Andromeda Initiative briefings (6/6 Golden Worlds and Settlements)

How did we build a small version of the Citadel? All this time I've had some issues, also back in Extended Cut about whether our races can really "build" Mass Effect relays and stuff. It always bothered me they said we can rebuild the relays in the endings because all we know is that Reapers built them using their technology, and how exactly would we replicate that? As far as I know there has been no exposition as to whether we can build things with big Mass Effect cores in them... I mean, how would we? If you get close to a Relay it accelerates you via its dark energy changing the mass (IIRC) and now we've built this mini-Citadel which is basically a Mass Effect relay (unless it's an FTL version of it).

And a second thing that bothers me, and this harkens back to the ending of ME2: How did the Reapers get out of their being trapped in dark space? How does one traverse through dark space? Did we even know what Dark Space contained? I was under the impression that Dark Space is the equivalent to what space is to earthlings in this day and age. We can send things out there, but only if they are sustainable with the altered laws of physics that apply and does traveling from one Galaxy to the next really work like that? We just leave the edges of our galaxy and continue on through Dark Space? No wormhole or anything? Isn't dark space technically a huge black hole that would crush anything (except Reapers) or something?

We know so little or I do anyway, and ME:A just assumes we can apply the physics of the known galaxy like FTL travel to go there. I'm not buying this without further info and it's still an elephant in the room how the hell all of this can be happening in 2185 without any word elsewhere in the galaxy. It is probably top-confidential, but seriously, this is bigger than the fucking Crucible in ME3 and that took a huge combined effort to build under life-threatening pressure.

Oh and another thing. How many Reapers are there? Millions? We are literally going into Reaper territory by going through Dark Space. What does the Ai ships all contain Reaper IFFs. Is that common practice? I thought only Cerberus and their highly-skilled and super-secret intelligence agencies aquired knowledge of how to apply this and only to Shepard and his ship in ME2.

The premise of this game is walking on a tightrope. This ain't good.

Yeah it cheapens the other species.

It could explain why the AI is a multi-species project: a group effort to get it working with the brightest minds of several species (even the krogan!) working on it.

Still doesn't explain why a "proof of concept" experiment wasn't done in the MW...

Great stuff I'm really getting ME1 Citadel vibes from the Nexus. I can't wait for this, a guy my age shouldn't be this excited about a game.

Im not a science expert either, but as my understanding is, the darkspace is the void between the galaxies, and stars actually gravitate towards black holes, that why its said theres a massive black hole in the center of our galaxy, it pulls all other stars slowly, so they get clustered together forming a galaxy. Dark space is just the vast emptiness between them, it doesnt crush you.

Also reapers came in from one direction, towards the south of the galaxy to Bahak system, if we left from say the west side, we likely would not have run into them, space is vast after all, chances of running even into a massive armada are very very low.

And yes all of this is obvisouly massive retcons, there was no mention of an Ark being constructed around the moon in ME1 or ME2.

The Alliance Parliament had a permanent population of 45,000 people.  The Nexus can house 100k (?) at full capacity, but it isn't fully built yet.  I also wouldn't be surprised if the half we actually saw was mostly barebones too.  That's the size part covered.  Also, its FTL not a relay.  They mention the ODSY drive in one of the video popups.  Otherwise there'd be no need for it to travel with the arks.  It could just effectively teleport there with all the people rather than put them in cryostasis for 600 years

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by problems with dark space.  The intergalactic medium is just empty (not really, but much more so than intragalactic & interstellar) space.  Unless there's something in the lore I've forgotten? EDIT:  What Vigil said about the Reapers being trapped in Dark Space is probably an error on either Vigil's part or the devs.  There's nothing to trap you in dark space except a lack of fuel or your boss won't let you (i.e. the Catalyst).

Regarding the reapers, Andromeda isn't in the same direction as where the Reapers were (as in, all the reapers were in one place, which we can assume from that cutscene). 



There's diagram floating around somewhere maybe on Reddit that explains this.  I'll try and find it.

Hmm.  Rerouting to scoop up hydrogen gas from concentrations in the intergalactic medium.  I suppose that works.

Avina, what have they done to you!? You used to be such a neat and pretty design. 

Umm, aside from being sorta blue-green rather than purple, she looks pretty much the same...

Yeah it could lenghten the time but not too much considering it already takes centuries for the whole travel. 600 i think it was said, so the year about when they arrive in andromeda is 2785 ish.

If you call that clothes, yeah, sure.

If theres gas giants out in deep space, that could explain the 600 year journey. Going in a straight line (ish) they'd be traveling rather slow compared to other ships in Milky Way galaxy travel at. Also wouldn't take long to refuel, I also don't think the core requires nearly as much as the thrusters. Anyway they'd be traveling at 11 light years per day instead of the 13-15 most ships go at. Sooo maybe they're traveling at more like 13 and they are making stops at gas giants or something or whatever floating out in deep space.

To be fair, they never actually explain what fuels the Eezo-Cores outside of electricity. Hydrogen fuel cells would make some sense (since that's still an electrical engine at that point, for cars anyway). But 'fueling' in ME2/3 was entirely for the thrusters, not the core. I always kinda assumed, since they never explained it outside of 'electricity!' that it was similar to a nuclear sub. It just needs water to keep running, doesn't really refuel during it's lifetime.

Which, granted, is only 25-ish years for a nuke-sub. Far cry from 600 year space journey. But I find it weird we'd be using an actual fuel source to power space ships systems. Thrusters I can understand, you need some kind of propellant and all that. But the electrical systems, the Eezo-core? There probably using something a bit more permanent. Little more long lasting then something that needs refueling every few days.

Then again like I mentioned, maybe it is hydrogen fuel cells for the eezo core and hydrogen based jet fuel for the thrusters. Would make sense I guess, just collect hydrogen and use it how you need it in whatever systems.