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The Crystalline are the antagonist in the videogame Shatterline.
Biography[]
They are the central cosmic threat in the world of Shatterline, an interstellar super-organism that travels across the galaxy consuming planets and reshaping all life in its image. Unlike a conventional enemy with a single form or leader, the Crystalline exist as a collective force, spreading through fragments known as Glassships that crash into worlds and unleash crystalline spores and constructs. Their nature is silicon-based rather than carbon-based, which gives them a strange and alien biology. Wherever they spread, organic matter is slowly transformed into crystalline entities, and ecosystems are twisted into reflections of their mineral-like design. The process is not random but guided by an intelligence known as the Voice, a hive mind that coordinates the actions of countless shards, spores, and corrupted creatures.
For humanity, the arrival of the Crystalline on Earth marked the beginning of a global catastrophe. Cities were overrun, populations were infected and crystallized, and entire regions became impact zones dominated by alien growths. The spread is relentless, and conventional weapons only slow the advance. What makes them especially terrifying is their adaptability. They manifest in countless forms, from small sprouts to towering constructs, each designed to counter resistance and ensure the survival of the hive. The Crystalline are not just invaders but terraformers, erasing the identity of entire worlds and leaving behind only their own crystalline ecology.
Psychologically, they embody the idea of an unstoppable, uncaring force of nature. They do not negotiate or recognize individuality. To the Crystalline, living beings are simply raw material to be consumed and reshaped. Some humans, like Alan Seer and his Strafe Witness cult, interpret them as a divine revelation and willingly submit to their transformation, believing it to be a path toward transcendence. For everyone else, the Crystalline represent annihilation, the end of humanity as it is known. They are not evil in the human sense but utterly alien, a collective intelligence driven by survival, expansion, and assimilation on a cosmic scale.
External Links[]
Crystalline - Shatterline Wiki