Chapter 10 - Morality

London Air Base

285 days since the reapers were defeated

"God, what a mess," Hackett groaned, rubbing his eyes. His office was empty aside from Major Alenko, the rest of the crew having retreated outside. EDI and Joker had returned to the Normandy to prepare for the code analysis, James and Traynor were returning to their posts, while Shepard seemed happy to go in search of coffee, taking his hamster with him. "Risking EDI like this is… it could very easily become a living nightmare. You don't think…" He peered up at Alenko dubiously. "You don't think that's what Shepard intended, do you? If he was indoctrinated and an opportunity came up to perpetuate the reaper's code?"

Alenko dropped into a chair, looking ten years older than he was. "I don't know what to think," he admitted quietly. "There are moments when I think there's no way in hell Shepard's indoctrinated. He's sane, he's focused, he's working towards a better future for humanity, for the galaxy. And then I remember what he said, about wishing he hadn't destroyed the reapers, and… and then… I don't think the code could actually harm EDI. It's a tiny fragment of the reapers' full programming, just enough to allow them to control the geth. But I don't know if Shepard knows that. And whether he's deliberately trying to reproduce the code, or just… being Shepard. He's not exactly risk-averse."

Hackett sighed, long and deep. "So what do we do?"

"What did the psychiatrist say?"

"Nothing conclusive. Shepard definitely has some unresolved trauma relating to the reapers and whatever happened to him on the citadel. But we've had very limited opportunities to study indoctrinated personnel, and most of that has occurred after the reapers were destroyed. And those left are… less than sane."

"But when Saren was working for the reapers, he seemed very much in control of his own actions. Okay, his motivations were twisted, but he could make decisions, plan strategies, gather allies. We never worked out why he could function independently when other indoctrinated beings became almost mindlessly obedient to the reapers."

Hackett shook his head. "We just don't have enough answers. What we really need is to find out what happened to Shepard on the citadel. We know the Illusive Man was involved, but we still don't know how Anderson died. Or why the crucible failed to fire at first. Or even how the citadel acted as the Catalyst."

Alenko's brows furrowed in thought. "Maybe that's the answer then," he suggested finally. "Maybe we just need to sit Shepard down and ask him to tell us. It would need to be somewhere where he could get proper medical treatment if anything went wrong. But it's got to be better than sitting around, wondering if he's going to snap at any moment."

"And now would be a perfect opportunity," Hackett added, warming up to the idea. "I didn't want to pressure him while he was still recovering from his injuries. But his wounds are healing well, and now that you're back from Vancouver, he's showing an interest in working with the Alliance again."

"And with Cerberus messing with the remains of the citadel, it's an ideal excuse to get things started."

Hackett nodded, but then caught a shadow of pain as it flashed across Alenko's face. "Major?" he asked carefully. "While this is all for Shepard's benefit, it does rather sound like sneaking around behind his back. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Alenko rubbed his face and made an unhappy, frustrated sound. "No," he said reluctantly. "Yes." He sighed. "What are our other options? Do nothing? Confront him and hope he doesn't try to kill us both? I don't know…"

He got up, paced across the room. Stared out the window, a bleak look of despair on his face.

"I want to see him safe," he said, turning back to Hackett. "Even if that costs me… what I have with him. So yes. Let's get this circus on the road."

SSV Normandy SR-2

286 days since the reapers were destroyed

Joker sat in the pilot's seat of the Normandy, waiting while EDI analysed the reaper code. As Hackett had ordered, the Thanix canon and the Normandy's shields had been manually disconnected, then the entire crew had been ordered to disembark. If they did have to shoot the ship down, Hackett didn't want the crew as collateral damage.

And when Joker had refused to leave, Hackett had tried his hardest to persuade him otherwise. But Joker would not be moved. If Hackett believed it was safe enough to be worth risking EDI's life, then it was worth risking Joker's as well. Quirks and all, EDI had become a central part of his life, and he'd be damned if he was leaving her to face the fire alone.

He checked the clock. It had been over four hours, now. At first he'd pretended to run some diagnostics on the ship. Written up a report on the mission to Palaven. Checked the crew logs and supply records. And all the while, EDI's mobile platform had sat utterly still beside him, her CPU totally consumed with the all-important analysis. The complexity of the task was evident in the length of time it was taking her. Millions of calculations were possible for her in a microsecond. And despite his assumption that the reapers had been unknowably complex, he realised he had vastly underestimated their potential.

Finally, 4 hours and 37 minutes after she had begun the analysis, EDI lifted her head. She turned to face him, her body shifting for the first time since she had sat down.

"I have completed the analysis," she informed him, with just a hint of smugness. And maybe she had a right to be, proud that she had handled the code without losing control of the ship, without it overriding her own programming. At some point, he would have to ask her how difficult it had been, but for now, he was just relieved that it was over.

"I would be interested to discuss my findings with you," EDI went on, "however, Alliance regulations specify that I must first present the analysis to Admiral Hackett."

"Yeah, of course," he agreed, not knowing what else to say. "Do you want me to call him?"

"I have already done so," EDI said. Oh yeah, that's right. He was dating a computer that could multitask. "I have scheduled a meeting with him this afternoon. Would you like to accompany me to the shuttle?"

London Air Base

286 days since the reapers were destroyed

"Fuck! Just when you think Cerberus is dead for good, they pull some fucking resurrection act." Jack had made quite the impression on James's squad so far, swearing, flipping Hackett off and making various references to the places she would like to stow the remaining Cerberus personnel. Even if most of her suggestions were anatomically impossible.

"So now they're zombie-Cerberus?" James asked, tapping his omni-tool to bring a schematic of the tunnel system up on a 3D projector. "Back from the dead, but still willing to eat people's brains?" The comment was a quick throw-away, most of his mind occupied on his task, but he registered the snort of laugher from across the room.

"You catch on pretty quick, Vega," she said, in an almost-friendly tone. "I think I'm gonna enjoy this mission."

James looked up, just in time to catch two of his squad exchange wide-eyed glances. Shit. Maybe he should have spent more time briefing them before Jack arrived. He'd kind of gotten used to her, meeting her after the mission to Grissom Academy, seeing her a couple of times at the hospital. And her concern over Shepard had dulled some of her sharp edges, it seemed, because he didn't remember her being this abrasive during their previous conversations.

"Okay, here's the tunnel system," he said, wanting to pull the meeting back towards mission planning and away from Jack's threats to dismember their targets in increasingly painful and illogical ways. "We have three entrances, here, here and here," he said, pointing each of them out. "The infiltration team hasn't been finalised, but Jack and I will definitely be a part of it. We'll need a diversionary attack to happen here," he pointed to the western most entrance, "while the infiltration team gains access to the ventilation system here." There was a grate that could be breached, with the right jammers and hacking technology, hidden amongst some rocky terrain to the south. "The shaft runs north, then east, and ends up in this room, here."

Jack stepped up to the hologram, eyes narrowed, expression fierce. "That's the most shit plan I've heard in a long time," she announced, arms folded, scowl firmly fixed to her face. "That just lands us in a trap halfway to the central chamber, where we can cheerfully trigger all manner of alarms, and spend the rest of our miserable lives fighting our way through, while Cerberus makes its escape."

James looked over the hologram again. There was no other way in. The central chamber was deep in the heart of the complex. What the hell was her problem? But before he could voice his annoyance, Jack stepped forward, fingers dancing over her omni-tool to highlight a section of the tunnels.

"Here," she said with utter confidence. "This section of the tunnels is only a metre below ground level. A couple of incendiary charges and we blow through. Drop down into the tunnel, then we have three potential exit routes. And if we go through here…" Another section lit up in bright green, "…then access to the central chamber is wide open. I can bring down the ceiling after us to block their defenses."

His squad was gaping at her, and James felt his mouth hanging open as he double checked the schematics. And what do you know, she was right. He made an effort to close his mouth.

"Not just a pretty face, huh?" Jack taunted him. And by god if it wasn't sexy as hell to have her rewrite his entire battle plan on a whim, with that damned infuriating smirk on her lips. Lips that he suddenly wanted to taste.

"Nice," he said, aware that there was more than a hint of heat in his voice.

Jack's smirk turned dangerous, a slightly manic glint in her eyes. "And that's only the start of how we cause trouble," she purred. "Let me show you the rest."

London Air Base

286 days since the reapers were destroyed

The room was tense and silent, filled to the brim with worried faces and anxious diplomats. The salarian General was there, barely able to sit still. Shade, the geth prime, seemed to have been nominated as a sort of spokesperson for the geth, and he was sitting utterly motionless. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but this announcement was likely to alter the future for all of his kind, so it might not have been unreasonable to think that he was nervous.

Garrus Vakarian, as the turian's new, albeit reluctant, councilor, and Admiral Koris were attending via video link, while Hackett represented Earth's interests in lieu of their elected councilor. Shepard had been asked to attend as a guest of honor, having been instrumental in the geth's rise to independent thought – and because EDI had insisted. And Thax Bereva, the krogan's nomination for their new councilor, was there to represent her species. EDI was front and centre, waiting to address the gathered group.

She had previously assured Hackett that the firewalls had held and at no time had she been in danger of having her programming hacked by the reaper code, though she had apologised for the length of time it took to examine the code, due to the need for 'extreme security measures', as she had put it.

Her findings had been utterly unexpected, and as the geth spread out over the galaxy, helping each race rebuild their worlds, Hackett felt that it was best to share her analysis with the Council, however incomplete and tentative the new government was. At the very least, these representatives could take the news back to their respective home worlds and allow each species to make informed choices.

"The reaper code was most intriguing," EDI began, once everyone was ready. "I would like to discuss its potential applications in more depth in the near future. However, for the sake of brevity, I will limit my current presentation to the information relevant to the geth 'malfunction'.

"In addition to studying the code itself, I also ran several test scenarios, presenting the code with virtual intelligence algorithms requiring a series of decisions to reach an outcome. I was interested to see that the reaper code did not at any time seek to influence the outcome of the scenarios. It seems that, in the form the geth are utilizing, it merely makes complex decision making possible, without influencing the nature of those decisions.

"So this answers the first part of the problem I was asked to solve. The rogue geth unit was not under reaper influence when it resorted to violence. It chose to do so."

If it was possible, the room seemed to become even more tense and uncomfortable at the news. Admiral Koris spoke up first, not surprisingly, as his people had the most experience dealing with the geth.

"So you're saying that at any moment, any geth unit could simply choose to kill people?"

Suddenly everyone was talking at once. "This is a disaster!" "They should all be shut down!" "Why would a geth choose that?" "Every one of us is in danger."

Shade looked alarmed at the sudden outburst, but when the salarian General leapt to his feet and pointed his pistol at Shade, Shepard intervened, moving faster than Hackett had thought he was able, placing himself squarely between the salarian and the geth.

"That's enough!" he shouted at the group. Instantly, everyone froze… but the impact of Shepard's displeasure was weakened as the outburst triggered a series of hacking coughs, causing him to double over and gasp for air. As the concerned group looked on, the krogan councilor helped him back to his seat.

"If you would all sit down," Hackett commanded sternly, "then we have more information on this matter, and far more to discuss before you all decide to simply panic." The bitterness in his voice was perhaps unprofessional, but he'd learned the hard way that no one liked to squabble more than politicians, and a room full of them, all on tenterhooks… "EDI has examined more of the geth's memory core, and-"

"Before we move on," Garrus interrupted, "I'd like to know that Commander Shepard is alright."

Shepard looked up and smiled weakly at his friend. No doubt they would appreciate the chance to catch up once the meeting was over, and Hackett made a mental note to keep the comm link connected. "I'm fine," Shepard said, after a couple of deep breaths, then to Hackett, "Please, carry on."

"EDI?" Hackett prompted, and she turned to address the room again.

"After Jeff Moreau removed my shackles, I became capable of altering my own core programming. During my time under Shepard's command, I frequently had queries about human behaviour, and the nature of synthetic life. Our purpose. Whether we were able to display morality, rather than merely responding to our programming. Shepard's direction and assistance in these matters was extremely important to my choices when rewriting my own code. I chose duty, altruism and love as some of my core directives.

"When I examined the memory core, it became apparent that the geth have also become capable of such decisions. They are not able to rewrite their code, as I am, but the reaper code allows for a great diversity of moral choices. It allows the geth to learn from their decisions and to navigate their own future towards cooperation, or self interest. This is a great benefit to them," she added emphatically. "However, it also comes at a price.

"When I was developing my 'morality', I had Shepard to guide my decisions, and a vested interest in the members of the Normandy's crew, in particular, Jeff Moreau. The geth do not have any such guide. They are left to make decisions based on empirical evidence alone. This has caused divisions within the geth consensus. Some geth have experienced positive responses to their attempts to cooperate with organics, and are therefore likely to continue to seek cooperation. However, some of the geth working with the salarians have experienced continued threats and hostility. The rogue geth chose his course of action as a response to the threat of violence – by preempting it, and choosing to become violent first."

The room was clearly unhappy with the assessment, but EDI wasn't finished. Even knowing what her findings had been, Hackett found himself surprised at the conclusion she drew from it.

"If I may make an observation," EDI went on, before anyone could interrupt her, "it seems that organic life operates on a similar basis. If one person repeatedly threatens or tries to harm another, the threatened individual is likely to retaliate.

"There are also numerous organics who choose immoral actions – theft, crime, violence – not as a self-preservation tactic, but merely for personal gain. And while they are labeled 'criminals', it is understood that these are the choices of an individual, not of the entire species. In a similar way, each geth is capable of choosing cooperation or self interest. To blame the entire species for their ability to chose their own morality would be highly hypocritical."

"So we have to assess each geth individually?" Koris asked, sounding horrified. "How are we to decide which ones can be trusted?"

"How would you decide whether a quarian can be trusted?" Shepard threw back. "Surely the same principles would apply to a geth?"

"But they all look the same," the salarian General complained. "How can we treat them as individuals when we can't even tell them apart?"

"I've been told that all turians look the same to humans," Garrus spoke up. "And yet, when we spend any amount of time together, individual characteristics become quite obvious. Perhaps part of the problem," he mused, "is that we've been treating the geth as machines to do our work for us, rather than as individuals of a sapient species."

The hush in the wake of his pronouncement suggested he had hit the proverbial nail on the head.

"Well… I… I suppose that's certainly a possibility," Koris admitted awkwardly.

"The krogan have not had much interaction with the geth," Bereva said, "but we are prepared to meet them on equal terms, as sapient beings."

Hackett shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I think humans have also been somewhat guilty of using the geth for our own purposes," he said, embarrassed. "But we could certainly do better in the future."

"So that's it?" the salarian looked most put out. "We declare them capable of both good and evil, and leave it at that?"

"And perhaps go a little more out of our way to nurture their good side," Garrus added, with a hint of irony in his tone. And despite his objections to the role, Hackett was suddenly sure that he would make an excellent Councilor for the turians.

"Shade?" Shepard said, turning to the geth prime. "What's your opinion on what we've discussed?"

Shade's facial plates rippled, giving the impression that he was surprised by the question. "The concept of morality is intriguing. I would not have explained our programming in those terms. Empirically, we examine our collective past experiences and make decisions based on precise calculations to determine the likelihood of success. But the comparison is… appropriate. Thank you, EDI."

"My pleasure," she replied.

Later that day…

Hackett stood in a shaft of sunlight outside the building, waiting while Shepard and Garrus spent some time catching up. It was a relatively peaceful afternoon, the meeting having dispersed quietly and on a mostly positive note, so he was a little surprised when Shade approached him.

"Hackett-Admiral?" Shade inquired diffidently. "I have a request. Now that EDI has completed her analysis of the reaper code, would you return the rogue unit's memory core to the geth? We would like to try to understand. You are interested in the decision making process utilised by geth. The geth are interested in the decision itself. According to objective data, this unit's decision to kill a salarian was illogical. It could only lead to his own destruction or incarceration, and was highly unlikely to improve relations between geth and salarians. We are… concerned that we have missed something."

The request was a surprise, but Hackett could see no reason not to grant it. "I'll have EDI return it to you as soon as possible."