Free Cities - Lore Concept

[Jamais Vu]

Spoiler: Civilization Reigns

Free Cities
Having somehow endured the Portal Storms and the subsequent Combine invasion, the Free Cities remain the most influential human factions outside Combine control, preserving themselves as the last remnants of the Old World’s governments. While most of the few cities that survived the invasion ultimately submitted their governments to the Combine regime, the Free Cities refused to surrender their populations, indepedence and way of life to the alien regime.

Nevertheless, the Free Cities have ceased armed conflict with the Combine and conduct a form of "gray-zone" diplomacy with them. When necessary, they trade goods, labor, and technology with the Combine; in return, the Combine provides protection against Xen wildlife and the ongoing portal storms. Combine maintains a relatively hands-off policy toward the Free Cities, it is well aware that these cities harbor large, dense populations that could pose a bureaucratic burden for the Combine. Most civilians had little reason to take up arms, knowing that any organized resistance would make their city an immediate target for Combine retaliation. Nevertheless, it is known that the Combine forcibly incorporated Vortigaunt populations into its ranks.

The Free Cities see themselvs as successors to their former governments, with the primary objective of rebuilding themselves into functioning nation-states. Their long-term goals are to provide their citizens with a reasonable standard of living, restore the ecological structure of their nation's biosphere, and develop a professional police and military forces capable of safeguarding their independence.

Although They often lack of the technological and military protection afforded by the Combine, the Free Cities remain the closest living remnants of the Old World, preserving much of its daily life, customs, and fundamental principles. While forced relocation policy across Combine-controlled urban centers gradually displace native city's population, the people of the Free Cities continue to preserve their pre-combine way of life and even national/tradinational values.

Free Cities typically have populations ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 (Significantly larger than the Combine civilian population), with the largest ones reaching as many as half a million inhabitants. Unlike Combine-controlled cities, they maintain substantial rural populations that sustain food production, gathering, and scavenging. Over the years, these people have developed a culture based on survival in the post-war world, allowing them to endure conditions that would be unsustainable for combine citizens.


The economic structures of the Free Cities vary considerably. Given the state of the world, some exist under a state of perpetual emergency, with their economies having gradually shifted toward supporting a permanent war effort. Most cities continue to rely on industrial techniques, obtaining raw materials through a network of stations and outposts scattered throughout the surrounding rural areas as mentioned before. They tend to incorporate smaller surrounding settlements and units, often through the use of force.​

 

[Fredemund]

I really like this idea

 

[Fregiscard]

Free TVs !!

 

[RedHotGinger]

Nevertheless, the Free Cities have ceased armed conflict with the Combine and conduct a form of "gray-zone" diplomacy with them. When necessary, they trade goods, labor, and technology with the Combine; in return, the Combine provides protection against Xen wildlife and the ongoing portal storms. Combine maintains a relatively hands-off policy toward the Free Cities,

This passage alone kills this entire idea if we even want to remotely represent the Combine in a relatively canon compliant manner. The idea of the Combine not only tolerating such cities, which is a MAJOR stretch by itself, but actively engage in good faith with them is relentlessly damaging to their image. This wouldn't even fit an early occupation scope as it is way too wishy-washy for the Combines tastes, putting it simply.

Even moderately sized settlements would at BEST have to basically hide or keep their heads down, but this post goes well beyond moderation and lists them as genuine powers to be within the world. With ambitions far exceeding simple survival - something that would be even more anathema for the Combine to tolerate.

Their long-term goals are to provide their citizens with a reasonable standard of living, restore the ecological structure of their nation's biosphere, and develop a professional police and military forces capable of safeguarding their independence. (!?!)

Free Cities typically have populations ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 (Significantly larger than the Combine civilian population), with the largest ones reaching as many as half a million inhabitants. Unlike Combine-controlled cities, they maintain substantial rural populations that sustain food production, gathering, and scavenging.

This all bumps the scale of these things beyond any reasonable level. Even if the Combine were not an actively antagonistic factor (Which they absolutely would be, exclusively so) the idea of them maintaining large, open rural and far-reaching, poorly defended spaces just doesn't even fit. Antlions and other xenians would make quick work of huge swathes of the population in no time.

Smaller outposts can exist, and I even believe mild settlements could. Hundreds of people may be found in particularly well secured areas, but these would
1. Be hidden from the Combine above all else
2. Be defendable and built entirely to be so from other milder threats

But entire cities, freely engaged and in open cooperation with the Combine is just beyond any semblance of Half Lifes DNA.

If you wanted an idea like this to work, you would have to scale the concept back pretty exceptionally, likely rendering this a special case for a specific sector or city. Since I *could* see a cabal of CCA members, such as a City Administrator and some other local security and political entities, looking the other way in regard to a revived urban settlement comprised of a thousand or so people. Perhaps doing this in exchange for something highly beneficial to themselves, though it'd have to be dear to them indeed to take such a risk.

As there is no reality where entities like this would be tolerated, let alone cooperated with, by the Combine. In our lore we currently have people living just outside of Paris, and even that's really shaky. The Combine view pretty much anyone outside of its linear system as a literal foreign entity inside its own 'body' and treats them as such. If you're not active participant to the larger Combine will, obedient and properly subsumed - you're a cancer due for removal as far as they see it.

the Free Cities refused to surrender their populations, indepedence and way of life to the alien regime.

As a sidenote, the Seven-Hour War surrender was in no-way negotiable. If you kept up the fighting you were probably due to be bones by the Eighth hour. These cities would have to be post-war products at the bare minimum.

In general, you could rework this into a much smaller scale, with far greater respect to what the Combine is - which is a multi-dimensional tyrannical empire which devours species at its whim. They simply do not have any 'good will' to supply. Any favors you gain are transactional - with a HEAVY interest.

 

[Fredemund]

This passage alone kills this entire idea if we even want to remotely represent the Combine in a relatively canon compliant manner. The idea of the Combine not only tolerating such cities, which is a MAJOR stretch by itself, but actively engage in good faith with them is relentlessly damaging to their image. This wouldn't even fit an early occupation scope as it is way too wishy-washy for the Combines tastes, putting it simply.

Even moderately sized settlements would at BEST have to basically hide or keep their heads down, but this post goes well beyond moderation and lists them as genuine powers to be within the world. With ambitions far exceeding simple survival - something that would be even more anathema for the Combine to tolerate.




This all bumps the scale of these things beyond any reasonable level. Even if the Combine were not an actively antagonistic factor (Which they absolutely would be, exclusively so) the idea of them maintaining large, open rural and far-reaching, poorly defended spaces just doesn't even fit. Antlions and other xenians would make quick work of huge swathes of the population in no time.

Smaller outposts can exist, and I even believe mild settlements could. Hundreds of people may be found in particularly well secured areas, but these would
1. Be hidden from the Combine above all else
2. Be defendable and built entirely to be so from other milder threats

But entire cities, freely engaged and in open cooperation with the Combine is just beyond any semblance of Half Lifes DNA.

If you wanted an idea like this to work, you would have to scale the concept back pretty exceptionally, likely rendering this a special case for a specific sector or city. Since I *could* see a cabal of CCA members, such as a City Administrator and some other local security and political entities, looking the other way in regard to a revived urban settlement comprised of a thousand or so people. Perhaps doing this in exchange for something highly beneficial to themselves, though it'd have to be dear to them indeed to take such a risk.

As there is no reality where entities like this would be tolerated, let alone cooperated with, by the Combine. In our lore we currently have people living just outside of Paris, and even that's really shaky. The Combine view pretty much anyone outside of its linear system as a literal foreign entity inside its own 'body' and treats them as such. If you're not active participant to the larger Combine will, obedient and properly subsumed - you're a cancer due for removal as far as they see it.



As a sidenote, the Seven-Hour War surrender was in no-way negotiable. If you kept up the fighting you were probably due to be bones by the Eighth hour. These cities would have to be post-war products at the bare minimum.

In general, you could rework this into a much smaller scale, with far greater respect to what the Combine is - which is a multi-dimensional tyrannical empire which devours species at its whim. They simply do not have any 'good will' to supply. Any favors you gain are transactional - with a HEAVY interest.

 

[Lab]

50,000 - 100,000 being "signifcantly larger than Combine-occupied city populations" doesn't make sense. Aren't there still billions of people sequestered into 100 or so cities? There'd be tens of millions cramped in each city at least

 

[McGee]

I thought it was neat until I read 50,000 to 100,000 people living in these free cities and felt like the combean would not allow that. They'd have to be actual small settlements of like, 100 to 1,000, somewhat hidden away.

If these cities are to exist, they'd have to be small and insignificant enough for the Union not to bother with a response, likely in an area with lesser resources and strategic importance.

 

[John Rico]

I remember discussing something similar in past communities.
Concept can work but you gotta scale it realistically and make it make sense geographically.
An outlands city could totally go under the radar if it was in the middle of no-where (if you go by the willard world map, probably Siberia, Central Asia, South America, places like that) but it has to be too isolated for the Combine to notice or care about it. A big town of a few thousand people living in post-apocalyptic conditions, not better than that.

 

[Kamilisha Haijulikani]

50,000 - 100,000 being "signifcantly larger than Combine-occupied city populations" doesn't make sense. Aren't there still billions of people sequestered into 100 or so cities? There'd be tens of millions cramped in each city at least

City 13 has a population of 6-10 million (probably on the lower side unless something in future contradicts this).

 

[adnolug]

My headcanon is that once the Combine took over the world outside the walled cities became a bit like the Wild West.

The portal storms and the invasion likely cut humanity off from the internet, crippled infrastructure, and destroyed electrical grids. National governments collapsed, though some provinces and cities without a strong Combine presence still tried to hold society together.

As in canon, the Combine eventually began establishing Urban Centers, moving people into them either by force or by choice. People fled to these Combine controlled cities in masses, since living under their rule was still better than facing famine and alien monsters in the wilderness.

Now, as shown in Half life alyx the Combine likely became more oppressive over time in response to growing human resistance. The idea of the Combine instantly relocating everyone to cities right after the Seven Hour War feels a bit unrealistic. Instead, I imagine prewar countries, institutions, and corporations were gradually disbanded or integrated into Combine rule over several years.

Because of this, the Urban Centers became the primary supply hubs for the Combine. They began subjugating smaller outlying settlements by deploying forces as "saviors of humanity," when in reality, it was just a scheme to make resource extraction easier.

You might ask how these subjugated settlements differed from full Combine Cities: these towns retained their prewar local governments and received aid in exchange for services and resources. Eventually, if a settlement proved valuable enough, it would be upgraded into a full Urban Center. If not, its population would eventually be rounded up and forced into existing ones.

Over time, the Combine gradually withdrew aid from less profitable settlements, leaving them vulnerable to famine, bandits, and Xen flora and fauna. As the Combine solidified its grip over Earth, it isolated itself from the broader human population, leaving the world outside the Urban Centers largely depopulated.

Ultimately, these policies backfired. Growing instability and resistance likely forced the Combine to clamp down restricting human freedoms, forcing relocations, and locking down the Urban Centers entirely. After that point, any remaining free human settlements outside the walls were likely turned to target practice for the Airwatch.