Lately I've been digging into the Marathon story page (http://marathon.bungie.org/story/mainpage.html). For those of you who do not know about Bungie's earlier first person shooter, check out the wiki page for the Marathon game series. The Marathon universe (an apt name after looking through the discussion on the story page) is a rich one, filled with references to philosophy, literature, history, and mythology. As there have been many good and accurate summaries of the entire Marathon trilogy I would again point you to the wiki page for starters, and then to the story page listed above. But what does this all have to do with a blog post? What is my topic? I suppose a good blogger would have put that up in the very beginning...well then, one thing that grabbed at me while reading the various theories on almost every aspect of the Marathon story was the need for people to demonstrate, debate, or debunk connections between plot points, fill in or open up blank spots, and propose theories that would 'explain' why the games turned out the way they did and what the games are trying to imply (and to explain the crucial questions that the games do not answer). I could not but help be amazed by how drawn in both others and myself could be at the Gordion Knot that is Marathon.
(Of course many people would say, and be in a sense right to do so, that it's just a game you ninny! Just accept it and take it as it comes and be satisfied by the 'obvious' answers...A game does not deserve this kind of attention!)
Ahem...now why would anyone be drawn in to this degree into the story of Marathon? Well the answer is obviously complicated and has multiple facets but I think one is (and for me is extremely significant) is that Marathon is inextricably tied with human history as well as humanity's nature, place in the universe, and potential. This ties Marathon to some of the best traditions of sci-fi, in that it tries to tell the story of 'this' reality and illuminates aspects of what we are and could be. I would propose stories like Dr. Who, Firefly, Star Trek (yes it can be cheesy, but sometimes cheese is good), Half-Life, Terry Pratchet's work, Heinlein's, Asimov's, and a host of others. Of course this tradition could be said to be a tradition of literature in general, but I'd like to stick to Sci-Fi and Fantasy for my blog's sake.
Marathon shows our humanity (both past and present) through it's story by various means; It offers humanity terrible threats, both external (The Pfhor, The W'rkncacnter) and internal (Rampant A.I.'s, as well as human's with their own agendas) which reveal certain aspects of ourselves, it shows our humanity through our constructions (A.I.'s, weapons (such as the A.I.'s themselves and the military cyborg's), our understanding and reaction to the other (The Pfhor again, the Sph't, the Jjaro, and the A.I.'s), and offer's questions about our humanity by considering 'our' place in the universe. This last is extremely debateable though as the player character is possibly not entirely human and the player's director's are mostly not human either...indeed humans only figure in on the very edge of the stories (Humans as we know, completely flesh and blood). One last device by which Bungie has used the above plot devices to reveal these intense philosophical and theoretical questions has been the use of actual history and real people/events. Now obviously I am not saying that the conspiracies and inaccuracies are to be taken as wholly factual and that we are actually in the Marathon universe, but what I am saying is that Bungie has made ample use of real life resources for the symbolism and connection to the real. The use of Latin, mythology, history, literature, science, and references to names, places, and events, all do their part to offer a story that is rich and leaves more questions when finished than answers. (A possible critique to bring up here is that the mythology and history used by Bungie is primarily European/Western...but if you read the story page on Marathon you should be able to pick up bits and pieces of what inspired Bungie, which should help to illuminate, but not answer, why Marathon turned out the way it did). These references (left in odd places which only the sharp-eyed would notice) are then coupled to the goals and events in the actual game itself - You're endless obedience to whoever is ordering you, Durandal's goal of escaping the collapse of the Universe to become god, Tycho's rampancy, The Pfhor's religion and enimity (these are just a few). The symbolism, the references, and the real time events combine to tell a story about who we are even though the game is an actual shooter...odd huh? That the action in the game could really be just to get from one neon green terminal screen to the next, like turning a page in a book but having to fight for each bit of information...only to find that when you get there it's either garbled, incomplete, or obscure.
As I write this I also have come to see another draw people (and myself) is that this story, in it's "completion" also seeks to posit questions about the creation of the universe, the idea of the eternal hero, and if the nature of history is somehow tied to the birth and death of the universe (using the eternal hero as a tool or instigator). This even becomes further complicated by theories of the connections (both those in favor of an actual connection, and those simply wanting to illuminate the similarities) between the Marathon series and the newer, more familiar, Halo series...I won't begin to get into the connections here as they have already been amply 'got into' elsewhere on the Halo story page. However I bring this up because a lot of the theories about the actual connection between the two universes, and what these theories have to say about 'the larger picture' in their own respective stories is what intrigues me.
Up to this point I have been trying to describe what has hooked me about the Marathon Story. The Marathon universe that Bungie created has sought to fold humanity into a larger pattern regarding the universe and history. Humanity is at once both the tool and the instigator in these struggles around the control of fate and one's own destiny. Now why is this of interest to me? Well right now I am debating with myself about my own stories. Some of the best stories I have read have been about folding humans (on an individual level or as a species) into larger patterns prompting questions about destiny, agency, and the nature of history. On the other hand, I could write my stories in a universe where humanity is just one species in a galaxy full of adventure. A universe where the message would read "We are the purveyors of our own destiny and responsible for what we do." But could not the same message be said in the earlier mode? I guess what I am asking is...should my stories be in the context of a greater story, should humanity be playing some part in a greater picture? or should we be on equal footing with other actors - that there are no actors that have a greater influence on time, history, or destiny than others and that all strive. Both could be great stories...but...I don't know, something about the way Bungie has handled their stories is very grabbing. Conspiracies could be so much fun!
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