With Mass Effect: Legendary Edition finally seeing a release, new gamers are joining longtime fans in discovering what makes this series so great. It's a powerful trilogy that pits a diverse group of intergalactic heroes against the most insidious force ever to have plaguedthe known galaxy - the Reapers.
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These technological terrors have roots dating back billions of years, and they have been responsible for shaping the events of the Milky Way galaxy through continuous conquest and genocide. Only scraps of intel have been found to give insight into who and what they are, and why they do what they do.
Their Progenitors Are The Leviathans
The first Mass Effect game introduced players to the Reapers, but little was known of their true origins. All that was established was their unceasing cycle of genocide against galactic races through the course of eons. It wasn't until Mass Effect 3 that gamers learned their true origins in the form of the Leviathans.
These hulking aquatic life forms not only resemble the Reapers in shape and appearance, but also in abilities. They were the first to develop an artificial intelligence meant to preserve life, but that same intelligence would soon turn against them. It created the first Reaper known as Harbinger, and began the cycle of destruction they are so well known for. The Leviathans nearly went extinct as a result.
Their Ideology Is About Preserving Life
It may seem insane to suggest it, but the Reapers do believe that their goal is to preserve organic life throughout the galaxy. They accomplish this by purging the galaxy of all life on a routine basis, before allowing new species to grow and evolve, at which point the cycle begins anew.
This ideology was born out of a Leviathan initiative that went horribly wrong. The Reapers believed that organics would eventually create synthetic beings that would inevitably turn on them, and snuff out all organic life permanently. To solve this, the Reapers relied on cold, calculated logic to come up with the only viable solution, at least in their own mind.
Their Safe Haven Is Dark Space
The Reapers only engage biological life in the universe when the masses have reached the pinnacle of their respective civilizations. When they're not busy committing genocide on a galactic scale, they spend their time hibernating in a region of the galaxy known as "dark space."
Here, they reside in a pocket of space almost completely devoid of stars or light. This is done on purpose in order to hide themselves from the next civilizations who might discover and destroy them in their only true vulnerable state. Once they awaken, they empty out of dark space and back intothe galaxy to repeat their cycle of destruction.
Their Gift Is A Trojan Horse
Mass Effect is built upon the premise that the galaxy's sentient beings somehow discover the Citadel and the Mass Relay networks, two pieces of technology that allow their species to leapfrog forward by multiple orders of magnitude. This accelerates their natural growth curve and allows them to start exploring the known galaxy.
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Unfortunately, what they fail to realize is that these technologies were Reaper constructs left behind for biological races to find. It's the ultimate trojan horse scenario that allows the Reapers to capitalize on their intellectual and technological growth, simply to kick off another cycle of purges.
The Citadel Trap
The aforementioned Citadel was designed to be an attractive station that would lure spacefaring species, who in turn would make it their primary galactic hub. Commerce, trade, information, and politics were centralized and regulated through the Citadel, which was by Reaper design.
The Reapers knew the Citadel would draw the galaxy's many races to it, and that meant they would have a clear path to invasion without any resistance. By striking the Citadel first, the Reapers could catch the galaxy off guard, crippling communication and transport lanes while consuming key intel on each species in the process.
The Indoctrination Effect
The Reapers exert a form of mind control on organic races that is commonly referred to as "indoctrination." It's a far cry from the kind imposed by entities in mass media, higher education, and politicalspheres in the fact that it does not require persuasion or teachings to do its job.
Instead, Reaper indoctrination occurs purely through proximity to a biological life form. The longer the two remain close, the weaker the species' mind becomes, until it is completely under the spell of the Reapers. The Leviathans possessed a similar ability, which was probably copied by the Reapers and enhanced to suit their goals.
Their Weapons
The entire threat of the Reaper armada centers around its astonishingly powerful and destructive weaponry. Reapers are tough nuts to crack, even for an entire fleet of capital ships. The original Reaper known as Sovereign managed to wreak havoc on the galaxy's united military forces before it was vanquished, but that was just the start.
The purging of the known galaxy's races was brought about by the technological superiority of the Reapers and their weapons. Their main most devastating card is a magnetohydrodynamic cannon which can fire molten metal at high speeds, followed by a near-impenetrable hull, and backed by powerful shields.
The Keeper Connection
The Reapers hid the key to their successful genocidal campaign in plain sight, right under the noses of the galaxy's collective races. The Keepers are insectoid aliens that go about their daily business on the Citadel, performing maintenance in order to keep it running in tip-top shape.
This is by design, to lure in future races who discover the Citadel and use it as a galactic hub. Once these races achieved the desired level of technological progress, the Keepers would receive a signal to use the Citadel to open up a conduit to dark space, allowing the Reapers to invade and begin their campaign of genocide. This cycle was eventually thwarted by the Protheans, freeing the Keepers of their mandate. The Keepers themselves are benign and harmless, and do only what they were meant to do.
The Andromeda Initiative
The ill-received Mass Effect: Andromeda was a way to continue the franchise story without stepping on the toes of established lore. The writers found a way to accomplish this by shifting the setting of the story from the Milky Way galaxy to Andromeda. There, they could begin a whole new chapter in the franchise, free from the events that came before.
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Despite this, the true reason for the so-called "Andromeda Initiative" changed following the destruction of the Reaper known as Sovereign during the events of the first Mass Effect. It was so that they could escape the galactic purge of the Milky Way by the Reapers themselves. This was kept top secret until it was discovered by the Ryder twins.
The Lovecraft Connection
Lovecraftian horror mythos speaks of a terrifying consciousness waiting in the darkness that cannot be reasoned or bargained with, and this was ported into Reaper qualities. The phrase "even dead Gods can dream" is spoken by a survey team member on board a derelict Reaper, lending further credibility to this link.
Beyond that, the Reapers themselves bear an eerie similarity to the popular monster known as Cthulhu, which has become a pop culture favorite of both sci-fi and horror enthusiasts alike. It's a nice allegorical nod to one of the most influential writers of the last 100+ years.
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