Poll: The heretic Geth, what did you do?
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I know, but I feel that strengthening the Geth in any way possible was more helpful than just killing the Heretics.AntiChri5 said:
There is a pretty big gaffe in the writing for that mission, it has to be said. When you first arrive at the Heretic station and discuss with Legion what you should do, Paragon Shepard's dialogue option is "Rewriting is unethical." And then she goes and does it anyway. Never really sat right with me. The whole quest shows up the failings of the Paragon/Renegade system, but that was the most awkward part of it.
And I killed them, incidentally. My Shepard was pretty much always Paragon, but I wasn't comfortable with the idea of brainwashing sentient beings. If the quest had been about, say, a colony of human cultists, I don't think people would have been so willing to rewrite them.
Also, think about the same situation on a small scale. Imagine if, after getting to know Legion for a while, he decided to join the Heretics in the hope of not getting killed by the Reapers. It's much harder to justify brainwashing one person than millions, because the consequences are much more immediate and personal. The Heretic Geth as a whole are just that on a bigger scale, so killing them seems the much more moral option to me.
Come to think of it, what you're doing if you rewrite them, to all intents and purposes, is Indoctrinating them. You're just doing it so that they'll stop worshipping the Reapers rather than join them. And I think we can all agree that Indoctrination is a Very Bad Thing.
And I killed them, incidentally. My Shepard was pretty much always Paragon, but I wasn't comfortable with the idea of brainwashing sentient beings. If the quest had been about, say, a colony of human cultists, I don't think people would have been so willing to rewrite them.
Also, think about the same situation on a small scale. Imagine if, after getting to know Legion for a while, he decided to join the Heretics in the hope of not getting killed by the Reapers. It's much harder to justify brainwashing one person than millions, because the consequences are much more immediate and personal. The Heretic Geth as a whole are just that on a bigger scale, so killing them seems the much more moral option to me.
Come to think of it, what you're doing if you rewrite them, to all intents and purposes, is Indoctrinating them. You're just doing it so that they'll stop worshipping the Reapers rather than join them. And I think we can all agree that Indoctrination is a Very Bad Thing.
This. Even if they are "just" an AI, they still are sentient beings. As far as I remember (correct me if I'm wrong) the heretics chose to worship the reapers and chose to see them as gods, never did the reapers indoctrinate them. Therefor brainwashing them would just be wrong imo. I believe they'd rather go out fighting then subtly being changed to like Shepard.Shikua said:
...You do have a point here, right? I can't really see it.MarsAtlas said:
I can't really see it as murder with a machine. The Geth don't feel, their programming comes up with logical conclusions based on facts they know and creates their reasoning. They don't have emotion. They're aren't human or even an animal. They're a hunk of metal and software. Digital. It's really not quite the same event. Especially because machines could be reverted in an instant. It's a quick and painless data dump to them. Brainwashing, for all we know, could have serious negative effects on somebody's mental capabilities.
They chose to worship the Reapers and see them as gods because of a virus. Should the virus not have been used on them, they wouldn't have worshipped the Reapers in the first place. I'm not so sure that it was their choice to begin with. Unless they were simply offered the virus and they accepted it; that I don't know.Mojo said:
Actually, the Geth do feel, they have emotions. Legion alone shows emotional attachment, curiosity, shame, pain at being betrayed, guilt and anger. Thats just off the top of my head. The Geth as a collective show illogical behaviour, fear and despair, curiosity, concern for others. Hell, do you remember how their war with the quarians started? A Geth wanted to know if it had a soul. An interest in that kind of metaphysical nonsense shows a definite seperation from cold, programmed purely logical computers.Exius Xavarus said:
The heretics didn't join the reapers because of a virus. Sovereign simply asked all Geth, and the Heretics were those who felt the Geth should be worshipped. The virus comes up later, the heretics want to use it on the other geth to get them to convert.
I destroyed the Heretics.
They made the choice to follow the Reapers and so they had to pay the price for it.
They made the choice to follow the Reapers and so they had to pay the price for it.
There's really only one choice,
Do you rewrite them, destroying their individuality and basically indoctrinating them, not only breaking their minds but traumatizing all the other Geth. Leaving the risk of them eventually coming to the same conclusion and turning all the Geth against you.
Or
Do you kill them, offering defeat and closure against the biggest threat in ME 1 and protecting the good Geth once and for all against the threat of hostile reprogramming.
So yeah, blow 'em up.
Frankly I'm ashamed for Legion not being able to come to that conclusion all on his own.
Or at least that's what I would say if it had made one lick of difference in Mass Effect 3
Rewrite or destroy, just so long as you make peace you get the same amount of EMS
Do you rewrite them, destroying their individuality and basically indoctrinating them, not only breaking their minds but traumatizing all the other Geth. Leaving the risk of them eventually coming to the same conclusion and turning all the Geth against you.
Or
Do you kill them, offering defeat and closure against the biggest threat in ME 1 and protecting the good Geth once and for all against the threat of hostile reprogramming.
So yeah, blow 'em up.
Frankly I'm ashamed for Legion not being able to come to that conclusion all on his own.
Or at least that's what I would say if it had made one lick of difference in Mass Effect 3
Rewrite or destroy, just so long as you make peace you get the same amount of EMS
Re-write.
I took the Heretic Geth to be indoctrinated forces, so re-writing them was simply curing them of indoctrination. It would be nice if that had been possible for organic individuals too, but save a few very specific cases organic life isn't that simple in the ME verse...
I took the Heretic Geth to be indoctrinated forces, so re-writing them was simply curing them of indoctrination. It would be nice if that had been possible for organic individuals too, but save a few very specific cases organic life isn't that simple in the ME verse...
Death is an inevitability. By choosing a side in a war and volunteering to be soldiers, the Heretic Geth have accepted it as an immediate possible risk. They think their cause is worth their existence.Zhukov said:
Intellectual rape and eternal slavery are not inevitable. The Heretic Geth did not expect it or imagine it could be used on them, they did not volunteer to fight it or decide that it is worth risking for their cause.
They did, however, attempt to use it on the other side, so they can hardly claim innocence.