slight accent akin to Niles.

[Joveus]

You've explain that theory before, I'm just wondering where exactly these kind of devices might've been? Why we never saw anything like that? Do you think it was just overlooked?

We've already seen most of it. We saw the coffins that prisoners are put in, we saw the barges and torture areas (especially in Road to Ruin) where the actual Processing takes place, and we already know lobotomy is the final step of breaking the human mind - as seen in the tiny text. We've seen the Processed building more of Nexus, the only thing we haven't seen is the actual birthing which I assume would involve artificial insemination and a controlled environment, since Processed humans are going to be in no state to take care of themselves, let alone give birth. Hence my comparison to Prescott's breeding farms, I always wondered if that was an intentional thing - a "who are the real monsters?" moment.

Just trying to come to clear conclusion on all of this... they obviously have the ability to multiply relatively quickly, but do you think there's a larvae or infant stage involved?

As said before, I don't think they have the ability to multiply any faster than we do. It took 15 years after E-Day before the Locust had enough manpower to launch a full assault against Jacinto - just enough time to kidnap millions of people on or near E-Day, breed them, raise their offspring, and "restock their menagerie" as Prescott says.

It's been on my mind a while, although I've never thought in depth about it, but is there any relation between the struggles to breed and the type of birth? Humans, Locust, mice - all are live birth. Corpsers, Serapedes - both are eggs and laid in large clutches. I don't know if there's a connection there, or maybe if it's simply the fact that those that have been seen to breed lay such a large number of eggs that those that don't hatch aren't as noticeable. It may well be that there is a decline there, too.

Also if I might point this about Myrrah- she has a slight accent akin to Niles.

Yes, that was very noticeable. I always entertained the idea that Myrrah is his direct descendant - his child or grandchild. That would make her Myrrah Samson if she actually thought a family name was something she wanted to have. Did you also notice Niles was the AI running Professor Elliot's lab in Judgment? Very small appearance, don't know if that's anything substantial or not...

[Amphedark]

We've already seen most of it. We saw the coffins that prisoners are put in, we saw the barges and torture areas (especially in Road to Ruin) where the actual Processing takes place, and we already know lobotomy is the final step of breaking the human mind - as seen in the tiny text. We've seen the Processed building more of Nexus, the only thing we haven't seen is the actual birthing which I assume would involve artificial insemination and a controlled environment, since Processed humans are going to be in no state to take care of themselves, let alone give birth. Hence my comparison to Prescott's breeding farms, I always wondered if that was an intentional thing - a "who are the real monsters?" moment.

I guarantee that was intentional... just as with Berserkers being raped by drones, it's essentially the same exact idea here. Technically, a drone could probably mate with a processed human... I suppose that's a possibility too. If you think about it, if a berserker is just a mutated female, wouldn't an infected female roughly equate to the same kind of creature? Especially if the father was full Locust.

The thing about the Locust though is that they throw themselves mindlessly at an enemy... I'd think if they bred as slowly as humans, they would burn themselves out really fast. The introduction cinema in Gears 2 of the giant drone army beneath Skorge makes me think that Locust are very capable in terms of numbers, almost all the time... this is why they are used as cannon fodder, because they breed and/or grow up so quickly. If their race was dying from this strategy, wouldn't they make it point to create more elite units? Less emphasis on numbers? Even by Gears 3 it seems like they are insanely numerous, and that's after probably more than three quarters of their species was drowned. Granted, they employed the Queen's Guard for elite strikes, but the numbers that attacked Anvil Gate and Azura were ridiculous for a species that can't breed. Granted, they are a warrior species, but even then... humans would not be able to throw men around so haphazardly, towards an inevitable death.

Every death is a hindrance to humans, but clearly not to Locust. They act like insects, almost. They have strength in numbers, not quality over quantity, necessarily. How can this be so?

I suppose technically you could argue that they closely guard their females like Dwarves. xD That might actually be the case. *shrugs*

Honestly, I think they purposefully left it really vague. We never see babies, but that might be because Nexus was under attack by the Lambent. It does show Tickers spreading like natural pests, and corpsers/giant serapedes can obvious reproduce comfortably enough to survive. While the Queen was likely implementing a strategy to assist their numbers, I don't necessarily think sterility is a key problem for them... otherwise, they would not be able to fight like the Locust do. Every death in a battle would be a huge loss, but they clearly don't care about that.

Tickers spread like rabbits, from what I can see. xD Also, technically, the Locust might be able to turn humans into drones through controlled exposure. It's never been shown or proven, but Tai was there for a reason, I think. He was pretty well Lambent, judging by his eye color.

In the end though, we may never know!

[Joveus]

Adam compares Myrrah and the Locust to a termite colony, it's up to you how far you take that analogy. Regarding the possibilities when it comes to breeding, technically anything could mate with anything - it all comes down to humans with varying levels of imulsion mutation. If it wasn't for the horrific personality changes and uncontrollable rage issues, you could technically breed a Sire with a Former - assuming you can get them both to stay still for long enough, prevent them from mauling everything and stop the Former from exploding.

The truth, the honest truth, is that the Gears of War story was never developed in this level of depth. The Locust were always meant to be former humans who were mutated by imulsion (see the Dave Nash comment from 2006 in the main posts) but developing the specifics of that were something that wasn't really focused on. It's not perfect but, hey, it works. Many don't like it but I find the history of the Locust and the Lambent fascinating, it raises questions about morality and evolution and good and evil. There's nothing more boring to me than an evil villain who is evil and wants to destroy everything because they are evil and want to destroy everything.

And before I forget I'll explain the Lambent Eevee analogy. I don't know my Pokemon too well but take one Eevee and add a water stone and you get a water Eevee, or add a fire stone and you get a fire Eevee. I think there are five or six different things Eevee can become depending on how it evolves. The Locust are the same, assuming that New Hope actually made some headway and Myrrah isn't just doing a lucky dip every time she makes something. Take one human, add varying amounts of imulsion exposure depending on what you want the outcome to be, and breed. Let simmer for 9 months, and behold your Locust result - just a pinch of imulsion exposure on your human slave and you get another Drone, take a risk and turn your human into a something approaching full Lambent and you get a Kantus.

It probably can't be controlled anything at all like that, but you get the idea.

[Mysterion Rises]

Yes, that was very noticeable. I always entertained the idea that Myrrah is his direct descendant - his child or grandchild. That would make her Myrrah Samson if she actually thought a family name was something she wanted to have. Did you also notice Niles was the AI running Professor Elliot's lab in Judgment? Very small appearance, don't know if that's anything substantial or not...

I have always believed she was related to Niles correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Niles also visit Azura?

[Joveus]

I have always believed she was related to Niles correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Niles also visit Azura?

Yes, the original PA system had his voice just like Professor Elliot's lab. I guess having your own Niles recorded PA would be like having Einstein himself telling you what time the crepes are being served and not to go outside when the Maelstrom is bringing Armageddon down upon the island again. Neither are AIs, just recorded lines, and the Niles PA at Azura was changed to the woman we hear in Gears 3 for some reason after Adam Fenix moved there.

Azura is a good comparison to Nexus. Both were started by the COG, and both started with low population numbers. Prescott says that despite Niles' cheerleading, the population of Sera couldn't be built from the population of Azura alone. After moving to Nexus Niles must have realised that himself. My main questions regards the Locust expansion plans - is this something Niles advocated himself in his later life, or something Myrrah did on her own after she became the last remaining human and couldn't solve the Lambency issue on her own. My instincts point me toward the latter - "the Queen makes Drones" only makes sense if Myrrah is Queen to begin with, and I doubt Myrrah would have assumed leadership of the Locust if there was anyone else around to contest it.

[Amphedark]

Adam compares Myrrah and the Locust to a termite colony, it's up to you how far you take that analogy. Regarding the possibilities when it comes to breeding, technically anything could mate with anything - it all comes down to humans with varying levels of imulsion mutation. If it wasn't for the horrific personality changes and uncontrollable rage issues, you could technically breed a Sire with a Former - assuming you can get them both to stay still for long enough, prevent them from mauling everything and stop the Former from exploding.

The truth, the honest truth, is that the Gears of War story was never developed in this level of depth. The Locust were always meant to be former humans who were mutated by imulsion (see the Dave Nash comment from 2006 in the main posts) but developing the specifics of that were something that wasn't really focused on. It's not perfect but, hey, it works. Many don't like it but I find the history of the Locust and the Lambent fascinating, it raises questions about morality and evolution and good and evil. There's nothing more boring to me than an evil villain who is evil and wants to destroy everything because they are evil and want to destroy everything.

And before I forget I'll explain the Lambent Eevee analogy. I don't know my Pokemon too well but take one Eevee and add a water stone and you get a water Eevee, or add a fire stone and you get a fire Eevee. I think there are five or six different things Eevee can become depending on how it evolves. The Locust are the same, assuming that New Hope actually made some headway and Myrrah isn't just doing a lucky dip every time she makes something. Take one human, add varying amounts of imulsion exposure depending on what you want the outcome to be, and breed. Let simmer for 9 months, and behold your Locust result - just a pinch of imulsion exposure on your human slave and you get another Drone, take a risk and turn your human into a something approaching full Lambent and you get a Kantus.

It probably can't be controlled anything at all like that, but you get the idea.

Yeah, I had gathered as much from my research on real-life mutation and mutagens - meaning that Locust and Humans are technically still the same species. Being the same species, they can, in theory, interbreed and produce fertile offspring, who will take on the mutated traits of the parents through heredity.

I've been fascinated with the Locust since Gears of War 1, honestly... I had assumed they were mutants or hybrids all along, considering their obviously humanoid appearance, but it wasn't until about 2 or 3 that I had put Imulsion properly into the picture as a parasitic mutagen. Being that Imulsion itself is essentially a parallel to oil, and that humanity fought a 79 year war for it, it's obvious that there was a political statement to be found in the series. When I found that humanity had actually created the Locust, it was pretty obvious what was going on. Greed turns men into monsters in the face of constant conflict, literally, and they attempt to hide it away like a dirty little secret.

Ironically, that little secret didn't stay hidden. Now, the sons have to atone for the sins of the father, because the Locust basically annihilate everything we know and love. We created something worse than our own warlike species, and it was because of our warlike nature and lust for power that they even exist. We would rather hide that Imulsion is a monstrously horrible thing for the sake of economy, and risk the lives of thousands inevitably exposed. And THEN, we find out that the money we were fighting for was actually the root of all evil right in front of our faces all along. A parasitic alien organism bent on consuming our entire planet, killing all of us and absorbing us like a cell.

If you can't see the obvious implications in that, you clearly don't have a mind for symbolism. I love that kind of basis... it's basically kind of like Resident Evil, which it was based on (and I love just as much). Not to mention, it was Epic with their awesome creature design... if they were ape-like like the concept art had originally depicted, it would've lost that freakish, monstrous nature. No, they weren't apes... they were feral and reptilian, with razor sharp teeth, pale skin, and scales. Essentially, they were complete bestiality embodied into a monster... a monster we'd eventually find is ironically closely related to zombies (which I love... in fiction, that is).

Essentially, they were all the coolest ideas for monsters thrown into a single creature. That rabid, razor-sharp teeth style monster (which you can see obviously in the Crimson Omen), is the kind of monster that I adore.

[Joveus]

Greed turns men into monsters in the face of constant conflict, literally, and they attempt to hide it away like a dirty little secret.

Ironically, that little secret didn't stay hidden. Now, the sons have to atone for the sins of the father, because the Locust basically annihilate everything we know and love. We created something worse than our own warlike species, and it was because of our warlike nature and lust for power that they even exist. We would rather hide that Imulsion is a monstrously horrible thing for the sake of economy, and risk the lives of thousands inevitably exposed. And THEN, we find out that the money we were fighting for was actually the root of all evil right in front of our faces all along.

And thus do every single one of Myrrah's monologues become clear, and her motivations and world view understandable.

[Amphedark]

And thus do every single one of Myrrah's monologues become clear, and her motivations and world view understandable.

It all makes perfect sense. We created these monsters and then threw them away, essentially... it seems only fitting that they return to annihilate us.

[Mysterion Rises]

Yes, the original PA system had his voice just like Professor Elliot's lab. I guess having your own Niles recorded PA would be like having Einstein himself telling you what time the crepes are being served and not to go outside when the Maelstrom is bringing Armageddon down upon the island again. Neither are AIs, just recorded lines, and the Niles PA at Azura was changed to the woman we hear in Gears 3 for some reason after Adam Fenix moved there.

Azura is a good comparison to Nexus. Both were started by the COG, and both started with low population numbers. Prescott says that despite Niles' cheerleading, the population of Sera couldn't be built from the population of Azura alone. After moving to Nexus Niles must have realised that himself. My main questions regards the Locust expansion plans - is this something Niles advocated himself in his later life, or something Myrrah did on her own after she became the last remaining human and couldn't solve the Lambency issue on her own. My instincts point me toward the latter - "the Queen makes Drones" only makes sense if Myrrah is Queen to begin with, and I doubt Myrrah would have assumed leadership of the Locust if there was anyone else around to contest it.

Even though the beast rider found Azura do u believe myrrah already knew about it

[iM x SOVEREIGN]

7:18am on a Monday morning... My mind is absolutely blown! AMAZING THREAD!

[Towel]

People are looking into this too much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is08Fon2Qsw

If you think gears of war is complex, watch this. I wanted to love the story, then gears 3 happened which just left questions open because the writers couldn't fit their idea of the story in with established canon.

Excuse the moment at 3:15

[Mysterion Rises]

People are looking into this too much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is08Fon2Qsw

If you think gears of war is complex, watch this. I wanted to love the story, then gears 3 happened which just left questions open because the writers couldn't fit their idea of the story in with established canon.

Excuse the moment at 3:15

I believe people do look too much into the story but if u have read the novels u will know the story is fantastic but unfortunately epic didn't do a good job explaining the main points of anvil gate and coalitions end in gears 3 so basically if u haven't read those novels u won't understand most of the things that's going on especially the lambent

Hence the reasons why this thread was started

[Amphedark]

People are looking into this too much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is08Fon2Qsw

If you think gears of war is complex, watch this. I wanted to love the story, then gears 3 happened which just left questions open because the writers couldn't fit their idea of the story in with established canon.

Excuse the moment at 3:15

I don't really think we're looking into it "too much," per se... I just think the details were essentially so vague that nobody is actually sure what the original meaning was. Considering how the series panned out, I imagine the story in Gears 1 was drastically different than 2 and so on... hence why there was so much retconning and such. Essentially, I think they had a lot of cool ideas, but weren't entirely sure how to make a game out of it. In the end, we have a lot of theories, a lot of extremely vague details, and a machine that magically solves the entire game's conflict.

That being said, it doesn't make the story crappy... just vague. That vagueness allows for a lot of personal input, and I actually kind of like that they did it in such a way. If you don't like this, then it doesn't have to be this, it can be that - if you prefer.

[Towel]

I don't really think we're looking into it "too much," per se... I just think the details were essentially so vague that nobody is actually sure what the original meaning was. Considering how the series panned out, I imagine the story in Gears 1 was drastically different than 2 and so on... hence why there was so much retconning and such. Essentially, I think they had a lot of cool ideas, but weren't entirely sure how to make a game out of it. In the end, we have a lot of theories, a lot of extremely vague details, and a machine that magically solves the entire game's conflict.

That being said, it doesn't make the story crappy... just vague. That vagueness allows for a lot of personal input, and I actually kind of like that they did it in such a way. If you don't like this, then it doesn't have to be this, it can be that - if you prefer.

I am just bitter because i wanted to engage in all these theories and ideas of the Locust. I loved the entire gears of war franchise and i do know about the books and the content within them. I'm just deeply saddened that Epic handled it the way they did and i truly think they didn't care about their story as much as we do. Hence why i think this theory is so overarching and makes no sense. Shouldn't have to retcon things so much.

[Shibboleth]

I am just bitter because i wanted to engage in all these theories and ideas of the Locust. I loved the entire gears of war franchise and i do know about the books and the content within them. I'm just deeply saddened that Epic handled it the way they did and i truly think they didn't care about their story as much as we do. Hence why i think this theory is so overarching and makes no sense. Shouldn't have to retcon things so much.

What is it about the story you don't like? Is it the origin of the Locust or is it all the little things like the mk 2 lancer being in Judgment before it was invented? When it comes to the Locust origins I see a lot of the opposing camp saying "retcon" or "it still doesn't make sense" but the comments from the devs, especially that Dave Nash one from 2006, really indicate that it was all planned. Well, maybe not "all" planned, but at least the Locust/Lambent/Imulsion history.

[Mysterion Rises]

What is it about the story you don't like? Is it the origin of the Locust or is it all the little things like the mk 2 lancer being in Judgment before it was invented? When it comes to the Locust origins I see a lot of the opposing camp saying "retcon" or "it still doesn't make sense" but the comments from the devs, especially that Dave Nash one from 2006, really indicate that it was all planned. Well, maybe not "all" planned, but at least the Locust/Lambent/Imulsion history.

Agree with this the lambent have been planned from day one as we have seen the lambent wretches in gears 1. The fact Anya also says to Marcus that they are lambent due to direct imulsion exposure says it all. In gears 2 we see lambent locusts and we also see the parasite leaving its hosts after Cole kills a grenadier. Epic knew what they where doing maybe the way it was delivered hasn't appealed to people personally it could have been better but tbh I don't think it's that bad to claim the trilogy is an absolute joke

[MrMauiD20]

O_O that was amazing
evrything makes sense now
thank you very much

[FADEDSARGENT]

dam this is a long thread

[The Shrike]

This is originally from a poll thread but I'll put it here too.

Just under 1 fifth of the US armed forces went missing during world war 2, just under 80,000 it says here, and that is only 1 country over a few years. Imagine how many missing people there would be in a 79 year war where nearly every country is involved. You're in the millions just looking at soldiers alone.

Do you think the COG and UIR would notice if millions were being kidnapped and processed to breed more Locust? Millions of people go missing yearly in the real world, and there is little reaction;

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...380605116.html
http://www.euronews.com/2012/10/01/h...seen-my-child/
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/c...missing/2.html

If the Locust existed in the real world and had been underground since World War 2 (roughly the same length of time since New Hope was around), and even a fraction of our own missing people statistics were because they were kidnapped by them, the Locust would still have an army of tens of millions if E-Day happened tomorrow.

And don't forget that Nexus wasn't built by a bunch of seasoned architects, it was built by things whose only function seems to be combat. It's not going to look like the Sistine Chapel. People have already mentioned what we witness imulsion do to things in Gears 2 and 3. If an exposed person can turn into a Sire or a Former in the space of a couple of weeks, why are thousands of years needed to make something like the Locust? Standard rules of evolution and diversity don't really apply when imulsion can do things like that.

Have you seen the poll thread Jovues? It's in the Judgment section.

[Jsx]

This was an excellent way of adding the pieces together to unravel a great story
However, I think it would be benificial if there was a video made to accompany this completion of the story. A video including all the collectibles, game scenes, fourm post and comic quotes youre referencing. With you or someone else narrating the whole thing, explaning each part of the puzzel. That way more of the community can see it and feel like they understand the story completly.

[Jsx]

Let me know, I have a channel

[Edwin_Corvus]

Tl; dr.. But from what I get, you're saying the locust are really old and from Risea or one of the moons? So Carmine was right all along? Is that why nexus is so old? Also how come they could take over the world in like a day but not that last city for fourteen years? What went wrong locust? You were on a roll!