Talk:Wallace Breen

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[edit] Quotes

Should we put up a quote or two from one of his ingame speeches? I'm looking for a transcript of the "Collaborator" speech he makes in Anticitizen One, or better still the one he makes referring to the suppression field. It'll give the reader insight into his mindset. Qjuad 18:25, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

Collaboration:
It has come to my attention that some have lately called me a Collaborator, as if such a term were shameful. I ask you, what greater endeavor exists than that of collaboration? In our current unparalleled enterprise, refusal to collaborate is simply a refusal to grow; an insistence on suicide, if you will. Did the lung fish refuse to breathe air? It did not. It crept forth, boldly, while its brethren remained in the blackest ocean abyss, with lidless eyes forever staring at the dark, ignorant and doomed despite eternal vigilance. Would we model ourselves on the trilobite? Are all the accomplishments of humanity fated to be nothing more than a layer of broken plastic shards, thinly strewn across a fossil bed, sandwiched between the burgess shale, and an eon's worth of mud? In order to be true to our nature, and our destiny, we must aspire to greater things. We have outgrown our cradle. It is futile to cry for mother's milk when our true sustenance awaits us among the stars. And only the Universal Union, that small minds call the Combine, can carry us there. Therefore I say yes, I am a collaborator. We must all collaborate, willingly, eagerly, if we expect to reap the benefits of unification. And reap we shall.
Suppression field:
Let me read a letter I recently received. "Dear Dr. Breen, why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, a concerned citizen." Thank you for writing, concerned. Of course, your question touches on one of the basic biological impulses, with all of its associated hopes and fears for the future of the species. I also detect some unspoken questions. Do Our Benefactors really know what's best for us? What gives them the right to make this kind of decision for mankind? Will they ever deactivate the suppression field and let us breed again? Allow me to address the anxieties underlying your concerns, rather than try to answer every possible question you might have left unvoiced. First, let us consider the fact that for the first time ever, as a species, immortality is within our reach. This simple fact has far reaching implications; it requires radical rethinking and revision of our genetic imperatives. It also requires planning and forethought that run in direct opposition to our neural presets. I 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 started 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 exercised 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. Let me assure you that the suppressing field will be shut off on the day that we have mastered ourselves, the day we can prove we no longer need it. And that day of transformation, I have it on good authority, is close at hand.
Add them how you see fit. Nufy8 18:56, 18 August 2005 (UTC)
Another quickie at the start:
Welcome! Welcome to City 17. You have chosen, or have been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my administration here, in the citadel so thoughtfully provided by our benefactors. I've been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your journey to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here.
Anonymous 14:39, 22 December 2005 (PST)


Speech in Water Hazard:
We now have direct confirmation of a disruptor in our midst, one who has acquired an almost messianic reputation in the minds of certain citizens. His figure is synonymous with the darkest urges of instinct, ignorance and decay. Some of the worst excesses of the Black Mesa Incident have been laid directly at his feet. And yet unsophisticated minds continue to imbue him with romantic power, giving him such dangerous poetic labels as the One Free Man, the Opener of the Way. Let me remind all citizens of the dangers of magical thinking. We have scarcely begun to climb from the dark pit of our species' evolution. Let us not slide backward into oblivion, just as we have finally begun to see the light. If you see this so-called Free Man, report him. Civic deeds do not go unrewarded. And contrariwise, complicity with his cause will not go unpunished. Be wise. Be safe. Be aware.


Transhuman army:
I have been asked to say a few words to the transhuman arm of Sector Seventeen Overwatch, concerning recent successes in containing members of the resistance Science Team. Let me say up front that I regret having to temper my heartfelt congratulations with a strong measure of disappointment. But I wouldn't be doing my duty as your Administrator if I didn't pass along the message I have received from our Benefactors. The capture of Eli Vance is an event of major significance, make no mistake. And while it's true that conceivably we could have taken him at almost any time in the last several years, the manner of his capture may prove to have unexpected benefits. It cannot have gone unnoticed by all resistance members that Doctor Vance's capture coincided with the act of giving shelter to Gordon Freeman. This might cause other resistance members to think twice before harboring Doctor Freeman. It might cause them to question his allegiance; even prompt some to turn him out, or turn him over to our cause. However, we cannot count on such developments. Doctor Freeman's reputation is such that other desperate renegades are likely to grant him a great deal of license in the spirit of spreading general chaos and terror. This brings me to the one note of disappointment I must echo from our Benefactors. Obviously I am not on the ground to closely command or second-guess the dedicated forces of the Overwatch, but this does not mean I can shirk responsibility for recent lapses and even outright failures on their part. I have been severely questioned about these shortcomings, and now must put the question to you: How could one man have slipped through your forces' fingers time and time again? How is it possible? This is not some agent provocateur or highly trained assassin we are discussing. Gordon Freeman is a theoretical physicist who had barely earned the distinction of his Ph.D. at the time of the Black Mesa Incident. I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was in a state that precluded further development of covert skills. The man you have consistently failed to slow, let alone capture is by all standards just that--an ordinary man. How could you have failed to apprehend him? Well...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.


Dr. Breen also questioned Gordon Freeman directly:


I'd like to take a moment to address you directly, Dr. Freeman. Yes, I'm talking to you. The so-called One Free Man. I have a question for you. How could you have thrown it all away? It staggers the mind. A man of science, with the ability to sway reactionary and fearful minds toward the truth choosing instead to embark on a path of ignorance and decay. Make no mistake, Dr. Freeman. This is not a scientific revolution you have sparked...this is death and finality. You have plunged humanity into freefall. Even if you offered your surrender now, I cannot guarantee that our benefactors would accept it. At the moment, I fear they have begun to look upon even me with suspicion. So much for serving as humanities representative. Help me win back their trust, Dr. Freeman. Surrender while you still can. Help ensure that humanities trust in you is not misguided. Do what is right, Dr. Freeman. Serve mankind.


Then, later on, in the Citadel, Dr. Breen talks to him and to him alone (no one else can hear this):


So, this is Dr. Freeman, at last. I wish I could say this was a pleasant surprise, but it's neither a surprise, nor, as you would surely agree, very pleasant. Well, I am nothing if not pragmatic.
Well, Dr. Freeman, under other circumstances I like to think we might have been able to work together in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Certainly judging from your brief tenure at Black Mesa while I was its Administrator, you showed every promise of becoming a valuable and productive contributor to the scientific process. And yet, I'm not sure what spurred you to it, but there is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist.
Your mentors are partly to blame, of course; my disappointment in Isaac Kleiner and Eli Vance is far greater than my sorrow over your unfortunate choice of career path. In a way I suppose you could not have done otherwise. Who knows what seeds of iconoclasm they planted when you were young and gullible. But while they certainly share a great part of the responsibility for the recent troubles, it is you alone who have chosen to act in such willful disregard for humanity's future.
Tell me, Dr. Freeman, if you can. You have destroyed so much. What is it, exactly, that you have created? Can you name even one thing? I thought not.
I have laid the foundation for humanity's survival, and not as we have narrowly defined ourselves, but as something far greater than we could ever imagine. Something we can now only begin to glimpse.
Look, Gordon. Look at what you are throwing away. Is it worth it?! (at this point it sounds like Dr. Breen is pleading with Gordon, probably because Overwatch still hasn't managed to kill him and he's starting to get scared; later, when Gordon is safely secure in one of those containment carriers, his confidence has once again skyrocketed)
Half-Life 2 has a section for WikiQuotes. You could try placing these quotations there.--WaltCip 17:42, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
It would be interesting to note on the page, since the one quote that is transcribed is the one that ends with "Serve mankind," that this may be a reference to the Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man."

[edit] Picture

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[edit] Wallace Breen

Shouldn't this article be moved to an article called "Wallace Breen" so as to keep in line with encyclopedic standards? This current article could then be a redirect to Wallace Breen.--SOCL 15:21, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common names) says to use the most common name a subject is referred to as. I think Mossman calls him Wallace a few times at the end, but it seems to me that he's mostly known as Dr. Breen. Nufy8 16:05, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Video Propaganda

Well this is more of a technical question. But when you see Breen on those screens in the game is he actually transmitting (the live video) from one location?

Yes. The game does those videos using invisible "rendered camera" entities that can be placed anywhere on the map and used to transmit feeds. If you have Garry's Mod, you'll note that the interface allows spawning of remote camera entities, which are the same ones the game uses. They have no models attached to them, so they appear invisible in-game. They're shown as sprites in the Source map editor. CABAL 11:32, 1 August 2005 (UTC)
Just to note, if you put on "noclip" in the first level, you can fly through the map and spot Breen's broadcast room, and you'll even be able to see the small Combine symbol that's over his shoulder on the screen. Also, you can fly to a mini version of Kleiner's lab that you sort of see when he's talking to Barney, and you can fly to the infamous test chamber from Half-Life and an incomplete version of the Combine Citadel that was in the background when the G-Man was speaking. Nufy8 16:20, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

That's pretty cool. I had anticipated the answer to my question but I wanted confirmation. Is there any sort of article on this "Camera rendering"? -- Psi edit

Not really. The technology itself has been around for a while. Have you played any of the Serious Sam games and noted that portals could show a live view of their destination area? Nothing new here. CABAL 10:50, 2 August 2005 (UTC)
This may not be enough help, but here is the article regarding the entity used on the Valve Developer Community. Better than nothing, eh? --Charron 21:06, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Dr. Breen as a host for a Combine creature?

As you're riding the elevator with Alyx after Dr. Breen hits you with the gravity gun, you can hear him arguing with the Combine about his destination being barely acceptable for the host body.

I can go back and find the dialogue in the game, but someone who has the know-how could probably isolate the file and get a more accurate transcript.

"There's no way I can survive in that environment. A host body? You must be joking! I can't possibly... oh, alright damnit, if that's what it takes." I'm thinking Dr. Breen needs a host body to teleport to his destination, rather than being a host body. Nufy8 21:24, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
Yeah, that. There goes one theory.
In HL2:RTB, there's a sketch and dialogue of a concept of Breen at the end of the game. Like in the final version, he would make his Breencasts as normal, but, at the end of the game, Breen was to be revealed as being half-transformed into a Combine "grub" so as to gain immortality. Pretty much the only thing out of the flesh and technology that resembled him would be his head.--YoungFreud 18:47, 24 September 2005 (UTC)
Shouldn't we had info about the "host body" quote? We could at least post that info as a curiosity.

Oh, come on. I've played HL2 and ep1 and it's pretty obvious that Breen would receive a host body to teleport into, so as to survive whatever world he'll end up in. It's in the quote the fella above, er, quoted and it is very obvious. --Haris 03:19, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] request for more breencasts

There's really only a few more Breencasts. Request that somebody fill them in for completeness.

Done. Nufy8 02:26, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Killing Dr. Breen

Added the cheat that allowed you to kill Breen. JAF1970 18:36, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] He survived?

Where's the proof that he survived the explosion? I played through Episode One and couldn't find out what happened to him. Knowitall 00:49, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Breen's surrender

I have RTB and I cannot find anywhere in it anything regarding Dr. Breen's surrender to the Combine. Can someone either point me to a page number that I keep missing, or the supposed picture of him with the radio gear on? 216.68.209.189 22:00, 9 June 2006 (UTC)dethtoll

Some in-game newspaper clippings from Black Mesa East mention it.--Name Theft Victim 21:50, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
Yeees, but that doesn't actually answer my question. 216.68.209.189 19:15, 1 July 2006 (UTC)dethtoll
I also checked RTB and couldn't find such a picture.

[edit] Facial Basis?

Anyone know who's face Dr. Breen's was derived from? 02:08, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be in RTB? I'll go find my copy in the morning and check for you. 216.68.209.189 08:00, 12 July 2006 (UTC)dethtoll
It's in page 122 of h-l2:Raising the Bar, but it is not mentioned what is the model's name.
I always thought he looked (and sounded) like Dennis Hopper.

[edit] Dr.Breen and Dr.Green and Trevor Goodchild

Is it possible that the Administrator's name is a parody of the ER character?

Personally, I think it's more likely a reference to Trevor Goodchild, who is the leader of the nation of Bregna...whose citizens are called Breens. Trevor is a doctor/dictator known for long-winded speeches and probably-evil motives. I suppose it could be both though. --24.46.164.83 18:39, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Should slight resemblances of sean connery be noted?

See subject.

Flashn00b 16:33, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

He reminds me more of Dennis Hopper. Ednel 18:42, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Black Mesa Research Facility Administrator

Dr. Breen is clearly a classic case of Retcon - In Half-Life the only two non-generic characters were Gordon Freeman and the GMan. Every single appearance of the G-Man within HL1 made it clear that he was the "administrator" who was spoken of. My guess is that as Gordon was now employed by the GMan, they needed a new antagonistic human character to play off of, and it was easier to retcon Breen as the Administrator than to create a totally new character with their own backstory.

[edit] Dr Breen and Mr Breen from Razor 1911

Was the name Breen taken from the name of a leader of Razor 1911? (Razor 1911)(Scroll down to 'Members raided' paragraph 2) 88.104.106.107 11:16, 8 July 2007 (UTC)