User:Iiboharz/Newspaper Transcriptions
Transcriptions of the readable newspapers that can be found in Half-Life: Alyx. The headlines, newspaper names and actual articles are extrapolated from props that can be seen in Half-Life 2.
Earth Surrenders[edit]
EARTH SURRENDERS
[Image of the UN building under siege] The United Nations Secretariat Building in Turtle Bay was torn apart yesterday by projectiles originating from outside Earth's atmosphere.
Negotiated by obscure scientist, unconditional global surrender to extraterrestrial invasion force follows days of unexplained deadly phenomena
On behalf of hundreds of national governments, the United Nations has ceded the entirety of planet Earth, with all its states and peoples to the extraterrestrial invaders dubbed the "Combine." The surrender halted a withering worldwide assault that yesterday claimed untold human lives in mere hours.
The events have prompted speculation that the so-called "portal storms" of recent days, which have caused panic and chaos across the globe, may have been intentional prelude to an attack. Previous attempts to explain the storms have varied, with explanations ranging from the meteorological consequences of climate change to clandestine scientific experiments. There is little consensus on any of the unprecedented events, but some prominent biologists and zoologists believe the Combine to be a species distinct from the lethally aggressive creatures the storms continue to spawn.
Governments' abilities to protect their citizens had been stretched to the breaking point by the time the more coordinated Combine force arrived. When Dr. Wallace Breen, administrator of a little-known New Mexico research facility, contacted U.N. officials claiming he had determined how to communicate with the invaders, there was no appetite for resistance. Breen was given carte blanche to negotiate for peace at all cost, and he took ... (cuts off)
STAY CALM, INDOORS, ADVISE EXPERTS
As a stunned world reacts to the fallout of a war as unprecedented as it was brief, psychologists and disaster response experts advise the public to remain in their homes and avoid falling prey to panic.
"Nobody yet knows what this means for our country and for humanity. All we can do is stay safe and be with our families and local communities," said Dr. Rebekah Heverly, professor of behavioral science at Brown University. "Rash behavior is likely to have unforeseen and undesirable consequences."
Federal emergency response officials encouraged citizens to rely on their own existing food and water stockpiles before making use of government food banks set up in recent days, which are already suffering from crippling demand.
"This is all happening fast. It's possible everything could turn out fine," said Fern Barker of ... (cuts off)
The Terminal[edit]
Unlikely Negotiator Of Peace Garners Ill Will And Distrust As Well As Praise
Wallace Breen Acknowledges Detractors: "I'm Not A Politician, I'm A Scientist"
Decades spent on the cutting edge of abstract physics put Dr. Wallace Breen in a unique position to negotiate a sweeping multinational surrender to the extraterrestrial invasion force known as "the Combine."
But as a lifetime ensconced in the bureaucracy of government-funded research--with its security clearances and an emphasis on theory and long-term exploration over politics and practicality--has left Breen (52) poorly equipped for the moral and political scrutiny his actions have invited.
Critics have accused him of rank opportunism, selling out humanity after simply being in the right place at the right time. Breen himself offers only a token rebuttal.
"Those who know me and my work know I'm not a politician," he said in an interview televised last night. "I'm a scientist. Given the data, and the extreme nature of the situation, I took the only possible course of action."
No politician, indeed--and that's precisely the problem, argues Davide Ransomen of the University of Eastern Colorado's political science department. "With no claim to a legitimate democratic mandate, Breen has essentially legitimized an interplanetary coup," Ransomen told The Terminal.
Those sympathetic to Breen say the military realities of the unprecedented assault render traditional notions of democratic legitimacy irrelevant.
"any ability to communicate with the invaders outweighed issues of governance," said retired General Stanley Thorberg, a former commander of NATO forces and a frequent defender of Breen in the days since the ceasefire. "Would you rather be dead? Or worse,"
Please ... Column ... (cuts off)
---
On behalf of hundreds of national governments, the United Nations has ceded the entirety of the planet Earth, with all its states and peoples, to the extraterrestrial invaders dubbed the "Combine."
The surrender halted a withering worldwide assault that yesterday claimed untold human lives in mere hours.
The events have prompted speculation that the so-called "portal storms" of recent days, which have caused panic and chaos across the globe, may have been intentional prelude to an attack. Previous attempts to explain the storms have varied, with explanations ranging from the meteorological consequences of climate change to clandestine scientific experiments. There is little consensus on any of the unprecedented events, but some prominent biologists and zoologists believe the Combine to be a species distinct from the lethally aggressive creatures the storms continue to spawn.
Governments' abilities to protect their citizens had been stretched to the breaking point by the time the more coordinated Combine force arrived. When Dr. Wallace Breen, administrator of a little-known New Mexico research facility, contacted U.N. officials claiming he had determined how to communicate with the invaders, there was...
"Portal" Storm Continues
It's True: Windows to Another Place Open Across the Globe
...no appetite for resistance. Breen was given carte blanche to negotiate for peace at all cost, and he took conn ... (cuts off into loop from the start)
