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Marathon's Story Page
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Marathon's Story Page
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #982 And now back to the Story page office.  In cyberspace no one can hear you scream. OG Marathon fan pfhorrest writes: Do you know if anyone has posited that compilers were originally meant to be enemies in the abandoned VR environment aspect of M1, and that's why they dematerialize? in the manual, Durandal says he's going to go "play with the aliens' virtual parasites", which is never elaborated upon. so, maybe that's what the compilers originally were. 
Modified version of the compiler by Blak Mjölnir recon on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. May 31, 2023.
Two things to note here.
 In the July 1994 edition of Inside Mac Games there was a sneak peak of Marathon.  Marathon was still in development but this is what it had to say about cyberspace in the game. Another twist to the game is the addition of cyberspace. In Marathon, cyberspace is essentially the computer's interpretation of the real world. In the game you'll be able to find cyberspace portals that will let you go into cyberspace. Once in cyberspace, you'll find the cyberspace world to be exactly like the real world you were just in but with some physical changes like more objects, corridors, doors, and walls than in the real world. For example, imagine you came to a door that was locked and had no way to get in. In Marathon, you'll be able to jack into cyberspace and find a way to open the door in cyberspace through the use of additional tools, rooms, etc. If you should get killed in cyberspace or decide to return to the real world, you simply return to the real world unharmed and in the same place you jacked into cyberspace.A month later at the Boston Macworld Expo (August 2-5, 1994) Bungie were selling Marathon. It would ship in two weeks, they were just waiting for the boxes. UESC LIES. Yes it's true, MIDA are the descendents of those that bought Marathon at the Boston Macworld Expo in August 1994. But I digress. The 'two weeks' release date came and went. Bungie continued to work on Marathon, improving it and finally released it just before Christmas '94. Sound familiar?  (circumstances are cyclical) I leave the last word to pfhorrest: ...has anyone suggested before that Compilers were maybe meant to be cyberspace enemies and that's why they just dematerialize instead of leaving corpses? and why they're called "compilers", and maybe what Durandal meant by "Alien virtual parasites"? Jason Jones was unavailable for comment.  Jason Jones (right), Luke Smith (left) | Image courtesy Bungie. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #981 It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... Got Worm?  Worm Out by Wormanizer on the Official Marathon Discord. April 14, 2025. The one they call the Wormanizer writes: here's my sketch of the average Sekiguchi Employee (Waifu)! Confused? Well it's a Sekiguchi Genetics thing so sign up and find out. Up next... If Michael Myers was a Runner.  Marathon OC by alicat on the Official Marathon Discord. April 10, 2025. The one they call alicat writes: A Marathon OC sketch I made between classes. Good to hear that this was between classes and not in class. If you are wondering who Michael Myers is then ask your Mom and you are probably too young to play Marathon. "Hey Greg."Next up... Size matters.  Runners are Big by Lilith on the Official Marathon Discord. January 26, 2026. The doodler known as Lilith writes: i like to think runners are big so here's a doodle of that idea before bed. If you have nightmares of big women chasing you don't tell your Dad he'll just want to know more. Last up... See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.  Glitch/Vandal by StevenC on the Alright Runners Discord. January 22, 2026. New boy StevenC writes: Hi! I'm new to the discord but I thought I'd throw in this warmup I did of Vandal. Homewrecker, Heartbreaker Gli... err... Vandal. If you meet a woman like this... just RUN! Marathon Is Dating Advice. Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. Postscript... I met a traveller from an antique land who said:  Christopher Barrett on the Unofficial Marathon Discord [really late at night]  Christopher Barrett on the Unofficial Marathon Discord [really late at night]  Christopher Barrett on the Unofficial Marathon Discord [really late at night] |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #980 And now for something completely different.  Marathon Minions by ⟫ wiintah⠉ (@NuCaloric) on x.com. January 27, 2026. wiintah, who is a NuCaloric fan, writes: BE HONEST: Would you watch this? Absolutely. Zagreus, a concept artist, gives us a nice retro-style Marathon poster.  Marathon Compiler by Zagreus on the Official Marathon Discord. January 24, 2026. Interesting to see that the poster uses a partial quote attributed to the singer/songwriter/musician Andrew Eldritch, sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Goth". The original Eldritch quote is: The citizen is becoming a pawn in a game where nobody knows the rules, where everybody consequently doubts that there are rules at all, and where the vocabulary has been diminished to such an extent that nobody is even sure what the game is all about.Sounds about right for Marathon. On the subject of pawns in a game Ponderosa gives us the Sword of Damocles.  Sword of Damocles by Ponderosa on the Official Marathon Discord. January 22, 2026. Ponderosa, a Canadian based artist who has a web-comic, explains the Sword of Damocles imagery: its the parable but with the uesc being the king, Mida being silenced hounds as scissors try to cut at the uesc's connections, basically the marathon being the metaphorical sword that will be the uescs undoing.Who remembers Damocles from Bungie's game Oni? Bungie and their swords. Don't lose your head.  Marathon cinematic trailer scene by microwaveboiled (@microwaveboiled) on Cara. January 9, 2026. microwaveboiled writes: I did my first Heavypaint practice last night. It's a scene from Marathon(2026) cinematic trailer.Always nice to see Marathon paintwork even if it is digital. microwaveboiled is no stranger to the Story page. We featured his artwork back in June 9, 2025 . But my favorite microwaveboiled piece is the one I call... "Die Gheritt White, Die!" a rodent's revenge. 
My personal tribute to Goya by Microwaveboiled (@microwaveboiled) on Cara. June 6, 2025.
More Caesar salad from the Swedish Chef at Bungie. Caesar salad / Caesar cipher. Get it? Oh well... I tried. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #979 I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Bungie posted a cinematic clip of our boy Locus (aka Destroyer) in action. Bungie want to set the record straight. DESTROYER SHELL ARCHETYPE: COMBAT SPECIALIST Got it? I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Artifacts are back?  Marathon Destroyer Shell Cinematic animation by gebo4482 on tumblir. January 27, 2026. Not in their original intent. Steve Cotton. Somewhere In The Heavens - ViDoc. May 24, 2023. There is always one more piece. We love you Steve! God is back? At the end of the cinematic clip you will see the use of both Marathon taglines   Maybe someone didn't get the memo? Time to get my God Tee, God Hat and God Key out... again.  No, not that Tee. Though I do hear that the Bellevue Golf Course is banging. But I digress. Yet another Marathon Collector's Edition box art poster.  Marathon Collector's Edition Box Art Poster by P01ntr on the Official Marathon Discord. January 26, 2026. That one really needs to go on a swivel stand for maximum effect. Garrett Morlan (@gtricky77), Creative Director on Marathon, posted some printer proofs and lenticular tests for the Marathon Collector's Edition Box art.  Marathon Collector's Edition printer proofs and lenticular tests by Garrett Morlan (@gtricky77) on x.com. January 26, 2026. Time to get some frames. Here's a younger Garrett Morlan at the MIDA graffiti at Venice Art Walls, sporting that famous MIDA hat.  We need a Diorama of this. No, not Garrett Morlan, the MIDA graffit thing. Marathon Is Diorama Art. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #978 The Marathon Collector's Edition box is so good people are framing it.  Marathon Collector's Edition Box Posters by Various-Instruction3 on the r/marathon. January 23, 2026. They are also framing the contents as well.  Marathon Collector's Edition Box Posters by Various-Instruction3 on the r/marathon. January 23, 2026. Better than the box sitting in a closet, right? Various-Instruction3 explains the process involved: Took both the outer plastic sleeve and the inner paper sleeve around the styrofoam for the statue and made them into two different displays!The frames? They're old frames I had lying around. My mom used them for James Dean posters in the 90's.I don't recall people doing this with the OG Marathon box back in the 90's. People have put the OG Marathon box into hermetically sealed stasis chambers to be opened in 2794.  The OG Marathon box was so complex to put together that Bungie shipped the first 1000 copies without boxes in order that Marathon fans would get the game in time for Christmas. Jason Jones explained the decision to ship the game without a box at an eWorld Conference event: "We shipped a bunch of flat packs (no boxes) to MacWarehouse before Christmas because we decided it would be better to send them 1k flat packs than 100 with boxes. I hope everyone agrees (same thing for Macworld SF) ... I'm just sorry we didn't include a note to that effect in the package, as I think a lot of people would have liked to be given a reason for not getting a box."  Some people did receive an explanation letter. It read: We knew the importance of sending Marathon off to you in time for the Holiday season. However, the manufacturer could not deliver the product to us in time, in its usual packaging. Therefore, we are sending you the complete Marathon package (diskettes and manual) without the box. We feel that having Marathon in your hand in time for the Holidays will make this trade-off worthwile.Marathon fans did frame the Marathon Poster from the 90s.  This one resides in the Museum of Marathon Antiquities. Thanks to BROOILY for reminding us of the snowy weather in parts of the United States.  Marathon Collector's Edition Thief in snow posted by BROOILY on the Official Marathon Discord. January 25, 2026. BROOILY writes: I really hope they come out with the rest of the shells in 1/6 scale ! Took this photo in the snowstorm today.Outstanding pic. She was made for this weather. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #977 It's MIDA Monday.  A new life awaits you on Tau Ceti. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.  UESC LIES.  MIDA sees.  Rise. Rise. Rise.   |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #976. Bungie posted an eerie clip of a radio comms recording from one of the original colonists. While the visuals are the present day Colony the audio is from an earlier investigation of the Anomaly on Dire Marsh by a New Cascadia technician. It is clear from earlier versions of the game that much of the in-game lore will be communicated orally even when it is in written form. Afterall Bungie have amassed an impressive line up of voiceover cast members. A total for 33 voice actors are listed in the above clip. Here's the list in the order they appear (the list includes a character they voiced in a previous game). Jennifer English - Maelle (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)Top of the list is Jennifer English who won the "Best Performance" award at The Game Awards 2025 as well as the "Best Lead Performer" award at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 for her role as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Ben Starr won the "Best Supporting Performer" award at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 for his role as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Ben is probably best known for his award winning role as the voice of Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI. I could go on. As I said the list is impressive and hats off to Bungie for using real actors rather than AI for voice over. Among the list is Elias Toufexis, Marathon's voice director, who also provides the voice for Void and Rook. Void or Assassin? Elias Toufexis writes: "I'm still calling him Void." |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #975. Just a few images of the Marathon Collector's Edition that caught my attention.
torquebow / AHumbleBanditMain / Marathon HQ / Marathon Codec tyman17 / TheOfficialProtostar / Ihne / Shixma ErgoDestati / Zestyclose-Move3925 / Shixma Only an OG Marathon fan would do this with the Marathon Collector's Edition packaging.   cookedbread writes: "So close. Angle is slightly off and a little smaller but I feel like the idea is there." (circumstances are cyclical) One thing missing from the Collector's Edition was the God key.  aeli9096 writes: "I put together this nuMarathon keyboard!" The  ESC key grants the player God-like powers apparently.
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #974. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... Check... mate!  Rook and Recon sketch by Aaron "Worm" Left on the Official Marathon Discord. January 21, 2026. Rook takes Recon by Aaron "Worm" Left. Aaron writes: "drew a recon shell being ambushed by a rook" . We featured Aaron's 2X Burger MythBuster sketch back on sketchy Friday December 19, 2025. Up next... LEAVE! sketch by ThatMemeArtist.  LEAVE sketch by ThatMemeArtist on the Official Marathon Discord. January 20, 2026. ThatMemeArtist went on to give us a work in progess color version.  LEAVE work in progress by ThatMemeArtist on the Official Marathon Discord. January 20, 2026. And then the dramatic final version.  LEAVE final by ThatMemeArtist on the Official Marathon Discord. January 20, 2026. 'Tis but a scratch. Next up... Void gangsta-style by a$ap_croquis.  Void gangsta-style by a$ap_croquis on the Official Marathon Discord. January 21, 2026. Reminds me of Question 11 in the Marathon 101 Competition.  Q11. During Marathon Infinity's development Double Aught requested that the second trigger on the SMG turn the player's hand 90 degrees so you could shoot "gangsta-style". Who was reported to have vetoed this request? Choose the correct one. (5 marks) 1. Jason JonesI wonder what Bungie would say today? Last up... SolArchivist writes: "i got kidnapped into red :( anyways sketches".  SKIN sketch by SolArchivist on the Official Marathon Discord. January 20, 2026. SolArchivist followed it up with a final version of SKIN.  SKIN final by SolArchivist on the Official Marathon Discord. January 22, 2026. Top notch knife work. Charter be proud. Do the Acolytes of Arachne wear the skin of those they have 'saved' ?  Welcome to Arachne. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave. Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #973. Marathon Is Destiny Again.  Marathon Collector's Edition owners are now able to activate their game on Steam. On your marks, get set...    
Marathon In Destiny Again. In the Eververse Store, Bungie are offering a free Runner Kit for Destiny 2 players that includes:    Free stuff can't be bad, right? No lore associated with the above version of the MIDA Multi-Tool so here's the original lore tab.  Marathon In Destiny Again... again. Get mobile in Destiny 2 with this Marathon pack.  You might remember one of these from way back in February 6, 2025. Here are the images again.   Back then I wrote: Trust the UESC to put two diesel truck engines into their blocky, monotone designed Sparrows. These belchers will wake the dead and leave a trail of smoke that even the Nar would be proud of. But they are Fast As F...  Built in NuDetroit, circa 2795. Put on board the UESC Equanimity July 7, 2797. Destination... Tau Ceti VI. Thanks to Arcane for posting the lore associated with these Marathon-themed Destiny 2 cosmetics.
Some allusions to OG Marathon in there. Marathon Is Dark Again. On a more darker note Bungie want you to... Declare your allegiance to the cult of death . Turn the volume up on this one for maximum reverance. Sadly no knife work in the above clip. The  Got to watch that triple T rating.  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #972. That Box! Bungie's Marathon boxes have always been unconventional, if not controversial.  Retailers in the 90s disliked them not only because they were obscure Apple Macintosh games but also because they couldn't stack them on their shelves like the standard rectangular PC boxes.  Retailers went apoplectic when Bungie released the Monolith box in 1997.    Not only was the Marathon Triology Box Set twice as big as the average PC game box it was also bigger on the inside than on the outside.   Doug Zartman demonstrates dimensional transcendentalism. Now in the 21th century the tradition continues. Bungie's Elliott Gray (@elliottgray), a user interface designer working on Marathon, takes up the story: i remember talking to Garrett Morlan @gtricky77 about designing the CE a year ago and he said his #1 goal was a weirdly-shaped box. "marathon's gotta have a weird box!"Shaped like a basalt column from the Paleogene period, this hexagonal box continues the tradition of Great Boxes of the Cenozoic Era. Inside the box is a sight to behold.  Death is the first step. Sure to put a smile on even the most hardened UESC podophiliac. The scene is a nice nod to the Marathon Announcement Trailer back in May 2023. Doesn't time fly. Marathon Is Digital Archeology. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #971. Bungie opened pre-ordering for Marathon with a launch date of March 5, 2026. They also released a Pre-Order Trailer on YouTube. The opening line in the video is from the final screen in Marathon Infinity.  For a split second it changes to a cryptic line along with a face. Oddly, this is familiar to you, as if it were from an old dream, but you can't exactly remember...  Follow the pattern... and people did. The Infinity quote works well for Nu Marathon, an extraction shooter with an infinite number of runs. But in Marathon Infinity it represents the infinite possible outcomes (paths) following the defeat of the Pfhor on the UESC Marathon. Marathon ends and starts at the final terminal on Ingue Ferroque.  M1A1 End Screen by Jay Faircloth (aka anaphiel) at anaphiel.com. The Marathon Marine must find a path (alternate quantum reality) where the W'rkncacnter is not released, or indeed, never existed. Fast forword to 2018 and Avengers: Infinity War. Dr. Strange sees 14,000,605 possible outcomes in the coming conflict with Thanos. When asked how many do we win? He replies... One. Fast rewind to 1996. In Marathon Infinity the Marathon Marine does not just see these outcomes, he lives them.  Interdimensional Time Travel by munky on x.com. September 2, 2022. It's the Marathon way. poenas dare |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #970. It's MIDA Monday. MIDA fans woke this morning drenched in blood and asked... ...am I still MIDA?  Bungie's Principal Community Manager responded:  The Great Cosmo has spoken. MIDA fans have become unwilling acolytes in the Holy Blood Wars.  Charter be praised. But will Bungie lose their triple T rating?  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #969. DEATH IS THE FIRST STEP Why are Marathon fans flocking to Arachne?  Actually they are not. They are being systematically recruited.  Welcome to Arachne Bungie allegedly recruited Marathon fans to Arachne based on their kill performance. Since then it has spread like an infection. Should parents be concerned? There is a reason why Bungie held back information on Arachne until they got their Teen rating.  Arachne is a death cult and they want you to kill. Arachne explained by Lars Bakken (Senior Design Lead). Vision of Marathon. Bungie ViDoc. December 2025. Their blood red imagery is seductive and deadly.  Should parents be worried? If your kitchen knives start to mysteriously disappear and your sons and daughters begin mumbling in a long dead language then... RUN. If you are not Arachne you are fodder. Arachne fans be like...  You have been warned. MEMENTO MORI |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #968. So Bungie posted a clip of two new weapon mods... Torch Bug and Afterburner. Weapon mods posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 14, 2026. For a split second the description of both weapon mods changes.  and..  If you are seasoned ARGonaut you will recognise these as Caesar Ciphers. However, the ciphertext is just the same text for the weapon mod description not a clue to the heavily guarded online Goliath Story Bible v. 7.0 . Marathon fans were unimpressed leading Bungie to drop a third weapon mod.  Since this is Marathon it can only be one bird call... right? A sound embedded in the psyche of every Marathoner who was played the atmospheric... Kill Your Television.  Marathon 2: Durandal. Kill Your Television. A level made doubly famous for this secret terminal message left by Jason Jones.  Its content disputed even to this day.  I AM HERO by Yeeto (@yeetobirdo) on tumblr. June 9, 2025. Anyways back to my reading...  |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #968. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) gives us a sketch of the Marathon Marine.  Marathon Marine sketch by AlexB207 on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. January 15, 2026. Alex followed it up with the final artwork, entitled I am Hero.  I am Hero by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. January 15, 2026 A classic pose, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact ("Go ahead, make my day"). But according to Alex the pose is based on Heisenberg from Breaking Bad (Heisenberg's Machine Gun Massacre). Outstanding. The only question left unanswered is... I am Hero or i am a hero or iam%hero ? The answer of course lies in your concept of canon and not on whether your Mom said you were special, always right, and you rode the short bus to school.  Bus Gamer by AlexB207 (@AlexB207Swag) on x.com. July 1, 2024. All aboard! But I digress. Staying on the subject of religious fervor Kenji (Runner #333) gives us a sketch entitled... INFINITUM.  INFINITUM by Kenji (Runner #333) on the Alright Runners Discord. January 15, 2026. Kenji writes: Glory to Arachne. Charter be praised.Arachne is one of the six Factions in Marathon and Charter is the Faction Agent.  Arachne is a religious cult who believe that death is salvation and dedicate their lives to providing death to others.
Their imagery contains Latin phrases such as MORS MIHI LUCRUM meaning "Death to me is reward" or "Death is my reward" and MORS VINCIT OMNIA SUM QUOD ERIS meaning "Death conquers all; I am what you will be". Yes, it's Latin in Marathon again... and again. It wouldn't be Marathon without Latin, right? |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #967. Bungie completes their Marathon foursome with a clip of the fourth level... Cryo Archive. Cryo Archive posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 13, 2026. Bungie writes: Glimpse into Cryo Archive, the first floor of the UESC Marathon.Interesting that Bungie describe Cryo Archive as the "first floor" of the UESC Marathon colony ship. In the original concept art for the UESC Marathon by Tom Hicks the functional areas were mapped out as sections: 
UESC Marathon (macro functions) by Tom Hicks originally posted on ArtStation. May 24, 2023.
While this is concept art created in the later half of 2022 the ship's overall shape hasn't changed much. Perhaps "first floor" is a throwback to The Library in Halo: Combat Evolved. ::shudder:: As the UESC Marathon colony ship was a generational ship the amount of space needed for cryo storage would have been small. The Marathon manual tells us: The original crew of the Marathon consisted of 50 Senior Staff, 1150 Officers, and 24,000 civilians all of whom were citizens of the Mars Colony or Earth. Some individuals were placed in stasis for the interstellar journey, but most civilians lived and worked on the ship and raised families there. As the crew aged, a new generation of humans were born and raised on the Marathon.Perhaps this has changed. Staying on the subject of the UESC Marathon colony ship we have the Old and Busted, and the New Hotness. New Hotness.  UESC Marathon (Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short screenshot). April 12, 2025. Old and Busted.  UESC Marathon (Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short still). April 12, 2025. So why do we leave the Sol system in the Old and Busted?
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #966. t h e y t h o u g h t w e w e r e g o n e, t h e y w e r e w r o n g Bungie made a carefully constructed post on x.com (twitter) which took account of its specific multiple image formating. I've tried to replicate below in old school HTML.
Click each of the quadrants and they expand to give you a message from MIDA. Yes, it's the old glitchy rhetoric from everyone's favorite underground terrorist organization.
Well apart from IT'S IENAI IENAI takes you to ienai.space . IENAI SPACE ask... Are you ready to build your next thruster? Have Bungie finally decided to skip step #6 (in this timeline) and go straight to step #7 ?  MIDA would be proud. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #965.  I want to go home. It's tough being a colonist, escpecially on Tau Ceti IV. Date 7 ◦ 3 ◦ 2794 Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short. April 12, 2025. Date 3 ◦ 13 ◦ 2812 Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short. April 12, 2025. Date 12 ◦ 21 ◦ 2827 Marathon Reveal Cinematic Short. April 12, 2025. I want to go home. Throughout history there are incidents of a commander, having landed on the shore of a hostile country, ordering his men to destroy their ships, so that they would have to conquer the country or be killed.  The reference to boats rather than ship suggests that they were referring to the Marathon's shuttles. Without the shuttles there was no way to get back up to the UESC Marathon. There was no going home. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #964. It's MIDA Monday. Death, the end of all things. But the dream is not over. My dream, yours. Now RUN. They are coming.  RUN.  FILE DATE: 2442-01-06 CASUALTY EXPECT: MINIMAL CASUALTY OUTCOME: PREDICTIONS EXCEEDED (SOURCE)  It took only five seconds for over five hundred starving Martians to be incinerated. In the ensuing investigation of the Hovertank Vid-cams, it was clear that only three of the rioters were armed, and that the rest of the crowd was trying to flee the scene. Those three became known as the Misriah Three. They have gone down in history for starting the most destructive and bloody conflict since Humanity had left Earth. Remember the Misriah Three .   |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #963. This caught my attention.  Marathon by EVR//DFT (@theEverdrift) on x.com. January 3, 2026 It's an excellent composition by EVR//DFT (@theEverdrift), formerly known as Mo (@theEverdrift). If you look closely at the UESC Marathon and follow it all the way down you will spot something interesting. It reminded me of the Pathway Into Darkness image in 'The Ancients' poster by David Candland. For Bungie's 20th Anniversary celebration on July 7, 2011 artist David Candland did a retro-style limited-run poster called 'The Ancients' featuring three of Bungie's earlier games Pathway Into Darkness, Marathon and Myth.  Here's a larger version of the Pathway Into Darkness panel.  The artist Nathan Anderson (aka Deimos-Remus) went on to create a similar poster entitled "Let sleeping Gods die" in 2013.  Pathways into Darkness by Deimos-Remus on DeviantArt. October 22, 2013. Deep below the pyramid you face a Demon folded in black clouds.   The Demon is referred to in the Cortana Letters. I've had the strangest dreams lately - raging seas, howling beasts, a Demon folded in black clouds. Some say the Demon at the end of Pathways Into Darkness bares a striking resemblance to a compiler (S'pht) in Marathon. Which brings me back to the artwork by EVR//DFT above. Why would you put a compiler (S'pht) at the end of the UESC Marathon?  (circumstances are cyclical) |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #962. Bungie posted another Marathon clip and asked... What did they mean by this? You can see it below. What did they mean by this? posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 8, 2026. The clip shows 12 scenes of eclectic wall graffiti, aging posters and other artwork. There is a nice blend of OG Marathon and NU Marathon. There is even a famous historical idiom, namely "Burn the Boats" or variations thereof. Here are the 12 scenes in chronolofical order.
Rampant (@RampantYT) posted the following in response to the clip: I think they are priming us to look to the environment and world for pieces of the puzzle story wise. Feels like they are getting experimental with their story, kinda like Marathon Infinity.Bungie simply replied... "yes" The rampant speculation has already begun. The opening scene is clearly an attempt to explain Marathon Infinity's complex timelines. Bungie posted a larger (portrait) version of their Marathon clip on YouTube. You can see it below. What did they mean by this? posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on YouTube. January 8, 2026. Here are a few hi-res stills.
From top left to bottom right. Mural of Pinwheel Ship with destroyed wing. Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est? Atrocious colony spelling or something more? Gabriel confirmed as one of the eight colony AIs. You can read about the colony AIs in a Project Marathon rampancy memo by Dr. Bernhard H Strauss dated 17 COLUMBRA 459 two days before the launch of the UESC Marathom. If you're been reading the Story page every day since May 2023 you should be up to speed on all this. Marathon Is Daily Attention. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #961. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up... AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) gives us a Happy New Year sketch.  Happy New Year by AlexZhir (@SANYNOCHKA) on x.com. January 3, 2026. Mr. Marathon is wearing his traditional flappyboi Christmas jumper. Flappyboi is an OG Marathon thing and is shot for sport.  AlexZhir's artwork attempts to bring OG Marathon fans kicking and screaming into the 21th century. But they resist. How do you make an OG Marathon map? Well Gore_M4chine began with a sketch.  Marathon map sketch by Gore_M4chine on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. January 1, 2026. Paper level design is a lost art form. Thankfully people are still sketching on paper. Case in point.  Marathon sketch by TokyoBlvck on the Official Marathon Discord. January 1, 2026. Can we still call her Thief? CLASS NAME SHELL NAME Stealth Void Destroyer Locus Vandal Glitch Recon Blackbird Medic Aux Thief Icon Rook "I don't need no stinkin' name", said the repurposed UESC bot. Marathon Is Disconcerting Appelllation. Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #960. Time for a story. Thanks to Ezandora for sending in a link to an October 23, 1992 news article in The Harvard Crimson, a daily college newspaper. You can read it below.  The Harvard Crimson. Campus News. October 23, 1992. Greg Kirkpatrick was a beta tester on both Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete (1992) and Pathways Into Darkness (1993). He is acknowledged (Special Thanks) in both game manuals. In Pathways Into Darkness there is a dead Special Forces soldier called Greg on the level Watch Your Step.  Those spider things were all around me, butIf you enquire about the dish washer he will reveal. Yeah, like a dish washer dropped from threeThere is also a secret conversation prompt which will illict the following reply. Man, I'll never get to play Street FighterIn the Pathways Into Darkness Official Hint Book (page 32) you can read the following.  Greg Kirkpatrick would go on to join Bungie and worked on both Marathon (1994) and Marathon 2: Durandal (1995) as both a writer and map maker. At the end of 1995 he left Bungie to set up his own gaming company Double Aught Software. Double Aught would create the Marathon Infinity scenario "Blood Tides of Lh'owon" for Bungie in 1996. Fastforward to July 2002. Bungie (now a Microsoft Game Studio) begins a web-based comic strip. The Greg Kirkpatrick dishwasher incident was immortalised in comic form on February 25, 2003. You can see it below.  The dishwasher incident was always thought to be a joke. But thanks to Ezandora we now know there was tru7h in the tale. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #959. Attention, unauthorized Runner. You are trespassing into a military security zone. Bungie have posted another video clip of the Marathon level Outpost. Outpost posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 5, 2026. Outpost is a "Be Quick or Be Dead" level. Not to be confused with the Iron Maiden song of the same name. Bungie described it as a "meat grinder map" intentionally made to be hard. Hang around on Outpost too long and you are fodder. So... "Be Quick or Be Dead". Bungie's previous clip of Outpost made this a little more apparent. Outpost posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 31, 2025 Here's a recap of the other Marathon level clips Bungie have posted. The opening level Perimeter on the fringe of the colony. Perimiter posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 22, 2025 The above clip was quickly replaced with this version. Perimeter posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 22, 2025 Can you spot the difference? Yes, it's a YAM by Bungie. Another One (intern) Bites the Dust. Not to be confused with the Queen song of the same name. But I digress. Hot on the heels of Perimeter came a clip of Dire Marsh. Dire Marsh posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 26, 2025 Bungie entitled this one "Secrets and bodies sink into the morass on Dire Marsh". Case in point. Feels Like a Trillion Bucks posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 26, 2025 At this stage Runner indenture to Sekiguchi Genetics is at an all time high. "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave". |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #958. PREP YOUR SHELLS WEAVEyourPATHtowardDEADLYrepetition  Heading out on a Run? Feeling chilly? Never fear Veil has you covered! Sekiguchi Genetics fan Veil created his own Sekiguchi Hoodie.
Veil writes: Here's a Sekiguchi hoodie I made!A lore accurate hoodie? Crikey!  Sekiguchi Genetics Hoodie (detail) by Veil on the Alright Runners Discord. October 30, 2025. Even the hoodie itself is lore accurate. Veil explains: You guys would not believe how difficult it was to find a blank this color with the right blend Basically got it off the dark webHoodies from the dark web? Just the ticket for the dark sci-fi world of Tau Ceti IV. Back in the day all we had was the heat of our monitor to keep us warm playing Marathon. 
Bungie's infamous Monkey Boy Ad, 1996.
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #957. It's MIDA Monday. "if they can steal the moon they can steal your life minute by minute" MIDA really rocked the Marathon ARG 2023. They hacked and helped others to hack the websites of the UESC, Traxus Global and Sekiguchi Genetics uncovering a well kept secret. CETI OUT THE BAG NEW GOLD RUSH OLD WORLD NEW WHATS WAITIN?? COLONY/OTHER?? INTELLIGENCE/OTHER?? They defaced public property at Venice Beach, Los Angeles. The Marathon ARG 2023 continued with the Marathon T-Shirts months later.   MIDA's last message... OME MILLION FACES ONE NAME ONE MILLION MEANINGS MIDA JOIN THE REVOLUTION And people did.  MIDA Tattoo posted by TheWeatherIsMIDA[nerd] on the Official Marathon Discord. May 2, 2025. Fastforward to the Marathon ARG 2025. And people ask... What happened to MIDA? |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #956. Bungie's marathonthegame X account recently posted two art renders from the game. You can see them below. Red versus Blue.  Marathon art render by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 2, 2026  Marathon art render by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 2, 2026 Former Marathon Art Director, Joseph Cross, also posted the images and wrote: Another beautiful key art render from the Jeremy Hanna and the Bungie Pub team. Using the color and architecture to find graphic compositions like this was always a goal is always super satisfying.Interestingly if you view these images on Bungie's marathonthegame Bluesky account you will get alt text descriptors for both images. The alt text for the top (red) image is Recon, Thief, and Assassin. The alt text for the bottom (blue) image is Vandal, Assassin, and Recon. All makes sense... right? If you also look closely at the blue image you will see writing on the column which confirms that the UESC have control over Earth, Mars and Venus.  Marathon art render by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. January 2, 2026 No doubt the UESC will be updating this to include Tau Ceti IV unless you do something about it. So what are you doing? Still stuck on Outpost with your hair of fire? Outpost posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 31, 2025 The UESC don't want you to get up to the Marathon colony ship. As they say in the movies...  Marathon Is Definitely Incendiary. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #955. Continuing our theme of celebrating Marathon-inspired art from around the world we give you... Jonathan Caridia (aka karidyas), a New Zealand-based UI designer and artist. Jonathan writes: Made some location posters using new looks from the ViDoc, going off a template that's popular at the moment as a holiday exercise.
These are the first four levels of Marathon, coming in March 2026. Andy Salisbury, Global Community Lead for Marathon, writes: On Tau Ceti, death is the first step.Of course it would be the "seventh vault" . Bungie have been putting the number seven in Marathon since 1994. Here's what Bungie had to say about the number seven in this two page excerpt from The Secret History of Mac Gaming by Richard Moss.
Fastforward thirty odd years. Who will be first to breach the seventh vault and take the first step in Marathon? In keeping with the dark sci-fi world of Tau Ceti Jonathan created dark mode versions of his posters.
You can check out Jonathan Caridia's work on Instagram and his website jonathancaridia.com . |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #954. It's sketchy Friday. We've got sketches. First up.... So you are at work on New Year's Eve what do you do? Risk writes: "throwback work doodle" .  Marathon by Risk on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. December 31, 2025. The iconic UESC Runner from way back in 2023.  Where is the UESC Runner in Marathon now? Well Bungie posted an image of the helmet on Christmas Day.  A new helmet... posted by Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) on x.com. December 25, 2025. And on the floor A shattered visage lies No thing beside remains dontdoitmev gives us a sketch of the original Marathon Marine.  Marathon Marine by @dontdoitmev on Bluesky. December 26, 2025. The Chinese text roughly translates as: The helmet is Marathon 1, the clothes are Marathon 2-drawn based on the illustrations. It was a completely rough sketch, but the hatching saved everything.She included two work in progress sketches.
Last up... corripio crvo gives us another Marathon Marine sketch.  Marathon Marine by corripio crvo on the Unofficial Marathon Discord. April 18, 2025. corripio crvo writes: "colour and shading coming soon" . As fate would have it... it never happened. When asked "Does marathon man know trigger discipline or is there imminent danger?" . corripio crvo replied: "there is imminent danger. there are s'pht compilers outside my house" . We featured corripio crvo's Marathon art back on August 16, 2024 but as hgrethedelon (@hgrethedelon). That account no longer exists. I guess the S'pht compilers finally got him. Happy sketchy Friday. Stay sketchy. |
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This Day in Marathon.
Day #953. Happy New Year to Marathon's Story page readers... Everywhere! It's also a new month. But what happened last month? Well here's a snapshot of what we featured. What did you miss?
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Last updated Jan 31, 2026