What reapers really do in dark space (Mass Effect)

[Morkrash]

I've always wondered what reapers are up to when they're not making the universe go extinct. Well, I think I've come up with an answer:


I'd love some feedback if there are any hardcore Mass Effect fans out there!

 

[soren7550]

I'll be honest, I gave up half way through. It just didn't engage me at all.

 

[RJ 17]

Lame parody video aside...

There's actually a lot you can learn about the Reapers by reading in between the lines and paying in-depth attention to the stories in ME 1 and 2. And while "It is impossible to know their motivations", we can make educated guesses at them.

From the sound of things, all the Reapers do indeed go into deep hibernation while they're out in dark space while leaving a couple of their kind to linger in the galaxy (i.e. Soveriegn and Harbinger). They hover in dark space awaiting the "power up" signal from one of their buddies still in the galaxy. If things all go as planned: the Reaper that activates the Citidel sends out the signal and the invasion commences. However the presence of Harbinger clearly indicates that even if plan A doesn't work, they thought ahead and made contingency plans.

The hologram on Ilos speculated that even the Reapers left behind in the galaxy go into hibernation for thousands of years, periodically waking up to assess the galactic progress before going back to sleep. When the time is right, that Reaper begins acting as Soveriegn did: finding suitable minions to aid in its capture of the Citidel so it can usher in the invasion.

My theory is that the Reaper's cycle of galactic genocide is indeed their race's life cycle. They hibernate for 50K years, wake up, invade the galaxy to harvest advanced organic life, and use that life to facilitate their race's form of reproduction (i.e. the end of Mass Effect 2). Once they've made their new generation of Reapers, it's time to leave and go back into hibernation again. So yeah, boring as it sounds, I'm pretty certain that the game makes it clear that they all just sleep out in the void, conserving their energy until it's time to go a'reapin' again.

 

[Morkrash]

I really appreciate the honest feedback. Any suggestions?

 

[DustyDrB]

I think they practice intimidating introductions.
Reaper 1: "I am the dawn of your darkness"
Reaper 2: "That doesn't even make sense. Try 'I am the end of everything!' "
Reaper 1: "Well that's just generic as hell."
Reaper 3: "I am the 99-"
Reapers 1 and 2: "NO!"