56 réponses à ce sujet

[Harrod200]

One thing I don't understand about the Protheans is a basic oversight I see in programming Vigil;

It was programmed to shut down the statis pods in order of priority, but without any condition to ensure a minimum viable number survived, sufficient to repopulate the species. Even if it meant waking them was still a risk, surely the survival of the whole species is an acceptable risk?

If it had awakened the last remaining survivors while there were still enough left to create a genetically viable colony, by that amount of time it would be relatively safe to assume that the Reaper threat had passed or wasn't at that location. Had it been wrong and the Reapers detected them, then the colony would be eradicated along with their last hope of saving the next generation, but would they really rather let their own species go extinct for the sake of the unknown next evolution?

In 50,000 years, a small colony can grow a lot...who knows, with their advanced tech (which would be hyperadvanced by the time humanity reached the current point), they could have rebuilt their whole society, and had 50,000 years to work on ways to defeat the Reapers next time around instead of just delaying them.

[Legion Blitz]

If they started rebuilding, wouldn't the vanguard Reaper, Sovereign in this case, just notice it next time it awakens from hibernation and call the Reapers again, ensuring that the species was eradicated?

[Handren]

The reapers didn`t even know about Ilos in the first place.



Since the extinction took hundreds of years, it was probably considered a security risk that some of the protheans my try to contact other worlds, and thus the need to make them all sleep.

[Harrod200]

I guess that depends on what the Vanguard looked for; I imagine it'd be something related to the Citadel and high levels of Relay activity. If they avoided those, there could have been a chance that they could stay 'under the radar' long enough to get some meaningful research done. Clearly the Reapers didn't detect active technology on Ilos in the form of the stasis pods & Vigil, so that alone indicates it's possible that an advanced, reclusive species could elude detection.

[Wiggletphyre]

Well there gene pool wouldent be diverse enough. This might go fine fore a couple of hundered years, but after thousand of years the spieces would be getting weaker and weaker because there isnt enough genetic diversity, so i doubt there species would even survive for 50000 years. even if they werent detected.

[Handren]

Wiggletphyre wrote...

Well there gene pool wouldent be diverse enough. This might go fine fore a couple of hundered years, but after thousand of years the spieces would be getting weaker and weaker because there isnt enough genetic diversity, so i doubt there species would even survive for 50000 years. even if they werent detected.

Who knows, perhaps they could have, given enough time, engineered a way around that problem. Of course, with only a dozen or so individuals it would be impossible. Also, maybe their genetic material works differently than ours?


Perhaps the reapers go and check each mass relay, to see if it has been turned on, then turn them all off as they leave? I wonder why they didn`t look at Ilos then.

[Harrod200]

For humans, the minimum viable population is around 500 split into several colonies, was it ever stated how many people went INTO stasis?

OK, this link says around 160...

http://answers.googl...dview?id=378894

Modifié par Harrod200, 19 janvier 2010 - 09:41 .

[Br0th3rGr1mm]

Since nothing ever touched on how Portheans "propogate", you are making some big assumptions with your theory there. I was under the impression that the Protheans had already given up all hope that there species would survive the Reaper invasion and were simply trying to make sure the next cycle had a fighting chance to stop them. While Vigil never goes into details about why they would accept this with what we would consider a "fighting chance" of resources still available, there is SOME ustated reason that they feel they do not want to even TRY to continue their race from the research facility on Ilos. Vigil DOES state that they don't have the resources (food / power) to sustain themselves, so there is that, but since we don't know much about the Protheans, there could be other reasons that were obvous to them, that we wouldn't identify with.

[GnusmasTHX]

But if they're anything like Zoidberg from Futurama, they die after doing the nasty.

[TheRastapopolous]

I suspect the protheans in fact have survived, either an undetected colony like ilos, or more likely the handfull of top scientists that reprogrammed the keepers. either by prolonging their natural life through as of yet unknown means, or cloning, transferring their minds into machines/collectors (you heard me) or whatever.

because, lets face it: cheap plot turns like that is what science fiction is all about.

I don't think the collectors are in tie with the reapers at all, I think we'll hear from the protheans at the end of me2

Modifié par TheRastapopolous, 19 janvier 2010 - 10:14 .

[TheRastapopolous]

double post <_<

Modifié par TheRastapopolous, 19 janvier 2010 - 10:13 .

[WrexShepard]

There were never enough scientists in the Archives to produce a genetically viable colony, IIRC.

[Br0th3rGr1mm]

I tend to agree we haven't heard the last of the Protheans.



Isn't it remotely possible that the Collectors ARE what's left fo the Protheans? We never saw what the Protheans looked like (as I recall).

[TheRastapopolous]

Br0th3rGr1mm wrote...

I tend to agree we haven't heard the last of the Protheans.

Isn't it remotely possible that the Collectors ARE what's left fo the Protheans? We never saw what the Protheans looked like (as I recall).

there are some prothean build statues on ilos though masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ilos_statues_2.png
so I don't know about the collectors beeing whats left of the protheans per se, but maybe they are carrying their legacy.

[tommythetomcat]

Just look at it this way, when the reapers purge the galaxy they use all the records citaldel species keep to locate and eradicate all the colonies. The Reapers would not fly from system to system willy nilly to find small settlements. Basically it is probably relatively easy to escape the Reapers notice if you know of the threat.  and you don't help indoctrinated refugees

Modifié par tommythetomcat, 19 janvier 2010 - 10:33 .

[quadripledgic.swiss.man.on.a.pony]

I agree the Protheans are probably not entirely gone. However, I dont think the Collectors are some form of reincarnation, or species carrying on their legacy. What I could see happening is the collectors, being the collecting type, collect humans, and other species, and have been doing so for a loooong time. Meaning, they probably collected some Protheans.

...Do I get bonus points for saying the word collect 50+ times in a paragraph?

[ResidentNoob]

There would be a number of problems with trying to reconstruct their species:



1. Given the limited population that they had, even if more were saved, after so much time they would wind up having to breed with their family members, which firstly, would weaken their species as a whole, and secondly, might be some kind of 'unbreakable even before death' taboo to the Protheans, or if they have to breed with their family members (and it isn't an unbreakable taboo), then their species' numbers would still diminish, just at a slower rate.



2. There's no guarantee that they would have a viable number of boys and girls to carry on the next generation; they could all turn out to be one gender, therefore royally screwing their species over, or they could just wind up having no children at all somehow.



There's probably a lot of other reasons, but I just can't think of any more right now.

[TheRastapopolous]

Rivercurse wrote...

It's an interesting point. But I don't think we can blame Vigil.. Without his actions, we would all be indoctrinated by now.

true, but seeing how they even doomed their own species for the greater good, i.e stopping the cycle, ( a textbook renegade move if I ever saw one)
I find it very likely that if said scientists or their legacy survived somehow, they'll be all over anti-reaper research.

lets take a look at what we know about the collectors so far:

mass effect wiki

The Collectors[/b] are an enigmatic race that live beyond the Omega-4 mass relay, within the same system as Omega, within the Terminus Systems. They are rarely seen in the Terminus itself, let alone Citadel space, and are regarded as a myth by Citadel
citizens. Definite sightings of Collectors have been made on Omega
every few centuries. They are thought to be highly advanced and are
known for their odd trade requests. The Collectors offer new technologies, often of a startling level
of advancement, in return for -- for example -- two dozen left-handed salarians, sixteen sets of batarian twins, a krogan born of parents from feuding clans, or two dozen "pure" quarians (quarians that have never left the Migrant Fleet due to illness, importance to the fleet, or disability). One of their current interests is in healthy human biotics. No one knows what happens to the individuals concerned after the exchange is completed.

additionally, we know from me2 spoilers that they now actively target outlying human colonies in the terminus systems, and are supposedly engaging heavily in husk experiments.
It is implied that cerberus and shepard believe their technological advantage stems from some connection to the reapers.

but what if that is not true?
what if their got the tech from the protheans? maybe they simply try to engineer indoctrination resitant archetypes, maybe husks per se are immune to indoctrination and humans just happen to be the most suitable for "huskification"?

[WhiskeyShard]

Wouldn't the Protheans also consist of multiple species like it is currently in the game? So whatever were left of the Protheans on Ilos possibly were different species that technically couldn't reproduce with each other. Well, at least that is my view on it all.

[3578b]

I know this is not looking at the whole picture, but if you think about the situation on virmire, I never saw a human who was indoctrinated. All of the species with the issue were of the other races. Maybe that was because there aren't as many humans as other species but maybe it's because we are resistant.... just a thought.

[ScroguBlitzen]

There was some serious oversight in the programming. If I programmed it, then it would've preserved just me and all of the hottest, youngest most fertile prothean females available.

[TheRastapopolous]

Rivercurse wrote...

It's highly possible that the surviving Prothean scientists (who were stranded on the Citadel) were taken by the collectors. Its not like there was any other ships/defences that could have got in their way. After the reapers retreated they could have used the relay system to walk right up to the citadel's front door without eno****ering a single sentient being.

So yeah I guess it's also possible that their technology could have been advanced by torture/extracting information from those last remaining Protheans.

if they were around and spacefaring right after the last cycle, they would have probably advanced this far on their own.
but why not take the citadel for themselves then?

[quadripledgic.swiss.man.on.a.pony]

Well wasnt there a cinematic moment in ME1 (SPOILER?) where Vigil said the citadel members in the present had a better chance than ever before of destroying the reapers, because there were so many intelligent species working together? Could be wrong, I havent touched that game in a while.

Im going to stick with my "Collectors being creepy comic-book-guy like freaks who collect everything and preserve it" theory. They collected protheans, they collect shep, Shep meets protheans, etc.

I know, I have no backing for this theory, I dont care.