"They'll die?" Rachel choked out, her voice a death rattle. "All the geth?"
"Every synthetic," the Catalyst corrected her. Behind the child's voice was something ancient and unknowable. "Even you are partly synthetic."
"I don't mind dying." It might even be a relief. Death would silence the whispers in her head. They were not the insidious, malevolent whispers of indoctrination, but something worse. The dead came for her in her dreams. Murderer, said Kaidan. You committed genocide, said Mordin. How'd that work out for you? asked Wrex. I trusted you, said Tali. No, her own death didn't bother her. But…
"Rannoch would be a wasteland." Her final act would be yet more death.
"There are other choices."
"Choices?" She hadn't had a choice since she blew up the Alpha Relay.
"You could control us." Something like contempt crept into the Catalyst's voice. "We would be yours to direct as you see fit. All the power of—"
Every word landed like a blow. Rachel covered her ears. "Don't you get it? I had power. Look at what I did with it. And you think I want more? To be some kind of, of…" Her brain supplied the word she needed. "…some kind of god?"
"I see." The Catalyst paused, and Rachel felt as if cold, indifferent fingers were digging through her brain. "Born for service. Hero of Elysium. You considered yourself a…good person. This war has forced you to do things you consider monstrous. You have been twisted and broken. What if I told you that no one need ever suffer again as you have? My Reapers were created for a specific purpose, but if the cycle were ended, they would be free. We could help you."
"And how would I end the cycle?"
"Add your energy to the Crucible. The resulting energy would transform all life and ensure synthetics would never surpass and dominate organics. You would be faster, stronger, and more intelligent. With our purpose ended, we would be free to share the knowledge of a thousand cycles. All that was broken could be restored."
Rachel stared at the greenish-white light flowing through the center of the chamber. It could be done, this synthesis. Joker and EDI would be happy together. The krogan would rebuild. And she, she could be something other than a monster and a murderer. All that it required was her life. She just had to make the choice.
Rachel jumped into the light. Fire filled her body. The light turned red. Wait, wait. Why was it red? Red wasn't a peaceful color. The room was bathed in blood. More fire. Rachel couldn't breathe. The chamber fell apart around her. Then she stopped falling. Anderson's unmoving body lay beside her. Anderson? But that would mean… that would mean…
Then, silence.
"Admiral, we've completed our analysis of the Crucible. It's sole and singular function was the destruction of the Reapers. Tell Dr. T'Soni her theories about other possible functions are way off."
"I will. I can't say I'm disappointed. Not that it would've mattered. Shepard, would have done her duty."
"That reminds me. Shepard's onboard monitoring was working right up until the end. Her brain activity was off the charts. She must have been having one hell of a hallucination." The scientist shrugged. "Guess everyone deserves to die happy."