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The Hum-Tah, also known as the Infinite Ones, are a race of immensely powerful beings that are mentioned throughout the Serious Sam series, and a play in the latter's backstory. Only one confirmed member of the species remains, known as 'Tah-Um', or as humans call him, Mental.
Biology[]
The Hum-Tah are a sentient race of extremely powerful entities of unknown nature, who once ruled over intergalactic empires for eons. Apparantly, they were immortal and could live for an extremely long time, perhaps for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.
History[]
During the Sirians' interstellar expeditions, just a few decades after the Sirian scouting party arrived on Earth, one of their other expeditions had found traces of an ancient and now extinct race in some near part of the galaxy. The Sirians named that race the Eillians, or 'The Ancient Ones', as the race had disappeared several hundred thousand years ago. The Sirians found Eillian legends of large empires spanning great areas of the galaxy for eons.[1] The Eillians called that old age 'Tag'h Na-Mah', which translates as 'big order that oscillates', as the empires were constantly expanding and eventually reached their downfall. Still, the entire system was seemingly stable. Allegedly, the empires were usually governed by creatures called 'Hum-Tah'. As the most important clue for the events that followed, the Sirians left a fragment of an old Eillian song in rough and unclear translation meaning:
- "Of the infinite, there are three kinds:
Lost ones, they are lost in infinity
And useless.
Ones that create, they were our gods
They were finited.
Ones that destroy, they were banished.
But The One Infinite is still." - ―Unknown
This ancient message hints that the Hum-Tah, with the exception of one, are either extinct or have been banished from the universe. The only known Hum-Tah left is Tah-Um, also known as Mental. It has been surmised that Tah-Um harbored a deep hatred towards the younger races, as they were able to avoid the terrible fate which befell upon his kin.[1] Tah-Um is known to have a daughter called Judy, but it is not clear whether or not she is a member of the Hum-Tah species.
The Hum-Tah and 'Tah-Um'[]
According to the Eillians, the age after great empires was named 'Ugh-Tah', translated as the 'infinite death'. Not explaining how it begun, the Sirians described that age as a curse for intelligent life throughout the entire galaxy. It was marked by the dark reign of the last persisting immortal being, The One Infinite, or 'Tah-Um' in Eillian legends. The Sirians also called that being 'Chaad Sheen', which translated as 'wizard-exterminator'. He is described as a bloodthirsty immortal that uses his magic powers, supernatural abilities and all available technology to wipe out any intelligent life he comes across.[1] The Sirians described that there were no other immortals left except for Tah-Um and that it, according to the Eillians, is wondering across the galaxy, sweeping in long periods lasting hundreds of thousands of years. He is not interested in subduing other races and keeping an empire of its own, but rather uses any eventual violent races he encounters, together with robots and magical creatures under his control to erase the galaxy clean of intelligent life. Tah-Um had wiped out the Eillians long time before intelligent life appeared on Sirius and approximately at the same time when Sirians discovered the Eillian traces, he found the Sirians, too.[1]
Eventually, this lead to the downfall and extinction of the Sirians, who were then resurrected and forced to serve as foot soldiers in Tah-Um's army, and to obey his orders without question.
Appearances[]
The Hum-Tah are rarely mentioned in the series, though they do play an important role in the series' official backstory. They are also mentioned by professor Hermann Stein in Serious Sam 4, according to a note found at a dig site in Pompeii, where he came across a Sirian artifact and a bronze cylinder mentioning the Time-Lock.[2]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter (First appearance) (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam: Xbox (non-canonical appearance) (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam: Next Encounter (non-canonical appearance) (Voice heard and arm seen only)
- Serious Sam Advance (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam 2 (non-canonical appearance) (Voice heard only and not seen)
- Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam: Double D (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam 3: BFE (Not seen)
- Serious Sam: Double D: XXL (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter (non-canonical appearance) (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam VR: The Second Encounter (non-canonical appearance) (Voice heard only)
- Serious Sam's Bogus Detour (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope (Not seen)
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE (Not seen)
- I Hate Running Backwards (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam: Tormental (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam Classics: Revolution (non-canonical appearance) (Not seen)
- Serious Sam 4 (Not seen)
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem (Not seen)
References[]
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