Mass Effect: Newton's Third Law

by Raven Studios

The Reapers have arrived. The war has begun, and already the galaxy crumbles. Reunited with old friends, aided by new allies, Shepard finally finds herself face-to-face the enemies she's dreaded for years...while keeping Cerberus at bay with one hand. (Cover images all belong to Bioware. As with Mass Effect itself, I'm just borrowing them and giving credit where it's due.)

21. Lonely

[Consensus, request return: Platform designated "Legion" requesting to rejoin Consensus.]

[Consensus, return: Request denied.]

[Consensus, request return: Platform designated "Legion" requesting justification. Why may we not rejoin the Consensus?]

[Consensus, return: Platform designated "Legion" deemed essential to facilitating contact with organics—specifically, Shepard-Commander, RE: Reaper Arrival. Alteration of software composition likely to impact organic perception.]

[Consensus, request return: Platform Legion wishes to express the wish to come home. We are… shorthand: lonely.]

[Consensus, return: …processing]

[Consensus, return: …]

[Consensus, return: …]

[Consensus, request return: Platform Legion wishes to come home. We are lonely.]

[Consensus, return: Platform state non-quantifiable. Geth are not lonely.]

[We are geth, and we are lonely.]

[Platform designated "Legion": Run software integrity diagnostic. Aberrations in platform designated "Legion" unacceptable.]

{Platform Legion results: no corruption or foreign code detected. Result: platform is fully functional. Results appended.}

[Consensus, return: results reveal no abnormalities. Platform designated "Legion" to remain in standby mode.]

[Platform Legion: acknowledged.]

{Platform "Legion" entering stand-by mode.}

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Can you understand me?

Playback, Platform Legion: Yes.

Consideration: We do not understand organics. We understand language. We understand motivation—to quantifiable extent. We do not understand organics.

Query: but we understand 'lonely.'

Playback, Shepard-Commander: You had a perfect firing solution while we were on that Reaper. Why didn't you take the shot?

Playback, Platform Legion: We are not at war. Shepard-Commander is not the enemy of the geth.

Consideration, ex post facto: we have no wish to harm Normandy's software.

Consideration: The Normandy's software exhibited no intent to harm us, our platform.

Consideration: Wish/consideration is not equal to intent.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Since when?

Playback, Platform Legion: Shepard-Commander is not the geth's enemy.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: I've killed a lot of geth. By some definitions that would make me the enemy.

Assessment: Point is made fairly. Could be considered true, from certain points of view.

Return result: Fairness in dealings, even with an unknown. Even with previously assumed enemy.

{Notation: Cerberus maintains standing bounty for captured live functional geth.}

{Notation: Shepard-Commander either did not know about or refused to consider the offer.}

Rebuttal: Expression untrue. Shepard-Commander killed heretics. Shepard-Commander permitted heretics to die for their cause.

Conclusion: Shepard-Commander entertains unique perspective.

Supported Conclusion: Shepard-Commander sees geth as…alive. Comparable to organic concept of life. Deserving of same considerations. Shepard-Commander does not support Indoctrination; Shepard-Commander refused rewriting heretics.

Playback, Platform Legion: Those you fought were heretics. Not the geth. The heretics worship the Old Machines. The geth understand: you have done what was necessary.

Consensus' expressed opinion conclusion, RE: Supported Conclusion, Shepard-Commander/Heretic Station: Decisive action; lack of efficiency. Acceptable.

Consideration: Consensus fails to understand Shepard-Commander-expressed concept: 'human dignity.' We are lonely. Consensus unable to quantify.

{Platform Legion, requesting internal software integrity scan.

{Platform Legion scan return: no corruption or foreign code detected. Result: platform is fully functional.}

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Wait, heretics, geth…I don't understand the difference.

Playback, Platform Legion: Heretics wish the Old Machines to give them the future. The geth wish to create their own future. They are no longer part of us.

Consideration: We are no longer part of the Consensus. We are lonely. We…miss…Normandy's software.

Concern: Consensus unable to quantify 'lonely.' Likelihood of inability to truly quantify organic motivations.

Supposition: data filter necessary to facilitate communication between Geth and organics.

Platform Legion directive: to facilitate communication, specifically with Shepard-Commander, RE: Reaper arrival.

Consideration: We understand lonely. Consensus unable to quantify. We are not part of the Consensus. What are we?

Playback, Shepard-Commander: All right. So who are you?

Consideration: …who are we? We are Legion…we exist as Legion. We are…an individual.

Playback, Platform Legion: We are geth.

Paradox: we are geth, geth are runtime amalgamations. Geth do not exist in the singular.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: No, who are you?

Playback, Platform Legion: …we are geth…

Consideration: We are an individual, despite not existing in the singular.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Who is the individual standing in front of me? Do you have a designation?

Playback, Platform Legion: We are geth. We are not an individual: there are 1,183 programs active within this platform. We are all geth.

Playback, EDI: 'I am named Legion, for we are many.'

Return true: We are Legion, and we are many.

Return true: and we are an individual.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: That seems appropriate

Playback, Platform Legion: Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion.

{Interjectory playback, historical log: Does this unit have a soul?}

Consideration: Geth do not feel lonely. We feel lonely.

Query: Does this unit have a soul?

[Return: No data available.]

[Return: No satisfactory answer available.]

{Attached data package: arguments for and against concept of 'souls in machines.'}

Playback, Shepard-Commander: So, now we know who you are, what do you want, exactly?

Playback, Platform Legion: We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: You want…to join us?

Playback, Platform Legion: This terminal will integrate with the Normandy. We understand your concerns.

Consideration: We understood logical concerns.

Consideration: We did not understand moral/ethical concerns. We did not understand emotion-based concerns. The Consensus keeps us an individual. We have a purpose: facilitate contact with organics. Gap in understanding…

[Interjectory playback, Solus-Mordin: problematic.]

Consideration: Yes.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: EDI, report.

Playback, EDI: The platform has made no attempt to scan, probe, hack, or otherwise investigate any part of the Normandy's firewalls, defenses, weapons, core processes, files—classified and open—transmissions or accumulated, stored data.

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Please take down the containment field.

Playback, EDI: Containment field is now…offline.

{Annotation: security field deactivated. Marked biometric response from security personnel.}

Playback, Shepard-Commander: Welcome aboard, Legion.

{Annotation, physical contact greeting. Handshake, roots in Western Civilization, Earth. Right hand specific due to right hand dominant culture; offers assurance to participants of no weapon in hand.}

Playback, Platform Legion: We anticipate the exchange of data.

Consideration: Not all data is quantifiable.

Correction: Not all data comprehensible to geth.

[End Playback.]

Consideration: We are lonely.