I've always believed that the Mjolnir-class cyborgs were different from the battleroids mentioned in the game. I got the impression that the battleroids were pretty crude (if efficient) killing machines. They certainly don't seem to be very intelligent in their operation (why else would they have "killed almost everyone" in the war netween Icarus and Thermopylae?
There is a gap of 600 years between the first use of battleroids and the events aboard the Marathon, 300 years between the war and the launch of the Marathon. It's likely that much more advanced models were developed and introduced during this period, and I believe the Mjolnir Mk IV to be one of the most advanced. Could Battleroids as described (dead soldiers recycled in makeshift factories) have been successfully infiltrated into the Colony?
As to the Marine's longevity and durability, I would think that one function of the mechanical components of the Marine would be to protect and maintain the organic components to the extent possible. Muscle and bone are for all intents and purposes immortal (albert Beckles is still a competitive bodybuilder at 63), and the lifespan of the organs most likely to wear out and fail could be prolonged through chemical or genetic means (generated and administered by implants), or possibly replaced with non-organic organs.
If our Marine is <20% machine as hinted at in the term on "Colony Ship For Sale... Cheap", he would probably qualify as "alive". He would need to take in food to provide energy for his organic component, and would certainly need to evacuate waste.
: So is the marine dead or technicaly alive? They said that battloids were made
: by recycling dead soldiers, but are their organs brought back to life or
: are they simply used to host the cybernetic components and have no real
: purpose. If the marine is alive, does he need to eat and for that matter,
: does he have to do the opposite? (you know what I mean and Im too childish
: to say :))
