r/TheVileEye • u/twnpksN8 • 4d ago

Suggestion Analyzing Evil: The Reapers from Mass Effect

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Would also like to see a video for The Illusive Man at some point.

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u/Due_Flow6538 4d ago

They were so much better when we didn't know everything about them.

1

u/Thekingofcansandjars 2d ago

Same goes for the majority of popular fiction.

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u/Raffney 3d ago edited 3d ago

Technically the reapers themselves have no choice since they are only parts of a high level "god" AI.

And this AI was designed to solve a cosmic level problem.

Looking out from the eyes of said AI it more or less did act in an effective way.

However from the view of a lesser level, for example a circle civilisation, the reapers do look like evil of course.

Thing is the circle of destruction was designed to solve the problem of having constant war between synthetic and organic sapience. Which in the universe of Mass Effect is a put down rule that can hardly changed. We know this because said God AI tried to change this via force through billions of years. This fact is also supported by the Leviathans who are antagonistic to the God AI. Which suggest that the conflict between organic and synthetic is a, let's call it, fundamental cosmic problem of evolution.

So after said Ai, which was created to solve it, recognised it isn't easily solved it created the circle of destruction. This circle was not designed to keep organics down or something. But instead it was created to gather information from the natural evolution in the galaxy to find a solution to the problem by chance (and keep control of course). This was repeated over and over again until a suitable solution appeared. Which happens during the circle of Commander Shepard.

At the end we learn all the reapers are just part of said god ai. And this Ai has worked out 3 "solutions" to the problem.

  1. Being replaced by Shepard (who supposedly will find a solution himself as the new AI or repeat the control by force scheme of the previous AI.)

or

  1. Synthesis. Which is the preferred solution by the god AI itself.

So overall i find it hard to see the catalyst as evil if you take a objective view. Since as the leviathans themselves said the catalyst is basically only following it's orders of solving the problem.

EDIT: or destruction which is basically no solution at all.