Dec 25, 2004 (Saturday)

Merry Christmas to all Story page readers... everywhere!

Check out the Story page forum for all the Marathon news, discussion, rumor, and gossip over the festive session.

Dec 22, 2004 (Wednesday)

Check out Anaphiel's Marathon 10th Anniversary Desktops.

And while you're at it why not take a look at DcBob's very arty 10 years of Marathon desktop pic.

A glimpse of a dead Bungie project?

For more news, information and rumor check out the Story page forum.

Dec 21, 2004 (Tuesday)

Today ten years ago Marathon was released. Happy tenth anniversary Marathon!

Check out the Story forum for all the latest news and discussion in the Marathon world.

Dec 14, 2004 (Tuesday)

Mike Leong <msleong@berkeley.edu> writes concerning the S'pht:

Some of the terminals which mention the S'pht have a certain resemblance to some passages or stories in the Bible. Perhaps this was incidental, and perhaps intentional.

Before he disappeared, the Master called the eleven Olders.

One by one they came before him to hear his words.

Each heard their clan names,

S'pht'Lhar, S'pht'Hra, S'pht'Nma,
S'pht'Kah, S'pht'Vir, S'pht'Yra, S'pht'Val,
S'pht'Shr, S'pht'Mnr, S'pht'Yor, and
S'pht'Kr. Thus were the sacred clans given names and ranks.

The eleven numbers, and the eleven sacred clans.

The final words of the master came to the Olders: "Don't mistake your rank and number for superiority. The oldest child may learn from the youngest."

<Bob's Big Date (Terminal 3)>

Sounds a bit like Jesus. There were 12 apostles, until Judas Iscariot killed himself, so 11 were left when Jesus ascended into heaven. Those final words do seem a bit similar to some of the Christian messages about equality among men. Also, the presence of a higher power that would soon leave is similar to Jesus after the resurrection. It was also after His resurrection that Jesus appeared to Peter and assigned him to lead the church. The returning of the S'pht'Kr, the destruction of the Pfhor and the liberation of the enslaved S'pht seems like it could have been drawn from a mixture of Biblical stories. The return of the S'pht'Kr is similar to the second coming of Christ foretold in the book of Revelation/Apocalypse. The S'pht certainly seem to hold it in a similar esteem that the church holds Christ's return. Evil (the Pfhor) were running rampant at the time, and destruction of Lh'owon resulted after the return of the S'pht'Kr. The demise of the Pfhor could be seen as parallel to the final judgement of the wicked. Liberation from slavery would obviously be the story of the book of Exodus. Note that word appears here:

Mark the time from our Exodus,
Every 459.231 rotations.
Search the T'jia side,
Quarter way to the sun,
Around and under the marshes,
When all are one,
The S'pht'Kr will return.

<Six Thousand Feet Under (Terminal 5)>

There's also the previous entry by James Gurnee regarding Genesis 25:23 and the S'pht. Not the best analogy, to be sure, but I think it's worth thinking about.