- "Think of it as a neutron bomb without the blast, one that only kills Lambent cells... in all of us."
- —Professor Adam Fenix explaining the countermeasure's function.
The Imulsion countermeasure weapon (ICW) was a high-yield radiation weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation[1] against cells colonized by Imulsion (otherwise known as Lambent cells) across Sera. It was created by Professor Adam Fenix in 17 A.E. to resolve the Lambent pandemic, a widespread outbreak of Imulsion-related illnesses and mutations that affected the planet in the aftermath of the sinking of Jacinto.
Queen Myrrah quickly seized the device following its completion, hoping to retune the weapon in order to prevent the destruction of the Locust, as their cells were saturated with Imulsion due to their ancestry, alongside years of exposure during their habitation in the Hollow and war with the Lambent. A three-way conflict later erupted over control of the weapon: a battle between the human remnants, the Locust, and the Lambent to ensure their own continued survival.
The humans were ultimately successful in retaking the weapon and detonating it. The Lambent were vaporized by the radiation wave, while the Locust were neutralized by encasing them in a crystalline shell. They later entered into a state of accelerated evolution, which put them into hibernation for nearly twenty-five years, allowing humanity a chance to rebuild its shattered civilization.
History[]
Prelude[]
Four years before E-Day, Queen Myrrah of the Locust Horde contracted Adam Jonathon Fenix to construct a device that could wipe out the Lambent, who were killing the Locust en-masse underground. If he did not do this, she clarified, then she would be forced to invade the surface and destroy the human race to make way for Locust habitation. Adam, always locked in his study, was determined to find the answer to this seemingly impossible problem. However, four years later, the Locust were dealt a serious blow in the Lambent War and had no choice but to invade the surface of Sera to prevent the loss of their entire civilization Adam knew of E-Day and what it would mean for humanity, but kept his knowledge secret so he that could continue his work on the project and avoid being executed for treason.
Locust War[]
Kidnapped to Azura[]
After Adam admitted the truth to his assistant, Nevil Estrom, he told Chairman Richard Prescott, who had Adam abducted and removed to the secret island of Azura where he could continue his research into stopping the Lambent and Imulsion as a whole, which he realized was a parasitic organism and the cause of Lambency. Adam worked with biologists and other scientists on finding a cure for Lambency, but when that continued to fail, he started thinking in terms of killing it. Remembering what his wife had said about using radiation to kill cells infected with various pathogens at the University she worked at, Adam struck upon the idea of using radiation in some manner to kill Imulsion, and shortly thereafter began working on the weapon.
Lambent Pandemic[]
Building the Weapon[]
By 17 A.E., Adam had nearly completed the weapon which was built on top of Pinnacle Tower to ensure maximum saturation. When word of the Queen's Guard being spotted at Endeavor Naval Shipyard reached Azura, Adam was working on the weapon and told Richard Prescott that he was close to finishing it, but perhaps not close enough if the Locust were coming. However, Adam noted that it wouldn't be the first time he'd built a weapon of mass destruction under duress, and stated that the device would effect the Locust depending on their degree of Imulsion contamination before brushing off concerns about his own level of contamination.
As the danger from the Locust increased, Adam focused solely on getting the weapon operational. As the device was far too large to move, and delay would only give the Imulsion time to evolve protections against it, Adam was insistent that the remnants of the COG had to defend it until it could be used to destroy the Lambent.[2]
Siege of Azura[]
A little over a month after the Locust were spotted at Endeavor, they attacked Azura and Captain Paul Dury ordered Red Squad to defend Adam and the device. Adam and Nevil Estrom managed to reach Pinnacle Tower and the weapon to defend it with Red Squad against the attacking Locust forces. Richard Prescott and Dury eventually arrived and ordered Adam to evacuate, but he refused as he knew there was no point in saving him if they abandoned the weapon as well. Knowing that Queen Myrrah needed him and as such would not kill him immediately, Adam chose to stay behind on Azura to finish the device, while sending Prescott to find Colonel Victor Hoffman for help in retaking the island. Nevil would hide Adam’s research in one of the many limestone caverns of Azura so that the weapon could be rebuilt if he was wrong about Myrrah's intentions.[2]
Instead of killing everyone as she planned, she found Adam, who she believed was dead, and spared only him to continue his research on the device. Adam found a way to use targeted radiation to kill Imulsion and all Lambent lifeforms on the surface of Sera, effectively completing the weapon. However, the device was lethal not only to the lambent, but to the Locust as well due to their ancestry as mutants bone of Lambency-based research. Adam wanted to help the Locust, but the Imulsion itself was reaching a critical point in its lifecycle. If Adam attempted to fix the weapon to make it harmless to the Locust and Humans, it would not work at all. Adam left his lab when the guards were changing shifts to compile his data. However, he was eventually caught by a guard and the security around his lab was tripled.
Battle of Azura[]
- "Think of it as a neutron bomb without the blast, one that only kills Lambent cells... in all of us."
- —Adam Fenix, explaining to Damon Baird how the Countermeasure works
During the Second Battle of Azura, Marcus Fenix, along with Delta-One, found Adam and they escorted him to the roof of Pinnacle Tower. There, Delta fought off the Tempest so that Adam could activate the weapon. They succeeded in defeating the Tempest with the Hammer of Dawn. However, Adam then revealed that he too would die, because he had injected himself with enough Imulsion for the parasite to begin colonizing his DNA. When asked why, he said he had to test the weapon first to leave nothing to chance; the Imulsion would be destroyed, but he would not live to see it.
As the weapon prepared to unleash its full potential, Adam Fenix desperately pushed through the pain and asked his son to live, not just for himself, but for his father as well.
“I’m glad I got to see you again, Marcus… Now go! And live! FOR ME!”- The last words of Adam Fenix
The Weapon fired, and Adam Fenix was reduced to little more than organic ash, crumbling to dust before the very eyes of his son. The resulting wave of cleansing radiation bathed the planet in a blue glow, destroying the Lambent and evaporating any remaining deposits of raw imulsion into harmless dust. The Locust were destroyed to a man, falling dead where they stood, while Queen Myrrah herself would be stabbed to death by Marcus Fenix with Dominic Santiago's commando knife, avenging the countless human lives that had been lost during the Locust War.[3]
Aftermath[]
The Imulsion Countermeasure in 42 A.E.
After the mass Locust extinction, Locust corpses began to form an impenetrable crystal shell around their bodies. They were dumped in mass graves underground. A few Locust managed to survive the firing of the weapon, but they were hunted down and killed by the Brash Brigade.
Around 42 A.E., the Locust began to emerge from their crystal shells and formed the Swarm. It is also believed that the weapon only destroyed the Lambent as all Lambent organisms were vaporized by the weapon, unlike the few Locust lifeforms which evolved into Scions.
Appearances[]
- Dirty Little Secrets
- Gears of War 3 (First appearance)
- Gears of War 4 (Appears in flashback(s))
- Gears 5