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efleck — Synthesis
Published: 2012-12-31 21:31:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 30371; Favourites: 554; Downloads: 285
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First off, I just want to be clear that this is not an attempt by me to make anyone feel bad about what ending they chose. This is just me exorcising my demons.
I was never able to properly explain in words why I found the synthesis option in mass effect 3 so repulsive... so, here is a picture about how I feel instead. Of course I had to do it in the most disturbing way possible. If I have to see this sort of crap in my head then I'm going to share it so we can all suffer a little, lol. Also, this will probably be the only time you see me draw babies. Ever.
Started this about five months ago, then shelved it... figured I should finish it up before I get too involved in other things. Painted in SAI and then fiddled with in CS?.
Edit: cleaned things up a little and darkened the human babe. Looks better now me thinks.
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Comments: 588
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Yup, that just about sums up my feelings on Synthesis as well. Very awesome and your babies are spot-on cute as hell too..
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SLEEP LITTLE DUMPLING. I HAVE REPLACED YOUR MOTHER.
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fuck the synthesis ending, but wow this is powerful
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So we're ignoring the fact that Synthesis could restore the Banshees to their original forms.
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Yes. Because your claim that it can do is totally baseless. Watch the actual ending. When the synthesis wave hits, you see the reaction from a husk. He stops briefly and seems to have some newfound sentience and looks horrified, undoubtedly at what he is. Then he takes off.
ME2 was extremely clear on this issue. "NO! No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No SOUL! REPLACED BY TECH! Whatever they were... gone forever. Understand now?"
So we have the smartest thing short of an actual Reaper (i.e. the smartest thing whose word we can trust) saying it's impossible. Not unlikely, IMPOSSIBLE. And we see that the synthesis wave does not turn converted Reaper troops back to their original form. What you're saying isn't even wild speculation with no proof for it, it's wild speculation with a lot of proof AGAINST it. Nonsense.
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That's not very progressive, now is it. Shaming other lifeforms for their appearances >:L
In all seriousness though, I'd casually thought about this too and thought about a few possibilities. If the reaper-fied beings truly still retained or regained their previous free-will once synthesis was achieved, I feel like it might be likely that many of them would turn to body modification in order to better fit in with the rest of galactic society, such as transforming themselves into a new cyborgist race. Or, if they all suffered massive neural decay due to indoctrination and reaper-ization, maybe there could be a way to combine multiple individuals together; much like how the geth have multiple software units in one hardware unit, to form a sort of hivemind/shared consciousness within a single sentient body. The idea would be something similar to in the newest Deus Ex game, where an AI supercomputer was powered by a number of human "drones", and as such was "imprinted" with bits and pieces of each of the drones' memories.
However, if worst came to worse, I feel like indoctrinated reapers mostly only serve the purpose of expendable shock troopers, and therefore weren't meant to last very long. The science is never really explained. Do they eat? Do they sleep? How do they gain energy? If it's to be assumed that they truly are just mindless husks, the equivalent of zombies, I can't picture them having a very long lifespan after synthesis is achieved. They would most likely naturally die off not too long afterwords.
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*Shudders* Years later and this still gives me shivers! I have commented on this before, years ago as “Asari-are-Hot but I changed accounts for a very good reason.
To be honest, all the endings are bad in their own ways. Though Synthesis is the most shudder worthy. I am not in the Mass Effect series much anymore, haven't played in ages. I am much more interested in Naruto and Halo.
And there's a whole starship-load of Fridge Horror connected with the endings, mainly synthesis- what if a creature that gave you nightmares when you were younger were to jump into the Synthesis beam?! For example, the Imperium from Justice League- would the entire galaxy turn into the monsters?! They gave me nightmares when I was a kid because I watched the cartoon, and the idea of that happening...*shudder*
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As utterly horrifying as their appearances are...I wonder, having been Ardat-Yakshi before, could they now be free of the uncontrollable urges that made them too dangerous to be around society? While I wouldn't expect society to be at ease with them even with Synthesis giving them a way to be sentient again, communicate and show their intentions, I find myself wondering if a few of them might not choose to live, simply because they can be outside the walls of the monastery. If killed, the thought might be that at least it's death on the outside as opposed to in confinement.
Synthesis is a very mixed and troubling ending--like ALL of them. Ultimately if I had to make the choice, it's what I would choose because I can't bring myself to genocide or think I'm good enough to be the god emperor of the galaxy and that absolute power would not corrupt absolutely. Awful as the power inherent in Synthesis is, and the fact that people would be deprived of this one major choice--I would choose it on grounds that from that point forward, the choice of what to do with that future would lie entirely in the hands of individuals, with those of ALL origins facing the choice. No dictatorial control and no one ruled unworthy only because they were synthetic. Whether it ended up leading to peace or a disaster would be on each person for their own choices.
But I'm not fool enough to think it doesn't come with a steep price, or to think that it is not morally dangerous. All of the choices are...I simply consider it the best of the bad choices. So I can respect why others would have different views.
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That's really fucked up, but really well done. Another great critique of the Synthesis ending that my friend made is that it is eventually going to lead to evolutionary stagnation with everyone being the same. Which is in complete and total opposition to the first two games where victory is achieved by the many diverse races combining their strengths to overcome the Reapers. I remember the first time I beat the game I chose Control because I thought it was wrong for me to make a decision as big as Synthesis for the entire galaxy, and I didn't want to destroy the Geth (Which is a pretty BS Catch 22 looking back). Then when the extended endings came out, Control felt really creepy with further explanation so I tried Synthesis, which felt nice in the moment, but is really fucked up the more you think about it. I need to go back and just pick destroy, I have a feeling that is the ending they're going to follow in the new game anyway.
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i feel your pain... and now see it too lol jk,
sorry it ruined babys for you though! (also jk)
good point though about post synthesis! never liked it ether!
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A fantastic rebuttal to all the "OMG ITZ TEH SINGULARITY!" BS Synthesis fanboys always spout. THIS is what that atrocity creates.
Destroy is the way to go, always. (I don't acknowledge the whole idiocy with the Leviathan DLC, and the "The Reapers were keeping EVEN WORSE monsters at bay!" crap. That's just the narrative punishing anyone who likes Destroy.)
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While I approve of Synthesis, your art looks quite nice.
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OMG, that is so WRONG! Lol! But the artistic skill is incredible. Great job!
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Sometimes wrong is the only right way
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Plus Control and Destroy go against everything Paragon Shepard was fighting for
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2 problems.
One, I chose Synthesis, because it's the only one between the two options that I saw could cause unionization between the machines and human. It gave Edi the ability to really feel as a human, and that was my main concern.
Secondly, I assumed the Reapers would destroy their ugly creations after coming to the conclusion they were no longer necessary.
Secret third, this was the only option I could pick that would allow the rebuilding of the mass relays and could possibly allow Shepard to come back AND be with his/her crew in a year or so (rebuilding again but this time based on the genes scattered EVERYWHERE.)
The only other option I could pick was Control, but I'm too stubborn to pick something the Illusive Man was trying to go for (and failed).
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I choose synthesis and I must be a mutant because I find this totally hilarious.
Oosp.
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this synthesis painting got to me. I always chose that ending and now I wonder about it. If they could only go back to being the people and Asari they were...
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Incredible art.. just stunning.
There is no good ending in ME, all of them are sad and controversial, and that is what makes it all so desperate.
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That is both awesome and creepy at the same time. Good work.
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Oh god...
Another reason not to choose Synthesis.
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You know, at first glance, this is really disturbing... But then I think about the fact that the Banshees used to be Ardat -Yakshi, who can't have children, and... Suddenly, this is almost sweet. (Yes, I know, probably the OPPOSITE of what you were going for, lol.)
Each of my Shepards picked a different ending, lol. My Thane-manced Paragon picked Synthesis, my Kaidan-manced Paragade picked Control, my Garrus-manced Renegon picked Destroy, and my Tali-manced Renegade will pick Refuse.
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Great representation of synthesis! You are very talented!
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I always felt it was the bad ending.... now I'm justified! D: ... and scared.
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I just finished ME3 yesterday night. I had some spoilers for the endings and, being Paragon, always thouht Synthesis is the one and only option for me. I generally like this idea of unity and ultimate understanding. But when I stood there, mulling over all possobilities, it just felt so wrong. I mean, it might come to this end after few millenia and it would be right, but you just can't force it. I don't think it would work very well. In the end, I chose Control. I know it's kindof selfish to think you have it in you to rein the reapers, but when confronted with your certain death and the amount of havoc other solutions are likely to cause, I think you can afford to be a little selfish.
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Same here, i'd like to know how closely the reapers follow the catalyst's orders, Just imagine how cool it would be to tell the reapers to head straight down a black hole or into a giant sun?
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its also entirely uselss, as synthesis has no practical effect.
it in no way prevents the creation of new synthetic, or organic life forms.... it merely fundamentalyl alters life, and the differences between organics and synthetics is not what cause the wars between them (technically ever synthetic has warred against the organics primarily because of the reapers)
what caused the war was being created for slave labor.... and that doesnt change, especially now that everyone is immortal and wants to dedicate their lives to art adn crap like that... hello clone slave army :I
synthesis does literally all the nothings.
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Nice and (appropriately) disturbing work.
I still hold up Synthesis as the best possible outcome though. While the image is meant to be (and very much is) creepy and wrong, I think I could see it in a more positive light, in a twisted way I suppose. It holds that all synthesized beings value equality among species, disregarding petty concerns like how disgusting the indoctrination victims look. It's heart-warming (in a twisted way) to see the the indoctrinated species having a place among others now that their minds are theirs again once more, you can't really fault them for any atrocity the reapers committed using their bodies. I think it shows that synthesized beings are no longer plagued with petty irrational prejudices but still retain their humanity (as demonstrated by EDI). That and as synthesized beings I don't see why they can't build themselves new bodies. I'm sure that's not the message you intended but hey, that's my stance.
That and I can't understand anyone who would choose Destroy. That's genocide against an entire specie whose only goal was to learn and survive (even the ones that side with the reapers were driven solely by their desire to live). Not to mention you would be murdering close friends within your own squads and countless being in the universe relying on technology to live. And for what? So the universe can have a few centuries of supposed peace before inevitably re-inventing the technology and start it all again?
Control Ending is much more agreeable but I find it hard to trust any immortal being to stay good, sane and wise forever. Refuse Ending is self-explanatory but I think I can respect its refusal to sacrifice ideologies even if it dooms an entire universe.
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I can understand you're point of view, but I disagree with your stance on the Destroy ending. I think it is the best ending because the reapers HAVE to be destroyed, not just to stop the massacre the cause but because if the universe wants to change and improve they need to do so by their own strength and intelligence, joining with the Reapers means that we gain a huge amount of technology and knowledge handed to us. I think that sort of information should be earned.
I do regret the deaths of the Geth and EDI, but they joined the battle prepared for death, if anyone is to blame for their deaths it's the reapers.
And I don't think that the universe will make the same mistakes with Synthetics again. I think the reason why each cycle repeated the same mistakes was because the reapers had completely destroyed each civilisation, meaning that there was no way for the next cycle to learn from the previous mistakes made. In fact in the first game we see how there are already legislation in place to prevent any AIs being built, after all the hardships and lessons learnt throughout the trilogy I doubt that the same mistakes will be made this time around. Synthetics and organics may be able to live peacefully without needing to be merged their DNA together like in the synthesis ending.
Plus Shepard lives at the end, meaning he/she may be able to reunite with his/her loved ones.
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Those are some pretty good points. Although I will point out that Synthetics and Organics won't be able to live peacefully since all Synthetics die in the Destroy ending. There's no reason why they can't be rebuilt of course, assuming people allow those stuffs at some point (although if they do allow it again after what happened, I think that's helping my case with repeating the whole thing).
Another thing is that the legislation was in place because I'm pretty sure there are people at the time who saw first hand how the Geth uprising started. That could very well be dropped in a couple of centuries. In a few more million years who knows how many things they forget.
But you make a pretty good case actually, since you didn't go on about how it's horrible that the indoctrination victims will be able to live among normal people again. It's true that Synthesis or Control Endings are basically shortcuts that prevent us from actually achieving these innovations through our own drive and intelligence.
I still stand by the Synthesis ending though, since for me, personally, having the technology handed to us and sacrificing Shepard is preferable to wiping out a whole race and killing off EDI (along with who knows how many other AIs that had no say in the thing). Yes the Reapers probably take most of the blame but the player isn't innocent in the matter either. I don't think it's ideal but it's still preferable to the other scenarios.
Just my personal stance though, good to have these discussions.
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Hello again, I know this message is quite a late reply but regarding the short conversation we had about the Mass Effect endings, I though you might find this video interesting.
www.youtube.com/watch?annotati…
It's a video that looks at the pros and cons of the different endings, overall it does lean favourably towards the Destroy ending, but I thought you might be interested in watching it because there are a lot of good justifications for the critiques of each choice. It was nice talking to you, hope this video isn't too long for you, I'm happy to talk more if you are interested.
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Nice analysis video. Interesting, made good point, and made my doubt my choices. The justifications and critiques were really good, though I think the bias is a bit clear in places but there's nothing inherently wrong with that.
But I'll say that most of it isn't the kind of discussion I'd be interested in. I really enjoy debating the moral implications of your choices, and having strings attached to the ending undermine that. I like to debate the endings at face value and assume that the crucible would not leave out vital details like indoctrinating Shepard based on his choice.
My interpretation of Synthesis is exactly what was shown in the Director's Cut: Synthetics, Husks and Reapers gaining full organic understanding, and Organics gaining whatever the hell the glowing green thing's supposed to be. My interpretation of Control is the same: Shepard's mind remains perfectly intact, his organic body is no more, and the reapers (and husks) are under his control.
I'd argue that Synthesis is different from Reaper's cycle in that thus far Reapers are pretty much entirely synthetics and gathered organics to preserve their genes, while Synthesis gives Reapers a sentience mind, free will and full organic understanding. I, personally, care little for a biologically organic body. As long as the being has free will, that's organic enough for me. Yeah, whether they have free will or not is debatable, but I'll assume that they do for reasons I've already mentioned.
I'd also argue that resenting the reapers is misguided. They serve the function they were designed for and lack free will. Taking revenge against them is ultimately pointless.
Of course, I'd be glad to continue discussing the ethics of the endings. Including indoctrination into the argument, something that the crucible did not explicitly point out, is another discussion altogether. While it seems entirely possible (the video was really convincing on that front, too), it's kinda not the kind or debate I'd like to get into. If you would like to continue debating on that front, I'd be delighted. If not, still, thanks for the video. It was an enjoyable watch.
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ellixer2407: We'll agree to disagree on that point. Synthesis is a terrible choice. No one has the right to play God with the lives of trillion upon trillions of beings (Also the reason why I dislike the Salarian race). That's not only arrogant, its a 'Reapers win' scenario. So is the Control ending because how long do you think it's going to be before the Reapers logic overwrites you're moral compass. As time passes and you will lose the emotional drive that made you 'you' then you start reacting with just logic and the whole cycle starts all over.
The only neutral/fair option is the Destroy ending. Totally sucks that it kills all synthetics but like Garrus says much as we want to we can't save everyone in a all out war. Maybe Synthesis will happen anyway in the future naturally, maybe the whole Reaper type situation will happen again too, but at least the Universe would have unfolded as it was intended, not forced by some emotionless being that thinks it knows whats best better than nature does. Entities that also came into being because they thought organic was flawed and wiped out ENTIRE cycles worth of life.
efleck: This picture is disturbing but also well done. Cudos to you!
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If you say so. Never bought the "playing God" argument myself. If it's a bad option it should be because of a legitimate reason instead of "it's wrong to overstep your mortal boundaries". Personally I don't care who wins as long as the universe survives and thrives without losing what makes them living beings (and I don't think they'll lose that but then again the story is kinda vague on that front). Of course, countless people will definitely not appreciate being made part synthetic forcibly (assuming their synthetic and therefore logical side doesn't override their organic sentimental side) but I still believe that's a very preferable consequence comparing to the others.
While I agree that concerns are legitimate regarding the Control ending, I'll point out that what overwrites your moral compass would be time instead of Reapers' logic. You're in complete control of yourself as well as the Reapers in that scenario and the only thing that can change you is yourself or time (which I think is likely) instead of Reaper Indoctrination.
Regarding Destroy, there's a difference between not saving and straight up sacrificing. You pick that option out of your own free will and you would have killed an entire race that has been fighting for its survival because organics' narrow-minded tendencies. Whether it's worth it or not is open to debate. However, you can't ignore the fact that you sacrificed an entire race for survival when there are other options. Not saying it's the wrong option mind you (though it certainly is in my opinion), but people are really sugar-coating it.
Back to Synthesis. This is where my personal stance comes in. For me, forcing change (not bad change in my opinion) on the universe is preferable to genocide, extinction or having a single being rule the universe. Again, I don't buy the "it's nature" argument. In my opinion if nature is cruel or undesirable then you should change it or, if necessary, fight it. Maybe we're indeed too foolish to know what's best but, for me, screwing ourselves over in that scenario is preferable than bending to nature's will.
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My god! They're breast feeding IN PUBLIC! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!
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