Scrin

The Scrin are a space-faring alien race and one of three playable factions in the military strategy game Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. The Scrin are not seen in the previous two games, though they are implied to be responsible first seeding Tiberium on Earth near the Tiber River in Italy in 1995, prior to the events of the first game. The Scrin are a Tiberium-based life form, which use the substance for sustaining themselves and it is the basis for their technology. The Scrin are known to spread Tiberium, or "Ichor" as they call it, to other planets as they did with Earth, wait for it to take over the planet's biosphere, and then send in harvesting operation. In terms of appearance, the Scrin are generally insectiod, however, they seem to enhanced with cybernetics to the point where the line between machine and life form is blurred, and, as such, individuals with a different role may look very different. It is not clear if any of Scrin infantry units are actual members of the Scrin race, or biomechanical constructs built for war.

In 2047, the Global Defense Initiative fired their orbital ion cannon on the Brotherhood of Nod Temple Prime in Sarajevo, detonating an experimental Liquid Tiberium Bomb on the site. This explosion sent Tiberium radiation into space, which was detected by the Scrin. The Scrin, believing Earth was overrun by Tiberium, were shocked to find that human military forces were still combat effective- the Scrin had expected to find only dying remnants of civilization in a Tiberium-ruined wasteland.

It was quickly revealed that Kane, the enigmatic leader of Nod had intentionally set up the bomb as a target for the ion cannon, in order to trigger a Scrin invasion. Kane knew of the Scrin from an alien AI found on Earth known as Tacitus, and intended to capture Scrin technology to use it to "ascend" to a "higher plane of existence".

The Scrin head of the harvesting activities, Foreman 371, attempted to divert the GDI and Nod forces by using military forces attached to the harvesting operation to attack major cities around the world. Of particular note was the devastation of London and several cities in Germany and Switzerland, including Berne, which was destroyed by the superweapon mounted on the Scrin mothership.

The Scrin Foreman then switched his strategy from attacking cities to deploying his forces to Tiberium-infested Red Zones and constructing massive teleportaion arrays. In spite of the Foreman's efforts, however, GDI forces destroyed all but one of the towers while under construction. As GDI forces closed in on the Control node, Foreman 371 fled through the last surviving teleportation tower, Threshold 19.

Shortly afterwards, GDI forces destroyed the Scrin control node, which channeled vital Tiberium radiation to Scrin troops in the field. With the node destroyed, the Scrin military forces literally died instantaneously. The Scrin supreme commander, the Overlord, was infuriated by this defeat and declared that a full invasion of Earth would follow.

In spite of this threat, the Scrin would not be seen on Earth again, though the Brotherhood of Nod would gain eventually reactivate Threshold 19 and Kane and his followers would "ascend" through, ending a fourth GDI-Nod war in the 2077. At the same time, GDI completed the Tiberium Control Network, finally ending the menace of Tiberium infestation.