So, after re-reading the WC3 Novel, I got to thinking that Cobra actually was a Kilrathi spy. Now, I believe she is supposed to be a red herring in the novel to keep the reader from zeroing in on Hobbes immediately, but the fact that she mentions a familiar feeling when Thrakhath triggers Hobbes makes me think that she also has had a personality overlay. The difference between her and Hobbes, of course, is that her trigger was different. Hobbes reacted to a combination of the frequency of the message and the phrase "Heart of the Tiger" while Cobra only heard the frequency. What do you guys think?
Hmm... no. I think that is too far fetched. Why should she let Hobbes kill her if she was a spy as well?
Just to be clear, because I'm not sure I was after re-reading my first post, but what I was trying to say is that reason Cobra felt that the frequency was familiar was because she, like Hobbes, had been subjected to the personality overlay. However, while the frequency was there, the trigger words for Cobra (different from what triggered Hobbes) were not used, therefore she was not affected other than the slightly familiar feeling and mild headache.
Actually, this is an interesting Fan-wank (I LUV Fan-wanks!) The details fit canon, and because of Cobra's early demise, the premise would not run counter to any canon. The desire to join Confed could have been programmed into her. Anyone for a fan-fic "The Programming of Laurel Buckley"? I see it a a psychological horror tale...
As for the brain wash thing im sure Hobbes would of agreed to be programed to start off with I doubt Cobra would have
Fanwank: when the fandom tries to explain a piece of canon (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FanWank) The TVTropes article makes mention of the British definition of "wank" so it is not too far removed from what you were thinking, Youngblood Hobbes' overlay would have been like Total Recall, while Cobra's would have been more like The Manchurian Candidate. Come to think of it, the Total Recall style personality overlay works on willing or non-willing subjects. Not much of a story to shoving someone into a machine for 60 seconds. edited for additional content
Thanks! @HotJob: Actually this funny TVtropes page really helps when trying to explain how storytelling works, although of course it is a bit strange and over the top. The most important thing is that it defines names for things you would otherwise have to explain in whole sentences, like "nuking the fridge" or "kick the dog", also the names for character archetypes are quite useful.
Maybe she is the final FINAL cylon. Just need to find the right bit of music... Obviously not that one tune in the rec room on the victory.
No, you really are supposed to think this. The game has a scene designed specifically to convince the player that Cobra may have been 'turned' by the Kilrathi while she was a slave. She says: "The Psych guys spent two years trying to pry things out of my head after I escaped. But you can’t wipe it all. There’s a little bit of Kilrathi prowling around inside of me. And I can’t get it out. One day there won’t be any human left." The book realizes the flaw in the game's script, that the concept of a personality overlay is in no way a concept anyone should have predicted, and decides to talk it up earlier. You have a specific conversation where Blair and Rollins talk about personality overlays and how maybe Hobbes and/or Cobra could have one. And so the hints in the book harken back to that a bunch more than they seem to in the game.
I don't think so. The frequency is an important piece. Had Hobbes been watching animal planet and heard "Heart of the Tiger" it wouldn't have made any difference to him. The frequency is required for his original personality to hear the message and awake. At the same time, the frequency itself may cause the operator some discomfort, but without the code words they will not "activate" the original personality. We have no idea what Cobra's trigger word(s) would be, of course. I doubt every operator had the same "Heart of the Tiger" trigger.
Well, perhaps she just knows Kilrathi frequencies in general? She knows the Kilrathi quite well from her time as their prisoner. So she might only recognize a Kiranka high-priority code or Thrakhath's personal code or something.
I wouldn't be surprised if anything Kilrathi gives her a headache, considering what she went through.
