When did the Arks leave exactly?

Well the wikia has the timeline up. masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline 

Spoiler tag for spoilers and length

There will always be Cerberus In Mass Effect Games ! Cerberus Can't be Destroyed anyway !

What makes you think the Ai was a secret? I've seen nothing but prerelease speculation saying as much. The construction locations of the Arks are known, and they'd make building in secret impossible. Some of the technology used and specifics of the Initiative might've been secret; but the existence of Ai couldn't have remained secret for too many years.

The game waffles on this, at times suggesting it was hush-hush, and at others suggesting otherwise. Unfortunately, I'm unable to validate any specifics via the Codex, since I'm unable to play in the middle of the night.

I'm not supporting any particular theories. I don't think they'll go to the Cerberus well, again. Miranda told us in 2185 that the Lazarus Project-- resurrecting Shepard and building the SR2-- was a serious investment. I recognize that they somehow went on to build the Imperial Fleet, but they'd do well not to remind us of that ridiculous writing choice. I think this "benefactor" will prove to be some extremely wealthy character with whom we have previously never been acquainted. The Shadow Broker, like Cerberus, is an obvious choice; but he couldn't have come along. I think the plot line will be better served by having this benefactor in Andromeda.


While speaking with Tann, earlier, I again wondered whose agenda his appointment served. There's no way he should've been eighth in line, given all of the more qualified candidates. He's never done anything to make me suspicious of his personal motives or loyalties, even in his PoV chapters in "Nexus Uprising". That doesn't mean that his appointment wasn't arranged. The idea that it was based upon his seniority as an early adopter is stupefying.

Addison managed to look very suspicious during the events of "Nexus Uprising". I'm curious to see if anything comes to light, in that regard.

Honest efforts to ensure the success of the Ai do not mean much, in terms of whether a person might be aligned with this "benefactor". Everyone in Andromeda presumably wants to succeed and survive. That doesn't mean that they wanted to do so in accord with Jien Garson's agenda.

Yup.  The salarian population is supposed to be 90% male.

Yeah. Maybe Dec 7 is the day they started boarding. 20k people and supplies takes a looong time.

In one of Alec's memories the benefactor says that they knew something was coming, but not what until the events of ME1, which is when they accelerated their timetable

So I'm thinking they are either some agent of the Council or an extremely wealthy individual we don't know anything about yet.

I feel like the book says it launched around New Year's Eve 2185.  Yeah, mentioned a launch party on the last night of 2185 AD (though I guess that ought to mean they actually launched January 1, 2186).  In either case, it should be after the events of ME2 but before ME3.

Kumun Shol