Inside Bungie’s First Ship Beset by Aliens and Rogue AI – The UESC Marathon Breakdown
Bungie is nothing if not consistent with their mashups of rampant AIs, aliens, and weird sci-fi lenses. The UESC Marathon started it all.
Before Rasputin whiled away the hours on Mars, awaiting the arrival of the Traveler. Long before Cortana even became aware of the Forerunners or the Flood. There was the UESC Marathon, and its three shipboard AIs, Tycho, Leela, and Durandal. This ship played a key role in an alien invasion, in an attempt to colonize a distant star, and of course, giving birth to an AI that would survive to witness the escape of an eldritch being, sealed in a star, as well as the end of the universe.
But where did it all begin? With a massive conversion effort that would convert a moon into a colony ship. Begun in 2408, the UESC Marathon was finally completed in 2472, with a 300-year mission: to colonize the Tau Ceti system.
UESC Marathon – Design and Capabilities
In the early 2400s, humanity designed a multigenerational colony ship meant to reach out to solar systems beyond Earth. To accomplish this, a massive crew was needed, and more, a ship big enough to support, not just the crew, but all the technology and materials needed to start a colony.
The vessel would have to be massive. It would have to go the distance. And so, the Unified Earth Space Council Marathon was commissioned. Constructing such a massive ship from scratch might take years and more material than was worth. So rather than begin from zero, the UESC engineering corps constructed the ship from the Martian moon, Deimos.
The converted moon resulted in a truly massive ship. 15 kilometers long, 12 kilometers wide, and 10 kilometers high/deep, the UESC Marathon could comfortably transport a crew of more than 25.000.
The Marathon was outfitted with onboard automatic manufacturing systems capable of manufacturing replacement circuits for damaged components. Onboard hydroponics to make sure that the operating crew had food and water, as well as the one-day colony. And at least one medium-range radio antennae for communication.
Of course, operating such a massive vessel would be almost impossible, if not for the three artificial intelligences equipped to help run the ship.
Leela, Tycho, and the One and Only Durandal
The Marathon was outfitted with three AI. The ship’s main AI, Leela, was responsible for the overall operations of the ship. Leela’s first duty was to protect the ship, which she mostly did by guiding human agents through various tasks, and activating automated systems as needed.
Tycho was in charge of the science and engineering network. And Durandal was in charge of the ship’s autonomous functions, including doors, kitchens, and life support.
Durandal was also part of a secret experiment by his creator, Dr. Bernard Strauss. Strauss was attempting to induce a state of self-awareness in Artifical Intelligences known as rampancy. After becoming more and more destructive, Strauss theorized they could induce a state known as Meta-Stability, resulting in the AI becoming a “true person.”
This led Durandal to contact the alien beings known as the Pfhor, aiding them in launching an attack on the Marathon. The attack on the Marathon was a ruse, designed to help Durandal escape the Marathon, which was ultimately left damaged beyond repair and bereft of artificial intelligence and human crew members.
As for Durandal and the surviving officers? That’s another story entirely.
