Now that an eon's worth of mud has settled and reactionary and fearful minds have been quieted: was he right?
>>719335238he avoided human extinction of course hes right
of course
>>719335238he banned sex hes objectively wrong
>>719335392>muh biological impulses
>>719335238>>719335381he's acting here as what we used to broadly recognize as an "industry plant" or "shill"
>>719335238every single politician is copying him now so he must have done something right
breen is disingenuous, holy shit. asking whether he's right is pointless because he's a propaganda minister. as if the eastern europe setting didnt get the point across. listen, valve are gen x in their sensibility, the big scary authoritarian ussr was top of mind when they were kids
>>719335381>Doctor Name Surname, PhDnever trust those pompous fuckers feeling the need to sign off like thatonly Layne Norton can do that
>>719335238Breen was right about literally everything.Half-Life 2 is happening in real life right now and no one cares.
>>719335392That would change nothing for me though
>>719335238i liked the "what's wrong with being a collaborator? We should all collaborate" clip, it's a good bit of propaganda
>>719335381I think he's a good villain because>nigga they were going to kill us someone had to start begging for mercy and I happened to be thereis pretty understandable, but it's obvious that he's just constantly talking total shit for the sake of keeping his cozy position and doesn't give a particular shit about what's actually happening to humanity.
>>719335238He is right, but he also never openly admits his true feelings, you only get it in snippets like "you need me". That isn't Breen being power-hungry, he genuinely is the only thing standing between the Combine and the total extinction of humanity. He is not living it up in luxury while everybody else suffers, just the opposite; Breen ultimately suffers more than most other humans, having his brain copied many times and put into the body of a giant maggot. The state you see humanity in by HL2 is a lot better than it could be. If we consider humans to already be part of the Combine during the events of the game, the civilians we see are probably one of the most free parts of the whole organization. Everything else is just a cog in a machine, not even allowed to move or think unless told to.Breen's goal is ultimately buying time and he succeeded. The rebels still existed by the time Gordon showed up and then Gordon won. I'm not going to pretend that was his plan all along, obviously he had some other plan in mind since he actively fights against Gordon and seems genuinely distraught when losing, but Breen is constantly negotiating with advisors for more leniency and more time.I don't think for a second that Breen wants humanity to be part of the Combine. He simply has no choice but to say and do things to the contrary of his real feelings.
He didn't even write his own speeches "reproductive cycle" isn't how humans talk
>>719335238is that the guy from skibid toilet?
>>719337117Shut up gamet injector
>>719335238I don't even remember what the story was
>>719337117It is how an admin at a science lab with a savior complex and high on his own farts would talk.
>>719335238Fucked up because idk what I would do in his position.
>>719336978he's not standing between the combine and human extinction. he's a middle manager facilitating a slow, peaceful transition towards human extinction
>>719335238right about what? i wasnt paying attention but he seemed like a dork. i just wanted to shoot some guns
How much humanity is actually left in the Overwatch troopers? Obviously the metrocopes are more or less just citizens who signed up but I was always under the impression that once you hit soldier status you had basically been reduced to automaton. Yet based on a Breencast it seems like they're mostly normal>I will leave the upbraiding for another time, to the extent it proves necessary. Now is the moment to redeem yourselves. If the transhuman forces are to prove themselves an indispensable augmentation to the Combine Overwatch, they will have to earn the privilege. I'm sure I don't have to remind you that the alternative, if you can call it that, is total extinction - in union with all the other unworthy branches of the species. Let's not allow it to come to that. I have done my best to convince Our Benefactors that you are the finest the species has to offer. So far they have accepted my argument, but without concrete evidence to back it up, my words sound increasingly hollow even to me. The burden of proof is on you. As is the consequence of failure. I'll just leave it at that.
>>719335392But how? By suppressing pleasure and reproductive functions?
>>719335392I find it helpful at times like these to remind myself that our true enemy is Instinct. Instinct was our mother when we were an infant species. Instinct coddled us and kept us safe in those hardscrabble years when we hardened our sticks and cooked our first meals above a meager fire and startled at the shadows that leapt upon the cavern's walls. But inseparable from Instinct is its dark twin, Superstition. Instinct is inextricably bound to unreasoning impulses, and today we clearly see its true nature. Instinct has just become aware of its irrelevance, and like a cornered beast, it will not go down without a bloody fight. Instinct would inflict a fatal injury on our species. Instinct creates its own oppressors, and bids us rise up against them. Instinct tells us that the unknown is a threat, rather than an opportunity. Instinct slyly and covertly compels us away from change and progress. Instinct, therefore, must be expunged. It must be fought tooth and nail, beginning with the basest of human urges: The urge to reproduce.We should thank our benefactors for giving us respite from this overpowering force. They have thrown a switch and exorcised our demons in a single stroke. They have given us the strength we never could have summoned to overcome this compulsion. They have given us purpose. They have turned our eyes toward the stars.
>>719340775I don't think the Combine entirely wiped out the humanity within Overwatch. It would probably be impractical and likely defeat the purpose of converting humans to begin with. The Combine are nothing if not pragmatic. They keep the parts of the human that incentizes cooperation and camaraderie, and leave out the more problematic stuff like individualist thinking or especially strong senses of self preservation. If the Combine wanted machine soldiers, they are more than able to make them. It's either that or Breen is a huge blowhard and is letting off steam on what is effectively thinking objects.
