Could the Benefactor Be a Shadowbroker?

[PandaTar]

It would be disappointing if anyone known from the past trilogy would rekindle any sort of experience we had back then: like if it was TIM, for example, and all the Cerberus tosh all over again.

I would be ok if it was someone known but that would emerge with some new experience. But I would wager and prefer, a third-party, unknown. I would even think it was ok only learning who was the benefactor in the third game of a possible upcoming trilogy. The lady's murderer is one of the few really puzzling things left at our reach (the rest, like Jardaan or Scourge or Kett, are too beyond our grasp).

[deansinclair88]

THE ILLUSIVE MAN IS!! THE BENEFACTOR

AND ONCE HE STARTED TO BECONE CORRUPT AND WANT TO WORK WITH THE REAPERS DECIDED TO KILL JEIN GARSON

[fudgietroll]

Aria, the pirate queen. She's powerful, connected, paranoid, rich, has a strong intelligence network, and, as part of the side missions and DLC of ME3, we hand her a *-ton of power, total control over the mercs, and virtually undisputed unilateral control of the terminus systems, plus a souped-up base. Plus, unlike all the other major allies, we never see her after we hit Cerberus HQ.

EG, she hands the alliance her expendables for the assault on Earth, slips away, and boards the ark she secretly put together out in the Terminus Systems along with her loyalists and her elite troops and staff, while the reapers and allies duke it out on the suicide mission to earth.

In fact, what she could have been running from Afterlife could have included a purge of all info related to the Initiative to prevent the victorious Reapers from going after it. I have no doubt the reason no-one in Andromeda can contact the Milky Way is because the Benefactor instituted just such a purge specifically to hide the arks from the Reapers. No records= no pursuit.

It could also explain the arks. Aria uses them to help ensure favors/compliance by getting her minions loved ones a second chance/out of harm's way on the arks (Cough, Cough, Alec). It would explain the surprising number of problem children making the trip, and 100+k people is a reasonable amount to be dominated by a relatively small force that controls the levers of power.

A funny thought would be if Aria was turning all of Omega into her ark, and that was the real reason that she and Cerberus were dueling for control of it. I would really find it hilarious if Ryder is cruising Helios and suddenly, "Hey! It's Omega! WTF!?"

[chrissyce1123]

Can you imagine all of their reactions? Most of the crew is from Omega. Peebee even tells Jaal if someone survived working in the bar of Omega coming to Andromeda would be a reincarnation. But weren't there monsters of some sort on Omega? Those things were really hard to kill. I doubt Shepard killed them all. The kett getting them would be bad. 

[fudgietroll]

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@chrissyce1123 wrote:

Can you imagine all of their reactions? Most of the crew is from Omega. Peebee even tells Jaal if someone survived working in the bar of Omega coming to Andromeda would be a reincarnation. But weren't there monsters of some sort on Omega? Those things were really hard to kill. I doubt Shepard killed them all. The kett getting them would be bad. 

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They were supposed to be kind of like vampire kett, but uglier. They hack your DNA and turn you into them, but without the ceremony. Ergo, would the Kett get them, or would they get the Kett? Of course, if the kett actually managed to isolate the DNA that allows the transformation without injections, that would be bad. It would probably be worse if the Rokaar got some of them, because they would just use them on people (See super-plague, mutant killer animals)

[fudgietroll]

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@PandaTar wrote:

It would be disappointing if anyone known from the past trilogy would rekindle any sort of experience we had back then: like if it was TIM, for example, and all the Cerberus tosh all over again.

I would be ok if it was someone known but that would emerge with some new experience. But I would wager and prefer, a third-party, unknown. I would even think it was ok only learning who was the benefactor in the third game of a possible upcoming trilogy. The lady's murderer is one of the few really puzzling things left at our reach (the rest, like Jardaan or Scourge or Kett, are too beyond our grasp).

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Twisted alternative theory: Jien Garson is the Benefactor and faked her own death to better manipulate things from the shadows and maybe get Alec off her trail.

[TKMcClone]

I think it would be boring if the Andromeda project was started by something/someone in the Milky Way rather than forces in Andromeda.   I like the notion for the MW species to be unwitting victims.

Spoiler

I think it's tough to ignore the underlying assimilation theme in the MEU. The Reapers evolved by combining the DNA of each cycle and their armies are modified species of the current cycle. Collectors are altered Protheans,  the Kett are altered Angara, who were in turn created by another Species. And then, we have the AIs. This theme is core to the franchise.

With that in mind.

I think the the MW species were 'brought' to Andromeda for their DNA - in order to further 'exalt' whoever is the master of the Kett.  (no, not the Borg)

[draqonin]

Well, all this SAM development is a result of project overlord which was destroyed. Probably that's why was also highly illegal. Aaand probably Illusive Man is sponsoring SAM project? He could be the benefactor. Otherwise it could be the shadow broker.

[V4rdyn]

Who knows, maybe the Cerbs took what they learned from developing EDI when working on Overlord. From that failure, they went back to the drawing board and when they heard of a desperate husband is working on something similar to save his wife, even at the cost of his military career, they decided to kickstart the project-- and adapt it so it can get into anyone's head (with the right implants) and run just about everything on dreadnought-sized ships ^^

"SAM" and "EDI" as siblings? They are of different caliber (EDI was more military oriented from the get go, while SAM is "coming from the medical field"), but it would be neat if we could discover a connection like that  The reactions of the crew and Nexus staff would be even more interesting to hear 

[draqonin]

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@Kondaru wrote:

That's incorrect - Benefactor contacted Alec when SAM was already in development for a long time. It was exactly because Alec already used all the money Ryders had on the R&D. So by that time SAM could have easily been sentient and connected to millions of other systems universe-wide. And actually SAM would be *very* interested in sponsoring Alec by then...

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And SAM would get funds from where?  Hmm...