Marathon's Story Page
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Marathon's Story Page |
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Bungie announce Bungie Foundation's fourth edition of the Bungie Day Giving Festival ! If you missed the first three then you might be confused so head on over to Bungie Foundation's registration page for full details of this charity event. If you become a fundraiser for the event and raise $1,777 or more then this is what you will get as a reward.
Fundraisers who meet or exceed this milestone will receive an exclusive version of the UESC T-Shirt from the Marathon Collection [000]. This was only available for one week after the Marathon announcement and can no longer be purchased. This shirt will also contain the numbering "0777" on the back, which is only available on this version for the Bungie Foundation.
Maybe putting "1777" on the back was going a little too far?
Exclusive Marathon T-Shirt*
*Limited to the first 200 fundraisers, preferred size not guaranteed.
So you better be in quick (Runners reference) and hope it fits.
65scribe does a deep Worth a watch.
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I came across a comment on a YouTube video with 19.7M views since May 24, 2023.
Made me chuckle. I hope the guy in question lives that long. As Durandal said...
T-Minus 15.193792102158E+9 years until the universe closes!
Time is relative. The piece in entitled Marathon 2 by Bones223 on DeviantArt and dates from September 5, 2016
Click to enlarge Now the above image got me thinking about this image.
Screen capture from Marathon official announcement video. May 24, 2023. And how high up the S'pht's energy bolt weapon is in both pics.
Original Marathon S'pht (compiler) artwork by Reginald Dujour 1994. ref
Well actually it's not. The height and the indeed the shape began to change as far back as early 1995 during the development of Marathon 2. It was started by Reginald Dujour the creator of the original Marathon S'pht design and then later by Robert McLees.
Concept art for Marathon 2 by Reginald Dujour 1995. ref
Concept art for Marathon 2 by Robert McLees and Reginald Dujour 1995. ref
The very first screenshot of a compiler (S'pht) dating from Sept 11, 1994 (source Inside Mac Games). |
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And the votes are in!
The MIDA boys win! On today's Story page we peek being the curtain of obscurification that is MIDA. Is MIDA good or bad? You know the drill...
Click the boxes icon below.
Readers of the Story page will know that Nicolas Cage is a big Marathon fan. |
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It's Monday!
Another week.... On today's Story page we dive deeper into the mystery that is Sekiguchi Genetics. What are they hiding behind that fancy-schmancy corporate website? Who are the five? You know the drill...
Smash that like button. Follow me on Twitter down below!
It is safe to click it... honest. |
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Interesting to note that Bungie trademarked the Sekiguchi Genetics logo and name.
Sekiguchi Genetics trademark filing on 25 May 2023 They describe the Sekiguchi Genetics trademark as follows:
The mark consists of a geometric pattern consisting of a series of connected rectangles, squares, and a hexagon in a tumbled formation with the stylized words Sekiguchi Genetics to the right of the design. I know... you're looking for the hexagon!
Marathon has the... Grey Tide.
You know. I can't say. He who rises with the tides, master of all things small and insignificant. But a rising Grey Tide does not lift all boats. Warning the following may upset you. Overheard on r/marathon...
This sentiment is growing. Are Bungie promoting ageism with their new game Marathon?
MIDA IS OLD MIDA IS NEW Old Marathon. New Marathon. It was reported that the new Marathon t-shirts were:
"...super expensive, only affordable by old corporate boomers who played Marathon in their teens..." ref The Marathon teaser video is age restricted but as one seven year old remarked...
"HA! I just fired in some old boomer date." And what is a Boomer anyway? I only know one Boomer.
Terminal pic in Marathon (old Boomer game, who cares). ref
Right Chris? Chris? |
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One month ago Bungie announced their Feels more like a year. But it's Saturday at the Story page office.
When suddenly...
"Is this some sort of ████ █████ Lament Configuration puzzle thing?"
"DIE!!!" |
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Thanks to Jeoku for pointing out this recent piece of artwork from former Marathon artist
Mark Bernal.
Click the image for a larger view Describing this piece in a linkedin post Mark Bernal writes:
What's this for? I'm "Revisiting the Marathon" for the fun of it. Just a warm up. It's been awhile since I've sketched. Pencil on Bristol paper approx 6" x 8" . Mark Bernal worked on Marathon 2: Durandal along side Robert McLees, providing new and revised artwork for the second game in the series. Oddly his linkedin page says he joined Bungie in May 1994 which would put him smack bang in the middle of development work for the first game. But all the artwork and graphics for Marathon were done by J. Reginald Dujour. Perhaps he meant May 1995?
Check out the Mark Bernal's initials section which documents the search of Mark's initials hidden in Marathon 2. Mark was also responsible for this classic terminal image of Jason Jones, Greg Kirkpatrick and Rob McLees as Bobs. ref
Every year it starts the "What the hell is Rob McLees saying?" discussion.
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And then there were four...
Finally, the fourth piece of the puzzle has been added.
Project Ariadne has officially begun. Now we follow the threads and begin piecing the new Marathon lore together to give us a comprehensive picture of Marathon's backstory. It's 1995 all over again.
(circumstances are cyclical) ref
Well Blakath did a very nice job on r/marathon. He writes:
"I mean what made the OG trilogy story last so long was not because Bungie cock blocked the story for everyone until they unlocked it. The entire story was available for everyone to play at their own pace. |
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And now back to... Marathon.
It's been over a month since Jeoku's last in-depth playthrough of Marathon. But he is back with the Jason Jones level Habe Quiddam, the third level of the Durandal Chapter. Unfortunately Jeoku makes the mistake of calling Durandal... CRAZY! Didn't he read the... memo? Sources in the video include:
This is Jason's first "Leap of Faith" level. You never forget your first time and that choice you must make. Habe Quiddam. Joeku asks... Alien Energy Converter?. Why yes! Listed in the Marathon resource fork and appears in your inventory when you pick it up.
With a bazillion Marathon images being posted daily on the interwebs this one caught my attention. BaudrillardBoy on the Marathon Art Discord writes:
"Long-time listener, first-time poster. Made this render last night that I thought people might appreciate. Felt nostalgic for the old space potato after seeing the (still very cool) redesign for the new game."
The UESC refused to comment on the authenticity of this image.
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Thinking that she might have bought a MIDA t-shirt and was now worried she was going to get arrested I answered her question with one of my favorite quotes...
"It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." Adding... that it would take time as we were still trying to piece all the data together.
She replied... " Why is Marathon so complicated? "
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"We're diving into this with our eyes wide open, and are eager to make it succeed. The last seven years have been a real blast. We hope you'll join us for the next seven, after which we'll blow up the world."
Yes folks, this day 23 years ago Microsoft acquired Bungie Software. Black Monday! Alex and Jason wrote fans a Dear Bob letter. Durandal told us to...
...dry those tears and stuff a fresh clip in your assault rifle. Seven years later Bungie blows up the world. The Jjaro reset the timeline. One slight problem...
Pfhornite on the Marathon Iowa Discord There is no ' i ' in Bungie and they help people to grow corn.
Christopher Barrett in Pimps At Sea (ViDoc) |
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Thanks to all those writing in about the addition of the new Marathon lore.
Lots of discussion, interesting comments and suggestions. Food for thought.
Given the response here is the first part of Sekiguchi section. Are Sekiguchi new to Marathon? Perhaps not.
Find out more by clicking the image below.
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WE ARE NOM HEAR OUR SCREAM [hearourscream.com][@hearourscream] Hear the chatter that Bung|e don't want YOU to listen p> Bung|e gone "dark" but Marathon is bright and joyfulfont>. Christopher Barrett [who is STILL at Bung|e] spotted doing some cheap R&D work for new Bung|e live service - Marathon Dating [opposite to Speed Dating].
Seasoned
asdkzx123 on the Marathon Potato Discord Potato jokes allaround. No one hears punch line.
We told YOU... Marathon Is Dating App.
click> What are Bung|e hiding? What is out there?
Marathon? Seriously Mulder... you went to Marathon?
< p
WE ARE NOM HEAR OUR SCREAM [hearourscream.com][@hearourscream] |
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This is what happens when you get into an argument with Elon Musk about the distance from Earth to Tau Ceti
on Twitter. Jon is the Narrative Lead for Marathon.
The right answer is of course...
But I digress. Some folks were not happy about the vagueness of yesterday's news item, demanding... "WHEN are you going to add the new Marathon lore to the Story page?". Well here at the Story page office things are done the old school way... time bears fruit.
But here is a brief snippet of the shape of things to come...
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"Are you going to add the new Marathon lore to the Story page?".
Let me tell you a story...
"Imagine a painting of a horse, a marvellous white stallion. This stallion happens to be lying in a..." Oh wait... that's a different story from a different era. Let me tell you a story... Jon Goff, Misanthrope, and the rest of the writing team at Bungie have outdone themselves in writing such an intricate backstory told from four different perspectives that layer and interweave in their complexity... and the game hasn't even started yet!
MIDA are going to turn 'The Infinite Fountain' purple... no green... no orange... no blue... The Sekiguchi Group are delighted that the human brain makes them look bigger. Traxus Global say that PO 970224312 was a major success.
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So today marks three weeks since the Marathon announcement (Wednesday May 24). Feels more like three months.
According to some people all we have to show for it are "jokes about corn", "potato hysterics", and "Destiny lore on the Story page!"
Ok... no more Destiny lore on the Marathon's Story page... I promise . 'Seven above... the rest below' movie courtesy of MyChemicalBromance on YouTube. Seven years ago. The "seven above... the rest below" reference is from Pathways Into Darkness. |
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Putting Easter Eggs in games is nothing new. Bungie have been doing it since 1991.
Putting an Easter Egg in a game that's not your IP about your next IP is rare and takes balls or to quote Jason Jones... Ingue Ferroque . Double Aught did it in Marathon Infinity. There are numerous references to their next game Duality throughout Infinity and there is even a secret level with a Duality lore terminal. The only problem was no one knew what it meant at the time as Duality had not yet been announced. Perhaps the most famous example is Bungie's Destiny reference in Halo 3: ODST, namely the Destiny Awaits poster.
Destiny Awaits poster in Halo 3: ODST The only problem was no one knew what it meant at the time as Destiny had not yet been announced. Notice a pattern here? Meanwhile... in the search for Bunge's new IP Easter Egg in Destiny...
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According to Steven Klipowicz (Staff Artist at Bungie) Destiny's Witch Queen campaign has a corn field
on Mars.
Destiny artwork by Steven Klipowicz on Artstation Steven writes:
The Witch Queen campaign begins with the player encountering a "time wound" - a rift into the golden age past. I created the golden age sections, which include a large corn field, as well as buildings that split the time wounds. The corn field had to illustrate a lot to the player through visual storytelling.
Mars Corn Field by Steven Klipowicz on Artstation
I'm going to Iowa! Destiny 2 in-game screen capture courtesy of IGN
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The History of MIDA. Marathon. The Rose (Terminal 2). December 21, 1994.
Well these MIDA insurgents know one way!
Photograph from Bungie's Marathon ARG Press Kit There is even helpful instructions on the shirt.
Additional contextual information about Mars and CRIST Sol orbiters can be found on this terminal on Couch Fishing. You will also find overt references to Martian insurgents on a terminal on Blaspheme Quarantine and inserectionists in the Marathon 2 manual under the WSTE-M5 Combat Shotgun description (page 16). What does MIDA stand for?
Well that's a story for another day.
Twitter's Moon Emoji (used by Christopher Barrett)
Georges Méliès, Le voyage dans la lune (1902)
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Interesting to see some MIDA-like graffiti inspiration on
Joseph Cross's Artstation page.
Artwork entitled 'Cosmo Murals' by Joseph Cross
Destiny fan wearing MIDA T-Shirt (Strobe)... back to front/inside out. As you do!
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Thanks to ukimalefu in a Story forum post
for pointing out that Joseph Cross (Art Director for Marathon) has an
Artstation page. He writes:
"I don't think there's anything you didn't see in the trailer, but you can see some of his other work."
Artword by Joseph Cross on Artstation
Isaac Asimov Presents the Golden Years of Science Fiction (Second Series) High praise indeed. But no one remembers the name of the ship...
Iritscen shows how the Pfhor projectile fighters can still get you in the elevated enclosed passageway in the 'Leap of Faith' room. If you've played Marathon you will know the exact spot. "To jump or not to jump. That is the question...". Nail biting stuff the first time you play courtesy of Jason Jones.
This shouldn't happen but it does. Footage is from the original game under emulation. Of course, if you kill the Pfhor projectile fighters on the adjacent ledge before going up the elavator then it doesn't happen. Since most people will do this you will never experience it. How did Iritscen get into this odd situation? He writes:
"I was out of ammo since I pistol started the level, so I didn't have much choice." Iritscen adds:
"So it's a relief to see that this still happens in A1 (getting attacked through the wall), but there's two other WTF things going on here..."
Can you spot the "two other WTF things" ? Welcome to Marathon 101. |
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Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT. Marathon Discord went to Iowa last night. Metaphorically speaking. Non-stop jokes and memes about corn and Iowa. You can tell when people are getting bored and it has only been seven days since the Marathon announcement. Imagine seven months from now... <shudder> At least it made a change from potatoes and Deimos. Iritscen who apparently 'walked' to the GPS coordinates in Iowa found a glitch in the Matrix. Panic ensued.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT. And now for something completely different. These are the voyages of the spaceship... Marathon. Men, Martians and Machines by Eric Frank Russell follows the multi-alien crew of the spaceship Marathon as they explore strange new worlds and civilisations.
Published in 1955 the book contains four stories about the voyages of the Marathon (Jay Score, Mechanistria, Symbiotica and Mesmerica). While the book came out in 1955 the first three stories were previously published in Astounding Science-Fiction in the early 1940s. Men, Martians and Machines is sometimes cited as a forerunner to Star Trek as it contains similar themes. Indeed some of the stories in the book are similar to Star Trek plots. The hardcopy first edition has a cover that is familiar... as if from an old dream.
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In relation to my rhetorical question yesterday... Marathon on Xbox or Playstation? A number
of Xboxers have written to say that Marathon is ALREADY ON Xbox!
In an IGN interview entitled:
Producer Bruce Morrison spills the beans on the update to Bungie's classic. Bruce Morrison is quoted as saying:
"Marathon is quite possibly one of the most discussed and examined First Person Shooters of all time." If you are getting a feeling of dé:jà vu then welcome to Marathon. The timeline will be reset shortly. The Xbox version of Marathon Durandal gave us some major enhancements over the original game including... new Latin! I mean what's a Marathon game without Latin! Right? Chris Knowles (aka Tarrenam) writes in about the Latin in Marathon Durandal. See the Latin in Marathon 2 section.
Screen capture from the Marathon ARG Community Discord. Time is GMT. A curious fan (muro) looked it up on the WayBack Machine (archive.org) and noted it was not new. Indeed according archive.org it dates back to July 2021. Wait what?!!!
They said it was a weather balloon. |
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Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking-Glass. December 1871.
Screen capture from the Xbox branded version of the Official Announcement Trailer for Marathon. Clink image to see more.
Screen capture from the Playstation branded version of the Official Announcement Trailer for Marathon. Clink image to see more.
The top image is taken from the Xbox branded version of the Official Announcement Trailer for Marathon. The bottom one is from the Playstation branded trailer which is the same as the generic Bungie trailer that most people will have watched. Marathon on Xbox or Playstation? This being Marathon it goes... deeper. Stanislaw on Marathon Discord discovered that the three words Drums Simulation Unite were the GPS coordinates for a field in the middle of Iowa.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT. Stanislaw also posted his findings in the Marathon ARG Community Discord and got the same response.
Screen capture from the Marathon ARG Community Discord. Time is GMT.
As Marathon fans began their mass invasion of Iowa... enter Oryx (aka Christopher Barrett, Marathon's Game Director).
Screen capture from the Marathon ARG Community Discord. Time is GMT. Oryx called in back-up. theasherrr (aka Ash Little, one of the good folks at Bungie who worked on the ARG) revealed.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT.
Only Drums Simulation Unite will give you Audi Nostrum Silentium which is latin for Hear Our Silence (hearoursilence.com the former home page of MIDA). Obviously Drum Simulation Unite was a mistake and was hastily corrected in the Bungie and Playstation branded trailers but not in the Xbox branded trailer. Ironically solving this anagram was not necessary as those working to solve the ARG found the MIDA website in under seven seconds a different way. Going to Iowa?
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT. "Please don't go to Iowa" became a running joke on Marathon Discord.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT.
Screen capture from Marathon Discord. Time is GMT.
Iowa? Seriously Mulder... you went to Iowa?
Marathon on Xbox or Playstation? This being Marathon it goes... even deeper!
Screen capture from the Xbox branded version of the Official Announcement Trailer for Marathon. Clink image to see more. Drum Simulation Unite gives you the GPS coordinates for a location in Washington state. Yes, the home state of Bungie Inc. Coincidence? I went to Washington... I saw... and I believe. |
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"The Marathon Story page isn't what it used to be. It's just corny
jokes about Iowa, Balenciaga and sacks. Bring back the LORE."
Hey! There is nothing corny about Iowa.
Interesting to note that the original Marathon symbol was filed by Bungie as a Trademark on December 3, 2019 about a week after they announced the Marathon 25th Anniversary T-Shirt with the hidden GOLIATH code. GOLIATH was the codename for Bungie's recently annouced new game Marathon. Goliath also features in the recently discovered Marathon ARG documents. Project: Goliath is the name for the UESC's efforts to re-establish communications and investigate disruption of same with the UESC Marathon and the Colony, New Cascadia, at Tau Ceti. Thanks to Iritscen on Marathon Discord for the documentary evidence. The dots are connecting. Marathoner's leave no stone unturned for the tru7h.
Screen capture by Iritscen. The Marathon symbol had been previously trademarked by Bungie in March 4, 2010 but cancelled in May 19, 2017.
Screen capture by Iritscen.
The terminal describes... the woman. Would you like to know more?
Yes... the Ultimate Question. ref The Quest for the Holy Grail. Many groups have been searching for the Answer. ref On Marathon Discord's Lore channel (where the motto is "Even More Discourse Than Discourse.") pfhorrest (a Marathon veteran) attempts to answer a related fan question "How does the multiverse work in Marathon?". Here is his reply in under 700 words.
"extremely vaguely. it's never even explicitly mentioned. Still confused? Then I recommend the Knights of MandaloreGaming in their epic quest video as they search for the Answer to the Ultimate Question.
What happens in Marathon Infinity? Required viewing for those taking Marathon Lore 101. Class dismissed.
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Bungie Mathematics 101.
Steve Cotton (Creative Director on Marathon). Somewhere In The Heavens - ViDoc.
Old school Marathoners may remember Bungie's long history with mathematics. Actually they may not, that's why the Story page is here... so they never 4get.
MIDA: A revolutionary group with ties to the Marathon's past and future. Or perhaps old MIDA is a metaphor for those who played the original Marathon back in the day and new MIDA represents those that will play the new Marathon. So which shirt best reflects old MIDA and which best reflects new MIDA?
What's in the Bag? Speculation on the contents included a piece of rock from Mars, a Tau Ceti artifact made of unobtainium, or a Golden Ticket allowing the bearer to visit Bungie HQ to play test Marathon. Few wanted to believe it was just a plastic Marathon toy.
Five? Seriously Mulder... you bought all five?
If you recall the Marathon Teaser video opens with a shot of mushroom-like plants growing in a patch of light.
A Runner's foot lands down on them releasing a cloud of spores. The word CAUTION appears...
...before blending into a Traxus Global screen for a brief moment.
Nothing to worry about... right? Maybe next time don't step on the mushrooms! Perhaps Bungie will bring to life the Fungal Zombies that Rob McLees originally created for Marathon 2 but went unused and would later reappear as the Flood in Halo.
Marathon 2: Durandal concept art by Robert McLees (1995). ref |
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Lore Runners?
What are Lore Runners? Is this a thing? No. I just coined the term but it arose from an interesting discussion on Marathon Discord about needing "Lore Teams" to find and record the lore (story) in the game. After all this will be a live service so game play isn't going to stop when you want to read a terminal, nor will your oxygen meter stop counting down while you're doing it. This isn't Marathon you know... err... wait...
So folks are predicting that special teams will be a needed to gather the lore... rather than loot... or sacks!
Hence... Lore Runners.
If you want to be a Lore Runner just remember that extracting information from a rampant AI is dangerous. Please read the memo.
If interacting with the AI is unavoidable, keep interactions to a minimum. Limit the number of words used. Issue orders; keep every interaction transactional. If it attempts to engage in causal or more conversational dialog patterns, DISENGAGE IMMEDIATELY. AND... NEVER... EVER... call a rampant AI... CRAZY .
The description of "puffy streetwear" made me think Marathon by Balenciaga. Sorry to the good folks at Bungie. If you are confused it's a parody thing created by AIs on YouTube. There's even a Halo by Balenciaga and a Destiny by Balenciaga, which is odd as Destiny is already Balenciaga times seven. Given that AIs are being forced to create Balenciaga videos today it is no surprise that they go rampant in the future. By the time Marathon comes out the world will be a different place, AIs will be in control and we will all be wearing Balenciaga. Humanity is duly warned. |
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" WHAT ABOUT THE MIDA MINI-TOOL ?!!! "
...YES, I KNOW !
Back in Sept 15, 2017 Hokuto drew our attention to both references.
Martian coordinates were also found pointing to The MIDA Mini-Tool's lore tab (dated November 17, 2472) refers to Bernhard Strauss, the launch of the Marathon the day before (November 16, 2472) and the possibility that the writer might be the last MIDA survivor on Mars. The lore tab ends:
"Wonder why it led me here. Going to follow its compass tonight. Down below."
come below the long sleep ends bound to aught ever doubled as one ref
Both Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity had long-dormant AIs. In the later part of Marathon 2 we are tasked with finding and activating a long-dormant AI deep beneath the planet Lh'owon ref which Durandal named "Thoth". ref In Marathon Infinity it is wash, rinse, repeat until you get it right or more precisely find the right path (quantum reality) ref where you prevent the release of the W'rkncacnter ref and fulfil your... ref. So now we have a long-dormant AI on Tau Ceti IV. One wonders what Traxus OffWorld Industries found on Mars. After all they have been there digging it up since 2145. ref
And why is there no MIDA section on the Story page? We want the tru7h.
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There are a total of five shirts (UESC, Traxus, CyberAcme and MIDA) but MIDA get two. Which seems odd for a group that would never buy-in to corporate swag. Something doesn't quite add up here. The descriptions for each shirt are:
Don't be surprised to find hidden codes and stuff on the shirts like the Marathon 25th Anniversary T-Shirt. According to the Bungie Store each shirt is numbered and...
...accompanied with exclusive collector's artifacts straight from the mysterious world of Tau Ceti IV. This accounts for the sealed 'evidence' bags. Tau Ceti IV artifacts in Marathon combine together to create a Prime Artifact.
Since five is a prime number and there are five different shirts you do the maths. So if you only bought one shirt you might have to find four other artifacts. Let the game begin!
Tavi Adino on Facebook's Bungie's Marathon fans posted a pic of Marathon hoodies.
Tavi writes:
"Marathon swag hitting hard. Yes these are official." When asked to verify their authenticity he wrote:
"Employee shirts were handed out before the video went live. You can see one of the employees wearing them in the small Vidoc"
Scott Taylor (General Manager on Marathon) wearing a Marathon hoodie. Odd that these have the original Marathon symbol on the back. Something doesn't quite add up here. The NOT OUR MARATHON group were unavailable for comment. |
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Page maintained by Hamish Sinclair
Hamish.Sinclair123@gmail.com
Last updated June 30, 2023