Echoes of the Future

Echoes of the Future is a mission in the protoss mini-campaign in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It is told as a flashback, with Jim Raynor viewing Zeratul's actions.

Zeratul visited the corpse of the Overmind in Aiur in order to gain access to its memories.

Background
Since the prophecy found on Ulaan mentioned the Overmind, Zeratul departed to Aiur to the creature's death site in order to gain access to its memories. To do so, Zeratul had to make contact with four of the Overmind's tendrils.

The Mission
Zeratul was unable to connect with any of the tendrils. He was confused to experience feelings of death, fear, and joy, at the tendrils. The prelate moved to the Overmind's cortex and met Tassadar's spirit. Tassadar explained the Overmind's motivations during the Great War and revealed its apocalyptic vision of the future where the Dark Voice and the hybrids were victorious.

Aftermath

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Gameplay
Rapidly build up probes, then quickly take the expansion located at the Overmind's first tendril. This should ensure that resources never run scarce. Building several warpgates can greatly speed up the mission, and resources are generous, at least for a short while. It is possible to access all four of the Overmind's tendrils by going either clockwise or counter clockwise around the map. There are two protoss obelisks to power with pylons (research options), one of which is next to the tendril closest to the starting location, and one farther to the north, closer to the second tendril. There is a (unpowered) robotics facility in the south-eastern corner of the map, and another near the second obelisk and a warp gate. The zerg periodically attack the starting base via nydus worms. Initially, they only attack from the north and east, but eventually they start attacking from the west, as well. Surround the base with photon cannons to buy it more time for additional forces to return. With the power of several warp gates and the abundant resources, the protoss should have no problem maintaining a large army.

Infested Raynor's Raiders?
While the zerg forces utilize the Aiur Brood decal, the infested terran buildings to the east are marked with Raynor's Raiders' insignia. This could be an overlook on Blizzard's part, but it is also possible that a few of Raynor's men were infested during the first war, survived the United Earth Directorate's Raid on Aiur operation, and later became part of the Aiur Brood.