Never Burn Money is the third level in Marathon. It is the third and final level of Arrival, the first chapter of the game. The objective of this level is to retrieve three circuit boards, which are needed to reactivate the Marathon's defense system. This seems to be an industrial manufacturing area with storage rooms, some moving machinery, and a large Manufacturing Transport Station on the Marathon's surface.
There are thee Pattern Buffers in this level; one at the starting position, one in the south lab where the first two circuits are found, and one at the Transport Station where the third circuit is. There are also three shield rechargers. A 1x recharger is hidden in one of the small side rooms in the western corridors. The Transport Station also contains a 1x recharger. There is a 3x charger in a secret room at the northern end of the level; however, getting out of that secret room requires a rather difficult grenade launching maneuver.
This level not only contains Pfhor Fighters and S'pht Compilers, but also a new kind of enemy: the Wasps.
Walkthrough[]
You start off in the center of the map; be sure to use the Pattern Buffer in the starting room. There are several routes you can take through the level. Make your way to the downstairs laboratory in the south. There you will find two of the three circuits in receptacles in the walls; the rooms are marked as A1 and A2 on the map. There's also a Pattern Buffer in room A1.
The last circuit's transfer was canceled and Leela tells you to collect it from the Manufacturing Transport Station before moving on. You are then told that there is a security breach but not given a specific location. In the eastern room, an elevator will take you to some dark upper level corridors which lead to the transporter where the third circuit is located.
At the Transport Station, use the shield recharger and Pattern Buffer if you have to, then hit a switch to activate the elevators in the center of the room. Use the elevators to reach an upper chamber, hit the switches there, then go back down to find the third circuit and the final terminal. Make sure your game is saved and your shields are full, then read the terminal. It tells you that the Pfhor are concentrating on the aft Engineering Section and may try to shut down the UESC Marathon's reactors. You will then be transported to Defend THIS! to replace the circuit boards.
In the north wall of the corridor leading to the Transport Station, there is a hidden door leading to a room filled with enemies, a 3x shield recharger, and an invulnerability powerup. This is the route to a secret optional terminal, but getting there won't be easy. If you want to read the terminal, drop down, kill the enemies and recharge your shields. Take the powerup and hug the southwest wall while grenade jumping to reach a teleporter niche up above.
You will be teleported to a couple of closed off rooms with several teleporters, forming a little maze. Choose the eastern teleporter each time in order to reach the secret: the hardest to find terminal in the game. It contains a long and very strange story. In order to return to the rest of the level, pick the western teleporter in each room.
Terminals[]
Public Access Terminal 4-a<892.33.12.479>[]
In this terminal Leela explains the locations of the level's objectives (the three circuits that must be retrieved and the final terminal). She also suggests the player makes use of the pattern buffer next to them.
AMS Terminal 33-f<31.6.7.885>[]
This message displays a system error from the Automated Manufacturing System. It also contains a message by Leela pointing out where the third circuit can be retrieved.
Public Access Terminal 95-w<39.59.19.21>[]
This terminal contains a bizarre story about someone called Gherritt White. It is unknown what relevance this story has to the rest of the game's narrative.
Public Access Terminal 95-f<95.93.193.32>[]
This terminal holds a corrupted message that is nearly impossible to read.
AMS Terminal 39-f<33.2.7.885>[]
This terminal can be found in two locations: one in the northeast part of the level, and one at the very end of the map next to the third circuit. Once all three chips are collected, this terminal sends you to Defend THIS! after Leela gives you an update on the situation in the aft Engineering Section.
Trivia[]
- The music for this level is an upbeat song titled Fat Man. It is track #2.
- The named regions on the level map include "AMS Tower" and "Deprivation Chamber".
- When this map is opened in a map editor, a written message can be found outside the bounds of the level. It reads, "JJARRO WERE AT TAU CETI". Interestingly, this appears to be the only reference in the game to the ancient alien race called the Jjaro. The Jjaro would come to play a greater role in the later Marathon games, but this message proves that Bungie already conceived of them even before the release of the first game. It looks like the spelling "Jjarro" was used early in the franchise's development, before it was changed to "Jjaro" for Marathon 2.
Sources[]
Marathon - Level 3: Never Burn Money