Little is known about the Scrin, save that they have ichoriforming capabilities, a dependence on Tiberium, and bioengineering capabilities.
History[]
Due to their dependence on Tiberium, the Scrin have seeded numerous planets with it in order to harvest it later once the seeded planet had been completely ichoriformed. Earth was one such planet, its environment severely contaminated by its spread. Whilst Earth's flora and fauna became mutated by the Tiberium, the Human race became divided in at least three global wars between the Global Defence Initiative, a multi-national alliance dedicated to eradicating Tiberium from Earth, and the Brotherhood of Nod, a global religious order led by the enigmatic Kane, who preached that Tiberium was the key to Mankind's ascension. During the Third Tiberium War, Kane baited GDI into destroying his headquarters, Temple Prime, with their orbital Ion Cannon in order to detonate a major deposit of liquid Tiberium stored beneath it. The resulting explosion caused a chain reaction that spread to Tiberium all over the Middle-East, killing millions and releasing a burst of Tiberium radiation beyond Earth's atmosphere.
The Tiberium detonation was detected by the Scrin fleet, which had been laying dormant on the edge of Earth's solar system. The Scrin were promptly awakened and travelled to Earth to collect the Tiberium there. Upon arrival, and taking fire from GDI's orbital weaponry, the Scrin were surprised to discover that Earth was still inhabited, and that there was not nearly enough Tiberium on the planet meet their needs or even the criteria to commence a harvesting operation. Regardless, the Scrin Supervisor ordered the construction of the Threshold Towers necessary to begin Tiberium extraction on a planetary scale, while their security detail would keep the native Humans distracted from their efforts. This 'security force' was comprised of an army of biomechanical war machines and ships that initially overwhelmed both GDI and Nod forces around the globe. However, a temporary alliance between the two factions was enough to hold the line. Eventually, GDI discovered the Threshold Towers and began systematically destroying them. Having ended the alliance, Kane ordered the Brotherhood to protect one of the Towers until the Scrin completed it, rendering it indestructible upon completion. The Scrin Supervisor discovered that Kane had orchestrated the liquid Tiberium detonation specifially in order to lure the Scrin to Earth and take control of one of their Threshold Towers, presumably for the supposed 'ascension' he had promised his followers. The Supervisor was shocked to discover that the Scrin had already existing data on Kane predating their arrival, and so ordered their priority to learning more about him, dismissing the harvest of Tiberium as a secondary concern. However, realising that their forces were overwhelmed, the Scrin foreman defied the Supervisor's order and used the Threshold Tower to flee Earth and return to the Ichor Hub. Shortly afterwards, the GDI destroyed the Scrin's Tiberium relay, a machine which channeled Tiberium radiation into the Scrin's military forces. Without this constant inflow, all remaining Scrin forces on Earth simply shut down. However, the Supervisor reported back to the Scrin Overlord and recommended a full-scale invasion of Earth in the future.
Culture[]
Religion[]
The Scrin Insignia
There are two main sects; Reaper and Traveler, with an unknown number of sub-cults for each, but at least 17 and 59, respectively.
Reaper sect is a quasi-military organization, with cult 17 being the most violent and dangerous. This sect worships a being known as The Reaper, a god of war. They often absorb a large amount of liquid tiberium to augment their muscle mass and make them even more dangerous. They focus on heavy hitters and slow movers.
Traveler sect makes heavy use of genetic engineering and mind-control. A quantity of the 59th cult was stranded on Earth during the original Scrin invasions. They focus on hit and run, as well as the aforementioned psionic abilities.
Military[]
Scrin military is more of a mining operation, with their army (and sometimes Reaper and Traveler sect, if drastic measures are needed) there to protect their harvesters from any surviving natives and tiberium fauna.
Weapons are often particle beam or plasma based. Some can be enhanced by tiberium.
A Shock Trooper, an advanced Scrin military unit.
Notes[]
- When one looks closely the Scrin - or perhaps simply the Scrin Supervisors - are obviously based on comb jellies.