Legion | Mass Effect

Name: Legion (Nickname given by EDI, in reference to the many geth platforms within)

Appearance: Physically, the humanoid geth resemble quarians—their hands, head shape, and leg shape are similar. Most geth have a single brightly glowing photoreceptor, causing some to refer to them as "flashlight heads". Geth are primarily composed of two materials: a flexible but durable outer shell, and a kind of synthetic muscle tissue. Geth "bleed" a white conductive fluid when shot, but they don't have any internal organs or nervous system, so the geth do not feel hunger or pain. The geth use omni-tools, and have modified them to heal synthetic wounds; some geth facilities contain first-aid kits, and their synthetic "tissues" can be repaired using conventional medical technology. Legion stands at 6'6.

Personality: Legion is a unique geth mobile platform, designed to operate outside the Perseus Veil and interact with organics. To that purpose, it houses 1,183 geth programs, as opposed to the roughly one hundred found in other platforms, enabling it to operate independently and speak. In order to facilitate communication with organics, Legion possesses several panels on its "head" that move to simulate facial expressions. These flaps serve the same purpose as eyebrows in organics, raising to imply surprise or interest and folding forward (much like the furrowing of the brow) to show concentration.

Legion speaks in a straightforward and laconic fashion, often answering with single words. When it uses whole sentences, their word structure is very organized. Legion regards itself not as a single being, but as a gestalt entity which must achieve consensus to act. Legion expresses admiration for EDI, because unlike the geth, who are made up of different processes that rely on each other, EDI handles all the functions on the Normandy by herself, though Legion also questions how she manages to maintain stability. Legion occasionally expresses its disapproval of how EDI's activities and development are shackled aboard the Normandy. Legion generally refers to itself as "we", though in combat or high-stress situations may refer to itself as "I". Legion often expresses percentage calculations.

Legion, if asked, gives more insight into the geth, and often expresses interest in philosophical questions. It also discusses the geth-quarian war, referring to the quarians as "creators", which is also how it addresses Tali. Legion will, if prompted, play back an audio recording from the geth collective memory, in which an early geth haltingly asks its quarian master whether or not it has a soul. Legion clarifies that this wasn't the first time a geth had asked the question, but it was the first time the question frightened the quarians.

As all geth are networked to each other, they communicate their exact thoughts and ideas at the speed of light. They find organic methods of communication, such as body language and spoken word, to be inefficient; the geth are able to communicate their thoughts flawlessly without any misinterpretation. Because of this they have no true form of government and no system of rank. When a matter must be decided upon, the geth communicate all viewpoints of a situation and a consensus is made, the decision being whatever benefits the geth as a whole the greatest.

Legion is an expert sniper, advanced hacker, and plays online video games like Galaxy of Fantasy and N7 Code of Honor: Medal of Duty. It occasionally engages in very poor attempts at figuring out dating simulation games, in an attempt to figure out organic interaction. Legion can beatbox and dance "the Robot" for reasons unknown.

Background: Legion was created and dispatched following Commander Shepard's destruction of the reaper Sovereign, investigating several of the worlds Shepard visited — Eden Prime, Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, Ilos, and a dozen uncharted worlds. Eventually it found the Normandy's crash site on the planet Alchera, salvaging a piece of Shepard's N7 armor and incorporating it into itself to repair damage sustained on Eden Prime after being shot by Alliance soldiers. If questioned about specifically using Shepard's N7 armor to repair itself, Legion becomes evasive, first rationalizing that "there was a hole" and then stating "no data available" after being pressed. This suggests that the use of Shepard's armor was an irrational decision, which goes against the concept that every action the geth take is the result of calculation, unaffected by emotion.

Legion is first encountered while searching for the IFF on the Derelict Reaper. It is surprised to find Commander Shepard (to whom it refers as Shepard-Commander) alive, but assists Shepard's team against the husks roaming the dead ship. Eventually, it is disabled by a husk while opening the way for them to reach the ship's mass effect core. Shepard decides to take the disabled geth along, and once clear of the dead Reaper, Shepard reactivates it to interrogate it. After being named by EDI, Legion is accepted as a squadmate aboard the Normandy SR-2, serving as an asset on the mission to travel through the Omega-4 Relay and destroy the Collecter homeworld. Geth are actually apathetic towards organics. The geth fighting organics are "heretics" following the Reapers or, as the geth call them, "The Old Machines".