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You overestimate your power. Control over time will not grant you victory. Leave, or suffer the consequences of your actions.
—Yuri during Operation: Insomnia

The Paradox Engine is a gargantuan Allied airship meant as a trump card to turn the tide of the conflict with the Soviets, and later on, the Epsilon Army.

The Paradox Engine only appears in the Act Two campaign and can be considered an epic unit.

Overview[]

Seemingly the culmination of the Allies' Paradox Project, the Paradox Engine is armed with an array of prism refractors and missile batteries, allowing the Paradox to engage both ground and air targets. It is also the most durable airborne Allied vessel throughout the war, making it a formidable opponent – though it is still vulnerable to concentrated anti-air fire.

The Paradox Engine's most fearsome weapon is its Time Freeze circuits. Once fully charged, all enemies in the battlefield will become frozen in time temporarily, causing them to be completely vulnerable to Allied forces. This allowed the Allies to break through almost any form of defense.

The Paradox Engine is seemingly bigger on the inside, capable of housing its own Chronosphere.[1] This is later revealed due to the presence of a "pocket dimension" connected to the Engine and explains why the Allies are capable of chronoshifting reinforcements out of nowhere when the Engine is present.

Its biggest weakness is its dependence on power sources; the Paradox Batteries needed to be constantly recharged to meet the demands of the Engine's weapon systems and chrono technology. In addition, the prism refractors are powered by Paradox Conductors found within the pocket dimension.

If spawned outside of its mission appearances (such as the FinalOmega map editor), the Paradox Engine's weapons are disabled by default to prevent it from being exploited by cheaters in multiplayer matches.

History[]

Somehow we still carry on!
—Paradox Engine

The Paradox Engine seems to have been developed jointly as part of the Paradox Project by SteinsTech and Kanegawa Industries[2], and was assembled in London at a specialized facility. It was originally planned to be used to repel Soviet forces in Europe, but difficulties relocating the necessary personnel and the overall loss of Allied territories delayed the project for some time[3].

By the time the Mental Omega War began in earnest, the Allies were ultimately able to finish the project[4], but their original purpose on the Paradox Engine had been ended up being a moot point, as Yuri and his Epsilon Army had already emerged as a new threat[5]. The Engine was later forced to be prematurely launched when Epsilon forces attacked London. During its escape, the Engine activates the Time Freeze, which results in the destruction of the invading Epsilon forces, including their prized Aerial Fortress Irkalla.

As the Paradox Engine heads to a safe place with the survivors of the London attack, they became aware that Epsilon has set an ambush on the Isles of Scilly. Fortunately, with the help of the Allied Commander and the newly formed Chrono Legion, the ambush is thwarted and the Engine can safely proceed.

Unfortunately, just as the Paradox Engine is about to reach the Canary Islands, its power is running low thanks to its earlier launch than intended and the continuous use of its Time Freeze,[6] forcing the Allies to recharge the Engine's power by "borrowing" Epsilon Bio Reactors in Tenerife. It takes a while before the Engine is back at full power again, at which it once again uses its Time Freeze, allowing the Allied forces to destroy the Epsilon forces in the blink of an eye.

The Paradox Engine later sends a task force via chronoshift to the US Virgin Islands, when the local Pacific Front garrison requests the Commander's help in defending their new Weather Control Device from Epsilon and mind-controlled Russian forces. When Yuri builds a new Psychic Amplifier with the purpose of taking over the Weather Controller, the Engine's Chronosphere is used to send Tanya and Norio to raid the Amplifier and destroy it. It later chronoshifts a large Allied army to Cape Town, South Africa to destroy the Epsilon naval base and communication junction, in the process locating Yuri's headquarters in Antarctica. Unfortunately, just as the Paradox Engine arrives at Cape Town, Epsilon forces manage to sabotage the Paradox Engine's backup battery, forcing the Allies to recharge at Cape Town before striking at Antarctica.

The Paradox Engine spearheads the Allied assault on Antarctica, making short work of the Epsilon defences in the Weddell Sea and the Pensacola Mountains, heading towards the South Pole and easily resisting all Epsilon attempts to shoot it down. Despite the loss of its backup battery, which means that the Engine has to be powered down completely to be recharged,[7] it continues to use the Time Freeze to a fairly frequent degree.

In preparation for the final assault on the Epsilon's Antarctic stronghold, the Allies secured a foothold around Yuri's Tower and cleared out the outermost bases before establishing three of their own. The Epsilon were well prepared for the arrival of the Paradox Engine itself and had plenty of anti-air weapons in the form of multiple Dybbuk Hives and countless numbers of conventional weaponry in the form of Gatling Cannons and Gehenna Platforms. Prior to the massive aircraft's arrival to the frontlines, the Allies made the destruction of the Dybbuk Hives a priority as they had the potential to engage the airborne fortress from extremely long ranges. To further ensure the Engine's safety once it entered the combat zone, a hyper jammer was employed - this could disrupt the communication systems of all hives in the area, which would prevent them from launching their aircraft into action for a period of time. The Paradox Engine itself played a huge role in this battle, for its ability to deliver massive amounts of firepower, chrono reinforcements, and various support powers made it an indispensible asset for the Allies. It activates one more Time Freeze in order to allow Tanya and Siegfried to safely approach the underground bunkers beneath the Mental Omega Device in their search for the last Mental Dynamo before temporarily falling back for an emergency recharge of its battery.

Appearances[]

Act Two[]

The Paradox Engine first appears at the end of this mission. As the Epsilon task force rampage through London and approach the SteinsTech Hangar, headquarters of the Paradox Project, the Paradox Engine emerges and uses its Time Freeze ability to slaughter every Epsilon soldier before making its escape.

The Paradox Engine is en route to the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall at the beginning of this mission. The first part of the mission involves using a group of Chrono Legionnaires to erase the Epsilon anti-air weaponry that might pose a threat to the Paradox Engine (most importantly Gehenna Platforms, which will eventually destroy the Engine if even one is left alive). In the second part of the mission, the Paradox Engine arrives and must be escorted safely through the Epsilon lines, after which it will use the Time Freeze and allow the remaining Allied forces to clear the Epsilon presence in the isles. The Paradox Engine is not directly controllable by the player in this mission, but rather follows its designated path and uses its weapons automatically.

  • See: Bottleneck

  • The Paradox Engine does not appear physically, but will only provide chrono reinforcements during the early part of the mission (see Warp Forces).

  • See: Hysteria

  • After the MCV arrives and the chrono reinforcements are disabled, the Paradox Engine will grant access to the Chronosphere's Chronoshift superweapon. The Paradox Engine itself arrives at the very end of the mission, after the Epsilon forces are destroyed.

  • See: Relentless

  • At the beginning of this mission, the Paradox Engine uses the Time Freeze just before the initial landing of the Allied forces on Antarctica; after a few minutes, it will physically arrive with a wing of elite Thor Gunships, then falls under control of the player, starting at elite rank. In addition to the Chronoshift like in Relentless, in this mission the Time Freeze can be manually activated by the player as a support power. The Paradox Engine must not be destroyed during the course of the mission, and the player will be notified if its health drops under 50% or 33%. Once the Epsilon forces are destroyed, it will move south, towards the main Epsilon Headquarters.

  • See: Insomnia

  • After enough time passes or if the player is able to destroy all the initial frontline Allied bases, the Paradox Engine will appear. Yuri will instruct the Proselyte to focus all firepower on it, but this attempt is futile as the Engine activates the Time Freeze and destroys the Epsilon forces once either it is on low health (red, lower than 25%) or it gets close to the bottom side of the map.

  • See: Unthinkable

  • The Paradox Engine and its escort arrives to support the siege on the South Pole Epsilon Headquarters base. However the Time Freeze cannot be used in this mission, and the Paradox Engine is in danger of the numerous Dybbuk Hives. Fortunately, the player's Allied base has a Hyper Jammer that prevents the Dybbuks from attacking the Paradox Engine as long as it does not leave the base. The Paradox Engine must not be destroyed during the course of the mission. Upon completing the mission, the Paradox Engine will activate a Time Freeze to take down the remaining inner bases before recharging itself.

  • See: Withershins

  • In both missions, the Paradox Engine is able to reach the Mental Omega Device, but Libra was able to damage the Paradox Engine enough to foil the Allies' plan. The Paradox Engine is forced to activate a Time Freeze early due to the arrival of Libra and the immiment activation of the Mental Omega Device, resulting in an initial failed attempt to destroy the latter. This depletes its energy and it is forced to initiate an emergency recharge while leaving it defenseless on its own. In a last-ditch effort by the Allies to prevent the activation of the global mind-controlling device, the Paradox Engine collides into the Mental Omega Device before crashing into the ground, significantly damaging the massive construction.

    The player is tasked to ensure that the Paradox Engine will fully recharge by first ordering it to land on either their base or the Pacific Front Boomerang Regiment's base. Whatever the choice is, the Engine is once again forced to initiate an emergency take-off and reposition once the mind-controlled Soviets arrive from the southwest to assist their masters. A task is then required by destroying the rebuilt southeast Epsilon air base where the Epsilon ground forces cannot reach it, in order to provide a safe haven for the aerial fortress to recharge itself. Once the air base is destroyed, the Paradox Engine will land there and the player must defend it from an Epsilon air armada, the mind-controlled Soviets, and later on more mind-controlled Allies as the Paradox Engine fully re-energizes itself. Once the Paradox Engine is ready for battle once more, it is able to activate one last Time Freeze to carry out the Allies' plan of overloading the time circuits to separate the Mental Omega Device from the rest of the world, though it is unable to use its prism cannons due to the Epsilon player's sabotage efforts in Babel.

  • See: Hamartia

  • After repelling the initial assault of the Paradox Engine through Libra, the player is tasked to infiltrate the Allied Construction Yards to get inside the Paradox Engine's pocket dimension and sabotage its prism cannons. After sabotaging the prism cannons, the player is tasked with defending the Mental Omega Device against the Paradox Engine one last time.

  • See: Babel

  • The Paradox Engine Wreckage appears in the epilogue cutscene of the Allied Act Two campaign. Using the old Chronosphere that was previously retaken, Siegfried teleports it away with Tanya and some Allied soldiers inside to Point Hope, Alaska after protecting it with his chrono freeze, dooming himself to the incoming Epsilon soldiers including Rahn.

    Origins[]

    • At the end of Vanishing Point, the Paradox Engine Wreckage is teleported to Point Hope. Tanya leads the rest of Allies out of the wreckage, welcomed by Yunru and the Revolt alongside General Carville.
    • The Paradox Engine Wreckage appears in The Remnant and must be protected from the Epsilon onslaught as its Time Freeze mechanism is repaired by Rashidi and Foehn scientists. The heavy damage it sustains prevents the Engine from flying or using its weapons, but – miraculously – its Time Freeze mechanism remains operational, which proves to be crucial for the Foehn Revolt to survive from the Mental Omega Device's global mind control. Despite its appearance and immobility, the Paradox Engine Wreckage is actually still treated as a vehicle and can by repaired by repair vehicles, but not by Engineers or the repair tool.

    Abilities[]

    The Paradox Engine grants access to the following support powers:

    Superweapon Description
    Chroicon
    Type: Support Superweapon
    Recharge time: 4:00 (3:00 in Withershins and Hamartia)

    Teleports friendly vehicles and naval vessels (except epic units) around the battlefield

    Left-click icon then left-click on vehicles to teleport, then left-click on target location
    Cbooicon
    Type: Utility Power
    Cost: Free
    Recharge Time: 7:00

    Temporarily increases the speed of Siegfried, friendly vehicles and naval vessels (except epic units) in the target area by 50% for 30 seconds

    Left-click icon then left-click on target location
    Frezicon
    Type: Utility Power
    Cost: Free
    Recharge Time: 12:00

    Disables all enemies in the battlefield for 120 seconds

    Left-click icon to activate
    Aassicon
    Type: Reinforcement Power
    Cost: $5000
    Recharge Time: 1:00
    Only available in Withershins


    Deploys American armor reinforcements to a friendly base

    • 6 Abrams Tanks initially
    • 6 Abrams Tanks and 4 Athena Cannons when Paradox Engine arrives

    Left-click icon to activate (can only deploy forces on one friendly base at a time)

    Chrono Reinforcements Type: Reinforcement Power
    Cost: $3000
    Recharge Time: 1:00

    Deploys chrono reinforcements from the pocket dimension to the battlefield
    Reinforcements vary on each mission

    Left-click icon then left-click on target location

    Notably, Chronoshift and Chronoboost does not require power when they are available. In addition, these 2 support powers, along with chrono reinforcements, may also be available even if the Paradox itself is not visible on the battlefield.

    Trivia[]

    • The Paradox Engine's unit ID in the game files, [STARDUST], is a reference to the anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, as the characters who appear in the anime also have the ability to stop time.
    • The Paradox Engine's voiceset contain two notable references:
      • Famous voicelines from the original Command & Conquer series (see Quotes). One comes from the classic opening remarks of General Shepherd in the live action of the GDI campaign in Tiberian Dawn, and the other is from the famous line of Premier Cherdenko in the intro cutscene of Red Alert 3.
      • Numerous references to Mindshell, the album used for the Foehn soundtrack.
      • At least two references to Avenged Sevenfold's song "Carry On"

    References[]

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