- "It’s almost too much to take in. A new species. A new sentient species, right under our noses all these years, sharing Sera with us. You realize what that means for a biologist? It’s an unimaginable fantasy. We all dream of some discovery that will change our understanding of the world, and — yes — put our name in the annals of science. I have no idea how to make this public. I have to get my evidence first and make sure it’s watertight before I tell anyone else and make a fool of myself. I’m going further into the tunnel today. I’m going to talk to them."
- —Last entry in the private journal of Dr. Elain Fenix, 9 B.E.
Doctor Elain Fenix was a developmental biologist, morphologist, and senior developmental embryologist at La Croix University.[2] Elain was also the wife of Professor Adam Fenix and the mother of Sergeant Marcus Fenix. For several decades, Elain's research studied the rapid evolution and mutations of animals from the Hollow. It was later learned that these mutations were an infection caused by Imulsion exposure, causing them to become Lambent. While in the tunnels, Doctor Fenix also discovered the Locust Horde. She was promptly executed upon making contact with them. Her death led her husband to trace her footsteps and make contact with the Locust Horde, with Adam forming a professional relationship with their leader Queen Myrrah.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Elain became a doctor with an expertise in morphology, and did her master's thesis on rock shrew cell differentiation.[3]
Pendulum Wars[]
Marriage and Parenthood[]
At some point, Elain married fellow doctor Major Adam Fenix and had one child with him, Marcus Fenix. They lived on the Fenix Estate, where she and Adam did much of their work. She used to take Marcus with her on trips to the mall, which he would explore.[4] She also brought Marcus with her on research trips, sometimes getting near the entrance of the Hollow. She worked from home in order to raise Marcus herself, without the use of nannies, not trusting anyone but herself to raise him right.[5]
Research into Lambency[]
When Marcus was nearly five in the 62nd year of the Pendulum Wars, Adam was getting ready to go on deployment to Kashkur. She was working in her study when Adam arrived, and asked her where Marcus was. She told him he was in the library, and Adam wondered why he wasn't outside playing on such a nice day. Elain told her that Marcus was fine, and that the maintenance people were working anyway. Adam decided he needed to make peace with Marcus before deploying, which Elain thought was a good idea, and she asked him if he was going to ask her what she was working on. He examined the X-rays she had up, and determined it was a leg, and she asked him if he had ever heard the Romily story as a child. He dismissed it as a story, but she told him she believed that the creatures from the story had once existed, and that she had found their closest living relative.
She told him about having found several what she had thought were dead rock shrews, but when she dissected them, discovered they were something else entirely, and had vestigial legs like the creatures from Romily. Adam wondered if it was just a mutation, but she told him she had confirmed it wasn't, and believed she had found the last creatures belonging to a genus that had included much larger tunnel-dwelling creatures. Adam was hurt she had kept this discovery from him for so long, but she told him that she had wanted to make sure she was correct before telling anyone. He inquired where she had found them, and she said that she had discovered them near the Hollow while walking with Marcus.
Adam was alarmed that she had been near a restricted area, but she assured him she hadn't gone past the warning signs. Adam decided he had heard enough about work for the day, and wanted to spend some time with Marcus before he left. They went to the library, where Elain listened to Adam explain to Marcus why he had to go on deployment. They then went to the gardens, and as Marcus examined some of the plants, Elain told Adam that Marcus would be fine when he started school, and remarked how she sometimes felt guilty about having never given him a brother or sister. Adam said it was never too late, but Elain acted as though she hadn't heard him, and called for Marcus to come eat lunch.[6]
Adam's Return[]
- "When the news said that Two-Six was at Anvil Gate, I thought it was you. I thought you were there. I thought there'd been a mistake and you weren't wounded."
- —Elain, expressing her relief that Adam had returned safely
Adam returned several months later, having been shot in the leg during a battle. As Adam got out of the taxi that had brought him to the estate, Elain came out to meet him, and they embraced. She told him she had been worried that he had been at Anvil Gate, which had come under heavy siege. He told her it had been Connaught Platoon caught there, and Marcus came out to greet his father as well. As they went inside the house, Elain sent Marcus up to his room to get some pictures he had drawn at school. She told Adam that Marcus had been doing well, and asked when he would be leaving again. Adam told her he wouldn't be, and that he had accepted a job at the Defense Research Agency, where he would design a weapon that would end the war and prevent any more lives from being lost. Elain was happy and proud of him, and told him that she had no doubt he would succeed. Adam told her he had been promoted to Major as well, and showed her the newspaper where other promotions were printed. She was astonished at the number of 26 RTI members who had been promoted, and noted that Helena Stroud had been promoted to Captain, and stated that she believed Helena would become a General.[7]
Continuing Research[]
When Marcus first brought his friend Carlos Santiago to visit the mansion, Elain was busy and ignored Marcus to focus fully on her work. This lack of attention toward Marcus led him to spend a lot of time at the Santiago household.[8] Eventually her research led her to discover the existence of the Locust Horde and Lambency, though she kept this a secret from her husband and son.
Death[]
- "Elain had been gone nearly twenty years now. He hoped she’d been dead for all that time, because the thought of her held underground by the Locust was more than he could face. He’d found some of her remains in the tunnels — arm bones and scraps of fabric he recognized all too well. He’d kept what he’d found out about her disappearance from Marcus, at first because it begged too many questions about why she’d gone into the tunnels at all, and then it became a habit because he just didn’t have the courage to tell his son. It was a repeating pattern, and Adam accepted that. He’d kept the Locust secret from everyone until it had all blown up in his face."
- —Adam Fenix about Elain's death.
In Blume 9 B.E., Elain decided to make contact with the Locust Horde within the tunnels near Ephyra before making her discoveries known to the public. As she approached the Locust, they promptly killed her. Elain was declared missing shortly after. Adam Fenix followed her notes and found arm bones and scraps of fabric that he recognized. While her body was never officially found, it was determined that she had been killed by the Locust.
Legacy[]
Adam found Elain's corpse and discovered the existence of Elain's killers, the Locust. Adam lied[9] to Marcus and others about what happened, only telling them that she had gone missing.[10] Elain's body was discovered in the Hollow while the COG was searching for Imulsion crystals, which they hoped to use as targeting lasers. Marcus would later know the truth about her disappearance.[11] Adam, who apparently was the one to find her, only ever found a few bones and pieces of clothing, but it was enough for him to recognize her. After her disappearance, Adam entered her study and looked through her research and notebooks and finds what she had discovered on the Locust and Lambency. Her research led Adam to start his own research into Lambency and what she had learned became important to the search for a way to defeat the Lambent. Adam eventually got the idea to build the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon based on what she had told him about using radiation to destroy cells infected by pathogens. Adam was eventually able to build the weapon and use it to destroy Imulsion, the Lambent, and the Locust.
Personality and Traits[]
Like her husband, Elain put her career in front of her family, often ignoring Marcus while focused on her work.[8] When Adam was a Gear and getting ready to go on deployment, she would get upset, but not let him know that she was. She kept a cold distance from both Adam and Marcus, either as a coping mechanism or because she got so focused while working.[12] She was able to read Adam's emotions like a book, often being able to tell what he was thinking even when his face was completely impassive.[13]
Appearances[]
- A Pendulum Wars Story (Photo only)
- The Slab (Appears in flashback(s))
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Photo only)
- Aspho Fields (First appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))
References[]
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields
- ↑ Gears of War: The Slab pg 81
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 101
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 24
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 98, 100
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 95-102
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 424-426
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 9
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 78
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 62-63
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 375-376
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 95-96
- ↑ Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 102