I'm not quite sure what you are getting at with the original post. It contains little more than vague implications and assumptions based loosely on other assumptions. Nothing in your post offers even the slightest circumstantial evidence that the next game Bungie will be working on is Marathon or Marathon related (if that is, as the title suggests, the true purpose of this thread). [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned It [A connection between Marathon and Halo] all has to do with 7, but you won't understand that unless you figure out the secret to 7 (think religion).[/quote]And what exactly is this grand "secret to 7"? If it is so vital to how Marathon and Halo supposedly tie together, why don't you elaborate on it? [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned Slip space travel is actually travel between universes, and it is possible to exit into alternate opposed universes. That's my theory, but if you played all their games, you can see why I theorized on this, especially the third Marathon.[/quote]This is a baseless assumption on your part. There is no indication that Slipspace travel connects different universes. According to the [url=http://halostory.bungie.org/halostory.timeline.html]Halo Timeline[/url], "Slipspace is a domain with alternate physical laws, allowing faster-than-light travel without relativistic side-effects. Faster-than-light travel is not instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more." It is a method of traveling from one point to another inside the Halo universe. By the time Halo takes place, humanity has been traveling through Slipspace for hundreds of years and there are no documented cases of traveling to a different universe. You're vague Marathon Infinity reference doesn't hold water either. During Infinity, the SO travels to other times and realities, but always within the Marathon universe. The SO does not cross over into a different universe. Also, his Jjaro implants are what allow him to traverse realities. His trips have nothing to do with Halo's Slipspace travel. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned We know the Halo distress takes place in the 2500's, irrefutable. We know outside of that the universe was relatively calm since the Forerunners, just skirmishes at the best between human colonies. We know in Marathon, the universes is in distress more often than not. We also know nothing of note happened in the 2500's.[/quote]Outside the Halo universe? The Forerunners don't exist outside the Halo universe. I'll take "outside of that universe" to mean events occurring in the Halo universe before 2500. If that is in fact what you meant, it is also a poor assumption. While the Flood and Forerunners may not have contributed to wars and fighting, the sheer number of former Arbiters in the Mausoleum of the Arbiters is proof that the Covenant saw significant military activity. Likewise, while we know that in the [url=http://marathon.bungie.org/story/timetable.html]Marathon Timeline[/url] nothing of note happened between 2472 and 2611, that doesn't mean that all other centuries were inundated with conflicts. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned We known Guilty Spark 343 recognized the Chief for some reason. Why, we don't know.[/quote]As others have indicated, Guilty Spark recognized the MC because there is a connection between humanity and the Forerunners. This is corroborated by the fact that the Tartarus and Truth need Miranda Keyes and Sgt. Johnson respectively to activate the Halos. Truth even calls the Forerunners Sgt. Johnson's forefathers. This is all proof of a connection between humanity and the Forerunners. It has nothing to do with Marathon. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned Let's assume that rogue AI, such as Cortana (Halo) and Beowulf (Marathon) are not confined to the physical limitations of dimensions like organic life and that information is open freely between them. Let's conclude that the Forerunner's were advanced enough to cross through time and dimensions. It's plausible considering them. In doing so they created an information link that transcends time and space for computers.[/quote] Cortana is hardly a "rogue" AI. She has freewill and self-awareness, but is also loyal and self-sacrificing. And who is Beowulf? To my knowledge there are no AIs in Marathon by that name. The only character in Marathon even compared to Beowulf is the SO. Also, AIs in Halo and Marathon [i]are[/i] confined to the physical limitations of dimensions. AIs require a computer system in which to exist. In Marathon, a planet sized network is required to fully support a rampant AI. While Cortana and Durandal can transfer from one system to another, they must always have a system in which to store their data. You can't [i]assume[/i] that the Forerunners were advanced enough to cross through time and dimensions. If they were, why didn't they eliminate the Flood by isolating it in another dimension or simply escape to another dimension themselves? There is no evidence that the Forerunners were capable of sending data to other dimensions or universes. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned For this, I say Beowulf = Guilty Spark 343, in a manner of speaking. This is why he recognizes the chief.[/quote]Again, who the hell is Beowulf? Are you trying to say that in addition to being himself in Halo, 343 Guilty Spark is also another character in Marathon? [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned When the Chief, Arbiter and Cortana tried to make the slip space jump, the ship split. Sending the Arbiter back to his universe and MC and Cortana to the Marathon universe.[/quote]Another baseless assumption. It is true that the Arbiter and MC traveled to different locations, but there is no evidence that MC ended up anywhere other than an unspecified location inside the Halo universe. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned One day he [MC] is found, genetically superior, with incredible technology. Someone, some scientist, decides he is a perfect test subject for a super soldier program. Graphs on cyborg technology onto his body to reanimate him. He is employed at what he does best war. Becoming employed to the security officer position for his extreme prowess on the battle field.[/quote]Here you are basically saying that the MC and SO are the same person without really saying it. Like it or not, the SO has a past which is inconsistent with both the MC's past and your theory. The SO was born on Mars and remembers his father. He spent 300 years aboard the Marathon traveling from Sol to Tau Ceti. He acted as a security officer on the colony for at least 3 years before the Pfhor attack on the Marathon. The MC cannot be simply dropped into the Marathon Universe after surviving the events of Halo 3 and become the SO. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Spawned Now we have a seamless transition that works with the Marathon time line and Halo time line.[/quote]This couldn't be farther from the truth. To be quite honest, I don't see your post as any sort of coherent theory. It is a collection of tenuously connected assumptions, none of which have any strong foundations in Halo or Marathon canon. I love Bungie story theories as much as anyone. However I find that posting a hodgepodge of your own personal assumptions with little canon-based evidence then dismissing the arguments of others as "pure speculation" or being based on "fan lore and speculation" is nothing short of hypocritical.