Compilation of Unanswered questions

Edi states during ME2, that it is impossible to transfer an AI from one Blue Box to another without irrevocably changing its personality, due to quantum fluctuations which cannot be corrected or compensated for. If so, how can Shepard's mind be similarly uploaded from an organic brain to become the new Catalyst? How can this new entity be anything more than an imperfect copy of Shepard?

Why is the stargazer scene identical after Shepard makes one of the three original choices? Why is it also very similar after Refusal, which is presumably in the following cycle? Wouldn't the galaxy have turned out very differently after millennia of Synthesis? How is it possible that the exact same grandfather and grandchild have improbably come to exist on that same planet, after three wildly different ending scenarios, while a grandmother and grandchild exist in another?

Can Bioware be honest?

how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup, lack of oxygen, depressurising of his suit which would have forced his lungs to explode, & huge impact forces?

Stargazer tells his companion that some details of Shepard story have been "lost with time", even in the post synthesis epilogue. How is this possible if the accumulated knowledge of the Reapers and their preserved civilizations is now "connected" to all life as the Catalyst foretells? How can such an advanced civilisation of synthesised beings forget, or misplace the records of, something as important as the Reaper War?

Edi speculates that Synthesis will allow the inhabitants of the galaxy to transcend mortality itself. However, Stargazer sounds just as frail and elderly post Synthesis as he does in the other two epilogues. Has the galaxy failed to find the secret of eternal youth, or has Stargazer chosen to grow old?

dork wrote:how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup, lack of oxygen, depressurising of his suit which would have forced his lungs to explode, & huge impact forces?

"how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup"

ME armor is probably flame proof, I mean... how retarded would humanity be to never make their armor and clothes fireproof?

"lack of oxygen"

Suspended Animation.

"depressurising of his suit which would have forced his lungs to explode"

Not entirely sure about this one. His lungs probably did? He didn't survive, remember? Or is this connected to the Brain thing? In which case, Shepard was lucky it didn't damage his brain as much as it probably should have. Cerberus WAS surprised is was intact anyways.

"huge impact forces?"

He was a bag of meat, as for not splattering I will assume his kinetic barriers and armor at least prevented that much. Also, you assume he landed on land. Ice=water, it's possible he ended up landing in water.

Look, it's not like ME2 and ME3 never happened. The world doesn't bend around the impracticalities of Shepard's revival, Shepard's revival bends around ME and what purpose there was for making him die and come back to life in the first place(since technically, it was pointless without some deeper motive).

During the Citadel DLC, a mixed party of Humans and Turians are shown sharing the same food at a restaurant. How is this possible given their different amino acid biochemistries? Shouldn't one species or the other become ill after eating this food?

IronicParticle wrote:

dork wrote:how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup, lack of oxygen, depressurising of his suit which would have forced his lungs to explode, & huge impact forces?

"how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup"

ME armor is probably flame proof

no.....just no. He had multiple leaks in his suit. Air was escaping. He would have been incinerated.

Change in pressure = Lungs + Heart explode.

Brain death = no chance in hell of recovering anything at all.

Ker.....splat. The galaxies largest human pizza.

there would not have been enough left of him to fill a thimble, never mind recover a corpse.

Sorry, I'm bored in the office and I keep coming up with more questions.

Why do the Reapers wait so long between cycles? Humans have been genetically similar for thousands of years. If all they are interested in is preserving life, then why do they allow us to attain a level of technology where our weapons begin to pose a threat to them, and the civilisations supposedly preserved within them? Why didn't they just swoop in during the Middle Ages to harvest us, when all we had were bows and arrows?

dork wrote:

IronicParticle wrote:

dork wrote:how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup, lack of oxygen, depressurising of his suit which would have forced his lungs to explode, & huge impact forces?

"how did commander shepards brain survive intact after planetary re-entry burnup"

ME armor is probably flame proof

no.....just no. He had multiple leaks in his suit. Air was escaping. He would have been incinerated.

Change in pressure = Lungs + Heart explode.

Brain death = no chance in hell of recovering anything at all.

Ker.....splat. The galaxies largest human pizza.

there would not have been enough left of him to fill a thimble, never mind recover a corpse.

I'm pretty sure said leaks were not very "accessible"... probably as small as a tiny hole. How exactly would he be incinerated anyways? Would the fire start INSIDE his suit just because of a tiny hole probably as small as say a thumb tac? Also, isn't there something under the armor? Like, a skin tight suit or whatever? Also I didn't know a suit had to be "closed" in order for it to be fire proof, especially in Sci-Fi.

"Ker.....splat. The galaxies largest human pizza."

You are horribly wrong, I like how you keep ignoring ME lore, KINETIC BARRIERS BITCH!

I guess, you'd rather hear Bioware say it was all a dream, right? -_-

Come on mate. Kinetic Barriers to partially cushion Shepard's fall are quite a good explanation but there's no need for language like that.

Eryri wrote:Sorry, I'm bored in the office and I keep coming up with more questions.

Why do the Reapers wait so long between cycles? Humans have been genetically similar for thousands of years. We have, for all intents and purposes, ceased evolving. If all they are interested in is preserving life, then why do they allow us to attain a level of technology where our weapons begin to pose a threat to them, and the civilisations supposedly preserved within them? Why didn't they just swoop in during the Middle Ages to harvest us, when all we had were bows and arrows?

Also bored at the office...Don't they wait so they can better gauge the potential of a species? They need to advance to a certain point to prove they are worthy of ascending. At least that's my understanding of it.

Harbinger: "impressive genetic malleability" "great biotic potential" "impressive technical potential"

It would be hard to measure this in the middle ages.

But another question, and possibly most important: When is bioware going to make a real KOTOR 3?????

Eryri wrote:Come on mate. Kinetic Barriers to partially cushion Shepard's fall are quite a good explanation but there's no need for language like that.

I'm no child. I kinda meant it in a more comedic way. Like [insert point here] bitch! kinda lingo.

Heck even without giving the kinetic barriers as a reason. I'm just saying the very excuse given was in fact his helmet. You can pull all the videos of a baseball breaking a weak ass NOT-N7-Helmet. But the exact explanation, is given that the Helmet, made of future NOT-SO-weak-ass materials, protected his brain.

At worst, it's plot armor. Nothing else to ponder on here. It's not that important of a plot hole since it's allowed in the world of Fiction. It's not like they gave NO explanation, and it was just space magic!

symbowles wrote:

Also bored at the office...Don't they wait so they can better gauge the potential of a species? They need to advance to a certain point to prove they are worthy of ascending. At least that's my understanding of it.

Harbinger: "impressive genetic malleability" "great biotic potential" "impressive technical potential"

It would be hard to measure this in the middle ages.

That's a good explanation actually. We may not be any brighter individually than were were back then, but unless the Reapers issue standardised IQ tests they wouldn't be able to tell that from space. I suppose they also might need a big population to make a Reaper, and ours has only recently exploded.

I still don't understand why they all hibernate at once though. Why don't they take it in shifts and have some of them patrol the galaxy at all times in case some particularly precocious species advances especially quickly?

Eryri wrote:Sorry, I'm bored in the office and I keep coming up with more questions.

Why do the Reapers wait so long between cycles? Humans have been genetically similar for thousands of years. We have, for all intents and purposes, ceased evolving. If all they are interested in is preserving life, then why do they allow us to attain a level of technology where our weapons begin to pose a threat to them, and the civilisations supposedly preserved within them? Why didn't they just swoop in during the Middle Ages to harvest us, when all we had were bows and arrows?

Aside from the explanation given by symbowles... Humans have not stopped evolving. That's for all intents and purposes impossible.

Now maybe you mean natural selection is not as big now because there are no threats? Even that is a bit wrong, natural selection takes place when you decide who you are going to bang... essentially, since we focus so much on our looks, intelligence, body parts, etc... we'll still evolve in those areas.

As well, if you've read my topic explaining my conclusion on the ME3 ending, I actually believe there is something unique growing in Humans that has blossomed in Shepard.

As for shifts, that's what the Vanguard left behind is for. Sovereign could've called in the cavalry early if anything was off. There is no proof they actually hide in dark space, and lots of proof they harvest other Galaxies.

Eryri wrote:
That's a good explanation actually. We may not be any brighter individually than were were back then, but unless the Reapers issue standardised IQ tests they wouldn't be able to tell that from space. I suppose they also might need a big population to make a Reaper, and ours has only recently exploded.

I still don't understand why they all hibernate at once though. Why don't they take it in shifts and have some of them patrol the galaxy at all times in case some particularly precocious species advances especially quickly?

What are you talking about? A cave man, could not grasp the concept of Quantum Mechanics... heck a Human in the past far back probably couldn't.

Humans are getting more and more intelligent, FYI. The average person knows what the hell a complex advanced theory such as Evolution is. Normally the average citizen wouldn't know anything about that at all in the past, science used to not be so common knowledge.

No iconic it's an asspull / plothole. Not gonna argue. much.

http://addins.wrex.com/blogs/weather/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/SATELLITE2.png

now apply this to a fleshy body. plotholes everywhere.


Question

joe bloggs asked:

What causes burnout due to entering an atmosphere?

Answer

joe - The main reason why things heat up when they hit an atmosphere is they've got huge amounts of kinetic energy - they're going incredibly fast. When they bash into an atmosphere, most of the heating (3000 degrees F) is actually because the air (or whatever gas is in the atmosphere) they bash into hasn’t got time to get out of the way, so it get compressed, and when you compress gas - you may have noticed if you've ever pumped off a bicycle tire very, very quickly - it gets hotter. So the atmosphere in front of an asteroid for example heats up very, very incredibly hot, and that starts to erode the surface of the meteorite and you get this tail of a very, very hot stuff behind the meteorite which you would see as a shooting star.

With very, very small things, (ie a lot smaller than human size) because the friction is so much larger compared to their mass, they tend to lose their speed very high up in an atmosphere much more gently, so they slow down much more gently and don’t get as hot. Once they slow down enough, they would just drift down like dust does gently through the atmosphere. So, it is conceivable that something like a bacteria on a small dust grain could survive, whereas a big lump would melt up very quickly.


oh and the choice between the current ending and a dream ending? doesnt require much thinking about.

I'd rather see it be like Red Dwarfs 'Back to Reality'. Hey ho.

IronicParticle wrote:Aside from the explanation given by symbowles... Humans have not stopped evolving. That's for all intents and purposes impossible.

Now maybe you mean natural selection is not as big now because there are no threats? Even that is a bit wrong, natural selection takes place when you decide who you are going to bang... essentially, since we focus so much on our looks, intelligence, body parts, etc... we'll still evolve in those areas.

As well, if you've read my topic explaining my conclusion on the ME3 ending, I actually believe there is something unique growing in Humans that has blossomed in Shepard.

As for shifts, that's what the Vanguard left behind is for. Sovereign could've called in the cavalry early if anything was off. There is no proof they actually hide in dark space, and lots of proof they harvest other Galaxies.

That would make more sense than just twiddling their tentacles out in dark space for 50,000 years.

I take your point about human evolution. I'll edit my original post accordingly, its probably fairer to say that our evolution has slowed down, but you're right, it never truly stops.

Eryri wrote:

That's a good explanation actually. We may not be any brighter individually than were were back then, but unless the Reapers issue standardised IQ tests they wouldn't be able to tell that from space. I suppose they also might need a big population to make a Reaper, and ours has only recently exploded.

I still don't understand why they all hibernate at once though. Why don't they take it in shifts and have some of them patrol the galaxy at all times in case some particularly precocious species advances especially quickly?

I guess I think of it as a sports league. Sure you can have the 18 year old come play pro now, but you might stunt his development and he won't reach his full potential. Let him ripen in the minors so you can accurately judge his talent and call him up appropriately.

And I have my suspicions as to whether the reapers hibernate in dark space. We're only told that they do by Vigil, so it may just be speculation on the Prothean's part. But since the reapers have been doing this forever, they obviously felt comfortable in their process.

i suppose the question is 'what exactly is dark space'?

IronicParticle wrote:What are you talking about? A cave man, could not grasp the concept of Quantum Mechanics... heck a Human in the past far back probably couldn't.

Humans are getting more and more intelligent, FYI. The average person knows what the hell a complex advanced theory such as Evolution is. Normally the average citizen wouldn't know anything about that at all in the past, science used to not be so common knowledge.

That's mostly down to education though, not biology. I think if Leonardo DaVinci, say, was born today he'd be able to grasp modern science perfectly well.

dork wrote:No iconic it's an asspull / plothole. Not gonna argue. much.

http://addins.wrex.com/blogs/weather/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/SATELLITE2.png

now apply this to a fleshy body. plotholes everywhere.


Question

joe bloggs asked:

What causes burnout due to entering an atmosphere?

Answer

joe - The main reason why things heat up when they hit an atmosphere is they've got huge amounts of kinetic energy - they're going incredibly fast. When they bash into an atmosphere, most of the heating (3000 degrees F) is actually because the air (or whatever gas is in the atmosphere) they bash into hasn’t got time to get out of the way, so it get compressed, and when you compress gas - you may have noticed if you've ever pumped off a bicycle tire very, very quickly - it gets hotter. So the atmosphere in front of an asteroid for example heats up very, very incredibly hot, and that starts to erode the surface of the meteorite and you get this tail of a very, very hot stuff behind the meteorite which you would see as a shooting star.

With very, very small things, (ie a lot smaller than human size) because the friction is so much larger compared to their mass, they tend to lose their speed very high up in an atmosphere much more gently, so they slow down much more gently and don’t get as hot. Once they slow down enough, they would just drift down like dust does gently through the atmosphere. So, it is conceivable that something like a bacteria on a small dust grain could survive, whereas a big lump would melt up very quickly.


oh and the choice between the current ending and a dream ending? doesnt require much thinking about.

I'd rather see it be like Red Dwarfs 'Back to Reality'. Hey ho.

"Somebody at BioWare (I think it was Patrick Weekes) was asked about this on Twitter a while back. I believe they said that Shepard didn't actually fall into the planet seen in the cutscene, and that the flaring effect you see must have simply been a lens flare." - wiki

"Bear in mind that if the Normandy was not in orbit around the planet, you would not have orbital kinetic energy to scrub off. Earth-crossing asteroids and meteors can have an approach velocity to the surface of around 25 kilometres a second, which really would lead to a serious plasma sheath; but if they approach the Earth from the rear, the approach velocity can be close to zero. In that case the only energy for the atmosphere to scrub off Shepard's body would be gravitational potential energy. At standard temperature and pressure above an Earth-sized planet, terminal velocity is rather more than 300 kilometres per hour in a head-down position; in a tumbling spin, around 120 kph. Basically, a bad motorcycle accident. Barry Sheene once survived a crash at 170mph, but he was abraded rather than crunched." - wiki

Eryri wrote:

IronicParticle wrote:What are you talking about? A cave man, could not grasp the concept of Quantum Mechanics... heck a Human in the past far back probably couldn't.

Humans are getting more and more intelligent, FYI. The average person knows what the hell a complex advanced theory such as Evolution is. Normally the average citizen wouldn't know anything about that at all in the past, science used to not be so common knowledge.

That's mostly down to education though, not biology. I think if Leonardo DaVinci, say, was born today he'd be able to grasp modern science perfectly well.

True, though in regards to evolution the better education will probably be where we will most drastically change, slowly... followed by the males "package" sizes and the females "buzzom and buttocks" sizes even more slowly :P

IronicParticle wrote:

Eryri wrote:

IronicParticle wrote:What are you talking about? A cave man, could not grasp the concept of Quantum Mechanics... heck a Human in the past far back probably couldn't.

Humans are getting more and more intelligent, FYI. The average person knows what the hell a complex advanced theory such as Evolution is. Normally the average citizen wouldn't know anything about that at all in the past, science used to not be so common knowledge.

That's mostly down to education though, not biology. I think if Leonardo DaVinci, say, was born today he'd be able to grasp modern science perfectly well.

True, though in regards to evolution the better education will probably be where we will most drastically change, slowly... followed by the males "package" sizes and the females "buzzom and buttocks" sizes even more slowly :P

Screw evolution! Just make me a Miranda so I can have my perfectly evolved female now!

dork wrote:i suppose the question is 'what exactly is dark space'?

The space between galaxies I'd assume, but would you put a big old Citadel-type relay out there? Or would you put it in another galaxy, among another relay network to harvest other life?