WMG / Star Craft Open One

This is a list of Wild Mass Guesses which are still open as a possibility. If it is Confirmed, please move it to the confirmed page. If a WMG is Jossed, please move it to the jossed page, if it is partially jossed or partially confrmed, please move it to Partially Jossed/Confirmed, for silly and just for fun theories, please move it to Silly and Just For Fun.

Amon's resurrection drove Tosh completely insane.

• Given how frightened Tosh was of the lone Hybrid that Raynor found on Castanar, it makes sense that he would be even less mentally stable in the presence of Amon himself. And Tosh is nowhere to be seen either in Legacy of the Void or in Nova: Covert Ops even though his Spectres still fight for Raynor's Raiders in the former campaign. Most likely, Amon broke Tosh's will, and Tosh was one of the Spectres that Artanis killed in the course of Legacy of the Void.

There will be another Starcraft game set either before or after the current setting.

• The universe is a pretty big place, the Xel'Naga and the three main races can't be the only races of note. Alternatively the past of the 3 races could be interesting. The Terran campaign is the war that led to the expulsion of the Terrans, the Protoss campaign is the Aeon of Strife and the Zerg campaign is their uprising against the Xel'Naga. Matti 23

Sanctuary (Diablo universe) is a former, or alternate instance of The Infinite Cycle.

The Angels are Purity of Form (Protoss), and the Demons are Purity of Essence (Zerg).]] This would mean interesting things regarding the Nephalem. They could be a naturally occurring instance of a power equal to the Xel'Naga, or of suitible hosts.]]

• Furthermore, in The Sin War trilogy, Uldyssian manages to drive back both the Angels and Demons, an impressive feat, before being consumed by his own power. He notes that he gained it too quickly, and as the player character of Diablo 3 is called and noted to be Nephalem, meaning that humanity gets to a place where they can handle the power while maintaining a physical form.]]
• This also provides a possible explanation for why Kerrigan was able to absorb Ourous's power. Although an alternate instance, Kerrigan was originally human, and the increasing amount of psychics prove that these humans also have some degree of hidden potential.]]
• This also explains Trag'Oul finally: Trag'Oul is a Xel'Naga who is interfering in, or watching Sanctuary's growth. It is why he was able to keep his presence from the Angels and Demons, and let Mendeln keep his memories.]]

Zerus is prehistorical Azeroth. (Warcraft)

The Primal Zerg native to Zerus eventually evolved into the Mantid, Nerubians, and Qiraji, and maybe the strongest Primals evolved into the Old Gods themselves. Perhaps "Zerus" in the Xel'Naga language translates to "A-Zeroth" in the Titan language.

Alternatively, humans aren't created by the Xel'naga, but lured into the Koprulu Sector to give raw material on how to merge Purity of Form and Purity of Essence.

The Protoss and Zerg can't merge with each other directly because of the Word of God that "there are no infested protoss". Perhaps there needs to be an existing "keystone species" that evolved on their own to represent a rather primitive form of merging, and that's where humans enter. Also, Narud does not use Protoss technology in creating Hybrids, but instead Terran technology, which seemed primitive at first, but is actually more advanced in biotechnology (exemplified by their medics).

The Humans are a Monkey Wrench in the Xel'naga's Plans

• The Xel'naga, specifically Amon, perfectly predicted the Zerg and Protoss, and how the Zerg would win the war. However, they did not account for the Terrans.
  • If it wasn't for Jim Raynor, it is entirely possible that Tassadar would have died before his heroic sacrifice, preventing the Overmind's destruction.
  • Half of the elite zerg commanders are infested Terrans, and the broodmothers were created by one. Without Kerrigan or an equivalent powerful psionic that wasn't originally zerg (and thus could be freed from Amon's influence), there would not have been any way to free the Zerg from Amon.
  • In the grand finale, which we already know will involve all three armies fighting on a single battlefield (because how else could they end it), only the combined might of all three races can defeat Amon. Without the Terrans, two of the armies just won't be present, with "In Utter Darkness" being the inevitable Bad Future.

Let's discuss plausible dimensions of Terran units in StarCraft: Broodwar

So it's pretty obvious that units are not to scale in-game. How are they scaled, then? I'd like to present plausible scales for Terran units.

- In the Zerg mission "Amerigo", in which a science vessel is infiltrated, it has a crew consisting of 110 men (according to the stats after finishing said mission). For further argumentation, I will assume that each unit of science vessel literally consists of a single science vessel. Since each science vessel takes up 2 supply units, we can assume that each supply unit provides roughly 50 men.

- Marines, Firebats, and Medics are trained in platoons consisting of 50 men (1 supply).

- Goliaths take up 2 supply, which means each Goliath unit consists of 100 men. Now I think 100 Goliaths might be too many for one unit, but it's possible that it takes one pilot and one co-pilot to handle a single Goliath, hence 1 unit equals 50 Goliaths.

- Siege tanks take up 2 supply, so 1 unit of them would consist of 100 men. If each tank had to be crewed by 4 men, each unit would consist of 25 tanks.

- Dropships and Wraiths take up 2 supply each. With one pilot and one co-pilot for each ship, one unit would consist of 50 spacecraft.

- Assuming Valkyries are crewed by 3 men each, they are built in packs of 50.

- Battlecruisers take up 6 supply, hence each unit consists of 300 men, and this is good enough for me to assume that each unit represents literally one single battlecruiser. 300 may not sound like much as actual battlecruisers had crews of 1000+ , but advanced space-age computers might help to reduce the required crews.

This would also explain why battlecruisers could be hijacked by a single unit, as it doesn't seem too ridiculous that each one could be hijacked by a crew of 50.

What do you think?

• Supply doesn't just cover manpower. It also covers rations, fuel, ammo, spare parts etc. needed to keep that unit running. Basically a single supply depot covers the needs of eight marines or four goliaths. The way I see it, a goliath costing 2 supply against a marine's 1 supply simply means that it costs twice as much in whatever currency is used in the Koprulu sector to maintain a Goliath in the field as it does a marine. As for the science vessel only requiring 2 marine's worth of upkeep, keep in mind that it has no ammo, it's power core is probably self sustaining or requires very infrequent refueling and rations for the crew is probably dirt cheap, as opposed to the marine, who requires a constant source for ammo as well as maintenance for his suit.
  • Good point about how supply isn't only about covering manpower. Still, running a science vessel would cost much more than supplying two marines, since the science vessel (the Amerigo) itself has 48 marines, 10 Ghosts, 10 Firebats, 6 Goliaths, and a Vulture as mere security guards. If units were to scale on the field, they alone would require 82 supply units. There is also a crew consisting of 32 civilians and 3 SCVs. Hence, I think it's safe to assume that units are much, much more than they appear to be in-game. But I see your point that supply isn't just food, water and air for the men.
    • So, to reconsider the original post in terms of "total supplies":

-Marines, firebats, etc. may still come in groups of 50.

-Goliaths also come in groups of 50 or so, maybe less. They are likely piloted by 1 person, possibly 2, but take up more supply per person due to the greater maintenance, fuel, etc. required to power a large walking vehicle with several types of weapons rather than a suit of powered armor.

-Siege tanks may still be crewed as described, or may have smaller crews, or be represented by smaller numbers. They do not need maintenance for powered armor for crews, but do need supplies for the tank itself. Being somewhat complicated with the transforming process, the tank could well consume more supply per person.

-Dropships are somewhat similar to siege tanks. They may be based on well tested designs for non-combat transports, which will provide extra testing an easier maintenance (Though I may just be pulling this out of my ass.)

-Battlecruisers probably represent a single unit, as described.

• Though I would like to know about the size of the Odin. Seeing as even the Hercules can't carry it (and it can carry three Thors)...
  • I believe it was stated to be the size of a large building (and judging by its Hit Points and Armour...)

-What I like about this unit scale is that it makes the larger units much more powerful than the gameplay would otherwise suggest. The Odin takes out squads of enemies with each shot, a Battlecruiser can hold its own against hundreds of Marines (as opposed to losing against 8-10 Marines), a single Ultralisk can carve through entire armies, etc.

-The scale doesn't really work with the campaign (Even with Plot Armor and Aiming Skills, I doubt Raynor can outdamage 100 Marines) but it does make Multiplayer battles a lot cooler.

• That could be Raynor and his personal squad of handpicked marines.

-So how big does this make the Terror-Tron exactly?

• Scaling based on gameplay mechanics is the dumbest thing one could possibly do.

-So 'one' larva is how many Zerglings?

The entire series after the part of the first game where you play as the Zerg is a Bodyguard gambit by the Zerg Cerebrate "He" was created with the express purpose of serving and protecting Kerrigan, and has done so very well. In fact, he has never had a major tactical defeat. He is manipulating the various events that happen in order to make Kerrigan powerful, just like the Overmind told him to.

On a more personal note, Nameless Zerg Cerebrate was my favorite character in Starcraft. I'd always imagine him to be ridiculously servile and weak willed (because again, the Overmind designed "him" to serve and protect Kerrigan) and Kerrigan as a Deadpan Snarker.

• Didn't he get killed once (presume it's during the Protoss campaign in first game)? Kerrigan said she resurrected him in Brood War.
  • No, that was another Cerebrate in Episode VI.

• Maybe the Nameless Zerg Cerebrate in some way controls Duran - or maybe even has reincarnated itself in Duran. Not only does Duran protect Kerrigan by means of tactical aid, but he also tries to combine Protoss and Zerg DNA]], which was the old Overmind's ultimate goal. And remember that Kerrigan, and subsequently also the Nameless Cerebrate, were explicitly only created to achieve this goal. Also, Duran states that he does not serve Kerrigan but a far greater power]], which according to the already revealed parts of the Starcraft II story will be the Xel'naga]], but judging from the statement alone could as well have been referring to the Overmind.
• In a kind of unrelated note: Starcraft 2 information has revealed to us that Kerrigan never had a cerebrate serving her during the Brood Wars. That was in game just to give an excuse for the player to be someone at all.
  • Or something even awesomer: You weren't a cerebrate, you were Xel'Naga pretending to be a cerebrate. Or something.
  • StarCraft II never outright says that and the Expanded Universe heavily imply that both cerebrates existed (the first one, used in the vanilla zerg campaign, was killed by the dark templar and the second one, in Brood War, may have simply expended its usefulness by the time of StarCraft II). That being said, Kerrigan appears to be, once fully matured, more than an equal for any cerebrate since the Overmind intended for her to rule the swarm on her own)]].
  • Weird, I always thought that the cerebrate was killed on the dark templar assault before killing the overmind, after all the overmind brings the cerebrate to Aiur during the campaing and that the second one was disposed after the broodwar for outliving their usefulness to kerrigan, you know with the broodmothers and all that.

Alternately, the Non-Entity General you play as during all the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg campaigns are the same person, a Xel'Naga survivor manipulating events.

It would certainly Hand Wave why the side you play as almost always wins, and how Blizzard has to keep retconning out the Non-Entity General into an actual character. I mean, so far they've changed the guy who helps Raynor during Starcraft Vanilla into Raynor himself, the Protoss Executor into Artanis, and IIRC, the Protoss Executor during Starcraft Brood War into that Selendis Protoss chick.

• It was only implied, not confirmed that Selendis was the Executor in Episode IV of Starcraft.
• Some of the Terran NEG's roles were taken over by Michael Liberty, if you read Liberty's Crusade.
• Also, Queen of Blades indicates the Magistrate from "Rebel Yell" did exist, but mysteriously disappeared afterwards. Some fans like to assume that Horner is the Magistrate, though there's no clear-cut evidence for this at all and Blizzard likely didn't intend this to be the case.
• Didn't the terran commander leave to umoja after Raynor said that they were going to char over a dream? I remember reading it mentioned on a book some years ago.

Starcraft takes place in the Warcraft universe.

At some point in the past, the Xel'Naga discovered Earth, which was overrun by mystical creatures & people who had the ability to use similar supernatural powers to the Xel'Naga's own Protoss. The 'Nagas didn't want their own creations to be surpassed by a bunch of uppity aliens & they believed that life on Earth was too far along in its evolution for them to bend it to their whims, so they wiped out most of the magic-using species on the planet & did something to the remaining humans to prevent them from using magic, though a few magic-users remained & whose descendants become the Ghosts.

• Notably, there is a map◊ stating that Azeroth is within the Koprulu Sector.
  • Notably, that map managed to misspell "Aiur".
    • The map is most definitely a fake. It does not even show Shakuras! Or Braxis...
    • Hell, it doesn't even have Umoja.
    • It's also on the official website. Though on an April Fools page.
    • It may be an April Fools Joke, but there is a Tauren Marine that appears in the campaign level, Zero Hour, and let's not forget the dancing Night Elf holograms. It still is a possibility that they exist in the same universe.
• The Titans are the Xel'Naga and the Voice in the Darkness is an Old God.
  • That Voice claims, that he "will destroy the Protoss, just like he created them". Assuming this is true, it's more likely that said Voice is Sargeras. Did nobody notice the similarities between Zerglings and Felhunters?
• There are WMGs all around the web that Warcraft and Starcraft were taken from Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 respectively. Would that make Starcraft "Warcraft 40K"?
  • WMG nothing. Warcraft 1 was to be a Warhammer RTS, but WAR's owners decided against it. Blizzard changed it just enough to be a different game, WARcraft, and games after that took their own route. Starcraft, however, is a bit trickier. Space Marines are most well known in Warhammer 40k, but they have been around for ages. Look at preceding art of Starship Troopers. Space Marines vs Bugs. Early demos have the Zerg as more of an Alien/Aliens Expy than Tyranids who arguably became more Zerglike post Star Craft. The Protoss have some similiarity to the Eldar, but the Eldar are simply Dark and Light Elves IN SPACE!. It is telling that WAR 40k created Protoss expies in the Tau on how much the 'Toss came from W40k.
  • Hmm, a race of short lived, ranged-combat favoring blue-skinned noseless, decidedly secular Taoist-Communist alien who suck at close-quarters combat and have no Warp-Signature whatsoever that is actually one of their most notable traits are similar to a race of close-combat loving textbook Proud Warrior Race Guys who have an extensive honour system and who also have psychic abilities? That said, it is obvious the Protoss are shameless Eldar rip offs.
    • Not really. The Eldar were incredibly decadent, and a fallen empire. The similarities between the Protoss and the Tau come from the caste system, which the Protoss had first. As for the similarities between the Protoss and the Eldar, both are just different variations of the Space Elves trope.

The Dark Templar are responsible for the advent of sentience on Earth.

The original campaign establishes that only the Dark Templar can permanently kill a Cerebrate. But in the Brood War campaign, the UED destroys Cerebrates using conventional Terran weaponry. The only explanation is that, on some level, the Terrans are Dark Templar! More precisely, some Dark Templar, hoping to create a force to oppose the Khalar, seeded primates on Earth with their genetic material, granting them full sentience and latent psionic abilities. Right now, humanity is discovering its latent psionic powers. Also, anything they make and work with is imbued with their latent energies - so an ordinary Protoss could kill a Cerebrate with a human weapon, especially if he had just been handed the weapon by a human. Eventually, every human will become a Ghost.

• And then they will kick the Xel'Naga's ass.
• Do we really know that the UED managed to kill Cerebrates permanently? At no other time in the series do they manage it. Presumably, the plan was to disable the Cerebrates, then move in and drug the Overmind before it had a chance to reincarnate them.
  • Given that the overmind was a new one, and probably wasn't quite as good as the original, I could see that the UED could just kick in a few mega larva and then drug the overmind while it was trying get everything working again.
    • It's pretty much stated in the first one that the Overmind is resurrecting them, which is why they wanted a new one. And as he wasn't even sentient yet when the UED attacked he might not be able to resurrect them.
• The Dark Templar were able to destroy the cerebrates because their psionic energies (that were similar to the Zerg energies) contacted and neutralized the Overmind for a second, eliminating its bond with the cerebrate while it was being killed, so, no resurrection. What the UED force did was to use the Psi Disrupter to DISRUPT the control of the overmind and the cerebrates (and Kerrigan) over the swarms. This also eliminated the bond between the Overmind and the cerebrates.
• How? The Dark Templar schism only happened 1000 years ago in-game. That would only translate into 1500 AD. Humans have been around for a lot longer.

Dark Templar energies are connected to The Heart of the Tardis. (Doctor Who)

No evidence, but wouldn't it be awesome?

• No it wouldn't. And leave the Time Lord WMGs on WMG.Time Lord.

The Xel'Naga are returning because of the advent of humanity

Here's my theory on how this is all going to end up, and why. The Xel'Naga created the Protoss, and then the Zerg, in an attempt to make the perfect life form (like themselves/better). Neither one was perfect, but it was believed that if combined, they could be.

Fast forward to post Broodwar. The Zerg have all but wiped out the Protoss, the Overmind has been defeated by Infested Kerrigan, and SOMEHOW, despite the fact that their only bystanders in a war set up millenia ago by godlike beings, the Terrans are powerful enough to be a threat to both (if they would only get their act together). I think its going to turn out that Humans Are Special and the Xel'Naga are going to recognize this, and possibly be extremely pissed that they were wrong.

• The biggest problem here is the assumption that humans are a threat to the other races. They're not. Their technology and psionic abilities pale in comparison to the Protoss, who have never bothered using anything more than a token force when attacking Terrans since they're so outclassed. To the zerg the humans are genetic garbage, not even worth the effort to properly infest unless they find the rare human with strong psionic abilities. The humans could unite as one and both races would still find their combined forces irrelevant. It's gameplay that gives the illusion of balance, if you watch the actual story you see all Terrans do is either run away or hold the line long enough to run away or for some stronger force to bail them out.

The Xel'Naga are responsible for the advent of sentience on Earth

Well, nothing's ever denied this, and we know that they're quite prolific interstellar geneticists that had other experiments before the Protoss and the Zerg. I see no reason why humanity couldn't have been a "failed" experiment of the Xel'Naga that they gave up on before encountering the Protoss and determining them as the perfect form. And then, ironically, their failed experiment that they've left to die becomes stronger on its own, for the reasons given in the previous WMG.

• I once had the theory that the Terrans were indeed created by the Xel'naga, but after the Protoss and Zerg, since the Terrans are most assuredly the youngest of the three races. After the Overmind revolted against his creators, the Xel'naga gave up the goal of directly creating the perfect species, probably because they realized that they had already created Pure Form as well as Pure Essence and now just had to combine them. However, if they had just let the Zerg search the galaxy for the Protoss, there would have been two possible outcomes. Either the Zerg do find and assimilate the Protoss, thereby creating the union of Pure Form and Pure Essence, but under the control of the Overmind, and the Xel'naga don't want that. Or the Zerg cannot find or cannot defeat the Protoss and nothing is accomplished. So, the Xel'naga had to put a third factor in the equation: One that would be able to lure the Zerg to the sector where they could find the Protoss, would also possess a telepathic ability that would make it attractive to be assimilated into the swarm, possess the will and potential to find ways to tame or defeat the Overmind, and could be used as a buffer between Zerg and Protoss so that no direct one-on-one confrontation between the two species occurs until the time would be right. So, the Xel'naga created the Terrans, and they served their needs perfectly until now.
  • This Troper was always under the impression that was, specifically, what the game itself implied by the series of events described in the original Star Craft's manual. It seems to pretty clearly say "if it's crazy, and psychic, the Xel'Naga made it". Also the nature of the Terran/Xel'Naga agent (his name escapes This Troper) in Brood War, and the hybrids he was working on, seem to imply that the Xel'Naga were directly involved in the events of Brood War and, likely, the first war too. Or at least it seemed rather implicit to me...
    • What the manual implies is 'if it's crazy and psychic the Xel'naga will play with them until they're ten times moreso'. Humans were not affected by the Xel'naga at all, but they likely would have been if the zerg hadn't eaten them.
    • Somewhat confirmed. The Xel'Naga were the beings who seeded life on all planets in the universe that eventually evolved sentient lifeforms. So they are responsible for creating the environment where sentient life could grow, thus indirectly resulted in the emergence of human beings.]]

StarCraft: Ghost was just a front to keep StarCraft 2 from being leaked

Think about it: By releasing a couple of screenshots every year, maybe a video or a rudimentary demo every now and then, Blizzard could focus attention away from its real surprise product: StarCraft 2. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, StarCraft: Ghost was canceled just a bit before the announcement of StarCraft 2. The problem is, SC:G was never officially canceled...just wait till Christmas!

• Events from Ghost seem to be canon as well, judging by the content of Nova's cameo.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara left Raynor's Raiders for personal reasons

Kerrigan’s suicide mission left such a bitter aftertaste the Commander couldn’t bring him/herself command again.

• Commander was romantically inclined toward Kerrigan and could not muster the will to fight her.
• Commander secretly loves Raynor but never brought it up as not to interfere with his developing relationship with Kerrigan. It was too painful for the former Magistrate to stay and watch Jim collapse after losing Kerrigan to the Zerg.
  • Commander intentionally sent Kerrigan to New Gettysburg to die, jealous of Sarah’s relationship with Jim. By the formation Raynor’s Raiders guilt caught up and the Commander who could not stay with the unit in good conscience.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara is working with Raynor's Raiders from behind the scenes.

Commander is staying out of the spotlight allowing Jim Raynor to command the organization.

• Commander is commanding Raynor's Raiders from the shadows.
• Jim Raynor is puppet and the former Magistrate of Mar Sara is pulling the strings.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara left Raynor's Raiders because Jim Raynor is a glory hog.

Commander outright abandoned Raynor's Raiders because Raynor kept intentionally taking credit for victories that weren’t really Raynor's.

• And formed a splinter faction christened Commander’s Cossacks.

The former Magistrate of Mar Sara was named Samir Duran

• And is also a Time Lord.

Duran from Brood War is the same person as the Duran who sent the Terran colonists out in the first place

I have no evidence except for the name and Duran's nature.

The Duran we know in Brood War may be an agent of the Dark Voice may have based his disguise on him.

Duran is manipulating Arcturus Mengsk from behind the scenes

• From the bonus mission we learn Mengsk is creating hybrids, the same hybrids that will eventually be used by the Dark Voice to destroy everything]] he learned how and got the tech to do so from Duran who is just using Mengsk to build up a hybrid army for the Dark Voice who he is an agent of.
  • It was never outright confirmed that Arcturus was behind the events of the bonus mission; Raynor only assumed that. Rather, Valerian may be the one who is being manipulated by/working for Duran: Emil Narud, the head of the Moebius Foundation, is confirmed to have a connection to Duran. The Moebius Foundation is privately owned by Valerian Mengsk, and this puts a direct line between him and the Dark Voice's minions. Plus, Valerian just seems a little too good to be true.
  • Narud was manipulating Valerian, along with everyone else; Valerian really was as good as his word. On the subject of Arcturus, however, it is quite possible that he wasn't entirely on-board with Narud's hybrid project; he ordered the "termination" of everyone who had ever worked in the Castanar lab (which would serve better to completely shut down the hybrid project there than to cover it up), and it's possible that he didn't know exactly what Narud was doing in the Skygeirr lab, only that it was a weapons research lab.

One of the 'favours' Mengsk called in to raise a fleet to attack Kerrigan at the end of Brood War was Emil Narud, who became the Emperor's man behind the man.

Narud is a servant of the Dark Voice, and once Kerrigan had served her purpose he decided to place his assets and connections under Arcturus' control to ensure the anti-Kerrigan forces would see to her destruction. In exchange for Dominion funding and support of the Moebius Foundation's hybrid project. Since that obviously didn't work out, he began to manipulate Valerian to cement the Foundation's imperial ties and use him as a pawn who could work together with Raynor's Raiders, because Arcturus wouldn't be able to, and gather up the Xel'Naga artifacts. Knowing Raynor would be a sucker for a shot at restoring Kerrigan, he pulled some strings to have Tychus bailed out to join the hunt for the artifacts. Meanwhile Narud is counting on Mengsk to try and eliminate Kerrigan through his mole Tychus because he knows she's gunning for him. Even though Tychus seemingly fails at the conclusion to Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan's deinfestation could make it much harder for her to counteract the Dark Voice's corruption of the Zerg. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Except for every living thing in the universe should Kerrigan fail to regain control of the Swarm.

Ariel Hanson is infested in BOTH scenarios, we only see it in one.

Tosh refers to Hanson as a "honey pot" repeatedly and says that she was basically a time bomb waiting to go off once she and the infested colonists reached the core worlds. She only sprouted claws and tentacles once she was blown; that would assume that some infested Terrans are able to hide their condition, though. Alternate explanation: she wasn't infested in the "Haven's Fall" scenario, but due to desperation to prove her cure worked, she infected herself and it kind of went out of control. Matt did say that "she's desperate to save her people."

• Alternatively; She was infested the whole time, but was, through her medical skill, able to suppress the infestation to the point were it wasn't visually obvious or had any effect on her personality. This is why she was so certain she could find a cure for the infestation. If Raynor sides with the Protoss against the colonists, she loses hope for a cure and allows the infestation to flare up again, consuming her completely. Conversely, if Raynor decides to protect the colonists, she is motivated to continue her research and either completes a permanent cure, or is able to suppress the infestation indefinitely.

Here's another proposal I found in the Something Awful forums.

• One explanation as to why she became Zerg in one branch and succeeded in curing the virus in the other relates to your choice. If you choose to support her, she has time to take things slow and work out all of the kinks before moving forwards, resulting in removing the infection. On the other hand if you support Selendis, she is panicked, desperate to try and find the cure before it is too late. She thinks maybe if she can find the cure now she can stop Jim from purging the colony. So she takes risks, is not careful, and just ends up Infesting herself. As to the "Zerg Virus" itself, the colonists were not Infested, they were Infected. A sort of sleeper disease that EVENTUALLY can overwhelm them and lead to Infestation. No easy cure for the Infested except fire, but it is possible to cure the Infection instead, which Hanson manages.
• No easy explanation on the differences in LEVEL of Infestation on the mission though. Maybe it's two different sections of the planet you are dealing with. In the Pro-Hanson version, the Protoss started on the badly Infested side and burned that down, and are moving onto the mostly Infestation-free side where you stop them. On the Pro-Selendis version, a couple Marines were able to take out the 5 Infested in Quarantine on that part of the map, and the Raiders take out the badly Infested part that the Protoss would have burned.

Protoss medical technology is actually equal to or more primitive than Terran medical technology.

The Protoss are some of the strongest bastards around, being able to run fast, fight for days, live for centuries, and subsist on "sunshine and dew drops." To top it off, they have psychic powers and access to Khaydarin crystals, which power Protoss tech. Due to Protoss physical and technological superiority they, unlike the inferior Terrans, have no field medics or medivac dropships. Zealots can receive cybernetic leg upgrades- like some Terrans get- and can be teleported out of the warzone, but there's no way for Protoss to immediately heal their units. Dragoons and immortals are powerful cyborgs, but that's due to Protoss engineering and weapons technology.

Terrans, meanwhile, have access to field medics, who can heal soldiers in the middle of a fight, and whose technology even works on Protoss and Zerg physiology. Many of the units have cybernetic implants, which, though crude looking, work fine and are easy to install. Most incredible of all, the Terrans have healing lasers which deliver a payload of functional nanobots, which can heal a soldier up to full health in moments. Being without the advantages of the Protoss, Terran troops have had to throw a lot of effort into their medical technology to compensate. This has lead to the Terrans actually outstripping the Protoss in this field.

• That one might be due to the Honour Before Reason Protoss' honour shtick.
• Legacy of the Void does show that they're finally adapting in the campaign storyline. Only biological units lack a direct means of healing, and one Zealot variant — the mechanical Sentinel — can be repaired by Carriers or the Reconstruction Beam and are fielded to reduce the casualties of Templar warriors. This is supported by the heavy losses they suffered from Amon corrupting the Khala and the loss of Aiur in "The Fall" back in StarCraft. The restarted Purifier Program helps offset the fears of lost lives, but presumably the Protoss will now be more open to the medical knowledge the Terrans bring to the sector.

The head of Spartan Company is the Terran Non-Entity General of Brood War.

Let's face it, it's doubtful someone as successful as you would die so easily.

• It's also a good way to save face with the inhabitants of the Koprulu sector since they may be wanted to an extent. By offering the services of their upgraded Goliaths to buyers, it deflects hostility away from them.

Starcraft takes place in the future of the Command & Conquer universe, presumably the Tiberium series.

The stories about Earth being ruled by "tyranny" stem from the state of emergency due to Tiberium infestation menacing the population, while the criminals being sent off world were people such as Nod terrorists. The United Earth Directorate was an offshoot or division of the GDI but how ruthless they really are was skewed by Nod loyalists for their own political ends. Nod is almost like ancient history which is why nobody seems to remember them.

While Terran tech isn't quite the same as back on Earth, the Barracks, Factory, Starport philosophy of bases was based upon a similar format back on earth, except that the Naval Yard & Airfields are merged and focus on space-faring aircraft and ships. Cloaking was derived from Nod's adaptive camouflage while LASER tech were based upon Nod Obelisk & Spitfire LASER developments. The Terrans had to adapt the technology in the absence of Tiberium so it's not as advanced at first and the Construction Yard method of base building wasn't able to be copied, so the SCV were made combining the Harvester with a builder but they still construct very quickly so the loss of the "Con-Yard" wasn't severe.

• Banshee attack choppers was a result of reinventing the GDI ORCA.
• Cyclones are a result of redesigning the NOD Mantis anti-air robot, but enhanced with the flexibility of surface-to-surface targeting.
• Ghosts were inspired by a mixture of the NOD Shadow Teams and GDI Sniper Teams, while their Nuclear Strikes were a way to integrate the Commando and Superweapon roles due to lack of ICBM knowledge for the latter.
• Infantry combat suits were derived from reverse-engineered GDI Zone Trooper suits.
• Reapers are a spiritual successor to Nod Shadow Teams, the later of which inspired their D8 Charger for building demolition.
• Siege Tanks naturally derive from the Nod Advanced Artillery and their successor, the Specter Artillery.
• Thors seem derived from the Mammoth Tank program, integrating walker functionality into the concept of a twin-cannon tank. Their Anti-Air payloads are naturally inspired by the old Tusk Missile launchers.
• Minerals are related to Tiberium, but lack the invasive traits of latter which is why it isn't considered a dangerous substance fit for eradication. Like Tiberium, the minerals leech valuable resources from the ground that are useful for building equipment and nourishing the Zerg. However, Vespene Gas is still valued as a highly effective fuel and all three factions need it to keep their armies competitive.

Raynor has latent psionic abilities which is why he has the confidence threaten to throw Tosh out of an airlock.

Raynor might have heard the stories of all the brainwashing that Ghosts go through when he was a child and decided to keep his psychic abilities well hidden. This turned out to be a major advantage, allowing him to pass himself as a normal Terran and motivate "regular" humans into pushing their own limits and not feel like Raynor is merely good because of his psychic abilities. One of his subtle powers is detecting and evading danger allowing him to stay one step away from Mengsk when they become arch enemies. When Raynor first sensed Kerrigan during the first Zerg campaign, Kerrigan felt compelled to allow Raynor to escape with his life not only because of their relationship but because she had a strong connection with him.

Gabriel Tosh doesn't have much objection to being threatened by Raynor as he won't kill fellow psionics due to them being like family to him, and humors Raynor when he reveals that he knows about a Protoss boarding the Hyperion.

When Raynor was captured by Nova, it's possible she sensed his hidden talents and convinced Mengsk that Raynor is more valuable as a prisoner than dead.

Rory Swann didn't actually invent the Thor, but decided to present it this way to Raynor.

Seeing a pair of Thors guarding New Folsom — where you can break prisoners out before you unlock Thors of your own — it's more likely that Swann managed to steal the plans from the Dominion database and play it off as coming up with idea himself to spite the Dominion. The secret mission after you unlock the Thor even has one Thor among the staff, while New Folsom Prison has two — plus, you may play "Breakout" before "Media Blitz" — suggesting further that the Thor was already going into mass production. This is Mengsk's Dominion we're still talking about so we're meant to have no issue with Swann plagiarizing.

Amon may be dead, but his admirers may try and bring his legacy back, wield his power, etc.

Considering his significance in driving the plots of the Protoss and Zerg, there's bound to be sentient beings who would love to take control of his power and wield it for their own. Moebius Corps may have been defeated, but it's doubtful their followers were completely vanquished and hybrid cloning technology may still be out there on the black markets due to the powerful beings it produces. Tal'darim still loyal to Amon may be interested in this power too, maybe even forming an alliance with Moebius Corps remnants to continue Amon's legacy and plot against Alarak, the Terran Dominion, and Zagara's Zerg Swarm. Rogue Terran Specters and Protoss Ascendants working together may give the protagonists a dangerous new new foe. While Tal'darim aren't known for liking Terrans, this doesn't mean they can't rethink of them as worthy opponents or find them valuable as underlings so longs as the Terrans' ambitions drive their desire for power and combat prowess.

Mengsk was able to rebuild the Dominion so quickly after Brood War due to Narud and Amon's influence.

Amon and Narud needed the Dominion to help protect their Mobius Corps assets so Amon's influence over Kerrigan made her stand down so the Dominion could rebuild and Moebius Corps could start cloning Hybrids. Supposedly, the best scientists from the Dominion and Moebius were crucial in helping engineer hybrids and the Protoss or Zerg might not suspect Terrans of engineering Hybrids.

The Terran Vikings' Lanzer Torpedos were reverse-engineered from Protoss Scouts' Antimatter Missiles

The stats on the Lanzer Torpedos are exactly the same against armored targets, but Terran technicians improved them to work better against other targets besides armored ones. The Wings of Liberty campaign even has the antimatter-based Ripwave Missile upgrade to give them Splash Damage, curiouser and curiouser.

Defensive Matrix will become more standard in the Terran army.

That's not to say every unit will have it, but the Battlecruiser may gain the ability "Raise Shields" as in Star Trek to gain a defensive advantage. However, it will probably be balanced by diverting power from weaponry like in Star Trek, making them into a Stone Wall ideal for absorbing hits rather than your army. Another possible balance restriction is Tactical Jump and/or Yamato Cannon becoming unavailable temporarily.

The Jackson's Revenge isn't unique, it's just an aftermarket specification for battlecruisers with a fable about it being one-of-a-kind.

This is why it's possible to have them destroyed and be rehired in future missions and fight them as enemies while you have your own version. The Jackson's Revenge specification is possibly not a wide-spread specification because of the Awesome, but Impractical logistics for fielding each one individually, so the vanilla spec cruisers see widespread production to offset the catastrophe of losing mulitple elite-grade cruisers and reduce logistical challenges such as the ability to have multiple fleets fielded where they are needed most.

Some of the units presented in game are miniature versions of their lore counterparts used for logistical reasons.

The Terran Battlecruiser is especially this, essential a scaled-down minicruiser that's easier for smaller bases to supply and maintain, explaining the small scale of the unit. Likewise, the Protoss use mini-Carriers for their smaller skirmish operations instead of mega-Carriers.

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