- "I came to Mars to make a living. Keep my head down. Stay out of trouble. But I found something here I wasn't counting on. The Red Faction gave this planet a voice. Mars... gave us a home. And the dream of a new world."
- ―Alec Mason, after the end of the Second Martian Revolution[src]
Alec "The Hammer"[1] Mason (July 10, 2086[1] - 2150) is an Earth-born Red Faction Guerrilla, the protagonist of Red Faction: Guerrilla and tritagonist of Red Faction: Origins. Mason is one of the main Red Faction revolutionists during the Second Martian Revolution, eventually leading the colonist faction to victory during the Battle of Mount Vogel. Originally travelling around the Earth to look for work, Alec journeys to Mars on the request of his brother Daniel, taking a job as an AmRuKuo miner. After the brutal murder of his brother at the hands of the oppressing Earth Defense Force, Alec is forced to take his brother's place in the Red Faction and fight against the oppressors.
Being personally responsible for leading the Red Faction forces into liberating the various sectors of the Tharsis region, Alec takes control of the guerilla army with the help of the technician Samanya after their leader, Hugo Davies, is killed alongside numerous others during an EDF raid on their Badlands hideout. Alec and Samanya forged an alliance with the Marauders, which leads to a joint attack on the Earth Defence Force on Mount Vogel, marking the end of the revolution with the destruction of the E.D.S. Hydra.
Alec and Samanya settle down together and have two children, Jake and Lyra Mason. Several years later, remnants of the Earth Defence Force known as the White Faction attack the Mason household, killing Samanya and kidnapping Lyra. Alec falls into depression and turns to alcohol until his son Jake finds Lyra and uncovered the White Faction attempting to attack the colonist and Marauder territories. Sacrificing his own life, Alec destroys the White Faction's Dreadnought, saving thousands of lives in the process. But not without, saying goodbye to his long-lost daughter.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Alec was born on Earth on July 10, 2086, eventually leading a nomadic existence while traveling across the planet. Often getting into trouble with his brother Daniel, Alec worked in various countries all over Earth.
As a demolitions specialist employed by the AmRuKuo Corporation, Alec undertook many different projects in the company's worldwide operations. He moved from his homeland in North America to work in Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Nigeria. It was here that his brother Daniel got him involved with a labor rights movement around 2109 (leading to him becoming wanted on May 8, 2109)[1] that culminated in a severe worker riot in the City of Abuja in 2116. Alec was arrested and spent 18 months in prison for his actions. He would hold some level of animosity towards his brother for years after this incident.
In the early 22nd century, at the request of his brother, Alec filed for emigration to Mars. As part of the immigration process, Alec filed for a Demolitions License with the Labor and Commerce Ministry's Office of Offworld Resource Extraction and Development (an administrative unit of the Earth Defense Council). His request was processed by the Ministry and the Martian Council and a Class C permit was issued on March 7, 2120, sponsored by AmRuKuo Corporation with the serial number SR-2A-978567-344.[2]
The road to a new and better life lay open for a vetted worker.
Arrival on Mars[]
Alec's demolitions permit
On January 4, 2125, when he first got to Mars, Alec met up with his younger brother and Dan explained that what the propaganda said about the Earth Defence Force was a lie and that they were actually a brute force who enslaved the miners; just another corrupt company like Ultor Corporation and a brutal government like the Commonwealth. Dan introduced the new Red Faction, a group of freedom fighters who were trying to overthrow the EDF's reign over Mars and its inhabitants. Alec was put off by this, insisting that he did not want to be associated with a terrorist organization. After all, he had come to Mars in search of a new start. When Alec first arrived, Dan took him to an old laboratory where Alec practiced with his new tools. He also learned the importance of salvaging. However, the brothers were soon spotted by an EDF patrol gunship, and Dan was killed. The gunship fired at the ground in front of Alec, causing him to trip and fall, hitting his head on a sign's metal prong and knocking him unconscious.
With his association with Daniel known, his profile in the Martian Global Terrorism Network (HSBV 35452 88IK) was reactivated, with the 2109 warrant reissued under number 12156F702.DD066 ICA for case DA7507-261743A.[1] As a result, when the distraught Alec returned to the Mason quarters, he found the Earth Defence Force securing evidence. The EDF officer in command detained him and informed him that he would be shot for possessing Red Faction tools, a sledgehammer and remote mines, even though these were his professional tools issued by the corporation.
The EDF soldier who is about to open fire shot by a Red Faction member. Other soldiers returned fire, but were quickly cut down, with just a single insurgent casualty. Two other miners took out the rest of the EDF while the officer's back was turned, allowing Alec to pick up the sledgehammer and kill the officer. The Red Faction Commander, Hugo Davies, greeted Alec, stating that whether he liked it or not, Alec was now Red Faction. Alec agreed and Davies handed him an EDF Assault Rifle, starting Alec's role in liberating Mars. Though he was hesitant at first, he eventually seeks vindication against his brother's murderers.
Fighting for the Red Faction[]
Hugo Davies recruiting Alec into the Red Faction
Alec's first mission was to destroy the former Red Faction Base of Operations. During the destruction, he was ambushed by the EDF, but he successfully destroyed the base and escaped. On the next mission, he was informed that a high-ranking EDF officer was looking to defect to the Red Faction. Samanya went out to meet him, but it turned out to be a trap. Alec rescued Samanya and fought off an EDF attack. After that, the Red Faction began organizing convoys into the Dust sector, which had Sensor Towers that tracked Red Faction movement. Alec was tasked with using an "armored" truck to destroy the Sensor Fields.
A worker rally expected to be peaceful turned into a massacre, as the EDF killed civilians indiscriminately. Captain Halvar Gunnarsen was responsible, and Alec was tasked with hunting him down. He succeeded, finding and killing Gunnarsen.
He was next tasked with monitoring surveillance of the Marauders, a mysterious warrior tribe known to be Ultor rejects driven mad by the radiation leaking from the Irradiated Zone. While the Red Faction was setting up a new Base of Operations in the Badlands, a cache of weapons was hidden near the site, but not well enough. The Marauders discovered it and made off with the cache. Alec was sent to follow them to their base, soon witnessing their holographic technology. He discovered that their base was the old Ultor Mining Complex, which had been abandoned decades earlier after the first Red Faction Uprising. He also heard recordings of Capek's messages from Red Faction. He found a device of Ultor Tech before the EDF began assaulting his position. As he fled, he realized he was dealing not only with the EDF but also with the Marauders. Alec escaped the battle between the two factions and handed the device to Samanya.
Alec discussing an EDF raid with Hugo Davies
The following morning, Alec and Jon Kepler were sent to recover a walker confiscated by the EDF. The plan succeeded, but after the EDF were halfway driven from the sector, the Free Fire Zone's cannons began destroying Dust. Alec rescued key civilians and documents while avoiding both EDF artillery and Marauders. He escaped and learned about the Marauder device, a gadget called the Nano Forge, which was crafted from technology used by the Marauders. Samanya engineered it into a weapon, the Nano Rifle, capable of destroying anything from EDF vehicles to large complex structures.
Liberating the Badlands and Oasis[]
Another worker rally was once again turned into a massacre by the EDF. The Red Faction delivered medical supplies by way of a truck driven by Kepler.
After that, the Red Faction looked for plans to get through the Free Fire Zone. Alec, along with Kepler and an EDF psychologist-turned–Red Faction interrogator, Carmen Avila, was ordered to kidnap an EDF colonel, Joseph Broga, who had the Free Fire Zone's schematics. The mission succeeded, using a captured EDF staff car and driving it, with Broga still inside, into the Mohole. Alec used Altimeter Charges to destroy EDF flyers, clearing the airspace over the Free Fire Zone.
Next, Alec was told of a chemical depot that contained a computer the Red Faction needed to hack. Kepler and a team of guerrillas defended the depot itself while Alec defended the road leading to the building.
The EDF began withdrawing from the sector while tanks rolled into Oasis, beginning the destruction of the area much like what had happened in Dust. Setting up a number of defenses and barricades, Alec and multiple guerrillas destroyed the tanks and liberated Oasis.
Fighting in Eos[]
Alec and other guerrillas raced through the Free Fire Zone's defenses and broke into the area where the cannons could not fire. Alec single-handedly destroyed the generators powering the cannons, liberating a small sector.
Once the other sectors had been liberated, the Red Faction launched an assault on the last major EDF-controlled sector, Eos. The Red Faction’s support in Eos was already growing; however, EDF snipers were picking off civilians one by one. Mason moved through the Eos Residential Quarters to eliminate the snipers.
The EDF organized a top economic summit, and Alec managed to kill several businessmen from multiple companies.
Alec and Samanya negotiating with Vasha
Now that the EDF's control had weakened in Eos, the Red Faction planned a three-way assault from Parker, Dust, and Oasis. When the mission began, the EDF bombed the Red Faction's main base in the Badlands, killing the commander. Alec found Samanya, and together they fought off the EDF attack. With the Red Faction severely weakened, Samanya suggested they seek the aid of the Marauders. Alec crossed the Irradiated Zone, where the Marauders' main areas lay. Samanya and Alec met Vasha, Samanya's sister and leader of the Marauders. They allied permanently with the Red Faction and Colonists and formed a plan to stop the E.D.S. Hydra, a massive EDF warship designed to wipe out all life on the planet.
Alec launched the attack on the EDF artillery spotting station, a satellite network that targeted artillery cannons. He protected a Marauder-controlled truck carrying the RM-8 and various other components for the Accelerator, the only weapon capable of destroying the Hydra.
Soon after, Samanya and Alec planned to rally the Colonists to the Red Faction’s cause by broadcasting a recording through the Voice of Mars station.
With the EDF faltering, the Red Faction launched an attack on Central Command. Alec used a Red Faction-seized EDF Scout Car to infiltrate the base. While a combined force of guerrillas and Marauders assaulted the exterior, Alec destroyed the interior defenses, driving the entire military complex into final ruin.
Battle of Mount Vogel[]
Alec and Samanya looking over the cheering Red Faction army
The EDF turned the tide of the war, leading to the final battle. Alec once again used the RM-8 to stop an incoming EDF attack force; however, the Marauders were overrun on the mountain and the Accelerator was captured by the EDF. Vasha was killed. Alec stormed the mountain in a modified EDF missile tank and soon after killed Bertram Roth of the Earth Defence Force. He restored the Accelerator, and the Nano Forge fired at the Hydra, destroying and vaporizing the warship, killing Lucius Kobel and ending the war.
As night fell, a crowd of civilians cheered for Samanya and Alec, who walked toward the crowd and raised the sledgehammer in the air, proclaiming victory for the Red Faction.
Later life & Death[]
Alec Mason in the film Red Faction: Origins, portrayed by Robert Patrick
After the Second Martian Revolution, Alec married Samanya and settled down. They had a son, Jake, and a daughter, Lyra. Five years after the Revolution, an attack on the Mason household by a group disguised as Marauders changed their lives forever. In the attack, Samanya was killed and Lyra was taken hostage. Almost two decades later, Alec finally reunited with Lyra after she was rescued by her brother Jake. Alec then sacrificed himself to stop Adam Hale from destroying the Terraformer by crashing the shuttle he was piloting into the White Faction's dreadnought.
Trivia[]
Early Alec Mason's design shown in the E3 demo
- Alec's surname of "Mason" ironically refers to someone who erects buildings, however, Alec destroys countless buildings in the series.
- In early concept art for the game, Alec Mason is seen with a full head of hair. The creators shaved off his hair in the final release. When the Voice of Mars televisions broadcast a story about Alec, the picture will show him with a full head of hair, rather than his normal look.
- Alec's early design is similar to that of Alex Shepherd, the protagonist of Silent Hill: Homecoming. That, along with the similarity in the name, was possibly why they shaved his head.
- Alec is the most popular and recognizable character in the series.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops II playable character, Alex Mason has a similar name to Alec.
- He is voiced by Troy Baker, who also voiced Male Voice 1 in Saints Row: The Third, another Volition game.
- Alec is the subject and main "antagonist" of the satirical song Space Asshole by artist Chris Remo. Remo wrote the song from the perspective of a simple blue collar miner who wants to go to Mars to make a living and is constantly plagued by the unnamed Mason, who seems to be blowing up the mining facilities around him, performing stunts in commandeered vehicles, smashing his supervisor's face with a sledgehammer, and causing havoc to his peaceful and productive existence. He names this man "Space Asshole".
Gallery[]
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