What do the aliens really wants ? (and other related questions)

[Merlyn]

So this is mostly for those who have already finished the game at least once (so spoilers insides)


So what are the goals of the ethereals in the game ? At first thet seems to abducts humans, but the terror mission shows that they have no problems to kill the others they don't abduct.

If they want to find the perfect race, why do they kill humans ? At the end, the volunteer has the vision of the world being destroyed but if the world is destroyed, does it not contradic the ethereal plan ? Why not use a massive fleet and enslave the humanity once or for all as the doctor Shen early suggests they could if they would.

How do they control multiple alien species to work together ? Especially when you consider that the chrysalid, for instance, is a savage beast who could just attack the others aliens

What about the others ? cyberdisks, yes they are seemingly robots but the über etheral suggest they have been someting else once. What are outsiders ? the seekers are robots ?

[Jormundgand]

The goal of the etherals is to find the perfect species to control -- humans seems to be a prime candidate. Sectoids where too physically weak, Mutons had no talent for psionics; humans on the other hand are fairly strong physically (compared to sectoids) and do have psionics (well, at least some times). They kill humans to test them -- if they lose, they wheren't good enough for the ethereal. I suggest that the ethereal have gone bonkers since their plan is rather stupid -- if humans win, the ethereals lose and dies, if the ethereals win, the humans lose and dies. Either way, the etherals don't get what they want.

[red255]

They seem to spend alot of time frequenting our eateries and bars. So I assume they got the munchies.

[Wowee]

I always think they want to convert us to some wacky alien religion.

[Jormundgand]

Originally posted by red255:

They seem to spend alot of time frequenting our eateries and bars. So I assume they got the munchies.

Are you suggesting they're lacking fatty foods, too much coffee and alcohol?

[Merlyn]

Originally posted by Clearer:

Originally posted by red255:

They seem to spend alot of time frequenting our eateries and bars. So I assume they got the munchies.

Are you suggesting they're lacking fatty foods, too much coffee and alcohol?

when you see a thinmen, you can answer "yes".

[Kelloggs]

The way I see it, the Ethereals we meet in-game just want to ascend like supposely other Ethereal-related-species have done in the past.

The plot of the game revolves around the fact that these Ethereals have failed at doing this, which is apparently linked to life and psionic capabilities.

This search for perfection is what leads them to experiment on different species.

They are attacking Earth because they want to search for humans with great psionic potential...that's it.

At least that's how I see the plot.

---

Terror Missions happen simply to incite submission.

Killing machines/creatures (Sectopods, Floaters, Thinmen, Chryssalids, ...) are there to assure they can surpass any resistance.

[Jormundgand]

Originally posted by ciryon:

Originally posted by Clearer:

Are you suggesting they're lacking fatty foods, too much coffee and alcohol?

when you see a thinmen, you can answer "yes".

Sucks that everybody always chants "the customer is always right".

[Sape]

Originally posted by Clearer:

their plan is rather stupid -- if humans win, the ethereals lose and dies, if the ethereals win, the humans lose and dies. Either way, the etherals don't get what they want.

...Or maybe that was just part of their forces (if the ethereal wouldn't be the highest leader), and now when humans have won they'll come with full force and execute that plan of controlling humans; could be an idea for the next XCOM.

[Merlyn]

Originally posted by Sapee:

Originally posted by Clearer:

their plan is rather stupid -- if humans win, the ethereals lose and dies, if the ethereals win, the humans lose and dies. Either way, the etherals don't get what they want.

...Or maybe that was just part of their forces (if the ethereal wouldn't be the highest leader), and now when humans have won they'll come with full force and execute that plan of controlling humans; could be an idea for sequel XCOM.

Well that would be hard because if the humans have won this 1st part, that means they have the technology and the psionics to repel the next invaders except if the next wave is more powerful, have an edge that humans do not or that all the progress humans have done is for nothing (like in TFTD where the previous Xcom tech is unusable in water).

[stefort]

During the final mission the Uber Ethereal says of himself and the ethereals,
"Behold the greatest failure… of the Ethereal Ones… We who failed to ascend as they thought we would.
We who were cast out. We who were doomed to feed on the Gift of lesser beings… as we sought to uplift them… to prepare them… for what lies ahead. "
That could suggest that the ascension process they failed wasn't voluntary and that they are victims of more powerful beings. In that case, they may be trying to produce a species that can stand up to those higher beings.

[Merlyn]

So they would like to uplift humans as special forces against their own enemies...but that would have been easier for them to find earthlings as allies if they didn't have attacked them before ;)

[Shining Hector]

Mostly things happened as they did because otherwise there would be no game. The rest is just wankery. I mean really, do you think it's even conceivable for XCOM to have ever won if the aliens did anything remotely sensible?

Probably the best way to think of it is that the aliens never really regarded XCOM or humanity as a credible threat, so they just piddled around. The uber-ethereal is obviously a megalomaniac and may have actually thought itself physically invincible, plenty of human leaders through history have thought the same a split-second before the assassin's blade found its mark. The Romans actually went as far as having a slave constantly whipering "Remember, you are only a man" to generals during a triumphal procession, presumably because a lot of them tended to forget otherwise. Plenty of human wars have been lost by an aggressor who found the concept of defeat to be literally inconceivable and had no contingencies planned for that even. After all, the ethereals had enslaved other races in the past and were undefeated up to that point, why shouldn't they be able to dink around with the humans for as long as they want?

[Kelloggs]

Originally posted by Shining Hector:

Mostly things happened as they did because otherwise there would be no game. The rest is just wankery. I mean really, do you think it's even conceivable for XCOM to have ever won if the aliens did anything remotely sensible?

Good point, lol
Coming to stores: XCom, the more realistic version.

1st mission: Mutons, Sectopods and Cyberdisks destroy your rookies.

Game Over

[Cyborgt]

Originally posted by stefort:

During the final mission the Uber Ethereal says of himself and the ethereals,
"Behold the greatest failure… of the Ethereal Ones… We who failed to ascend as they thought we would.
We who were cast out. We who were doomed to feed on the Gift of lesser beings… as we sought to uplift them… to prepare them… for what lies ahead. "
That could suggest that the ascension process they failed wasn't voluntary and that they are victims of more powerful beings. In that case, they may be trying to produce a species that can stand up to those higher beings.

Yeah, i've always seen the story as the ethereals intentionally strengthening mankind to deal with some greater threat; possibly even with the intention for them to take over as leaders. As to what that greater threat may have been, I figured that was being left to an expansion/sequel to tell (if one were ever released.) Unfortunately, they already released an expansion and it has no further revelations to provide so I guess we'll have to wait for a sequel.

[red255]

The way I see the story is at some point ethereal culture managed to transcend to a higher plane, except 99% of them transcended and a small portion were left behind because they were failures in the process.

This drove them insane. so they went searching the universe for other races, trying to get them to transcend in an effort to study the process and figure out why they can't or to get a message to the people who abandoned them that they are left behind.