Who are the mutants of the Mass Effect series?

If Mass Effect is to be examined for its mutants then it is necessary to establish who fits that description. Mutant characters are characters who have been created by some ‘unnatural’ intervention. They inherently destabilise what is considered to be the natural cycle of life. As science has evolved, this no longer means crude visions like Frankenstein’s creature. Mass Effect explores the evolution of technology, and the ramifications for ‘mutants’. There are numerous mutants in both the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. This introduction to mutants will look at those who feature most prominently.

Miranda Lawson (and Oriana Lawson)

Miranda Lawson becomes one of the main characters in Mass Effect 2. She was genetically engineered to be superior to other humans in almost every way, including: intelligence, beauty, a longer lifespan, a stronger immune system and even has stronger biotic powers. These characteristics were all chosen by her father, who tried to make many daughters but only two survived, that we know of: Miranda and Oriana.

Miranda allows us to question exactly why Henry Lawson made certain decisions. She’s human, and that allows the audience to make comparisons to our own society. Women have long been controlled by their presentation to the world, but Henry lawson’s eugenicist actions took this a step further to try to create a ‘super human’. Whiteness was prioritised, being invulnerable to disability was essential and Miranda had to conform to conventional ideas around beauty to be ‘desirable’. Oriana briefly appears in both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, but curiously despite the pair being described as “genetically identical”, they look nothing alike. While minor characters got far less attention in the series for their appearance, it is jarring when both appear in scenes together. But while a plot-hole, it should be considered whether Henry Lawson changed his ‘design’ after Miranda broke free from his tyranny.

Grunt

Grunt is another genetically engineered creature designed entirely by a eugenicist – but he’s krogan. The salarians and turians unleashed a “sterility plague” on the krogan that dramatically decreased the rates of viable pregnancies. If a krogan did become pregnant, it was far more likely the pregnancy would result in a stillborn child than a living one. Because of this, Warlord Okeer was determined to create the ‘perfect krogan’. He did not wish to cure the genophage, instead wanting to create the greatest krogan warrior in the galaxy as revenge, and to restore krogan pride.

Okeer gave his life to protect Grunt. Grunt never got to speak to his creator; when Okeer died Grunt was still in the tank. It is the playable character of Commander Shepard that can choose to release the ‘perfect’ krogan, or hand him over to terrorist organisation Cerberus for research purposes.

Kaidan Alenko

When she was pregnant, Kaidan’s mother was exposed to element zero. Kaidan survived this, and acquired biotic abilities. Humans exposed to element zero do not always become biotics, and can develop disabilities as a result. Biotics can create mass effect fields, which are accessed through biotic-amps. Biotics can trap people in singularities, throw bodies and cause significant damage with their powers.

When Kaidan’s mutant biotic potential was realised, he was given implants to enhance his abilities further. As a result of the implants, he regularly experiences migraines. Kaidan was also sent to a camp for biotics, to hone his abilities further. Kaidan was abused by his trainer, with the excuse given that if he was pushed again and again it would increase his biotic abilities.

Kaidan speculated on whether his mother’s exposure to element when she was pregnant had truly been accidental.

Commander Shepard

At the beginning of Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard is blasted into space. It takes Miranda Lawson and her Lazarus team, two years to rebuild Shepard who was clinically dead. This is achieved partly through cybernetic implants and numerous invasive medical procedures, even making a clone in case “spare parts” were needed. Miranda is tasked with bringing the Commander back exactly how they were before, but the player does get the chance to make adjustments to Shepard’s appearance and skills, contradicting the in-game lore.

Shepard may also be read as a mutant if they are, at any stage, granted biotic abilities. Unlike asari, humans are not naturally biotic. Those abilities can only develop after exposure to element zero.

Jack

Jack was exposed to element zero in the womb. Once she was old enough to show biotic potential, the terrorist organisation, Cerberus, abducted Jack so that they could train her to become a more powerful biotic fighter. Jack was tortured during those years. Cerberus conditioned Jack to fight and drugged her as a way to empower her biotic abilities.

The kett

The kett are the main antagonists of Mass Effect Andromeda. Kett biology is comprised of genetic information from a range of species. This is assumed to be to counter stagnation, but little is still known about the kett. They are unable to reproduce naturally and can only ‘create’ new kett through the process of exaltation, that converts other species to kett. The arrival of the Initiative to Andromeda, means that the kett have new species to harvest so to improve their genetic diversity. This is not dissimilar to the main enemies in the original trilogy – a hybrid race of machines called reapers seek to harvest genetic material, and then destroy all advanced organic life.

26th Oct 2020 0

Relevant Roundup #1

The ‘Relevant Roundup’ blogs will look at some of the current debates about biopunk stories and gaming.

Transitioning through gaming

Violet Adele Bloch examines how gender options in Neverwinter allow questioning people to explore their gender identity, and how changing our virtual biology can help us make sense of ourselves.

Pandemic gaming beyond Animal Crossing

While Animal Crossing has become one of the most popular products ever due to how many people are stuck at home needing some escapism, others are trying to comprehend what is happening through games. Just like how Contagion found renewed popularity at the start of the pandemic, games that look at plagues and deadly viruses have also become a cathartic process (for some). This review looks at how the Pathologic series handles a story set during a plague.

How well does Mass Effect represent autism?

Game Assist recently released a twenty minute video (with closed captions) examining how autism is treated in the Mass Effect series. While this plots falls more into the cyberpunk territory, it is a worthwhile watch that examines how BioWare represents this particular marginalisation.

Game approved as a treatment for ADHD in children

In the US, a game is now available as a prescription for treating ADHD. EndeavorRX is available for children between the ages of eight to twelve and is likely to be the start of a long process of assessing whether gaming can be used as treatment (at least in part) for certain conditions.

26th Oct 2020 0

What will I be doing?

Not for the first time have I asked myself this question, but now everybody else is asking me what on earth I’m doing too. Doing a PhD in Philosophy should sound like I have some sense of direction, but when people hear that I’ll be doing my research on a video game, the conversation has generally come to a crashing halt. It isn’t because gaming is seen as a weird hobby like gamers claim it once was, because these days it’s pretty normal, but people wonder what more is there to it than fun? Personally, I think fun is enough reason to study something, but my supervisors are going to want more than me just playing games for several years. So, I’ll be using Mass Effect specifically to look at biological stories, also known as biopunk stories.

What is ‘biopunk’?

It is fair if you roll your eyes at hearing yet another -punk label being attached to a science-fiction subgenre. But discussions about ‘biopunk did come before the loud Twitter debates over whether ‘hopepunk’ meant anything at all. Biopunk discourse became an important foundation that allowed those discussions of other subgenres to be built into popular culture. The term ‘biopunk’ is still a loose one, but commonly thought of as fictional stories concerned with biology. While Mary Shelley is credited with starting the scifi movement in the West with Frankenstein, her text was also one of the first works of biopunk. The greatest debates around biopunk tend to be whether it needs to be political, and if it is, then how should those politics be demonstrated? The common storylines of biopunk tales cannot avoid politics: mutant creations from nuclear fallout and radiation, gene editing, ‘biohacking’, loss of biodiversity, viruses; all of these common biopunk plots are inseparable from politics. Arguably, that’s exactly what we want. There has been widespread lamentation of cyberpunk increasingly becoming a subgenre concentrated upon its aesthetics rather than its conflicts. But how biopunk stories truly relate to politics is what I’ll be focusing my research on. I’ll take the plots from Mass Effect and look at how they deal with politics, and especially for what they say about marginalisation and oppression.

Why Mass Effect?

In the original trilogy, Commander Shepard must lead the galaxy to fight a fleet of hybrid machines (part tech and part organic) set upon harvesting the DNA of advanced biological life, and wipe out any being surplus to requirements. In the fourth game, players explore a different galaxy but the new protagonist Ryder faces similar biological threats, if not with the same impending sense of doom. Biopunk is at the core of these games, which should be no surprise when they are made by a company called BioWare. Subplots also fit the bill: there is a “sterility plague” unleashed upon the krogan, a virus deployed as bioweapon on Omega, several main characters are ‘created’ in a more refined take on Frankenstein, vulnerable people are deliberately exposed to element zero to ensure that they develop biotic powers and, at one point, there’s even a clone Shepard that the original Commander must battle. Mass Effect has a wealth of bio-related stories that can be examined, and this series offers several unique opportunities. Mass Effect deals with inequality in a more obvious and apparent way than a lot of scifi games really have the scope for. The series shows poverty, disabled characters, queer characters and a hell of a lot of racism in both galaxies. This means there’s room to examine the issues of marginalisation within the lore. Gaming has also often been overlooked for its contributions to genres, but the mechanics of Mass Effect can be examined to see whether they contribute to the ideas and themes of biopunk that are prevalent throughout the games. One series provides many routes for exploration.

Where will ‘Mutant Theory’ come into it?

As part of the Mass Effect research, considerable time will be dedicated to looking at characters who were designed and then created. Mutant Theory will be developed from these characters. Mutant Theory will look at why audiences react or connect to characters like these and if they do so in particular ways, especially as it is a common biopunk plot. Mutant Theory will be developed from the Monster Theory that Jeffrey Jerome Cohen designed. His theory looked at the way audiences fear and desire classical monsters and what these beings represent. Mutant Theory however, will be designed specifically around a certain type of science fiction monster: the ones we create. Further reading While I will be publishing essays that go into greater depth as I make my way into my PhD program, I will continue to highlight reading that may be relevant or of interest. Below are some introductory books that will be helpful if you wish to learn about biopunk or Monster Theory. Biopunk Dystopias, Lars Schmeink Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture, Liz Gloyn Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley

26th Oct 2020 0