If I intend to research Mass Effect as a work of ‘biopunk’ then it seemed logical to figure out just how many plots ticked the biopunk box. Unfortunately, this meant doing the one thing I hate the most: compiling spreadsheets. It was a necessary evil. Mass Effect has so many plots, plot devices and themes raging through its work that it was the only way to neatly compile any data. It would be typical to write an examination of the themes of a work, just to realise I’d forgotten something significant because I hadn’t neatly and clearly collected the right information beforehand. A spreadsheet turned out to be the only way. The amount of information just simply would not fit on my whiteboard. The first time, so far, that tactic has failed me.
Creating the spreadsheet wasn’t the easiest, as I am not the most experienced at making them nor am I the most logical person. My haphazard approach often works well for developing a myriad of original ideas, but it isn’t the most efficient method for gathering numerical evidence. And, for once, that was what I needed. I just required a cold look at the numbers, the amount of plots, and then I could prioritise each plot for examination.
The simplest solution I could come up with was to go through the plots of the four games (in chronological order), and list which stories/mechanics fit as biopunk under the categories of gameplay, main missions, side quests, characters and general lore. They were then ranked according to whether the biopunk themes were primary or secondary considerations. For instance, a krogan shouting poetry is not a primary biopunk story. It does not overtly deal with genetic engineering or concerns with biological identities. It is not a moment that changes the games substantially. However, the asari and krogan are wrestling with the legacy of a ‘sterilisation plague’ – which is undoubtedly biopunk, and therefore counts as a ‘secondary’ biopunk story. Very quickly, the numbers started to add up. In total: 101 plots and game play mechanics counted as biopunk. That’s right. 101. That’s a large number of Dalmatian puppies to have, and a ridiculous amount of plots to consider, particularly when I’ve almost certainly missed some key details that I will only be able to discover as I replay the series.
But the beauty is that not all of these are required to be mentioned in my specific research project (although I look forward to writing papers on the ‘discarded’ plots). But logging the different instances of biopunk moments and mechanics helped to build a greater understanding of the story as a whole. It was an extremely helpful tool – I’ve already ordered a larger whiteboard.
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.
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 SchmeinkTracking
Classical Monsters in Popular Culture, Liz GloynFrankenstein;
or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley
Mutant Theory 