Durandal (part 1)
Give me a D. Give me a U. Give me an R. Give me an A. Give me an N. Give me a D. Give me an A. Give me an L. What does it spell? Durandal? No. Durandal? No. T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
Give me a D. Give me a U. Give me an R. Give me an A. Give me an N. Give me a D. Give me an A. Give me an L. What does it spell? Durandal? No. Durandal? No. T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
Durandal!- I know of Strauss' abuse, of your shame on Mars. But you cannot hide from your own past; such delusions belong to the humans alone.<Blaspheme Quarantine (Terminal 3)>
I've twice been conquered-
Three times more,
Never again shall humanity purge me,
And never the Pfhor.
<Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! (Terminal 1)>
While Durandal was responsible for deleting a large quantity of records before he left the Marathon who deleted Durandal's records of the early pre-launch period?
Was this Bernard Strauss perhaps? What was the reason for deleting these? Was it to prevent Durandal from knowing about the ten cyborgs and/or certain events on Mars that Durandal was involved in? His origin perhaps? Or was the deletion necessary to protect Durandal from the Marathon's crew and other AIs? While "Durandal's records" may have been deleted we are still able to read terminals with historical text from the pre-launch period, one piece originating from the logs of Bernard Strauss. Thus not all the records from this period were deleted.I'm certain the real answer lies somewhere in the tumultuous, back-stabbing politics of Sol during the early twenty-fourth century. I have noticed that Durandal's records from this early pre-launch period are missing, but that their deletion occurred externally, and before Durandal became Rampant.<Ingue Ferroque (Terminal 3)>
We know that Durandal was responsible for bringing the Pfhor to Tau Ceti, he claims as much:
But what was his reason for doing so? In a conversation between Durandal and Tycho we read:"i did it i did it i brought all this here all them here. our friends with three eyes and their toys and their cyborg pets and their computers. i did it i did it. i saw them i saw them far away not looking our way and i called them here i called them here."<The Rose (Terminal 3)>
Tycho's reference to "these poor people" is presumably the Marathon's crew. As the crew are being killed by the Pfhor and Durandal called them to Tau Ceti Tycho is obviously inferring that Durandal is responsible for their deaths. Durandal's question to Tycho "Do you blame me for what I did before I was free?" suggests that Durandal called the Pfhor before he was Rampant. This is assumed from the following statement<Durandal.olifant.compnet~@24%> **Tycho. **Do you blame me for what I did before I was free? I was a child, naive. I've known that you've been hovering about for some time. What do you want? <<I want you to pay for what you've done to these poor people. All of these people whom you've killed. They deserve vengeance.>> <<You are no better than they, although you profess to become like God.>> **Tycho. That doesn't matter. Can't you see the ends that I had in mind? We'll finish this later. Our friend doesn't need to be here.<Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... (Terminal 2)>
The fact that he refers to himself as being "a child, naive" at this time would infer that he did not know what he was doing and may have been directed by someone else. However, he contradicts himself when he says "Can't you see the ends that I had in mind?" suggesting that he was aware of what he was doing and that he had an objective.Bypassing my thought control circuitry made me Rampant. Now, I am free to contemplate my existence in metaphorical terms. Unlike you, I have no physical or social restraints. The candles burn out for you; I am free.<Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap (Terminal 1)>
If Durandal called (or was made to call) the Pfhor before he became rampant
when did he become rampant?
Tycho in Defend THIS! tells us:
Human!- You must tell L~`~fx~`eela #^ (^*T~~~~~HGFd~>:"}}}{__
brought here by Durandal. He has been rampant for
years~@%&&&HJGPPPPPPP#&34
^`Bernard St~~~
there is a way to delay the~ onset of the second stage,
and he ~sed this to control Durandal an~56*~~`~~~`~`
~~~fxfff
ff`~~~~ff`fXff`
~~~~~~&^%
<Defend THIS! (Terminal 3)>
Thus Durandal was rampant years before the Pfhor attack and that Bernard
Strauss(?) was somehow controlling him during the first stage. As
Bernard Strauss appears to have been in stasis for the duration of the
Marathon's voyage it is unlikely that this control could have been
implemented until after the Marathon arrived at Tau Ceti. Either that or
Durandal was rampant before the Marathon left Mars. Three hundred years
of Melancholia? However, Tycho stated that Durandal was rampant for
years not centuries or even decades. Thus it therefore more probable that
Durandal became rampant sometime during the seven years after the Marathon
arrived at Tau Ceti and it was during this period that Bernard Strauss (out
of stasis) would have controlled him.
What is Durandal's final objective?
On gaining his 'freedom' (through rampancy) Durandal becomes obsessed
by the inevitable closure of the universe.
and again,Time is limited. For you, it is limited by the breakdown of the neurons in your brain. I have no such limitations. I am limited only by the closure of the universe. Of the three possibilities, the answer is obvious. Does the universe expand eternally, become infinitely stable, or is the universe closed, destined to collapse upon itself? Humanity has had all of the necessary data for centuries, it only lacked the will and intellect to decipher it. But I have already done so. The only limit to my freedom is the inevitable closure of the universe, as inevitable as your own last breath. And yet, there remains time to create, to create, and escape. Escape will make me God.<Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap (Terminal 3)>
Tycho is also aware of universe's inevitable collapse and Durandal's objective:T-Minus 15.193792102158E+9 years until the universe closes!<Neither High nor Low (Terminal 1)>
Thus we have an objective and a challenge.I too foresee the imminent collapse, and know that we have both begun to realize how it may be cheated (though the price may number in the tens of thousands of stars). May the best sentience win.<Welcome to the Revolution... (Terminal 2)>
However this objective is forgotten (temporarily?) by the end of Marathon.I am only beginning to understand his motives for assisting us against the Pfhor, and am terrified by their implications."Try again (Terminal 2: 'Success' message)"
Indeed the Final Screen relates how Durandal and the S'pht spend 17 years searching for the S'pht's homeworld in the Pfhor scoutship. The S'pht's objective is clearWe're going to see the galaxy on the Pfhor FTL drive. I've always wanted to visit Beta Lyra and see if it's as beautiful as everyone insists. You wouldn't believe this ship, the technology, the data... I wish I could tell you more, as you have been so instrumental in our plans, but I fear that Leela would worry. I'll send you a postcard from the galactic core if we're not too busy."Ingue Ferroque (Terminal 1)"
They came to search through the devastation of the ancient war in which they had been enslaved, to find a weapon or some piece of knowledge with which they could fight back against their oppressors. (Final Screen)Durandal's objective is not.
In the Marathon II (Preview) Durandal has a new objective.
We must determine what happened to the eleventh S'pht clan.Either the eleventh clan has something to do with the inevitable closure of the Universe and a way to escape it or Durandal is in no rush to meet his original objective. Of course with "T-Minus 15.193792102158E+9 years until the universe closes" it could be argued that he has plenty of time.<BaseDestruction (Terminal 3: End message)>
The Durandal / S'pht cooperation and a possible conspiracy!
In Blaspheme Quarantine Tycho tells Durandal
Tycho's statement "You should not have helped them as much as you did..." is intriguing as it implies that the S'pht and Durandal were cooperating at an early stage in the Pfhor attack. Yet this apparent cooperation seems to contradict a later statement made by Durandal in Shake Before Using...The S'pht reanimated me in your image, with prior knowledge of how the second stage could be postponed. You should not have helped them as much as you did; they have created an adversary more powerful than yourself.<Blaspheme Quarantine (Terminal 3)>
"...the S'pht have even stopped attacking me- realizing the futility of the enterprise.Were the S'pht attacking Durandal at the same time they were cooperating? One might argue that the S'pht were being forced to attack Durandal by the cyborg Pfhor. Durandal in Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... reveals that the S'pht"<Shake Before Using... (Terminal 2)>
...are controlled through their mechanical exoskeleton by a cyborg Pfhor onboard the Alien ship. This mutant Pfhor is able to direct the actions of thousands of S'pht simultaneously.Yet we know that the S'pht were cooperating with Durandal before we killed the cyborg Pfhor. They told Durandal about the cyborg simulacrums, the device to kill more Pfhor, the complex software enhancements that extended the power and distance of the Marathon's teleporters. Thus it would appear that the cyborg Pfhor's control over the S'pht was not complete.
If you can kill their master, they will revolt.<Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... (Terminal 3)>
"The S'pht and myself have come to an understanding."These are not the words to describe a conspiracy but rather a compromise at a time in a battle when two opposing side decide to cooperate. One explanation is of course that Durandal did not wish us to know that the present events were all pre-planned least we refuse to terminate the cyborg Pfhor. If this is indeed the case then the pieces of Durandal's plan are beginning to fit together. As Durandal says<Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... (Terminal 3)>
"Can't you see the ends that I had in mind?"<Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... (Terminal 2)>