Blaspheme Quarantine is the tenth level in Marathon. It is the seventh level of Counterattack, the second chapter of the game. You arrive here thanks to Durandal, who has kidnapped you. Durandal sends you all around the level in order to test your mettle; as he puts it, "If you win, you go free, and we continue our relationship on friendlier terms. If you lose, you die".
The level contains large, open hallways populated with Pfhor Fighters, S'pht Compilers and Hulks. It appears to be a science laboratory with quarantine facilities. There are teleporters that connect various parts of the level.
There are three pattern buffers here. One of them is in the very first room. Another one can be found in a side room of the large rectangular gallery. The third one can be found in the middle of a circular room in the northeast of the level.
A 1x shield recharger can be found in the stairwell just northeast of the starting room. Another 1x recharger is located in the large storage room in the southwest region of the map.
Walkthrough[]
Use the pattern buffer in the first room. Go to the stairwell to the northeast. There is a 1x shield recharger here if you need it. Hit the button, then go down the stairs and ride the elevator up. At the top, move north, past another pattern buffer. You will find a large rectangular gallery with ledges filled with Fighters. Clear out the area.
You will find a light switch you can hit near the northwest corner of the gallery. There are also two switches in the south gallery; the east one is another light switch, and the west one activates an elevator you need to use to continue.
The elevator in question can be found just southeast of the pattern buffer to the north you passed earlier (not the buffer at the start at the level). Take the elevator up, and jump towards the ledge. Next, head north through the door that just opened.
Kill all the enemies in this area, then move up into the room in the center. Use the pattern buffer and hit the switch here to activate some stairs to the south. Keep moving south until you're teleported to the southwest part of the level.
There's a 1x shield recharger to the north. Hit the switches in this room to raise some platforms, then run across them to reach another teleporter.
Make your way through the corridors. A lowered area in the center contains a door that opens very slowly. Move through the tunnel beyond the door to return to the earlier parts of the level, and return to the start of the level using the elevator south of the pattern buffer.
Access the initial terminal of the level. Durandal will tell you you've won his little game, and tell you to look for a terminal that Leela is able to access. Go to the northeast past the stairwell; a new room will have opened up that contains the exit terminal. Be sure to use the nearby 1x shield recharger at the stairs and the pattern buffer in the starting room before teleporting to Bob-B-Q.
There are several secrets in this level. After Durandal congratulates you and tells you to go find Leela, you can run through the whole level again until you get to the large storage room in the southwest with the moving platforms. The terminal here will contain a special song composed by Durandal, and it will also function as another exit terminal. This storage room also contains an ammo cache (point D on the map) that opens up after you touch a wall on the far side of the room.
Another secret can be found in the room with the very slowly opening door. Go to the southernmost corridor and grenade jump up onto the ledge at point C1 on the map. Now quickly run to the northeast; at point C2 a hidden door will briefly open up, revealing another large ammo cache as well as a hidden terminal.
Terminals[]
Science Terminal 236-g<33.6792.23.91>[]
The first terminal is a message from Durandal who explains he's kidnapped you. He first asks you who you're really saving humanity from, in-turn making you question Leela's previous instructions. Then tells you that he has a game for you, if you win, you get to be his friend, but if you lose, you die, and he doesn't give any hints. At the end of the message Durandal calls himself insane, despite denying rampancy in a previous terminal.
If you go to the same terminal again, you win his game and he tells you it wasn't very hard. He then tells you that Leela is looking for you, but the S'pht are giving her a hard time and that you can only find her at one terminal on the level.
Quarantine Lab Control Room Terminal 321-a(293.610.31.995>[]
The second terminal is another message from Durandal, but he makes very little sense in what he says. One can understand that he further admits rampancy by his closing signature: "notably unstable", and by his postscript where he says that he is laughing. If you go to the same terminal again, Durandal tells you not to look in Quarantine Storage for a massive amount of ammo left 300 years ago. Finally, he tells you about a song he's written about himself and orders you to go away. You will then be teleported to the next level.
Science Station 43-c<63.67.21.49>[]
The third terminal is a message to Durandal about Bernard Strauss, possibly from Tycho. He tells Durandal that he cannot hide from his past, although it is not known what is meant by that.
Public Access Terminal<9.42.857.10>[]
The fourth and final terminal is a corrupted message from Leela. She tells you that she has been looking for you and the S'pht's attacks have weakened her. The rest of the message is nearly indecipherable, but you can tell that she is talking about the security detachment again.
Trivia[]
- The music for this level is titled Guardians. It is track #6.
- The named regions on the level map include "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Quarantine Center" and "Quarantine Storage".
Sources[]
Marathon - Level 9: Blaspheme Quarantine