Administrator
| “ | It saddens me that despite my best efforts to instruct and better you, some of you insist on finding new ways to fail.
— The Administrator
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” |
The Administrator, also known as Helen[1], TF Announcer or simply the Announcer, handles the affairs of both RED and BLU as well as TF Industries. She is the source of the mysterious, disembodied voice that issues commands and announces vital events during matches. An aged and thoroughly evil mastermind of a woman, the Administrator possesses both a piercing gaze and the sort of voice that commands total and unwavering obedience... or else. Her general demeanor tends towards either slight anger or various stages of bitter disappointment.
Contents
Role and duties
The Administrator wields considerable influence and power. Once thought to be the owner of both the RED and BLU corporations, it has since been revealed that Blutarch and Redmond Mann are both still alive, thanks to Radigan Conagher's life-extending machines. Despite their continued existence, neither of the Mann brothers seem capable of handling the affairs of their respective companies, and so for all intents and purposes the Administrator can be said to control them. By extension, this grants her control over every major government on the planet. She tends to keep her operations top secret, manipulating events from behind the scenes. Any development that may chance unwanted attention is swiftly terminated with extreme prejudice.
She communicates with both teams from a single microphone connected to a central control panel. By skilled manipulation of a huge array of plugs and sockets, she can tap into a number of communication channels, including ones that address the entirety of the RED and BLU teams. Her messages are relayed to the teams through an Alarm-O-Tron 5000 speaker system, itself connected to a board with a myriad of signs that illuminate in situations of varying urgency, such as "Intruder Alert - RED Spy - In Base". A massive monitor bank in front of her control panel allows her to keep a watchful eye on events at all times. Her exact motives in ordering the mercenary teams employed by both her companies into mortal combat on a regular basis remain mysterious.
The Administrator is attended by a number of staff, including loyal assistant Miss Pauling.
The War
| “ | In my experience, Miss Pauling, nothing kills friendship faster...than a healthy competition.
— The Administrator on her evil deeds
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” |
The Administrator considers inter-company friendships a profound breach of trust, forbidden by contract. After her assistant Miss Pauling brought it to her attention that the RED Demoman and the BLU Soldier had become friends, she had communication channels opened up specifically to them both. Through these, she personally encouraged each to kill their new friend in order to earn a mysterious and valuable new weapon developed under Mann Co. Just as intended, this quickly destroyed their blossoming friendship and thus beginning the seven day war.
The Director
| “ | This director's the perfect dupe. He's too stupid to divine our reasons for commissioning him. Too arrogant to listen to anything our mercs are actually telling him. And he records everything.
— The Administrator on the director
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” |
The Administrator hired a director to record some background information about what the RED team members might say when asked questions from the files the Administrator gave the Director. Not intent on keeping him for long as she considers him to be a dupe and as sub-normal as the mercenaries, she gives the order to Ms. Pauling to kill the director afterwards in a mine shaft. She also sends photos of the Sniper's parents, the Heavy's home and Minigun, and one of the Soldier's heads back to them. After the mercenaries kill the messenger, she chastises them since the mini-television sets they carry are apparently expensive, and warns them of the dangers of discussing the terms of their contracts with anyone. She does let them know that in this case, it was a rather absurd example and all gathered evidence — except the Soldier's heads — was destroyed.
Appearance
The Administrator's appearance has a storied past. It started with a fan rendition by the artist Makani, which spread around the Internet, proving to be rather popular. Shortly thereafter the artist was invited to Valve for a visit, where the design was purchased. Many months later, during the promo for the Hallowe'en Special, a woman with a near-identical face could be seen standing next to Zepheniah Mann on his deathbed. Finally, on December 9, 2009, the Administrator's face was officially revealed, using Makani's design, with some slight clothing modifications. With the release of Meet the Director, the Administrator's appearance had undergone more changes.
Trivia
- The Administrator is voiced by Ellen McLain, who also played the voice of GLaDOS in Portal and the Voice Overwatch Dispatcher in Half-Life 2.
- The Administrator occasionally posts on the TF2 Official Blog, usually with entries that involve tongue-lashing the community for untoward behavior, such as the usage of external achievement unlocking programs.
- As portrayed in the comic, the Administrator is in possession of the Mann Family Portrait. She bears a very close resemblance to Elizabeth, Zepheniah Mann's maidservant.
- 'The Administrator' takes place concurrent to the events of Meet the Spy.
- The Administrator is implied to have been in a relationship with Saxton Hale some time ago, who refers to her as a "chain-smoking seductress".
- In response to inquiries about her alleged relationship with Saxton Hale: "A lady never tells, and a gentleman never asks. More pertinently, an Administrator never forgets. Or forgives. Or relents. The Nosy Parkers among you would do well to remember that the next time you decide to paw through my confidential affairs like junkyard dogs." [2]
- The Demoman refers to her as "the angry lady who's always screamin' at us while we fight," as part of the WAR! Update [3]
- In Poker Night at the Inventory, an image of the Administrator appears on the Queen of Diamonds in the "Poker Night" card deck.
Gallery
Makani's original rendition of the Administrator
The Administrator card in Poker Night at the Inventory
A hidden painting in Mann Manor
The Administrator as she appeared in the WAR! Update
See also
References
External links
- Comic – Before the WAR
- TF2 Official Blog - You Have Failed Me
- TF2 Official Blog - I Can't Take My Eyes Off You for Five Minutes
- TF2 Official Blog - Theft is a Dish Best Served Cold
- TF2 Official Blog - Attention Employees...
- TF2 Official Blog - Cheaters, Winners and Busybodies
- TF2 Official Blog - Additional time has been awarded
