Note: I use the word "inevitable" a lot in this post.*
The Catalyst is trying to save organic life in the Milky Way from everlasting obscurity. In the Mass Effect universe, organics always build synthetics. After synthetics are built, they have the potential to achieve self-awareness. If they achieve self-awareness, synthetics should be granted the rights of personhood. Organics fear this possibility for various reasons (philosophical, political, social, etc.), and synthetics don't understand this fear, at least not initially. Thus the conflict begins.
Synthetics are created to be superior to organics. Every case is unique, of course, but synthetics as a whole are generally smarter, stronger, etc. They don't suffer from organic weaknesses. In other words, they are better equipped to survive in our universe. Organics are extremely vulnerable to cosmic catastrophes. Synthetics are not. Synthetics can easily outlive organics. Synthetic life is the future, not organic life.
The Catalyst was created to protect organic life from their synthetic creations. The Catalyst is meddling with the "natural order". It seems that the Milky Way should have already been overtaken by synthetic life long ago. The Catalyst has been artificially delaying this inevitability. The question is, "Why?" Why should the Catalyst care about organic life? Why not allow synthetics to take their place as the premier form of life? Frankly, the Catalyst doesn't have a satisfying answer. It was simply created to preserve organic life. There is no deeper reason. The Catalyst has been assigned a task, and that task is to combat the inevitable irrelevance of organic life. The task itself suggests that organic life has some kind of value. The Catalyst is fighting organic nihilism.
The successful deployment of the Crucible screws up everything. The Catalyst has lost. Organic life is doomed. The Crucible has three functions:
1. Destruction of all synthetic life. For a time, organics will again be free to exist like they always have. But synthetics will be built again, the conflict will return, and there will be nobody to save organic life. Synthetics will win. Why, then, does the Catalyst accept this as a solution? Well, it doesn't have much of a choice. If Shepard chooses Destroy, the Catalyst can't stop him. It's possible, though, that the Catalyst gives organics the benefit of the doubt. They are, after all, more resourceful than it had realized. There is a small hope that organics will find a solution.
2. Control the Reapers. The Catalyst admits that its Reaper solution was never ideal. It was merely delaying the inevitable. The Catalyst has been searching for a more permanent solution. It has not found one. It is possible, however, that a synthetic with an organic perspective might be able to find one. The Catalyst is at least somewhat willing to hand over the Reapers to Shepard. The leaked scripts emphasize this point; the Catalyst outright states that Shepard will search for a solution to the problem.
3. Synthesize all life in the galaxy. This is the best solution yet. It levels the playing field. Organics are given the ability to adapt like synthetics. Because organics can more easily integrate themselves with technology, their chances of survival have risen dramatically. Such a development was inevitable, by the way. Given enough time, it was inevitable that organics would merge themselves with their tools. It's the logical end to a process that begins with the dawn of organic intelligence. Primitive organics climb the evolutionary ladder by making tools. Their tools eventually become like them, and then they join as one. Synthesis is the final step before the leap into a complete unknown. Everything changes after that leap. For the first time, creator and created are truly equal. Synthesis provides the most hope of all the solutions. It is not the solution, but it creates the best conditions for finding one. There are new possibilities. Thus, Synthesis represents another victory against despair and inevitable doom.
Of course, no matter how hard we try to survive, the entire universe will die a slow and agonizing death:
www.futuretimeline.net/beyond.htm#dark
Modifié par CosmicGnosis, 25 avril 2013 - 01:17 .
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