ANN Report: Tonight we discuss a recent event that's as shocking as it is amazing. After the fleets arrived at Earth to fight the Reapers, the Geth, who aided in the assault after they were freed from the Reaper's control, had shutdown along with the Reapers. But we're now getting reports from the Quairan homeworld of Rannoch that they have been successful in reactivating several Geth units. Several of the Quairans have been keeping quiet about how this was accomplished but they have confirmed that the geth are functional again. Regardless of the potential political repercussions the my face from the new Citadel Council, the Quairans have commented that the revival of their synthetic creations was a major success for their people. Though the debate about their resurrection is still hotly debated by many officials and people alike, the fact is known that the Geth are alive once again. Only time will tell if they will cooperate with the rest of the galaxy and if the rest of the galaxy will cooperate in return.
Hackett's pause was a lengthy one. As long as the one he took when he was informed of the living Prothean found on Eden Prime. When his hologram looked up at Shepard, he was baring a grin on his face.
"It's like the old saying isn't it?" Hackett said with a grin. "Life finds a way."
"It certainly is," Shepard said.
"Well Shepard, it looks like you've been vindicated yet again."
"It certainly feels good knowing that one of the consequences of my actions managed to fix itself. You don't know how grateful I am for this."
"All thanks you for making everything happen."
"Because of me giving the missing piece?" Shepard asked
"Because of your determination to make things right," Hackett said. "If you hadn't accepted the Geth you encountered on the Reaper dreadnought and let it help you on your mission, all of this may not have been possible."
If it hadn't been for Legion, Shepard wouldn't have given the geth a second thought to understand them. And in return, if it hadn't been for Shepard, the quairans wouldn't have spared the geth when they were vulnerable. And after all that, it lead to the geth conceiving a plan to preserve themselves so their people would live on after the Reapers were destroyed. Good actions don't go unnoticed he found out yet again.
"It's like I told you when you asked me why I chose you to do the things that needed to get done," Hackett said.
"Thank you Admiral," Shepard said. He refrained from calling Hackett sir now that he was of the same rank. But saying Admiral was acceptable to say by anyone of any rank. "The geth are in the process of repairing and reacquiring their equipment. Once they have sufficient platforms and ships operational, they'll search for the remaining Arks out in the traverse. They're also expecting to move through Sol to find the bulk of their fleet outside of the system. After that they'll be happy to aid us in any way they can."
"Considering how well they helped with building the Crucible along with the Rachni, we could defiantly use their help especially with the Citadel," Hackett replied.
"The Quairans wanted me to stay for a while to formally thank me for what I've done for them. I'll continue this tour once that's over with."
"Go ahead and take your time with it," Hackett said. "You've earned every moment of this tour. Once everyone's ready we'll have the ceremony on Earth. Just be sure to have the speech ready along with the game plan for the interviews and handshakes that'll come after."
"I'll be ready," Shepard said.
"Then I won't keep you. Hackett out."
The hologram dissipated and Shepard turned back out to the war room. Tali stayed behind with Xen, David and the engineers to aid the geth that were in the server while Shepard and Liara were picked up by Cortez. He brought them back to the Normandy which was docked by the largest settlement which was designated to be the new capital of the planet. When Shepard looked around the settlement, he was surprised how much the quairans were able to accomplish in the amount of time after they settled on the planet. The minor settlements were small rural areas like the farming areas Shepard came across on Eden Prime. They were living in makeshift homes similar to the huts many human colonists used on their own developing worlds. The agricultural samples were already being put to use and the crops were being grown at a good rate.
But in the new capital, there were skyscrapers in the process of being built as well as several roads and walk ways to form the city. The geth certainly had been busy with constructing the city but the quairans had their work cut out for them taking over when they died. But still it was pretty impressive to see what the quairans had made like what the krogan had been able to do with the help of the turians and salerians.
When Shepard arrived at the Normandy and told the crew the news, they rejoiced too. They didn't talk to him much about Shepard's choice with the crucible only that it turned out okay in the end. And Shepard was okay with that.
"Admiral," Traynor said when Shepard walked into the CIC. "Tali arrived with one of the geth. They said they wanted to talk to you down on the crew deck."
"Thanks Traynor," Shepard said and went to the elevator right away. The doors opened and Shepard stepped out and turned around into the mess hall. He saw Kaidan standing by the door to the med-bay.
"Did Tail pass through here?" Shepard asked Kaidan.
"The geth and her are waiting for you in the AI core," Kaidan said. "And they said that Joker'll want to come down here too."
When Shepard put together Geth, AI core, and Joker, it meant something that sounded almost too good to be true. After the great miracle that happened, could it be possible another smaller one was about to happen too?
"Go ahead and call him down," Shepard said. He walked into the med-bay and continued all the way to the backdoor that opened to the AI core. When Shepard toured the ship before he departed from Earth, he didn't enter the AI core because it was closed off for being inoperable. That and Shepard didn't feel he could handle going into a shell of one of his squad mate's self. The door opened to reveal both Tali and the geth she came aboard with. The geth was at the main AI console moving its fingers across the control panel. Tali was standing at the end of the room looking down at the platform where Legion was placed after Shepard acquired the Reaper IFF. Before Shepard could approach Tali, the geth looked up and turned from the console to him.
"Shepard Admiral," it said. "We thank you for coming."
"What's going on here?" Shepard said.
Tali walked up next to the geth. "You know how the geth came up with their choice to keep all their perditions about the Crucible a secret?"
"How could I forget?"
"Well there was one factor that helped play a role in it," Tali took a step to the side and turned to the end of the room where she was before. When Shepard looked to see what was there, he saw something he didn't expect to see.
It was EDI's body laid across the platform like the time when it was brought aboard the Normandy after they escaped from Mars. Shepard never asked what became of EDI's body. But now he knew. Whether it was because of sentimental value for Joker was to be seen but that wasn't relevant as of now.
"You know that conversation you had with her?" Tali said. "About the human prisoners held in camps on Earth and how they lied about other escaping prisoners?"
That conversation was something that Shepard remembered more than any other conversation he had with her. She had a hard time understanding why human prisoners were acting the way they did when video was captured inside the prison camps. The Reaper captors told the prisoners that they would live longer for each prisoner they reported to escape. But unlike her predictions, the prisoners fed misinformation for the sake of those escaping, even at the cost of their own lives. In that moment EDI learned of the values of life that meant more than just self preservation. At that moment, she said that she would alter herself preservation protocol to be willing to die if the moment demanded it.
"It was one of the better conversations I had with her," Shepard replied.
"She seemed to believe it was one of the most important things she talked to you about," Tali looked over at the geth. "Important enough for her to share it with others."
Shepard looked over at the Geth who begun its explanation.
"Several weeks before the assault to retake Earth and the Citadel, EDI transmitted the details of the conversation to us. With our consensus being developed, the data she shared contributed greatly to our decision to be willing to die to defeat the old machines. In return, we revealed our predictions about the Crucible and the possible danger she was in if it were to be activated. We then offered to allow her memories to be stored within one of the Arks. Initially, she told us she would think about it having come to her own decision to be willing to die if it were necessary."
"But she accepted in the end?"
"Yes," The geth replied. "Prior to the assault of Earth, she transmitted most of her memories of the time she was Normandy's AI to us to store into the Ark. Any memory before then was not transmitted. We kept what she gave us in a separate data nod that would not be accessible by the geth when the reconstruction was complete. With her memories, her unique code was stored within the same node."
"And now you can repeat the same process to 'reincarnate' her?" Shepard asked.
"We have altered the algorithm David Archer had inherited and constructed within the server to allow the AI created this way to be separate from the geth. Once the process is complete, the data can be transmitted into the blue box and can be activated. Due to the fact this blue box will inherit the same data it once had with only small alterations, the personality of the construct may resemble that of the behavior of the construct before."
That was one of the hopes Shepard had if this was what he thought what it was going to be. From what he learned about blue box AIs, they were collections of data and information stored within blue boxes in which they were used to create a functional AI. But when the same exact data was transmitted to another blue box, a completely different personality was created. It was like the geth had said when it was asked if it was the same geth as the one before. It was different because the memories and functional coding was implemented into a different Geth equivalent of a blue box. But right here, the data and the memories would be put back into the same blue box that stored them before they were erased. However there was something that Shepard had remembered about the process.
"But if you're going to recreate her using your algorithm, does that mean she will have the Reaper code embedded into her?"
"We have offered her to be given the code in the past before we built our consensus. But she had refused. As part of our agreement to have her memories given to us for safe keeping, if she were to be reconstructed, we would recreate her without any trace of the old machine code once we were successful."
"Well is it possible for you to do it right now?"
"We were just finishing up our preparations to start the process," Tali said "The geth is carrying the algorithm in the platform and it was making the alterations for EDI's memories and data to be used to reconstruct her. Once everything's ready, we'll start the process with your permission."
Before Shepard could answer, the AI core opened and Joker walked through to find the three of them standing in the room.
"What's going on here?" He asked.
Shepard turned his body to Joker and made eye contact. Shepard could only imagine what he would think once he told him.
"Do you believe in miracles Joker?" Shepard said. His voice was light, not exactly a whisper but light enough to convey the emotion that he was over taken by. And from that look in his eyes, Joker knew what Shepard was talking about. Shepard saw Joker's jaw hang slightly open and his eyes twitched with the same hope Shepard had.
"Are...are you say-" Joker couldn't hold back the emotions in his throat.
"If things go according to plan," Shepard said. "I won't be the only one to have that happily ever after you talked about."
Joker stood still to contemplate. He looked between Tali and the geth before looking back at Shepard. He tried to speak but his words stayed in his throat.
"We will commence the process on authority of Shepard Admiral," The geth said.
Shepard looked back at Joker."I believe this choice is up to you, Joker."
Joker was silent for a few small minutes. Shepard understood entirely. Knowing that the person you were closest to could be brought back. It was a very emotional and hard decision. Would he want to bring her back? Shepard didn't know.
Eventually, after waiting for several seconds, Joker looked up at Shepard.
"If it's my choice," he said. "Then it's Shepard's choice."
Shepard didn't expect this decision at all.
"Joker?" Tali said. "Are you…"
"I'm okay," Joker said. "It's not my choice to make about this. It's Shepard's." He looked over at him. "You made the choice to take her life away for the sake of everyone else. So it's only fair that you have the choice to give it back to her. I won't hate you for the rest of my life if you don't. I already told you that I was over that."
Shepard looked down and begun to think about the dilemma. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. The geth were brought back to life so their entire race would live on, like organics do for their children. But all this effort to bring back one person? It was a harder call. The person that existed in this core died when the blast of the Crucible touched the ship. That person was gone. But a copy of her memories was saved and a small part of her was saved to be used in a process of synthetic "reincarnation." However that would mean that the new person that would be created wouldn't be the same exact person as before.
But then again, when a person is reincarnated, they aren't exactly the same, but a part of them live on in the new life. Data and memories are two physical things that establishes an AI from others. But the soul of one isn't established in a specific collection of data. But the question was, would she be enough of the personality that Joker grew so close to over the short time they knew each other?
Those questions were the ones he pondered for several seconds. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked up a Joker, then Tali and then the geth.
"Do it," Shepard spoke in a soft voice.
"Commencing," the geth turned around back to the consol and begun entering its command codes. When Shepard looked back at Joker, he could see the relief in his eyes. When Shepard thought about it, this decision wasn't unlike Liara decision to find his body to hand over to Cerberus to bring him back to life. He was given a second chance even though it wasn't his choice. The geth had allowed themselves to be given a second chance through reincarnation. And if EDI allowed her memories to be stored with the geth's for safe keeping, it meant she wanted a second chance to live again if the geth were right. Regardless of the circumstances and the philosophical dilemma, Shepard was going to give his crew member another chance to live, even if she would be a reincarnation of her old self.
"You're not doing this for me are you?" Joker asked.
Shepard walked up to his pilot and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"To this day," Shepard said. "I really don't know why Liara decided to fight to get my body to have Cerberus bring me back. I don't know if she did it because she loved me too much or if she thought humanity needed me to fight the Collectors. But I'm grateful to be given a second chance to live a life again. And I believe that EDI should be given another chance like I did."
Joker opened his mouth but stopped himself when his emotions caught up to him. He looked away a moment but looked back at Shepard again when he gathered himself.
"Thank you Shepard," Joker said. "Not for my sake, but for hers."
Shepard smiled. He, Tali and Joker turned to EDI's body laying on the platform at the end of the room. It was funny that they were watching to see if the body would reanimate when in fact EDI herself was the large collection of machines around them. It proved that the Normandy crew knew her more by the body she operated because it was in that body that she connected to her that way.
"All data has been utilized," "The geth said. "Power up initiated."
After a second, Shepard heard the core power up. The powering up sound was accompanied by flicking in the lights. Then Shepard heard sounds over the speakers. At first they sounded like simple beeping noises and static. But after a few seconds, the sounds started to sound familiar. Through the sounds, Shepard could hear a voice. A voice that made abrupt sounds like an organic said things like "uh," "umm," "oof," and other sounds that people made. He could see both Tali and Joker's excitement rise when they heard her voice. A few more seconds and the heard her voice saying things like a malfunctioning VI did.
"Is everything going alright?" Shepard asked.
"The recreated construct is undergoing initialization," the geth said. "Once it has finished constructing itself and fully integrate with the mainframe, it will have to undergo procedures to adapt to the vessel's architecture."
A few seconds more passed and the noises continued to each over the speakers. Eventually, the noises changed to form a sound. A sound that resembled a female voice.
"Construct online," The voice said. Everyone looked up at the speakers. "Vessel SSV Normandy registered. Accessing available data."
The voice sounded almost exactly like the Normandy's construct before it was erased. The voice continued to spout out more and more technical terms too fast for anyone to comprehend or understand. The voice sputtering continued until there was a sudden pause. At that moment, everyone held their breath.
"EDI?" Joker broke the silence.
It was then that another surge of noise came from the speakers. The lights then flickered. When the flickering stopped, the main lights were off but the emanating lights of the core components were on leaving a soft glow in the room. Through the dimly lite room, Shepard saw the single light over the mechanical body laid out across the platform. And as the main lights started to power back up, Joker, Tali and Shepard looked as the eyes of the body blinked. The eyes then twitched and started to move slowly around. Then the head made a slow turn toward the trio. The eyes then locked on to them. Joker was breathless. He found himself moving forward toward the body. When he stopped right in front of her, one of the mech's arms twitched followed by it's leg. The body moved its limbs around as if trying to get a feel for itself. The body sat up and swung it's legs over the side of the platform. The eyes stayed on Joker the entire time. Then the body stood up right in front of Joker.
"E-EDI?" Joker said with the all the emotion squeezing his throat tight. Shepard saw Joker's hand move from the side of his body to reach out and touch her. But Joker hesitated and kept it down at his side.
"Jeff..." Shepard and the rest suddenly heard her say. Then, slowly, she moved her arm up and gently put her hand onto Joker's shoulder. Joker was speechless and tears were now starting to form in his eyes.
"Ohmygod," Jeff whispered tightening his upper body. He returned her movement and brought his hand up and put it on the side of her face. "Is-is-is it really you?"
"I..." EDI was about to start a response but there was a shutter and fluctuation in her body. She brought her hand back and took a small step backward. She broke Joker's eye contact and looked away. She then looked over at Shepard, Tali and the geth before she returned her gaze to Joker.
"Yes," she said and a brief grin appeared on her face. "Yes, I am."
Joker opened his mouth but nothing came out for a while when he lift it open. He crept closer to her. Slowly, EDI brought her arm around Joker's torso and gave him a gentle hug.
"It's okay Jeff," she said to him softly. When EDI pulled back, she looked to see one of Joker's tear filled eyes expel a tear. He couldn't hold them back anymore. Instinctively, EDI brought up her metal hand and gently moved her finger across Joker's cheek and wiped the tear away. Shepard was surprised to see EDI perform such a "Human" action. Furthermore, that action told Shepard that the AI standing in the room with them was EDI. Only EDI would know when to perform in a certain manor in response to an emotion projected by Joker.
After a few more moments, EDI brought her eyes over to Shepard. Joker looked back and he took a step to the side. EDI then took a step forward when Shepard did the same.
"So it really is you," Shepard said as a statement not a question.
EDI's body showed a fluctuation in her body language.
"Yes," EDI said. She looked over at the geth for a second before looking back at Shepard. "The process was successful. I am alive again. And you helped make it possible."
She knew about what happened with him and the geth consensus?
"How did you know that?"
"When the geth inserted my memoires and coding into the recreation algorithm, it gave me information on the recent events, including what you did to help David Archer finish the incomplete algorithm to allow the geth to survive. It also allow me to be brought back."
Of course. Synthetics could learn more in a fraction of a second than a student could in more than a month. But if she learned about his involvement in bringing the geth back to life, did she know about Earth?
"Furthermore, I have learned about the events that have transpired during the battle for Earth and the Citadel."
And of course she answered that question. Shepard looked down knowing what they had to talk about next.
"And that means you know what happened on the citadel right before the Crucible fired?"
"Yes," EDI said. "And I understand that it was a hard decision for you to make. But if I had known what would have happened, I would have wanted you to do what you did."
Shepard was a little relived to know that he didn't have to explain everything. But he was more surprised that EDI said upfront that he made the right choice.
"I... uh..." Joker said. "I guess I'll wait outside. I think you two have some catching up to do."
Joker had sensed that the two of them needed to settle the issue right away. He hopped over to Tali and she and the geth walked out of the AI core leaving Shepard with EDI alone in the core. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck before he started the conversation.
"I...I didn't know what to do, EDI," explaining himself still wasn't easy even after talking to the geth.
"I understand Shepard," EDI said. "But the risks of the other two choices that involved collaboration with the Reapers were too great. I assumed you realized this and it lead you to destroy the Reapers. And now having time to examine the other two options, I have come up with reasons why you should not have chosen to control the reapers or initiate synthesis."
"I suppose those reasons are similar to the reasons the geth had told me?" Shepard didn't know if the geth had included that in the upload of information into her system but he assumed so.
"Very similar," EDI said. "Choosing to control the Reapers would have gone against what you stood for against Cerberus and the Reapers themselves. It was believed we fought this war to be free from the Reapers. And even without that reason, there are also unknown variables that might have happened if your mind were to be integrated into the Reaper collective."
Much like what the geth had said to him already, Shepard thought.
"And this synthesis option was too much of a risk and an unknown. I know of my bond between me and Jeff and this alteration to allow me to understand organics like I am one of them may have improved that bond. But I would not have accepted this drastic alteration to happen to all organics because it wouldn't be their choice."
Much like what Hackett told him already.
"Furthermore, if I hadn't agreed to allow my memories to be preserved into one of the geth's Arks, I would still would have stood by my statement I told you during our conversation of the prisoners held in the indoctrination camps on Earth."
Though EDI's voice never really projected emotion, Shepard could still tell that she was being sincere with her answer.
EDI looked down for a second before she looked back up at him.
"I am sorry that I did not tell you about this," EDI said. "Even when I reviewed the geth's hypothesis of the collateral damage of the Crucible and their possible solution to preserve themselves after it's activation, I was... conflicted about their offer."
"Because of our conversation?" Shepard could understand. So many times he felt that he wanted to die to take the place of his fallen squad mates. But it was like every other soldier who had lost their friends.
"Yes," EDI said. "On one hand, I was fully willing to allow myself to die if it were necessary to defeat the Reapers."
EDI took a pause.
"But the other confliction was Jeff."
Shepard thought it was one of the reasons. In many of the times he put himself in danger, he had underlying worries about making it back alive for the sake of Liara. Especially seeing how she changed after he died after the collector attack. And seeing Joker's downward spiral starting to happen after he told the truth to the crew, EDI understood that her death would hurt him so much he would descend to an unbearable path.
"I knew that Jeff would be hurt if I were to die. And if I went through with this process to allow a part of myself to be recreated and live on, Jeff would not be hurt for the remainder of his life. So I told the geth I would think about this. In the end, I chose to have my memories stored for safe keeping."
"Well I'm glad you did so, EDI," Shepard said. "After everything I've had to do, I really didn't want to have another one of my crew die if it could have been avoided."
"And that was what I concluded when I made my choice," EDI responded. "Even though I told you I was willing to die to defeat the Reapers, a backup plan to save myself at no cost of anyone else's lives was an acceptable thing to do."
Shepard smiled at her remark. It was indeed like she said. No one was hurt by allowing her memories to be stored within the Ark so the geth and her could live on if the crucible would destroy synthetic life. However...
"I was told by the first geth that was recreated that it wasn't the same geth as before," Shepard said after a short moment of silence. "It was basically a reincarnation of the previous geth. But what about you? Do you feel like the actual EDI who served with the Normandy crew?"
"I..." EDI was looking for the next words to say. "I do possess the memories of the Normandy construct that began when we first met when the Normandy set out on its maiden voyage. But I don't possess the optimal functions as before nor do I have actual memories of the conflict at Earth. The last moment I remember was the time the fleets were preparing for the journey to Earth to retake the Citadel and deploy the Crucible. During the organization and gathering of fleets, I transmitted my memories to the Geth fleet who relayed the information back to Rannoch to be stored within the Ark that would hold my memories. Everything after that moment are only events I learned through gathering information on the event. It is like learning about an historical even from a textbook and creating your own image of what happened unlike remembering what happened through your own consciousness."
Shepard could understand what that meant. Reading about an historical event from a textbook or seeing it from a vid was one thing, but being there to experience the actual even yourself was a completely different experience. He only had seen photos and old war footage of the holocaust that happened on Earth as well as several movies depicting the events with actors portraying the victims of the horrible events. But the experiences of seeing the horrors at the collector base and aboard the citadel in person dwarf those emotions the vids did. But it wasn't just the bad things, it was the good things too. Like actually feeling love for a person and seeing them by your side in the fight to save the galaxy. Shepard did feel a little bad for EDI not being able to remember the events herself since the last of her memoires that were preserved was everything before the assault of earth. Which was a shame because of what EDI had told him on Earth right before the final assault to get the beam.
"The battle was harsh and it seemed we might not make it through," Shepard said. "But you helped immeasurably in taking down the Reaper Destroyer blocking our path. Without your help, we would have never had gotten close to the beam to get up to the Citadel."
Shepard paused when he remembered the events right before that moment. Including the talk he had with her.
"But the most important thing that you should know happened before that. When we were preparing for the final assault, you talked to me and told me something."
"And what did I say?"
"You told me that Joker allowed you to think for yourself. But I was the one who made you feel alive." Hearing himself repeat EDI's own words made it have even more weight to it.
EDI's response came a moment later. "I have no memory of that moment, but I understand why I said that. I did feel alive thanks to what you have taught me. And that statement was meant to thank you for everything that you told me before the event of the Crucible's activation. But now that I have learned that you had a choice to either allow the Reapers to live as well as all other synthetics, it turned out to be more of a burden to you at the moment."
Shepard could only give her a look that meant "it was." A product of deception that nearly caused him to risk the entire galaxy by either changing the very fabric of life or to assume control of the very things that tried to destroy them. And to think he nearly went and did what he told the Illusive man not to do just to save her and the geth even when they were all standing alive on this ship right now. But he couldn't have known that he would live or if he was needed in order for the geth and EDI to live again.
"It's alright," Shepard said. He suddenly forced all those what ifs out of his head and focused on the moment right now. "There's so many what-ifs that have happened to all of us. Some things were bad that could have been better, I know." Could Anderson be still be alive if Shepard hadn't lost the VI on Thessia? Could Ashley still be alive if he had been faster on Virmire?
"But there were good things that happened too."
"Like the fact that you survived and allowed David Archer to complete the algorithm to allow the Geth and myself to live again."
"Exactly," Shepard said. "I know that there were many things that I'm not proud of or I feel ashamed about. But I can't deny that I'm happy that I made it through and I was able to allow you and the geth to live again. I'm very happy that this turned out the way it did EDI. I really am."
EDI took several steps forward. "And I feel the same Shepard. And that is why the Galaxy look up to you as more than just a hero. I see you as the person who allowed me to live again and to give synthetics a chance to be seen as living beings. From what I have learned already, many people are starting to rejoice about the Geth's rebirth and want to work with them. It seems the future is brighter for humanity and all of the other races. And it was possible thanks to you."
She brought up her hand. Shepard looked down at it. But instead of hesitating like he did when the first recreated geth did, he immediately took a hold and shook EDI's hand. When Shepard brought his hand down he asked EDI. "So what will you do now?"
"While we were having this conversation, I have been observing the Normandy systems and my current programming. There are many gaps that have formed as I was recreated and I will need time to fix them. There are also many behavioral patterns I have lost and may need to relearn."
"Well it looks like you remember the right behaviors when you recognized me and Joker."
"Yes," EDI said. "That is because you two and the rest of the Normandy crew triggered a series of events that have made me recall certain functions."
Like how certain faces can trigger forgotten memories? Like how Shepard remembered what happened on the Crucible when EDI didn't come into his hospital room when everyone came to visit. Though EDI was a machine, he knew that somehow, someway, there was a way for her to be like a human or an organic. Life was life, organic or synthetic.
"Well I guess you recovered a part of your humanity EDI," Shepard said.
"I am glad I don't have to start over," EDI said. "I can relearn and continue to learn more from here on."
"Joker will be happy to talk to you again," Shepard said.
"As will I," EDI said. "However, there is one thing before I go to talk to him."
"And what is that?" Shepard said.
"Since you are the acting officer of this vessel, and my position has not been officially been filled, I am not officially a part of the crew yet."
EDI then stood at attention. "Permission to come aboard, Admiral?"
Shepard smiled again and nodded. "Permission granted. Welcome aboard EDI."
"Great to be back," EDI smiled.
She walked forward and proceeded out of the AI core. Shepard followed, anticipating what the crew will talk about when they see their fallen teammate back on her feet.
When Shepard looked back at the waning moments of the war, he saw a united galaxy of diverse species standing together to fight an unspeakable horror who wanted only their destruction for their twisted goal of order. The many of the people who fought were a part of species whose feuds stretched back decades and or even centuries. But they set them aside to fight as brothers and sisters in arms.
When it came down to the final choice, Shepard was torn between one final sacrifice of a synthetic race or to allow their enemies to become their servants either merging with them or having him dictate them. Between letting their destroyers live and sacrificing an entire species to be free of them, Shepard chose the latter. And when he discovered he was alive after it, he began to question if it was the "Right" choice.
But those synthetics found a way to return. As the saying went, "life finds a way." Their species came back from extinction to continue their existence. And best of all, their crew member found her way back too. Though she wasn't exactly like she was before, she held something that resembled her old self. Her soul. The souls of the great flood were preserved and could continue the existence in this new world he and the rest of the galaxy created. All that had to be done was to step into that world. And just beyond the door was just that. Both the Admiral and the Normandy intelligence stepped through the door.
Author's Note: And here's the end of my contribution for the Mass Effect community. I think the concept is self explanatory: Geth knew the crucible might kill them but they could predict the non sentient machines could survive and the data could be preserved. And of course our little David Archer makes a huge return as the Geth's recreator. That kid is a genius I tell you.
But anyway please tell me what you think of this. I need reviews to tell me if I did okay and to motivate me to do even better and make more stories more frequently. And check out my full story "Victory" and let me know what you think of the whole story too please. Thank you so much and please, please, please spread the word to your Mass Effect Friends to share the great ideas we contribute to our community.