Temple of Nod

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The Temple of Nod is a fictional massive structure constructed by and belonging to the Brotherhood of Nod, appearing in every installment of the Command & Conquer: Tiberian series to date.

Contents 1 Purpose 2 Construction 2.1 Tiberian Dawn and Renegade 2.1.1 Ground level 2.1.2 Underground level 1 2.1.3 Underground level 2 2.1.4 Underground level 3 2.1.5 Underground ancient tomb 2.2 Tiberian Sun 2.3 Tiberium Wars 3 Fate 4 Trivia 5 Sources

[edit] Purpose

The Temple of Nod is the heart of the Brotherhood - it acts as their communications hub and command center, housing the computer core. It is also Kane's residence, where he commands the Brotherhood with an iron hand, surrounded by zealots devoted to his cause.

The Temple serves another purpose too - it is the Brotherhood's advanced research lab, allowing construction of advanced units, such as Mobile Construction Vehicles, Surface-To-Surface Missile Launchers, Chem Warriors and Commandos in Tiberian Dawn and Cyborg Commandos, Hunter-Seeker drones and Mutant Hijackers in Tiberian Sun. Additionally, during the First Tiberium War, it housed Nod's Nuclear Missile silo, allowing Brotherhood's commanders precision attack capabilities paralleled only by GDI's Ion Cannon Satellite.

During Tiberian Dawn, the Cairo Temple housed Project ReGenesis' main research facility, and Templars, superior results of the project's augmentation procedures, were inhabiting the facility in great numbers.

At least two Temples were constructed during the events of Tiberian Dawn, the first one in Cairo, which is the one featured in Command & Conquer: Renegade and the second one in Sarajevo, which was the one Kane retreated to in the final stages of the First Tiberium War. Both reappear in Tiberian Sun on the respective maps as ruins.

[edit] Construction

[edit] Tiberian Dawn and Renegade

During the First Tiberium War, the Temple of Nod located in Sarajevo was a massive, cathedral-like building, resembling a scorpion. It's architecture was neo-gothic, mixing heavily decorated metal frames with red and black stained glass windows.

The Temple erected by the Brotherhood in Cairo was built over the site of Abel's grave, and it was the one infiltrated by captain Nick Parker in an effort to rescue dr Sydney Mobius. It was the only one depicted in detail, in Command & Conquer: Renegade, and differed from the Sarajevo headquarters mainly in that it didn't have an archway over the entrance.

It was comprised of an above ground structure and three underground levels housing the main facilities. An additional area was located below the Temple, an ancient tomb, where Caine's brother, Abel, was laid to rest.

[edit] Ground level

The structure extending above ground housed the main hall - a long, wide hallway, ending in a row of screens showing various videos, images and TV programs from around the world. The ceiling is composed of red stained glass panels adorned with the Brotherhood's insignia. In the part towards the back, the top level of the nuclear missile silo is accessible through a pair of blast doors.

The construction of this level is strong enough to withstand a direct Ion Cannon hit and remain standing, despite massive damage. However, it does not protect anyone standing in the hallway from the blast itself, as experienced by Kane, who arrived in a similar hall from the depths of the Sarajevo temple just prior to the Ion Cannon attack, ordered by general Solomon of GDI.

[edit] Underground level 1

The level just below is where Kane's netrunners work - three virtual reality machines tapped into the net are housed behind a sliding video screen wall. They act as interfaces for the hackers, who, at the end of the Nod campaign in Tiberian Dawn, manage to obtain access to Global Defence Initiative's Orbital Defence Matrix, allowing the Brotherhood to strike at any point on Earth, including major landmarks, crippling the GDI by blaming it for the strike.

As with the above-ground levels, part of the missile silo goes through this level.

[edit] Underground level 2

The second level is the place where the main war room of the facility is located - it consists of a large situation table and several wall video screens, presenting the current world-wide situation. As with all other levels, the back houses a part of the nuclear missile silo.

Also, it should be noted that just below the concrete floor, a massive vein of Tiberium is located.

This facility bears much resemblance to the room in the Sarajevo temple, where Kane was last seen by his officers just prior to the Ion Cannon blast.

[edit] Underground level 3

The deepest part of the facility is its largest level, where all the main facilities are located.

The first room that is entered from the second level is Brotherhood's museum, where several artifacts are located, apparently of meaning to the Nod members. It is connected to a large walkway over the level's central dining hall and lounge.

Several rooms are connected to the lounge, most notable of which are Kane's office and living quarters. Kane's office is composed of a large desk, a black and red scorpion's tail sculpture and a wall screen, which provided background for Kane's mission briefings during Tiberian Dawn's Nod campaign. Adjacent to the office is his bedroom, entirely made of expensive ornaments and furniture bearing the Brotherhood's insignia. For protection, his bedroom was equipped with twin Volt ceiling turrets.

On the same level Seth's, Kane's right hand, living quarters and office are located. After he attempted to circumvent his superior's authority, he was executed during a mission briefing by the man he tried to overthrow, and his body was preserved in a large tube, which Kane later calls his trophy in a transmission to captain Parker, a commando infiltrating the Temple in search for dr Sydney Mobius.

Another room accessible is the bluescreen recording studio, where Kane recorded manipulated news reports with Greg Burdette, designed to place blame for civilian slaughter in Białystok on GDI. These reports were moderately succesful, creating a world-wide scandal with GDI as its victim.

The last accessible room is the Temple's control room, through which access is available to the Temple's inhabitants living quarters. The living quarters section is intended for Kane's most faithful "brothers". It is interconnected with the main experimentation lab and the Temple's power core.

The experimentation lab is the place where the perfected Project ReGenesis augmentation process took place, resulting in creation of Templars from volunteers. They would later be kept in stasis in specially designed tubes, to be released in the case the Temple came under attack, or Kane's life was threatened, as it was when captain Nicholas "Havoc" Parker infiltrated the level and had to face several Templars at the same time. It is also here, that the base of the nuclear missile silo is located and the Temple's power core can be accessed.

In the power core, the main ReGenesis evolution lab was located - here, the most advanced mutation processes were monitored and set in motion. The most advanced specimen that was created here was the mutated Elena Petrova, who possesed superhuman speed, agility and stamina, able to withstand massive weapon punishment and able to make several meter long jumps, covering opposite platforms of the core.

[edit] Underground ancient tomb

The perhaps most mysterious element of the Temple is accessed from an elevator located in the main experimentation lab. It is a fairly simple maze, filled with green gas, ultimately ending in a large, circular room, in the center of which a large sarcophagus is located. Beyond the sarcophagus, a large wall sculpture is located, depicting a man killing another.

It is implied, that entombed within the sarcophagus are the remains of Abel, the first victim of murder and Caine's brother, which may mean, that Kane is indeed immortal.

When approached, Kane remarks that this tomb marks the site of the original Brotherhood's temple.

[edit] Tiberian Sun

During the events of Tiberian Sun, in 2030, a second Temple of Nod was constructed, in Cairo, where one of Tiberian Dawn Temples stood. Adjacent to it was a Nod Pyramid, which housed Kane's world altering missile.

Not much is known about the Temple's interior, as the videos all take place within the pyramid. What is known is that the Temple still houses advanced research labs, acting as a prerequisite for advanced units such as the Cyborg Commando or Mutant Hijacker.

Its design differs drastically from the Tiberian Dawn's Temple - it is streamlined and resembles an encroached scorpion. Stained glass panels are almost non-existant, replaced by sleek concrete and steel surfaces.

The Tiberian Sun era temple was modeled by Eric Gooch, Westwood 3D artist and actor portraying Seth.

[edit] Tiberium Wars

The design of the Temple of Nod for the upcoming Command & Conquer 3 is yet to be announced.

[edit] Fate

The Tiberian Dawn Temples were both heavily damaged and much of them destroyed in the First Tiberium War, both by Ion Cannon strikes, the one in Sarajevo according to gen. Solomon's order and the Cairo site by gen. Locke, as capt. Nicholas "Havoc" Parker helped to accurately target the orbital cannon. While the latter survived the blast intact, the former, after being heavily damaged by Global Defence Initiative forces, has mostly crumbled under the blast, burying the underground facilities under tons of rubble.

The Sarajevo site was declared secure territory by GDI and excavation efforts were made, however, they progressed slowly, as in 2030 they were still unearthing the facilities containing the Tacitus. Due to this, Nod forces attacked the GDI base in this region, shutting down the excavation operations and regaining control of Kane's former command center.

The Second Tiberium War Temple, along with the adjacent Pyramid of Nod, survived the GDI victory, and was also secured by the victors. However, the security was lax, allowing a small Black Hand commando squad to infiltrate the site and regain the three core elements of CABAL, aiding in the Brotherhood's rebirth, but also almost destroying humanity in the long run.

[edit] Trivia

• Edvuld, a Swedish case modder, has created a Temple of Nod computer case mod as a tribute to the game.

[edit] Sources

• Command & Conquer Tiberian Dawn game manual and in-game cutscenes
• Command & Conquer: Renegade
• Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun
• Eric Gooch's website
• | Bit-Tech.net article on the Temple of Nod case mod
• | Hotbox of the Year contest on AtomicMPC