The Sphere

The Sphere is an organic alien ship. It has a small, concentrated star at its core, which is used to support itself and all life inside it. The origin of the Sphere is unclear, but its main goal is to maintain itself. It travels the galaxy searching for various alien races to maintain it. It also uses these races as food to provide much needed extra energy to sustain the Sphere and its star. The Sphere is fused with cybernetic enhancements, and has the power to manipulate gravity inside of itself and alter space (as demonstrated in the maze puzzle and in the numerous small storage boxes that, when entered, lead to entire rooms). Various walkways allow the occupants to walk on surfaces otherwise designated as walls and ceilings. Switches that change the direction of gravity, effectively changing the orientation of anyone in the area, are present in some locations, causing floors, walls, and ceilings to change their roles depending on the switch used. The Sphere also has the ability to produce portals to other sections at will. These portals allow occupants to move much faster around the Sphere and fulfill their duties more efficiently.

The Sphere houses many different alien races that were taken by the Sphere from other worlds. Most of them are cybernetically enhanced, much like the Strogg of the Quake series, and they have a language of their own, unreadable until Tommy obtains Talon and their language is translated to English.

It is implied along the game that the Keepers of the Sphere, who act as the leaders of the other races, plant the seed of life in certain worlds that they see have the potential to sustain such life. Once the seed is planted, they let evolution run its course while they go to other worlds. However, once the planet is brimming with life, be it intelligent or not, they come back to "reap" all resources, both organic and material from the planet.

Multiple species may be consumed as more energy for the Sphere. The only group of beings aboard the Sphere who live relatively freely are a small band of humans who call themselves the Hidden. The members of the Hidden, individually known as "Hiders", are slightly enhanced with cybernetics, but nowhere near the extent of the other beings on the Sphere, and have not lost their individuality. Led by a seemingly young woman named Elhuit, the Hidden strive to ultimately destroy the Sphere, though what they want most is to return to Earth, where they were taken from many years ago.