Ne Cede Malis is the first level of Marathon Infinity. It serves as the only level in the chapter Prologue.
Overview[]
The level has easy gameplay against fighters and compilers, with only your pistols and Fists. The first terminal is from Durandal who says the Pfhor deployed a weapon that has unleashed something that will destroy him and the station you're currently on. He orders you to escape, but you'll have to open two big doors first.
To open the doors you'll need to hit several switches scattered throughout the level. On your way you'll find a terminal with difficult-to-read text and an image of the Vacuum Bobs (a new kind of BOB). At the end you'll need to access a terminal with a very poetic message telling you to "start back" From here you're teleported to Rise Robot Rise, a completely new reality.
Terminals []
Untitled Durandal terminal[]
The first terminal is a message from Durandal. He says that things have gone terribly awry. He destroyed a Pfhor fleet with ease (specifically, the Western Arm of Battle Group Seven), but the Pfhor deployed a terrible final weapon. This weapon unleashed some sort of mindless, hungering, chaotic force that now threatens to destroy him.
Durandal regrets that there was no time to send you to explore the ruins of Lh'owon; this reveals that the level takes place in an alternate timeline in which the events of Marathon 2: Durandal haven't taken place. Now that the chaos has been unleashed, it is too late; Durandal does not know how to stop the chaos nor the purpose of the space station on which you are located. While Durandal is certain there is no escape for him, he urges you to get aboard a nearby ship, which he guesses could be commanded by Tycho.
Untitled spurious interrupt terminal[]
In a throwback to some of the terminals in the first game, this terminal was used by a S'pht Compiler who tried to hack into the station's computer systems. The terminal contains a brief "spurious interrupt" message, showing that the Compiler tried to access information about the Zeus Class Fusion Pistol wielded by some humans.
Untitled exit terminal[]
This is the exit terminal of the level. It contains a strange message from an unknown source mentioning "the peril of a thousand fates"; perhaps there a thousand alternate timelines, with events unfolding slightly differently in each of them. The message ends with "find yourself starting back" before you are sent to the next level, which takes place in a different timeline.
Untitled hex code terminal[]
This terminal contains a long hexadecimal code. When this code is combined with the code from the final level's hex terminal, it forms the contents of a compressed file. When this file is uncompressed, a Marathon map file is obtained; this is the secret network level Hats off to Eight Nineteen.
Secrets[]
- At the top of the c-shaped stairway there is a room with two fighters in it. There are two ledges you can jump on. The biggest one has a secret door leading to a shotgun.
- In the last room is a ledge containing shotgun ammo, which is reachable with some mid-air jumps. Though it's not necessary to get it as you'll start the next level without weapons and ammo anyway.
- On the east side of the map is a room with seemingly no exit. Though if you jump from box to box, the top one has a secret door, which will eventually lead to a napalm canister and a compiler reading a terminal. This terminal is full of hexadecimal code, which combined with a similar term on the last level will forms an archive that can be decoded into a map file.
Related Content[]
To be added
Trivia[]
- The title is taken from the following quote in Virgil's Aeneid Book VI: "Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audientior." The English translation is follows: Do not yield to misfortune, but proceed more boldly against it.
Sources[]
Marathon Infinity - Level 1: Ne Cede Malis