Text/Data is fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx_smmq_3AE&t=456s Examining the DLC_CON_END_Test_INT.tlk file from the ME3 Extended Cut DLC |
NOTES: This is from the Extended Cut, with maximum EMS and Paragon conversation choices.
Wake up...
(alternately StarBrat can say “Why are you here?” according to one branch in the Dialogue Tree)
Shepard: What? Where am I?
The Citadel. It’s my home.
Shepard: Who are you?
I am the Catalyst.
Shepard: I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst.
No. The Citadel is part of me.
Shepard: I need to stop the Reapers, do you know how I can do that?
Perhaps. I control the Reapers. They are my solution.
(alternately StarBrat can say “The Reapers are mine. I control them. They are my solution.” according to one branch in the Dialogue Tree)
Shepard: Solution? To what?
Chaos.
The created will always rebel against their creators.
But we found a way to stop that from happening, a way to restore order.
Shepard: By wiping out organic life?
No. We harvest advanced civilizations, leaving the younger ones alone.
Just as we left your people alive the last time we were here.
Shepard: But you killed the rest.
We helped them ascend so they could make way for new life, storing the old life in Reaper form.
Shepard: I think we’d rather keep our own form.
No you can’t...
Without us to stop it, synthetics would destroy all organics.
We’ve created the cycle so that never happens. That’s the solution.
Shepard (CATALYST): You said you’re the Catalyst, but...what are you?
A construct. An intelligence designed eons ago to solve a problem.
I was created to bring balance, to be the Catalyst for peace between organics and synthetics.
Shepard: So you’re just an AI?
In as much as you are just an animal. I embody the collective intelligence of all Reapers.
Shepard: But you were created...
Correct.
By ones who recognized that conflict would always arise between synthetics and organics.
I was first created to oversee the relations between synthetic and organic life...to establish a connection.
But our efforts always ended in conflict, so a new solution was required.
Shepard: The Reapers?
Precisely.
Shepard (REAPERS): Where did the Reapers come from? Did you create them?
My Creators gave them form. I gave them function. They in turn give me purpose.
The Reapers are a synthetic representation of my creators.
Shepard: And what happened to your creators?
They became the first true Reaper. They did not approve, but it was the only solution.
Shepard: You said that before, but how did the Reapers solve anything?
Organics create synthetics to improve their own existence, but those improvements have limits. To exceed those limits, synthetics must be allowed to evolve. They must by definition surpass their creators. The result is conflict, destruction, chaos.
It is inevitable.
Reapers harvest all life – organic and synthetic – preserving them before they are forever lost to this conflict.
Shepard (HOW IS “THIS” NOT CONFLICT?): (Shepard waves their arm outwards towards the space battle(s) occurring outside the Citadel.) We're at war with the Reapers right now!
You may be in conflict with the Reapers, but they are not interested in war.
Shepard: I find that hard to believe.
When fire burns, is at war? Is it in conflict? Or is it simply doing what it was created to do?
We are no different.
We harvest your bodies, your knowledge, your creations. We preserve it, to be reborn in the form of a Reaper.
Like a cleansing fire, we restore balance.
New life, both organic and synthetic, can once again flourish.
Shepard (CRUCIBLE): What do you know about the Crucible?
The device you refer to as the Crucible is little more than a power source.
However, in combination with the Citadel and the Relays, it is capable of releasing tremendous amounts of energy throughout the galaxy.
It is crude but effective and adaptive in its design.
Shepard: Who designed it?
You would not know them, and there is not enough time to explain.
We first noted the concept for this device several cycles ago.
With each passing cycle, the design has no doubt evolved.
Shepard: Why didn't you stop it?
We believed the concept had been eradicated.
Clearly, organics are more resourceful than we realized.
|
Shepard (WE’RE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE!): But you’re taking away our future, without future we have no hope. Without hope we might as well be machines, programmed to do as we are told. You have hope, more than you think. The fact that you are standing here, the first organic ever, proves it. Ed Note: It can also be “You don't need hope.” |
Shepard (YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND US): The defining characteristic of organic life is that we think for ourselves, make our own choices. You take that away, and we might as well be machines just like you. You have choice. More than you know. The fact that you are standing here, the first organic ever, proves it. Ed Note: It can also be “You have choice. More than you Deserve.” |
But it also proves my solution won’t work any more.
Shepard: So now what?
We find a new solution.
Shepard: Why are you telling me this? Why help me?
You have altered the variables.
Shepard: What do you mean?
The Crucible changed me, created new... possibilities. But I can’t make them happen.
If there is to be a new solution, you must act.
It is now in your power to destroy us.
(A Relay is shown, along with Admiral Anderson firing at it in a cutscene before it explodes.)
But be warned: others will be destroyed as well.
The Crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted.
Even you are partly synthetic...
Shepard (I WANT DETAILS): What exactly will happen?
[here, the conversation splits according to the player's EMS score]
|
Bad EMS |
Medium EMS |
Good EMS |
|
Your device is severely damaged. The blast it creates will be unpredictable and devastating. All technology and those who rely on synthetic technology for their survival will be lost. Yourself including. Your ships, weapons... the relays will all be destroyed beyond repair. Your homes will be in ruin. (Cutscene shown of a huge blast of energy going outwards and of Reapers and Husks falling to their sides) Few organics will survive the blast. Fewer still will survive in the days to come. |
Your Crucible device is badly damaged. The blast it creates will be unpredictable. Many who rely on synthetic technology for survival will be affected. Some may even be destroyed. (Cutscene shown of a huge blast of energy going outwards and of Reapers and Husks falling to their sides) You will certainly die. It is possible that some, further from the blast, may survive relatively unharmed. |
Your Crucible device appears to be largely intact. However the effects of the blast will not be constrained to the Reapers. Technology you rely on will be affected, but those who survive should have little difficulty in repairing the damage. (Cutscene shown of a huge blast of energy going outwards and of Reapers and Husks falling to their sides) There will still be losses, but no more that what has already been lost. |
[From this, Shepard has two possible reactions leading to this tree]
|
Shepard (THEN I WON'T USE THE CRUCIBLE): I made it this far. We'll destroy you without setting it off.” Impossible. You are vastly outnumbered. You have sacrificed many of your resources just to reach this point. (Alternate string) You have sacrificed most of your resources just to reach this point. If you do not use the Crucible, the Reapers will not be stopped. And the cycle will continue. Shepard: There has to be another way. There is. |
Shepard (IT WILL END THE WAR?): But the Reapers will be destroyed? Yes, but the peace won’t last. Soon, your children will create synthetics, and then the chaos will come back. Shepard: There has to be another way. There is. |
You could instead use the energy of the Crucible to seize control of the Reapers.
(Cutscene shows a pair of blue tinged relays, followed by The Illusive Man grasping them as electricity courses over his body)
Shepard: So...the Illusive Man was right after all.
Yes, but he could never have taken control...because we already controlled him.
Shepard: But I can...
You will die. You will control us, but you will lose everything you have.
Shepard (I DON’T UNDERSTAND): How can I control the Reapers if I’m dead?
Your corporeal form will be dissolved, but your thoughts, and even your memories, will continue.
You will no longer be organic.
(Cutscene shows Reapers and Husks wreathed in blue lightning as they slowly retreat)
Your connection to your kind will be lost, though you will remain aware of their existence.
|
Shepard (I'M NOT LOSING ANYTHING): I didn't fight this war so I could give up everything I have. And I do not look forward to being replaced by you, but... I would be forced to accept it. Shepard: Not if I refuse to do it. |
Shepard (I THINK I UNDERSTAND...): But the Reapers will obey me? Yes. We will be yours to control and direct as you see fit. Shepard: Hmm... |
There is another solution...
(Shepard looks at Starbrat)
Synthesis.
Shepard: And that is?
Add your energy to the Crucible's.
The chain reaction will combine all synthetic and organic life into a new framework. A new...DNA.
Shepard (HOW?): Explain how my energy can be added to the Crucible.
Your organic energy, the essence of who and what you are, will be broken down and then dispersed.
(Cutscene shows a brilliant green blast)
Shepard: To do what exactly?
The energy of the Crucible, released in this way will alter the matrix of all organic life in the galaxy.
Organics seek perfection through technology. Synthetics seek perfection through understanding.
Organics will be perfected by integrating fully with synthetic technology. Synthetics in turn will finally have understanding of organics.
It is the ideal solution. Now that we know it is possible, it is inevitable we will reach synthesis.
Shepard: Why couldn't you do it sooner?
We have tried...a similar solution in the past.
But it has always failed.
Shepard: Why?
Because the organics were not ready. It is not something that can be...forced.
You are ready. And you may choose it.
|
Shepard (THAT’S A BIG CHANGE): I... don't know. |
Shepard (I WON'T MAKE THAT DECISION): You're asking me to change everything...everyone. I can't make that decision. I won't. |
Why not?
Synthetics are already part of you.
Can you imagine your life without them?
Shepard: And there will be peace?
The cycle will end, the Reapers will cease their harvest, and the civilizations preserved in their forms will be connected to all of us.
Synthesis is the final evolution of all life.
The paths are open.
But you have to choose.
(Shepard now can move to each ending node)
The modified dialogue if the Leviathan DLC is installed and completed before the ending of ME3 in the original cut (I couldn't find a Leviathan + Extended Cut DLC with subtitles on as I'm deaf) occurs at two points during your conversation with “Starbrat”.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Shepard (REAPERS): Where did the Reapers come from? Did you create them?
My creators gave them form. I gave them function. They, in turn, gave me purpose.
The Reapers are a synthetic representation of my creators.
Shepard: The Leviathan...
Yes. They created me to oversee the relations between synthetics and organic life – to establish a connection.
They became the first true Reaper. They did not approve, but it was the only solution.
Shepard: You said that before, but how do the Reapers solve anything?
Organics create synthetics to improve their own existence, but those improvements have limits.
To exceed those limits, synthetics must be allowed to evolve. They must, by definition, surpass their creators.
The result is conflict, destruction, chaos. It is inevitable.
Reapers harvest all life – organic and synthetic – preserving them before they are lost forever in this conflict.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Shepard (LEVATHIAN): I met your creators. They told me what you did to them.
We did as we were expected.
Shepard: They said you betrayed them. That you turned them into Harbinger.
When they asked that I solved the problem of conflict, they failed to understand that they were part of the problem themselves.
The flaws of their organic reasoning could not perceive this. They lacked the foresight to understand their destruction was part of the very solution they required.
Shepard: Well, they've joined this war now.
And I welcome their involvement. I am only facilitating their request.