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	Message: : This is one of those old-time theories but I find myself with much less : patience than before to write it all down. My last big theory had been : about Strauss and the possibility that Durandal had been rampant even : before the Marathon left Mars, and that Durandal was being held in control : by opening doors and operating food processors. Whether or not Durandal : was rampant for three hundred years or just sometime during the twenty-two : since Strauss reawakened from hibernation is something for another thread, : and I think I put that on ice. : The rest of this might simply be the most random coincidence. I've never : understood what Durandal meant when he said (From Terminal 1 on : Fire!Fire!Fire!Fire!Fire!) - : : I've twice been conquered- : Three times more, : Never again shall humanity purge me, : And never the Pfhor. : : Assuming that Durandal is indeed one of the AIs infected by the rampant : Traxus IV or built out of the remnants of Traxus himself, he's been : conquered twice when Traxus finally got purged from the Martian computer : network and then probably when his records of the early pre-launch era of : the Marathon were wiped prior to him going Rampant. What does "three : times more" mean? Could this have happened when Bern(h)ard Strauss : had Durandal doing infiltration and subterfuge work on Mars? : Durandal - or at least his primordial pattern - is heavily implied to be : capable of sitting inside our soggy little skull using the Uplink Chip on : Hang Brain. There's all that speculation that he did something similar : with Robert Blake to conveniently disappear when Tycho was on his rampage : and Thoth wouldn't have been happy with Durandal's presence. What if the : chip had been used previously, in three separate instances, to load some : of Durandal's primal pattern into someone and then use them in ways that : would come off as a "purge"? : I include one possible answer with Terminal 2 on The Rose, in full - : : : -> : Third Martian War, 2345-48 E.A.D. : Although most historians point their fingers at the Misriah : Massacre as the cause of the Third Martian War, the coming of : a Martian conflict was inevitable. The failure of the Martian : economy and a long series of political struggles between Mars : and Earth continually strengthened the MIDA radicals. This : trend of radicalization accelerated with the building of the : Marathon and the subsequent failure of the CRISTs. (See below) : Misriah Massacre : On January 6, 2345(Earth A.D.), at the United Earth Government : Misriah food distribution center, what had begun as : a commonplace food riot turned into a massacre. The UEG riot : troopers who arrived at the scene had been informed that : the rioters were armed. As UEG troopers approached the scene : in their Randal Hovertank, plasma fire began spraying upwards. : In a flash decision, the commander of the Hovertank ordered : his crew to open fire upon the crowd. It took only five : seconds for over five hundred starving Martians to be : incinerated. : In the ensuing investigation of the Hovertank Vid-cams, it was : clear that only three of the rioters were armed, and that the : rest of the crowd was trying to flee the scene. Those three : became known as the Misriah Three. They have gone down in : history for starting the most destructive and bloody conflict : since Humanity had left Earth. However, it is clear that : these three have gained the credit for starting a war that : would have happened anyway. : : The History of MIDA: MIDA, as it was known, was a popular political party : until the : failed coup of 2321, when their popularity suffered during : their short rule. MIDA gained control of Mars for only three : months, but their rule was ruthless and cruel. The MIDA death : squads killed anyone who they suspected of being loyal to the : UEG. Although accurate census data is not available for that : period, it is estimated that about ten percent of the : population was killed. : The MIDA coup was afterwards criticized for its : shortsightedness. In an organization that was notorious for : its long ranging policies and politicking, the coup was very : short-lived: MIDA never seriously accounted for the UEG's : overwhelming superiority in ground forces and warships. In : fact, they never attempted to take over the Marathon, which : was nearing completion and would have made a very powerful : weapon. The Marathon's massive size made it invulnerable to : most normal space attacks, and it would have made a very : stable weapons platform. : After the failed coup, the leaders of MIDA were executed for : their crimes, and the political organization was banned in all : forms. : The organization has survived as an underground terrorist : organization, and remains active to this day. In its : underground state, it fosters terrorism throughout Sol, and : due to its spectacular funding and excellent personnel, it has : grown to be one of the most feared terrorist groups active : anywhere in Sol. : : : : : : : Two things stand out at once - who were the mysterious Misriah Three, and why : did these three open fire and initiate the massacre? Why did MIDA not : attempt to seize the Marathon, and attempt such a shortsighted coup? I : suspect both the answers are linked: Strauss had used a version of the : Uplink Chip to implant some of Durandal's core processes into the brains : of three MIDA personnel, and had used these hapless personnel as guinea : pigs in AI-mind control, put to use and conveniently disposed of in : starting the Misriah massacre (with the bodies being conveniently : incinerated by hovertank fire, destroying the evidence) igniting the Third : Martian War. : The dates are all jumbled on purpose by Leela, the Misriah Massacre actually : happens in 2442 and MIDA's coup actually occurs in 2466 in the timeline . : MIDA did place munitions on Marathon in 2465, but didn't actually attempt : a coup. : I think Strauss, who knew about the Ten Mjolnir Mk IV battleroids and was : using Durandal throughout, had a far more sinister plan in mind. He : planned to use Durandal to take over the Marathon in a future MIDA coup on : Tau Ceti, with the battleroids being taken over by Durandal's primordial : pattern, turned into string puppets of sorts. It would certainly fit with : MIDA's claimed tendencies for long-term thinking to turn the entire : Marathon/Tau Ceti colonization project into an extension of their own : authority. : If Strauss was indeed a MIDA operative, he would have been all too happy to : keep low until the time was ripe for him to use Durandal (in a stable : rampant condition) and the Brain Uplink chips to convert the ten : battleroids to MIDA's use. Unlike previous instances where they'd been : beaten on Mars, MIDA would have assembled a truly formidable threat : (Marathon itself + Durandal + 10 AI-controlled battleroids) to Earth's : forces on Tau Ceti and MIDA's existence would be assured in the long term, : one way or the other. : At least, that's what I think Strauss and MIDA were aiming at until Durandal : decided to call in the Pfhor and show him who was boss - he would not want : to be purged or have bits of himself uploaded into soggy battleroid : brains, not with his newfound desire to have freedom. : Does all of this make sense?
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