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[D.Sharrah]

One of the biggest questions the recent videos, game play information, etc. that has been released has caused or spurned, is "Why is Cerberus after Shepard?".

I have a theory that simply put is not simple.  And the basic premise plays heavily on a huge "what if".  And I must apologize if this ends up being a wall of text.  And so, here it goes...

In ME 2 we are primarily pitted against the mysterious Collectors - who within the first few minutes of the game, temporarily "shelve" Shepard.  We know that from the opening cinematics that the Normandy was called to investigate ship disappearances.  What the crew discovers (while getting the Normandy destroyed) is that the attacks were committed by at the time an unknown ship.  As the story continues to unfold it is revealed that this ship is home to our villain, the Collectors...and (here is the important part) we are lead to believe (or assume if your prefer) that the Collectors have been after Shepard the whole time.  But what if, the Normandy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We'll get back to this in a bit.

Let's expand upon what we know for sure has been going on in the universe in regards to the Collector's.  We know that they are a mysterious race of aliens with highly superior tech.  We know that they occasionally appear to offer that tech up for trade.  And we know that what they typically are after are rare genetic specimens.  Now everything else we know, we either learn during gameplay or we have to assume.  The biggest revelation (one that many on this community suspected) is the true nature of who the Collectors are.  Without worrying about the specific details of this surprise(?), how does this impact what we already know?  Next we learn that the Collectors definetly serve the greater threat to the galaxy, (and the main villain of the trilogy) the Reapers.  But what we are left to assume is the exact nature of this relationship.  My theory starts here.

From the events of ME 1 we are lead to believe that during the galactic build of technology (along the grand designs of the Reapers, of course), that most of the Reaper's race "rests" in darkspace.  Except for a lone agent that was meant to signal the next harvest.  We know from the events of ME 2 that there is also a seondary plan relating to the Collectors (a servant race of the Reapers).  We are not given any information on how these two "agents" (Sovereign and the Collectors) relate.  I would argue that while the Collectors were responsbile to carry out the bidding of their masters - there is nothing in the lore that suggests that this was a full time occupation.  And this is where the intersting speculation begins.

What if after all the years without being in constant contact with the Reapers, had allowed the Collectors to regain a small measure of freedom?  What if it was the simple awareness of what had happended to them?  Of what they had lost?  What if during the times where they were not under direct infulence of their Reaper masters, they crept back into known space to try to learn if there was a way that they could escape?  What if all of those trips to gain rare genetic information was an attempt to reverse the genetic modification that they had undergone?

We know that as events continue to unfold in ME 2, that the collectors were in fact in search of Shepard's body.  Let's assume two things for the purpose of this theory.  First that the Normandy just happened to stumble across a sector of space where the Collectors (under the influence of their Reaper masters) had already begun their quite devious plan to abdcut (for the purpose of assimilation) humans.  The Normandy, a warship stumbles across their path, and not wanting the plan to be discovered - is destroyed in the hopes that their mission remains secret. 

Secondly we need to assume, that it is not until later that the Collectors learn that the ship they destroyed was the Normandy (the ship that lead the fleet that destroyed Sovereign) - and - that its commander, Shepard, was the human that led the fight against Saren.  Here we will need to assume that information also includes the back story those events (the events of ME 1).  What could all of this possibly interest the Collectors?

Simply that Shepard is the only known person in the Galaxy that has residing with in him the living knowledge of what it is to be (spoiler alert) Prothean.  So would a person that contains their ancestral memory be of interest to a race that is desperately searching for a way to be returned to their former selves?  Simply put yes.

Now then, where does Cerberus come in...well it should be fairly safe to say that the Reaper's are quite intelligent.  And that they seem to have a pretty good grasp on what is going on in the galaxy desptie their current retreat location of dark space.  Knowing this would it be too much of a stretch to assume that it would not be impossible to figure out if one of their servants are falling from their sway.  And if they discovered this what would be their reaction?  And this is where the crux of theory lies.  What if the Reapers played the Collectors in ME 2?  What if the entire plot of ME 2 was to rid themselves of a slave that was starting to rebel and could jeopardize all of their plans?  Remember, it was the Protheans that had a huge hand in delaying the Reapers to begin with...And finally we come to the end.  Cerberus was/is the new agent that the Reapers plan to use to create unrest, distrust, etc. that will lead to an easier harvest.  And their first test was to eliminate the slaves that came before them.

Discuss.

[Asari Scientist]

Perhaps a hole in your theory:

If Harbinger, and perhaps other Reapers, are able to "assume control" of the collectors at will, then why not just take control of them, or add more cybernetics, like with Saren, to "strengthen their resolve?" Why not take control of Cerberus, and still keep the collectors? It seems somewhat stupid and/or shortsighted of the Reapers to not only throw away a useful asset, but to do so in a way that is so Bond-villian-esque, that would be easy to be foiled. Don't you think that the Reapers are smarter than that? Take the Geth or the Krogan, or the Rachni, for example. In all these cases, they used them as an asset instead of simply destroying them.

[D.Sharrah]

But the Geth, the Krogan, the Rachni...none of them had a direct hand in foiling the plans of the Reapers. I agree that the Reaper's have a higher intelligence, but perhaps they have evolved to the point where they are succumbing to the "mind numbing" effects of emotion. I think that we can agree that a part of Sovereign's downfall was that he was too arrogant or stubborn to think that there was anyone that could stop the mighty Reapers. Perhaps, Harbinger and Sovereign were friends (or something more?!?)...and the rage of revenge has lead to this poorly thought out, but elaborate revenge plot?

Modifié par D.Sharrah, 09 juin 2011 - 10:42 .

[Asari Scientist]

Well, the Geth, Rachni, and Krogan might have a direct hand now.

In all seriousness, I guess it is possible that the Reapers are feeling emotions, but it seems unlikely. As an AI, Reapers should be logic-driven - emotion should not be a part of it. Take Legion or EDI, for example, neither seem to show emotion, only logical thought. Why would an even more advanced AI lose the ability for rational thought?

Also, my point above was that the Reapers had no need to destroy the collectors, if they can use them, so why lose that asset? This should go back to the logical thinking - they have no reason to get rid of them.

[D.Sharrah]

Well I would argue that Legion and EDI do expierence emotion...they may not exactly know how to react or handle it. But one clear example I can think of in game is when you try to discuss with Legion why he has N7 armor strapped to his chest...I think that the inference is that he idolizes, admires (call it what you want) Shepard.

Modifié par D.Sharrah, 09 juin 2011 - 10:50 .