The Benefactor is..

Blasto.

Just kidding.

Nah, it was me.

refund guy

I'm saying Jon Grissom. We know he has pretended to be much lesser than he actually is. He's obviously been hording money. He allegedly died in later 2185 or 2186, which is the perfect cover for leaving with the AI.

What if the the Benefactor's actual name is The Benefactor? Like he's been using his actual name this whole time but everyone just assumed his real name was a cover identity. This is probably how Jien and The Benefactor actually met:

TB :"Hello Jien, I am The Benefactor and I-"

JG :"The Benefactor? So, you'd rather not reveal who you are, eh?"

TB :"No, that's my actual name, The is my first na-"

JG :"Nice try, like I'm buying that"

TB :"This happens every time! My name really is The Bene-"

JG :"I'll figure out your true identity soon enough Benefactor!"

TB :"Oh, sod it. You're hopeless."

JG : "Ayyy lmao, you wyld! Whatchu call me for tho?"

Wait, Citadel, unnamed Ward, upper market, very close to the Presidium?

Or . . . Cora Harper?


Harper?

Plus, She's always watching. Always there. What a weird swerve if she's it.

Mmmmm will now have to scoure MEA to find someone call Ben E Factor. 

I agree, I think it is Geth, Sam or Geth and Sam working together. It is the only explanation as to why The Benefactor is nowhere in the game to start off and the only motive for killing Jien Garson as she was going to start investigating who they were.

It also potentially ties into the distress call from the Quarian ark. Why else would they be telling the rest of Andromeda Initiative to stay away.

Good tie in, I'd forgotten that.

The Geth at the time of launch of the AI are probably the only species with a full understanding and awareness of the Reapers as a real threat and may be being altruistic in terms of preserving the other races by sending them to Andromeda. Either that or that is SAM's influence if they are working together.

But you can imagine how freaked out the pre-ME3 Quarians would be on finding Geth in Andromeda aand that'd explain the tone of their distress call. 

Does it ever say why the Andromeda Initiative wanted to or was happy to develop Alec Ryder's Artificial Intelligence against the social background of hostility in the MW? Is it just a practicality due to the length of time it takes because surely a VI could handle that. I just wondered if the Geth may have been motivated to help SAM as it is another AI and that they were keen to move to another galaxy to escape the Reapers. But also as an opportunity to try for a new start of living with organics as  they saw the development of SAM as an organic acceptance of AI in general and thus that they'd be accepted?

"I think SAM said someone had to prove AI's were needed. I know Alec dealt with the Shadow Broker too. Maybe someone tipped the scales in his favor for that?"

Yeah I think I remember a vague reference to that too. Will see if I can pick up on it this play through.