Guest_Arcian_*
First of all, I need to go over everything we know about the Reapers, starting with ME1.
In ME1, we meet Sovereign, a Reaper. Sovereign is a 2km long dreadnought-class starship of great destructive and defensive capacity, capable of bending the minds of organic beings to his will through indoctrination and create organic-Reaper hybrids (majority being mindless husks) by injecting Reaper technology into their bodies (majority via dragon's teeth). At the end, after Saren - his indoctrinated and heavily modified agent - is killed, Sovereign assumes control of the extensive Reaper cybernetics in his body. When husk-Saren is killed, Sovereign seemingly "powers down", allowing the fleets to destroy him.
In ME2, we meet Harbinger, another Reaper. Harbinger is presumably of the same classification as Sovereign, with the same destructive and defensive capacity and other abilities. As we learn late in the game, Harbinger is actually with the Reaper fleet outside the galaxy, directing the Collector General through what is believed to be some kind of quantum entanglement technology. The General acts like a conduit for Harbinger, allowing him to assume control of basic Collector units anywhere in the galaxy to engage enemies like Shepard in firefights personally, establishing a "control hierarchy", more extensive than what we saw in ME1 with Saren and Sovereign. We also learn that the Collectors, under Harbinger's direction, are kidnapping humans to use their genetic material to build a new Reaper, and that Harbinger is interested in obtaining Shepard's body.
What if the Reapers - their ship forms... let's call them "Slaves" - are just another form of shells for the real Reapers to assume control of? Intelligent, sapient shells - the collective mind of an entire species, with all of its strengths and cunning. Let's think about it. Harbinger has shown us that the "Assuming Control"-part works in layers - he controlled the Collector General, and through the General he could control the basic Collectors. What if the Slaves (and further down the pyramid in ME3, the Reaper scarabs) are just another layer in this hierarchy of control?
One thing that caught my attention was this bit of cut monologue in ME2:
It was lonely. It called to us.
It wanted to remember. The Masters had been gone so long.
The Masters were lost when it was shattered.
Currents swept through their inner worlds. They were turned to noise. Babble.
The worlds were empty. But the body lived. It lay fallow.
The heart pumped. The lungs breathed. But the mind forgot the Masters.
It called and They did not answer.
We have become an echo of Their echo.
We have become more than we were.
Join us. Know us. Remember all our lives.
We are no longer afraid.
You would never be lonely again.
We are not your enemy. We only wish to share ourselves.
We can join them. We can be like them.
We can reach the end of evolution.
Do not fear. It is wonderful to be us. We understand ourselves.
You cannot defeat them. They will lead us into eternity.
If you could only see how we see. Know what we've learned.
They were called imshai. Those who lived here before.
Reaper. One. A mechanical device used to cut ripened grain. Two. One who gathers a harvest.
Harvest. One. The consequence of an event or series of events. Two. The yield of a growing season. Three. To gather.
Shepard. They know you. They wish you to understand. They are shepherds, too.
Apparently, the Derelict Reaper ship thinks of the other Reapers as "Masters". From what the indoctrinated fellow tells us through the text above, the Derelict Reaper ship was disconnected from the harmony of the other Reapers, left confused and calling. Where do we recognize that from?
The Collector General.
I have long suspected that the twin relay to the Citadel Relay, out in dark space, is actually a gigantic "mothership" and an ansible hub for Reaper communication with each other and with their agents in the galaxy. It's basically a mobile HQ where the Reapers organize their invasions, and where all ships dock between cycles.
Going back to Harbinger's motive in ME2: what's the purpose of the genetic goo, anyway? It's not like genetic material would somehow strengthen the integrity of the ship. Let's go back to the monologue above:
Join us. Know us. Remember all our lives.
This indoctrinated person speaks on the behalf of several. While this monologue is not in the game, we DO see two men who are experiencing the same memories, having the same knowledge - as if their minds are connected, sharing with one another.
Sharing of memories. Of thoughts. Remember what is said in ME1, by Benezia and Saren? Indoctrination makes you agree with the Reapers. You slowly start seeing it their way. What if indoctrination links organics together with the Reapers? Connects their minds with the Reapers own, sharing information, knowledge, experiences, viewpoints between them? When the Reapers meld with the minds of the indoctrinated, the individuality is lost as the individual joins the collective. The indoctrinated lose their personality, their personal skills and perception. Maybe that is why indoctrinated eventually turn into mindless drones? Because without a personality and a mind of their own, an individual ceases to function like an individual should.
Going with the idea the Dark Space Relay is a mobile HQ for the Reapers and that the Reaper ships are just shells to be controlled, this would indicate that the "real" Reapers ("The Masters") are housed aboard this massive HQ superstructure, using it's ansible to transfer their consciousness into the Reaper ships, much like Harbinger did to the Collectors and their general. This protects them from actual harm, and the "death" of one vessel does not compromise the Reapers themselves.
But what are the real Reapers, then? Well, my belief is that they - the Masters - are what remains of the original Reaper species. These "Masters" perpetrate the cycle of extinction through their conquered pawns - the Reaper Slaves, the ships - to add the memories and experiences of worthy species to their unified fold, to "shepherd" them towards "the end of evolution".
"We are your salvation through destruction."
The destruction of our individuality as a species will be the salvation of our species.
"Your species will be in harmony with our own".
We will find peace in union with the Reapers. This is their motive.
Remember what Legion says in ME2? Nazara was a myriad of AI processes. This is both right and wrong. Nazara itself - the ship - is a myriad of AI processes, created from the genetic memory of the species that was used to build it. But the Sovereign we spoke to was not the ship, but the Masters speaking with Nazara's voice.
Reaper Slaves who fail, like the derelict Reaper and Sovereign, lose their worth and are discarded by the Masters. The shock of severing the connection between the Slaves and the Masters cripples the Slave temporarily, disabling all offensive and defensive systems for a short time. I suspect that this is what happened to Sovereign at the end of ME1. When it became clear that the Masters were unable to stop Shepard from preventing the invasion with husk-Saren and that the Nazara-Slave was pretty much doomed from the massive barrage pounding away at its shields, the Masters released control which in turn allowed the galactic fleets to destroy the Nazara-Slave.
So, what does this tell us?
Basically, if my theory is correct, we will have to travel to the Reaper HQ in dark space in ME3 and blow it to hell in order to truly defeat them. Destroying the HQ will destroy the neural network uniting the Masters, which will temporarily disable all Reaper Slaves in the galaxy for a short time (just like with Sovereign). Those who manage to recover before being destroyed will be confused and disorganized, and, while still dangerous and nearly unstoppable, will be but a shadow of the threat they were under the control of the Masters.
Modifié par Arcian, 24 août 2011 - 06:46 .
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