Epistle 3 is a non-canon short story written by former Half-Life series writer, Marc Laidlaw, and is a possible scenario taking place after Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The original fic swaps out names, events, and places from the games, with most characters being gender-bent. For the sake of convenience this page will refer to everything and everyone by their original names.
The story is written as a letter from Gordon Freeman addressing the player and retelling the events that had taken place after Eli Vance's death.
Epistle 3 contains examples of:
- Adaptational Jerkass: Alyx Vance has really gone down a dark path since her father's death, stopping at nothing to fulfill his will. She finally Jumps Off The Slippery Slope by shooting Mossman dead when she objected to using Borealis as a projectile for a kamikaze attack.
- Adaptational Sympathy: Dr. Breen, who sold mankind to the Combine with no remorse, is depicted as a slave to the Combine who lives an undignified existence as a giant larvae. Gordon even confesses feeling "a modicum of pity and compassion" for his former nemesis.
- Adaptational Villainy: While G-Man is always morally dubious at best, here he callously abandons Gordon to his death after taking Alyx with him.
- Alternate Timeline: In his afterthoughts, Laidlaw contemplates different scenarios and outcomes, such as Mossman's fate or what happens to Gordon when Vortigaunts take him out of the Borealis.
- And I Must Scream: Breen loathes his existence as a grotesque, overgrown slug, and wishes to be put out of his misery.
- Back from the Dead: Dr. Breen, as Breengrub. Although the original Breen is dead, a digitized copy of his persona - the one unaware of his original self - is uploaded into a grub-looking host body.
- Cruel Mercy: Alyx refuses to kill Breen, feeling that a quick death is too good for the traitorous administrator.
- Double Agent: Judith claims that Eli sent her to infiltrate the Combine and earn Breen's trust, even if it meant being marked as a traitor to mankind.
- Eldritch Location: The Aperture Science vessel, Borealis, is floating through time and space, being everyone and nowhere at the same time. Although the Combine have put focusing devices to force Borealis to manifest itself into reality, even they can't bring it into form without Mossman's resonance keys.
- Gainax Ending: The only thing one can make out from the odd ending is that Freeman finds himself far in the future where he doesn't recognize anything, and no one recognizes him.
- Galactic Superpower: As Borealis sails into the heart of Combine's power, Gordon sees "everything." The vastness of the Combine is so beyond human comprehension that even Borealis, Earth's most powerful weapon, would barely harm them.
- Just Think of the Potential!: Some members of the resistance are of the opinion that instead of destroying the device inside the Borealis like Eli wanted, it can used as a weapon against the Combine.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: Borealis is sailing through time and space, with confusing and paradoxical time anomalies taking place on board.
- Uncertain Doom: The ultimate fate of Breengrub is only alluded to, with Gordon saying he "might have done something" to hasten his demise.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After taking Alyx with him, G-Man openly leaves Freeman to die in the exploding Borealis. Vortigaunts save him at the last minute.
