1.)How does one become an immortal?
- Well, the immortality thingy comes from a mutated gene in the human body. Not all humans mind you, but some people are born with this gene. It's a mutation, not unlike a third eye or third nipple or third testicle. This special gene can only be activated by one thing: violent death. When the person is struck down by, let's say being crush by a giant waffle iron, then, after an amount of time (usually relevent to just how violent the death was), the person will reawaken a whole new being, not unlike the Phoenix of ancient mythology. Now an immortal, the person will heal from almost any wound and their body will be in a constant state of regeneration from the time they were first killed. All forms of degeneration are stopped, including bones, skin and teeth, making the person varitably unaging. Also, upon becoming immortal, the person becomes sexually sterile, unable to produce children with humans or other immortals. There is only one way to stop immortality: decapitation. However...
- Thanx to the bastards who brought us HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING, there is another possibilty for the immortality state. As this movie stated, the immortals are actually from a far off planet called Zeist. For some reason, the Zeistian biological make-up is altered by Earth's atmosphere, making any Zeistians who reach our planet immortal, enjoying all the benefits stated above... Until there are no more immortals left. If a Zeistian immortal should win the Game, then they will have a choice to make: live forever or be allowed to grow old and die as long as there are no more Zeistians on Earth. This is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard, so all this HIGHLANDER mythology is relatively ignored.
2.) the Game
- The Game is what the immortals call the war between them. Throughout time, there has been the rule that "There Can Be Only One", meaning that there can only be one immortal for the Game to end. I have no idea where this came from or how they know there's a Prize for the victor of the Game, but all immortals believe in this Game and the legendary Prize. Like all games, the Game has rules, which all immortals (well, most immortals) agree to follow, bound by honor. Even some of the most vile immortals, such as the Kurrgan and General Katanna follow them.
3.) the Rules
- There are 2 fundamental rules to the Game. Who made these rules up and for what reason, I do not know, but they're there, so follow them and it'll be your key to the Prize... provided you're immortal.
- Rule #1: No fighting on sacred ground. For some reason, no ground deemed sacred by any peoples may be fought upon. Okay, this is kinda fucked up, because by this rule, there would be NO fighting, as many smaller religions look at the Earth in it's entirity as sacred, therefore, nowhere on Earth would be acceptable. But, all rules have their loopholes, so I guess it's kinda based on interpritation. This leads to my theory that there really are two cosmic entities who create and destroy everything, one good and one evil, and the Game is like a big Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots tournament to them. I theorize that, because of this, there is no one religion that's "right", just a bunch that seem to have the right idea. Anyway, as long as the immortals are on holy ground of any kind, they cannot fight.
- Rule #2: Only one-on-one matches between immortals. In other words, you can't have a gang of 8 immortals battling one other immortal at the same time. This isn't considered fair fighting, and even the bad guys follow this (well, most bad guys).
4.) the Prize
- Once all the other immortals have been killed, the last standing immortal receives the Prize. The best way to sum up the Prize would be to say it's like a planetary awareness. With the Prize, the triumphant immortal can hear and feel the thoughts and emotions of EVERY living thing on Earth, including trees, grass, people, etc. This is apparently not a permanent condition though as, when any other immortals surface (there are more born everyday, but only some are "activated" because they do not all meet a violent death, some die peacefully, never knowing their potential), the Prize disappears and the immortal must continue the Game. But, as always, continuity gets fucked up. In HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING, the last remaining Zeistian immortal also gets the option of becoming mortal instead, allowing them to live a "normal" life with their fellow humans. The other form of the Prize is confusing too, as, according to HIGHLANDER: THE FINAL DIMENSION, if an immortal is locked away in a secluded place, they're considered "out of the Game", placing them as technically dead. However, should said immortal come back into the light of day, he/she is re-entered into the Game and the Prize is put back up for grabs. This theory too was later challenged in HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME, as immortals who were locked away in the underground Sanctuary were still considered "in the game", despite their confinement. Confusing yes, but that's as simple as I can put it.
5.) the Quickening
- Also the subtitle for the original version of HIGHLANDER 2, the Quickening is the lightning and explosions that follow an immortal's decapitation. It is the transfer of one immortal's life energy into the body of his killer. However, if the killer is simply mortal, nothing happens. Yep, if someone like you or me, (well, you anyway) should hack off an immortal's head, all you'll have is a mess on your hands... and your shoes. Sucks right?
6.) the Watchers
- A group of mortal humans who have watched the immortals throughout time. This secret society keeps tabs on all immortals in the world, creating detailed files on all their activities, victories, travel patterns, etc. They are only allowed to watch, not to interfere. Many immortals know of the Watchers, and have even befriended them.
Well, that's all I've been able to come up with to help you readers out. Note that many of these rules are broken big time in HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME, but they do a pretty good job of explaining the situations, so as to not alienate new viewers.
