The Lore of Monolith Explained

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 27, 2024 2 Views 6 Min Read
The Lore of Monolith Explained



STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is set deep within the “Zone of Alienation” that surrounds the destroyed Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This Zone is filled with life-threatening, supernatural Anomalies, vicious bloodthirsty monsters, and an army of mutated animals. And like any good post-apocalypse, STALKER 2‘s Zone is home to an array of warring factions, all of whom want something different from the Zone and the people within it.




The STALKER series tackles a lot of weighty philosophical themes, many of which revolve around concepts of humanity and what people are willing to sacrifice to make their desires a reality. There are very few objectively “good” factions in the STALKER universe, and even then, Monolith is widely considered to be the worst of the lot.

STALKER 2 Ferris Wheel

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STALKER 2 Proves Historical Sci-Fi Has a Place in Gaming

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The Lore of STALKER’s Monolith Faction Explained

The “Group” And Its Experiments With The Noosphere

Around the time of the Chornobyl Disaster in 1986, a band of Soviet Union scientists simply known as “The Group” set up shop within the power plant’s Exclusion Zone. The isolated nature of the Zone gave these scientists the perfect cover for a range of risky experiments, many of which revolved around the Noosphere, an invisible field of energy that supposedly surrounds the Earth and interferes with human thoughts and emotions.


The Merging of the Common Consciousness

Despite the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, The Group continued its experiments on the Noosphere inside the Zone. Some breakthroughs led to a small selection of seven scientists agreeing to form a hivemind. These scientists were placed in stasis pods, and their minds were merged into one Common Consciousness, a disembodied manifestation that was able to traverse and meddle with the Noosphere.

The Common Consciousness attempted to manipulate the Noosphere in 2006, resulting in a second Chornobyl Disaster. This fateful accident caused a rift in the Noosphere to appear within the Zone, resulting in the appearance of physics-breaking Anomalies. Following the disaster, the Common Consciousness attempted to control the power of the rift, but the hordes of Stalkers that now traveled the Zone in search of valuable artifacts would frequently interrupt its attempts.


The Formation of Monolith

To defend itself and the rift, the Common Consciousness set about creating an army of loyal protectors. The Common Consciousness preyed on a vulnerable group of fanatics known as Monolith. These quasi-religious zealots believed that a Monolith “Wish Granter” stood at the heart of the Zone, and that it was their job to protect it at all costs.

The Common Consciousness seized its opportunity to mind-control this group of former Stalkers. The C-Consciousness and its followers then created a device that would become widely known across the Zone as the “Brain Scorcher,” a powerful radio antenna that could be used to attract and brainwash any Stalkers who dared to come too close to the heart of the Zone. These brainwashed Stalkers were turned into loyal, violent soldiers for Monolith’s ever-growing army.

The Death of The C-Consciousness and The Downfall of Monolith

But even the might of Monolith couldn’t last forever in the inhospitable Zone. At the end of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, player-character Strelok makes his way inside the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Strelok refuses the C-Consciousness’ offer to join them, and destroys the stasis pods containing the seven scientists, thus presumably killing the C-Consciousness and causing the downfall of Monolith, at least in the form fans knew it to be.


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