: I'm still assuming that the end of Infinity takes place in the same universe
: as Marathons 1 and 2 (this is the "shaky" part because I have
: assumed the conclusion and will now pick and choose game elements and
: invent things to back it up by any means necessary. Then again, it may be
: the only way to make any sense of the ending as it is so vague and, dare I
: say it, controversial. I also believe that maintaining a single
: "official" universe is important for the continuity of 3rd-party
: scenarios, but alternatively an argument could be made that allowing them
: all to take place in multiple universes would make things a lot easier.
: But I digress...). However, the Wr'kncacnter has already been released, as
: we saw in the Infinity introduction. The only way the Marine can make
: things right is to go farther back in time and cut off the Wr'k before the
: trih xeem is fired. His last Jjaro-powered leap is one of time, space,
: and universe all at once, transporting himself from YTYBT in universe 4
: back to the Jjaro station in universe 1 and at some time between the end
: of M2 and the beginning of MI. But the Marine returning is not the Marine
: he once was: He knows what he is doing there, he is in complete control of
: his actions, and he has gained the ability to talk directly to other
: Jjaro-influenced minds, most importantly S'bhuth. I believe it is him who
: is giving us the instructions we receive on Aye Mak Sicur, since the
: Durandal of this universe would have no knowledge of the station. This
: also means that by the end of the game, Ne Cede Malis never happened, but
: IMO that is an acceptable loss compared to the entirety of Infinity or
: Marathon 2, as some have suggested.
I once thought that Aye Mak Sicur was in "universe 1", but honestly... it really makes no difference. All of these universes reunite as one, thus preventing Marathon 2's ending from being moot. Aye Mak Sicur could be universe 2, 3, 4, 5, or even a universe of it's own. It could even be ALL of these, held together for a brief moment in time before the W'r monster can purge the universe of all life (the "failed" timelines did seem unusually similar... if it weren't for the fact that they took place after we departed from a universe, there'd be no way of knowing that it's how "X" universe ends.)
: Durandal then releases us from his service,
: a fitting reward after all we've done for him. Durandal, the great
: manipulator, has finally met his equal. In Marathon 1 we met him (aside
: from any interaction we had with him before the game begins) when he
: kidnaps us and forces us to do his bidding or die. In Marathon 2 the
: relationship enters a more cooperative stage, as Durandal and the Marine
: depend on each other to survive and resist the Pfhor. And in Infinity, the
: Marine finally becomes Durandal's equal and surpasses him, thanks to his
: Jjaro implants. Durandal can return to what's left of Boomer, or
: commandeer a new ship (didn't he take the Khfiva at the end of Marathon
: 2?), and visit the rogue star he's looking forward to, then return to
: Earth in ten thousand years as the Marathon 2 ending screen predicts. As
: to where the Marine will go? There's a ton of Pfhor and S'pht ships in the
: area, surely no one would mind lending him one (or notice it was missing,
: for that matter). He is now completely in control of his destiny and has
: the power necessary to take control of anyone else's, and what's more he
: may be the only one who knows what really happened at Lh'owon that day
: after he rewrote a few hours of history and re-trapped the W'rkncacnter.
He flew off in the Khfiva, yet he reterned in a "Jjaro dreadnought" (hmm... shades of Ne Cede Malis?) that he called "Manus Celer Dei", the swift hand of god. Was this title given by an AI who suffered from delusions, or could it be an accurate portrait of Durandal's new status, following Infinity?
