Perhaps one of the most important levels in Rubicon, there is nothing much to do here – just flip a switch and get to the exit transport telepad. One, two, three – home free! But there’s much, much more to this level, so take your time – but not while the MOAH is firing at you!
Why is this dream level here? This isn’t a branch point in the plot. It isn’t even a transition between chapters. We Dream You came just before Hairy Legs – the first branch point in Rubicon. Science Stands Alone is another story entirely (literally). There is no choice for the marine to make, but this is a significant transition, none-the-less. You, the marine, are about to start working for Tycho again – under Durandal’s direction! This is a pivotal point in the plot and it is fully appropriate for the Jjaro to contact you here. There is an important message for you, if only you could figure out what it meant!
There are a couple of interesting terminals here. The first of these has a partial image of one of the Jjaro terminals from Infinity. The partial message is significant, as are the streaks of light that dance around you, representing your multiple existences in different time lines. There is also a 5-D effect here which I think also has significance. Just as your paths intersect, but remain isolated here in your dream state, your paths in Rubicon intersect multiple times. The second terminal continues the story of Kate, and a series of metaphors that relate directly to events in Rubicon:
After the blast killed four of my coworkers, the Wheeling Hubcap Factory brought in another one like me. . . Someone who could work just as hard, just as feverishly. Someone just as insane as I was. Meet Kate.
So we confirm that there was an explosion at the Wheeling Hubcap Factory, and we learn of our connection to Kate. Hmmm . . .
Kate was always smarter than I was, in a way. I was more instrumentally intelligent. . . She was more reflective . . . she'd walk in and say, "Science has to stand alone. . . You can't justify it, except using it, and you can't avoid it. It stands alone in the mind. Like faith, like reason, and like God."
Wow, this is really heavy. But it is a fundamental truth. People use science all the time to justify their own ambitions, but it is not the science that is the instrument of destruction, but the application – the perversion - that is evil. The science itself is simply a fact. A virus that can kill mankind is nothing more than molecules – bits of DNA or RNA and proteins – that do nothing more than obey the laws of molecular biology. The assembly of the components follows simple, inviolate rules. There is nothing inherently evil about this and nature does this all the time (e.g. HIV). It is the application of science to use these building blocks to create something destructive for someone’s own purposes that is the evil, here. And the Jjaro are, I think, trying to draw parallels.
Running for three days straight gives you plenty of time to think about things like that, and even more time to wonder why you didn't listen more closely before. . . you begin to wonder if the world passing by you is real. The lab wasn't real. The work wasn't real. It was all just a form of running away.
Can you think of any parallels to what is going on in the Pfhor Plank in Rubicon? You're running and running without taking time to think about what you are being asked to do. Yet you can't stop now. If you do, Durandal will kill you, or Tycho, or both. The Pfhor Plank is surreal – it’s necessary, but you’re not on the right path.
Then there was the moment I finally stopped to think. The three men in dark coats were staring at me from the opposite side of a big black desk. Kate was standing by their side. "Give us the formula," the middle one demanded. Why was it that moment I decided to stop? Continuing would have been so much easier.
Multiple metaphors here. This could be you, or it could be one of the scientists in the Dangi corporation (more on that later). The fact that Kate is standing by their side is very revealing – could Kate represent Durandal, or is it even more complex? Yes, continuing would be easier, but eventually you’ll come to a point where you have a choice. If you continue, you’ll complete your mission and defeat the Pfhor, but billions will die and the greedy will win. You must stop and turn back if you are to save humanity.
Your time will come. Your choice will come. But not for a long while. You’re on the wrong path, but you must endure much pain and hardship before you get to the next juncture – the next and last place that you can get back to the right path. For now, it’s on to the Okefenokee Tourist Trail.
