The Andromeda Initiative: Another Cerberus Project (or Unapologetically Awful Storytelling)

2175 CE
Cerberus covertly contacts Michael Moser Lang, a political dissident on Earth, and provides him with funding to purchase weapons. Cerberus continues to monitor him after contact ends. One year later, Lang assassinates United North American States president Enrique Aguilar and Chinese People's Federation premier Ying Xiong. The resulting political shuffle benefits Cerberus' shell companies and plans for the Systems Alliance Parliament.

2176 CE
The Andromeda Initiative, a privately-funded multi-species endeavor created to explore and colonize the Andromeda Galaxy, is founded.

THE ANDROMEDA INITIATIVE
Founded in 2176 and launched in 2185, the Andromeda Initiative is a civilian, multi-species project created to send scientists, explorers and colonists on a one-way trip to settle in the Andromeda Galaxy. With powerful benefactors lending their support, the program has grown substantially in scope since its inception. The Initiative’s ultimate goal is to establish a permanent presence on the seemingly resource-rich frontier of Andromeda, and eventually create a reliable route between it and the Milky Way Galaxy.


Now let's think about this.


A reliable route between Andromeda and the Milky Way??? A reliable 600 year route??? Or would it be a 1200 year route? How??? A project of this magnitude completed within nine years? What's the rush for a civilian funded project with no hope of any of its investors to ever hope to see any returns in their lifetime (that goes for the asari too)? They are literally flushing money, RESOURCES and personnel down the toilet. There is no guarantee that any human corporation would even still be around in 600+ years. And even if they were the people on the other would be the descendants of the original travelers. I mean, they'd be under no contractual obligation to do anything for the Milky Way.

Humans join the greater galaxy less than 20 years prior. And humanity, the babies of the story, of all the species, is spearheading a multi-species coalition to leave the entire galaxy? Not more than 30 years after leaving their own solar system for the first time. Asari, Turians and Salarians have been at this for thousands of years and have only charted 1% of the galaxy, but they are all on board to get resources TWELVE HUNDRED HUNDRED FREAKING YEARS AWAY? For the Asari the long play makes the most sense (although still nonsensical), but it's not the Asari heading this.

Bioware says the Andromeda Initiative has nothing to do with the Reaper threat. You know that's bullshit right?

In other media it says they are looking for a new home world. IN ANOTHER FREAKING GALAXY?!?!?! You don't go to another galaxy in search of a new home world when the current galaxy is 99% unexplored (per the codex). And the current home world is still looking pretty. The Turians, Salarian and Asari want a new home world too. I'm sure the Krogan would love one. But again, there are much closer options. It would be equivalent to early European explorers skipping Africa, Asia, Australia, the Americas and going straight to colonize Saturn's moon Titan while the rest of the globe on Earth is unknown to them. The very notion is absurd. You know what's more cost effective than rich worlds in Andromeda? Rich worlds in the Milky Way. If you can see every planet in Andromeda you can see what's behind every relay in the Milky Way.

The Andromeda Initiative has EVERYTHING to do with the Reaper threat even if the participates aren't informed. It makes absolutely no sense outside of the Reaper threat.

The Reapers were known prior to ME1. There are people who've known about them since 2157 at the least. Possibly beforehand. The Illusive Man's origin story deals directly with Reaper issues. Cerberus was founded in part as a counter Reaper initiative. I wouldn't be surprised if Cerberus's name gets thrown in at some point. I don't expect them to be doing bad stuff or act as an antagonist organization per se, but they probably had something to do with the project and may have plants. The Ryders may even be a "Cerberus family", unbeknownst to the protagonist siblings. There was a mention about discovering the secrets of the Ryder family. Speculation for everyone.

If you believe it has nothing to do with the Reaper threat; are you worried? You must be extremely worried, right? Because the writers would have to be in full on DERP MODE for it to have nothing to do with the Reaper threat. And if the writing is that caliber of garbage how can you be excited about ME:A?