FREEMAN'S MIND: EPISODE 53

[SwingBox]

So, now you've got me curious Ross. Just what was that Chernobyl documentary?

I want to know this also. Please explain.

[Ross Scott]

You know what I noticed, all this time playing Half Life I always projected myself into Gordon Freeman, thinking as myself and inevitably with my own native culture.

However Gordon Freeman how much I would argue against it, is pretty much American or British at best.

 

So your version of Freeman Ross, is the more correct one.

Well if it's any solace, the coolest game character ever in my opinion is Kain, and he has a British accent, so it works out.

 

So, now you've got me curious Ross. Just what was that Chernobyl documentary?

 

Alright I found it. It's overall pretty depressing, but watch the chunk that I've linked here:

 

 

I remembered it wrong however, it wasn't "looks on their faces" so much as what they were saying, but you still get the idea they were NOT ready for the amount of radiation they exposed themselves to. The moral to this story is don't go to Chernobyl, ever.

[SwingBox]

Thanks for the quick reply. Couldn't see much tho.

[WhatPayne]

The moral to this story is don't go to Chernobyl, ever.

Well, technically you can safely go and live in Chernobyl area. It only takes few thousand years before you can do that... But hey, what's a little wait?

[urcousinvinnie5]

The strangest thing is that freeman was mocking the aliens for their military strategy I have a few choice words for him

 

1) wildlife: In world war 2 the Germans would send out German Shepards as attack dogs. Also these creatures are not like ordinary earth wildlife, these animals can be used for great purposes rather than dogs and badgers. headcrabs can control the brains of their host bodies, houndeyes (in numbers) have a devastating shock wave that can kill anything in a few blasts, and bullsquids have a ranged acid spit attack along with a devastating tail swipe. (which we all know the tip of the tail is barbed, except in black mesa for some reason.)

 

2) alien invasions: "I guess humans are much more efficient at invading than aliens are." WRONG, freeman might not have noticed it since he is underground all the time, but the HECU were caught in the middle of a massacre, I mean the xenizens can teleport out of friggin' nowhere, plus the fact that the HECU were expecting a HUMAN attack instead of fighting aliens. Also how he said he thought aliens would be much more advanced than humans. Whatever he is smoking I am pretty sure everyone else wants some. Every species has a starting point for civilizations. The xenizens do not have that good of technology, yet they still managed to kill more than a hundred united states marines. Another thing is that he will be eating his words once he finds out the combine came and took earth in a matter of seven hours, than we'll be judging the invasion quality of the xenizens.

 

 

Let's face it, freeman is a lot dumber when he is high, which I think we can all agree is why he is acting so "ecstatic" either that or the radiation seeped into his head and is getting brain cancer as we speak. I would mark both of these as a possibility since after I heard him talking about how "aliens are either monsters or way more advanced." I actually can hear him slurring his voice, as if he was either drunk, high, or getting brain cancer from radiation poisoning. (or maybe ross was sick or very tired at some point)

[Descriptor]

You know what I noticed, all this time playing Half Life I always projected myself into Gordon Freeman, thinking as myself and inevitably with my own native culture.

However Gordon Freeman how much I would argue against it, is pretty much American or British at best.

 

So your version of Freeman Ross, is the more correct one.

Well if it's any solace, the coolest game character ever in my opinion is Kain, and he has a British accent, so it works out.

 

So, now you've got me curious Ross. Just what was that Chernobyl documentary?

 

Alright I found it. It's overall pretty depressing, but watch the chunk that I've linked here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?start=238&v=jFwGEsJg2MI

 

I remembered it wrong however, it wasn't "looks on their faces" so much as what they were saying, but you still get the idea they were NOT ready for the amount of radiation they exposed themselves to. The moral to this story is don't go to Chernobyl, ever.

To be fair, assuming what they are saying is correct, if they are experiancing 1000x the amount of radiation one would be exposed to in a normal city, they would probably only getting about 10 or 20 mSv, which is around as much as maybe a couple chest CT-scans. The maximum yearly dose for a US nuclear worker is 50mSv, so it's definitely not something you want to be around for too long, but I don't think they will be severely hurt in the long run (although I would expect some amount of chance of their long term cancer risk being higher. That said, the proven standard is getting at least 100mSv before increasing your cancer risks). From sources I've looked at, the areas around Chernobyl give off about 6mSv or so, but that can vary a fair amount.

Also, granted, I got this data from a compiled XKCD chart (here: http://xkcd.com/radiation/) but most of his stuff is good for a basic understanding, and he draws from a number of resources, including consolation from a nuclear expert.

[ThePest179]

1) wildlife: In world war 2 the Germans would send out German Shepards as attack dogs. Also these creatures are not like ordinary earth wildlife, these animals can be used for great purposes rather than dogs and badgers. headcrabs can control the brains of their host bodies, houndeyes (in numbers) have a devastating shock wave that can kill anything in a few blasts, and bullsquids have a ranged acid spit attack along with a devastating tail swipe. (which we all know the tip of the tail is barbed, except in black mesa for some reason.)

I have yet to see the Xenians actually domesticate their wildlife for effective use. Here is an example of this: when the Combine used headcrab shells, they weren't able to control them from the minute they came out of the shell. Also, while yes the Germans used dog for attack purposes, do you really expect those dogs to survive against rifle fire, let alone machine guns and mortars? And lastly, there is no definite proof bullsquid spit is acidic.

 

2) alien invasions: "I guess humans are much more efficient at invading than aliens are." WRONG, freeman might not have noticed it since he is underground all the time, but the HECU were caught in the middle of a massacre, I mean the xenizens can teleport out of friggin' nowhere, plus the fact that the HECU were expecting a HUMAN attack instead of fighting aliens. Also how he said he thought aliens would be much more advanced than humans. Whatever he is smoking I am pretty sure everyone else wants some. Every species has a starting point for civilizations. The xenizens do not have that good of technology, yet they still managed to kill more than a hundred united states marines. Another thing is that he will be eating his words once he finds out the combine came and took earth in a matter of seven hours, than we'll be judging the invasion quality of the xenizens.

If you really want to know why the HECU were devastated at Black Mesa, read my thread called "The Incompetence of the HECU". It is quite detailed. Your comment on how xenians can "teleport out of nowhere" is flawed. The xenians were only able to teleport across the Earth by HL2 was due to portal storms, while in the original Half Life they are confined to Black Mesa. Your thoughts on his "advanced aliens" statement are also unrealistic, considering most alien civilizations have probably been around much longer than us, giving an idea they have better technology than us. Your statement on how the xenians killed over one hundred marines is also redundant; if a group of terrorists in Iraq can do it in Fallujah, I think Xen aliens can do it too (especially considering Xen casualties in return). Lastly, the Combine invasion was won so quickly was due to decades, probably centuries of vastly superior technology and the element of surprise, which had little to nothing to do with Xen aliens.

[urcousinvinnie5]

If you really want to know why the HECU were devastated at Black Mesa, read my thread called "The Incompetence of the HECU". It is quite detailed. Your comment on how xenians can "teleport out of nowhere" is flawed.

 

What I meant to say on the matter of the xenizens teleporting out of nowhere is the fact that they can teleport right in front of your face without warning, and you can't shoot me down when I made the valid point that the HECU, HAD NO IDEA they were just waltzing into a massacre. They were not expecting to be confronted with aliens in any way. According to the intro scene to "opposing force" they all thought it was either a training mission or a "babysitting job" that is until the manta ray came down on top of one of their ospreys and turned it into nothing but burnt shrapnel.

 

I also read your thread and along with all those facts you HAVE to put in the fact that the HECU had no clue what to expect out of black mesa, whether it was a terrorist attack, a containment breach, or...oh yeah, an alien invasion consisting of almost millions of different species both wildlife and military forces including the devastating gargantua and his miniature counterparts (alien grunts). They completely destroyed their numbers and I'm pretty sure that instead of killing all of the black mesa personnel they would rescue them, evacuate, THEN drop a nuke on the xenizens, but that would still leave the portals coming since the nihilanth is back in xen.

 

Another thing is that you said alien civilizations would be much older than us therefor, more advanced. Just because they're aliens doesn't mean that their species is older than us. They could be aliens and STILL have a lower technology grade than us. Just because they are aliens doesn't mean that they HAVE to abide by sci-fi rules, they could be an Egyptian-ish civilization and still be beings of another planet/dimension.

[danielsangeo]

Subtitles, yo.

[RED@KTOR]

So, now you've got me curious Ross. Just what was that Chernobyl documentary?

 

Alright I found it. It's overall pretty depressing, but watch the chunk that I've linked here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?start=238&v=jFwGEsJg2MI

 

I remembered it wrong however, it wasn't "looks on their faces" so much as what they were saying, but you still get the idea they were NOT ready for the amount of radiation they exposed themselves to. The moral to this story is don't go to Chernobyl, ever.

 

That documnetary is half true, just like all the media there is. The scarier the stuff, the wider the audience. In reality, it's a lot better. Here is a vid from my last trip to chernobyl, see for yourself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWfRoNOPktc

[Ross Scott]

That documnetary is half true, just like all the media there is. The scarier the stuff, the wider the audience. In reality, it's a lot better. Here is a vid from my last trip to chernobyl, see for yourself

The thing is in less than lethal doses, the effects of radiation aren't clear cut how much it's affected you. You may feel fine, for years even, but a sufficient dosage might have taken 10 years off the end of your life and you won't realize it until much later. It's a combination of genes and luck. The more radiation you get, the less luck you have.

[Psychotic Ninja]

You know, I don't remember that big lazer cannon ever being in the game before.

[RED@KTOR]

The thing is in less than lethal doses, the effects of radiation aren't clear cut how much it's affected you. You may feel fine, for years even, but a sufficient dosage might have taken 10 years off the end of your life and you won't realize it until much later. It's a combination of genes and luck. The more radiation you get, the less luck you have.

Thats the thing, there are very little places with sufficient backgound levels. The most we found was about 15 times over regular levels in Kiev. So 1 hour of exposure would equal to 15 hours of normal life. So it gets you only if you live there for years(there is a bunch homesteaders there that do). Now, the places where levels are really a big threat in a short time, are all close to the reactor itself, the machinery graveyard and in jupiter factory. And if people are smart enough to give the last two a wide breath, the first one is guarded such that any attempts to infiltrate can be desribed as nothing but remarkable stupidity

So radiation is not the reason why you should avoid chernobyl

[8ullfrog]

I love the sheer panic when freeman is cornered by the bullsquid. That is exactly how I react to being cornered in FPS games.

 

I'd rather have shorter episodes every now and then than longer ones with huge gaps between them If I had to pick.

 

I'm always wary of such things. Remember how quickly Hl2: Ep 2, came out? Remember the promises of six months? Man, I would have loved episode 3 in 2007.

 

Short episodes are fine, especially when they deliver. This episode delivered.

[danielsangeo]

You know, I don't remember that big lazer cannon ever being in the game before.

 

Yep. It's a Xen sentry cannon. It's the only one in this game and any other game in the Half-Life universe. Looks kind of thrown-together to me, like the Xenians created this thing very quickly and shoddily to protect themselves from the humans. I can only imagine if, one day, we return to Xen to find much more sophisticated Xen sentry cannons that are much more difficult to beat than taking a couple of rockets to it.

[Mobile Suit 003]

hey internet. Ross several years ago I randomly discovered something on youtube called freemans mind. It was a work of pure brilliance (in my opinion). truly one of those things you don't see everyday even on the internet. god knows how many years later (i graduated from high school somewhere in there) this series is on its fifty third episode and still just as ridiculously funny as the first time i saw it all those years ago. on the half of the internet, mankind, and the council of trinity, I salute you sir. may your quest for world domination only fail when it comes into contact with my quest for world domination.

[ThePest179]

What I meant to say on the matter of the xenizens teleporting out of nowhere is the fact that they can teleport right in front of your face without warning, and you can't shoot me down when I made the valid point that the HECU, HAD NO IDEA they were just waltzing into a massacre. They were not expecting to be confronted with aliens in any way. According to the intro scene to "opposing force" they all thought it was either a training mission or a "babysitting job" that is until the manta ray came down on top of one of their ospreys and turned it into nothing but burnt shrapnel.

Well of course they weren't ready for aliens (although they were supposedly supposed to be briefed when they landed in Black Mesa). Also, while yes, the aliens can teleport right in front of you, the fact that it's so uncoordinated and random means that this is unreliable for the Xen forces (if a paratrooper drop lands the troops damn near everywhere, is it as effective as a more concentrated drop?).

 

I also read your thread and along with all those facts you HAVE to put in the fact that the HECU had no clue what to expect out of black mesa, whether it was a terrorist attack, a containment breach, or...oh yeah, an alien invasion consisting of almost millions of different species both wildlife and military forces including the devastating gargantua and his miniature counterparts (alien grunts). They completely destroyed their numbers and I'm pretty sure that instead of killing all of the black mesa personnel they would rescue them, evacuate, THEN drop a nuke on the xenizens, but that would still leave the portals coming since the nihilanth is back in xen.

"Completely destroyed their numbers"? I think not. Also, while the portal rift would remain open, the fact that the rift area is in a radiation zone means the Xen forces would be confined to the remains of Black Mesa (well, most of them).

 

Another thing is that you said alien civilizations would be much older than us therefor, more advanced. Just because they're aliens doesn't mean that their species is older than us. They could be aliens and STILL have a lower technology grade than us. Just because they are aliens doesn't mean that they HAVE to abide by sci-fi rules, they could be an Egyptian-ish civilization and still be beings of another planet/dimension.

Your point is true. Which would be more likely to make first contact with us and/or invade us in seven hours though? The one with swords, or the ones with FTL tech and weaponry beyond ours?

[ShouldBeNew]

Good episode as always Ross and you'r voice reminds me of someone.

[ScottD.Betson]

Ross, this made my day the episode I mean

[Otto]

Good episode as always Ross and you'r voice reminds me of someone.

Cool, who would that be? Is it of someone you know or someone from another show?