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	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You
	Posted By: MrHen	Date: 9/1/05 10:15 a.m.
	In Response To: Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You (Andrew McNeill) Unfortunately, I also cannot dive into the terminals just yet. I hope to be back later tonight... but in the meantime: : -Strauss had inflicted some sort of "humiliation" on Durandal, : which Durandal wanted to repay. Yes. This is mentioned frequently. Rumors have it that Mars was involved and my best guess is Durandal was involved with the incident that caused the Mars war. : -Strauss kept one of the 10 Mjolnir's on the Marathon (or somewhere away from : the other 9). You know... I hadn't actually thought about that. I suppose 'you' are special. Durandal makes a comment that Strauss was scared of 'you' and never dreamed of using 'you' the way Durandal himself was using 'you'. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the relationship between Strauss, Durandal, and 'you' extends as far back as the history contained in the Marathon series. : -On the AI peronal-ads terminal, it says : "in search of gullible carbon-based cyborg (< 20% machine)" : "heroic cyborg of uncertain manufacture" : which may indicate that the 10th Mjolnir was significantly different from the : others. There's that also other terminal that says he's a better shot, : better at games etc Wasn't the better shot message in the Manual? I assumed it was merely referring to the BoBs. : -Tycho charmingly mentions how when Tau Ceti was destroyed, he picked up : final lifesigns of all the 30 000 humans, and the distinct signals of the : 9 Mjolnir. "In the end you will be no better." Another : indication that the 10th is different, that he SHOULD be : "better" and have a greater destiny. I don't think Tycho's statement means anything beyond he expects 'you' to die. Depending on the rest of the context I would still read that as "you are no different, in the end you will be no better". : Now, put these things together, and I give you the following extension of : your original idea. : Strauss saw that AI constructs were effectively immortal, limited : theoretically only by the closure of the universe. He wanted to make : HIMSELF an AI contruct, or combine with one. So he started experimenting : with Durandal and one of the Mjolnir. I mean, he wasn't going to : experiment on himself. The experiment is obvoiusly humiliating for : Durandal, but it might explain : - the "chance discovery" that allowed his stable rampancy : - the loyalty between the Mjolnir and Durandal : And when Durandal says he wanted to "show" Struass the humiliation : he had inflicted upon him, it's hard to think SPECIFICALLY what that would : be... surely Durandal be wouldn't interested in crudely tormenting him... : unless, Durandal planned to return the favour by merging Strauss with an : AI. Maybe a simple, powerless AI, in order to make his existence a : nightmare. Or maybe as a genuine experiment, a continuation of Strauss's : own work. It'll be interesting to read the terminals with this in mind. : Side note: the Gherrit White story which is probably a metaphor for Strauss : and Durandal, the name Gherrit White is the name of a real professor of : "Computer-Human Interaction" The Gherrit White story... ah, I love Marathon.

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Replies:

	Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	Truebe	8/29/05 1:40 a.m.
	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	Bob-B-Q	8/29/05 4:19 a.m.
	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	Andrew	8/30/05 8:37 a.m.
	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	Andrew McNeill	8/30/05 4:14 p.m.
	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	MrHen	9/1/05 10:15 a.m.
	Re: Strauss, Durandal, Godhood, and You	Andrew	9/4/05 4:23 a.m.

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