"Dark One"[]
Is the Dark one a Reaper? BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 02:21, October 18, 2010 (UTC)
- I think that goes without saying, but keep in mind, these articles are supposed to be written from an "in-universe" perspective. The lirrax civilization collapsed after the encounter with the Dark One, and of course, the galaxy at large still has no knowledge of the Reapers' existence. -- Gnostic 02:04, October 19, 2010 (UTC)
But the problem is: Why wouldn't the Reapers bombard the hell out of the Lirrax? They run on logic,and turning them against each other isn't logic when eradicating organic life. There's only two options: Extinction or Slavery.BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 02:39, October 19, 2010 (UTC)
- Your question is based on a faulty premise. The Reapers' goal isn't to eradicate all intelligent life. Their goal is to harvest it. As for why they bothered to forment a civil war among the lirrax, I would make a note of the year of the first mass-mutation event and then look at the official ME timeline. 540 BCE was only 40 years after the asari discovered mass-relay technology, and the article implies that prior to 540, the asari had already made first contact with the lirrax. The asari are very aggressive when it comes to diplomacy (they started the Citadel Council only 20 years after first contact with the salarians), and would probably be very curious about a civilization with two distinct genders. They'd set up embassies, start establishing trade, and commence very enthusiastically "joining" with the natives. And, of course, who do you think the lirrax would blame when their civilization goes to hell in a handbasket, and what do you think they'd do to the people they believe to be responsible...? -- Gnostic 03:56, October 19, 2010 (UTC)
Alright: Choices are still Slavery or extinction, if the Reaper had no point in keeping as slaves, he'd get his buds to blow holes in the Lirrax world. What would it's reason be to have them fight? Humor? Because that is unlogical. Please answer directly.BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 03:53, October 20, 2010 (UTC)
- "By using it [mass relay technology] your society develops along the paths we desire." That was the logic behind the Reapers' giving sentients technology that would enable them to explore the galaxy. A similar thought process went into the mutation of the lirrax. At the time that the mutation occurred, the asari had developed FTL drives, and, in the absence of any competing civilization, they had the potential to colonize the entire galaxy. At the same time, they possessed extremely long lifespans and were able to reproduce with considerable ease. They posed a considerable potential threat to the Reapers, but of course, at that stage of their exploration, the asari had only discovered a handful of other sentient species, which meant that destroying them at that juncture would have left the Reapers blind to most sentients (after all, the whole purpose of the Citadel was to get all the different species in one place where the Reapers could study them.)
- Since outright extermination of the asari was out of the question, the Reapers elected to hobble them by turning a species with which they had good relations into an enemy. The result was twofold. First, in causing a mass mutation, the Reapers created a panic among the lirrax, one that would inevitably lead to the question of "Why did this happen?!" In such situations, societies tend to project the blame outward. Second, watching the lirrax descend into war caused the asari to wonder if they had done something to the species, which would cause them to take a more cautious approach to their future exploration and diplomacy. Whereas before, they might have simply pushed their views on other species, now they would tolerate differences of opinion, even when such tolerance was detrimental to them. In the long run, they avoid the doctrine of total war, and this ensures (at least theoretically) that the galactic community never becomes cohesive enough to band together against the threat of the Reapers. Is this starting to make sense? -- Gnostic 04:00, October 22, 2010 (UTC)
Yes, thanks for a good answer(A very will thought out one indeed). I'm just wondering one last thing: What the hell is the Reaper wondering around for? It can't be Sovereign, so I'm guessing it's the exiled Reaper you made.BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 16:28, October 22, 2010 (UTC)
- The asari are a decentralized confederacy - none of its colony worlds are required to report to some central government, and much of the exploration and colonization is done by private entities (like NGOs or corporations.) There's always the possibility of a group of asari simply setting up a colony and cutting themselves off from everyone else, so any Reaper studying them with a long-term goal of total extermination would have to physically track the asari's migration patterns. Obviously the "Dark Mind" was one of these scouting operations when it discovered Zarr. -- Gnostic 19:08, October 22, 2010 (UTC)
- I gotta start pressing enter.BriNg iN DeR FLAmeS?! 00:11, October 25, 2010 (UTC)