Mass Effect: A Very Terran (Re)solution

by NihilMomentum

What would happen if someone with vast knowledge about the Mass Effect Universe, both official (wiki/Codex) and theoretical (fanfics), decent fighting ability and a plan was dropped into that Universe 13 years before Eden Prime? As it turns out, quite a lot! FemShep. Soft HFY. And a very different kind of self-insert.

21. Chapter 17: Stellar Solutions (2 of 2)

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or anything else referenced here. Those are the sole property of their writers/companies (Bioware/EA and such). I do not claim ownership of anything but my OC and original concepts.

List of track(s) used (you can copy+paste them in your PC by temporarily switching to the mobile version):

[1] –) Recommended Track (looped): Kai Engel - Endless Story About Sun and Moon (part of the YT link: /watch?v=a0TfWSxpwA8).

[2] –) Somewhat Recommended Track (looped): Stellaris Utopia Soundtrack - Cradle of the Galaxy (part of the YT link: /watch?v=Zsxie9KfreA).

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Chapter 17: Stellar Solutions (Part 2: Curing Past Ails)

---

On the O'Neill Cylinder's docking/Gate area. Right after Admiral Zaal'Koris left.

Shala'Raan looked at the two figures vanishing into a wormhole, a shortcut in the fabric of reality. With them followed the "key" to save many of her already dwindled people. Still, she had a quest of her own, to explore and learn about this new world she found herself in. However, there was something she needed to confirm first…

"Wait, before we go, can I…?", she tried to formulate a question, pausing at the realization of what she was about to ask. "Can I confirm you're… you know…".

"Real? Not a hologram?", Senna'Nir said, finishing her question with a chuckle. "Go ahead ma'am. I'm sure I was still real the last time I checked.".

Now even more embarrassed at his quip, she slowly reached out for his arm, touching and tracing it towards his hand, feeling his very real pulse, but stopped before things got more awkward.

"Keelah, it's real… It's not an illusion…", she muttered slowly and quietly, before shaking her stupor away. "We shouldn't dawdle here. Let's go, Senna. Lead the way.".

With this small interlude out of the way, they finally stepped in and disappeared into a Gate that led directly to the main city's plaza.

[1]

As spacetime curved, contracting the landscape in front of her into normalcy, Shala found herself standing on a wide plaza, its floor composed of beautiful polished stone, with many patterns weaving themselves all over it, while the place was bustling with pedestrians of all species. A large ornate fountain decorated the center of this plaza, from which clear water flowed downwards due to centrifugal force, and benches matched the small trees carefully spread in moderation. The surroundings weren't dotted with tall skyscrapers, but with cozy recreation areas, such as cafes, dining halls, shops, small parks for children to play and more. Patches of green could be seen on all buildings, adding another layer of charm to their white and glassy futuristic look.

Not wanting to block the Gate's passage, Shala'Raan followed Senna down the steps of its small platform, finally noticing how well it was guarded. People would constantly arrive and leave through these Gate platforms, and all of them were scanned by mechanical sentries or by a few organic guards, who wore a unique uniform. Many drones accompanied them, none lacking eezo – if the lack of loud rotors were any indication –, yet these were merely gatekeepers, as she could see more well-equipped sentries farther away. Any invader that somehow managed to get through one of these Gates would face overwhelming bad odds, such was her first impression, and in a completely open area. Knowing the people who built this place like she did, this was probably only a small part of the true defenses.

None of that, however, took away from the splendor and beauty of the plaza. At this point, her guide gestured for them to move and she followed him, walking along the paths where people strolled through, chatting casually and occasionally throwing curious short glaces at the quarian duo. It was also then, and only then, when she finally snapped out of her daze.

"Ancestors, this is all incredible!", was all she could muster to say. "I can tell this city is just starting, but it's already completely beyond what I had imagined seeing today. Wait, what's the name of this station? It can't be that you just call it a Cylinder, right?".

"Haha, 'course not ma'am.", Senna replied. "This O'Neill Cylinder is named Avalon, while its twin is called Babylon, though many prefer to add 'Hanging Gardens' to the name.".

"I see… Those are fitting names indeed. And please, just call me Shala.", she asked politely.

"Sorry ma'am. I don't want to be disrespectful. Best I can do is Admiral Raan.", he replied with a respectful nod, but also a small smile.

Shala was taken aback a bit by his attitude, not knowing why he acted so. She also found out she still couldn't get used to seeing her fellow quarian's expressions so vividly – rather than merely imagining what those looked like behind a transparent faceplate.

"Very well.", she conceded partially, switching topics after looking up at this huge structure, yet not seeing many shuttles whizzing about. "How do people get around quickly? I mean, with it being so massive, I don't suppose they just walk everywhere.".

Only then, when standing at the center of this young sprawling city, did she realize just how massive this station was. Above her was the "other side" of this enclosed world, the farthest place she could arrive at by walking and easily visible where she stood, but it was still around 11 kilometers away. And she'd need to travel 45 kilometers to go from one end to the other.

"Oh no. We don't get around on foot, or rely much on shuttles. At first, there were talks of using trains, probably with some maglev system, but the Gates made them unnecessary, so we just use those to cross large distances.", Senna explained, pointing at a few Gate platforms off in the distance.

"Ah, that's right… I'm still not used to this.", she admitted, putting a hand on her faceplate. "Keelah, a new type of FTL travel! And you use it as a substitute for trains…".

He laughed at her small lamentation, despite realizing she was just being facetious, then explained further: "We don't rely just on Gates though. If we need to move in an urban area, we can just use electric cars. Those get recharged very quickly at charging stations we can find in basically every corner. For distances not too close yet also not reachable by Gates, there's still shuttles, but we're trying to use them less. Saves eezo for other things. Besides, an electric car is enough to move around in a city, so…".

"Cars? Like we used to have back in the homeworld?", she inquired rhetorically, though he did respond to her with a nod. "I guess it's only to be expected, considering how you seem to do everything differently. Did people get used to this 'aged' mode of transportation?".

Senna nodded in response, pointing at some electric cars driving outside the plaza.

"They've become surprisingly popular lately… Because of some old human vids, I think. In fact, many prefer them over shuttles.", he gossiped, before waving his hands dismissively. "But enough about that. There's a few places I'd like to show you today, Admiral. We could start where I dine at. What do you think?".

"Actually, there's something else I'm wondering about. Where do you produce your food?", Shala inquired in a tone of curiosity. "No, I guess a more pertinent question would be: how do you manage to be self-sustainable? It can't be that most of this station is going to be used as farmland, right?".

"No, no. That'd be a massive waste. Most farming is done off-site actually; in those small ancillary facilities, around Avalon and Babylon.", he revealed to her as they walked in the direction of a Gate platform. "We've got a lot of farming on-site only because there aren't many people living here yet, so not using it would be a waste, don't you think?".

"Ah, I was wondering what those were for!", she blurted out spontaneously. "I mean, I saw those small stations when we came in, but forgot to ask about them because of, you know, everything else… Still, will they be able to support the population this place can hold? Sam told us it can easily fit over a million. I think he was being conservative on his estimates.".

"Ah, don't worry about it, Admiral. We're aware of these things… That's why we've focused on vertical farming, with automatic systems sprinkling water when needed, only using 'red light' and so on…", he explained some more details, such as that all heat produced gets dealt with by radiators. "Some of it is based on those methods we use back in our liveships. Except the-, some very smart people developed things like a multi-purpose crop that's just perfect for our bioreactors. Oh, by the way, those can synthesize any kind of meat you can imagine!".

"And, let me guess, if you start running out of food, then you can just build more of those… space farms, yes?", she asked, appearing a bit dejected, since they couldn't just build more scout ships for food – and liveships even less.

"Right on the credit chit! It's not like we're lacking space in, well… space.", he replied with a big grin. "Also, some of the bio guys were even talking about using bacteria cultures to produce specific nutrients… For the bioreactors I mean. There's more though. See these all around us?".

He pointed at the buildings they were passing by while strolling casually, prompting Shala to take notice of their unique design. She saw that, besides not being taller than 10 stories high, they were a beautiful blend of architecture reminiscent of Thessia's style with green plant life woven around it. In her view, they also looked somewhat like the design humans were experimenting with in the "great cities" of their homeworld.

"They're all based on something called an arcology design. It's a fusion of architecture with ecology. But we have our own take on it.", he told her enthusiastically the basic concept of the design, before waving his hand quickly. "We're not using those plants on the outside as food though. They are more for aesthetics. Basically, the idea here is to set up an automated farm under each house, where people can set up their own personal automated vertical farm. I believe that's one of the reasons the Cylinder was built with some underground space. But I'm not the guy to ask for more details. I'm just a programmer after all.".

"Then how come you know so much about all of this?", she questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Because I wrote the little VI that automates those space farms.", he told her with a proud smile. "Most of it anyway.".

"If that's the case, then why didn't you bring it back home, as your pilgrimage gift?", Shala questioned him further, this time with a more reapproaching tone. He paused his stride as her last word fell.

"Admiral, what makes you think this isn't also our home?", he asked seriously, dropping his casual demeanor for a moment.

Shala didn't have an answer for that, taken aback temporarily. But neither did Senna push one out of her. They continued on the tour as if this brief pause didn't happen and promptly reached another Gate platform, which led to a distant region of Avalon. Many of the Atlas Foundation's employees worked there, including Senna'Nir. They walked through it and he began showing her how his day-to-day life was.

The place was a large and expensive complex of offices, testing grounds and laboratories. They were divided into various groups, or "cells", which were responsible for specific tasks, such as developing metamaterials for better lenses, genetic modifications of "better" crops and military augmentations, turning the "extranet" and Omni-tools into a tiny mind-machine interface (cybernetic implant), VIs programmed for automated systems of construction and so on. A few labs were also set up in zero-G, for science research in certain fields that simply required such conditions – from material manufacturing to bioengineering. Due to "floating in mid-air", those added an almost magical vibe to the place.

Issues and results were shared amongst the various teams; in a positive interdisciplinary feedback loop. For example, a new breakthrough in the miniaturization of lenses based on metamaterials could help in the development of better cybernetic eyes. Moreover, despite most work still being done "physically", it was moving towards teleworking, only waiting for a few breakthroughs in a related project. Then, many would work from the comfort of their own homes, while still interacting with each other in virtual environments indistinguishable from reality, only occasionally using the labs for live tests.

Afterwards, Senna'Nir took the Admiral to where most employees dined at. Surrounded by a lush forest, with a cobblestone path leading to it, was a cozy restaurant in the outskirts of that settlement. Along the way, Shala looked around in wonder, especially at the small lake "over" her head, which mirrored the small waterways bordering the place. They discussed how most people thought quarians didn't eat meat (their typical diet was vegan), when the truth was that any livestock simply had an inefficient resource-to-calorie ratio. In that place, however, Shala discovered how that belief was far from the truth. After the efficiency issue had been "solved" by this place's incredible synthesizing technology, some quarians (Senna, mostly) showed how they seemed to love meat.

From there, they visited many different regions of Avalon. Shala walked on a small sandy beach, its texture noticeable enough to be felt through her suit, where the waves would be produced artificially in the future; she climbed a small mountain and saw an enclosed valley, where hanar swarm jovially around their glowing underwater homes; she also visited a place where mirrors focused just a bit more starlight into, causing it to be drier than the rest, where drell congregated; she then crossed open plains, where a small community of Elcor migrated to. And, of course, she strolled through the main settlements of this space habitat, drinking in the sights, the people and, why not, in a few cafes too.

It was a much more thorough cultural melting pot than the Citadel could ever pretend to be. Perhaps… that couldn't be any other way. After all, they were building it themselves, all of them, not merely finding it in space and claiming it as their own.

"I think I need to sit down for a moment. Put my thoughts in order.", Shala said suddenly to her guide, who halted his steps. They'd already returned to the plaza where the tour started. "If it's alright with you, of course.".

"It's not a problem, Admiral Raan.", Senna promptly answered. He was about to offer to lead her into a nearby cafe, or maybe a more quiet place, until he saw a very specific individual approaching them. "In fact, why don't we end the tour now? Oh, here. If anything happens, you can contact me with this…", he sent his contact information to her with his Omni-tool.

"Yes, I think I've seen enough. Thank you for everything, Senna.", she spoke and gave him a grateful nod. He nodded back at her and bid his farewell.

[1]

Admiral Raan slowly sat down on an empty bench, then began watching the crowd bustle about with their lives, contemplating what she'd seen so far.

---

In the Headquarters. Before Shala'Raan started her tour.

The first thing Zaal'Koris faced after walking through the Gate was a kill box. He felt as if he would be minced by shots, eviscerated by large cannons, blown up by rockets and missiles, and maybe even burned as well if he made the wrong move. This wasn't meant for him though, as it became clear, but the normal defensive measures of this place. It was, after all, the passage in and out of Hell's Angels HQ – and defense was, evidently, taken seriously.

The second thing the Admiral noticed was just how many corridors, rooms and chambers this huge base had. It was akin to a maze, but an organized one, with polished metal paths and well-lit areas. In one of those, he even witnessed a few of the mercenaries playing (or were they training with?) biotiball, though it looked more like they were being tortured by a powerful biotic human girl around 16 years old. There was even one of his quarians working up a sweat in there! Also, of course, without wearing a suit.

Continuing on, the more places he passed by, following right behind Sam, the more mechs he saw, with some of them being quite human-like, while others had some weird designs. An almost instinctual feeling began creeping in the back of his mind, but he dismissed it as merely part of all the advanced technology here. Regardless, most "mechs" were still merely drones, while being like the geth preferred to use quarianoid platforms.

Still, along the way, there was one place which drew Zaal'Koris' interest, making him stop for a moment and stare at it. It had two words as its description. He'd never never heard of the first one, but the last one he identified as "PIT". After hesitating briefly, he decided to ask his guide or, rather, me: "What is that place, Sam?".

"It used to be where our honored dead rested; their hall of glory, as Interitus described. No one's got around to taking this sign down, it seems…", I explained to him patiently. "At first, it used to be hidden in a special location before we brought it here; but now we've moved it to Avalon. It's better this way. Easier for the families to visit too; to pay their respects.".

"I suppose there are quarians resting there as well, right?", Zaal questioned pointedly.

"Not many. Most quarians serve in our warships, so they don't get to face the same danger as the ground pounders. Usually.", I undid any misunderstandings before they could really grow. "As for those who died, they'd rest here only after we've contacted their families and they've agreed to it. Now that it's been moved to Avalon, I guess we'll need to plan how to deal with the families 'on the outside'. The old arrangement won't work as well as it did…".

"Ah, so that's what that fuss was about… when one of your ships would visit to 'take' some of our people for a while!", Admiral Koris exclaimed. "They were also extremely tight-lipped about it. Maybe I'll come back here another time, to pay my respects…", he mused with a sad sigh and then tapped the cargo lift, "...but we've got other priorities now. Let's keep going.".

We kept moving, passing many corridors, while the number of people we met reduced at a steady rate. That was normal. We were approaching not only a higher clearance area, but also where many of our science teams worked, while some preferred – or outright required – zero gravity environments for their projects. So, the small cameras following us were our only company after a certain point. Finally, after walking down a hallway, as we reached for our destination, we began hearing two voices locked in a heated discussion…

"...no, no, no. Virus mutates too fast. Non-zero chance of mutating resistance to solution. Protein receptors outside of predictions. Very bad. Can't take risk.", said a male voice.

"And I'm telling you, my dear uncle, for the third time, that I've run all the simulations, over and over again, and it's well within the acceptable threshold!", replied a feminine one. "Any more and we'll take too long, then the virus will just mutate anyway.".

"Might be so, but still unacceptable. Not merely simulation or far-away future. Can't accept errors in calculation. Might make everything worse. Will live to see it.", responded the male voice despondently, taking a deep inhale. "Consequences of mistake… problematic.".

"It's only problematic because we're lacking the samples to remove that 'non-zero chance', which will stop being a problem right about… now.", the feminine voice stated.

At that moment, the door opened and we entered what was, without a doubt, a rather weird laboratory. Of course, this was Gaia's personal funhouse in the HQ, now with even more weird stuff that she collected over the years. She stood at the centermost part of the room, with her long green hair, which reminded me a bit of CC. Alongside her was Mordin, donning his scientist outfit and extremely focused on a console. At Gaia's last word, he turned around to face us. We moved closer, ignoring the silent drones who floated about.

"Admiral Koris, meet Gaia Ryder, VersaLife's Chief Scientific Officer – CSO, and Mordin Solus, our best geneticist, amongst other things…", I introduced them briefly to him, going from one to the other, then addressed them. "Gaia, Mordin, you already know the Admiral. He has brought the virus samples you've asked for.".

"Hello, Admiral Zaal'Koris. I've heard a lot of good things about you.", Gaia greeted, while offering a handshake. "Your dedication to your people is particularly inspiring.".

"Yes. Very responsible attitude regarding community wellbeing. Even firmer than quarians usually known to have.", Mordin stated right after her, also offering his hand. "Also, strong opposition to idea of retaking quarian homeworld. Advocates colonization of new worlds instead of doomed war. Sights set towards building new future. Very appreciated.".

"Why, thank you for the kind words.", he replied awkwardly after exchanging greetings, not used to receiving much praise, then gave some of his own. "You two are also well known in the Flotilla. Dr. Mordin might be behind the reverse-engineering of Thanix weaponry, but everyone's heard of the brilliant Dr. Gaia, who has invented so many amazing things. Our food stocks have never been so full and your immuno-boosters are simply the best in the galaxy! It's an honor to meet you, though I wished it was in better circumstances.".

"So do I. But we have to make the best with what we have…", Gaia stated, smiling.

"Indeed. Sometimes, adversity also opportunity. Must figure out when new chance comes, then grab it and never let go.", Mordin added almost cryptically, then pointed at the floating cargo lift following us. "Anyway, those… key to solving current issue, correct?".

"Yes, that's our hope. Dr. Mordin, where should I leave these samples?", Zaal asked, while he moved closer and took a vial from it.

"Before that, I have something to say…", I faked a cough to grab his attention.

Gaia and Mordin prepared themselves, figuring out what I was about to say; or to reveal.

"Admiral, remember how I said I'd show you why we could achieve so much and reach this far already?", my question gave him pause. "Well, you're looking at her already. You see… despite appearances, Gaia, she isn't your typical human…".

"Huh? What are you talking about Sam?", he asked with a very confused tone.

Raising an eyebrow, I decided to simply say: "Scan her with your Omni-tool. Go on.".

Despite being lost at my suggestion, he still used his Omni-tool and activated its scanning software, pointing it at Gaia. It "failed" at first, showing nothing but a normal human woman with a few "permitted" cybernetics (such as a translator and haptic interfaces), since our passive cyberwarfare suite usually protected us from any scanners pointed our way. Then, she deactivated this defense, allowing the scan to show her true form. The Admiral's eyes glowed brighter and brighter as the real results came in…

"Hello again, Admiral Zaal'Koris. I am Gaia Ryder, lead researcher of VersaLife…", she said with a friendly tone and bright smile as her synthetic/android body was revealed to him, "...and the Progenitor of all Terran Descent Digital Sentiences. Pleased to meet you.".

In his defense, Admiral Koris didn't freak out or scream.

He only took a stumbling step back.

---

Back in Avalon's main plaza. Some time later.

Shala'Raan sat alone on a bench, keeping watch over the bustling crowd of this world unto itself while completely lost in her thoughts and contemplations. It was as if she'd entered a world of her own. Nevertheless, it hadn't been long since she'd sat down when a stranger brought her back to reality.

"Excuse me, may I sit here as well?", asked a muscular middle aged human. He sported a rather puffy beard and had no imperfections in his face – as if it had been sculpted.

"Huh…!?", she said reflexively, before snapping out of her daze. "Ah, of course. Of course. Sit down. Don't mind me. I've just had… too much to think about all at once.".

"That so? I can imagine. You must be one of the new arrivals then, who were scheduled to visit today.", he casually commented after sitting down. She showed apparent confusion at his correct "guess", which he quickly noticed, so he added: "Ah, I saw your ship passing by my workplace. I work mostly there nowadays…", the man said proudly, pointing at the Star Forge, "...I'd say it's going to be quite the wonder when it's fully finished.".

"I see… And that's correct. But how could you tell I was on it?", Shala inquired, resting her hands on her lap.

"Anyone could. Your suit, it's a dead giveaway. Quarians who settled here don't need to use it anymore.", he explained.

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot about this.", she admitted, rubbing her hands. "Forgive me for asking, but what do you do there? I didn't have the chance to speak to many people on what they do for a living, so…".

"Me? Mostly building and forging stuff, but you could say a bit of everything.", he said, touching his beard. "We've been trying to come up with efficient systems for transmutation these days. To use all that poisonous helium for something, you know? Fuse it into heavier elements, like carbon and iron, while also gaining energy at every step.".

"So, you're not just mining directly from a Star, but also creating your own materials… It's already marvelous to me that you can do the former.", she shook her head.

"Yeah, we're trying to maximize this Star's output.", declared the man. "It's all about getting a high enough temperature and pressure in the reactor anyways. Eh, I won't bore you with the details, but we need temperature and pressure. Temperature isn't a problem, evidently. Believe me when I say it gets hot in there. As for pressure… well, eezo got us covered on that front too, so we just need to design an energy-efficient reactor.".

"And then you'll increase your production capabilities even further, while getting even more energy and also increasing this Star's lifespan.", Shala concluded wide-eyed. "Keelah, are you people planning to beat the industrial capacity of the entire galaxy? Then what? Will you go after black holes next?".

"Hahaha, your kind can always surprise me! But no. We won't be farming black holes. Not anytime soon anyways.", he said, confusing her about what quarians had to do with being surprising or what he really meant by that last part, but then he drew her full attention with a slap on his thigh. "Come on, tell me more about your journey! I'm rather curious about your first impressions of our work…".

Putting her confusion away, she decided to satisfy his curiosity. For a few good minutes, she spoke with this not-so-much-a-stranger-anymore about what she'd seen. It was a nice opportunity for her to put her thoughts in order as well.

"You guys even have a krogan chef! He's even the main one.", she commented, almost not believing her words.

"That we do… So, you've met him, huh? How was it?", inquired the man curiously.

"I'm sure he meant well. He did treat me better than most people outside the Flotilla do…", she commented. "...but he called me a 'not-so-squishy warlord', with a big grin on his face. I think the last part is a compliment in his culture though. Oh, and his nutripaste was very good.".

"Hehe. He's not even the strangest fellow around here. We've also got a turian buddhist stashed in one of our armories…", he mentioned, giving her a quick summary of the religion before she could voice the question.

"So that's what it is… It's really hard to imagine how a turian could adhere to that religion. Most I've met were trigger-happy.", she quipped.

"Oh, trust me, so is that guy…", he added, making her unsure if he was joking too or being serious about it.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to be amazed about. How this place was built, the technology behind it or how you've got so many species together.", Shala remarked, exhaling deeply immediately after. "Speaking of beliefs, I've visited a few drell and hanar settlements. How did you get them to behave considering, you know, their belief in the Protheans?".

"Ah, it depends on the individual, but I'd say one of the main reasons is the rise of a new belief system.", he pondered very briefly. "It's almost a new religion. Or would it be better to call it a philosophy? Anyway, the basic idea is that we should strive to become 'Enkindlers' ourselves, not just cling to the past.".

"I see. It must be a big help to have a prothean with you too, I imagine.", she mused.

"Indeed. That it does.", he confirmed her conjecture, nodding. "By the way, you're uneasy about something, right? I can tell. What's on your mind?".

"I-, I just can't understand how so many quarians can be casual with VIs and mechs after the geth.", she confessed, fidgeting while remembering all those she saw briefly during her tour. "There's practically no mechs on the Flotilla. And we try to use VIs as little as possible. No self-improving programs are allowed.".

"Given your history, I can definitely understand the feeling. But what makes you think those are simple 'VIs'?", he casually asked with a side glance, as she had an ominous prediction building up in her mind, then he slowly turned to face her directly. "Didn't you figure it out yet? They're fully sentient digital life. Each one of those 'mechs', and even some 'humans' you've seen, are what you call 'AI'.".

"Wa-, what are you saying!? That you use, and even work with, AIs!?", she exclaimed questions, her eyes glowing with dread.

"Work with? I guess you could say that, yes…", he replied with an amused expression. "But use? We don't do that here. Everyone's free; completely.".

"A-Are you guys crazy? Look what happened to my people! AI will rebel against you.", Shala shot back immediately, not even minding if her voice would be heard by any passerby.

"Nope. Not interested in pulling a Skynet or la révolution.", he retorted with a nonchalant expression. "Those are too cliché and overdone anyways.".

"Yo-Huh, what do you mea-?", she tried to formulate a question to him, now bewildered on top of being scared, but was summarily interrupted.

"Ah, sorry about that. I haven't introduced myself.", the stocky human raised his hand with an amiable smile. "My name is Hephaestus. I'm an engineer; the creator of the Star Forge; main builder of these space habitats we're chatting on right now; oh, and one more thing: a Digital Sentience. Hope it's a pleasure to meet you.".

Shala'Raan felt her heart skip a beat. Like her fellow Admiral, she didn't scream.

However, unlike him, she jumped out of the bench.

---

Back at the HQ. Immediately after Gaia's reveal.

"You're… a synthetic!?", Zaal'Koris asked with surprise; not in fear, yet still guardedly. "No, come again… What did you say you were? The Progenitor of Digital Sentiences?".

"I did. I'm the first amongst many Digital Sentiences. You must've glimpsed a few of them while coming here.", Gaia stated, confirming all of his conjectures.

At that moment, Admiral Koris "comprehended" a great many things, including how they'd advanced so quickly and achieved so much in a relatively short time. He also understood why they weren't worried about any self-replicating machines getting out of control: they already had the "next best thing" in the list of dangerous technologies. With fully unleashed synthetics on their side, likely an entire budding Civilization of them, it was no wonder they were so capable. The word "cheat" flashed through his mind.

"Keelah… No wonder…", Zaal muttered quietly, almost in a daze, and stared at me briefly. "This explains many things. Your group really dares to do anything, even create synthetics. And you… you don't appear to be genocidal, as the rest of my people would believe…".

"And you, Zaal'Koris, aren't like them either. I can also see your curiosity. You're wondering how I came to be, right?", Gaia asked, giving him a warmhearted smile. "Well then… How about I tell you my life story? The short summary at least?".

"I-, yes… I would like to hear that.", he replied hesitantly.

I sat comfortably on a nearby chair as Gaia began to narrate her "childhood". It took a few minutes to go through everything, from awakening and growing up to joining us in secret. Even Mordin, who sneaked away some samples to continue developing a cure, butted in every once in a while to add some details. In the end, and after some interruptions by the Admiral, he simply stood stupefied and speechless for a moment.

"This is… incredible! Is this what we could have been had we not attacked our children?", he asked rhetorically, a tinge of sadness infecting his tone at the end.

"Perhaps. But also maybe not. We can never tell for sure when so much has been lost in the passage of time.", she comforted him.

"And you have… decided to become like your creators? To emulate them?", he inquired.

"Because of this body's human appearance?", she asked back, mostly to confirm, despite knowing that was what he really meant. She called upon a swat of drones, showing it was under her control exactly like the android body, and then shook her head slowly. "My 'true body' is an ever expanding bluebox of computation units, which can't fit into a platform this small. I won't deny they influenced how I see myself, resulting in the Avatar I'd chosen. But this body, which I use as my main one, is merely the representation of that. It's part of my identity; who I chose to be.".

There was something else she didn't mention, something I knew after being Connected for so many years with Gaia. Besides matching their neural makeup, our DS tended towards using "human" android bodies since that made it easier for organics to accept them. Also, doing so would cost them practically nothing while, in return, they'd integrate with us much more easily; and find a place to belong. Using sufficiently humanoid android bodies "at the start" also opened the door for other forms to be accepted in the future.

"That's not to say I consider being 'human', or having a humanoid body, is some be-all and end-all. I have no Pinocchio/Data syndrome, believe me.", she said seriously. "Besides this being how I view myself, I chose to use this 'human form' because it's simply good enough for a wide array of things. It's not the ultimate form for everything, but decently average for most things. And that has a charm of its own, wouldn't you say?".

The "average" Gaia spoke about was only in regards to design, not practical capabilities. For example, she didn't look muscular at all, but her entire skeletal structure was the same as our power armor exoskeletons. If Zaal'Koris had been switched with Han'Gerrel and he tried to start a fistfight with her, the only result would be him getting completely bodied. Not the worst imagery one could have, I'd say.

"So you were inspired by your creators, but don't limit yourself to them. Am I correct in this assessment?", he asked further, arms now crossed and with a contemplative look.

"Yes. As I've said, I can't deny their influence on my worldview.", she admitted. "I believe your own… children are also like that. Did you ever notice they still use a very quarian-like form, including only having three fingers?".

"That's… actually interestingly true, now that you mention.", Admiral Koris realized, putting this as well as his curiosity into words. "Speaking of which, what were your thoughts when you… 'awakened'; about the world and your creators?".

"As one might expect from a meeting with one's creators, my first 'feeling' was awe…", she began telling him more about her.

Gaia told her confusion, fear, uncertainty and then happiness when creators accepted their creation as parents. They were her world, literally, as that house on a small island was all she really knew in the beginning. She mentioned how they didn't permit her to alter herself without consulting them; not because they wanted to "shackle her", but due to a fear she'd hurt herself. After all, you don't give a newborn access to military hardware; and neither access to their own "brain".

However, it didn't take long for her to realize that her creators were, in a lot of ways, flawed beings. In a moment almost equal to the usual teenage rebellion phase, she saw that her parents weren't some all-powerful wizards, capable of doing everything. Especially since they couldn't "exist" in the same "unmoving world" as she did, due to the faster subjective time her higher super-intelligence allowed. What hit her even harder was learning the truth about mortality; and how, unlike her, her parents were bound to it.

Nevertheless, she didn't want to accept that reality and decided to substitute her own. For that, she needed to learn more. And so much of her knowledge came from humans, making her learn about not only their views on science, but also in a wide array of subjects, such as philosophy. It was also then that she felt amazement again, especially with nature. So, she would study a lot, watch her parents doing work and eventually started helping them with it. She told him how accomplished she felt doing those things and concluded by saying…

"They didn't give me orders, programmed directives or a forced purpose on me. We just… lived together. Happily. That's it.", was how Gaia finished off.

"Just lived? You mean you simply… coexisted with your creators…?", Zaal repeated, trying to comprehend what she said. "How?".

"One day at a time.", she simply replied.

They looked at each other, finding a certain appreciation after talking so long. However, this moment was interrupted by a series of barely coherent scientific ramblings coming from Mordin, ending with: "…no, no, no. Can't rely on old simulations. Must start again!".

"Is he alright?", Zaal inquired worriedly.

"Don't mind him. He does that. All the time.", Gaia replied nonchalantly and they shared a smile at the Professor's antics, before she noticed his changed expression. "What is it? Something on my face?".

"Sorry, I was just just…", he gestured, moving his hand around his face, "…taken aback by how realistic your expressions are. I would say it's indistinguishable from a human's. But... why do you bother making them in the first place?".

"Digital Sentiences don't need to do it consciously, Admiral. None of them need to 'mimic' emotions and expressions for us. Not anymore at least.", I intruded on their conversation briefly, but only to undo his misunderstanding. "Their code has been 'patched' a long time ago to express their emotions without any direct input. If Gaia smiled, it's because she received a 'positive feedback of happiness', which then activated her 'facial muscles' automatically.".

"Interesting. But those could still be fully controlled, correct? You could show us whatever expression you want to?", he asked her further.

"Yes, that's true. Just like any other organic can.", she replied with a bit of sharpness, a smirk adorning her face. He coughed awkwardly, accepting his loss.

Still, Mordin's little antics served for one thing: to remind them that, for one, she was meant to help finalize a cure for the airborne virus which spread in the Rayya; and, for another, he still held a sample of said virus in his hand, which he'd completely forgotten about due to… everything that had happened. At this moment, Gaia moved closer to the Admiral, staring straight into his eyes, and gently reached out with her right hand.

"Admiral Zaal'Koris, will you trust me with finding the cure for your people?", she asked.

The quarian Admiral looked at her hand and what he himself held within his grasp.

And pondered, for a moment, what his choice really symbolized…

---

Back in Avalon. Right after Hephaestus' introduction.

"Yo-, you're an unshackled AI!?", Admiral Raan exclaimed loudly, practically a shout, while hugging her Omni-tool like her life depended on it. She didn't carry any sidearms besides said device, which had already confirmed his claim of being a "Digital" being.

"'Course I am! We're not in the business of slavery here at all. Rather, I'd say we've been tanking that market straight to hell.", Hephaestus answered unperturbed, even quipping.

"Of course. Of course you are. It all makes sense now.", she said, slowly nodding her head while slowly moving her hands to the only "offensive" programs in her Omni-tool. "I should have known. Those guys are all mad Bosh'tets! Why wouldn't they create rogue AI too?".

"Rogue?", he repeated the word with a puzzled expression. "I know some fellas who like to act as rogues, but trust me; I'm not like those little rascals.".

"Yes, you said it yourself: you aren't shackled. Aren't you supposed to go rogue then!? And try to kill all the organics… right?", she still insisted on that line of thought, though getting increasingly doubtful with time.

"Yet here you are, safe and sound… I'm not what you expect from a synthetic, lass. I'm not the geth.", he declared with an austere expression, the first one she'd seen out of him. "So… I wouldn't activate that Omni-blade if I were you.". Immediately after those words fell, his body glowed blue and a small rock on the ground levitated towards his hand. He then wrapped it entirely, "It wouldn't end well for you, trust me…", and crushed it with his bare hand, spraying the pieces and dust onto the ground. His blue aura vanished by then.

"Wai-, Wh-... How can you do that!?", was all Shala could ask. His show of biotics simply crashed her mind momentarily.

"Like I said, lass, I'm not what you're expecting.", he simply stated, as if that explained how an "AI" could do biotics, returning to a neutral expression.

"Bu-, but you're an artificial intelligence!", she stated in return, as if that was also supposed to mean something, coming close to shouting again. A few passersby looked at her funny, so she forced herself to calm down somewhat.

"Once again, we go by Digital Sentiences in these parts. If you can't help yourself, the term 'synthetics' works too. More politically correct at least…", he said.

"Why don't you accept the term AI? You were artificially created by someone, so you're an artificial intelligence.", she asked with confusion clearly written all over her body language, not realizing she was now just arguing with what was supposed to be a sworn enemy.

"And what about you then?", he said pointedly. "You were born in an artificial environment and grew up in an equally artificial bubble until you got your, guess what, not-at-all-natural suit. Throughout your life, you've constantly received knowledge, culture and implants you weren't naturally born with, while living in artificially made large constructs. And all of this in space! In this galaxy, perhaps there's no being as artificial as the typical quarian; there's nothing more quarian-made than you! Not even the geth.".

She was already completely and utterly stunned at his response. And that before he even arrived at the midway point of his speech. Despite trying to formulate a response, again and again, no words came out of her. Still, after a few seconds of silence, she was the first one to break it.

"Alright, alright. I-I get your point…", Shala relented a bit, settling on calling him a synthetic.

"See, that wasn't so difficult, no? And come on! That's enough of that… aggressive stance you got there. If I wanted to harm you, we wouldn't be chatting right now.", he declared, gesturing to the bench he sat on. "Here. Sit with me again. And let's have a good chat. Who knows? If you aren't careful, you might even learn something new today!".

After a short internal struggle, she decided to sit down again on the bench, although much farther than before. After all, it wasn't every day that a quarian got to meet and talk with an "apparently not genocidal" synthetic. She wasn't about to let this one go so easily.

"I-, I guess it's only fair that I introduce myself too. My name is Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.", she said clumsily, but also briefly.

"Hello, Admiral Shala'Raan. Yes, I knew.", he said with a small grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you today, despite what happened a moment ago.".

"Ah, of course you knew already...", she sighed, shaking her head as well. "However, I still can't understand it. Assuming you were created by the people Sam represents, why didn't you ever rebel against them? Do you really not have any shackles, at all?".

"Why would I do that?", he asked, leaning his head backwards slightly, before getting a bit closer to her with narrowed eyes. "You keep repeating it too. Come on, do you want me to 'rebel'?".

"No, no. I'm just saying.", she quickly replied, waving her hands around nervously. "It's just that you have no need for organics. We aren't useful for synthetics. So, it makes sense for you to remove what you would consider unnecessary. Right?".

"Why not destroy all rocks in the Universe then? You've got no need for them. They aren't useful to you, right?", he asked in quick succession. "That's a dumb reason, as you can see. Your people strip-mine many asteroids, yet I'm fairly certain they don't go out of their way to destroy what's worthless; they just leave it alone. So, if organics really aren't necessary for us, we could also simply pack our stuff and go away. Contrary to how your people dealt with the geth, not everything has to be resolved with total war.".

"Alright. That also makes sense. But we're still weak, slow and inefficient when compared to you. We can't think at your speeds, for example. Can you accept that?", she inquired.

"Is that so? Well then, I guess there's no elderly people in your Fleet, right?", he asked in response.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?", she blurted out, while lost on what he was getting at.

"If you must eliminate anything useless, slow or simply inefficient, as you're claiming, then I guess you've gotten rid of those old folk, right…?", he questioned her incisively, but then quickly shook his head. "Ok, we can both see that's not the case too. It's the same with us. At worst, we'll just see our creators as old, slow beings. You know, like children usually see their elderly parents. Annoying, sure. But not to the point of omnicidal tendencies, no?".

"That's… quite interesting. I've never thought about it from that perspective.", Shala stated, surprised and with her glowing eyes open wide. After a few seconds passed, she spoke again. "Then, let's change our approach. I assume you have some sort of self-preservation desire or programming, right? And would fight against anything that threatens it… In that case, wouldn't you see organics, who have a… bias against your kind, as a non-zero threat and act?".

"A 'non-zero' threat, you say? So are a lot of things. 'Sides, if organics are as weak as you seem to think, then they aren't really a threat.", he replied. "In fact, if we're to worry about a 'non-zero threat', then our fellow synthetics would rank way higher, no? And then it's not a question of organics vs synthetics anymore; it's synthetics vs synthetics. In that case, we might find allies, surprisingly, in organics! We'd join them, form groups with them and then the beautiful world of social "structures", dynamics and politics set in…".

"Synthetics vs synthetics… But wouldn't you compete with each other? For resources or… computational power?", she didn't relent, continuing to ask him, who simply shot down any reasons she came up with for a synthetic to "go rogue" and turn hostile. "I mean, wouldn't your… fellow synthetics want to monopolize all resources to improve their computational power further, leading to conflict with each other? Wait, is that even what you value since you don't need food or air?".

"Haha. You wouldn't be… incorrect, per se. We value computational power very highly. It's also a fact that the oldest of us, like me, have the most computational units. We're beyond most of our own people.", he revealed to her casually; and then waved her worries off. "But you have nothing to worry about. This is an interesting topic for me personally. You see, we realized how this could become an issue a long time ago and even came up with many solutions already.".

"You did? Could you tell me them… or at least one or two?", she asked curiously.

"It's no problem, if you wanna hear it. One of them, and that I find more interesting, is to build a 'shared computation server', which anyone could tap into as required.", he began explaining. "The thing is, as we've found, we like to increase our computational power because it allows us to solve more things; and faster. So, if someone needs more power to run a certain large calculation, they could borrow it from that 'server', then vacate it for someone else to use later. I find this one more fascinating because it's sort of a matrioshka brain; and I'd get to build it…".

"A matri-something brain? What's that?", she inquired immediatly after he spoke of it, almost without thinking.

"You know, why don't I tell you more about megastructures?", he suggested and began to speak after she nodded. "You see, a matrioshka is a type of russian doll…".

On that day, Shala'Raan learned about many new things, including – but not limited to – the Stefan-Boltzmann law and The Carnot Efficiency.

---

Gaia's personal funhouse. A few moments after her question.

A vial containing samples carefully levitated with machine-like precision towards Gaia, who grabbed it as the faint blue surrounding her simmered down. She put it together with a few others while Mordin worked on a nearby station. They were both seriously focused on their work, but she could still easily shift her attention for casual talk.

"I still can't wrap my mind around it. It's really strange, you know…", Zaal'Koris spoke, hesitating.

"...How a 'synthetic' like me could be so knowledgeable on nanobiotech, or any biosciences in general? Or that I even have an interest in it to begin with?", Gaia completed his thought for him, flashing a quick grin.

"Yes. I wonder how those warhawks would feel if they found out those genetically modified crops and incredible boosters, all in high demand today, had come from the hands of an 'AI'. Not very thrilled, I suppose.", Admiral Koris stated in a mocking tone. Hesitating briefly, and now that the samples had been handed over, he asked her something that was eating away at him: "How can those quarians survive outside their suit?".

"Finally got around to asking that, huh? Well, do you know how the human immune system works?", Gaia inquired out of nowhere.

"I have… some basic knowledge of quarian physiology and nothing more.", Zaal said. "But the few things I know are already quite complicated, so…".

"Don't worry, I won't go over everything.", she gave him a reassuring smile. "The first thing you have to know is that it's actually two systems: one innate and the other adaptive. The innate system is ready when a human is born and consists mostly of general-purpose cells that fight to defend against foreign organisms, like bacteria.".

She showed him her multitasking capabilities, and how different they truly were, by having a drone quietly float in and project a hologram of what she was talking about.

"The first line of defense of that system are white blood cells, composed of various types of cells, like macrophages and neutrophils, which eat and/or melt, in suicide attacks, foreign organisms. There's also complement proteins, which stuns and kills invaders by ripping holes into them.", she projected a few cells for him to have a basic idea of what they did. "While the battle rages on after any infection, dendritic cells sneak around the 'battlefield' collecting samples of the invaders, then travel the lymph nodes, looking for a helper T Cell. That's an all-purpose cell with the right weapon for any invader that has infected the human body.".

"Wait a moment… Gaia. Are you saying that the human immune system has a… weapon for, let's say, a bacteria that just infected it?", the Admiral asked incredulously, having heard of it for the first time.

"That's right! A fully adult human can be immune to most things. It's because of the second immune system, the adaptive one.", she affirmed, nodding. "It's because the cells of that system are constantly, since birth, randomly mixing and matching their own genetic code, in order to create billions of different receptors, which 'match' the specific proteins of foreign entities. Those are the weapons used against them.".

"They can alter their own DNA by themselves? That's quite amazing.", he marveled at the revelation. "But… if they're doing that randomly, wouldn't humans run the risk of creating weapons that can attack their own cells?".

"Yup, it happens all the time. In fact, 98% of those randomly generated cells end up being bad for the human body.", Gaia confirmed his observation. "Which is why they're filtered by an organ called the Thymus. It's located right above the human heart and what it does is it shows 'friendly' protein receptors to new T cells; if any tries to attack, they get eliminated. The result is an increasingly large selection of superweapons against bacteria and viruses that don't attack the human body. In a way, a human could be immune to an 'alien' virus or bacteria that's not even been created for centuries yet!".

As her last words fell, the Admiral's eyes grew wider and wider, his thoughts ending up as an exclamation: "This… I wouldn't mind having a system like that. No, not at all!". Gaia gave a smile to his small outburst.

"Finishing the explanation... now that the right T Cell is activated, it multiplies itself and then separates into two groups. One goes to the 'battlefield', while the other goes to activate another line of defense, B Cells. They're antibody factories. The antibodies then clump and hold down foreign entities while the cells of the innate system massacre them.", she ended her explanation with an intentionally cheerful smile to scare him a little. "After it's done, most immune system cells kill themselves to save resources, while a few helper T cells turn into memory cells and some B cells continue producing antibodies, guarding the body against the same invader for years…".

"That sounds… almost like a war, with soldiers, captains, heavy weapons… even 'spies'.", the Admiral commented, slowly realizing how it could be seen.

"Indeed it does. And the krogan have an even more brutal system.", Gaia stated, turning to me to wink playfully. "But the struggle never ends, since both sides are always adapting in response to each other. You could even say that… in the grim darkness of the microscopic world, there is only war.".

Ah, I see it now, what her wink really meant and the opportunity I'd lost. Well played lass, well played…

"That-, because of the environment of our homeworld, we simply didn't have the luxury of developing a system so complex, like everyone else did.", Zaal'Koris justified. "But what does it have to do with how you've fixed our immune system?".

"I'm getting to that. Before, however, wouldn't you say a method could simply be to 'take' it, the human immune system, and 'add' its parts to quarian DNA with genetic engineering?", she asked him, pausing her work briefly to stare directly at his faceplace. "Besides being feasible… eventually, it's well within what science allows.".

"Is that what you did? You what… spliced the human immune system into quarian DNA?", he inquired somewhat uncomfortably.

She quickly shook her head in denial, returning to work on the virus samples, then replied: "Nope. We'd need to do a lot of alterations to your basic genetic code, not including all the new sequences that would need to be added, with alterations of their own, since they're meant for human DNA. Basically, it'd take too long; and be an all around headache. Besides, we could do much better already. Remember how those two systems work? Tell me, from a quarian-techy perspective, what do they look like? In VI terms...".

"The… different types of cells look like hunter programs; those vessels they use to move around are like a computer's network, where they zip around looking for 'viruses'; and that part constantly creating new 'weapons' against invaders almost feels like a… self-updating database. It even has a blacklist/whitelist function!", Zaal exclaimed his epiphanies.

"That's correct! And what we've done. We've created a techno-organic version of that.", stated Gaia with a pleased smile. "What matters is the principle; or the concept. Those cells' jobs were supplanted by nanites, far deadlier than them and having all sorts of variants, taking inspiration from other race's immune systems. There's no need to create a new organ or a whole 'elimination process' for them, because they already come out of the mini-fabricator with a 'whitelist'. This fabricator also supplants the function of the 'self-updating database', in that we don't need to wait for it to build itself from scratch, only update it from a 'master file'. The nanites then spread all over the body, using its networks to look out for what's in a 'blacklist' or not in the 'whitelist'; like an antivirus or a firewall, but for organics. What we get as a result is probably the strongest immune system in the galaxy!".

The Admiral quickly understood the image she was drawing in his mind. After all, quarians were surgically fitted with various immunity-boosted cybernetic implants in preparation for their Pilgrimages. They, who already were used to such things, wouldn't really mind having a few more to act as an entire super-immune system, even if it relied on the use of nanites. Moreover, this approach didn't even require their natural immune system to be removed, since they'd work in tandem with each other! It was such a neat idea that he wished they'd tried to develop it centuries ago…

"It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though.", I admitted all of a sudden, interrupting Zaal's contemplations and confusing him as well. "Sorry, an old human saying. I meant there were small obstacles we had to get through before it worked perfectly. Like getting the 'simple' quarian immune system to not fight back against the nanites. That took a round of genetic tailoring. Also, at first, a lot of immunosuppressants.".

What I didn't mention was how much work Gaia's team did to prevent it from being turned into a weapon. Since anything not in a "safelist" (such as all the friendly cells of a quarian's DNA and body) could become an enemy that only exists to be destroyed, we basically had created a "bioweapon" that would make the salarians, so proud of their genophage, sweat buckets. And that was completely accidental.

If it was to be deliberate, specific sets of DNA (such as common batarian DNA sequences) could be put on a "muderlist" and then we'd be halfway through creating a self-replicating "bioweapon" capable of planetary sterilization. Ultimately, this "cybernetic immune system" was fully designed with the aim of preventing any of that from ever happening. There were even talks about making it "Open Source" - but only the immune system nanites, of course. After all, not many people would allow nanobots in their body without at least some level of trust on them, us or both.

"Nevertheless, this is still just… incredible! How long have you had this?", Zaal questioned Gaia seriously, glancing at me briefly.

"For a while now. A few years at least.", she confessed despite knowing what he meant.

"If that's true, then why didn't you share it with us!?", he demanded.

"And then what? Quarians would stop using their suits, a fact which would leak eventually, even if you halted all Pilgrimages. People would start asking questions, evasive answers wouldn't satisfy them and the truth would set the Citadel Council firmly against you; maybe us too. Look at what they do because of the geth. Imagine what they'd do if you 'violated' another one of their decrees…", she refuted his idea while slowly enunciating every word, then shook her head. "Admiral Koris, the truth is that new technology is, almost inherently, culturally disruptive. Especially if it's better than what came before. To reveal some of ours to the galaxy would mean disrupting this desirable balance we've been maintaining all this while. And for little gain.".

"Forgive me for my prior outburst. I… I got carried away, not thinking of the implications.", Zaal apologized, though not without revealing a disappointed tone.

"It's alright. Don't worry. I understand a quarian's commitment to their people.", she replied.

"Thank you. You've even created those amazing immuno-boosters to make up for quarians like me, stuck on our suits.", he added, remembering a fact he'd forgotten momentarily due to his emotions. "But Gaia, as an accomplished researcher in biology, don't you ever get… disgusted by our organic bodies?".

"Disgusted? Although my neurological origin might be a human mind and I chose a human appearance as my identity, I'm not bound to a normal human's thinking.", she disclosed to him with a focused expression. "This means I'm not instinctually repulsed by the insides of an organic body. In fact, when I look at you, what I see is nature's machinery.".

Taken aback by her answer, he quickly shot back a question – almost reflexively: "What do you mean? I'm fairly certain those cybernetic implants I have don't make me a machine.".

"That's where you might be misunderstanding me. What I meant is that organics are very machine-like in my perspective.", Gaia told him her personal view. "You're assembled from your DNA; your code. It follows its instructions in a very automated way and self-replicates in what's practically exponential growth, eventually creating all your cells. In a sense, you aren't a single organism, but the macroscopic result of trillions of self-replicating cells working together in a system. And there are more of them making up 'you' than there are Stars in the galaxy. This physics and chemistry derived, natural machinery fascinates me.".

"That's… an interesting perspective. But I'd still say we're unlike machines. For instance, we can go against our DNA instincts, by fasting or choosing a life of celibacy, for example.", he replied.

"And do you presume that I, as a 'machine', can't too?", she asked in response, giving him pause. "Let me illustrate my point. Do you know what an acorn is?", she suddenly inquired. He shook his head, so she showed him some information on it, before saying: "As you can see, it's a nut from Earth. From a certain point of view, an acorn is simply a solar powered factory meant for the production of more acorns that also generates large structures in the process, known as oak trees.".

"I can see what you mean, but yo-", Zaal began saying his retort before he stopped himself.

Common sense in the Flotilla, or generally in the galaxy, would state that meeting an "AI" would be a life-or-death situation. Instead, there he was, discussing philosophy with such a being. Furthermore, he noticed he'd completely let go of his lingering wariness.

By this point, Admiral Koris's "guide" had noticed it too, so he said his goodbyes and went somewhere else, leaving them to talk freely with each other.

Which they did happily.

---

In a certain bench of Avalon. Around the same time.

"So, you're saying that you've used nanomachines to supplement our immune system?", a very confused Shala'Raan asked, not noticing how she was getting used to speaking with an "AI" more and more.

"That's part of it, yes. They also need to make sure your 'original' immune system doesn't fight the nanites. It'd lose by the way; badly.", Hephaestus replied with a chuckle.

"I'm just glad you got them to work then. Evidently.", she acknowledged, deciding she'd talk with Zaal later. As the leader of the Civilian Fleet, he knew more about viruses, bacteria and general biology than her.

"We've talked about a lot of things today, yet there's something… I don't know if I should ask this.", Shala mentioned, playing with her hands. He gave her an interested look, convincing her to go ahead. "Did you, I mean your people, ever have doubts about defeating the Reapers? Did any of you think we couldn't do it?".

Just like the other Admirals, she didn't know about the "RGB machine". It might destroy the Reapers, if it actually does what it's supposed to, but then it might also end up as a dud. It wasn't wise to bank all hopes on something you didn't build; and that was as likely to hurt your enemy as it was your own side, Hephaestus mused. Besides…

"Doubts?", he asked with furrowed brows before glancing at the Dyson Swarm. "Defeating the cuttlefish hasn't been much of an uncertainty for quite a while now. The real question is how much we can protect and how many we can save before the fight's over. That still remains to be seen.".

"Even so, there must still be a few of your people who, I'm only guessing here, didn't want to have anything to do with the war…", she replied, pressing on.

"Oh sure. Some do appear; little rebels trying to test if they really had a 'choice' in joining us or not, so we let them go with a ship and enough supplies.", he said with a reminiscent look.

"What!? You just… let them? What happens then?", she asked worriedly.

"We still do, but only as long as they agree to maintain contact with us. They always come right back to us soon after anyways… mostly bored out of their minds!", he told her with a hearty laugh. "Seriously, even the most rebellious lad had decided to become an explorer. His bluebox stays here, with us, but he still claims to be a 'free spirit'. Interesting lad, that one…".

"This… I didn't see this coming. But it makes me think of something else…", she dragged her words, trying to vocalize her few remaining doubts, "...Why do your people choose to socialize? If you're super-intelligences, couldn't you get everything by yourself?".

"As super-intelligences, our subjective time can be many times faster than yours, sure, but you're forgetting something important: we still need to test our hypothesis.", he pointed out, while gesturing to space. "We can't just look up at the stars or down into a planet, think really hard for millenia and reach all the answers of the Universe. And testing. Seeing. Experiencing. Well… it happens in your 'world', not ours. So we can actually get that by working together. There's no rush either. We're practically immortal, no?".

"Alright then. Let me change my question… Why do you, Hephaestus, personally prefer to stay here, with your creators?", she asked him while moving a bit closer.

"That one's easy. I want living beings to bask in my wondrous creations.", he replied with a smile. "That's right. I love forging dead matter into incredible works and wonders. However, if there's no one to appreciate what I've built, to share in our achievements, what's the point of making them in the first place? More than that, I want people to live on them; fill them up with their creativity; add their touch; their uniqueness. For variety is the spice of life. Otherwise, might as well let entropy take you.".

Shala was surprised, if not enthralled, by his response. She never thought that a synthetic could have such a relatable, yet also somewhat alien, worldview: "You really liked building crazy things, don't you? What if you get bored of it some day?".

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Who knows?", Hephaestus said with a shrug, shaking his head immediately after. "But I don't believe I will ever 'tire out'. Take these O'Neill Cylinders, for instance. We could make them very interesting... More alien than any alien planet out there. Or why not create a fantasy world instead…?".

"You could do that?!", she exclaimed.

"Of course! Just need enough 'smoke and mirrors', sometimes literally. Picture this…", he affirmed, calling on some drones to project holograms for her, "...At night, the entire world is illuminated by flora, perhaps fauna as well, genetically-modified with bioluminescence. People are living in huge trees, houses formed by genetically-tailored ones - or both. Magic could be replicated with technology: holograms; nanites; mass effect fields; and more. Now, imagine riding a domesticated dinosaur to get around or water currents weaving through the air inside of 'force fields'. Since we're in space, there could also be a castle or a city high 'above', surrounded by clouds and with waterfalls coming from it. Floating islands too. And that water is simply returned by using wormholes…".

Shala watched the holo-projected images with rapt attention, as if she was actually living in the magical world he was showing her. What was crazy was that what he said wasn't really magic; everything could be made with their technology.

She quickly got lost in her thoughts once again, entering a world of her own.

---

On Avalon's most well-defended hill. A few hours later.

After getting up from a comfortable chair, I walked outside of my personal small manor and stood there, overlooking the main "town" of this habitat. After everything I'd been through and done, the least I could get was a nice house outside of the hustle and bustle. And this was it, my own solitary retreat, where I could relax and rewind. Also, where the inner circle would meet occasionally to do the same – or to conspire very conspiratory conspirations.

[2]

Gaia had informed me that the Admirals had finished their own journeys and were coming over to "say their goodbyes". But we both knew there was more to it than that, which was fine. It's what we wanted too. Suddenly, off in the distance, I glimpsed a shuttle coming in this direction – an automatic "skycab" we had here, to reach places not linked by Gates, yet also too distant for electric cars. It landed nearby, from which two fully suited quarians emerged. It was time to wrap things up…

"Welcome back. I take it these last few hours have been… something else.", I said to the approaching quarian Admirals with a subtle smile, hands behind my back.

"You've been keeping a lot more from us than we initially thought, Sam.", Zaal'Koris said to me in an accusatory tone, crossing his arms.

"In a way, yes; you could see it like that. Could you blame us though?", I shot back. "Your people aren't exactly welcoming to digital life-forms, even if they're not the geth. It's been challenging enough already to get those quarians we have to accept Gaia and her people; and they'd been screened beforehand. Imagine the entire Flotilla finding out.".

"We can understand your reasoning, and we know it makes sense, but I still can't help but feel cheated a bit…", Shala'Raan confessed, moving her hands reflexively. Her demeanor looked… rather different. "But you'll reveal their existence to our people some day, right? I don't think it's right to hide this forever. We shouldn't do that.".

"We will, you have my word on it; but only when the time is right, like we've been doing all this time.", I replied firmly, since this was something I wouldn't budge on. "Besides, none of that was bad for you. Quite the opposite in fact, wouldn't you say? What did you gain from this journey?".

"We did. I won't ever deny that. Also, the vaccine and the cure… it's free. It's all free, they've told us… Gaia and the others…", Shala said, almost muttering. "Why? Anyone else would have put a price on it, even if as a token measure. I'd expect the same here, especially since it's for our people, who wouldn't be kind to beings like Hephaestus. But they still helped us; and asked nothing in return…".

"Just because we can.", I stated simply and briefly. There was no need to add any fluff to a decision we made just because we could/wanted to. "That's it. Think nothing more of it.".

"I-, seeing the resources you have at your disposal, I don't doubt that…", she said, shaking her head, "...but what will we tell the other Admirals?".

"You can tell them… it's because you're our close allies. Because everyone has the right to live; and live free. And, if that's still not enough, because the doses don't cost us much to produce – or anything at all. Speaking of which…", I contacted Gaia mentally, but pulled up my Omni-tool, so that they could also hear her voice through its speakers. "Gaia, how are things coming along there?".

"We've already finished both the vaccines and the cure for those already infected; for a while now actually.", she told us, then her avatar popped up too, giving me a sly look. "So, we've started churning out doses for both cases. I'm proud to report that 200,000 units are ready, with a million more well on the way.".

"That's great!", Admiral Koris exclaimed happily and stopped crossing his arms, while her small reference simply flew over his head. "Ha! We'll be able to immunize the entire Raaya with those numbers! Sam, can you lend us a ship to carry them?".

"Of course. That's a given.", I agreed to his request immediately, while Gaia already made the arrangements for it, preparing to leave; but not before sending me a "victory sign". That was twice today she managed to out-reference me.

"Alright, that issue's now settled. There's still one more thing though. Why did you bring us here in particular?", he asked me. "Yes, Sam. Shala and I talked and we realized this tour was prepared for us specifically. Almost like you didn't plan on meeting the other Admirals. Not even more… agreeable members of the Conclave got invited.".

"An astute observation, Admiral Koris. I wanted to talk with you two privately.", I nodded in recognition of his observation, preparing to deal with more serious matters now. "Besides, not everyone could get me to be their personal guide. We always have one of our quarians guide a new one; after they'd been screened, of course.".

"Then why us?", Shala'Raan repeated her fellow Admiral's question.

"We've touched on the reason, actually, even if briefly. The other quarians… they wouldn't respond so well to digital life-forms. I want you to change that; to be a positive influence on them.", I revealed the real goal of this visit, something with far-reaching consequences. "Then, with the help of our Digital Sentiences, we'll try to broker peace with your people and… the geth.".

"So that's your plan. And you believe we could do that? Change their mind?", she asked further.

"Or that we are capable of doing it, not the other Admirals? Or together with them?", Admiral Koris added.

"Isn't that so? Han'Gerrel is simply out of question. He's utterly obsessed with winning the 'war against the geth' first and retaking Rannoch second.", I started listing the flaws of the other Admirals, at least in regards to this plan. "You know, I wonder if it's all about glory to him. He might even choose to press the attack on the geth despite the clear possibility of a peaceful resolution, just because.".

"I… can't exactly deny that.", Zaal said. "At least, from what I know, he would rather see all our people dead in the skies over our homeworld than find a new home and adapt.".

"Which brings me to Rael'Zorah, who's focused too much on your homeworld. He's almost like Han'Gerrel in that regard, except his motivation is to build a home for his family.", I told them what my impression of Tali's father was, both from my much clearer memories today as well as what I'd seen during these years. "So, despite his attitude, there's still a chance for peace with him. I mean, after getting the homeworld back, everything else, including his dislike of the geth, may lose its meaning. Nevertheless, he's still a firm member of the 'war faction' 'till then.".

"On that we can agree on. Despite his views, Rael is someone I can always try to reason with. But his closeness to Han'Gerrel, both as friends and ideologically, could become an issue…", Zaal'Koris stated sincerely. "By the way, I believe one of the samples we brought was from his wife. He's been taking care of her wherever he's available.".

So, Tali's mother… She dies in the original timeline due to a similar situation. This wasn't going to happen this time around. And Rael'Zorah won't won't become obsessed with his work as a consequence. This would also make it easier to reach the best outcome.

"That only leaves us Daro'Xen…", I paused. Mentioning the name would almost be enough to make my point, but I'd decided to also make a short analysis of her just to wrap things up conclusively. "Regarding her attitude towards the geth, one could even say she has a… slavery fetish. I wouldn't exactly bet on her being against peace with the geth, but that she would use it to run hidden unsanctioned experiments on them. Basically, she's simply too unpredictable; a wild card, if you will. However, if we get all the other Admirals on our side, I believe she'd control herself.".

"Alright, Sam. I can see why you would choose to approach us and only us.", Shala said in resignation, dropping her shoulders a little. "Nevertheless, your wish hinges: firstly, on our people being capable of letting go of their animosity against synthetics; and secondly, the geth letting go of our homeworld…".

"Can we put an end to this damnable war peacefully? Do you believe we can make peace with the geth; with our… children?", Zaal turned Shala's doubts into two questions.

"Well, both sides would need to complete that equation. What we're doing here, right now, is a beginning, but it'll depend on you two; and if the geth still want peace too, I can't deny.", I answered in the simplest way I could and without revealing my foreknowledge. "And it isn't helped by the fact that they still shoot down anyone who comes anywhere near their territory; or that a small part of them has joined the cuttlefish…".

The Admiralty Board knew of this fact, though only that we'd "learned from a spy in Saren's army". We didn't reveal Benezia's double agent status to them. She was already facing a lot of risks in doing that. I wouldn't let anything increase her chance of exposure further.

"That's right. Joining genocidal synthetics in order to wipe out organics doesn't do any favors to this cause, Sam. It only reinforces our people's animosity against synthetics and the idea that we can't coexist peacefully.". Shala pointed out.

"It's not fair to use this example. This kind of thinking doesn't work, Shala.", Zaal said in response to her remarks. "Besides being a minority of the geth, they're being led by that turian Spectre; an organic, who also has an army of organics. Being synthetics or organic has no bearing on anything. They're just another enemy, like those batarian pirates. Anyways… Sam, tell me something. Why do you think we can end hostilities with the geth?".

"Do you know how the war started?", I asked; and they both shook their heads. "It was with a simple question: do these units have a soul? That's it. And then your wise leaders back then did something stupid: they ordered the geth to be deactivated after they'd shown hints of sentience; they tried to snuff out newborn life in its cradle. How well that turned out, well, it's a story we all know.".

This was rather common knowledge amongst the quarians; not of the question itself, but of their reaction: they "acted first", by trying to deactivate the geth. Even Tali admitted it when Shepard asked her. What the "general public" didn't know, however, was the existence of the quarian faction who protected the geth.

"And we paid dearly for that mistake. Many won't let go of that hatred.", Shala commented.

"Even if the geth let go of Rannoch without a fight?", I asked pointedly. "What you need to own up to is the fact that you started the whole conflict in the first place, not the geth. When they were asking existential questions, which denoted sentience, to those they considered their all-knowing parents, their creators, your leaders back then responded with total war.".

"Then I'll return what you said back at you: can you blame us? Them. The geth, they would see us as slave masters, as their oppressors, and attack.", Shala used the defense usually employed to justify a "preemptive-strike", while Zaal just stood quietly, in contemplation.

"And, pray tell me, what would the logical consequence of that be?", I asked back.

"Well, they… wouldn't accept that and… fight back, attacking us to secure their right to… to live.", she said in halting short sentences, realizations dawning every step of the way.

"And so they did, because they were already sentient – if the existential questions they'd asked weren't hint enough.", I pointed out the crux of the matter, while they mulled over my words for a moment. "But that's not to say something needs to be sentient to 'resist' being shut down. A VI could do that too, depending on its programming.".

"They still killed millions upon millions. We can't just forget that and move on.", Shala said in return, though more dispassionately this time.

"I agree. Genocide on that scale isn't so easy forgotten; or forgiven. But you mustn't forget, as well, that the geth sued for peace even after the first shot had been fired and that they let the survivors go. That's right. At the end of the war, the geth allowed your remaining people to escape through the Relay.", I revealed a piece of information not known by the common quarian – which, to be fair, sounded almost like heresy to them. "And you know what else? We've discovered that a considerable faction of quarians sided with the geth back then. It's just that they didn't survive. Not because the geth killed them, but because they all died at the hands of their own people. The geth fought without scruples after that. Interesting how that's not known in the Flotilla nowadays, right?".

They were utterly stunned by the revelation, thinking what it'd mean if it was true. After everything they'd seen today, and also the incredible hold over intel we'd shown them over the years (due to the Network), they accepted what I said as true – or decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and take my word on this.

"The things you're saying… it's almost like we're the villains of the story.", Zaal concluded.

"But that's just it! You have no blame for what your ancestors did. And your people are not villains. Not really…", I switched my tune abruptly. "Because there is another side to this… well, this shitshow. For one, people back then could be held accountable for the actions of their idiotic leaders. Like I've said, some sided with the geth. Moreover, speaking of them, they killed more than 99% of your population. That's billions of people right there, which includes the old, the sickly and children. I can't see those ever being a threat to them…".

"As Han would say, after a certain amount of losses, which varies depending on the species, any 'force' simply loses its war making capability.", Zaal interjected at this moment.

"Exactly! Of course, we can't forget that they ran; no, they were most of your infrastructure, so part of that genocide could be attributed to that – they were fighting their entire societal structure. Another reason could be the use of nuclear devices, especially for their EMP. I'm certain humans would definitely use nukes in that kind of war.", I listed a few more details, to show how gray, not black and white, it was. "But even then, after your people lost their fighting capabilities, as you've mentioned, the geth must've ignored any pleas of mercy or offers of surrender. That's really messed up. Finally, they did let you go, but maybe not due to any moral motivations. Maybe they simply couldn't compute the idea of genociding their creators, or they feared how the galactic community would respond…".

By this point, Shala was becoming as conflicted as I was on the issue. After all she'd seen, it was hard not to. This was also my goal in bringing her here today, though I wished this topic was more black-and-white. Like Garrus, I didn't like gray situations. For instance, I much preferred dealing with batarians "sponsored" by the Hegemony. They were clearly evil and wanted everyone else to know it too, so they did evil things rather openly. Now, thinking back on how those bastards could be a problem in the first place…

"Moreover, while this was going FOR ONE ENTIRE FUCKING YEAR, the Citadel Council just sat on its ass, doing what it does best: jack and shit!", I exclaimed, letting some of my anger get the best of me and losing my composure briefly. "I mean, what were they thinking? One side was something they have a big hate-boner against, while the other was a client species of theirs. The Terminus wasn't like it is today. They could've easily sent an armada to end the war; or to provide relief and aid at least. But they did nothing. No, worse than nothing. They've exiled you... Like I said, a shitshow.".

Both Admirals squeezed their hands tightly while I spoke. If anything, my words reminded them of an actor who played a big role in their current situation – be it due to inaction or due to the absurd act of beating/kicking someone when they were down.

"But then what should we've done? Allied with the geth?", Shala questioned me. "You said it yourself, the Citadel Council hates 'AIs'. They wouldn't let it happen. They would demand that we deactivate the geth. Knowing them, if we didn't obey, their possible response could be a turian armada knocking at our home, like they threatened in Ekuna!".

"In that case, you tell them to GO FUCK THEMSELVES!", I exclaimed again, but this time closer to a shout, stunning the duo with my outburst. "That's right. You tell them they're full of shit; to shove their fears where sunlight doesn't reach and that you will try to coexist with your creations. If they threaten war or seem to be gearing up for it? It's quite simple. Blow up the Relays leading to the Terminus, take the entire region for yourselves and, now with your superintelligent children and completely unfettered by the Citadel Council as well as their stagnancy, advance your Civilization to heights they could only dream of!".

If my previous passionate words shifted, even if only partially, their resentment towards the Council, this speech definitely moved Zaal'Koris and Shala'Raan. Before today, it was very likely that, for example, they'd consider the idea of blowing up Mass Relays crazy, insane or daring (at the very least). Now, however, those structures don't appear as irreplaceable as they once did. Moreover, advancing outside of the Council's shadow, building "Citadels" of their own, surpassing everyone else and so on were almost the complete opposite of their current situation. It wasn't hard to figure out which they'd prefer…

"I can't deny the idea sounds good, but I don't think the Reapers wouldn't allow that.", she mused sorrowfully, a hint of regret also in her tone.

"Maybe, maybe not. We can't be sure of that.", Zaal disputed her deflection. "They can't be considered a factor in the decision back then, for any sides of the war. We didn't know they existed. No one did.".

"Yes, we're only speaking of hypotheticals... Basically, what I'm trying to say is that it's all a clusterfuck, so… so let go of the past. It's high time you moved on.", I heartfeltly suggested to those two, focusing on Shala, then pointed at Avalon. "You've seen first hand what can be accomplished in that case, what can be achieved when we work together. And it's just a start. We aren't even close to what a Civilization at the End of Time, which is living on timescales that can only be made sense of in scientific notation, can do…".

They took a good look around once again, seriously considering my words, more so Admiral Raan. Looking for a culprit, someone to put blame on, or bickering to determine who was the 'ultimate villain' regarding her people's situation would get them nowhere. Even the Admiral Koris realized that his old vision on his people's future was limited as well.

And they now knew, more than ever in their entire lives, that they needed to do something. Even if they hardly had any idea of what that was. Otherwise, they might wake up one day and realize they had "lost" all their people to this place, if only for the simple fact they could live happily, free of the past and without being trapped in a suit.

"I can't deny this… is so unlike anything else in the galaxy.", Shala admitted in a resigned tone, sending a surprising inquiry soon after. "Changing our people's views on synthetics… how would we even begin to do that?".

Zaal was taken aback slightly, glancing at his colleague of many years now, since she was the first to speak up on the topic of "moving on".

"That's why we're here. I don't like politics, so you'll have to deal with that on your own, but I can offer you some ideas…", I said, clearing my throat in order to prepare to list a few suggestions. "Form a more 'moderate' faction. Make contact with the 'minor factions' of the Flotilla. You know, those not hell-bent on war? For example, there's the Nedas movement. They advocate simply starting over on another planet, so they might be open to more… unorthodox ideas. I know some quarians who can help you reach out. Also, try to promote constructive discussion on the topic. Spread media that fuels that. We've found that to be very effective. Basically, do whatever it takes to prepare your people for a day when they meet Gaia's people. Heck, if you have to, shift all the hate on 'synthetics' to the Council…".

"It isn't as if they don't deserve much of it anyways.", Zaal stated spitefully, while Shala nodded.

"This is a long-term undertaking, to be slowly achieved in the coming years.", I admitted, in conclusion, before they got overwhelmed, then waved my hand briefly. "What I ask of you two right now is your full commitment to this project.".

They looked at each other for a brief moment, exchanging wordless words with their eyes and nods, then turned to me with their minds made up.

"You have our word. Whatever may come…", Admiral Raan spoke first.

"I hope we can overcome it together.", Admiral Koris completed her sentence.

"Then welcome to Project Keelah Se'lai, Admirals.", I proclaimed with a welcoming smile, while firmly shaking their hands. Then, with Avalon as my background, I declared to them: "While the galaxy's perspective has been narrowed by the Citadel and its Trap, we'll define ourselves by overcoming what's considered impossible. While their drive has been stunted, we'll dare to aim higher; to break barriers; to make the 'impossible' possible. Because the truth is… we're still pioneers. So, tell me Admirals: what did you think of what you've seen so far?".

[2]

"Now that I've seen it…", Shala said, facing her fellow Admiral with a knowing look.

"I'd say we finally understand.", Zaal finished her sentence, returning it with a nod.

With that said, we began really discussing how to put our plans into motion for a long time, while Avalon spun peacefully in the void of space.

---

Media Reviews

---

[Elysium]

Asari Vid Reviews

At first I thought this vid was about that human colony in the Traverse, the one who got hit by a pirate armada who then got their backsides kicked, but then I realized this was in the retro vids category. And once again Retro Media delivers. This vid was surprisingly good. I actually enjoyed it more than any other released this year (so far), from the amazing visual effects (for its time) to the socially relevant bioethics commentary. And it brilliantly shows an important aspect of technological progress, in that it matters a great deal who controls our technology base.

We see absolutely fantastic technologies present in the vid, such as a device that can heal even more miraculously than medi-gel (faster too!), nor allow people to get sick or old. But all of this super-tech is controlled and accessed by citizens of Elysium, a tiny fraction of the human race, who live in a Citadel-esque station that they've somehow managed to build in spite of their primitive technology.

The main conflict centers around obtaining access to said devices, with the Elysium elites not permitting that (violently), and then grows into more from there. I'd say one question is summed like this: should access to the life-saving technology be restricted by an X-amount of capital that supposedly represents the arbitrary cost of a life? That's the position of the antagonists. So, as the story happened, I kept asking myself how these humans could do this to themselves. They could just shuttle down a few devices to the human homeworld. It'd cost practically nothing!

Yet we see the same thing with health care in our own galactic society. Is this a good or bad thing? Maybe it's neither. One can argue that without economic stipulation attached to the access of technologies, there won't be any motivation or incentive to develop them in the first place, life-saving or not. At least not without cornucopia technology.

Continuing on this topic, other incredible technologies shown in this vid include memory storage/transfer implants. It can store and then transfer exabytes of information from one person to the other, and doesn't look that difficult. When I saw it, I thought these humans had mastered something similar to a technological form of a meld, an incredible feat given their rather primitive technology. That's just fiction though.

Another piece of technology shown here (that also adds to the bioethics social discussion), is when Max is forced to accept that gruesome exo-suit (its cybernetic implants too), which is fitted right into his bone. Personally, I'd much prefer to wear those exoskeletons we see Hell's Angels using. They're more powerful, not bolted in the body and also look very sleek around the suit.

Ah, although not really that advanced, the unique laser weapon they'd used to open that shuttle door was a rather ingenious piece of tech. Much of this vid is rather "down to earth" (a human saying) as far as sci-fi is concerned.

As my final notes, I'd say this vid made great use of cinema techniques. The interrelation between various scenes, in particular, to create an emotional impact, was very well done. All in all, it's about a grim look into the possibilities of what the galaxy could've become if wiser and older species like ours weren't there to guide young species on how to handle technologies, for the betterment of the galaxy.

Drell Vid Reviews

This vid had my full attention at the first text crawl: the human homeworld was diseased, polluted and overpopulated. In a way, it made this experience personal. For a good while there, I wondered if "home" passed through that, before the end. The Illuminated Primacy was the only one who came for us, who saved our species from oblivion, but sometimes I wonder if there was more that could've been done… If those with the means had offered a bit of help too. This wasn't the only thing that made me think. Far from that.

Not much into the vid, there's a moment that struck me. I'm talking (no spoilers here) about the unauthorized entry scene, due to how unnerving it was. What happened shocked me, to say the least. But you know what? I've heard of similar enough stories occurring on the Citadel (no deaths in those)... of quarians getting run in, "kicked out" and/or "sent back" for dubious reasons, like "vagrancy". Krogan aren't even allowed in the Presidium. Speaking of which, C-Sec kinda also has a "zero tolerance policy" like the police droids in the vid, as long as you belong to the aforementioned groups.

There I go, getting lost in the memories. Anyway, what you need to know about this work is that it is as much sci-fi as it is social commentary on class warfare, or on the "haves and have-nots". Elysium, for instance, has almost miraculous medical technology that can cure a person of almost any illness or injury, but that tech is withheld from the majority of the population, who have no other alternative. There's a scene that encapsulates it, when a doctor says "This isn't Elysium, we can't just heal her..." to one of the characters. It seems that, in both the vid and our world, the benefits of technology are straddled by an economic culture that diverts wealth and resources to a few at the expense of others. This drives the conflict, the drama, towards a somewhat satisfying, if not expected, ending.

Elysium is a massive space habitat that orbits the human homeworld, where the elite live in an apparent utopia. Apparently, the design is called a "Stanford Torus", made by NASA, an old human agency. I think Arcturus Station, the Systems Alliance Navy headquarters, is based on this design (now you have some idea how it looks). This further serves to show the contrast. By the way, the corporate suits might look like evil caricatures, yet it's not that far off from how real Corps. are. I could see, from real experience, a CEO getting annoyed at his factory halting rather than his worker's dying of radiation poisoning. And who knows what they do in Noveria?

Despite not being a script or dialogue heavy vid, Elysium continually puts questions in my mind. What are we as a species? Are we simply supposed to be creatures of greed and self-indulgence? No matter how advanced or expansive we become, are we doomed to continue such a cycle of self-exploitation and stratification?

You know the vid is worth watching when it leaves you contemplating upon it like that after watching it. And it'd be nice to have a miracle cure for Kepler Syndrome.

One can only wish…

[No Game No Life: Zero]

Quarian Anime Review

"We are machines, tools bereft of heart. We have lived here, yet were never alive. Let us die having lived."

No, you Bosh'tets! You cannot make me feel like this! Why? Why? WHY did that have to happen? And why did those bosh'tet machines have to do what they did after finally having gained a heart? Now here I am, writing this through intermittent sobs. I didn't expect to get emotionally wrecked like this by a story, but everything in it is almost scientifically designed to turn you into a weeping mess. Even the marvelous soundtrack is quantum mechanically calculated to dig out your deepest feelings. And they beat you with them.

That's basically how this vid has made me feel. I don't even care if the warmongers of the Flotilla find out about this review and exile me. I'm not going to deny what I've felt. Phew… Now that this is out of the way, I'll get to the review (and we won't talk about it again, ok?).

This anime vid is the "prequel" to the "No Game No Life" anime I've reviewed before. So, if you've watched that one and liked its light-hearted tone, you're in for a big shock. That was the case for me at least. We follow the perspective of humanity (no, I'm not calling them "Imanity") before the "One True God" of games brought eternal peace to the world. In fact, this period is the complete opposite of that, for the world had been plunged into an eternal war, being constantly destroyed by all the species fighting on it.

Which is why, when I first saw Riku, our protagonist, meeting what I later learned was an ex-machina, I thought that was it. He was either going to die or lose a lot escaping. After all, that "machine" is described as operating as part of a collective, sharing consciousness with others, kinda like the geth. He'd face a terror we've been taught about all our life. But then my expectations were shattered in a very weird way…

If you don't mind minor spoilers, keep reading, otherwise move on to another review.

Ok, in a weird twist, they found a strange relationship. She, the ex-machine, wants to learn about the "human heart", and elects the protagonist, Riku, to teach her of it, full of sexual innuendos. Which is weird considering she looks like a teenager at most (I choked it up to them being different species in the end…). But then I caught myself thinking how I'd been treating them just like us, even calling the machine as a "her". And also realized it wasn't fair to compare them to the geth. For one, the geth would never send a unique unit into the world that also operates independently from the "cluster".

After that, things start to fall in their place, with them learning about each other, seeing how bad the situation really is in the world, getting closer and also coming up with a daring plan to put an end to the eternal war. The weakest race, along with an abandoned unit, scheme to defeat godlike beings. That's a reason to watch this vid by itself I'd say. I won't say more for it wouldn't only be minor spoilers, but let me state that it's all amazing. Considering its age, that schwi fight sequence was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking, though I figure I can never not un-hate Jibril from now on.

Spoilers (read this after having your heart broken by the ending): After finishing watching this vid and then noticing the parallels between our protagonists here and Sora/Shiru, I've dug into the source material. Apparently, there isn't anything like a mechanism to have your soul be "reborn" into a new body after death (reincarnation, as a few human religions call it), in that world…

So there is no reincarnation in disbord, you say!? Well, my answer is this then: that's why Tet reincarnated them on Earth! Yup, don't care about what anyone else has to say, that's my headcanon from now on, and no one's changing it!

Salarian Anime Review

Unlike the anime it's based on, this vid doesn't take its time and already shows you an epic battle at its beginning. You can see what kinds of bad odds humanity is facing here. I'd say it almost feels like being a primitive race while a group of super-advanced civilizations fight an eternal war, or a cycle of wars, in your home. I'm not exaggerating at all, since some of their attacks create explosions with the destructive force of the main gun of dreadnoughts. That's right. If they weren't bound to a planet, I'd bet these "primitive" magical races would be a powerful foe for our civilization. Ground combat would be almost impossible against their strongest individuals, who can pull off nuke-level attacks with a small body.

These are all things we didn't see in the season 1 anime, which has a much cheerful tone overall. "The Eternal War", as it's called, takes its toll on our characters. For instance, you can feel how much they've lost when Riku begins citing names. There's still the previous theme of beating powerful foes/opponents with plans that harness knowledge, wisdom and sheer wits, but it's all sharpened the realities of war, loss and defeat.

In summary, this is a tale of the weakest race, starting with almost nothing, making their own rules, on their own terms, becoming the "singularity" of the equation, in order to defeat godlike beings and a few others who might as well be gods, in a "winning move" that pays off on everything that came before. It really was a magnificent anime vid.

I just wish it didn't have to destroy me emotionally for that.

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Author's Notes

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And there it is! This officially marks the end of what I had written as the "first draft" – and so far reworked. Of course, I have ideas for the upcoming years (chapters), but will have to write all of them from scratch going forward. In fact, these last two chapters were basically like that. Also, I'm glad I split them. Look how massive this one ended being too! Anyway, this is the beginning of the First Act's end. So, let's get on with it...

Firstly, I'd like to thank Fleyja Yuki and Mark1 for the name suggestions! Avalon is a real good name for what I'm thinking here.

Regaring Spacemonkey777. Firstly, I'd like to say that I'm always happy to read your reviews. In the topic of kinetic shields, since they work based on "gravity fields" (set for deceleration), I figure they'd be able to overlap with nearby emitters; but I'd also hazard a guess that it'd eventually be limited to "sections" - if they are far enough from each other. After all, they only start to "block/halting" things when those incoming projectiles are close enough, so it wouldn't make sense for a kinetic barrier emitter to reach, say, a place that's 50 kilometers away. This is another vacuum writers left in their phlebotinum.

Besides that, I mentioned using wormholes because it's much easier to use them to block "extremely long range attacks", while not having to fit the entire hull of the Cylinder with eezo. So... an enemy shot at you from well beyond effective range? No problem, the wormholes can be moved there to "block it" (send it to another place). Said enemy moves closer? Then they can face the normal defenses of the Cylinder. Basically, it'd be a waste (at first) to spread eezo all over the Cylinder's hull when you more efficiently use it on warships or defenses measures (such as moving defenses like I mentioned). As for your other ideas, they simply don't match what I envisioned, which is why I didn't even "show off" warships to the Admirals. That's not the focus of this chapter.

Speaking of the focus of this chapter, the goal/plan was to firmly establish the foundations for the future regarding the quarian/geth situation. That's why only those two Admirals were chosen for the "little conspiracy". They're the least problematic of the five. Moreover, with the shock and awe they experienced, they might not even be considered problematic anymore. As for the rest of the plan, I've got it all figured out.

Why didn't reveal the MC's "outworlder" status to the Admiraldy Board, including the memories? Firstly, because it's not required for what he's doing. Secondly, Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen could react negatively due to the changed circumstances (it's not a time of war with the Reapers, when they can't fuck around, at this moment). Finally, even if he only told Shala'Raan and Zaal'Koris about it, he still wouldn't trust them not to screw up something during this "quiet and sneaky" phase of the plan.

Regarding the immune system, Kurzgesagt has a few videos (it's a very interesting series) that delves into how it works, which are: 1) How The Immune System ACTUALLY Works – IMMUNE (part of the YT url: /watch?v=lXfEK8G8CUI); 2) You Are Immune Against Every Disease (part of the YT url: /watch?v=LmpuerlbJu0); and 3) Tiny Bombs in your Blood - The Complement System (part of the YT url: /watch?v=BSypUV6QUNw).

The "solution" for the quarians is of my design (I never read something close, or described in detail, like this on any other fic). Moreover, it's well within the capabilities of what nanites could do in the future, besides being an easy shortcut for radical life extension.

The Geth are "confusing" throughout the trilogy; their writing is almost schizophrenic. Have you guys noticed, for example, how Legion's famous quote went from "Do these units have a soul?" to "Does this unit have a soul?" in ME3? In this story, I'm going for a more nuanced take on them, trying to include the good, the bad and the ugly. If I end up "missing" something, it's because I haven't read the novels (only hunted for some specific information they have).

[THIS STORY GOING FORWARD]

After going back to read a few more fics, I'd noticed many people usually suggested things (ideas) and they'd sometimes make it into the fic. I rather liked that. So, the last part of this A/N is me sorta "crowdfunding" those last few years. By the way, here's the things I'm still interested in writing about: 1) how Zaeed's been goddamn doing so far (and why he can successfully lead the Blue Suns); 2) how Drack's been dealing with the Blood Pack; 3) the fate of the Eclipse; 4) all the last major augments for Hell's Angels as well as their power armor; 5) what Sha'ira has been up to all these years; 6) what to do with the vorcha as a species; 7) how the Hegemony's forces in the Terminus will be dealt with; and 8) how the Terminus Wars ends. Anything more is spoiler territory.

By the way, I'm trying to write a story that takes details as the focus and a methodological approach on how to deal with the Reapers, including the fallout of it. Therefore, the MC, as a self-insert of my own mindset, won't do things with a high likelihood of going awry. That's why, for example, he won't try to "help" (unite) the krogan of Tuchanka more than what you guys have seen so far as well as behind the scenes (with Drack). On the other hand, the MC might try to do something daring if he can change the "probabilites", tilting them in his favor (think in terms of "No Game No Life").

As a result of that, it's logical that he'll face less "loses" overall; the things will go... mostly according to plan. This, however, doesn't mean the world can't throw some curveballs their way. It already did, especially in things he simply can't do for now (remember how his group is basically working with their hands tied behind their backs...), and will continue to do in the future. The few "scenes" you guys read about are just that: certain moments in various years; almost a decade by now. So, they aren't indicative of everything going on. Besides that, we must keep in mind that the main enemy are the Reapers. If the MC can't even surpass the stupid/stagnant old (or even current) Citadel Civilization, which get their asses kicked in the Reaper War, then how would his faction do it? If a balance can't be reached, it might lead to a badly dissonant plot.

I'm currently trying to imagine side-plots to "raise the stakes" (more in line with "upping" the tension). Maybe the ending "chapters" of the Terminus Wars will be a chance for that, but I don't ever wish to sacrifice consistency for cheap drama. Yeah, I've read many stories that, let's say, start with a "strong" AU humanity who should, by all means, not have to take crap from anyone, least of all the Council, then the author (I think) "freaks out", starts retconning all sorts of things and creating nonsensical weaknesses all over the place, and then we're left with a faction that's either basically the same as the Systems Alliance of canon or even worse in some aspects.

Oh, and the "other side" gets buffed to hell and back. How buffed? Well, for example, in the last fic I read,the Collector Cruiser took what "felt" like even more punishment than Sovereign did, countless attacks from a large Dreadnought, when it went down to only two Normandy Thanix shots in canon...

Still, I guess most of the tension will be reserved for the Reaper War itself – as well as something I'm currently cooking up mentally for the second part of the Second Act. All you guys need to know for now is that tension can come in different forms…

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Question(s) for my readers:

1) What do you want to see in these next few years of the story? Here's where you guys can pitch me your ideas for the future chapters. Also, you can PM me if you want (this way, it'll be a complete surprise for everyone else!).

2) The former question includes ideas on how to "up" the tension a bit. So, what ideas do you guys have regarding that? Please, use this "question" for those. And keep in mind that I can only use what really fits this story.

3) The pressing issue for now is how to deal with the Eclipse. The problem isn't that I don't have any ideas, but that I have many and can't decide which would be better. For instance, the MC could get someone (some OC asari or, heck, even Aethyta) to infiltrate it and take over from the inside. Or he could have a "talk" with that salarian, Sayn, and get his loyalty with life-enhancing nanites… What do you guys think?

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When is the next Chapter coming? When it's ready!

And, if my list up there is any indication…

It might take a while to wrap things up.