Mass Effect 3 spoilers below
19. Mass Effect 3 – “The Answer to Your Question was ‘Yes’”
The geth are a very interesting race in the Mass Effect series. In the first game, they are viewed as little more than Reaper and Saren flunkies. In the second game through Legion, we learn that the geth are intelligent beings capable of communication, and they are not all interested in being allied with the Reapers. In the third game, the geth become sympathetic figures as we learn the truth behind their rebellion, that they only reacted to the quarians, who were becoming afraid of their hivemind intelligence, trying to shut them down out of self-preservation. To me, it comes across as a lesson about how first impressions with limited information can be wrong, and our opinions can change as we learn more and alter our perspectives.
I love this entire sequence of events in Mass Effect 3. The Rannoch missions might be my favorite part of the game, and this last bit is a big reason why. Shepard has an awesome moment where everyone wants to retreat after discovering there was a Reaper in the base, and he’s all like, “No way, man. We gotta take this thing out NOW, and I’m gonna do it!” What a boss. The part where you have to aim the laser right at the Reaper’s firing chamber was pretty hard for me the first time I played, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly the next time. It’s a pretty tense moment, at least to me, having to dodge the Reaper’s blasts while trying to aim the laser in the right place as it slowly gets closer to you. Then you get the slow motion laser blast right before you hit it for the last time for a nice dramatic effect. The conversation with the Reaper afterward was pretty nice, although I wish there was a little more to it.
And just when you think it can’t get any better, it does. This scene can play out in a few different ways depending on your previous decisions and the decisions you make in this scene, but I prefer the way it plays out in the video I provided. The tension of Tali trying to call off the quarian fleet from attacking while Legion uploads the Reaper Code is fantastic. Legion asks two very thought provoking questions that surely must have been hard to swallow for Tali. He says that the geth only acted in self-defense when the creators attacked them, so do they deserve death for that? Then he reminds Tali of the question that originally caused the quarians to attack: “Does this unit have a soul?”
Then Shepard decides to use his powers of persuasion. Both the Charm and Intimidate options of convincing the Flotilla to back off are excellent. I’m usually a Paragon guy, but I think I actually prefer the Renegade option in this one because Shepard basically tells the quarians, “I’m tired of putting up with your crap and risking my life for you all the time because you’re too stupid to quit messing with the geth. So I’m not going to help you anymore, and if the geth destroy you, then you deserve what you get.” After hearing that speech for the first time, I was like, “Whoa.” So hardcore.
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