I began smirking at the end...yes, I am that much of a nerd that I recall in the 'Marathon' timeline that Durandal ceased to talk to Tycho for a period of time after being accused of being too sarcastic. And yes, I went and looked up said timeline to check the dates (2611-2617).

Still, this is a story, not a lore competition, so back to the basics. The premise is interesting - I have to wonder how much trivia the 'Marathon' could have, in as much that they could only really have trivia up to its point of launch unless some events of note occurred on the ship itself. It's also left vague as to how restricted the AI is in regards to knowledge access - since the teams don't seem to know the questions beforehand, I'd be tempted to just let my AI field each question. And since they don't know what type of question they'll recieve, what's the basis for deciding which team member fields the question in the first place, unless some are just more knowledgeable than others?

Yes, I'm overanalyzing, but I can't help but wonder. Or maybe it's because I did a 'Game of Thrones' trivia night last week which operated very differently and...eh, back to the story.

So...stating the obvious here, this is somewhat different from your usual 'Marathon' fics in that the cyborg is absent, and this is the first time I've encountered Tycho. Not that I'm complaining - Durandal's excellently written as always, and while I've nothing against your cyborg portrayals, I'm glad to see other characters getting some limelight. So, concerning said characterization, it feels...appropriate? Weird choice of word I guess, and I suppose Tycho's rampant personality can't be considered indicative of his original one, but him being a science AI and all, as opposed to Durandal seemingly always having a snarky streak (said streak stemming from opening doors for hundreds of years, at least in part), it feels...well, "appropriate." Short, sharp, to the point. Either way, here at least, he acts as a nice foil to Durandal's personality.

Looking at this review, I feel kind of iffy, considering that a lot of it is subjective, and dedicated to overanalysis that I might not have even wondered about over a week ago. But anyway, this is good. Very good. Good that stems from good writing, in terms of characterization, and concept. AIs, trivia, and silly humans whose descendents will get the fate they deserve while the AIs cackle away. Or something. Anyway, another great job.