77 réponses à ce sujet

[Former_Fiend]

I've never thought that the wormhole theory was particularly contrived, at least not relative to the other fantastical aspects of the Mass Effect lore. It's a big galaxy, perhaps the existence of a wormhole has always been known, but there was never enough incentive to send someone into it before the Reaper war. 

 

I guess I also don't really understand the passionate insistence that we have to get to Adromeda by tech that we're already aware of in universe. Fighting for galactic survival sounds like great incentive for people to innovate, and to take more risks in order to do so. I think there are any number of ways they could explain this move. The outrage over it before we know that explanation has completely baffled me since the game was first announced. 

 

 

It's not often I regret only being able to give a post a single like, but this is one of those times.

 

So enjoy this instead.

 

[Ahglock]

Yes, but I'm trying to come up with a plausible reason why we can get to Andromeda and the Reapers not.  They don't go to Andromeda "because Bioware doesn't want them to" is a rather weak excuse.  Especially given the extremes the Reapers have been shown to go to in pursuit of their agenda.

 

Because they didn't want to. Seriously, reapers use perhaps the most pathetic excuse for logic I've seen in a contrived AI intelligence story.  Your assumption that they would is fine, but they are just as likely if not more likely to not have. They are broken, they use totally broken logic so not going works fine. 

 

On the other hand, maybe they do go, but they can't be in two places at once so who knows how long until they get to Andromeda again another 1,000 years, 5,000?.  I mean if your theory is they totally got to hit Andromeda because they can, well then its a big effing universe and there are a crap ton of galaxies for them to hit. Maybe they come back here every 50,000 years because it takes them 49,000+ years to hit all the other galaxies they visit in rotation. 

[Iakus]

you realize whatever bioware wants us to believe is cannon correct, i mean that's the difference between cannon and fan theory. your disagreement is literally making up reasons why it wont work, when it works perfectly according to current facts. Im not even saying that its the case i personally foresee a one way wormhole scenario based on concept art but really your reasoning for why it cant work is really just stating you don't like the direction.

 

if its arguable its not a fact the idea that you can guess the unwritten unprovable actions of a fictional being as fact is insane

 

 

Because they didn't want to. Seriously, reapers use perhaps the most pathetic excuse for logic I've seen in a contrived AI intelligence story.  Your assumption that they would is fine, but they are just as likely if not more likely to not have. They are broken, they use totally broken logic so not going works fine. 

 

On the other hand, maybe they do go, but they can't be in two places at once so who knows how long until they get to Andromeda again another 1,000 years, 5,000?.  I mean if your theory is they totally got to hit Andromeda because they can, well then its a big effing universe and there are a crap ton of galaxies for them to hit. Maybe they come back here every 50,000 years because it takes them 49,000+ years to hit all the other galaxies they visit in rotation. 

SInce both of these quotes seem to be about my assessment of Reaper thought, I'll answer them both at once.

 

Bioware's portrayal of Reaper motivations and the actions they take to fulfill their mandate was... really, really bad.  IMO anyway.  So yeah, while anything Bioware says is true is canon, that doesn't mean it makes any d*mn sense.  What I am trying to do here is construct a rationale that does make sense.  Or at least makes some sense.  And not just in a "well the  lore doesn't explicitly say this can't happen", but in a way that actually works within what we already know to be true. "If this is true, then maybe if we took it just a little further..."

 

So yeah, I don't actually expect any of what I have written to turn out to be the case.  It's all "speculation" You know the stuff Bioware wanted for everybody (I put it in the first freaking line of my first freaking post here!)  It's "what if" and "wouldn't it be cool if" and "you know, wouldn't it be neat if x tied into y?"I get b*tched at for complaining, and now I get b*tched at for participating.  Sometimes you just can't win 

 

And finally, recall the Reapers started as just one:  Harbinger.  And even that one was built from machines.  The Reapers could just send one or two with some machines of their own to other galaxies and start their own "broods" After a few million years, there could be several groups of Reapers out there, each harvesting their own galaxy.  Again, more "speculation"

[LinksOcarina]

Yeah I'm done talking to you unless you have something constructive to add

 

Wow...now you are just being jerky. And here I thought we were going to have this casual banter back and forth...

 

I got very little to add to this theory other than the idea that your quest for non-lore breaking solutions is still one that I find baffling, considering I feel the lore should never be set in stone. BioWare has kind of proven that time and again it sets up guidelines, then goes against them for story-related reasons, all the time.

 

The method of how it's done is always subjective too. I personally think your "third way" is the most likely solution in the end, well over the "we leave during the Reaper War" thing people just assume is correct due to circumstantial evidence. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if we would see a major time jump with a mass relay being built or transported to Andromeda to make the travel possible. Got to remember, the talk about building new relays has come up a few times. 

 

At this point, I shall take the approach of the zen master and say "well see"

[Han Shot First]

Yes, but I'm trying to come up with a plausible reason why we can get to Andromeda and the Reapers not.  They don't go to Andromeda "because Bioware doesn't want them to" is a rather weak excuse.  Especially given the extremes the Reapers have been shown to go to in pursuit of their agenda.

 

The Reapers may have been to Andromeda. The colonists may arrive there and find that is why it doesn't have a Class I or Class II Civilization or why the Remnant (assuming the leak is legit) became the Remnant. Maybe the Reapers were doing their thing in the entire Local Group of galaxies.

 

Even if the Reapers didn't go to Andromeda however, it could be more a lack of effort or willingness than a lack of ability. 

 

In any case we don't really know enough about the Andromeda setting to say much about what the Reapers could or couldn't do there.

[Iakus]

 

The Reapers may have been to Andromeda. The colonists may arrive there and find that is why it doesn't have a Class I or Class II Civilization or why the Remnant (assuming the leak is legit) became the Remnant. Maybe the Reapers were doing their thing in the entire Local Group of galaxies.

 

Even if the Reapers didn't go to Andromeda however, it could be more a lack of effort or willingness than a lack of ability. 

 

In any case we don't really know enough about the Andromeda setting to say much about what the Reapers could or couldn't do there.

I would find lack of effort or willingness to be stranger than lack of ability, given the lengths and efforts Reapers are willing to go through to harvest civilizations here.

 

And if Reapers have been to Andromeda, what happened to them?  Or will the colonists have to deal with them again?  Perhaps in a new incarnation?

[MrFob]

 My guess is we'd find this on our own.  Can't see the Leviathans sharing what few toys they have left.  Heck I could see angry Leviathans being an antagonist in MEA:  "How DARE you use our relay without our permission! Get back to the Milky Way and start mining us tribute!"

 

I agree with that part but honestly,, if the Leviathans tried to hide their intergalactic relay from the reapers and they either missed it because they didn't know or (even worse) they even tried to find it and couldn't in a billion years, wouldn't the fact that we find it right now be even more "serendipitous" than finding a wormhole?

I mean, there is this device in the galaxy, which has been there for all this time and instead of the reapers - who scour the galaxy to specifically search for stuff like this - we find it? Granted, the reapers missed Illos but that one, they only missed for one cycle. That relay, they'd have to miss for all the cycles. At least with a wormhole, it might not have been there all the time, hell, we might even create one by a fluke or something.

I am not saying that the wormhole thing would not be contrived but I think in terms of "degree of contrivance" finding a Leviathan intergalactic relay just like that isn't much different. Just my opinion though, in the end, there will be contrivance whatever happens. Probably really best not to think about it too much and just roll with whatever they come up with (you just know, coming up with clever ideas is just setting yourself up for disappointment. We learned that the hard way after all ).

[Han Shot First]

I would find lack of effort or willingness to be stranger than lack of ability, given the lengths and efforts Reapers are willing to go through to harvest civilizations here.

 

And if Reapers have been to Andromeda, what happened to them?  Or will the colonists have to deal with them again?  Perhaps in a new incarnation?

 

I don't know if the Reapers choosing not to go to Andromea would bother me, if only because they're part programming. Maybe the Catalyst's code restricted them to a narrow slice of the universe. I suppose it depends on how it was presented and whether the writers provide an explanation for it. I'd also be fine with the motives not being explained.

 

If the Reapers did go to Andromeda it might be interesting if Shepard triggering the Crucible was part of what preserved the Remnant. Having the Reapers annihilating two civilizations simultaneously would be a way of referencing ME3's endings without delving too deep into their aftermath. Destroy could render the Andromeda Reapers inert, since they were joined into a kind of gestalt intelligence with each other and the Catalyst, and Control and Synthesis could result in the Andromeda Reapers simply departing without rhyme or reason, from the natives' perspective. Shepard's actions would also indirectly influence the Andromeda setting.

[Iakus]

Wow...now you are just being jerky. And here I thought we were going to have this casual banter back and forth...

 

I got very little to add to this theory other than the idea that your quest for non-lore breaking solutions is still one that I find baffling, considering I feel the lore should never be set in stone. BioWare has kind of proven that time and again it sets up guidelines, then goes against them for story-related reasons, all the time.

 

The method of how it's done is always subjective too. I personally think your "third way" is the most likely solution in the end, well over the "we leave during the Reaper War" thing people just assume is correct due to circumstantial evidence. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if we would see a major time jump with a mass relay being built or transported to Andromeda to make the travel possible. Got to remember, the talk about building new relays has come up a few times. 

 

At this point, I shall take the approach of the zen master and say "well see"

If you were simply trying to keep things light, and not trolling, then I apologize.  But I get sick of being called a whiner, a crybaby, etc for not liking the direction Mass Effect is going.  And I'm actually trying to find something positive to speculate about.  

 

And I find lore vital to keeping a story coherent.  It should be set in stone, once its out.  A big part of why I found Mass Effect's story going into a death spiral.  If something changes, it should change in a manner that makes sense and maintains consistency.  Which is what I am trying to construct:  A way to get us to Andromeda in a way that does more than simply not violate continuity, but rather builds on what's already out there.

[Iakus]

I agree with that part but honestly,, if the Leviathans tried to hide their intergalactic relay from the reapers and they either missed it because they didn't know or (even worse) they even tried to find it and couldn't in a billion years, wouldn't the fact that we find it right now be even more "serendipitous" than finding a wormhole?

I mean, there is this device in the galaxy, which has been there for all this time and instead of the reapers - who scour the galaxy to specifically search for stuff like this - we find it? Granted, the reapers missed Illos but that one, they only missed for one cycle. That relay, they'd have to miss for all the cycles. At least with a wormhole, it might not have been there all the time, hell, we might even create one by a fluke or something.

I am not saying that the wormhole thing would not be contrived but I think in terms of "degree of contrivance" finding a Leviathan intergalactic relay just like that isn't much different. Just my opinion though, in the end, there will be contrivance whatever happens. Probably really best not to think about it too much and just roll with whatever they come up with (you just know, coming up with clever ideas is just setting yourself up for disappointment. We learned that the hard way after all ).

 

Maybe.  But then, space is really really BIG!  The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across and has hundreds of billions of stars in it.  The Reapers not being able to find it (especially if it was deliberately hidden) wouldn't be a stretch.  But yes, us happening to find it just when it's needed most is.  But then, I agree we do have to live with some level of contrivance to get to Andromeda.  I never said this was a perfect solution 

 

But I do think "ancient mass relay" is more... mass effect-y... than "suddenly a wild wormhole appears!" 

 

Edit:  Perhaps the relay isn't "discovered" at all.  But the people were thralls of the Leviathans.  Perhaps They were there to deliver "tribute" Or something similar.  Something happens, the control orb is destroyed, or the Leviathans controlling them were killed...hmm...

[Iakus]

I don't know if the Reapers choosing not to go to Andromea would bother me, if only because they're part programming. Maybe the Catalyst's code restricted them to a narrow slice of the universe. I suppose it depends on how it was presented and whether the writers provide an explanation for it. I'd also be fine with the motives not being explained.

 

If the Reapers did go to Andromeda it might be interesting if Shepard triggering the Crucible was part of what preserved the Remnant. Having the Reapers annihilating two civilizations simultaneously would be a way of referencing ME3's endings without delving too deep into their aftermath. Destroy could render the Andromeda Reapers inert, since they were joined into a kind of gestalt intelligence with each other and the Catalyst, and Control and Synthesis could result in the Andromeda Reapers simply departing without rhyme or reason, from the natives' perspective. Shepard's actions would also indirectly influence the Andromeda setting.

The Reapers being able to reach Andromeda but choosing not to would bother me, simply because of their absolutist logic that guides all their actions.  To me, it would take something equally absolutist, like the Catalyst thinking Andromeda was a lifeless galaxy to keep them away from it.

 

And I would think that a mass relay to Andromeda would be off the network, part of how the Reapers missed it.  So I would think that the Crucible's effects wouldn't transit into the next galaxy (we are trying to get away from the endings after all)

[LinksOcarina]

If you were simply trying to keep things light, and not trolling, then I apologize.  But I get sick of being called a whiner, a crybaby, etc for not liking the direction Mass Effect is going.  And I'm actually trying to find something positive to speculate about.  

 

And I find lore vital to keeping a story coherent.  It should be set in stone, once its out.  A big part of why I found Mass Effect's story going into a death spiral.  If something changes, it should change in a manner that makes sense and maintains consistency.  Which is what I am trying to construct:  A way to get us to Andromeda in a way that does more than simply not violate continuity, but rather builds on what's already out there.

 

It's fine, it's a forum I can understand the misinterpretation. I thought you were joking in your reply anyway before.

 

Lore should always be fluid. I have said that several times of course because it will always be challenged and changed , either for the sake of a story, or for the sake of a gameplay mechanic. We can pick apart different aspects of the lore to think of pseudo-scientific reasons why things are they are, the consistency of how they work is subjective.

 

Continuity for example is dependent on what we see before right? But if what we see and know before changes, then that continuity changes as well. If new technology is used to get to Andromeda, if someone creates a wormhole through an experiment or something like that, then that is the new continuity we have to contend with. 

 

Skyrim is an example that I feel is more of a spit in the face regarding continuity. Vvardenfell, after you save it in Morrowind with the Neveraine, blows up less than 20 years later anyway and a moon hits the city of Vivec after the god in there is kicked out. To me, that was closer to a lore-breaking issue because it made a whole game in the series completely moot. 

 

I just dont see how any of the options you mentioned or have been mentioned can be a problem with continuity, with the exception of leaving during the Reaper War. To me, that is a mistake.

[Han Shot First]

The Reapers being able to reach Andromeda but choosing not to would bother me, simply because of their absolutist logic that guides all their actions.  To me, it would take something equally absolutist, like the Catalyst thinking Andromeda was a lifeless galaxy to keep them away from it.

 

And I would think that a mass relay to Andromeda would be off the network, part of how the Reapers missed it.  So I would think that the Crucible's effects wouldn't transit into the next galaxy (we are trying to get away from the endings after all)

 

That is a good point about a connecting relay needing to be dormant, to avoid the effects of the Crucible reaching Andromeda.

 

Although a mass effect relay would solve the problem of how the colonists manage the journey to Andromeda, I'd be very surprised if that was the route Bioware goes. It probably isn't too far from the mark to view the shift in setting from the Milky Way to Andromeda as an attempt by the devs to avoid having to delve too deeply into the aftermath of ME3's diverging endings. That would be a little bit more difficult to pull off if the two galaxies were now linked by a mass effect relay that allows for near instantaneous transportation and communication between them.

[Iakus]

It's fine, it's a forum I can understand the misinterpretation. I thought you were joking in your reply anyway before.

 

Lore should always be fluid. I have said that several times of course because it will always be challenged and changed , either for the sake of a story, or for the sake of a gameplay mechanic. We can pick apart different aspects of the lore to think of pseudo-scientific reasons why things are they are, the consistency of how they work is subjective.

 

Continuity for example is dependent on what we see before right? But if what we see and know before changes, then that continuity changes as well. If new technology is used to get to Andromeda, if someone creates a wormhole through an experiment or something like that, then that is the new continuity we have to contend with. 

 

Skyrim is an example that I feel is more of a spit in the face regarding continuity. Vvardenfell, after you save it in Morrowind with the Neveraine, blows up less than 20 years later anyway and a moon hits the city of Vivec after the god in there is kicked out. To me, that was closer to a lore-breaking issue because it made a whole game in the series completely moot. 

 

I just dont see how any of the options you mentioned or have been mentioned can be a problem with continuity, with the exception of leaving during the Reaper War. To me, that is a mistake.

Perspective can change.  But the fundamental lore should not.  "Understanding is a three edged sword.  Your side, my side, and the truth." 

 

Take Solas's description of Loghain's act at Ostagar.  Was he a valiant general trying to save as many lives as he could when a situation became untenable?  Or was he a traitor who abandoned his king to die?  Based on details known and points of view taken, he could be either.  But it does not change the facts of what he did.  He pulled his army out of Ostagar.  King Cailan died.  These are undeniable truths.

 

 There needs to be set facts within the setting that are off-limits to change, even by the writers.  If we the players have details deliberately hidden from us so something can be sprung upon us later (like the rachni egg) then fine.  Plot twist!  But changing the foundations of the setting because you painted yourself into a corner is...not so good.

 

"Expand upon what you already have before you add something new"  Sanderson's Third Law

 

Besides which, discovering a means to travel between galaxies in a Mass Effect setting is big enough it could warrant a story all on its own.  But then, someting like the Lazarus Project would too...

[Iakus]

That is a good point about a connecting relay needing to be dormant, to avoid the effects of the Crucible reaching Andromeda.

 

Although a mass effect relay would solve the problem of how the colonists manage the journey to Andromeda, I'd be very surprised if that was the route Bioware goes. It probably isn't too far the mark to view the shift in setting from the Milky Way to Andromeda as an attempt by the devs to avoid having to delve too deeply into the aftermath of ME3's diverging endings. That would be a little bit more difficult to pull off if the two galaxies were now linked by a mass effect relay that allows for near instantaneous transportation and communication between them.

That's why I'm thinking the relay would have to be damaged, or destroyed shortly after we used it.  Perhaps Reapers were in pursuit and one ship stays behind to ram the relay to keep them from following?  Maybe it's power supply is nearly exhausted?  SOmething like that

[LinksOcarina]

Perspective can change.  But the fundamental lore should not.  "Understanding is a three edged sword.  Your side, my side, and the truth." 

 

Take Solas's description of Loghain's act at Ostagar.  Was he a valiant general trying to save as many lives as he could when a situation became untenable?  Or was he a traitor who abandoned his king to die?  Based on details known and points of view taken, he could be either.  But it does not change the facts of what he did.  He pulled his army out of Ostagar.  King Cailan died.  These are undeniable truths.

 

 There needs to be set facts within the setting that are off-limits to change, even by the writers.  If we the players have details deliberately hidden from us so something can be sprung upon us later (like the rachni egg) then fine.  Plot twist!  But changing the foundations of the setting because you painted yourself into a corner is...not so good.

 

"Expand upon what you already have before you add something new"  Sanderson's Third Law

 

Besides which, discovering a means to travel between galaxies in a Mass Effect setting is big enough it could warrant a story all on its own.  But then, someting like the Lazarus Project would too...

 

I can't think of a single instance where the foundations of the setting have changed though, outside of what is described like the rachni queen or the thermal clips, which are again made for story-gameplay reasons.

 

That is what it boils down to. Perspective of events is always fine, but changing how things work, or giving perspective that contradicts understand of events or how things work, should also be fine at the same time. The Lazarus project makes no sense scientifically, but it was done and used as a plot device, and as a metaphor, for Shepard story-wise, and as a gameplay mechanic for the game.

 

If, for example, they upgrade FTL travel and give you in-ship mass effect fields or technology or something, without using Mass relays, the simple solution they have to say is technology has advanced for it, or they reversed engineered technology, or they finally harnessed Mass effect fields into smaller chunks, whatever the case may be. We get a codex on it that explains the discovery, and boom, instant plot point or justification for a gameplay mechanic.

 

Is that really lore-breaking in that sense? To me, that is the same as resurrecting the Rachni; it is changing the established descriptions.

[MrFob]

But I do think "ancient mass relay" is more... mass effect-y... than "suddenly a wild wormhole appears!" 

 

I agree that it's good if we had something that has a connection to the established lore. After all, we know relays while we'd see a wormhole for the first time in the ME universe. So I'll give you that one (though I think other theories like black arc do the same).

I guess I am always a bit skeptical whenever the Leviathans come into play by reflex. I mean, the DLC was really well made but for me, it and the Leviathans are still the retroactive ending band-aid. In the end, at this point, I just prefer not to go with too elaborate plot speculations anymore.

[Iakus]

 

If, for example, they upgrade FTL travel and give you in-ship mass effect fields or technology or something, without using Mass relays, the simple solution they have to say is technology has advanced for it, or they reversed engineered technology, or they finally harnessed Mass effect fields into smaller chunks, whatever the case may be. We get a codex on it that explains the discovery, and boom, instant plot point or justification for a gameplay mechanic.

 

Is that really lore-breaking in that sense? To me, that is the same as resurrecting the Rachni; it is changing the established descriptions.

The thing is, these discoveries do not happen in a vacuum.  They have (or should have) an impact on the galaxy around it.  That's one reason why the Lazarus Project, to me, fails.  It's a huge medical discovery, and absolutely nothing was done with it aside from reviving Shepard.  Something that really wasn't necessary to put in the story to begin with.

 

FTL travel, upgraded to the degree required to traverse dark space is on a similar level.  This would completely redefine the setting, not just be a new gameplay mechanic.  It's long distance travel without relays.  It's huge!  

 

Even the rachni choice potentially had ramifications, if handled better.  Letting them live had the potential of reviving a superpower in the galaxy.  And possibly a xenphobic expansionist one.  Of course, that didn't pan out as many had hoped either.

[LinksOcarina]

The thing is, these discoveries do not happen in a vacuum.  They have (or should have) an impact on the galaxy around it.  That's one reason why the Lazarus Project, to me, fails.  It's a huge medical discovery, and absolutely nothing was done with it aside from reviving Shepard.  Something that really wasn't necessary to put in the story to begin with.

 

FTL travel, upgraded to the degree required to traverse dark space is on a similar level.  This would completely redefine the setting, not just be a new gameplay mechanic.  It's long distance travel without relays.  It's huge!  

 

Even the rachni choice potentially had ramifications, if handled better.  Letting them live had the potential of reviving a superpower in the galaxy.  And possibly a xenphobic expansionist one.  Of course, that didn't pan out as many had hoped either.

 

But that assumes all discoveries would have, or should have an impact. 

 

For one, how would the Lazarus project benefit anyone but Cerberus, since it was funded and damn expensive? In-game it makes sense because of selfish motivations, it is not an earth-shaking thing to the Illusive Man, it's just a means to an end.

 

Everything else, it is speculation it wont be a big deal. If it isent, then who knows what the justification can be. Maybe were 200 years later and its become commonplace enough to not warrant a big deal. That in of itself is not game-breaking, no?

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Why does our way to somewhere always have to be done via some ancient tech (DEM or Ass Pull) we discovered? Why can't we use somethiing or reverse engineer something that we've already discovered? Like I've said before. There are already dead reapers laying around. The Ark needs drives that don't need to discharge. The dead reapers have these drives. Use them or reverse engineer them (remember the derelict reaper and Cerberus). It takes a long time to become indoctrinated by reaper tech, and  once the signal from the Catalyst is cut off or we're at a distance where it's too weak to matter we're safe.

[themikefest]

The Reapers being able to reach Andromeda but choosing not to would bother me,

What if the reapers have been to Andromeda, but called something else by the species that live in the galaxy? The species we encounter in Andromeda refer to the reapers as the whatever name. We know them as reapers in the Milky Way so when they're called something else, we don't give it a second thought.

 

The reapers may of left Andromeda before coming to the Milky Way and won't be back for 50 000 years. So we colonize and do whatever without ever knowing that the reapers known by another name have never been to Andromeda. When they do come back, if they do, we, the main character, will be long dead.

 

I know this is very, even extremely unlikely, but hey. Its just speculation until more information is released about Andromeda

[Iakus]

Why does our way to somewhere always have to be done via some ancient tech (DEM or Ass Pull) we discovered? Why can't we use somethiing or reverse engineer something that we've already discovered? Like I've said before. There are already dead reapers laying around. The Ark needs drives that don't need to discharge. The dead reapers have these drives. Use them or reverse engineer them (remember the derelict reaper and Cerberus). It takes a long time to become indoctrinated by reaper tech, and  once the signal from the Catalyst is cut off or we're at a distance where it's too weak to matter we're safe.

If the game was set several thousand years in the future, maybe that would be the case.  But at our current tech level, building or reverse engineering Reaper drives would, to me, be just as much a Deus Ex Machina or an Ass Pull.  I still facepalm at the Lazarus Project, after all.  Humans are Special, but not that Special.

[Iakus]

What if the reapers have been to Andromeda, but called something else by the species that live in the galaxy? The species we encounter in Andromeda refer to the reapers as the whatever name. We know them as reapers in the Milky Way so when they're called something else, we don't give it a second thought.

 

The reapers may of left Andromeda before coming to the Milky Way and won't be back for 50 000 years. So we colonize and do whatever without ever knowing that the reapers known by another name have never been to Andromeda. When they do come back, if they do, we, the main character, will be long dead.

 

I know this is very, even extremely unlikely, but hey. Its just speculation until more information is released about Andromeda

That's really not a bad idea.  Personally, I like it.  But yeah, it's highly unlikely.  I suspect the Reapers are as done as Shepard at this point.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

What if the reapers have been to Andromeda, but called something else by the species that live in the galaxy? The species we encounter in Andromeda refer to the reapers as the whatever name. We know them as reapers in the Milky Way so when they're called something else, we don't give it a second thought.

 

The reapers may of left Andromeda before coming to the Milky Way and won't be back for 50 000 years. So we colonize and do whatever without ever knowing that the reapers known by another name have never been to Andromeda. When they do come back, if they do, we, the main character, will be long dead.

 

I know this is very, even extremely unlikely, but hey. Its just speculation until more information is released about Andromeda

Yeah. When called a Reaper by Shepard, Sovereign even goes "Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant." When hearing the name Reaper, Sovereign responds to it confused hence being in the form of a question. Other than the Catalyst, the Reapers never actually refer to themselves as Reapers, the closest being "That which you know as Reapers". It is not a term they identify with, so like you said there is no reason why the people of Andromeda would refer to them as Reapers.

 

Personally the Intergalactic Reaper Theory is one of my favorites, the other being Black Ark Theory. It solves a lot of issues with few drawbacks. It ensures there isn't an uber-race in Andromeda that would crush us but rather that the races there are at best on par with us, it has the Andromeda races have the same basic tech that is recognizable yet can still be alien, it provides a way to get to Andromeda without violating the lore through using the Dark Relays, and it allows the continued existence of one of the Mass Effect franchise's icons: the Mass Relays.

[Shermos]

But then I realized there is a third option.  The option is the same method used to travel across the galaxy itself:  a mass relay.  A unique one, not part of the network.  Like the Conduit.

 

Forgive my ego, but this is an idea I had and posted about months ago. My solution involved a long lost relay which worked on the principle of sling shots, either to get ships to Andromeda (one way trip), or to get another relay there, to allow for two way, and more accurate travel. As you said, it's possible the Leviathans could have pulled it off. There's also the possibility a race from one of the early cycles did it. We know the Mass relays weren't build in the very first cycle. The Leviathans iirc said they were built "in time", so there were at least a few cycles where a race could possibly have become advanced enough to build such a relay itself before the Reapers wiped out their civilisation. It'd be cool if we found out it was the race we now call the Keepers who did it. Maybe their level of technology impressed the Catalyst enough to keep them around in more than just Reaper form.  

 

Breaking lore isn't the main reason I dislike the move to Andromeda, but it would be slightly more palatable if the writers showed respect to it, and leave the possibility open for two way travel between galaxies. As I discussed in my original post, the return relay (or both) could be damaged, preventing two way travel until it or they are repaired. Then we could have a genuine expansion of the Mass Effect universe.