3.Mass Effect Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn

Author:Drew Karpyshyn [Karpyshyn, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-10-26T09:15:04+00:00

through screens until he found the files he was looking for. Reaching out, he tapped the haptic interface, causing the data to balloon up so that all the hovering screens were suddenly filled with an assortment of charts, graphs, and raw numerical data.

He got up from the chair so Kahlee could sit down, then stood over her shoulder as she began to flip through the data. Anderson came over to stand by her other shoulder, showing his support.

“See this chart here,” she said, touching one of the screens so that it expanded and moved to the forefront of the display. “This is the kind of thing we track on kids recently fitted with biotic amplifiers.”

“What does that mean?” Anderson asked.

“It confirms the theory that Cerberus implanted Grayson with something. Possibly some kind of experimental cybernetics.”

She continued to glance over the data, then stopped when she recognized something else, the cold chill of an old memory creeping down her spine.

“I’ve seen this before, too,” she said softly. “Advanced AI research. The same kind of thing Dr. Qian was working on back at Sidon.”

“Are you sure?” Anderson wanted to know.

“I’m sure.”

“This must have something to do with the Reapers,” Anderson said.

Unfamiliar with the name, Kahlee asked, “Who are the Reapers?” Anderson hesitated, as if he was gathering his thoughts. Or maybe wondering how much he could say.

“They’re a species of massive, hyperintelligent starships trapped in the void of dark space. They wiped out the Protheans fifty thousand years ago. Now they’re looking for a way to return so they can wipe out all intelligent organic life again.”

Kahlee blinked in surprise. “I’ve never heard anything remotely like that before in my life.”

“I know how crazy it sounds,” Anderson admitted. “But it’s true. When Saren led the geth army against the Citadel, they weren’t following him. They were answering to the Reapers. Saren was just an agent under his control.”

“Saren Arterius was a traitor,” Sato interjected, his voice sharp and bitter. “Don’t try to excuse his actions with some crazy story.”

Kahlee knew Saren was a sore point for the turians. Though he was once revered as a hero of his people, his betrayal had made him a source of shame for the species. But Anderson had no love for him, either. He had no reason to mention this unless he believed it.

“If this is true,” she said, still trying to wrap her head around the idea, “then why haven’t I ever heard of it before? It should have been all over the vids.”

“The Council suppressed the story. They said there was no real evidence, and they didn’t want to cause mass panic. But I worked with Commander Shepard. I saw the uncensored reports. The Reapers are real.”

“It’s still a hell of a leap to trace this all back to Qian,” Kahlee noted.

“You told me Qian had become obsessed with some kind of ancient, hyperadvanced AI technology. I think he found something connected to the Reapers. Saren must have gotten his hands on it during our mission to Camala.

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