Throughout the entirety of the history of the human race, the fall of any civilization have been an inevitable and ultimate concept to be thrown of into the far future when undesirable, or brought to the forefront of the present at any dispute with a nation and it's people. As time goes on, the duration of any given nation, especially those in power, had drastically increased, being able to more efficiently govern a people based on tested theories of the past.

Before the time known as the "Portal Storms" and events of "The Seven Hour War", the world's nations had been at the peak of their natural progression - still far from failure. Technological advancements of the previous decades had not drawn to a halt at the arrival of the Twenty-First century. The people of the modern nations were not silenced, but certainly lulled by the amount of entertainment provided by mass media, electronics and guided education: Controlling the flow of information to the people. It's considered controversial to think that, preluding the founding of the Universal Union, that the modern world was already in a state of oppression. People, by any physical bounds, were at no state of being oppressed, and like-wise there was no indirect means of oppression; Simply the people accepted and continued to accept what happens happened because there was simply no other way and this was impressed upon them by the articles that they read, the books that educated them, the news that they listened to and the people that inspired them. But as to to the status of the world known, it soon became irrelevant.

Speculation puts this new threat, this Universal Union, that swept the world in less than a day somewhere originating from a separate but parallel universe. Though not much concrete is known about the history of the Union, it's safe to assume that the growth of a combined, solid union, must endure centuries, if not millenniums of structure and restructure of the governing of its inhabitants. In the case of the Combine, this assertion seems ultimately true, however, the Universal Union is certainly tailored towards the oppression of its inhabitants, rather than the free governing of themselves; A system that tested the world before, but surely never realized its goals as intended during its inception.

The interruption of the modern world's natural progression by an alien influence, was a most devastating blow to the indigenous peoples of earth. Uncertainty, mixed with the sheer panic of something once understood as Science Fiction, took the world as known and turned it into a future designed and approved by the Universal Union. Their combined strength, technology and superiority changed the course of history indefinitely: Governments of the modern world resigned (not before substantial death tolls arose), the last pockets of large resistance quelled, and the beginning of the consolidation remaining inhabitants into cities to be monitored and controlled; to provide labor and productivity to the Combine Empire - All in a span of Seven Hours.

Through the next two decades the Combine still remain in power, painted, controversially, as our saviors and as our oppressors. They drained a once resource abundant world to its bones. They, through means of technology, suppressed the natural reproduction of the human race. They preform unorthodox experimentation on the humans' systems, controlling physical and mental stimuli via implantation or forced memory repression. Mass genocides are not unheard, but never seen, witnesses eradicated or wiped clean of all but the recognition of a few words, "Isolate", "Halt", and "Apply".  Word of official resistance always frequents those with the ears to hear it, but never seen beyond the unofficial aggressive thugs and apathetic rag of isolated street corners or alley ways, never acting through brute physical resistance. Only time determines whether this future is a permanent fixation for the human race, and only in times of great need has the world ever known for the human race to band together.

Resistance is not defined by a people, which through oppression rise as a factional standard against the tyranny of the Universal Union. Resistance is defined by a concept: That freedom is worth the price of self-sacrifice; An idea that is spawned inside one’s own head that he’d rather work – in joint cooperation – for a future better without him, than live in one significantly worse with him. As such, since resistance is a mindset, there is no “officiality” behind it. The act of retaliation by any means of physical, psychological or mental mediums is proof enough that resistance does exist.

Endurance is a standard that every member of this conceptual movement must acquire. To devote a life to the movement ensures you eventual death or eradication. It is inevitable. Crimes of such nature are only punished by death or methods degrees worse than death. The payoffs for such promises of devotion have a very high probability of never arising in one’s lifetime, or years after for that matter. But, inside each one of us lays the natural ache to strive for freedom.

Dedication is a virtue equally as significant as endurance. In most circumstances they go hand in hand. However, dedication sometimes soars far ahead of endurance, as when lack of endurance is a requirement for survival of the movement. As death or discovery is an ever present occupational hazard, the lack of endurance will keep one alive to spread his word before death, and in special circumstances to go out without a fight when requested.

Walking down the street of any given part of a city under control of the Universal Union reveals these basic instincts to vie for freedom. Such a simple concept achieved by so simple means of refusing the oppression of the Combine; but it’s not so simple a task to master these basic instincts, to tailor instincts into goals, and goals into means of achieving them.

Assimilating these virtues is certainly not straightforward. It’s daunting and frightful, especially when these first steps must be taken in the dark, without recognition of the plausibility of an achievement so far away from actually being achieved, or even. Not knowing who is with you and who is against you in this darkness ensures an uncertainty within yourself and the promise of a true resistance.

Guidance, in this concept of resistance, will always be available to those who wish to be guided. Guidance has always been available even to those incapable of being guided by ordinary measures. Where to look, where to listen, where to read however, is only derived by those who wish to be guided by means of their own. In the streets, where the naivety and basic forms of resistance may house some comfort, but in the end, will get one no closer to freedom than a fly stuck in garbage. To hear want one wants to hear is not the way to find the truth, but to hear what needs to be heard.

Ordinary people, in the past and in history, have been capable of many amazing feats; assisted by comrades in arms or in spirit entire splotches on the history of the human race have been thrown aside and even reversed. Likewise this movement – our movement – must condone that same spirit of Endurance, Dedication, to achieve this arduous and seemingly impossible task lain before the next generations of human kind, so that future generations may be allowed to live on, and have a world to live within.

Never has the promise of freedom been so far and so infinitely away (despite the large atrocities of the past), to only be achieved by unimaginable risks far beyond those made in history.
((This will be expanded upon, editing and thrown through various filters of constructive criticism. At the end of each chapter it will be submitted in volumes to be actual books in Hl2RP. Please feel free to leave responses; And support my effort to make this a physical IC book!!: http://www.catalyst-gaming.net/index.php?topic=18677))