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What is an Infinite Harmonic Reflux? 

"Dr. Keller describes the event as one of the swirling eddies in the space between two displacement event currents. Essentially it is being trapped between dimensions, teleporting randomly between locations.

Barney Calhoun, Dr. Gina Cross, and Dr. Colette Green were the first to experience this phenomenon at Black Mesa in the 2000s. 20 years later, Gordon Freeman underwent this event during a botched teleportation to Black Mesa East."

What is an Infinite Harmonic Reflux? "Dr. Keller describes the event as one of the swirling eddies in the space between two displacement event currents. Essentially it is being trapped between dimensions, teleporting randomly between locations. Barney Calhoun, Dr. Gina Cross, and Dr. Colette Green were the first to experience this phenomenon at Black Mesa in the 2000s. 20 years later, Gordon Freeman underwent this event during a botched teleportation to Black Mesa East."

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KAL
KAL
Jul 11, 2021

Unknown previously by both Dr. Keller and Dr. Rosenberg, Dr. Kliener discovered that the Infinite Harmonic Reflux affects not only location displacement events, but also ones that affect time as well. This came about when Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance escaped from Nova Prospekt in which the Combine teleporter displaced both Gordon and Alyx in a time displacement pocket that felt instantaneous, but returned them about a week later to Black Mesa East after the initial teleport event.

Hickory
Hickory
Jul 11, 2021

Rosenberg states at the end of Half-Life: Blue Shift that a harmonic reflux is very dangerous, and Barney was lucky to have made it to the same location as the rest of them, however in all 4 cases, there was a slight displacement after some teleporting around. Makes me wonder, is it really all that dangerous? And if so, how does Rosenberg know? Were some horribly unfortunate souls lost an infinite harmonic reflux in early teleportation experiments, or is Rosenberg making a reasonable guess?

KAL
KAL
Jul 11, 2021

Well he isn't wrong either, teleporting to a location at the wrong time and place can get a person killed or if the displacement field is self sustaining, you could teleport forever which could also kill you. They were lucky because the power field was either cut manually or weakened to a stable state. Its kind of like how you wouldn't want to place two Portals above and below each other with the Portal gun, because you'll loop endlessly and at a faster speed which will eventually kill you.

Reply to KAL
Hickory
Hickory
Jul 11, 2021

Fair, though it does make one wonder how they know it could happen infinitely. Seems likely that there were many accidents in early experiments regarding teleportation.

Reply to Hickory
KAL
KAL
Jul 12, 2021

I think those incidents were swept under the rug, considering a few HEV wearing scientists were found in and around Xen. Government treated them the way an astronaut would be treated if they got stuck in space with no way out: "We'll tell your family you died with honor serving your country."

Reply to KAL
Hickory
Hickory
Jul 12, 2021

Yeah. Them being lost in early teleportation experiments also makes way more sense than being all of them being survey team members. I mean, you lose a couple members when you know where they went and all, maybe you send a couple more better prepared, but you lose 50, and you're not just gonna send 50 more. Plus some seem to have just teleported too high and fallen like the scientist who dies using the Displacer Cannon in Opposing Force.

Reply to Flamsey
Hickory
Hickory
Jul 20, 2021

Well yeah, and it teaches you to use the long-jump module, which is built expressly for navigation in Xen.

Leevee
Leevee
Jul 12, 2021

yeah, i said this before as well.