16 réponses à ce sujet

[Basher of Glory]

As we all know, the Quarians can only survive due to their environmental suits, which protect their weak immune system.

Although I can understand, that a certain "race" is vulnerable to more or less unfamiliar environments, I can't see the right to exist for a "weak immune system" at all.

In one of the Citadel side quests Shepard has to smooth down differences between a pregnant woman and her brother-in-law. It's about an unborn child and the low chance of this child to inherit a rare heart condition of it's deceased father.
Shepard hears the arguments of the brother-in-law about a possible gene therapy which would minmize the risk for the baby to develop this heart condition, too.

All this very advanced medical engineering, the medical knowledge of many different space faring races and nobody is able to cure the Quarians respectively develop a cure to strengthen their immune system in a way that they can live normally without the need of special equipment all their life time?

Come on.... in my eyes that's conflicting with all the other super advanced technological stuff, isn't it?

[Stoko981]

Maybe no one cares enough to do it for them. I mean, they got kicked off the Citadel for creating the Geth, so they're not going to get any help from the Council, and pretty much everyone views them as thieves or beggars. Genetic research would cost a lot, never mind working that research into a deliverable cure or manufacturing it for a population as large as that of the Flotilla. No one would do it for free for a group as generally disliked or ignored as quarians, and it's not like they could pay for it. If they had the resources to fund something like that, they'd probably spend it on new ships first.

EDIT: Also, as a follow on from that "new ships" comment - they also wear their suits even in the clean sterile environments of their ships. Because they're so old and unreliable, vacuum exposure is a constant risk. Some of their ships date back to before they were kicked off their homeworld 300 years ago. Even if they could cure their immunodeficiency, they'd still need to either settle a world or get an entirely new fleet to be able to ditch their suits permanently.

Modifié par Stoko981, 27 janvier 2010 - 11:33 .

[Basher of Glory]

I agree to your arguments about the relative unpopularity of the Quarians.



On the other hand, there is a codex entry, which says, they are highly sought after as engineers and miners because of their excellent skills.



Isn't this again a proof of the shortsightedness of the council?

Instead of helping a highly gifted race they'd rather cast them off?



Sure, they made a fault and payed dearly. But now they have knowledge which is invaluable, if supported accordingly.



More and more I come to the conviction that all the current citadel races are not mature enough for the technology which was "granted" to them. They try to form a multi-racial empire but think like the politicians of our current world.

[The Cr4zy M4n]

"Over the generations quarians' immune systems have atrophied due to the years in the sterile environment of the Migrant Fleet. As such, quarians are given various vaccinations and immunizations to help ward off disease. However, they still refuse to remove their suits as to not take the risk."

-skipping along some-

"...Quarians are capable of removing their masks, but they must take antibiotics and herbal supplements in order to do so safely, though even then there are inherent risks."



Don't remember if this info was in the game or the booklet that shipped with the Mass Effect Limited Collector's Edition...



There's more info in the Mass Effect Wiki... such as why everyone still dislikes them, etc..

http://masseffect.wi...om/wiki/Quarian

[Zaxares]

Baher of Glory wrote...

Isn't this again a proof of the shortsightedness of the council?
Instead of helping a highly gifted race they'd rather cast them off?

Sure, they made a fault and payed dearly. But now they have knowledge which is invaluable, if supported accordingly.

I agree with you in that I believe that the Quarians are being treated overly harshly by the Council, and that kicking the Quarians out from being an associate member of the Council was needless extra punishment.

That said, I believe the Quarians are asking (demanding?) for help to reclaim their homeworld; that is, a full-scale invasion of the Perseus Veil against God knows how many millions of Geth. It would be an extremely costly war, both in credits and in lives, and it's probably unfeasible for the Council to commit to such an action at this time. Especially since the Geth seem content for the most part to stay behind the Perseus Veil and reject all contact with the organic races.

Also, one cannot deny the fact that the Geth are a sentient race, and barring some exceptional circumstances like in the case of the Rachni, the Council has always refused to commit genocide upon another sentient race. I think we can both agree that if the Council were to sponsor a full-scale invasion of Geth territory in an attempt to reclaim the Quarian homeworld, it WOULD come down to genocide. The Quarians certainly would not be willing to co-exist with the Geth, and no other organic race would be willing to re-settle the Geth in their 'backyard'.

Modifié par Zaxares, 28 janvier 2010 - 03:05 .

[shiplemw33]

Baher of Glory wrote...

As we all know, the Quarians can only survive due to their environmental suits, which protect their weak immune system.

Although I can understand, that a certain "race" is vulnerable to more or less unfamiliar environments, I can't see the right to exist for a "weak immune system" at all.

If you read the second Mass Effect book you'll get more information on the quarians.  part of the reason their immune systems have weakened is due to the fact that there is no privacy in the fleet.  They use their suits as "personal barriers" and as such only take them off in the most intimate of circumstances.  The other part is that with their equipment they can't rely on the fact that it is working so the suits act as a barrier incase of a sudden hull breach, etc. 

[BrunoBolderfist]

This could be an extensive discussion. On one hand, it could be argued that the Quarians ARE sought after for their skills, but just as in real life(in relation to illegal immigrants) they are underpaid and neglected because of the mistakes of the past, political status (remember that the Quari are seen as thiefs and beggars) and/or natural ignorance. It's just human (and by extension, alien) nature to find someone to blame and put down to feel a sence of superiority.



Or bioware could have just dropped the ball on accuracy on this minor point.

[UnfortunateSon]

Much as I love the Quarians (my favourite of the ME races), I too was always bothered by the science (or lack of it) behind their continued immune system issues.

Given the levels of technology readily available to most sentient races across the galaxy and indeed, the abilities and resourcefulness of the Quarians themselves, it just doesn't seem likely that they would continue to suffer from this immune deficiency.

Still, I wouldn't want them any other way, so I guess this is just a matter of a little extra suspension of disbelief...

Modifié par UnfortunateSon, 28 janvier 2010 - 05:00 .

[Basher of Glory]

Every time when the "shore party" returns, a decontamination takes place. I assume, that the interior of the Normandy must be as clean as an operation room.

Tali states, that the vessel is SOOOO big and has SOOOO few people.

Now, if all these circumstances aren't enough to unequip at least the mask, I don't know.

Measured against the conditions in the flotilla, Tali must feel like being on vacations in a premium club.

[Dethateer]

For what it's worth, I think the Quarians more or less got what they deserved. Creating the Geth was a huge mistake, the Council just got lucky that they (the Geth) were happy where they were. As evidenced by Sovereign's assault on the Citadel, the Geth have more than enough ships, and probably troops to launch a full-scale invasion of the Citadel Space.

[The Cr4zy M4n]

Well so much for my post I suppose...



I know you all want to see what the Quarians look like as much as I do, but I guess we just aren't worthy.. oh well....

To sum it up though it's probably not so much a technology issue, but more of a social norm for them.. like for example you wouldn't run through your neighborhood with no clothes on now would you?





I for one like the Quarians and Geth, because without them this game just wouldn't be as much fun lol

[FlintlockJazz]

I recall reading that apparently one of the devs have hinted that alot of the Quarian fear of disease is in their heads. That they can be fixed and take off their masks but the fear has been so deeply ingrained over the generations that they don't even consider it an option anymore, or something like that.

[Basher of Glory]

I'm really curious, how they look, lol

When we talk with Tali in the engineer's room, she seems to wear casual clothes, but her neck... is it deep black skin or just another piece of black cloth?

[Hyper Cutter]

FlintlockJazz wrote...

I recall reading that apparently one of the devs have hinted that alot of the Quarian fear of disease is in their heads. That they can be fixed and take off their masks but the fear has been so deeply ingrained over the generations that they don't even consider it an option anymore, or something like that.

I have to wonder if the quarian's almost-unique biochemistry actually protects them from most diseases and parasites that are out there (the presumably few able to affect wholly unrelated species in the first place). After all, that biochemical barrier that keeps turians (and quarians) from eating anyone else's food must apply in reverse as well...

[Eumerin]

Baher of Glory wrote...

I'm really curious, how they look, lol
When we talk with Tali in the engineer's room, she seems to wear casual clothes, but her neck... is it deep black skin or just another piece of black cloth?

It's part of her environment suit.  She *always* wears it.  As far as she's concerned, it's just another layer of clothing and Quarians customize the appearence of their suits in the same way that you might prefer the look of one piece of clothing over another.

There are times when you can see her eyes and some of her nose through the visor on the suit.  She appears to have a facial structure that's similar to that of a human, though I'm guessing that it's a bit more elongated.

I've a sneaking suspicion that the 3rd game will present a solution of some sort to the Quarians' issues.

[Dethateer]

From what can be seen through Tali's visor, her face will either look great, or horrible, that nasal structure prevents anything in-between.

[Eumerin]

Hyper Cutter wrote...
I have to wonder if the quarian's almost-unique biochemistry actually protects them from most diseases and parasites that are out there (the presumably few able to affect wholly unrelated species in the first place). After all, that biochemical barrier that keeps turians (and quarians) from eating anyone else's food must apply in reverse as well...

I would hazard a guess that there are various bugs out there that would barely affect a human but that would be deadly to a Quarian - not necessarily because of the immune system issue, but because of the different make-up of the two species (i.e. DNA vs. the Quarian equivalent - can't remember it off the top of my head).  It's also been noted that due to the unique circumstances of the Quarrian homeworld (iirc there were no insects, which caused a whole host of differences with the way things work on Earth) they had somewhat weak immune systems even before putting the suits on.  Confinement to the suits just made things even worse.

But yeah, by and large things aren't quite as bad as you might think at first glance.  Typhoid fever (a very nasty illness back in the day) might jump from a human population to an asari population and cause all kinds of havoc.  But a Quarian who happened to catch it through a bad seal on his or her environmental suit would merely have an allergic reaction.