Prey Inconsistencies

[Rider]

This thread is for Inconsistencies in Prey, either storywise or Gameplay wise.

Actually I made this thread because I thought the ending (You know, the 6 months later bit) didn't add up. I liked the whole of the game, but this struck me as weird...

I mean, in the beginning of the game, the Bar, it's contents and the people in it where beamed up. Later you find the Bar relatively intact onboard the Sphere. And then, at the end, you're back in the Bar on Earth.

WTF?

How did it get there? Did Tommy rebuild the darn thing? Quite frankly it looks more like he's getting ready to sell the thing or leave it or somesuch...

What do you think?

[ZaphodB]

The bar is mentioned in another thread, with the explination as of why. Can't find it right now, but sure someone will

[Wolle]

Originally Posted by Rider

I mean, in the beginning of the game, the Bar, it's contents and the people in it where beamed up. Later you find the Bar relatively intact onboard the Sphere. And then, at the end, you're back in the Bar on Earth.

WTF?

How did it get there? Did Tommy rebuild the darn thing? Quite frankly it looks more like he's getting ready to sell the thing or leave it or somesuch...

What do you think?

I think he's rebuilding it. You can see wooden planks lying around; the games aren't hooked up; and so on.

I think it's meant to convey that Tommy has accepted his heritage to the point where he is planning a future in the reservation.

[NutWrench]

I was hoping to find out more about the possessed kids and what was going on with that. You only encounter them for the first 1/4 of the game and that plot point ultimately doesn't go anywhere.

[0marTheZealot]

The biggest inconsistency is the invasion of the spirit world. Where the hell did that come from???

[Justintiime]

I think the kids were more for the wow factor than being a part of the storyline.

Insurance can be a great thing.

-Maniac

[Foxy]

I mean, in the beginning of the game, the Bar, it's contents and the people in it where beamed up. Later you find the Bar relatively intact onboard the Sphere. And then, at the end, you're back in the Bar on Earth.

WTF?

WTF indeed? The game ended in the land of the Ancients didn't it?!? :|

[CameO73]

Originally Posted by Foxy

WTF indeed? The game ended in the land of the Ancients didn't it?!? :|

You never sat through the end credits, did you?

[OnyxBMW]

The end sequence isn't the same bar, he's rebuilding it. barely anything's hooked up, there's a work table with supplies on it, the drywall's missing from part of it, 2 of the 3 radio speakers arn't hooked up, many of the games aren't, tv's on the floor, etc.

Plus, it's in a different area. IMO, he built it so similarly because: 1, it's easier for the modelers to modify something that already exists than build something new and 2, he's paying homage to his lost girlfriend, and he wants to immortalize her spirit and the bar is his way of doing it.


IMO, the invasion of the land of the ancients is the only real oddity. They didn't explain why they're invading it (though there must be a reason, IE trying to uncover Tommy's powers)...but it's nowhere near as inconcistent as the wraiths and posessions.

They could have developed that story a lot more, but they didn't and, IMO, they really should have...

[Mountain Man]

The invasion of the land of the ancients felt like a cheap rip off because I was hoping to complete the 7 trials which could have potentially offered a refreshing change of pace.

Though I did find it odd during that sequence that when you die...you go to the spirit world...what the...?

[crunchy superman]

Was tommy the only male on Earth wearing pants?

[Foxy]

You never sat through the end credits, did you?

Nope. What did I miss?

[hiob]

no there were some NPC´s on these lifts that had clothes on

[NutWrench]

Originally Posted by Foxy

Nope. What did I miss?

Watch the credits all the way through. After they end, you will see something interesting.

[avatar_58]

Originally Posted by 0marTheZealot

The biggest inconsistency is the invasion of the spirit world. Where the hell did that come from???

Felt kind of like how in the Matrix when Neo used his powers in the real world. An interesting concept, but it was never explained.....leading the player to be confused.

[Zixinus]

It can be explained thou.
The reason Neo can use his matrix powers in the real world (TO A CERTAIN PERCENT I MUST ADD) becuse he is soo hooked up, that he can regocnise anything in the real world that is related to the Matrix.
Weak, but hey.

The reason of the invasion is to stop Tommy from gaining more powers and to have an oppurnity to weaken Tommy's confidence enough to submit to Mother's will.
The Ancient's place is real. Tommy was teleported there via Grandfather's mystical powers. And there might be resources there that Mother might be intrested in.

[avatar_58]

Originally Posted by Zixinus

It can be explained thou.
The reason Neo can use his matrix powers in the real world (TO A CERTAIN PERCENT I MUST ADD) becuse he is soo hooked up, that he can regocnise anything in the real world that is related to the Matrix.
Weak, but hey.

That doesn't explain some of his powers, such as being able to see code in place of blindness.....the real world isn't code nor related to the matrix.

The reason of the invasion is to stop Tommy from gaining more powers and to have an oppurnity to weaken Tommy's confidence enough to submit to Mother's will.
The Ancient's place is real. Tommy was teleported there via Grandfather's mystical powers. And there might be resources there that Mother might be intrested in.

I was under the impression the spirit world was like 'heaven' and they go there when they are dead. Its not a physical landmark, it exists beyond Earth. Thats why its VERY confusing how they managed to get there.

[Altered Reality]

That doesn't explain some of his powers, such as being able to see code in place of blindness.....the real world isn't code nor related to the matrix.

This is way OT, but... that wasn't code. He could ONLY see things that were connected to the machines' mainframe. So he was able to see the sentinels, the power lines and the embryo fields, but he could NOT see the walls of his ship, Trinity or even Bane's real face. He saw Smith instead of Bane because Smith's program was connecting Bane to the machines' mainframe.

Okay, back IT:

I was under the impression the spirit world was like 'heaven' and they go there when they are dead. Its not a physical landmark, it exists beyond Earth. Thats why its VERY confusing how they managed to get there.

I think the land of the ancients does physically exist, but it's in another dimension, and people there use their physical bodies. That's why Tommy could to die in the land of the ancients and go to the spirit world, that's why he could use his guns there and was able to return to the sphere by passing through a normal glowportal, and that's why at the beginning he could spirit walk in the land of the ancients.

This is what bothers me as an inconsistency: when you go to the spirit world, you are basically spirit walking around the map. You can see your physical body lying down beyond the portal at the center of the map. So... why is there ANOTHER physical body floating at the center of the map?

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by avatar_58

That doesn't explain some of his powers, such as being able to see code in place of blindness.....the real world isn't code nor related to the matrix.

We're told that The One has differentiating physical as well as mental characteristics, so it seems that Neo, when created by the Matrix, was given physical as well as mental powers. Or alternatively, Neo was already born with these powers and that's why he became The One - the Matrix used him as a conduit.

I was under the impression the spirit world was like 'heaven' and they go there when they are dead. Its not a physical landmark, it exists beyond Earth. Thats why its VERY confusing how they managed to get there.

It exists in another dimension. Heaven has to exist somewhere, right?

Edit:

Originally Posted by Altered Reality

I think the land of the ancients does physically exist, but it's in another dimension, and people there use their physical bodies. That's why Tommy could to die in the land of the ancients and go to the spirit world, that's why he could use his guns there and was able to return to the sphere by passing through a normal glowportal, and that's why at the beginning he could spirit walk in the land of the ancients.

Yes, and the game desribes what's used to reach the spirit world as an interdimensional portal (or transporter - I can't remember).

[wayskobfssae]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the Land of the Ancients IS the Spirit World/Heaven. Though I see no logical reason why that means it can't be accessed by technological means, it just means we don't understand how to do it. The aliens didn't even know how, but it seemed to me like they'd been trying to get access to it for a long time, and finally managed to figure it out by studying Tommy.

There are plenty of reasons why they might want to go there. Personal, strategic, scientific, vengeful, take your pick. But I don't think opening the portal there was ALL about Tommy. I'm sure the aliens would love to unlock the secrets of the Spirit World, perhaps in their minds, it's just one more planet to conquer.

As for Spirit-Walking, what this actually is, is out-of-body experience - a way of becoming a ghost in form without actually dying. Death-walking is a bit of a mystery to me, though the environment at least resembles the Land of the Ancients so I believe that vortex area is part of the same dimension.

What I don't understand though is how Tommy was suddenly able to wield his Earthly weapons in the Land of the Ancients for that one visit only. Every other time he was there, it seemed to be made evident that he had no connection with the material world while he was there. Unless something was altered when the aliens forced their way in and introduced 'physical' lifeforms to a place that until that time had only ever contained ethereal beings.

[DiscoDave]

Originally Posted by Justintiime

I think the kids were more for the wow factor than being a part of the storyline.

This is a bit OT, but I found the 'kids' disappointing. There was so much discussion about the morality of kids killing one another in the released video that it was a bit rediculous to see what all the fuss was about. I avoided as much discussion about Prey before I bought it because I didn't want it to be spoiled as so often happens, and so I had never seen the released video clips. For the kids killin' stuff to have had an emotional impact, the scene should have been much more drawn out, with the impalement a much slower process. Then it would have been disturbing. As it was, it just seemed cartoonish.

Back on topic, I thought the fact that Tommy's physical body was destroyed as the sphere was burned by the sun seems at odds with the fact that he seems very much alive in the physical sense 6 months later back on the reserve. I think someone else mentioned this 'problem' in another thread somewhere.

disco

[CameO73]

Originally Posted by DiscoDave

I thought the fact that Tommy's physical body was destroyed as the sphere was burned by the sun seems at odds with the fact that he seems very much alive in the physical sense 6 months later back on the reserve.

It's amazing what a well-placed portal can do But I agree, it was a little odd.

[Zixinus]

The Ancient's place is REAL, PHYSICAL AND WITHIN IN "OUR" DIMENSION.
Why the hell is that so hard to get?

The American desert is big, and the Ancient Land is within this desert, possibly somewhere where nobody goes. It is in trhe middle of nowhere, no one knows of its existence or location except a few.

It's a hidden spot in some mountin range within deep in the American desert.

It's obviously a mystical place, and the fire burning there is also mentioned as important.

[superevilcube]

Mother was all powerful, so I just figured she could open portals to the Land of the Ancients. I never really gave it much thought.

[wayskobfssae]

Originally Posted by superevilcube

Mother was all powerful, so I just figured she could open portals to the Land of the Ancients. I never really gave it much thought.

Didn't Mother that they'd been trying to find the Land of the Ancients for a long time?

Anything so out in the open (even in a mountain range) shouldn't be that hard to pinpoint. And you think nobody with a thermal imaging satellite wouldn't wonder about the fire that had been burning for decades?

And she did create a portal for the specific purpose of invading the LotA, and Tommy believed that destroying the portal would somehow buy them some time. Why would the portal even be necessary if drop ships can just descend upon any part of the Earth at will?

[Foxy]

And she did create a portal for the specific purpose of invading the LotA, and Tommy believed that destroying the portal would somehow buy them some time. Why would the portal even be necessary if drop ships can just descend upon any part of the Earth at will?

Drop ships? Don't think they had any. At least I never saw anything that resembled one.

[ZaphodB]

Originally Posted by Foxy

Drop ships? Don't think they had any. At least I never saw anything that resembled one.

The ships that they sucked you up in Foxy. They deposited the troops and sucked up you and Jen's Bar. You came out of them at the beginning when you entered the Sphere. Remember yet?

[Foxy]

The ships that they sucked you up in Foxy. They deposited the troops and sucked up you and Jen's Bar. You came out of them at the beginning when you entered the Sphere. Remember yet?

That was the sphere wasn't it? The bar and everything gets sucked straight into the sphere, as evidenced later.

[ZaphodB]

no, they were dropships, go back and watch the beginning of the game, you can see them lining up to dock with the sphere when you first arrive there.

[superevilcube]

Also there is a drop ship in the Land of the Ancients during the assault on it. (I think only one.)

[superevilcube]

Here is the picture of what appears to be a drop ship.

Also once I replayed the level it made me think some more about the LotA. Enisi knew the "Dark Ones" were coming and said, "Even now the spirits of our Ancestors fight to protect this sacred place." Also near the end of the level once the invasion begins Enisi says, "I am needed else where in this land..."

So I think that that proves that (wow that's a lot of thats) the LotA is not on Earth, but in a different dimension beyond Earth (like somebody said above).

About how the aliens actually got to the LotA never really struck me as an inconsistency. Now that I think about it I don't think Mother is "all powerful," just very very powerful. She had complete control over the Sphere, and we know the power must have been over whelming (it almost entirely took over Tommy). I think the way she found the LotA is that there is some sort of connection between her and Tommy. Mother speaks to Tommy not through the ship, but through some other worldly means (some sort of psychic connection you could say). That's how Mother found where the Hidden were because her and Tommy shared some sort of connection, and that's also how she found out where the LotA was. (She did say, "First you led me to the Hidden, and now you've led me here.)

Now about how they got to the Land of the Ancients. The aliens were obviously very very smart (or maybe just Mother, but that doesn't matter). They created space ships, found a way to create humans to harvest them as food, created portal technology, and also created a tesseract (a hypercube in the 4th dimension). So I don't think there was really a problem with the aliens being able to get to the LotA (with their highly advanced technology), the only problem was where to go. Once they knew where they could just create portals to get there.

Hopefully that all makes sense.

[Zixinus]

ARggg...

Why is it so hard to comprehend the idea that the Land of the Ancients is a real, existing place in our dimension?

There american desert is big, and the aliens are focusing on populated areas. The the american desert is big, and the Mother had no idea where the Land of the Ancients is located. He's looking for a fire in the desert at day. Wow. Alien tech here or there, she is looking for a pin in a haystack.

So I think that that proves that (wow that's a lot of thats) the LotA is not on Earth, but in a different dimension beyond Earth (like somebody said above).

It proves nothing.

Also once I replayed the level it made me think some more about the LotA. Enisi knew the "Dark Ones" were coming and said, "Even now the spirits of our Ancestors fight to protect this sacred place." Also near the end of the level once the invasion begins Enisi says, "I am needed else where in this land..."

Enisi merely mentions that he is needed elsewhere. He didn't specifie or hint where. And the "Even now the spirits of our Ancestors fight to protect this sacred place." can mean that the "spirits of our Ancestors" are hiding or removing any trace or hint that that spot in the middle of nowhere might the LotA.

I think the way she found the LotA is that there is some sort of connection between her and Tommy. Mother speaks to Tommy not through the ship, but through some other worldly means (some sort of psychic connection you could say). That's how Mother found where the Hidden were because her and Tommy shared some sort of connection, and that's also how she found out where the LotA was. (She did say, "First you led me to the Hidden, and now you've led me here.)

It's called "tracing" or "planting a bug". Or merely having a magnet while searching the haystack, as Mother can identifie Tommy's mind among the billions of humans.

The entire "in an other dimension" thing doesn't make sense. Why don't all Cheroke go to that dimension if they forsaw an attack? What is in that dimension? Why bother going trough another dimension where you can hide in the deser? Where there even reference or hint of another dimension in Cheroke mythology?

[wayskobfssae]

There american desert is big, and the aliens are focusing on populated areas. The the american desert is big, and the Mother had no idea where the Land of the Ancients is located. He's looking for a fire in the desert at day. Wow. Alien tech here or there, she is looking for a pin in a haystack.

A haystack of what... sand? We currently have satellites that could locate a human in the middle of a desert, and a camp fire leaves a much brighter thermal trace than a human body. And the aliens obviously have equipment far more sophisticated than we do. It would be a no-brainer for them to find.

Originally Posted by Zixinus

The entire "in an other dimension" thing doesn't make sense. Why don't all Cheroke go to that dimension if they forsaw an attack? What is in that dimension? Why bother going trough another dimension where you can hide in the deser? Where there even reference or hint of another dimension in Cheroke mythology?

Umm... the Dreamtime, perhaps? Spirit World? Heaven? Any of these ring a bell? All the Cherokee didn't go because for one... they're still alive! As for the other, most of them are too busy running casinos to worry much about spiritualism anymore, and this includes Tommy. Tommy managed to transcend only with the help of his grandfather, and it's questionable that he would've even been able to do that had Mother not already been probing his mind. She could've easily been triggering dormant abilities.

[superevilcube]

If the Aliens have inter-galactic space travel, hyper cubes, portal technology, and tractor beams I'm pretty sure they could find a fire in the middle of the desert without having to plant a "tracking bug" on Tommy.

The entire "in an other dimension" thing doesn't make sense.

Oh yeah, but Portal technology does; I'm sure any scientist can explain how it works.

[OnyxBMW]

The LotA is NOT in the physical living dimension. It is a seperate realmspace, either on a HIGHER PLANE OF POWER in our dimension, possibly a LOWER plane as well (which places it in a different dimension within our dimension, in an oxymoronic fashion) or it exists quite literally in a seperate dimension with absolutely no ties to this one aside from spirits crossing over to it.

The Land of the Ancients is NOT, however, on earth. It may be on earth in a seperate plane or dimension, but it is not on earth as we would call earth.

This is proven by the fact that the aliens could easily get a satelite view of every square inch of the planet, and it's not that hard to spot an exposed flame from space with sophisticated imaging technology and software.

Beyond this simple fact, they had to use a special portal to actually get to the land of the ancients, which suggests it is in a place beyond the sphere's normal reach. We know for a fact that their normal portals are capable of reaching distant planets and aren't restricted to just the sphere, so distance is really not an excuse for the land of the ancients still existing in this realm or galaxy or spaces beyond.

These people have complete control over gravity, portal technology, and nigh-unlimited power with which to fuel these devices.


By the way, superevilcube, where is the tesseract in the game?

[wayskobfssae]

Originally Posted by OnyxBMW

By the way, superevilcube, where is the tesseract in the game?

I think SEC is referring to the asteroid in the glass box. Some believe that the asteroid actually isn't tiny (Tommy didn't shrink), and that the relative appearance of size is actually the result of heavily curved space.

[Zixinus]

A haystack of what... sand? We currently have satellites that could locate a human in the middle of a desert, and a camp fire leaves a much brighter thermal trace than a human body. And the aliens obviously have equipment far more sophisticated than we do. It would be a no-brainer for them to find.

A haystack of 1000+ fires, thermal-imaging blocking rocks, a mountin range and 1000+ other people in the desert. Now which one is the Land of the Ancients? Without any reference point, as one pile of ruins are the same as the next.

Also, if Enisis and the spirts were able to teleport Tommy out of a spaceship in outer space, they are most likely able to block the Shpere's sensors.

Beyond this simple fact, they had to use a special portal to actually get to the land of the ancients, which suggests it is in a place beyond the sphere's normal reach. We know for a fact that their normal portals are capable of reaching distant planets and aren't restricted to just the sphere, so distance is really not an excuse for the land of the ancients still existing in this realm or galaxy or spaces beyond.

Making portals within the Shpere may be easy, but Mother's influence is limited outside the Shpere. If she would have been that powerful, why not suck in all the needed humans into the meat grinders? Would make things more simple.

A portal could not be hard to make within the gravity-limited and controlable-gravity Sphere, but much harder on Earth (and I think that portal was there becuse a dropship ride was cut).

Beyond this simple fact, they had to use a special portal to actually get to the land of the ancients, which suggests it is in a place beyond the sphere's normal reach. We know for a fact that their normal portals are capable of reaching distant planets and aren't restricted to just the sphere, so distance is really not an excuse for the land of the ancients still existing in this realm or galaxy or spaces beyond.

The portal was special becuse it was a portal maid on Earth. Earth has gravity, and gravity is not a charged force. Meaning that the Shpere could not simply just swich off Earth's gravity, and that portal was special so it could work in Earth gravity and envarioment (and adjust itself to the rotation to the Earth).

These people have complete control over gravity, portal technology, and nigh-unlimited power with which to fuel these devices.

Yes, WITHIN the Shpere. Outside the Shpere? Not likely to be that great.

Umm... the Dreamtime, perhaps? Spirit World? Heaven? Any of these ring a bell?

Heaven is a Christian idea, if not Western as a whole. Dreamtime is Aborgonese (Native Australian, sorry for the spelling). And there is no real proof that we visited the Spriti World. It is more likely that the spirits visited OUR world.

[wayskobfssae]

Originally Posted by Zixinus

A haystack of 1000+ fires, thermal-imaging blocking rocks, a mountin range and 1000+ other people in the desert. Now which one is the Land of the Ancients? Without any reference point, as one pile of ruins are the same as the next.

Also, if Enisis and the spirts were able to teleport Tommy out of a spaceship in outer space, they are most likely able to block the Shpere's sensors.

Oh, for crying out loud... this is the modern era, not the 1800's. How many neverending bon fires do you think are actually burning out there?

By the way, I'll assume for a moment that the Land of the Ancients IS on Earth. Any such sacred ground would be in the original Cherokee territory. Here's a map of it.



Now take a look at a satellite photo of that region and show me where these vast dry mountain ranges are. The LotA, if anywhere in the united states greatly resembles mountains of the Nevada region, which is well outside of Cherokee territory. Based on Native American beliefs, having the LotA there makes no sense at all.

A portal could not be hard to make within the gravity-limited and controlable-gravity Sphere, but much harder on Earth (and I think that portal was there becuse a dropship ride was cut).

What do you mean a dropship ride was "cut?"

The portal was special becuse it was a portal maid on Earth. Earth has gravity, and gravity is not a charged force. Meaning that the Shpere could not simply just swich off Earth's gravity, and that portal was special so it could work in Earth gravity and envarioment (and adjust itself to the rotation to the Earth).

This still doesn't explain why a superportal was needed to send a ship to the LotA when it clearly wasn't needed to invade any other part of Earth.

Heaven is a Christian idea, if not Western as a whole. Dreamtime is Aborgonese (Native Australian, sorry for the spelling). And there is no real proof that we visited the Spriti World. It is more likely that the spirits visited OUR world.

The NAME "Heaven" is Christian. The NAME "Dreamtime" is Aborigonal. There are hardly ANY religions or faiths that don't involve a place for the dead to dwell in.

Jeeeze... time for a crash course in Cherokee mythology. These are quotes from the Wikipedia regarding the Cherokee clans.

"The Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni appointed a member of each of the seven clans to represent both the spiritual forces the Cherokee believed existed in the Natural World, and the ritual of ceremonies related to the progression of the human spirit from birth until entry into the spirit world to perform the sacred ceremonies for the Cherokee people from the mother city of Keetoowah."

Oooh, look... Spirit World. We're on to something already.

"In the original beliefs of the Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya, the physical world was a mirror image of the spiritual world, and every object and tangible element of matter that existed in this world did so because a corresponding spiritual energy in the spirit world allowed it to have form and substance in this reality. By way of example, When an animal or plant became extinct, it was believed that the spiritual energy that defined it had been taken back into the spirit world, and correspondingly, that the Creator Spirit (U-ne-la-nv-hi) could cause this energy to be physically manifested when it was time for certain forms of life to reappear in the physical world."

Oooh, lookey lookey... a parallel dimension. Not only have we established the existence of the spirit world, but also an explanation of how Tommy can manipulate objects in the physical world while moving about the spirit world.

"It was taught by the Ah-ni-ku-ta-ni that following entry into the spirit world, all of the people still continued their dances, ceremonies, and family relationships in the afterlife in a place set apart for the people."

Here's the kicker. This is telling us that the there is a place set apart for the people IN the Spirit World/IN the Afterlife.

I also found this. Not terrible relevant to the argument, but I find it interesting nonetheless: "Ah-ni-wa-ya or Wolf Clan represented the doorway to the world of spirits and the development of higher social conscisouness (spirit world, sacred fire)." Tommy is most likely a member of the Wolf Clan. I also don't have the game installed at the moment (ran out of disk space for other things) but can someone confirm or deny that Ah-ni-wa-ya was what Jen was chanting in her prayer?

Interesting thing about the mirror image concept, is it means that in a way we both could be correct. Being that there's a mirror image, the ironic thing is, if Mother could simply locate the physical world version of the LotA, then the aliens could really mess it up without ever having to deal with the spirits on the 'other side.' The fact that you see Grandfather fighting against them directly though is evidence enough that the aliens are more than able to interact with him, and have found a scientific way of entering the spirit realm. If this weren't the case, I think we'd all see blue glowing dead people and hawks running around town everyday.

[OnyxBMW]

Zix, lets just completely forget the entire ending sequence where tommy meets up with the leader of the hiders and goes through a portal connecting earth and some other, DISTANT planet.

The sphere DID open portals to earth, btw. When you're first captured by the aliens, if you look down, 2 hunters pop out of 2 seperate portals.

Plus, lets also remember that there are no spirits on earth. Tommy can dislocate his spirit from his body and walk around with it, but no one can see it (you can sneak by monsters, I believe) other than tommy and spirits (obviously)

Enisi, Jen, and other such (unseen) dead people are all clearly visible to both Tommy and the various species on the sphere.

Ok, you're right, however. Why build a bunch of portals to earth, where you can see to the other side of the portal into a HELLISH WASTELAND (as far as any random human would be concerned) and let the humans walk into it. Yeah, great idea.

They would have to rely on human curiousity to overpower common sense for a human to cross into the portal to begin with. Not to mention, if a hunter was on the other side, they'd have to pull the human in and run the risk of getting themselves shot up.

Remember, just because you have the technology to do something, doesn't mean you should or that it's the best method. You can't move the portals once they're created, with the sole exception of portals created between multiple points (IE the portals in the moving door thing). In all the cases where a portal is moving, the portal is always situated between nodes which can focus the power. So, since portals can't move, you cannot open them over a human and then move the portal to suck the human in. Not gonna happen.

The point is, the Land of the Ancients isn't on earth. If it were, it'd be a lot bigger, and, more importantly, you wouldn't need specialty-portals to get to it, nor would you require portals in general and, more importantly, there'd be nothing special about it that'd warrent a full scale invasion (remember, no place on earth was invaded by the aliens, merely a lot of abductions)

Also, the technology in the sphere is so advanced, I bet it could tell you the exact chemical composition of your farts before you knew it existed from space. It'd be easy for a device with technology that is beyond our greatest super computers to both find, categorize, and read every single solitary thing on earth simultaneously without needing a direct LoS from any satelite.

It'd be more than capable of finding anomalous incidents (including random teleportations) on a planet as primitive as Earth.