Monolith

The Monolith clan was originally a group of stalkers, united by their fascination with the Zone.
== Overview ==
This group displays many features of a religious sect. Its members believe in the existence of a complex alien crystal, the Monolith, located somewhere in the center of the Zone. Most stalkers treat Monolith adepts with contempt and consider them as lunatics. From its inception the group strives to block all progress towards the center of the Zone, protecting the Monolith from other stalkers. Rumor has it that the group has a large base deep in the Zone, but its exact location is known only by the members.
== History ==
The Monolith clan was originally a group of stalkers, united by their fascination with the Zone. Fascination turned to obsession and obsession turned to fanaticism; eventually, the stalkers became convinced that there was a massive artifact in the center of the Zone, a Monolith, and declared themselves its protectors, growing increasingly hostile to other stalkers. 
The faction disappeared in 2011, just before the beginning of Clear Sky, simply picking up all of their belongings and marching through the Barrier towards the Brain Scorcher, shortly before an emission. No one has heard from them since... or so they thought, as later in 2011, very aggressive stalkers began storming the Barrier.
The fact is, Monolith soldiers were "recruited" as the guardians of the C-Consciousness to repel stalkers, as they (namely Strelok's Group) have and will find ways to reach the center of the zone. They are vastly superior guards than the Mutants or Zombified Stalkers since they retain most of their intelligence and fighting skills, although they are completely under the control of the C-Consciousness and will gratefully give their lives without question.
== Organization ==
Their rank system and organization are almost completely unknown. What is known is that the Monolith is led by a single leader (Charon in 2012), while combat operations are overseen in the field by Preachers, who snipe from atop buildings while chanting phrases out to inspire their men and demoralize the enemy. Both the leader and Preachers take their orders directly from the C-Consciousness.
The only squad identified by name is Crystal, a unit whose sole task is protecting the Monolith and the Sarcophagus.
Cut game data points to two units known as the Left and Right hands of the Monolith, armed with FT-200M rifles and Black Kite pistols. These may have been ranks, honorifics or titles among the Monolithians.
Further cut data shows an individual called the "Komandir", another Monolithian leader, separate from Charon, with his own model and equipped with a Gauss rifle and a Black Kite. Cut Monolith units also include fighters called "Regulars" and "Specnaz", of which there were several equipment variants.
== Equipment ==
It is suggested in dialogue with Clear Sky members in Limansk that the Monolith faction is extremely well equipped and have large numbers of individuals compared to the other factions, putting them on level footing with the Clear Sky faction. They use equipment developed by C-Consciousness or those acquired from the obliterated Clear Sky faction.
They use self-made armors such as the Monolith suit, the Scientific Monolith suit, along with a variant of the Radiation suit and the Exoskeleton. As evidenced in Shadow of Chernobyl, these armors are superior to the gear used by other stalkers from the Duty, Freedom and the Loners faction.
The Monolith throughout the series makes use of nearly every weapon available. This goes from common weaponry issued to rookies, to uncommon and high-end weaponry including the rare FT-200M that only Mercenaries, Clear Sky, and some Loners have access to. Finally, they produced the deadly Gauss gun and are the only known user (besides the player) of this unique weapon.
It is unknown where Monoliths get their equipment from, although Kirillov suggests they have some agents who deal in smuggling with corrupt Military members.. As seen with the Gauss gun, it can be assumed the faction either has an unknown supplier or utilizes experienced engineers with access to old labs and/or workshops that manufactured it themselves, without anybody else noticing it.
Category:Factions