So as I often do when I have a break during my teaching schedule, I think about the Indoctrination theory and today I figured out How I feel the EMS rating relates to Shepard’s indoctrination. I’m sure this has been posted somewhere before and I know it’s quite lengthy but I just felt the need to finally get it down and see what the forum dwellers thought.
What is the EMS system really about?So from what I’ve worked out so far, I believe that the EMS rating relates directly to Shepard’s resolve and hence willpower. I feel this is most evident in how the crucible presents new options with slightly improved outcomes as the EMS rating starts to increase. Not only increasing Shepard’s hope or desire to survive but also the Reapers desire to indoctrinate Shepard due to his military, political and social influence on others.
The CrucibleConsidering the crucibles construction is independent to Shepard’s military strength and regardless of most choices, is always built the same way (even if you did or didn’t take the options of having the Rachni or Geth working on it).
Not only this but the options the crucible presents to you are always tied directly into your EMS, for example with a low EMS (and a destroyed collector base) Shepard’s only option is ‘Destroy the reapers’ (more on this later).
The ChoicesBut how would a construct suddenly present you with less or more options because of your effective military strength? How would it logically be able to determine this? Did the StarChild take a gander outside, do a quick head count, checked to see how the N7 spec op teams are doing and then based on this information decided to turn a few options off just because he felt Shep did a pretty crap job of rallying the galaxy together!?
When does reality become fantasy?Now, if we chose to believe that everything from Harbingers beam onward is just happening in Shepard’s head and that he’s actually heading down the slippery slopes of indoctrination, than we can assume that everything that takes places in the citadel onwards; from the arguments with Anderson and TIM to the choices Shepard can make, are just illusionary fictions.
A different interpretation of EMSNow for arguments sake lets stop thinking of EMS as Effective Military Strength and start thinking of it as Shepard’s Will Power and to help illustrate this point I will break down each level.
With a Destroyed Collector Base from ME2 (I’ll talk about the opposite later)
0-1749So with the lowest EMS Shepard can only choose this option to destroy the reapers. Not only this, but the StarChild treats Shepard with more indifference than usual. So why the one option? and why is it destroy? Simply put the Reapers feel that Shepard has no worth, influence or value. He couldn’t rally the galaxy to defend earth and hence his death or indoctrination doesn’t carry a consequence for them. Essentially they just don’t give a frak and although Shepard’s resolve is high his will power is too low and doesn’t have the strength to survive the journey back from indoctrination.
1750-2049The Reapers treat Shepard are little more seriously this time. He might not have rallied the Galaxy to the full potential he could have, but he was still more successful than any organic before him. The Reapers now offer him an additional choice: Control (become indoctrinated) because as a servant to the Reaper cause; Shepard could now potentially influence the amassed galaxy forces.
Notes: Codex clearly states that the Reapers chose to indoctrinate those in key positions of power and influence, Who fits this bill better than Commander Shepard?
The the two handles Shepard holds in the control option are labeled BadEnding in the game design map.
Shepard’s eyes not only glow bright blue in the control ending but his iris’ also have identical patterns to those of the illusive man.
2050-2799These present increasingly better versions of the above two options, each improvement representing both Shepard’s increase in will power (Destroy option) or the Reaper’s desire for Shepard as an asset (Control option) hence why he starts to envision better outcomes due to the Reaper’s trying to solidify their hold on him or Shepard being closer to breaking free of the indoctrination process.
The notable improvements happen at these stages.
2050 - Earth is only ravaged and the Normandy crew now survives in Destroy ending.
2350 - Earth now survives opposed to being ravaged in the control ending
2650 - Earth now survives opposed to being ravaged in the destroy ending
2800 - 3999Shepard by this stage has proven how valuable he really is as an asset to the Reapers, not only this but by this stage the Reapers realize how powerful Shepard’s will is becoming and hence they fear he might break free of the indoctrination process.
Fearful of loosing their best potential asset, the Reapers pull out their big guns and present another tempting choice: The synthesis of Organics and Synthetics. This choice is not only the moral high-ground but also seems incredibly amazing due to implications it has of galactic peace for both Synthetics and Organics for all eternity. It represents the hope of a permanent end to the cycle of destruction and the dawn of the next evolutionary step for galactic life. To bad it’s a big fat lie.
Notes: When picking this option Shepard seems to morph into an almost husk like appearance complete with glowing blue eyes which also share the same iris pattern as the Illusive man.
4000The only notable difference with an EMS of 4000+ is that Shepard now survives after the Destroy ending. Hence alluding to the fact that his will power is now strong enough to overcome the indoctrination process.
The indoctrination alternativeSo if the events on the Crucible are real than Shepard can apparently survive coping a face full of explosion, than the complete destruction of the crucible/catalyst/citadel, he also hurtles through space (without a breathing mask?) at around 50,000kph (31068mph), resists temperatures of up to 1480 degrees C (2700 F) and then magically comes to a slow gentle stop in a neat little pile of rubble, and despite all this he takes a deep breath?.
Or, the events all took place in his mind, and because his will is strong enough and has the desire to keep fighting he breaks free of the indoctrination process, takes a deep breath and wakes up in the rubble of London where Harbinger’s beam struck him.
I know which I feel is more likely and sticks much more tightly to the lore of the ME universe.
So, what if you kept the collector base in ME2?Well, nothing, seriously... It’s been said that the control option is available first when you have a really low EMS and chose to save the base; and many use this as an argument against the indoctrination theory.
But, I look at this way; if Shepard made the immoral choice of retaining a technology that is that perverse and than decides to freely handed it over to the most sinister man in the whole galaxy, it’s pretty clear that Shepard had lost the will to do the right thing long before ME3 even started.
It also demonstrates how easily manipulated Shepard can be, considering the illusive man (an agent of the Reapers) manipulated him into keeping the base in ME2 and the Reapers easily manipulate him into only being able to chose indoctrination at the end of ME3 ... essentially he doesn’t even have the will power or moral stance to do anything other than become a husk.
So, that’s my rant out of the way! I’d love to hear thought and opinions from either side of the IT camps
Modifié par Salient Archer, 03 mai 2012 - 03:33 .
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