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Rubicon Volunteers - Rozinante IV
Posted By: Steve LevinsonDate: 7/16/02 4:35 p.m.

Although this level falls within the Salinger Plank, it is really a transition level – a bridge between the Pfhor and Salinger planks. The only way that the player can reach this level is to fail to shut down the Chimera’s reactor in Hairy Legs, and then succeed in saving the Admiral in Deep in the Aardvarks. Rozinante IV then serves to brief you on events on the Salinger, since you skipped Blasted Vent Cores and The Gaiters of NY. Before we get to that, let’s take a look at Durandal’s communications with you back on Deep in the Aardvarks, before he brings you back to the Rozinante:

Carroway is safe in UESC hands once again, as is the fate of the war.

So saving the Admiral apparently gives Durandal the confidence that the war is as good as won. No need to go after Tycho, I guess, as his fate is sealed with the downfall of the Pfhor empire. Still, Tycho is pretty resourceful, but Durandal seems unconcerned, so he can now turn to another threat.

Unfortunately, if I learned anything during my time as a UESC AI, it was that humanity is never to be trusted with its own destiny. The Dangi Corporation . . . owns a significant portion of the Salinger, a top secret remote UESC weapons research facility. From what I've been able to gather from the encoded distress signal I intercepted only a few seconds ago, things have gone very awry aboard Salinger.

If you had succeeded in shutting down the Chimera’s reactor in Hairy Legs, you would have followed a Pfhor fleet to the Salinger, as we did in the previous levels in The Salinger Incident. Because the Chimera’s Reactor exploded, however, we became preoccupied with saving the Admiral and Durandal either ignored the departing Pfhor fleet or he was unaware of it. In any case, the Pfhor fleet reached the Salinger while we were off rescuing the Admiral and, presumably, UESC troops were left to deal with the Pfhor on board the Salinger. Durandal has, thus, learned about the Pfhor attack on the Salinger from their distress Signal.

But what do you make of Durandal’s comments about humanity not to be trusted with it’s own destiny? Why would it even matter to Durandal that the Dangi Corporation owns significant portion of the Salinger? Does he suspect this as a reason for the Pfhor attack? Or does he know more than he’s telling us. Let’s see what Durandal has to say on board the Rozinante just as we approach the Salinger in Rozinante IV. Ah, but first we must suffer through one of Durandal’s diatribes:

Strange how two supposedly intelligent species turn out to be completely incapable of communicating. The UESC and the S'pht have been on the same side in this war for over two decades, and they still haven't managed to work out a more detailed strategy than "human and s'pht good, pfhor bad". . .

This is one of the more interesting bits of backstory in Rubicon, but it is only seen on this level, which means that you can only read it if you enter the Salinger Plank specifically by this route, and if you read the terminal before picking up your weapons. Now, let’s see what Durandal has to say about the meat of the matter:

The UESC is myopic. Carroway and the rest of the council believe that "the Pfhor pose a greater single threat to humanity than any ever faced." . . . In point of fact, mankind has always been his own worst enemy. Certain forces now mobilizing within the UESG military-industrial complex are far more insidious, and potentially more dangerous, than the bugs have ever been. . .

Now, how does Durandal know that? To me, this is the smoking gun. Durandal may not have known the details of the Achilles virus, but he certainly knew enough to send you on this mission. I would almost bet that he has known about the Pfhor transport of human prisoners to Dangi all along, and put two and two together. He knew, but has had more pressing priorities. And had you not saved the Admiral, Tycho would have still been a higher priority than dealing with the Dangi Corporation. But you did save the Admiral, and so Durandal will turn his attention to what is now the greater threat. Let’s go take A Look Behind the Mask and visit some of those 10001 Nordic Nerds.

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Replies:

Rubicon Volunteers - Rozinante IVSteve Levinson 7/16/02 4:35 p.m.
     Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Rozinante IVMazilurik 7/16/02 7:07 p.m.
           Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Rozinante IVSteve Levinson 7/16/02 8:20 p.m.



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