12 respuestas en este tema

[The Sauce of Awesome]

Hi there!

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this (seeing as this is lore discussion, I guess so?) but I was wondering about a few things.

 

See, I've been thinking of writing some fanfiction set in an alternate history where the Prothean archives on Mars were never there, thus leading humanity to take a little longer to develop to the level as seen in the games.

 

I believe Anderson mentioned that the information in the archives jumped humanity's technology level forward by 200 years, so I had this idea that without said information, humanity would not have had access to Mass Effect technology, have developed much more slowly, and perhaps still be stuck in the Sol system for the next couple centuries (or spread to other systems via sublight vessels, either/or).

 

Anyway, fast forward 200+ years after the events of ME1, most of the races we all know and love are now gone and humanity has only recently become a spacefaring race, by the standards of the series, seeing as their definition of "spacefaring" means FTL-capable. 

 

So anyway, while I was thinking further about this idea, I came up with a few things which may or may not affect how I'll go about this fanfic. Such as:

 

- Seeing as the Reapers harvest races with a certain level of development, more primitive races are safe as houses. Would that mean then that races such as the Yahg and the Raloi count as "more primitive"? I assume the Vorcha are definitely safe from harvest, seeing as they're all dumber than a bunch of monkeys, but I'm not so sure about the other two. The Yahg were apparently the equivalent of the 20th century, technology wise, as of 2125. And the Raloi, I think, only joined the galactic community because one of their space telescopes found an asari cruiser by accident and then they later destroyed everything they had space related when the Reapers came. So, would these two count as being primitive or would the Reapers harvest these also, just in case?

 

- How long does it take the Reapers to complete a harvest? I know it takes a long time, but how long, exactly? I ask because I'm wondering whether or not the heroes of this fanfic should expect to see a Reaper fleet in their back yard.

 

- How much should remain of the other races? By that I mean should there be ruined cities on Thessia and Palaven, or maybe a small pile of rocks? I know this is a little more speculative, but I don't know if what little remained of the Protheans is due to the Reapers or just 50,000 years worth of time.

 

- Should there still be husks and indoctrinated people? This perhaps ties into the above two, but if I remember correctly, after a harvest is concluded, the Reapers leave their husks and the people they indoctrinated behind to die. I was wondering that if the harvest ended recently, then the heroes may be attacked by husks, or if it ended like a hundred years earlier or something, they'd all be like shambling, semi-functional...I dunno...'zombies' seems appropriate, but that's essentially what they are anyway.

 

Those are pretty much the major points. Any clarification you could offer on any of these is much appreciated. Thank you.

[Heimerdinger]

Some planet descriptions talk about pre-space flight races being blasted from orbit by mass accelerator fire that targeted populated areas. Nobody is really safe from the reapers unless they are very primitive. (More evidence that the Catalyst's "we preserve all life" is BS)

 

The Vorcha are being harvested. It is mentioned in the description of their homeworld Heshtok. It seems to be a slow process. The vorcha are spread out and they are not surrendering.

 

The Yahg planet Parnack seems safe for the moment, but the reapers could just be saving it for later, dealing with major races first. Same thing with the Raloi. Reapers could just fly by and take some shots from space.

 

It took the reapers centuries to wipe out the Protheans. They can take their time if they have to. The current cycle is less spread out (the protheans were a galactic empire) and it could take less. Decades maybe.

 

Ruins like the prothean ones on Feros would be logical. Or like the ones left by the Inusannon (race from before the protheans).

 

Vigil says that husks and indoctrinated slaves are left to die after the reapers return to dark space. Husks could last longer because of the cybernetics, the codex talks about scions being able to survive in complete vacuum. These things are tough.

[The Sauce of Awesome]

Some planet descriptions talk about pre-space flight races being blasted from orbit by mass accelerator fire that targeted populated areas. Nobody is really safe from the reapers unless they are very primitive. (More evidence that the Catalyst's "we preserve all life" is BS)

 

The Vorcha are being harvested. It is mentioned in the description of their homeworld Heshtok. It seems to be a slow process. The vorcha are spread out and they are not surrendering.

 

The Yahg planet Parnack seems safe for the moment, but the reapers could just be saving it for later, dealing with major races first. Same thing with the Raloi. Reapers could just fly by and take some shots from space.

 

It took the reapers centuries to wipe out the Protheans. They can take their time if they have to. The current cycle is less spread out (the protheans were a galactic empire) and it could take less. Decades maybe.

 

Ruins like the prothean ones on Feros would be logical. Or like the ones left by the Inusannon (race from before the protheans).

 

Vigil says that husks and indoctrinated slaves are left to die after the reapers return to dark space. Husks could last longer because of the cybernetics, the codex talks about scions being able to survive in complete vacuum. These things are tough.

For reals? Damn, if this is so, then this kind of kills the story I had in mind before I even put fingers to keyboard... Still, I'd like to investigate this further (that, and I'm always fascinated by all the ways each ME writer don't know their own lore). I don't suppose you know where I can find these planet descriptions?

 

If the Vorcha are being harvested then that contradicts the wiki and/or the Reapers' own MO. It's stated that the Vorcha have remained as they are (a bunch of half-sentient primitives) unchanged for "millions of years", which to me implies they have been left alone for many cycles previously. So, if the Vorcha have been around as they are for that long, why did the Reapers wait until now to harvest them? Or is it more likely yet another brainfart of the writers?

 

It would make sense if the spread of each race throughout the galaxy and their individual military might would factor into the Reaper's harvest. As you say, the Protheans were a galactic empire, and if I remember correctly were vastly superior to this cycle's races in terms of technology and military power, while the Turians - considered the greatest military in the galaxy - were quickly being decimated during the war. So I suppose it would take a considerably shorter time to harvest this cycle's races than the previous. I can definitely see it taking a few decades, this time, rather than a few centuries in the Protheans case. Good find!

 

And I totally forgot about Feros, if I'm being honest. So yeah, if a 50,000 year old city can still be around it's not so much a stretch to see cities on Thessia or any of the other planets. Another good find!

 

I honestly didn't expect any indoctrinated slaves to still be around in the timeframe I had in mind, but husks and the like, if they're that resilient then I can see them as being fully functional, or at least close to it. And I also have an image of Scions floating helplessly in space, lol.

 

Thank you so much for the info! It's very much appreciated.

[Laughing_Man]

I would suggest going with your take on the universe, rather than religiously follow the lore.

 

If you have a good idea for a story that requires you to assume certain things, go right ahead. After all, it's not like canon is holy or clean of problems and plot holes itself. Use your head, find good reasons for what you are claiming, but don't let the lore hold you back.

[The Sauce of Awesome]

I know, and I agree wholeheartedly, but the last time I did fan fiction I had a bunch of people complain to me about how loose it was lore-wise. "Liara can't get pregnant by accident! It's impossible for Asari, NEAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!1one"  and "You can't use your own made-up races, they're not in the game, NEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" You know, that kind of thing. I appreciate feedback as much as the next writer, but still...

 

The idea I had was a sort of First-Contact War type of scenario against the Yahg, set in an AU where the Archives on Mars never existed, thus leading humanity to develop around two-centuries+ slower than they did in the series. This, of course, left them and races at a similar tech level free from being targeted by the Reapers, but doesn't mean they won't encounter at least a whole bunch of half-rotten husks out to get them. Or a half-dead Reaper, or even the vanguard that was left behind!

 

Or, better still, perhaps...maybe have the Leviathans make an appearance...just an idea...

 

But anyway, with what I had in mind, I kind of wanted the level of "NEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" as close to a minimum as possible, so I'm looking for at least a happy medium between established lore and my own imagination. But this helps, tremendously. Again, thank you!

[Heimerdinger]

For reals? Damn, if this is so, then this kind of kills the story I had in mind before I even put fingers to keyboard... Still, I'd like to investigate this further (that, and I'm always fascinated by all the ways each ME writer don't know their own lore). I don't suppose you know where I can find these planet descriptions?

 

This is one of the planets. Sounds like the Reaper's work to me.

 

http://masseffect.wi...com/wiki/Aphras

 

But don't let that stop you. If you have a good idea then go for it.

 

 

 

And I also have an image of Scions floating helplessly in space, lol.

 

And now I have an image of Picard and Riker on the Enterprise, at a table near a window. And then a Scion starts slowly floating in the background...and none of them notice and keep talking. Lol.

[Laughing_Man]

I know, and I agree wholeheartedly, but the last time I did fan fiction I had a bunch of people complain to me about how loose it was lore-wise. "Liara can't get pregnant by accident! It's impossible for Asari, NEAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!1one"  and "You can't use your own made-up races, they're not in the game, NEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" You know, that kind of thing. I appreciate feedback as much as the next writer, but still...

 

That is why I said "find good reasons for what you are claiming".

 

If you are writing something in the ME universe you need to respect the basic lore. If you want to introduce changes do it in a believable manner, and if possible, show through the story itself the reasons for why certain things are different from canon.

 

If you write a fanfiction based on an existing Lore package, be it a game or a book or anything else, people are going to expect you to mostly follow the basic lore.

 

"Liara got pregnant by mistake" could be explained somehow in-lore and made believable. However, throwing lore-breaking elements around without reason, is bound to annoy some of your readers.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

In my opinion you should have as much respect for Mass Effect lore as the Bioware writers. In other words, that leaves things pretty wide open.

 

Take Klencory for example. Breaking lore about that world by using real science would be permitted. Some of the planets don't make any sense in ME. Even the ones that support life. Real science can be used to break lore. Also remember that science fiction writers have no sense of scale.

[Treacherous J Slither]

First Contact War between yahg and humans? We don't stand a chance.

[Laughing_Man]

First Contact War between yahg and humans? We don't stand a chance.

 

Yes, they are a big threat, but a war depends on many factors.

 

Also, not every Yahg is the Shadow Broker.

[Heimerdinger]

Yes, they are a big threat, but a war depends on many factors.

 

Also, not every Yahg is the Shadow Broker.

 

One of those factors are ships and the yahg don't have any.

[Treacherous J Slither]

This supposed to be us both becoming space age species at around the same time. So we would both have ships and similar levels of tech. Or did I misunderstand the OP?

[The Sauce of Awesome]

This supposed to be us both becoming space age species at around the same time. So we would both have ships and similar levels of tech. Or did I misunderstand the OP?

 

Yeah, you pretty much got it right. Both humanity and the yahg would have had similar levels of tech by this time. The yahg might even in be more advanced, perhaps? I could be misinformed in saying this but I understand that the yahg are "as smart as salarians"? I realise that there may possibly be such a thing as stupid salarians but I always thought that those guys were on average more intelligent than humans, lol.

 

I was thinking...the yahg was at a 20th century-level of development by 2125, right? If this being smart as salarians thing is true, then what is it by 2185, a full sixty years later? Would they be as advanced as the human race is, today? And what would their level of tech be by the 24th-25th century when humanity is at the level it was in the games?

 

That speed of development sounds pretty scary to me, lol.

 

Then again - though this may be due to the Reapers keeping technological development tightly controlled from behind the scenes - the other races technological advancement seemed...slow, almost to the point of stagnation. I could be wrong here, completely, but I got the impression that the current level of technology in the games (with the exception of the asari and their hidden beacon, of course) has been as it was for a very long time with only minimal advancement, and that certain things such as medi-gel and carriers were because humanity was thinking 'out of the box', as it were when they created them. Assuming the yahg discover a Prothean ruin or remnants of this cycle's races (which is more than possible), it could be possible that they would become reliant on these to advance their own development and may be trapped in the same kind of semi-stagnation as the races that came before.

 

Again, I could be completely wrong on both of these speculations, lol.