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GDI Base Closure
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Mission: North Carolina Badlands
Added: When recapturing the outpost
Transcript:
Scrap of News Article from 2043
...as of 2043 GDI has closed over 60% of their military bases around the
world, including installations in North Carolina, Brazil, and Eastern Europe.
The most recent cutbacks are due to a decrease in Nod activity - with Kane
dead, the Brotherhood seems to be splintering apart...
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Tiberium Primer
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Mission: North Carolina Badlands
Added: When harvesting is explained
Transcript:
Tiberium: A gift or a curse?
Tiberium is a scientific curiosity, a vastly powerful resource, an
unprecedented environmental cataclysm, a catalyst for war, and much more. It's
like nothing we've ever seen before and it is constantly transforming itself.
We are almost certain Tiberium is extraterrestrial in origin; it is not
man-made and there is no evidence of the substance on Earth prior to its first
appearance half a century ago. Early forms of Tiberium were almost organic,
sprouting out of the ground in what seemed to be plant-like pods, leaching
minerals out of the earth and emitting clouds of toxic gas. Over time,
Tiberium showed it had the ability to evolve and change.
By 2047, most Tiberium on Earth has manifested in what we know as its most
common form: A self-replicating proton lattice that turns any matter it
touches into more of itslef, giving off powerful radiation in the process. It
can change anything it comes into contact with into more Tiberium.
Is Tiberium terraforming the Earth into a planet suitable for alien life? Is
it a weapon? Is it a creature of some kind? Perhaps some form of
consciousness resides in the crystal lattices, a quantum crystalline brain that
grows ever smarter as it grows and grows. There are many theories about what
Tiberium actually is... and why it is here. Ultimately its origin and its
purpose - if it has one - are still a mystery.
GDI has not given up on trying to contain the spread of Tiberium. With
Tiberium infestation reaching critical levels and new, more sinister variants
of the substance turning up, things started to look pretty grim for planet
Earth in the middle of the 21st century. However, GDI has found a
vulnerability in the green crystal that they have begun to exploit. GDI
engineers have found the resonant frequency for Tiberium... and they have
created sonic resonators that are capable of breaking up Tiberium crystals.
A high level scientific explanation of the alien substance is included here for
students, engineers, and scientists: The most recent form of Tiberium is a
dense "dynamic proton lattice" held together by exotic heavy particles. When
Tiberium comes into contact with other matter, the heavy particles randomly
collide with the nuclei of the target matter, smashing it to pieces (in the
case of smaller nuclei) or incrementally knocking off protons and neutrons (in
the case of heavier nuclei). Tiberium captures a fraction of the protons that
are ejected during this collision process and incorporates them into its own
structure, thus transmuting matter into more Tiberium. Whenever one of the
heavy particles - a muon or tauon - collides with an atomic nucleus, fission
occurs, which results in the production of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation as
well as other forms of electromagnetic radiation (like infra-red). During the
transmutation process, nuclei that Tiberium has come into contact with may be
changed into nuclei with different (usually fewer) numbers of protons or
neutrons.
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Red, Yellow, and Blue Zones
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Mission: Casabad
Added: When starting the mission
Transcript:
Tiberium infestation has rendered 30% of the planet totally uninhabitable.
Large swaths of the Earth's surface have been designated as "Red Zones" - areas
that are desolate, swept by storms, and contaminated by vast amounts of
Tiberium. Venturing into, over, or even near these wastelands can be extremely
dangerous.
Beyond the Red Zones, Tiberium contamination has caused varying levels of
environmental damage in another 50% of the Earth's populated areas. In the
ecologically compromised and war torn Yellow Zones, Tiberium fields are common
- growing in the middle of cities, on farmland, and throughout the
enviroment. Tiberium-related climate change has caused an endless cycle of
droughts, floods, and severe weather of all types including spectacular
Category 6 hurricanes, tornadoes with wind speeds of 500 miles per hour, and
exceedingly violent thunderstorms. Especially destructive Ion Storms
occasionally rage out of the Red Zones to wreak havoc on cities and towns in
the borderlands.
Only 20% of the Earth's surface is in relatively pristine condition. The Blue
Zones suffer from minimal Tiberium infestation and have been relatively
untouched by war. The populations of the Blue Zones live in relative comfort,
going about their lives in high-tech futuristic cities that sit in forested
valleys or nestle in pastoral farmland.
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About the Brotherhood of Nod
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Mission: The Pentagon
Added: When primary objective # 4 is given
Transcript:
GDI views Nod as a dangerous, virulent, and inexplicably self-sustaining
terrorist group obsessed with accelerating the worst ecological catastrophe in
history, led by a charismatic and brilliant sociopath named Kane. The
Brotherhood sees itself quite indifferently. Nod believes that it is the agent
of change for a world in the throes of transition to a new order, the
representative of the poor and the opressed, and a foil to the previously
unchecked power of GDI.
Nod has the people, resources, organization, and raw military power necessary
to stand against GDI and wage war on a global scale. Yet the Brotherhood of
Nod isn't a country: it's a strange new hybrid organization that has the
combined characteristics of a religious movement, a multinational corporation,
and a nation-state. Given the awesome demands of modern warfare, with its
terrible cost and vast scale, Nod's ability to go toe-to-toe with GDI is
astonishing.
Nod is able to recruit thousands of new members every month from the desperate
populations of the borderlands. Their political, military, and logistical
operations are decentralized and buried deep inside the crumbling cities,
towns, and outposts in the decaying Yellow Zones. A vast and sophisticated
infrastructure is diguised from GDI, and Nod has perfected the art of moving
military assets and forces quickly over long distances without detection, even
by satellite or drone aircraft with the latest generation sensors.
Nod's core organization is very sophisticated and high-tech but they also have
a large guerilla force composed of hastily trained and minimally equipped
recruits from the Yellow Zones. Nod's field forces are an interesting mix of
low tech "militia" troops and smaller numbers of highly trained, elite soldiers
equipped with state of the art communications gear and the most advanced
weapon systems available.
Nod's military assets are experimental and exotic in both appearance and
function, but the durability of their units is suspect. Nod engineers are not
afraid to risk human life and will often sacrifice safety and protection for
increased abilities and speed. Their high-end military hardware runs on
Tiberium and tends to be fast but vulnerable, lethal but unstable. Nod
offensive weapons deployed on vehicles range from rockets, machine guns, and
flame throwers to toxines, lasers, and nuclear weapons. They also have a
number of Tiberium-based weapons.
-----------------------------
The Global Defense Initiative
-----------------------------
Mission: The Pentagon
Added: At the start of the mission
Transcript:
The Global Defense Initiative began as a secret military alliance of advanced
nations under the United Nations umbrella. GDI's mission: To contain
Tiberium, reverse its spread, and fight the sinister Brotherhood of Nod.
Over time, power and sovereignty have been gradually ceded to GDI and the
national identities of the participating countries have faded. In 2047 that
process has reached its final stages: While there are still technically
individual Member Nations, the reality is that GDI has become a unified
political and military super-state.
GDI controls the only areas of the Earth that have not been significantly
compromised by Tiberium infestation. The crystalline alien substance is slowly
consuming the rest of the planet, causing an environmental cataclysm that has
made 30% of the Earth uninhabitable and another 50% of the Earth's surface
exceedingly unfriendly to civilization. GDI's home territories are known as
"Blue Zones" since they are mostly clear of Tiberium and have been relatively
untouched by war (in contrast to the ecologically ravaged and war-torn "Yellow
Zones" and the Tiberium infested hellscapes designated as "Red Zones").
The clash between GDI and Nod has escalated into full world wars twice before -
the First Tiberium War (TWI) erupted when both powers were in their formative
states and that terrible war was followed by another worldwide firestorm
several years later.
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Health Effects of Tiberium Contamination
----------------------------------------
Mission: Sarajevo
Added: When capturing the Nod Science Ministry
Transcript:
What happens if you're exposed to Tiberium? Nothing good. If you come into
direct contact with Tiberium, the green matter will start to fuse with your
skin within about 20 seconds. You'll feel an intense burning sensation,
similar to touching a hot pan or spilling acid on your skin. A full blown
infection will manifest if you aren't treated immediately. Your flesh will
begin to crystallize; eventually your internal organs will shut down as
Tiberium extends rigid crystalline runners throughout your body. If you
breathe in the crystal, then it will become embedded in your lungs. You'll
lose the ability to process oxygen as your lung tissue crystallizes.
Eventually you'll start coughing up blood and will hemorrhage to death.
In some cases - and for unknown reasons - Tiberium infection will trigger
cellular mutation. It's not cancer in that the mutations seem strangely
directed; they don't kill you, but your body will begin to transform. The
mechanism for this mutation is not well understood.
---------------------
Life in a Yellow Zone
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Mission: Sarajevo
Added: When capturing the Mutant Hovel
Transcript:
Tiberium contamination affects Yellow Zones directly and indirectly. Climate
change, melting glacial ice, extreme weather, Tiberium field growth, and
decades of war have caused social collapse in several Yellow Zones. Many
cities in the most afflicted areas are run by warlords and criminal
organizations or have degenerated into anarchy - or they have fallen under the
thrall of the sinister Brotherhood of Nod.
Existence in the worst-off Yellow Zones is not pleasant at all. Your home is
likely to be in a decaying building with no running water. Power comes on for
a few hours a day at erratic times. Food is scarce. Doctors are rare. On a
few occasions food aid or medical care will be provided by humanitarian workers
visiting from the pristine and high tech Blue Zones.
A subsistence living is just the start. Tiberium contamination is a fact of
life, and thousands die every year from inhaling microscopic crystals that are
carried in smog, clouds of dust, and other airborne particulates. Tiberium may
even fall out of the sky suspended in rain drops if the clouds overhead have
passed through a Red Zone during or after an Ion Storm. Because of the drought
conditions in many Yellow Zones, rain showers are often greeted by the local
populations with an odd mix of fear, dread, and joy.
In the harsh reality of a Yellow Zone, Tiberium is not the only threat. If
Tiberium doesn't get you, then you are likely to fall victim to a violent
crime, get caught in the crossfire between warlords clashing over turf, or
become a collateral damage statistic in the global war between the armies of
the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod.
---------------------
GDI's Nuclear Weapons
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Mission: Cairo
Added: When the countdown has been announced
Transcript:
GDI still possesses a nuclear arsenal stored at key locations around the world
(including a large nuke base in the desolate outback of Australia, heavily
defended silos in North American Yellow Zones, and installations in other
remote areas). GDI leaders long ago made a vow not to ever use nuclear weapons
no matter how bad the situation got and kept that vow even as Nod acquired its
own nuclear capability. GDI's nukes are few in number but are stored with
delivery systems (including IBCMs) and kept at top operational readiness just
in case GDI leaders ever change their minds. The most difficult test of GDI
nuclear policy came in the early days of TW3 right after the strike on the
Philadelphia, but even then it's questionable how effective nukes would have
been in stemming the Nod tide given that Nod's forces were highly decentralized
and Nod troops were staging operations deep in GDI Blue Zones. Some view GDI's
pledge not to use nukes as a cynical one given that they deployed a new
precision weapon of mass destruction - the Ion Cannon - right at the time they
made their vow.
------------------------------
What is it like in a Red Zone?
------------------------------
Mission: Berne
Added: When destroying the air base
Transcript:
Excerpt from "International Orthographic's Guide to Our World Today"
If you were to equip yourself with a hardened environment suit and stand in the
middle of a Red Zone, you would see a landscape straight out of hell. The
ground is a blasted and barren plateau of rock laced with veins of Tiberium
that shine through with a malevolent green radiance. On the horizon are
massive formations of pure Tiberium that have welled up through the surrounding
earth. These frozen crystalline glaciers cast a sickly emerald glow on the
surrounding terrain. Tilt your head and you'll contemplate a cloudy, tortured
sky alive with twisting patterns of shimmering light and flickers of lightning.
If you wait long enough, you'll see an Ion Storm begin to form, the lightning
overhead intensifying until the entire environment is lit with rapid strobing
flashes. Eventually the vast and terrible energy overhead will begin arcing to
the ground around you in a terrifying display of destructive force. These
fireworks are accompanied by a howling toxic whirlwind that scours the deserted
ground and drives shards of Tiberium before it at insane speeds.
Red Zones are like the surface of an alien world. Scientists have speculated
that Tiberium is actually a terraforming agent for an alien civilization,
slowly transforming our world into an environment suitable for beings that have
evolved on a different planet. No definitive conclusions have been reached.
Unauthorized reproduction of this text will be met with the harshest possible
penalties, under the GDI anti-piracy convention of 2017.
----------------------------------
Red Zone Terrain: Tiberium Chasms
----------------------------------
Mission: Rome
Added: When starting the mission
Transcript:
Excerpt from GDI Red Zone Military Operational Database
Red Zones are the most hostile operational environments on the planet. The
abundance of Tiberium fields, the toxic radiation, the intimidating terrain
(including chasms and cliffs), the terrible weather, and the huge Tiberium
glaciers all contribute to make these hellscapes a nightmare for field
commanders. On the bright side, considering our resources and mobility, we
have found that Red Zone conditions don't completely jeopardize our fighting
ability. The following operational techniques are found to be the most
effective in Red Zone combat actions:
- Jump Jets: our commando and zone troopers make the best use of GFI
technology by simply jumping across the wide swathes of hostile terrain.
- Calling For Transport: the ground terrain poses serious challenges that can
be circumvented by bringing in a V35 OX to move units around.
- Expanding Ground Control: ground control can sometimes expand build radius
beyond the length of a chasm, allowing units to be produced on the other side.
In addition, transporting Surveyors across the chasm can allow for base
construction on the front lines.
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