The Combine took control of the planet Earth during the early 2000s, after the walls of the universe had been weakened by a Resonance Cascade inadvertently created by scientists at Black Mesa, a research facility in New Mexico, USA. The role of leadership and organisation of the Combine appears to be given to 'Advisors', telekinetic, grub-like aliens that lack limbs or faces, relying on technological implants for vision and mobility. The Combine forcibly invades new universes, drains planets of their resources, and assimilates the native lifeforms into the empire, bioengineering them to make them better suited for its purposes.
Also referred to as the Universal Union or Our Benefactors, the Combine is a conglomeration of many different species that spans multiple universes. The Combine is a powerful trans-dimensional extraterrestrial empire and the main opposing force in the video game Half-life 2, created by Valve Corporation.
