Hybrids, as seen in Resistance 3, the most commonly known Chimera.
The Chimera are an alien species and the main antagonists of the Resistance series. Hailing from an unknown planet, the Chimera previously inhabited Earth millions of years prior to humanity's existence, until they were forced to leave the planet following a devastating conflict with another alien race. For reasons that remain unknown, the Chimera returned to Earth in the early 20th century and waged a genocidal war against humanity.
History
Origins
Concept art of the Chimera's home planet.
The precise origins of the Chimera are unknown, but it is known that at least 60 million years ago a race of beings, presumably the original or "Pure" Chimera, had colonized Earth and established a foothold on the planet.[1] During this era, the Chimera came into conflict with another alien race. It is unknown what the outcome of this war was, but evidence suggests the damage dealt to the Chimera was devastating; the Chicxulub Crater was created as a result of the conflict, and the effects of the impact forced the Chimera to completely abandon Earth. The remnants of technology from this war, known as Gray Tech, were discovered by human scientists, who concluded that the non-Chimeran artifacts may have some ties to the Chimera's absence on Earth.[2]
Return
Over 60 million years later, the Chimera returned to Earth during the Tunguska Event of 1908. Their arrival was initially interpreted as a small asteroid or comet strike; the object descending through the Earth's atmosphere was presumably a spacecraft or capsule. Evidence suggests that the Chimera had planned the attack on Earth since the time of their departure, as shown by the presence of the Chimeran Tower network that was found buried across the world. Some towers even happened to be under major population centers, such as London, Paris, Chicago and New York.
From the moment of their arrival on Earth, the Chimera proceeded to infect and/or kill almost every living organism in Russia before making themselves known in 1927. Russia would be completely conquered by the Chimera by the late 1930s. Initially, knowledge of the Chimera's existence was completely unknown to the rest of the world due to Russia's strict isolationist policies. However, Western intelligence agencies became aware of strange events transpiring in Russia, such as abnormally cold weather changes, but erroneously believed that the Chimera were the byproduct of a Russian military experiment gone wrong.
Chimeran War
During the 1940s, the Chimera patiently amassed their forces before breaking through the Red Curtain and swiftly invading Europe on December 1949, beginning the Chimeran War. In a matter of weeks, continental Europe was conquered before the United Kingdom, the last European nation, was eventually invaded after the Chimera dug under the English Channel, easily overwhelming its defenders. Noted changes in the environment/climate of Britain and the excavation of many Chimeran towers by the Chimera happened shortly after their brutal takeover of the country. However, it was not until the intervention of the United States during the Battle of London which resulted in the decimation of the Chimeran forces throughout the United Kingdom, and the knowledge of the Chimera's delicate hive-like connection to the Angels becoming a known weakness, that the tide slowly began to turn against the Chimera. The destruction of the Chimeran tower network in Britain marked a victory for humanity, which eventually led to Western Europe's liberation during Operation Overstrike.
Despite these setbacks, the Chimera were quick to learn from their failures and made progressive changes in creating newer and stronger strains, and made use of advanced technology to continue their onslaught on the western hemisphere. With the fall of the Angels, the Chimera came under the leadership of Daedalus, a former human known as Jordan Shepherd who was a severely mutated by-product of Project Abraham. It was under Daedalus that the Chimera were able to invade Canada, Africa, and South America within two years before setting their focus on the United States. The Chimera intended to activate the tower network across the planet, and sought to reach the inactive towers remaining in America.
Ultimately, the Chimera invaded the U.S. on May 15, 1953, deploying a large fleet of Chimeran airships which totally decimated the country and its military within just over a month. By this time, the Chimera activated the tower network and channelled its energy towards the Chicxulub Crater, where the energy was being harnessed by the Chimeran fleet's flagship. SRPA attempted to stop Daedalus and the Chimera by destroying the fleet with a fission bomb. However, the detonation of the bomb only served to "kick-start" the tower network, causing a large energy surge that opened a wormhole in the Earth's atmosphere. This wormhole led to the home system of the Chimera, presumably allowing for the Chimera to send numerous reinforcements to Earth.
Occupation of Earth
By 1957, the Chimera had taken total control over Earth. As a result, the Chimera, for unexplained reasons, had forgone the need to capture and convert human beings (possibly due to the Hale vaccine which canceled the effects of the Chimeran virus, and that the majority of Earth's human population are either infected or killed) and subsequently began an extermination campaign to wipe out what remained of the human race, and with the goal of terraforming Earth into a frozen wasteland using massive orbital weapons known as Terraformers. The wormhole above the New York City Chimeran Tower would then be used for its sole purpose: to transport countless numbers of Pure Chimera from their homeworld to Earth.[3] Furthermore, the Chimera have for unknown reasons removed some Chimeran strains, such as Grims and Leapers, from the Chimeran military structure, consequently resulting in them becoming 'feral' and hostile to their own kind. A possible explanation for the hostilities between military Chimera and the feral strains can be identified as an issue of expired usefulness.
Following the Chimeran War, and the opening of the wormhole to the Chimera's home world, the Chimera on Earth had potential access to a near unlimited flow of Pure Chimera reinforcements to fight against small pockets of human resistance. Previously the wilder, more aggressive Chimeran strains had been useful in providing a more random and unpredictable fighting force to weaken and hinder humanity. However, once any real opposition to the Chimeran occupation had been reduced to small bands of survivors, they lost their usefulness and became the targets of a purge focused on removing the less advanced strains of Chimera. What remains unknown is how far this purging would have extended. It is possible that once the Pure Chimera retook and resettled the Earth, other strains would face elimination for the same reasons. This reinforces the image that the impure strains of Chimera were simply a means to an end, paving the way for the domination of the Pure Chimeran race.
Defeat
By August 1957, the Chimera were dealt a sudden and devastating blow when former Sentinel, Joseph Capelli, launched a desperate attack that destroyed the New York Tower, closing the wormhole and ending the Chimera's terraforming process, along with restoring Earth's climate. The attack on the New York Tower appeared to be humanity's own turning point as temperatures changed rapidly on the Eastern Coast of the United States just as human resistance fighters across the planet were reporting their successes against the Chimera, who appeared to be at a severe in-cohesive state. Over time it became apparent that humanity may have finally won the war against the Chimera and thus the survivors began to rebuild. It is still unknown what happened to all the technology that was left behind by the Chimera, after their defeat. One possibility is that humans have begun using Chimeran technology for their advantage.
Biology
A Marauder, one of the many varying strains of the Chimera species
Physical traits
The Chimera encountered on Earth are not the natural or "Pure" form of the species, being created by fusing human, animal and Chimera DNA through the use of a virus-like bioweapon. Physical characteristics of the various forms of Chimera mutants include having between two to six gold eyes, greatly varied anatomies, and grayish-green skin. Their metabolism is approximately twelve times that of a normal human being, granting them extraordinary regeneration abilities, speed, and strength.[4][5] The side effect of this trait is that their bodies tend to generate large amounts of heat, which can literally cook them from the inside out.[6] In order to counteract this effect, Chimeran soldiers have artificial cooling devices implanted on their backs in order to survive. Moreover, the regeneration ability is somewhat limited and can only save them from minor injuries, as opposed to critical injuries (headshot or organ damage).
Both the "Pure" Chimera and their mutant strains tend to thrive in very cold temperatures, and there have been successful attempts by the Chimera to alter the Earth's climate to suit their needs. As a direct result, temperatures in certain locations such as London under Chimeran occupation have been reduced to sub-zero temperatures, resulting in those areas being frozen.
The biology of the Chimera is detailed even further in SRPA files XX458199 and DNA548781PA. Since 1951, under Daedalus' command the Chimera have created strains capable of surviving warm climates, eliminating the need for artificial cooling devices.
The genetic make-up of the Chimeran virus appears to have been specifically designed to attack and modify human genes, suggesting that there is something more to the Chimera than is already known.[7] It is noted that all Chimeran strains are apparently male until the events of Resistance: Retribution, it revealed that infected female humans were kept in storage and be used for converting into newer and exclusively female strains, such as Boilers and Hags.
Reproduction
The Chimera reproduce through parasitism, converting other species into various Chimeran soldiers by sending Crawlers and/or Spinners (both being small, insect-like Chimera) in a spire missile to infect any creature near the crash site where the Spire lands. The conversion process (which normally goes very slowly) is greatly augmented with conversion centers, which artificially speed up the conversion of massive amounts of humans into Chimera.
In Resistance: Fall of Man, it appears as if the conversion centers are where all humans infected with the Chimeran virus are taken to be transformed into Chimeran soldiers and other strains. In Resistance 2, however, the Chimera only use conversion centers to create their more advanced strains, and they appear to now be located within Chimeran Towers and warships of the Chimeran Fleet, instead of being in separate buildings altogether. Most of the general population of areas they take over are now converted into Grims by Spinners unless there is a need for other strains. Captured soldiers appear to be taken to these conversion centers, perhaps because they are more battle-hardened than most noncombatant humans are.
By the events of Resistance 3 and taking place four years after, feral Chimera have evolved to have sexual genders and be able to sexually reproduce. And for unexplained causes, the Chimera have decided not to capture and convert humans (possibly due to the fact that they have already destroyed or assimilated most of the human race at this point or because of the Hale vaccine the conversion process would no longer work).
Psychology
The psychology of the average Chimeran troop appears to be very limited, with only the Angel caste (and later Daedalus) having advanced thought. However, SRPA file XX458198 suggests that normal Chimera may in fact retain vestigial memories of their previous life. The objects detailed in that file were normal items such as soap bars and toys, which were found to be carried by the Chimera that had been killed in battle.
Normal military Chimera are fully capable of military thought and comprehension, as shown by the Primarch and Overseer system. It has been stated, however, that their knowledge of anything else is very limited.
Feral Chimera are clearly capable of basic thought needed to survive without any form of outside nurturing or supervision, such as nourishment, reproduction and possibly self-preservation. They also seem to live in packs as opposed to being territorial and are highly aggressive towards humans and military Chimera.
Culture
Little is known of the culture of the Chimera, but it is, in combat situations at least, known to be brutal, with intelligence reports stating that Chimera will often cannibalize their own kind, usually wounded or dead, and are known to eat human beings as well.
Language
The Chimeran language has a twenty-nine symbol alphabet. This was discovered by Dr. Malikov in his research at Bryce Canyon in which he stated that it would take 5.8 billion years to try each combination. These combinations are used to lock or open Chimeran doors in Bryce Canyon, each of these doors is opened with a unique eleven symbol combination. These combinations are also used by the Chimera to control Chimeran Towers.
Chimeran symbols in the Terraformer.
These symbols appear in the Terraformer, in Resistance 3 and on multiple Malikov Journals. In-game, the symbols can be seen on a Chimeran terminal, inside the Terraformer.
Architecture
On Chimeran vehicles, weapons, buildings, and ships, there are usually three bright lights arranged in a triangle which appear to be completely aesthetic in nature. Additionally, there is often a curious mix of lights, grating, and solid metal where simple plates of metal would do. It is unknown whether these attachments serve a purpose.
Hierarchy
In Resistance: Fall of Man, a leadership caste exists within the Chimera, which consists of the Angels. The Angels possess a telepathic link to all Chimeran soldiers, through which they presumably issue commands. This gives an impression of a hive-like mentality among the Chimera. Without this link, the Chimera under that Angel's control rapidly begin to die off in a matter of days, or even minutes. To prevent this, groups of Angels are linked together through a series of Chimeran Towers, which are powered by nuclear fission reactors. Should the main hub tower of this network be destroyed, it is capable of creating a chain reaction that, as a result, would destroy all the other towers linked to that main Tower.
In Resistance 2, Daedalus has replaced or limited this leadership caste of Angels, deeming them too inefficient to be of great use to the Chimera anymore. Instead, he institutes a new leadership caste of Chimera, which now include Primarchs and Overseers as the main leaders of the Chimeran forces. A Primarch usually has control over 30 to 40 lower ranking Chimera, and Overseers normally control about 12 Primarchs, making for a much more efficient leadership system.[8] This makes it much harder for the Chimera to be stopped, compared to the original method where complete power was vested into an Angel.
In Resistance: The Gathering Storm, it is explained that the Chimera species is described as being part of a "great whole"; in which lesser units serve the larger ones. This hierarchy can be seen in Resistance 2, when a Titan knocks (and kills) two Hybrids out of its way.
Chimeran Strains
Very early concept art of Chimeran creatures.
Among the varied Chimeran strains, each served their specific roles in combat. Such as Hybrids being the most predominant form of infantry and Menials serving as base and facility personnel. Among some are made specifically in siege warfare and others, in higher roles in the Chimeran hierarchy, skilled in leadership. Also, certain Chimeran strains seem to be phased out by newer, more effective strains extraordinarily fast.
Pure Chimera
- Main article: Pure Chimera
Dr. Fyodor Malikov revealed that there are very old "pure forms" of Chimera. These Chimera are not created by parasitism as Hybrids, Titans, Steelheads, etc. are, but are in fact the original form of the Chimeran species. Malikov apparently discovered and experimented with these creatures in Russia and used their genetic materials to create his Cloven soldiers. He also injected Jordan Adam Shepherd and Nathan Hale with strains of DNA from this "pure form" of Chimera, resulting in Shepherd's transformation into Daedalus and Hale being a more-powerful-than-normal Sentinel.[7]
Technology
Chimeran technology is far superior to human technology. Chimeran weapons are capable of doing things no contemporary human weapon could ever do, such as ammunition homing in on enemies (the Bullseye), or tunneling through walls (the Auger). The Chimera also possess the knowledge to manufacture and field robotic A.I. Drones, and weather-changing technology.
Chimeran vehicles are powerful and outfitted with deadly weaponry. The Stalker, for example, is shielded in armour that most human weapons cannot penetrate, and comes with powerful weapons, including anti-aircraft batteries. The Chimeran Goliaths can fire shock mortars and Spire missiles directly into hostile territory, and their enormous size also serves a major negative psychological role to the Chimera's enemies on the battlefield.
Gallery
Resistance: Retribution
Resistance 2
Trivia
- The Chimera come from an idea in I-5/Girl With A Stick of a fantasy race named 'the Celestials' that imposed their architecture and style onto the I-5 work and their structures were dark and shiny and described as being 'chitinous'.
- The Chimera are variously referred to as the "Deathless Plague" by the Italians, the "Angry Night" by the Russians/Cloven and derogatorily "Gorillas" and "Stinks" by British and American soldiers in Resistance: Retribution and The Gathering Storm, respectively.
- In some languages the word "Chimera" is different according to regional release. In Italian it is "La Chimera", in French it is "Chimères", in German it is "Die Bestien" and in Spanish it is "La Quimera".
- In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fire-breathing monster, usually represented as a composite of a lion, goat and serpent. Also, in biology, Chimera is an organism consisting of at least two genetically different kind of tissue, as a result of mutation, grafting etc.
- According to artworks in the gallery of John Wu, Resistance: Fall of Man's mechanic and landscape designer at that time, the game's primary enemy was originally imperial Germany.
Sources
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