While I've kept Dr. Freeman in the safety of limbo, many things have changed indeed. Wallace Breen was placed into a position of control over the human race and made the decision to surrender to Combine militia after seven hours, and while I would agree that it was the most preferable choice (allowing for the preservation of humanity) it wasn't exactly tasteful. His power only exists because a small collective of world leaders decided that the administrator of the facility who would have the most knowledge on the events of May 16th, and access to classified documents related to the borderworld, would be most suitable to place the fate of humanity into the grasp of.
The Combine rewarded this surrender by suspending their military operations and coming to an ultimatum with Dr. Breen. Wallace Breen assumed his power as administrator of the whole of earth and began a so-called 'cleanup operation'. As portal storms worsened, billions died whether due to the seven hours war or disrupted stability of all infrastructure. Those who lived in the rural zones of 1st world countries were most likely to have survived. First, mass migration of humans to urban centers was put into motion. Those who did not comply were subject to merciless execution. At least one hundred thousand were able to avoid Combine forces, the largest outpost being White Forest in northeastern Europe. Human culture was set to be destroyed. Religious paraphernalia confiscated. Churches, mosques, synagogues, and anything that was decidedly a place of worship was set fire alongside libraries, museums, and recreational spaces. All infrastructure was set to be built from the ground up. Cities were stripped of their proper names and assigned numbers.
Families were forced apart as individuals were categorized and sent to specific zones. All were required to wear blue jumpsuits. And then conscription began. All males and females aged 18 to 35 were required to conduct a cleanup of cities and begin rebuilding up to Combine standard. Civil Protection was established with the promise of a better life to those who joined, unbeknownst to them they would be modified to fit the standards of the Combine's reign. This meant that their memory could be erased if they misstep, and even worse they were at risk of being altered beyond the definition of human.
Freeman's colleagues were quick to establish the resistance. Barney Calhoun was prepared to be a psyop, being the most willing of the crew to put his life at risk for the greater good of gathering intelligence for the resistance; he joined Civil Protection. Judith Mossman was already Wallace Breen's assistant and that would be her occupation going forward, in contempt she provided tools for the resistance including the campus of Black Mesa East and continued her scientific career there. Black Mesa East became Judith and Eli's lab.
Isaac Kleiner was allowed to settle into City 17 because of his age, giving him the opportunity to instate a lab in a long forgotten warehouse and begin working to stop the combine. Alyx was lucky, being one of the few children that survived and was able to lead a somewhat normal childhood with many people looking after her at any given moment.
It was hard to convince my employers that Freeman's posse should stay in City 17. I eventually was able to gather a viable excuse that their knowledge of terrestrial things was too fragile to risk losing, considering the amount of well educated people who were quelled for their defiance.
They agreed that all of them would prove to be valuable to the Combine's rule and let them settle, a privilege exclusive to them.
After a month, operations died down and the grieving of Dr. Freeman began as it seemed almost certain that he hadn't made it from Xen back to earth. Magnussen had opened a portal for Dr. Freeman to return yet there was no sign of human life on the other end, and on Barney Calhoun's expedition to the borderworld he saw no sign of him either. To commemorate Dr. Freeman's selflessness and to symbolize him as a dear friend lost, the orange lambda symbol began to be the trademark of resistance operations.
For two decades now, humans have lived a drastically different lifestyle. With healthcare virtually non-existent, disease outbreaks are constant. In an attempt to squash any opposition to the current regime, civilians are moved from city to city constantly and drugged to hush any defiant thoughts.
Most people work 15 hours per day in horribly risky working conditions, children included. All food and water rations are carefully calculated to be the bare minimum. Babies that are born are typically taken away to be experimented on or be modified, and if a mother accidentally conceives twins or a second child she can be prosecuted for sociocide, which typically entails the execution of the mother and second born.
Cramped communes left in squalor are where most rest when night falls. There must be a perfect balance between group singularity and individuality, something that is far too vague. Simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time can result in quite unfortunate circumstances.
The resistance has made great innovation recently, surpassing the Combine's current teleport technology. There will finally be a safer way to go between City 17 and Black Mesa East, more people can be spared. The underground railroad can finally become defunct and the journey to White Forest will be far less taxing to all parties involved, allowing transport of refugees to be hidden from Civil Protection's view entirely.
Today is truly a red-letter day. I think it's time for Dr. Freeman to return.