Gordon Freeman

Gordon Freeman, PhD
Age:	27
Affiliation:	Black Mesa, Resistance
Role:	Theoretical physicist protagonist
Appearances:	All games in series

Dr. Gordon Freeman is the main protagonist of the Half-Life series. He is a 27 year old MIT graduate, possessing a PhD. in theoretical physics and an uncanny aptitude for military weapons and equipment. He has an athletic build, brown hair, green eyes obscured by thick frame glasses, a goatee, and a short ponytail.

Dr. Freeman is still not married and has no descendants.

Background

Dr. Freeman was born in Seattle, Washington, and shown an interest in science from his youngest years, constructing a butane-powered tennis ball cannon at the age of six. Upon completing high school, he was accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, showing great interest in the areas of quantum physics and relativity, with Einstein, Feynman and Hawking his idols.

During his visit as a student at the University of Innsbruck, he observed a series of seminal teleportation experiments at the Institute of Experimental Physics of said university (topics covered by Bowemeester, Pan, Mattle, Eibl, Weinfurter, Zeilinger, "Experimental Quantum Teleportation," Nature, 11 December 1997) and became fascinated with practical applications of teleportation, eventually receiving an MIT doctorate with a thesis paper entitled "Observation of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Entanglement on Supraquantum Structures By Induction through Nonlinear Transuranic Crystal of Extremely Long Wavelength (ELW) Pulse from Mode-Locked Source Array."

Gordon Freeman responded to a job offer announced by the Black Mesa Research Facility and recommended by Dr. Isaac Kleiner he was accepted on May, 5th as an assistant in the Anomalous Materials research laboratories. Prior to beginning his duties, he underwent mandatory HEV Suit training, which prepared him for his assignment and included basic firearm operation course.

During his work at the facility, he befriended security guard Barney Calhoun, to the point of organizing air duct races with him whenever Dr. Isaac Kleiner locked himself out of his office. He also became a good friend of Eli Vance and his wife Azian Vance.

Character history

Role in the Black Mesa Incident

Dr. Freeman was at ground zero of the Black Mesa Incident, in Sector C Test chamber C/33a. He was tasked with entering a pure sample (numbered GG-3883) into an overcharged anti-mass spectrometer (operating at 105% power, while the safety buffer laid at 90%) in order to gather unique data in the process. However, as soon as the sample touched the beam of the spectrometer, a catastrophic resonance cascade was triggered along with a massive portal storm that damaged much of the facility beyond recognition and caused Xen aliens to teleport into the facility.

Freeman was caught in such a teleport and was shuffled between the Xen borderwold and Earth, visiting the test chamber, a Xen vista with two Bullsquids, teleported in between several Vortigaunts and finally knocked unconscious as we was hurled back to the test chamber. Upon regaining consciousness, he made his way out of the devastated test chamber, meeting doctor Eli Vance on the way, who sent him topside for help. They did not meet again afterwards. Dr. Freeman made his way out of the Sector C Test Labs through the coolant reservoir and auxiliary storage sections of the facility into the administrative section of Black Mesa, located deep underground. Learning of the military (the HECU) arriving on-site, he made his way topside tp meet them and get help for other personnel.

However, as it turned out, the military was on location to silence all witnesses and secure the facility. Forced in a firefight underground and hounded by HECU troopers, he learned that he needed to make his way to the Lambda Complex of the facility and went through the Propulsion Test Laboratory, organized in decommissioned ballistic missile silos in order to reach the decommissioned rail system running beneath the facility and make his way to the satellite delivery rocket launch control and continue the launch, aborted by the military, as the satellite was to be used by the Lambda Complex team to end the portal storms.

After the launch, Gordon traveled through old industrial areas of the facility, encountering three female Black Ops assassins and being apprehended shortly after by HECU troops and dumped in a trash compactor. Narrowly escaping death, he was forced to enter the residue processing areas of the facility and reacquire his entire arsenal. Eventually, he reached the Biological Research Laboratory, learning that research into the Xen aliens was done long before the incident and eventually reaching the surface.

Fighting his way through HECU assault squads, fortifications and hounded by an AH-64 Apache gunship, he managed to eventually reach the Lambda Complex and upon reactivating it's core, reach the Xen displacement chamber and be teleported into the borderworld.

Fighting through alien species and observing the ecosystem of the world, Gordon eventually reached a peculiar Alien Grunt factory and located the teleport to the instigator and mastermind of the Xen invasion - the Nihilanth. Despite Nihilanth's size, resilience and powers, he managed to mortally wound it's exposed brain and be caught in a massive teleport blast and brought before the mysterious figure known only as the G-Man.

Being confronted by him, and at the lost of his HEV Suit, he accepted G-Man's offer and became one of his most powerful tools, for the time being held in stasis, where no harm could come to him, including aging.

Role in the Street War Uprising

Years later, following the Seven Hour War and the enslavement of the human race by the Combine Empire, Gordon was brought out of the stasis by the G-Man and following a very, very cryptic hallucination teleported straight into a suburban train headed for City 17 train station. Stripped of his suit, Gordon is immediately greeted with a familiar face. That of Dr. Breen on large monitor in the train station, giving a speech on the likeness of City 17, he speaks of a Citadel provided by 'our benefactors', and is clearly speaking as if he is somehow working with the oppressors. Gordon continues and almost boards a train to Nova Prospekt, before being saved from a fate worse than death by Barney Calhoun, who sent him to his old mentor, Dr. Isaac Kleiner.

Upon exiting the station, Gordon walks into the shadow of a enormous towering structure overlooking the entire city, it is clear that this must be the Citadel that Dr. Breen mentioned in his broadcast. Having nowhere to go, with the Combine blocking off districts with identification gates, Dr. Freeman braved a fence and entered a run-down apartment building. As an unregistered citizen, he was quickly located by Combine Scanners and Civil Protection was sent on a massive raid into the building. Cornered and hounded by them, Freeman made his way onto the rooftops and hid in another building, only to be ambushed and knocked out by a number of Metrocops. Fortunately, before he could be hauled away for brutal questioning, Alyx Vance intervened, disposed of the metrocops and escorted Gordon Freeman to doctor Kleiner's laboratory, where he reacquired his HEV Suit (now upgraded) and along with Alyx Vance was to be teleported to Black Mesa East. However, while Ms. Vance was transmitted without problems, the teleportation sequence of Dr. Freeman was interrupted by Hedy Lamarr and after several random teleportations (including the office of Wallace Breen, now Combine administrator of Earth) was deposited just outside the teleportation lab.

Gordon Freeman was forced to take the City 17 Canals to reach Black Mesa East, hounded by Civil Protection units and a Hunter Chopper, he was able to outrun his foes and survive, both by salvaging supplies from destroyed Resistance Outposts on the way and the aid of a Rebel outpost crew, to which outfitted his Airboat with a Gauss cannon from a downed chopper. Further progression of the canals, fighting through heavier Combine resistance, brought Gordon to a hydroelectric dam to which brought him face to face with another Hunter Chopper stationed at a nearby helipad. However, Gordon downed it with his Gauss cannon, before taking a spectacular leap off the dam itself to the Black Mesa East facility below.

Upon reaching the facility, Gordon was reunited with his old friend Eli Vance, as well as Alyx Vance whom he had met before, and a new face, Dr. Judith Mossman, also a physicist and just as enthusiastic on teleportation technology as he was. It is also here that Gordon first gets his hands on the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator or the Gravity Gun and is put into practice with it when Alyx introduces her robotic pet Dog. Shortly after however, the Combine had tracked Gordon from the canals to the facility, and started shelling it. Amidst the chaos, Gordon becomes seperated from Alyx which forces him to use the only remaining passage to get out, an old, abandoned mining town known as Ravenholm.

Upon entering Ravenholm, it isn't long before Gordon realizes why the town had been sealed off from Black Mesa East as he fights his his way through swarms of Zombies, Poison Zombies and Fast Zombies. The numerous Headcrab canisters scattered throughout the town, show yet more examples of the Combine brutality, as it had been previously shelled numerous times, to which the headcrabs spread and devoured the town's inhabitants. It is here that Gordon also meets a crazed priest known as Father Grigori, who mutters 'Whats this? Another life to save?' upon their first meeting. However, Grigori soon realizes Gordon's ability to survive the odds, and helps him through the town to the mines underground. As Gordon reaches the last tunnel out of the mines, he is greeted with day break.

Gordon then treks across the Ravenholm railway sidings, avoiding Combine Snipers, before fighting his way through more Combine checkpoints until he meets some rebel fighters in the midst of a gunfight. After the chaos, the commander, named Leon, escorts Gordon to their refuge center nearby to which he reintroduced with Alyx Vance via a telecommunication. He learns that Eli Vance along with Judith Mossman had been captured in the raid on Black Mesa East, and that they had been taken to Nova Prospekt. Alyx informs them that she will hitch a ride on the next train there, but requires Gordon to make his own way there along the coastal road known as Highway 17 in a Tau cannon armed, scout car formally made by Eli.

Gordon makes haste along the coast, avoiding the dangerous Antlions that inhabit the sandy areas before coming to a rebel outpost known as New Little Odesa. It is here that he is greeted by Colonel Odessa Cubbage welding a Laser Guided Missile Launcher. He hands Gordon the weapon only in time for the sound of a Combine Gunship whirling overhead. After dealing with this threat, Gordon speeds off again down the coastal road, dealing with the numerous Combine checkpoints and fighting off more Combine Gunships that harass him on his journey.

Gordon eventually reaches a large suspension bridge with a security gate blocking anything other than Combine Razor Trains to go across. Knowing that this was the only route forward, Gordon braves the unsteady walkway underneath the bridge to the control center on the other side to deactivate the security gate. With gate deactivated, Gordon races across the bridge, narrowly missing a Combine Razor Train.

After moving through a Zombie infested tunnel, Gordon then continues to fight his way through more Combine checkpoints until he reaches a lighthouse overlooking another rebel refuge point, known as Lighthouse Point. Here he learns that the Combine are looking for his buggy and is advised to hide it. Moments later, a Combine attack force assaults the base, with Combine Dropships ferrying troops to the field. The introduction of Combine Gunships forces him up into the lighthouse to the Laser Guided Missile Launcher supplies. With the battle ended and Combine reinforcements inevitable, Gordon is advised to move on.

Gordon follows a secret path down the side of the lighthouse and eventually ends up in a hugely populated Antlion area, and is forced to cautiously traverse it using the small means of cover available, before coming face to face with an Antlion Guard. After tackling this new menace, Gordon is greeted by a Vortigaunt who then leads him to another rebel outpost. Here he learns of Alien Pheromones or 'Bugbait' which allow him complete control over the Antlions in the area.

With his new weapon, Gordon begins his assault on the outer defenses of Nova Prospekt, and by deactivating the numerous Thumpers keeping the Antlions originally at bay, they begin to swarm the facility, providing Gordon with a huge edge to storm the defenses and enter the facility. Upon entering the facility, Gordon is greeted with its prison-like appearance, a place to which the Combine carry out their most evil of deeds on the opposition to their rule. Progression throughout the facility shows the evidence that the Antlions were now fully running riot within, and were causing major difficulties for the Combine soldiers inside. After progressing through the cell bays, Gordon begins to progress deeper into the facility.

Eventually he is reunited with Alyx Vance at the train stationing areas, and together they begin to search for Eli Vance. Once found, amongst the numerous podded prisoners, Alyx sends Eli up to the teleportation chambers to be met up with later for the escape. Gordon and Alyx then begin their journey to the teleportation chambers themselves, fighting through swarms of Combine soldiers. After numerous gunfights, Alyx seals them within the teleportation room where they unexpectedly meet up with Judith Mossman to which they hear the terrible truth, that she was traitor and working for Dr. Breen. However, they clearly had more things to worry about, Alyx orders Mossman to punch in the coordinates for Dr. Kleiner's lab, and insists that Eli should go first. However, before they could react, Mossman slips in the teleporter with Eli and they are both transported to an unknown location. Alyx declares the teleportation needs to charge up again so the two are forced to fight off the swarms of Combine troops now entering through numerously created entrances to the area. Just as Elite Combine troops charge into the area, Alyx and Gordon escalate in the transporter before barely being transported back to Dr. Kleiner's Lab.

Greeted with a disgruntled Dr. Isaac Kleiner wielding a shotgun, he shows his shock and happiness that they are both alive. Before questions can be asked, Alyx and Gordon learn that they had teleported a week ahead in time by learning that Nova Prospekt was destroyed a week ago, clearly just after the teleported out of the facility. They also learn that the facilities' destruction triggered the Uprising, and that a vicious battle had been underway since its destruction, in the streets of City 17, led by Barney Calhoun. After reuniting with Dog, Alyx states that she is going to get Dr. Kleiner to safety, which leaves Gordon to join the fight against the Combine.

For the rest of that day, Gordon continues to push back the Combine forces with help of his allies, and also to link up with Barney Calhoun. As the battle rages, the towering Citadel gets closer and closer into view and becomes clear that that would be the final objective, halfway through the battle, Gordon is again reunited with Alyx Vance who begins to aid him on his quest, however not long after, Combine troops ambush her and take her away, Gordon continues regardless. Battling the swarms of Combine troops, Hunter Choppers and Striders the opposition eventually starts to crumble, to which Gordon is reunited with Barney, and after saving him for troublesome Combine Snipers, together they lead the final push on the Citadel. At the foot of its towering structure, Gordon, with the help of Dog, enters within the Citadel's bowels.

As Gordon progresses into the structure itself, his weapons are destroyed by security measures, however the Gravity Gun repels this system and is somehow modified to be able to move organic matter, as well as inorganic matter. Using this now powerful weapon, Gordon progresses up levels, through waves of Combine soldiers, continuously harassed by Dr. Breen on the numerous monitors scattered throughout. After hitching a ride in a Combine pod, Gordon progresses up the final echelons off the Citadel, and after seeing a brief glimpse of the city down below, he arrives at the tip of the structure, Dr. Breen's office.

Gordon is greeted by Dr.Judith Mossman who advices him not to struggle, as the pod Gordon rid up in had now completely trapped him. As you pass a sunset gazed window, and two Combine guards stationed at the door, you enter a room with Dr. Breen talking to a trapped Eli Vance. Breen's words mean nothing to Eli, and results Breen to threaten him and his daughter, Alyx Vance by sending them to the dark side of Combine portal. Dr. Mossman intervenes stating that Eli needs to survive for continuation of the teleportation research. Dr. Breen then approaches Gordon stating that he was 'open to the highest bidder', most likely referring to Gordon's dealings with the G-Man, but how is Dr. Breen involved or how does he know? Moments later, Dr. Mossman has a change of heart and disrupts the control panel controlling the pods Eli, Alyx and Gordon are in before stating to Dr. Breen 'you are out of time'. Breen grabs the Gravity Gun, knocking Gordon back, before escaping to the elevator shaft at the back of the chamber.

After the chaos, Alyx Vance leaves Eli in the care of Dr. Mossman as her trust in her had now been restored. Alyx and Gordon then head to the elevator shaft to capture Dr. Breen. As they both escalate, Alyx thanks Gordon for the rescue attempt before the elevator reaches the top. The two rush towards Breen, talking to a Combine Advisor which switches out of view as they approach. Breen makes haste for the second elevator, foolishly dropping the Gravity Gun in the process. With Gordon reunited with his weapon, he pursues into the Citadel's teleportation reactor.

Dr. Breen can be seen within the teleporter itself, and after the introductory pleasantries, he begins to ascend up to the top of the core to be teleported away. Gordon treks quickly up the chamber, fighting through futile Combine resistance until both Gordon and Breen reach the top of the core. Gordon then notices the Energy Balls fluxuating nearby and begins to fire them at the fusion shield surrounding Breen as he prepares to be teleported. Breen pleas to Gordon that he is making a huge mistake and that he will destroy the entire city, but he continues until Breen falls out of view. The core begins to show incredible instability before Alyx returns to Gordon's side. However, before she can even finish her sentence, the fusion spire explodes releasing an amazing fireball into the air, and that very moment, time freezes, and Gordon is then greeted by the G-Man who then enters from the explosion.

As the surroundings begin to fade, including Alyx, from view, the G-Man congratulates Gordon on his brilliant work over such a short time, and that he had 'received some interesting offers' for his services. He declares that Gordon is to be put back into stasis until his 'time comes around again'. After his closing line, a door from the inky blackness opens before him. He adjusts his tie before stepping out, leaving Gordon in captivity.

Role in the Escape of City 17

Some time after Gordon was put back into stasis by the G-man after the destruction of the Citadel teleportation core, he was awoken again by Vortigaunts who go back to save Alyx Vance from her doom, and to take Gordon out of the G-Man's custody, however he is obviously not happy about this, muttering the words, 'We will see....about that!' before vanishing out of view.

Gordon then finds himself in the dark, with what sounds like the voice of Alyx Vance in the near distance. Shortly after, bulges of light come into view as the wreckage, to which Gordon is now clearly in, is removed, before the face of Dog pears in, before giving a jubilant nod and removing Gordon from the wreckage. Alyx, delighted to have found him alive, cant resist to embrace him, before backing off suddenly, embarrassed. She quickly changes the entire subject pointing to the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator on the ground nearby, Gordon is reunited with his weapon.

She then explains that she does not understand how they escaped, but is clearly troubled by more pressing matters, as Gordon soon realizes when pairing up at the swirling vortex circling the tip of the Citadel raining ash and debris onto the floor below. She orders Dog over to the antenna to raise it, Eli Vance and Dr. Isaac Kleiner then appear on the monitor Alyx had set up. Eli states that it is imperative that they get as far away from the Citadel as possible, and is shocked to here that they are both still at the Citadel itself. Dr. Kleiner then buts in to say that 'only a direct intervention at the core could possibly retard the reaction' which leaves Alyx and Gordon, with his radioactive HEV Suit, with no alternative but to enter the core and stabilize it.

They then leave around foot of the cliff to a possible entrance to the structure, but which is seperated by a huge gorge. After time to figure out a solution, Dog decides that the only option is to throw Alyx and Gordon across the gorge into the entrance, using the wrecked car positioned there. His idea worked, but with the impact of the car on the other side, causes the ground to give way, sending Gordon and Alyx tumbling down the vent shafts deep into the bowels of the Citadel.

They both begin to trek towards the core, as they do, there is clear evidence all around that the infrastructure was collapsing and that there was clear instability everywhere. They even come across another recording of Dr. Breen from much earlier, and sinisterly an Advisor pod then descends behind them moments after, using its harmful telekinesis powers on Gordon and Alyx as it descended out of view. After cautiously traversing, more tricky terrain and malfunctioning systems, they reach the elevator that, after dodging the falling terrain from the rafters above, takes them down to the core room.

Upon entering, they are greeting with the huge and terrifying, pulsing fusion sphere which clearly looked unstable. Gordon doesn't waste any time, and treks up the levels of the spectrum, activating the fail-safe systems on each, fighting through Combine defenders on the way. With all systems activated, a cradle descends around the fusion sphere and it stabilizes, but it is clear that this will only be temporary, just giving Alyx, Gordon and whoever is left in City 17 to escape. When greeted with Alyx again back in the control room, she congratulates you before moving to the monitor and hacking their system. She explains that the Combine troops here were trying to destabilize the core themselves in order to gain enough energy to send a very important transmission to their homeworld, to which she states, that she has a copy. Also a short clip of Dr. Judith Mossman appears on the monitor, in an arctic environment, where she talks about something known as The Project before a now known Combine Hunter comes crashing into view before the transmission cuts out.

Gordon and Alyx then make haste to Combine trains docked in the station below, and plan to ride them all the way out of City 17. They get on the way and Alyx soon realizes that they are filled with Stalkers, she clearly shows pity for these creatures. Moments later, the train is derailed and the duo are forced to continue on foot. They then trek through the now zombie infested undergrowths of the city, with the introductory of the Zombine that Alyx jokingly calls them, a Combine trooper infested and more deformed by a Headcrab. After intense fighting through pitch black tunnels and Antlion infested complexes, Alyx and Gordon finally reach the surface.

They are greeted with Dr. Isaac Kleiner on a Kleinercast formally occupied by Dr. Breen, giving a speech on the need to breed for the survival of the species, but with the Combine sirens looming in the distance, they now both begin the long trek out of City 17. Combating the Antlions that now plagued the streets and the remnants of the Combine forces, battling a Combine Gunship that appears on their trek across the rooftops and also meeting more rebels along the way, also trying to escape, they make good progress in short time. During their travels, the Citadel continuously looms in the background, giving out the occasional crack of thunder from its ever increasingly instability.

Eventually they meet up with Barney Calhoun clearly exhausted and scarred from battle, tells them they are heading to the train station and get the remaining rebels out, and that whats left of the Combine troops are looking for both Gordon and Alyx. He tells them to cut through the hospital in a bid at distracting the forces from the main group of rebels. Gordon is also reunited with the Crowbar.

Alyx and Gordon fight their way through the hospital which had now becomes mainly infested with zombies, but in time they make it through to the other side when they meet up again with Barney Calhoun. As Gordon begins to help escorting the civilians and rebels to the train station, the Combine forces, that had obviously caught the attention of Alyx and Gordon detouring through the hospital, start to emerge and cause trouble. After several re-runs of escorting, all the civilians were escorted to the trains.

It is clear that those troops causing trouble were only scouts to a much bigger force that was now enclosing on the train station itself, Alyx offers that herself and Gordon distract the forces while Barney gets away with the others, he can only agree. As Barney rides away, Alyx leads Gordon to the next train, and after a battling a Strider, the duo begin racing away from the station, before witnessing the capitulation and destruction of the Citadel (including the transmission being sent) in a brilliant flash of light.

White Forest

The initial blast from the Citadel sent the train Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance were traveling on off the rails before crashing to a halt on a large suspension bridge, in a forested valley in the far outskirts of City 17. Gordon regains conscience inside the wreckage of the train, unarmed, and after scrambling to the ground is greeted by Alyx, obviously pleased to see him. Alyx manages to find the Gravity Gun from Freeman's previous arsenal and uses it to free him from the wreckage.

The pair then make their way to the top of the outcrop before reaching an area of perfect view of where the Citadel used to stand. What remained was the crumbled base with a fantastic beam of portal energy, known as a Superportal spiraling from the base into the sky, created a large disturbance in the clouds above. The ruins of City 17 lay in waste surrounding it. Suddenly, the Superportal lets out a huge burst of energy that passes Gordon and Alyx and proceeds through the suspension bridge holding the train wreckage. Moments later the entire structure crumbles and collapses to the ground.

The duo proceed through an abandoned main shaft before encountering Antlions and Zombies fighting each other outside a lone a shack. After subduing this threat, the pair find a radio transmitter inside the shack, and after powering it up, Alyx begins contact with the base known as White Forest where, Eli Vance, Dr. Isaac Kliener and a new face, Dr. Magnusson, are now residing and running as the Resistance main HQ since Black Mesa East was compromised. Dr. Magnusson states the importance of the data packet Alyx is carrying and urges them to get to White Forest as soon as possible.

After the transmission cuts out, Alyx and Freeman continue forward into a derelict warehouse complex, and after searching the area, they are attacked about a lone Hunter. Gordon is knocked out and Alyx is impaled through the abdomen by the Hunters small blades on its front side, before leaving the area, believing her to be dead. Sometime later, Gordon awakes only to see an Antlion investigating Alyx's body, and just as it is about to drag her away, it's is blown to pieces by a Vortigaunt.

The Vortigaunt blasts the debris surrounding Gordon away before telling him that Alyx's condition is serious and that she will not last long. He advises that they should meet with others of his kin in a old concrete bunker below, in an attempt to revive her. The Vortigaunt lets out a huge, alien call into the valley to let the other Vortigaunts know of his intention before picking up Alyx's limp body. They proceed into a large mining complex, but once Gordon steps inside an elevator shaft, it sends him plummeting to the ground below. The Vortigaunt states that he get Alyx there by another path, and that he should proceed himself.

Freeman finds his way through the abandoned mines before realizing that the Antlion's had burrowed a huge nest inside, with large tunnel complexes carved out by Antlion Workers using their acid secretions. After battling his way through the Antlion and Grub invested mazes, Freeman finally meets up again with the Vortigaunt, who had placed Alyx's body on a table below, using its power to sustain her life for longer. As well as the Vortigaunt, there are two Rebels who had set up a defensive perimeter around the bunker complex using two makeshift Combine Turrets, with lights lining the entrances of four different tunnels. The lights wired up to a outer defense section, light up as Antlions attempt to burrow their way into the bunker, the two rebels state, the more lights are lit up, the more Antlions will come.

With the pleasantries over, the tunnels begin to be swarmed by Antlions, Gordon and the two rebels lead a brave defense against the ever increasing threat, but just as they prepare for the largest attack yet, as one tunnel fully lights up, three Vortigaunts blast the way into the tunnel, stating that they had killed off that initial attack. Suddenly, all four tunnels fully light up as the Antlions attempt a final push, but the threat is easily diminished facts to the help of the Vortigaunts. After the attack, the three Vortigaunts join their ally aiding Alyx and take over the restraining process. The leader of the pack states that the only way for Alyx to survive is by the use of a very rare Antlion extract, found deep inside the nest amongst the egg sacks, he also states that it would be gaurded by an Antlion Guard, that must not be killed for the extract to remain workable.

While the other Vortigaunts continued to keep Alyx alive, the leader aids Freeman in search of the extract. The pair go deep down into the Antlion nest, fighting through swarms of enemies before reaching an elevator shaft without power, just above the egg sacks. As the Vortigaunt waits for Freeman to desend the shaft and power up the elevator, he is come face to face with the Antlion Guard. Knowing that he could not kill it, he is forced to dodge it and run through the nest with it hot on his tail before finding an alternate route to which it could not follow. Once Freeman reaches the bottom of the elevator shaft and powers it up, the Vortigaunt leads him to the egg sacks, before taking the extract.

The pair head back to the now working elevator and take it all the way back up to the bunker area where Alyx now lay, extremely close to death. The Vortigaunt carrying the extract took his place at the table, and together with the others of his kin, they interconnect themselves between their power before secreting the extract over Alyx's wounds. A healing force is spread over her body a few times but before it can be finished, a voice is heard inside Gordon's head. Before he knows it, the G-Man appears, using the the opportunity to speak to Freeman now that the Vortigaunts were occupied with Alyx. This speech yet sinister, provided Gordon with some more small hints of his motives and about a certain connection he has with Alyx, he claims his authority of the circumstances and states that Gordon must see Alyx safely to White Forest. Before his entrance comes to and end, he leans over Alyx's limp body and tells her to tell her father, "Prepare for unforeseen consequences". Alyx awakens.

Trivia

• The first time Gordon does not start on a train is in Half-Life 2: Episode One.
• In both Half-Life and Half-Life 2, Gordon's first weapon is the Crowbar. Episode One breaks this tradition by letting Gordon have the Gravity Gun as his first weapon the Crowbar is actually the final weapon given to Gordon in this Episode.
• Throughout the entire Half-Life series to date, Gordon has never spoken a word. Valve stated that this was intentional, in a bid to create a strong immersion with the players of the game, to give them a real feeling that they are Gordon Freeman.