| “ | Homo Demens. Militant separatist group. They run Edge Knot City. Nothing's off-limits for them. Not even engineering voidouts. There are extremists like the Demens everywhere, plotting in the shadows. They are decentralised by nature. No one organisation to rule them all - just a common ideology. | „ |
| ~ Die-Hardman to Sam Porter Bridges. |
The Homo Demens, also known as the Terrorists, are the main antagonists of the 2019 action game Death Stranding. A militant separatist group originally founded to oppose the United Cities of America, it eventually became far more extremist under the spiritual leadership of Higgs Monaghan.
The Demens sought to bring forth a cataclysmic event known as the Sixth Mass Extinction, meant to finish the whole humanity off for good. To see it through, they carried the agenda of Amelie Strand - the Extinction Entity - to speed it up by engineering voidouts all across America, killing countless people in the process.
They serve as the final antagonistic faction by effectively replacing the MULEs in the second half of the game.
Overview[]
The Homo Demens are the successors of a terrorist group that came to the fore shortly after the Death Stranding when President Bridget Strand sought to expand the Chiral Network all across America, in a desperate attempt to reconnect isolated communities and people together.
The group was originally created by a woman known as Coffin, as a direct response to the discovery of the UCA's experimentation to create Bridge Babies (B.B.), as they found such meddling with the sanctity of life as abhorrent; their refusal to join the UCA was both to enforce their own autonomy, but also prevent the usage of B.B. as sacrificial building stones in the Chiral Network.
To protect her husband and daughter, Coffin faked her death as to prevent her actions causing consequences for them, thus the new name, which also represented her past life as dead. Coffin eventually recruited a young porter, and made him her protege; this young man would one day be known as Higgs. Upon Coffin's death, she requested that Higgs look after her daughter, who was Fragile, thus unknowingly making her a target for the envious Higgs.
After Amelie Strand made Higgs his agent of extinction, the latter used his newly acquired powers to unify the Demens and other terrorists: the Homo Demens were born. Much like their new leader, they all received their own doll that connected them to Amelie and her Beach, a testament of their secret allegeance to the Extinction Entity. Emboldened by Higgs and his supernatural powers, the Demens became infamous for being responsible of the annihilation of many cities across America.
Unlike the MULEs, the Demens exclusively use lethal weapons such as assault rifles and grenades.
Known Members[]
- Coffin (Founder; deceased)
- Amelie Strand (Affiliated)
- Higgs Monaghan - Figurehead & Spiritual Leader
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Homo Demens means "mad man" in Latin; the very name of their group is a hint to their destructive and abominable nature.
- The symbol of the Homo Demens represents a Nemes, pieces of stripped head cloth worn by pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. As such, it emphazises their link to the world of the living and the dead through their leader Higgs.
- Black and gold are the two colors associated with the Homo Demens. The black is synonym of death and what the Demens leave in their wake, while the gold is a testament of power and security.
Other Links[]
- Homo Demens on the Death Stranding Wiki