Geth

Geth troopers with an Armature supporting them.

The Geth are a machine race that feature in Mass Effect.

History

The Geth were robotic servants of the Quarians over 300 years ago to serve as tools of war as well as labourers. Initially, they were simple Virtual Intelligences but as time went on, the Quarians began to modify their programming for better tasks. At some point, the Geth began to question themselves and determine whether they had souls. Seeing this as a threat to their existence, the Quarians embarked on a method of extermination of their servants at the dawn of them becoming self aware. This period was known as the Morning War as the synthetic Geth fought against the Quarians who they labelled as their Creators. However, the Geth won the resulting war and drove the Quarians away making them a nomadic race that were confined to their ships without the chance of settling on a new world. The creation of the Geth led to the systematic suppression of artificial intelligence in galactic society due to the fear that such creations would turn against their creators.

Once the Quarians were driven into exile, the Geth began to isolate themselves from the rest of the galaxy as they confined themselves in their systems beyond the Perseus Veil. As the Citadel began to send ships to the edges of the Veil, they made a cautious attempt at watching at possible signs of a Geth invasion force that might emerge from their territory. However, the Geth made no attempts at attacking and have not been seen outside the Veil for centuries. Their activities in their space are a mystery to the races of the galaxy. Since that time, the Geth have been evolving beyond what the Quarians originally programmed them for allowing for newer types that blur the line between synthetic and organic. They also began to monitor transmissions from organic races in order to study them as the Geth attempted to build their own future.

Saren with his Geth allies.

However, at some point, a group of Geth encountered the entity known as Sovereign. Realizing that it was an artificial entity and member of a race of such beings that were known as the Reapers; this group of Geth called these entities the Old Machines. This same group began to worship Sovereign and his fellow Old Machines as gods with the intention of asking them to provide the Geth with a future. The resultant action was a schism amongst the Geth with the majority remaining within their territory and the minority of Reaper worshippers being labelled as "heretics" for their actions. The mainstream Geth also came to realize the threat posed by the Old Machines and intended to stop them as well as their heretical cousins.

As part of its machinations, Sovereign enlisted the aid of the Turian Spectre known as Saren Arterius who fell under the Reapers power through indoctrination. Through him, Sovereign attempted to start the reawaken his race with the aid of the Geth heretics. However, these heretics faced heavy casualties in the Battle of the Citadel though they remained in existence at various points in the galaxy. Around this time, a Geth from the main faction was deployed in order to track the activities of Commander Sheppard with this independent unit arriving on Eden Prime only to be attacked by the Heretics. After sustaining damage, the unit used a broken piece of armor from Sheppard to repair itself giving the Geth a distinctive appearance for having an N7 shoulder plate.

The fate of the Geth varies depending on the paths chosen in Mass Effect 3 as the player can choose to decite them at Rannoch or eliminate them entirely with the Destroy choice of the Catalyst that destroys all AI life in the galaxy.

Overview

Physiology

In appearance, the Geth were a bipedal race of networked artificial intelligences that were shaped in image of their creators namely the Quarians. This networked nature means that they are capable of learning and growing intellectually but progress far more slowly than an organic being. Their construction involved a large plastic or steel outer shell which serves as a kind of synthetic muscle tissue providing some series with incredible level of agility. They contained a white conductive liquid which leaks out of their blood that serves as a kind of blood though they do not contain any internal organs or a nervous system and as such do not suffer from hunger or pain. Their construction had an organic appearance to it that appears to blur the line between organic and synthetic beings. Typically, Geth did not speak and simple made a stuttering sound as they preferred direct digital transfer.

One of the biggest advantages of the Geth is their neural network which makes them more intelligent they closer they are physically to one another. This is because the individual units are capable of sharing processing power though this is not the same with sensory data which means they do not possess a hive mind. Individual Geth possess only basic intelligence on par with animal instincts but in larger groups, they are capable of reasoning, analysing situations and use tactics as well as any other organic being. Though they saw themselves as a nation, the Geth were actually interdependent with one another and separation was considered their biggest weakness. As part of their standard operating procedure, should a Geth be terminated then it automatically wiped its memory core in order to prevent the enemy from learning about them though a skilled computer technician of the Quarian race was able to bypass this action.

Shock Trooper model.

A Hopper.

A deployed Armature.

Numerous types of Geth were constructed that included:

• Troopers : the basic form of the Geth with the standard units serving as grunts in their warmachine. They were lightly equipped with no exotic weapons but were typically found in groups. They were humanoid in form with a single bright blue flashlight eye on their head. These troopers were divided into different types such as a long range firing snipers or the heavy support rocket troopers. Above the standard trooper lies the more elite shock trooper that were an advanced variant with a recognizable white armour. They also carried a pulse rifle but also possessed four levels of shield barriers and were extremely resilient. They served as officers, heavy infantry and as well as combat engineers.
• Hoppers : a newer infantry subtype Geth that were developed by the machines themselves as the Quarian's do not recognise the design. Their body's were made of a springy synthetic substance which resembles organic muscle tissue. This substance could be compressed then released giving the Hopper the capacity to leap enormous distances which was also the source of their names. Furthermore, they possessed tiny hooks on their hands and feet allowing them to climb walls and ceilings. In addition to these traits, the Hopper made use of cyberware platform techniques allowing them to wreak havoc to hardsuit computers and certain weapons. Beyond this, their primary method of attacks appeared to be a powerful laser that fies from their single eye. Similar to the Geth sniper troopers, they made use of radar jammers and tended to ambush in packs where they used their rapid movements to cause chaos among the enemy.
• Armature : a mobile anti-tank and anti-infantry model Geth that were employed in high risk areas and could be directly deployed from their dropships. They appeared as quadrupedal shaped tanks with the typical Geth styled head and were often accompanied by Geth rocket troopers. These were easily a match for armored vehicles used by other races and when combating such foes, the armature mades use of a siege pulse weapon that was devastating but slow to recharge. A secondary smaller machine gun styled weapon was also used that provided a more rapid rate of fire. Though they were large, they were not really a vehicle but sentient Geth machines capable of independent thought as well as learning. When inactive, they could be folded into a compact space where they could be garrisoned for later use or hide for an ambush.

Society

The Geth.

All Geth aspired for true unity, understanding and transcendence. The Geth form of government was unlike that of the organic races as they were built on consensus. Data was shared between Geth with all viewpoints being considered ad consensus was achieved as data was disseminated. Such processes would take a long time amongst organics but the Geth communicated at the speed of light and preferred direct digital transfer. As such, they saw organic analogue oral communication was being inefficient by comparison.

After encountering Sovereign, a faction of Geth began to develop a pecuiliar form of religion which results in their worship of the ancient long vanished mechanical Reaper race. These Heretics viewed them as gods where they called them the Old Machines and offered devotions by building monuments in their name and as such work to ensure their return to the galaxy. This was because the Reapers offered to provide a future for the Geth though the majority preferred to create their own future. However, while they are devoted servants to the Old Machines, the Reapers appeared to show little regard to them.

One of the key elements of Geth warfare involves the use of suprise, sudden and unexpected attacks. They were described as the perfect ambushers with their mechanical nature meanining that they could leave dormant garrisons at key positions for ages. Furthermore, its common for the Geth to drop their forces from overhead as their machine forms allow them to withstand such impacts beyond a normal organic being. Furthermore, they are even capable of packing their bodies into storage in crates allowing for later deployment whenever they are needed. Another typical tactic used by the Geth is the use of distress signals in order to lure rescuers into a trap .It was said that they were quite thorough in their approaches.

Technology

Their secretive isolated nature means that items of Geth manufacture were incredibly rare to find.

Geth gunship craft had landing claws that they used to latch onto structures or ships.

Space stations were one habitat used by the Geth with these structures lacking any life support as the machines had no need for them. One of the heights of their engineering skills was the capacity to create a Dyson sphere. Such a megastructure was intended as a storehouse for all Geth intelligences with their power requirements fulfilled by tapping into the power of a star.

Members

• Legion :

Appearances

• Mass Effect:
• Mass Effect 2:
• Mass Effect 3:

External Link

• Mass Effect Wiki Entry

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