Author's Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed my last chapter, The Geth. This chapter is expected to be a bit longer. I know that I tend to stick to Garrus' point of view, but occasionally that will change. There will be chapters from someone else's point of view, however rarely. I am sure, though I could be wrong, that many of you (whoever has read this) is wondering how the Geth can be reactivated. I'm not going to go, or at least try, into too many technical details especially since the Codex doesn't really explain how they work all that well. I do not have a degree in quantum computing so I'll try to explain, through Tali, as best as I can with the help of Wiki: Mass Effect – The Geth. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter! J
Disclaimer: Bioware and EA own all the rights to the Mass Effects series. I own and claim nothing but the plot point for this story.
"Shepard, where the hell are you?" Wrex grunted, moving a behemoth sized piece of concrete while Grunt sifted through debris, occasionally wiping his hands on his armor.
"She's not here," Grunt said turning to look at Wrex. Wrex looked out at the landscape, if you could call it that. The ground was littered with paper, metal, creaking buildings that were half blown apart and groaning as if wanting to tumble down to the Earth. There were fires off in the distance, clouds of smoke billowing up everywhere. Not too far away from them, maybe a few miles, a Sovereign sized Reaper lay dead; it's giant carcass casting a large shadow over the already darkened area. "We need to move on. We have checked every square inch of this sector." Wrex made a noise and looked at Grunt. He motioned for Grunt and the other Krogan to follow him.
"Do you think Shepard made it?" one of the Krogan asked as they kicked a chunk of rock out of their way.
"Shepard survived getting spaced. A little fall won't kill her," he said giving a harsh, barking sound of a laugh. Shepard was a good friend to him and had done more for him than anyone or anything else in the Galaxy. She found his family armor and cured the genophage. He would make damn sure that she was found. She never gave up on him and he wasn't going to give up on her. He looked at Grunt who nodded, echoing his thoughts. "Grunt, tell Liara that we searched this area and we didn't find Shepard."
Off in the distance he heard Miranda calling out for Shepard which wasn't a half bad idea except that she probably wouldn't be able to speak. Not with having been breathing in all the dust from the war. He turned and began walking towards their destination. "You better be alive Shepard," he thought to himself as he told his men to move out.
Tali stood there silently staring at Garrus. He figured that behind her mask her mouth was hanging open. He looked at her expectantly, waiting on her response his arms crossed over his chest.
"You-you want to reactivate the Geth? I'm not even sure if that is possible. We don't even know what happened to them to begin with," she said. "If we knew what exactly the Crucible did to them then maybe we can figure out how to fix them but…" she trailed off not exactly sure on what to say.
"Then we need to figure it out."
"Garrus, what if we fix them and their upgrades don't work? Then what? What if they start firing on people? We have no idea what could happen." He looked at her, his blue eyes trying to look through her mask.
"Their upgrades will work. The Reaper installs on the Normandy are still working. Don't forget that the Geth are the only thing that will make it possible for the Quarians to live on their home world without those suits. We need the Geth Tali. We need to try," he said. She took a deep breath like she was going to say something, but dropped her arms from her chest and shook her head.
"Normally the only way for an AI to be "reactivated" is to take their blue box and place it in another platform. It sounds simple but if their blue box is damaged then all that is left is data files. You can put those data files into a new blue box inside a new platform but the personality matrix will change. There is a chance that the personality that was there will be altered. In a sense it is like going through a traumatic accident. There is no guarantee that they will be the same. Let me show you something," she explained while pulling up her omni-tool a scan of a Geth she had scanned with its permission after Shepard had obtained the Geth's allegiance and peace treaty between them and the Quarians. "You see this here? This is the blue box. Essentially it is a highly evolved and complex quantum computer. Perhaps it is as simple as placing the blue box into another platform, but if the data files are fried then there is nothing we can do. We'd have to create more Geth, start over and then we're back to the beginning and without the Reaper's upgrades it would take them centuries to reach full AI status. If we can reactivate them then we're taking a chance on them not being the same. However, like you so tactfully pointed out my people won't be able to walk on Rannoch without their help. I just think we're taking a huge chance on this Garrus. I would need to have a Geth on board to look at what has been done to them before I decide anything," she said closing her omni-tool. "Do you really think the risks outweigh the unknown or possibilities?"
Garrus ran a hand over his face, sighing. He really didn't know what to think. Normally this decision would be left up to Shepard but they were all running blind at the moment. They had no direction and weren't getting as much support as any of them would have liked. The intercom crackled.
"You don't need a Geth Tali," Joker said, his voice quiet. He was silent for a moment. "EDI had procured another platform from Cerberus when she and Shepard raided the Illusive Man's base. She was keeping it in the AI core. I think she had an idea that something like this would happen. EDI is an AI. Do you think it's possible that if you fix her you can fix the Geth? God, I hate using EDI like this." Tali stood there for a moment, thinking over what he said.
"I think EDI would appreciate and encourage this Joker," Adams said, tapping away at his console.
"I can try Joker, but I cannot say with full certainty that it will work or that EDI would even be the same. I'm hoping that it's something as simple as just pressing a button but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to cross wires or completely redo her computer," she said.
"You need to at least try," he said and then the intercom clicked off. Tali sighed, her mask blinking rapidly. She had her arms crossed over chest and looked down at the floor, scuffing it with her boot.
"Garrus, can you put EDI in the medical bay along with the other platform? I need to get Liara to help me. She can have access to information, classified information, which I will need. Keelah, I hope this works," she said and walked away.
Garrus slid a hand over his face, breathing out a puff of air. If Shepard could do all of this alone then they could too. Hell, she'd done more alone then they were together. He wasn't sure how she did it. How did she manage everything and not crumble under the weight? He turned and made his way back towards the elevator, walking in and pressing the button. The door shut around him and he stood there in the quiet. When the doors opened again he heard the sounds of laughter and chatter from the crew on board. He wasn't sure how they could be so damn happy. He walked towards the medical bay and nodded at Dr. Chakwas as he walked passed EDI's body, that's what he considered it anyway, into the AI core.
The platform lying on the area where Legion had once resided didn't look much different than the one EDI used. Cerberus must like them all the same, he thought. He picked it up, like carrying a baby and turned. Tali and Liara were scanning EDI with their omni-tools when he placed the new body on the table opposite of EDI's.
"Do you need anything?" he asked looking between the two women bent over EDI.
"If you could monitor the communications in my room that would be helpful. Since I am in here I can't respond to anything," Liara said not looking at him, but touching her omni-tool and doing another scan. He nodded and walked out.
"Do you really think this will work?" Liara asked Tali. Tali sighed.
"I don't really know. I hope so," she said as she turned EDI over and began peeling away the layers of what had served as EDI's skin. Together she and Liara took apart the back of EDI's head carefully, feeling as if they were raiding a corpse.
"This is what an AI looks like," she said. She peered into the back of EDI's would be skull and used a thin piece of metal to move the wires around, looking for anything that would give sign as to what caused her and the Geth to shut down. Tali paused for a moment and stepped back placing her hands on her hips. She looked at Liara. "Wait. EDI isn't housed in this platform. She's actually housed in the Normandy. Liara I need you to hack into the Cerberus networks and get anything you possibly can about how she was put into this ship." Liara gave her a rueful smile.
"Oh you mean this?" she asked as she brought up her omni-tool that had pages and pages of information about the Normandy and more specifically EDI.
"Keelah, yes! How about you and I go take a look at the AI core?" Together they both turned and walked into the AI core which was completely silent.
Liara looked at her omni-tool and pointed to a panel. "There, that's where EDI is stored." Tali got down on the floor and pulled the panel off. She looked inside, moving some wires around until she saw found EDI's blue box, her specialized quantum computer.
"Can I see the diagram of EDI's blue box?" she asked and Liara bent down close enough so Tali could look. "Can you make it a holo?" Liara nodded and it popped out next to them, much larger so they could see the details. For a few minutes Tali sat there staring at the diagram. She pulled something out of her belt and worked it into the panel, the blue box, which was not actual a box, popped out and she carefully removed it. She scooted back on the floor and turned it in her hands.
"This is what all AI's have. I'd think for a ship that EDI's would be larger, but that's inconsequential really." She picked her tool up again, working it into the blue box. Eventually the top came off and she was able to look inside to see if there was any damage done.
"Do you see anything?" Liara whispered as if she were asking a deep secret.
"Not yet but, oh what's this?" Tali said, carefully moving some wires. She smiled behind her mask, finding the source of the problem. She looked at Liara who was watching her very carefully.
"I can fix this Liara. I know what is wrong," she said handing Liara the blue box and jumping up.
"What? Where are you going?" Liara asked, confusion on her face.
"I need to run to engineering. Adams has something that can fix this. I can fix the EDI and the Geth and hopefully their personalities won't change. This is simple, well for me anyway."
"But if you can fix this then couldn't someone who is crazy fix a Reaper?" Tali shook her head.
"No, a Reaper is made from metal yes but their essence is organic. In order to create a Reaper there has to be organics which is why they kept harvesting every fifty thousand years. A new Reaper was "born" if you want to call it that." She turned quickly and ran out of the room, her excited getting the better of her. Liara sat there for a few moments looking at the thing in her hands when Tali came rushing back inside with some strange mechanism in her hands.
"What is that?"
"I'll explain later, but for now I need you to help me. I need you to hold the blue box steady while I do this. If I accidently hit something then EDI can't be fixed at all. I don't even have to put her in the platform. I can just stick her back in the Normandy. Keelah, I hope this is the problem."
Liara watched as Tali pushed wires apart and pulled something out of the blue box. She lifted it up and out, carefully. She then took another tool, which looked similar to scalpel and lightly ran it over the mechanism she pulled out. Liara continued to watch in fascination as Tali move expertly through the process of taking and replacing items. When she was done she looked at Liara.
"I hope this works but first I need you to close up EDI. Once I put this back I need to be prepared for if this didn't work and this AI is not EDI," Tali said, sitting back on her legs. Liara nodded and went to put EDI back together which wasn't that hard. She called for Dr. Chakwas and in a matter of minutes EDI looked good as new. Tali heard Liara call to her telling her they were ready.
"Keelah, here goes nothing," Tali muttered to herself, placing the blue box back and connecting it. As soon as it was back in the lights in the Normandy went out and it sounded as if the Normandy had powered down.
There was a strange clicking noise and Tali heard the Normandy weapons power on. The lights blinked on and the Normandy powered on and off again.
"Tali? What is going on?" Joker asked over the intercom.
Garrus came bounding into the AI core and opened his mouth to speak but a voice cut him off.
"Running diagnostics, scanning. Complete," came EDI's cool, sultry voice. Garrus' mouth snapped shut and he turned around to see EDI sitting up on the table and swinging her legs over the side.
"EDI?" Liara asked tentatively. EDI looked at her.
"Is there a particular topic you'd wish to discuss Dr. T'Soni?"