Marathon's Story...

Researched, interpretated and transcribed to 1's and 0's
by
Hamish Sinclair
Hamish.Sinclair@tcd.ie

Created Sept 19, 1995

"There are obviously many things which we do not understand, and may never be able to."[Leela]

Marathon is more than just an excellent game for the Apple Macintosh computer, it has a 'story'. It is a complex story revealed in a novel way through a series of computer interface terminals. As you play the game you find that not all the terminals are easily found and even when found the text presented is sometimes difficult to interpret. Added to these problems is the fact that the story is not told in a linear fashion. The past and present are intermingled, a jigsaw of facts which need to be pieced together to form a cohesive story.

This web document serves two purposes:

  1. to provide a convenient format for reading Marathon's story;
  2. to promote critical review of the text in the hope that the pieces of the jigsaw can be pieced together so that we may decipher the past, understand the present, and hopefully predict the future.

This is a work in progress. Criticisms, corrections, and additions are welcome. If you have an answer, a theory or simply note something puzzling in the story please e-mail me at

Hamish.Sinclair@tcd.ie
Theories etc. should be supported where possible by relevant passages from the text. I will add these and give you credit. By the same token if you use something please give credit.

Warning: this document is not intended to be a FAQ or a Spoiler Guide. Nevertheless if you read the terminal messages before finishing the game you might find your enjoyment of the game somewhat diminished. You have been warned.

OK... OK... Let's get on with it.

***JUMP PAD ACTIVATION INITIATION START***
***TRANSPORT WHEN READY***

Copyright & Other Legal Information

The names Marathon and Bungie are property of Bungie Software Products Corporation, Copyright © 1994. All uses of these names within this document are assumed to be trademarked.

This document is Copyright © 1995 by Hamish Sinclair. All Rights Reserved. You may duplicate, transmit, and save this document as long as it remains intact with this copyright notice.