The geth inMass Effectwere arguably one of the most interesting interpretations of AI seen in science fiction. They were intimidating enemies because of their history with the quarians, the impossibility of communication with them, and their worship of the Reapers. Furthermore, that they had isolated themselves from the rest of theMass Effectgalaxy and were purely hostile to any organic made it impossible to reach out to them.
Mass Effect 2introduced Legion, a geth platform with over a thousand programs enabling it to speak and thus communicate with Shepard. They told Shepard about geth society and culture, how they think, the struggles they have as a young species, and their true view of the Reapers, which they call the Old Machines. Legion is the only geth Shepard speaks to inMass Effect, unlike other alien species where there are at least one other member. Their perspective is invaluable and gives a massive amount of depth to the Reapers, the conflict about organics and synthetics, their philosophy, andthe geth-quarian conflict.
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The Issue of Legion in Mass Effect 2
Legion appears very late inMass Effect 2during the IFF mission, and there’s only just enough time to complete his loyalty mission before the end game mission is triggered. This has been criticized as it cuts off a lot of his content, even though he’s such an interesting and important character. This was a decision made late in development, andearly cutMass Effect 2content shows that Legion’s rolewas going to be very different, as a “Frankenstein” geth that Shepard assembled from parts found across the galaxy.
Perhaps this design lived on in Legion’s hole and his use of Shepard’s armor, but overall this idea would have diminished therepresentation of the geth inMass Effectas Shepard would have control over the final product of their geth experiment. This could have mirrored Shepard’s death and rebuilding by Cerberus, and Miranda’s consideration of using a control chip to guarantee Shepard’s loyalty. However, much like how the Illusive Man chose not to do that because it would diminish Shepard, BioWare chose to represent the geth as they truly were through Legion.
The Geth Could Return For Mass Effect 4
While the geth Frankenstein idea couldn’t work inMass Effect 2, it does have potential forMass Effect 4, especially as theMass Effect 4trailer seems to imply the Destroy ending fromMass Effect 3is canon. While the Destroy ending was one of the more popular choices because it was the only one where Shepard survived, it had the drawback of destroying most tech, including the relays and the geth. The destruction of the geth in particular was very hard to accept as it took a lot of effort toreconcile their war with the quariansand integrate them into the galaxy.
Mass Effect 4doesn’t have to go without the geth though, and the idea of a geth character rebuilt from parts has more potential fora post-apocalyptic Milky Way thanMass Effect 2did. Rebuilding an individual geth from parts could ultimately become a way to restore the geth inMass Effect 4.The geth squadmate could then go on to rebuild the rest of their kind with the help of the player character, or perhaps other quarian characters, and do so in a way that learns from the mistakes of the past. Rather than dictating what personality the geth has, it could develop how an organic mind would, as a true hivemind AI whose job it is to decide the future of their species without the threat of the Reapers.
