Mass Effect 1: Conversations with the Thorian and Shiala

(Shepard and Squadmates approach the gigantic plant-fleshy thing after fighting their way past the Colonists)

(It shudders and from it a green Asari falls forth)

Asari Clone: Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!

Asari Clone: Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!

(Shepard and Company fight endless waves of Thorian Creepers and Asari Clones, until the Thorian dies)

(A nearby blobule attached to the wall shudders and explodes in a gush of fluids. Out drops the Asari from before, but she's purple instead of green!)

Shiala: I'm free. I'm free.

(pause)

Shiala: I-- I suppose I should thank you for releasing me.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Shepard (ARE YOU OKAY?) Is everything alright? Are you hurt?

Shiala: I am fine. Or I will be, in time.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Shepard (I DON'T TRUST YOU.)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Shepard (WHO ARE YOU?): How did you end up inside that... thing?

Shiala: My name is Shiala. I serve-- I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I.

Shiala: Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way.

Shepard (WHAT DO YOU MEAN?)

Shepard (QUIT MAKING EXCUSES)

Shepard (HE TRICKED HER?): Are you saying Saren can control minds?

Shiala: Benezia underestimated Saren. As I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is troubling.

Tali: She tried to manipulate Saren. But in the end, her plan backfired.

Shepard (THERE'S MORE TO THIS):

Shepard (HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE): Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?

Shiala: Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers.

They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute.

I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets.

Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian.

Shepard (They were allies?)

Shepard (Serves you right)

Shepard (THATS HORRIBLE): Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people.

Shiala: He was quick to betray the Thorian, too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher.

Shepard (TELL ME WHAT IT IS)

Shepard (WHAT DOES IT DO): What's the Cipher? And why did Saren need it?

Shiala: The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But the visions are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it.

Shepard (SO THE CIPHER IS KNOWLEDGE)

Shepard (ENOUGH MYSTIC CRAP)

Shepard (I DON'T UNDERSTAND): Where is the Cipher? How do I get it?

Shiala: The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes.

To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations.

I sensed this ancestral memory--the Cipher--when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists.

Shepard (I NEED THAT INFORMATION)

Shepard (YOU GAVE IT TO SAREN)

Shepard (THERE HAS TO BE SOME WAY): I need that knowledge to stop Saren!

Shiala: There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren.

Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another.

Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit.

We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander.

Embrace Eternity!

(Shepard sees the visions from the Beacon again, but with more extended footage)

Shiala: I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now.

Liara: A knowledge bond can be very traumatic. Are you all right, Commander Shepard?

Ashley: Are you all right, Shepard? What did she do?

Shepard (I'M OKAY)

Shepard (SHE MESSED UP MY MIND!)

Shepard (DON'T WORRY. I'LL BE FINE): I saw... something. It still didn't make any sense.

Shiala: You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information.

Ashley: You look a little queasy. We should get you back to the ship.

Liara: We should get you back to the ship where you can be monitored.

Shiala: I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher. In time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon.

Shepard (THE CONDUIT): Do you know what the Conduit is? Or where it is?

Shiala: No. I'm sorry. All I know is that Saren believes the Conduit was the key to the Prothean extinction.

Ashley: That can't be good, whatever it is.

Shiala: You have the Cipher. In time, your visions will clear. They will lead you to the Conduit. I only pray you find it before Saren does.

Shepard (THE THORIAN): Is there anything else you can tell me about the Thorian?

Shiala: When the creature enveloped me, I became part of it. But I still don't truly understand it. So alien. So ancient.

Its exact age is impossible to know. It measured time differently. Ten thousand years of hibernation broken by a few frantic centuries of activity.

Its mind was awesome. Magnificent. It transcended all classification. And now it is gone.

Shepard (YOU SOUND ALMOST SAD): Don't tell me you feel sorry for that thing.

Shiala: The Thorian was a unique life-form -- a sentient being that lived for 50,000 years, maybe more. There is nothing even remotely like it in the known galaxy.

I am grateful you saved me from a life of thralldom. Yet I cannot help but feel some sorrow for the loss of such a rare and remarkable creature.

Shepard (SAREN): What else can you tell me about Saren?

Shiala: There is little I could tell you that you do not already know. He is powerful. He is charismatic. And he is dangerous. Once I followed him, blind to his true nature. But now I see he is leading the galaxy into an age of darkness and suffering.

Shepard (PERSONAL QUESTIONS): I want to know more about you.

Shiala: There is nothing remarkable about me. I was merely one of Matriarch Benezia's disciples. For nearly two centuries, I followed her, learning at her feet.

When Benezia revealed her plan to join Saren, she gave her disciples a choice. Only those who were willing had to follow her. Many felt her plan was too dangerous. But I believed in her. I thought she could turn Saren away from his insanity. Instead, we joined him in it.

Shepard (WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH YOU?): Now that you're free of the Thorian, what are you planning to do next?

Shiala: If you allow it, I would like to stay here with the colonists. They have suffered greatly, and I played a role in their suffering. I would like to make amends.

Shepard (A NOBLE IDEA): The colonists will need all the help they can get. They'll be happy to have you on their side.

Shiala: Thank you, Commander. May fortune smile upon you.