Marathon's Story What's New (May-June 1996)

June 30, 1996
Eylon Caspi <eylon@glue.umd.edu> writes concerning the connection between Durandal and Bernhard Strauss. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Added Avi Selk's <avi@cyberspc.mb.ca> findings about the seven science personnel to The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

June 29, 1996
Peter de Blanc <giule@aol.com> writes concerning the numbers 3, 7 and 10. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 28, 1996
Jim Mitchell <BobJam@aol.com> writes concerning Marathon's Timeline and points out that a date is missing. 2772 AD - the date Bernhard Strauss came out of stasis, a year before the Marathon arrived at Tau Ceti. Nice one Jim thanks. We thought we had them all. For those you without a frames capable browser you can see the timeline here . However it is best viewed using frames. The link is on the left for all you 'framers' out there.

June 27, 1996
Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Jim Mitchell <BobJam@aol.com> also writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 25, 1996
Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> writes concerning the numbers 3, 7 and 10. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 24, 1996
An alien (?Jjaro) outpost on our moon? Would NASA tell you if there was? Eylon Caspi <eylon@glue.umd.edu> asks you to point your browser at the Institute for the Study of Contact with Non-human Intelligence's online newsletter and make your own mind up.

June 22, 1996
Just curious but does anybody know how Bungie fixed it so that MacWorld Expo - Boston would start on the 7th August ? ;-)

June 21, 1996
Added new section The Marathon Infinity Terminal Screenshot Text to Facts and puzzling things about... to show an enhanced version of the original small screenshot of the Marathon Infinity terminal. This was kindly supplied by David Coufal <coufal@methane.mit.edu>.

June 20, 1996
David Coufal <coufal@methane.mit.edu> using the latest (?Jjaro) image enhancing technology has deciphered that Marathon Infinity terminal on Bungie's page. The text is as follows:

I have some more toys for you and you're
going to need them. Go back for them now
and let me know what you find.

Greg Kirkpatrick <gregk@panix.com> writes concerning the origin of Durandal's name. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Greg Kirkpatrick <gregk@panix.com> also writes concerning the possible connections between Gilgamesh, Roland, Achilieus, Beowolf and Durandal. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 19, 1996
Avi Selk <avi@cyberspc.mb.ca> writes concerning the number seven. You're going to love this one. Check out The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 18, 1996
Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> writes concerning Durandal, Achilles and the number seven. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> writes concerning the first terminal on "Feel the Noise" See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> writes concerning a possible connection between Gilgamesh, Durandal, and the quest for immortality. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> also writes about the Gilgamesh, Durandal, and immortality connection, along with a number of other interesting connections. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 17, 1996
Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> provides some very interesting information on Durandal's name. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 16, 1996
The Story page's 1st Marathon Vidmaster Challenge has been beaten. The Challenge? To complete Cool Fusion! Vidmaster style without the Fusion Pistol in order to verify Leela's missing "failure" message. The Challenge arose out of this week's Question of the Week. The Vidmaster? Well you're not going to believe it so I won't tell you. You can find out for yourself when you download poenas dare: cool fusion without the fusion. Please remember that in order to watch this film you will need Tim Seufert's Marathon Vidmaster Challenge Physics Model which is included in the download. Enjoy.

Benjamin Elgin <belgin@osiris.ac.hmc.edu> comments upon the text from the terminal pic of the 723rd Heavy Air Cavalry. Did Tfear have a first name? See the Pic Text section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Oh yes! Many thanks to Matthew Smith <matthew@quest.net> for another piece of magic. Do the BobWave! :-)

June 15, 1996
Noah Schabacker <nms@henge.com> offers a possible explanation for the meaning of the term "waves" in the S'pht creation myth. See The Jjaro section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 14, 1996
Juan Mares Martin <dctmm48@fresno.csic.es> writes concerning the names Jjaro and Yrro, and offers an interesting theory. See The Jjaro section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Added Leela's missing "failure" message on "Cool Fusion" to The Text That Never Was section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

June 13, 1996
Marathon Infinity has a new weapon. The KKV-7 10mm Flechette SMG. Note the seven! OK... OK... I'll go quietly. ;-)

The first Marathon Infinity terminal is also available. Read it and weep!

Michael Boeddiker <boeddiker@earthlink.net> writes concerning the differences between you and the BOBs. Are BOBs cyborgs too? See the You section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> provides some interesting information concerning the term "Flechette" as in the KKV-7 10mm Flechette SMG:

"The term Flechette round was invented around 40 years ago (or around that time). A Flechette round is a very small almost dart like bullet that can penetrate body armor. It used to be used in shotgun-like artillery rounds that would be fired and burst in the air over enemy troops. The Flechette round was outlawed by the Geneva convention somewhere around 20-30 years ago because it was considered "inhumane". A Flechette round will go through a bullet proof or flack vest due to its small size and its high speed. Since it's very long and skinny, after it entered the body it would break into lots of pieces and basically shread someones internal organs. But what made them inhumane is that most people don't get killed right away from them. They are seriously wounded or maimed, and if you study military tactics you will find out that it's better to severly wound or maime an enemy soldier then to kill them (a dead soldier can be buried on the spot, but an injured soldier requires medical care, transportation, slows down troop movement, takes up food and other supplies etc.)."

June 12, 1996
Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> provides an interesting tidbit. In the credits for both Marathon and Marathon 2 there is a section called "Damage and Spin" Ty asked Matt Soell at Bungie what this stood for. Matt replied that this was short for "Damage Control and Spin Control" Bungie speak for "Public Relations and Marketing".

June 11, 1996
The Marathon's Story page and Bungie Software Products Corporation are proud to announce The Seventh HoTBob Competition.

June 8, 1996
Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> provides further elucidation of the historical references in the Chicken Term. See the The Chicken Term section of Facts and puzzling things about...

Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> also highlights an interesting connection between the names Mjolnir, Vulcan, Forge, and Anvil. See the Historical & Mythological References in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 7, 1996
Juan Mares Martin <dctmm48@fresno.csic.es> offers a new and very plausible interpretation of the Thoth-like terminal on "We're Everywhere" See the Thoth section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Juan Mares Martin <dctmm48@fresno.csic.es> also writes concerning the the name "Rozinante". See the Historical & Mythological References in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> writes concerning a possible origin of Marcus Tiberius Buendia's name. See the Historical & Mythological References in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Angus McIntyre <angus@aegypt.demon.co.uk> also writes concerning the latin in Marathon. See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

June 6, 1996
The heat is on! I've come under heavy fire for this week's Question of the Week. Leela's Mistake or Bungie Blunder? Of course the answer is obvious. Leela was under considerable pressure. The S'pht were attacking her and she also had Durandal to contend with. Maybe she got confused. Maybe she thought that you had closed both doors. She openly admits on the next level that her sensors were becoming less reliable. So did you go back to close the second airlock door or did you leave the Bobs to suck hard vacuum? Marathon's Security Officers seem to have a general dislike for Born On Boards. This is what Security Officer Jones had to say about Bobs way back in Jan '95:

jon3@quads.uchicago.edu (gunfighter's amnesia)

I shoot all bobs always on all levels; if a Pfhor kills a bob I feel
like a failure.  The flamethrower works especially well when clearing
bob-jams on levels like Bob-B-Q, but watching the little suckers sky
after a good SPNKRing is pretty gratifying, too, especially if they
catch air off a ledge.

The best, of course, is the detention center on the alien ship where
they can't run away and they just sit there screaming "They're
Everywhere!" and you just munch them.  I save my rockets for that.
It's too bad there are so many assimilated bobs in there, so you
can't just shoot them one at a time.  :)

Air Bob!

Paul Gettle <pgettle@GroupZ.net> writes pointing out that in Bungie's ad for Marathon Infinity it shows the first page of a _seven_ page autopsy report. Paul provides the text of the ad from Mac Home Journal (7/96):

AUTOPSY REPORT

Filing Information
DATE: 3-27-96
NAME OF DECEASED: David Loew
SEX: male
AGE: 26
HEIGHT: 6'1"
WEIGHT 104 lbs.
PLACE OF DEATH 724 Mariani Avenue, Apt. A. Cupertino, CA
TIME OF DEATH: Approx. 4:00 AM, March 26, 1996
CAUSE OF DEATH: Dehydration, acute malnutrition, immobility from constant
and incessant play of Marathon Infinity

Condition of Vital Organs
HEART: Cross-section revealed stress-induced tissue damage caused by
exposure to 20 new levels of Marathon.
BRAIN: Pleasure Center sufferd hyper-stimulation from addictive use of Map
Editor to create new game levels (tissue resembled fried baloney). Damage
to cerebral cortex, possibly caused by new monster and game environments.
DIGESTIVE TRACT: Stomach -- ulcerated, empty except for traces of
finger-nails. Large intestine -- recovered pieces of paper. Appear to be
printouts from Marathon2 strategy guide
EYES: Unusable for organ donation due to 16-bit high resolution graphics.
BLOOD: Type A+. No traces of drugs or alcohol. Nearly toxic levels of
adrenaline induced by on-line sharing of "home brewed" Marathon levels
and/or Iron Maiden albums.
OTHER: Pancreas -- Microscopic analysis revealed extensive cellular damage
and little squiggly things. Left Kidney - Missing

Physician Notes
Contact Bungie Software at (800) 295-0060, inquire about "Marathon
Infinity". 19th case this month; 5 attributed to new network levels.

Page 1 of __7__

Paul also writes:

"And at the bottom of the ad, not part of the report:
Introducing Marathon Infinity. Play it in your next life, too."

June 2, 1996
Here is an interesting post on alt.games.marathon from Greg Kirkpatrick concerning the inspiration behind the Marathon story. A Larry Niven fan it seems... but who isn't!

Adam Freidin <bob@clarity.Princeton.EDU> writes concerning the first terminal message on "Defend THIS!". See The Text That Never Was section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

Adam Freidin <bob@clarity.Princeton.EDU> and Kyjel Shaytolmae <kbassett@junction.net> both point out an interesting fact about the mission objective of "Defend THIS!" See The Text That Never Was section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

May 31, 1996
Kyjel Shaytolmae <kbassett@junction.net> writes concerning Leela's first message on "Defend THIS!" pointing out that she only displays two areas where we must insert the circuit boards. See The Text That Never Was section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

May 29, 1996
Greg Kirkpatrick <gregk@panix.com> provides a further tidbit for the The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

May 27, 1996
Added further information to The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

May 21, 1996
Added further information to The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

Gabe Rosenkoetter <acrosenk@artsci.wustl.edu> writes concerning Jason's graduation date in the University of Chicago's Alumni Profile and points out that:

"it never says that he has graduated - alex is the alum, jason _will_ (or plans to) graduate in '97... that's all that means..."

May 15, 1996
Matt Soell <BUNGIE1@aol.com> provides some more tidbits for the What's in a Name? section. Keep sending in those suggestions.

Bungie's Letter's Page has some info on the legendary Wave Motion Cannon and on Marathon Infinity. No Tanks it seems.

May 13, 1996
The full (translated) text of the epic French poem The Song of Roland can be found at the University of California, Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE.

May 11, 1996
Jeffrey Hessler <jhessler@cris.com> writes concerning part of the text in the Bernard Strauss section and asks: "How could Jason Jones have graduated in '97 when it is only '96?". Mmmmmhhh... well the year had to end with a seven in it. Perfectly obvious to me. ;-)

Another interesting thing about the above Alumni Profile on Alex Seropian and Jason Jones is that it indicates that a Windows port was being considered way back in June 1995. But what happened to the Sega port?

May 10, 1996
Ty Klein <mrenigma@earthlink.net> writes concerning a connection between the Number Seven, Bungie, Ling-Ling's Head, and babysue. Yes it gets worse. Bizarre is not the word for it. If you insist on reading it check out The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Nikolas Manak <nmanak@airmail.net> writes concerning the origin of Durandal's name. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Paul Gettle <pgettle@GroupZ.net> writes concerning the latin phrase I<insert your favorite spelling here> Ferroque. See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 9, 1996
Hamish Carr <umcarr@cc.UManitoba.CA> writes again concerning the latin phrase "Ignie Ferroque" or should it be "Igni Ferroque"? See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 8, 1996
Matt Soell <BUNGIE1@aol.com> answers some questions concerning the opening screen on Bungie's (secret) credit terminal on "All Roads Lead To Sol...". See The Credit Terminal in Marathon 2 section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 7, 1996
Hamish Carr <umcarr@cc.UManitoba.CA> writes further concerning the latin phrase "Ignie Ferroque". See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 5, 1996
Videogame Advisor magazine is an educational tool for professionals within the interactive gaming industry. As a trade publication, VGA is written for buyers agents, managers and representatives in a timely, objective and informative fashion so as to increase general product awareness. Their review section, and I quote, "provides honest and objective reviews of products soon to hit the market, titles that were released in recent months, and Japanese import games that have yet to hit the States."

OK so what's this all about? Well the April edition of Videogame Advisor magazine has a 'so-called' review for Marathon Infinity claiming that it will be available in May and gives it a VGA rating of B+. They also have a screenshot...

"Oddly , this is familiar to you, as if it were from an old dream, but you can't exactly remember..."

May 4, 1996
Hamish Carr <umcarr@cc.UManitoba.CA> writes concerning the latin phrase "Ignie Ferroque". See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 3, 1996
Hamish Carr <umcarr@cc.UManitoba.CA> writes concerning the latin in Marathon. See the Latin in Marathon section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Hamish Carr <umcarr@cc.UManitoba.CA> also writes concerning the latin in Marathon 2. See the Latin in Marathon 2 section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

John Wood <jdwood@misha.net> writes concerning the number Seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

May 1, 1996
Yes it had to happen sooner or later. The Marathon's Story page has been lampooned. And very well too I might add. The culprit? That impish rogue Steve Wood. If you want to find out what all this is about check out Steve's Marathon's Icons page.

Added the The (Secret?) Fatum Iustum Stultorum Terminal to the Facts and puzzling things about... section. Is it possible to read it? Yes. Does the switch work? Yes. How do you get into the room? Ah! now that IS the question ;-)

Many thanks to all those who have responded to the What's in a Name? section. Keep those suggestions coming it.