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[Iakus]

Other galaxies are a waste of time when the Milky Way remains mostly unexplored.

Yeah but now that the Space Magic has spread throughout the galaxy, the SOolution can be spread elsewhere now.

 

Today the Milky Way.  Tomorrow THE UNIVERSE!!! 

[The Devlish Redhead]

Maybe because of Synthesis  we can now send our reaper buddies out to other galaxies and get them to join us whether they want to or not

[The Devlish Redhead]

Actually on a more serious note I wonder.

 

We don't have mass relays, or Prothean artifacts. We've only traveled as far as our Moon.

 

So I think if it happened today the Reapers would let Earth pass by. I think what tips them off to harvest a planet is whether or not that race has discovered or used a mass relay or technology based on those devices, or has any Prothean artifacts.... I think either of these is a tipping point and will bring them knocking on the door...

[Iakus]

Maybe because of Synthesis  we can now send our reaper buddies out to other galaxies and get them to join us whether they want to or not

 

Green Protheans!  

[NeroonWilliams]

Actually on a more serious note I wonder.

 

We don't have mass relays, or Prothean artifacts. We've only traveled as far as our Moon.

 

So I think if it happened today the Reapers would let Earth pass by. I think what tips them off to harvest a planet is whether or not that race has discovered or used a mass relay or technology based on those devices, or has any Prothean artifacts.... I think either of these is a tipping point and will bring them knocking on the door...

You're fooling yourself.  Any actual civilization would be subject to the Harvest.  Anything less would be irresponsible on the part of the Reapers.  While the Reapers have proven themselves to be fallible, this is far from proving themselves foolish.

 

At our present level of technology, Humanity is no more than 50 years away from manned flight to Mars (where the Prothean archives are), less than .1% of the 50,000 years of an ideal cycle.  That's far too great a risk to leave Humanity alone for 50,000 years.

[The Devlish Redhead]

You're fooling yourself.  Any actual civilization would be subject to the Harvest.  Anything less would be irresponsible on the part of the Reapers.  While the Reapers have proven themselves to be fallible, this is far from proving themselves foolish.

 

At our present level of technology, Humanity is no more than 50 years away from manned flight to Mars (where the Prothean archives are), less than .1% of the 50,000 years of an ideal cycle.  That's far too great a risk to leave Humanity alone for 50,000 years.

 

 

Good points but the star brat even said that when they were last here they left us alone

[NeroonWilliams]

Good points but the star brat even said that when they were last here they left us alone

The last time the Reapers were here, Humans were in the midst of the Stone age, not even able to make fires hot enough to melt low melting point metals.  And stone implements were used for at LEAST 50,000 years before that time.  Clearly, stone tool usage cannot be used as the dividing technology line for harvesting.

 

Prothean meddling was straddling the dividing line as far as the Asari were concerned.  If the Asari had actually started writing instead of making mosaics, I'm fairly confident that the Reapers would have targeted them for harvesting during the last cycle.

 

Even adjusting for the "humans are special" bias that is present throughout the series, agriculture, metalsmithing, and most importantly WRITING, would seem to be a cutoff for "danger" levels as far as advancement in the next 50,000 years.  Humans got to where we are after 15,000, 10,000, and 8000 years respectively on those advancements.

[NeroonWilliams]

God.. I realize why I stopped posting in this section.

 

As much as I like many aspects of the games, I don't like the inherent pessimism and dangers in the story. I forgot how much it upset me.

 

Same goes for Ridley Scott btw. It's not just Mass Effect. Both of them kind of have this idea that the more we evolve and explore, then we eventually open Pandora's Box and destroy ourselves somehow. Or uncover something that destroys us. To me, it sends a very un-scientific message. That it's better if we were all primitive and uneducated and never discovered anything to begin with. That there's nothing out in space, or in the future, except monsters who want to kill us. It snuffs out the excitement and joy, for example, of visiting Mars. It instead turns Mars into a horror film.

 

It's ultimately a science fiction message that only fundamentalists and rednecks could appreciate. They're the types that relish in fear and ignorance.

 

I see discovery and exploration as a gateway to more benefits. The story of science is a story of progress. Monsters are fun to entertain to an extent, but Mass Effect is the most heavy handed I've seen it. They took it to the most deeply nihilistic level. The whole universe itself becomes a scary place.

Not at all.  It's merely a cautionary tale.  The Uncle Ben Principal: with great power comes great responsibility.  Unbounded optimism is more frightening than 100% orthodoxy.  The trick is to find the happy medium between the two.

[The Devlish Redhead]

Not at all.  It's merely a cautionary tale.  The Uncle Ben Principal: with great power comes great responsibility.  Unbounded optimism is more frightening than 100% orthodoxy.  The trick is to find the happy medium between the two.

 

 

Pretty much...

 

I also find the outlook in the trilogy a little pessimistic even though I love the games to bits.... 

 

Still having said that I wish they had a more defined canon on what constitutes a planet worthy of harvest.... 

 

As it stands I think the creation of the reapers was  kind of a flawed idea.

[The Devlish Redhead]

I've been doing some reading online and contrary to what has been said here I suspect our world as it is today poses no threat till the next cycle.  We're not a spacefaring race..... This seems to be one of the important things Reapers look for. We also have not discovered the Citadel......This is the honey trap that the Reapers have created to lure races into their sights.......

 

So 2014 Earth would be safe till the next cycle. Maybe in 50,000 years we'd be a threat, or wiped ourselves out long before then.

 

We seem to do pretty good at that.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

They turned technology into something that was to be feared. Reaper tech itself indoctrinates. Why because it's highly advanced. Or does it contain bad magic juju?

 

That's what made absolutely no sense in the extended cut. If it's going to be so easy to repair everything, why have the crucible blow it all up in the first place? Ah, I know because it was left over from the Original Ending, and if they had the Crucible NOT do that, that would have CHANGED the ending instead of just explaining to us peasants that we simply didn't understand the high pseudophilosophical nihilistic bullsh*t.

[dreamgazer]

I wouldn't say it's going to be "easy".  It'll take time, effort, resources, and ingenuity.

 

But the last thing people were asking for in expanding the ending was more emphasis on hardship. 

[The Devlish Redhead]

OK we send The Doctor to Harby .......

[The Devlish Redhead]

Now there's some sci-fi I could love..

 

Your sig is appropriate.

 

Yeah I can just picture the encounter...... Unless the Doctor is indoctrinated by the end haha..

[Kabooooom]

God.. I realize why I stopped posting in this section.

As much as I like many aspects of the games, I don't like the inherent pessimism and dangers in the story. I forgot how much it upset me.

Same goes for Ridley Scott btw. It's not just Mass Effect. Both of them kind of have this idea that the more we evolve and explore, then we eventually open Pandora's Box and destroy ourselves somehow. Or uncover something that destroys us. To me, it sends a very un-scientific message. That it's better if we were all primitive and uneducated and never discovered anything to begin with. That there's nothing out in space, or in the future, except monsters who want to kill us. It snuffs out the excitement and joy, for example, of visiting Mars. It instead turns Mars into a horror film.

It's ultimately a science fiction message that only fundamentalists and rednecks could appreciate. They're the types that relish in fear and ignorance.

I see discovery and exploration as a gateway to more benefits. The story of science is a story of progress. Not fear. Monsters are fun to entertain to an extent, but Mass Effect is the most heavy handed I've seen it. They took it to the most deeply nihilistic level. The whole universe itself becomes a scary place.

It's more of a cautionary tale than an unscientific one. Consider this - for untold millennia we were at the mercy of nature. The outside world was a world of pure danger. Death, and suffering. We were primitive. Predators, disease, hell even a tooth root abscess would kill us. And yet, we still explored. We overcame. And at every step of the way, there was danger and uncertainty. The first human that faced down a lion, the first man that crossed a sea, the first people that ventured into unknown and treacherous lands.

Now, we are taking those first baby steps again. No longer out of the village, or into the shallows of the ocean before sailing across it - we are taking our first baby steps into space. Space, a place that we KNOW is unbelievably hostile, filled with environments that would kill us in an instant. And very likely, it is teeming with life...if only we look in the right place.

And that life, like the life on earth, came into being and continues to exist through the harsh reality of selection - descent, with modification, and the violent life and death shared by all living things. And when we find it, no doubt, it will be so profoundly alien to us that the threat will likely be incalculable.

But, that shouldn't stop us from taking those first baby steps into space, and like the ocean before it - sail across into parts unknown. Dangerous territory, treacherous land. Because, although we will undoubtedly experience profound trials, and many of us will die, the reward is far too great - the universe is filled with untold wonders.

And it also isn't filled with sunshine and puppies, either. It is naive to think that way. That's why I hate sci-fi like Star Trek - but love sci-fi like Alien. The latter just seems more realistic to me. Mass Effect is some combination of both.

[Iakus]

I understand that.. 

 

It's just that it goes beyond cautionary in Mass Effect. It's nihilistic. The ultimate message is that progress is dangerous.. that we should just live in ignorance and primitiveness. Else you'll gain the notice of devils and monsters. It's not a message of "caution", but outright avoidance. Else you're doomed.

 

That's why I think it's ultimately a story suitable for fundamentalists and rednecks. They're the people who dislike education, embrace superstition and traditionalism, fear the unknown, attack any foreign culture, and if they have their way, would sink us further into the worst kind of medieval mindset (look at ISIS).

 

It isn't the intent of the writers, of course, but I'm just drawing it to it's natural conclusion.

Nah, Mass Effect up until the end was about how charging headlong into something is a recipe for disaster (Cerberus).  While at the same time blind adherence to "what's always worked" leads to stagnation (the Council).

 

But strangely, the endings advocated charging headlong into a poorly-understood Space-Magic as the only answer.

[Kenshen]

Actually on a more serious note I wonder.

 

We don't have mass relays, or Prothean artifacts. We've only traveled as far as our Moon.

 

So I think if it happened today the Reapers would let Earth pass by. I think what tips them off to harvest a planet is whether or not that race has discovered or used a mass relay or technology based on those devices, or has any Prothean artifacts.... I think either of these is a tipping point and will bring them knocking on the door...

 

Actually this is wrong but I am struggling with where it is said.  We have already taken the first steps of space travel and if we don't manage to kill ourselves off in the next 100 - 200 years we will be all over our own solar system and probably beyond.  We would be wiped out for just being close.  The reapers knew about us 50k years ago so our existence wouldn't be a surprise.

[Iakus]

I used Cerberus as an example.  But I don't think Mass Effect made science and exploration something to fear, but something to respect.  To show caution when dealing with the unknown, rather than going "what's the worst that could happen?  Things like Project Overlord or other experiments where success can be measured in body count.