Speculating on Gears of War 3 - The Lambent
April 17, 2010
by: Matt E.
Word that the lambent would take a greater focus in the new Gears of War 3 was made last week during Cliff Bleszinski’s Jimmy Fallon segment. We’ve decided to play through the first two Gears games and see what we can find out about this terrifying new enemy.
The Lambent
By definition, lambent means “having a gentle glow, or luminous.” In Gears the lambent glow with an erie yellow light, similar to the color of Imulsion. The lambent were originally featured in the first Gears, however the only lambent observed were wretches. These lambent wretches were highly volatile and stronger than average. Excessive gunfire or blunt force would cause the creatures explode violently.
In Gears of War 2 the lambent took a greater focus. During Operation Hollow Storm, COG troops infiltrated the hollow; pushing towards the Locust stronghold Nexus. Upon reaching Nexus, Delta Squad comes to the realization that Locust have begun fighting each other. In what appears to be a Locust civil war, Lambent and Locust forces have been engaged in a battle to control Nexus.
A Drone seen in Gears of War 2 as a yellow fluid leaves his body.
For the first time lambent forms of Drones can be seen. During the only interaction with lambent forces in Gears 2, a Lambent Drone is killed by Cole. A viscous yellow fluid oozes out of the corpse and moves along the ground until it is assimilated by another group of Lambent. This seems to suggest that whatever has turned the Locust lambent is actually biologic.
The climax of Gears of War 2 ends with a Brumack stepping into a pool of Imulsion. Upon contact with the Imulsion the Brumack begins to mutate and glow. The lambent Brumack takes on a completely new form with massive mouthed tentacles and rooted feet. In addition, the Brumack is highly explosive. This seems to suggest that Imulsion exposure is the cause of Lambency, however it may be a unique type of Imulsion which causes the mutations.
The new Gears of War 3 trailer features what appears to be an extremely mutated Lambent Corpser. As it erupts form the ground, a visually shocked Delta Squad opens fire. It also appears that a horde of lambent tickers emerge as well, giving the impression that the Lambent forces have grown substantially.
Possible Lambent Corpser. Note the number of arms coming from the ground
Imulsion
Imulsion was discovered on Sera approximately 80 years before Emergence Day. Originally discovered by an oil-exploration drill, Imulsion seemed to have no use. It wasn’t until Dr. Helen Cooper perfected the Light Mass Process that the viscous fluid could be harnessed as an energy source.
The yellow substance is mined similarly to oil. With the discovery of this new energy source, oil rigs were converted to Imulsion Rigs, and refineries were built to process and store the fluid. The military has also been collecting and experimenting with Imulsion crystals found deep underground.
In addition to its energy uses, Imulsion is used in weaponry. The Lightmass Bomb used in Timgad utilized Imulsion for a near atomic explosion which destroyed much of the hallow and eradicated the Kryll. It is also theorized that the Locust Torque bow uses enriched Imulsion in its exploding arrows.
While the substance is not radioactive, fumes caused by the Lightmass Bombing are theorized as the cause of a condition plaguing many humans. Coined “rustlung” the sickness is characterized by a reddish orange phlegm, shortness of breath, and coughing. Rustlung was only recently discovered so the long term effects of the illness are not known. It is also unknown if it is contagious. One possible explanation is that rustlung is simply the first stage of Lambency in humans.