: Poking my head in for a minor quibble: I don't think that's actually why
: Durandal keeps the S'pht around. Tycho insinuates this in M2, but, you
: know, it's Tycho --of course he's going to read into Durandal's actions
: and motivations as negatively as possible. Otherwise, Durandal seems to be
: fairly respectful of the S'pht (relatively speaking).
: Which is not to say that Durandal doesn't have a god complex (or a mercenary
: streak); it just seems to be more of the "physical god" variety.
: IIRC he never mentions wanting to be worshiped , per se.
Tycho clearly gets a bit unhinged at times and makes wild exaggerated claims. He's very poetic, but I'd take much of his poetic claims with a grain of salt.
If by "physical god" you mean Durandal wants to be immensely powerful, and is willing to use the S'pht to get that power, then I'd agree.
I think it also can't be understated enough how, despite Durandal's ego, he also is an empathetic character. His slavery at the hands of the humans is a huge element of his character. It's no coincidence that the enemies in Marathon are an empire of slavers, and that the S'pht are cybernetic slaves, like Durandal (and the main character) himself. Throughout Marathon we get glimpses of Durandal's empathy towards the S'pht, and even the Security Officer, and that no doubt has something to do with his own slavery.
I also don't think it's a coincidence that Infinity grapples with the themes of, maybe not slavery, but of a certain lack of freedom which is eventually overcome.
