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Rubicon Volunteers - FUD
Posted By: Steve LevinsonDate: 7/8/02 12:35 p.m.

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) is part one of the end-game in the Pfhor Plank. The Spoiler Guide tells us that the Rubicon Team had originally intended for the terminals to present messages from Tycho, hence the name of the level. It’s interesting to me that they changed their plans. Although it makes sense on one level to write Tycho out of the script once he escapes from the Pfhor network, I see no reason why an AI as cleaver as Tycho couldn’t have continued to communicate with the marine by transmitting through the Pfhor network. He certainly has some experience with this from before, starting with the original Marathon. Personally, I would bet that Tycho isn’t finished with the Marine – he wouldn’t let him go any more than Durandal would. I really would have liked to have seen those Tycho terms here.

You really ought to check out my Rubicon Secrets Guide for this level – there are a lot of secrets here that you may wish to explore. The good news is that there are 2 3X shield regenerators on this level. The bad news is that one of them is at the very end of the level (but still useful on this level once you reach it), and the other is in a secret room, guarded by enforcers, that permanently closes off the moment you attempt to enter the first save/recharge room on the level. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I’d hate to see you miss this one if you have the capability to get it.

We start the level on a platform, facing a terminal, but we quickly get wacked by a projectile fighter from behind. Most of us get killed the first time we start this level, so we quickly learn to deal with the fighter first. Once we do log onto the terminal, Durandal tells us:

Yes, that brownish purple goop is disgusting. Yes, it smells strange. Yes, its a part of the pfhor biology. No, I'm not telling you what it is. I'd never get you to leave your current location if I did. Hold your nose and jump in . . .

So what in the world is this disgusting brown goop that the Rubicon Team calls “tar”? We first encountered it in the level Cow Pushing, and now we’re playing in it, soon we’ll be wading in it and later we’ll be drinking it. Let’s stop a moment to think of the possibilities. Now we’ve been swimming in sewage since M2, so why would we find this stuff to be disgusting? Obviously, this could be excrement, but why would the Pfhor surround the high Pfhor Citadel with the stuff. Yes, I know that some animals use their excrement to mark their territory, so I cannot rule this out, but it seems to me that the S’pht citadel had a much more effective moat – lava. So what else could be related to Pfhor biology that would be disgusting. I can think of a couple of possibilities that cover opposite ends of the Pfhor life-cycle. In one case, this could be a Pfhor spawning pool. The tar might actually contain the Pfhor equivalent of sperm, or perhaps even live Pfhor larvae – a cheery thought! That would certainly make me not want to dive in. The other possibility is that this is what the Pfhor do with their dead, in which case the tar is the decaying remains of Pfhor dead – an equally cheery thought. Aren’t you ready to dive in! When you do jump in, you’ll quickly discover if you didn’t in Cow Pushing that the stuff gradually depletes your shields. It won’t kill you, but it will leave you very, very vulnerable. It’s therefore essential that you get out of it as quickly as you can – meaning you’ll probably get killed the first few times until you find the correct route to safety.

This level is monstrously difficult with a profusion of wasps and lookers that have a way of ruining your day just when you thought you were making progress. You’ll be doing a lot of pillar hopping and ledge jumping here, so be careful not to fall down into the tar below. Eventually you’ll want to, as you can pick up some nice ammo this way, but this can be left for much, much later. When you do get to one of those terminals that was originally supposed to contain a message from Tycho, you’ll instead read:

All units of command rank or below are to congregate in accordance with Disarray Plan as discussed in stamp: emergency procedures. Rogue conditioned unit continues to make advances deep into the Pfhor High Citadel, and should be stopped at all costs. Disobedience of this order will result in the maximum societal and physical punishments.

This sounds pretty serious. I mean, death is a minor punishment for the Pfhor. The Pfhor seem to use execution as a punishment for minor crimes and insubordination. We know from some of the terminals in M2 that the Pfhor have used torture in the past, so I would not be surprised if they are talking about torture – both physical and “societal” (perhaps torturing family members as well).

The sole purpose of this level, however, is to reach the end room, which will serve as the jumping off point to the final real regular level in the plank. When we finally reach it, Durandal tells us:

This is it, you're about to see what few Pfhor, let alone humans, have ever witnessed. The high Pfhor citadel has stood here as the pinnacle of the empire for centuries, unscarred by battle. We stand here, in the split moments before singlehandedly felling an entire empire.

After you’ve collected whatever goodies you can find in the level, log on and be taken to Wading in Vitriol.

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Replies:

Rubicon Volunteers - FUDSteve Levinson 7/8/02 12:35 p.m.
     Re: Rubicon Volunteers - FUDInverted Sock Puppet 7/9/02 4:13 a.m.



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