Mass Effect Cerberus Organization Explained

Mass Effect: Cerberus Organization Explained

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Cerberus is one of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition’s most interesting factions, and is secretly behind many of the events of the original trilogy.

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Mass Effect Cerberus Organization Explained

Cerberus plays one of the strangest roles of any organization in the original Mass Effect trilogy. For much of the series the Illusive Man’s motivations are, as the pun suggests, elusive, even for players enjoying the story a second time round in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

Cerberus is complicated, and stands out as one of the most interesting moral gray areas in a trilogy which sometimes portrays complex moral situations of its own devising as black and white – or blue and red. Here’s the story of Cerberus, and why its inclusion in the story helps take Mass Effect: Legendary Edition to the next level.

The Origins Of Cerberus

Mass Effect Cerberus Organization Explained

Humanity’s first contact with aliens in the Mass Effect timeline did not go well. After discovering the Mass Relay system and spreading out among the stars, humanity encountered the Turians in 2157 CE. The Systems Alliance was activating the Charon Relay, an act which unbeknownst to humanity breached Citadel regulations after the Rachni Wars, beginning with a group of scientists activating a relay leading to Rachni space.

The Turians attacked the humans, who retaliated. The conflict lasted for three months and formed a strong foundation of anti-alien suspicion on Earth. Even after the ceasefire, humanity had reason to be wary. It was suddenly introduced to a galactic civilization happy to take the fate of non-Citadel races into its own hands. The Rachni Wars had ended not only with the elimination of almost all of the Rachni, but with the Citadel weaponizing the Krogans and – after a rebellion – infecting them with the genophage.

In the wake of the war mercenary Jack Harper, who had served under Ashley Williams’ grandfather when he became the first human to surrender to the Turians, published the Cerberus manifesto. It claimed that one day aliens would attempt to wipe them out as well. From then on he personally oversaw Cerberus operations as the Illusive Man.

Cerberus In Action

Mass Effect Cerberus Organization Explained

Cerberus carried out a campaign of assassinations and espionage, often killing public figures in order to allow more Cerberus-sympathetic successors to take their places. This included killing the Pope to allow for his replacement with a pontiff whose beliefs about the rapture more closely aligned with Cerberus’ apocalyptic vision of humanity’s impending extinction. Explicitly pro-human groups weren’t safe either. The Illusive Man had a Terra Firma leadership candidate killed to enable their own favored candidate to win – Claude Menneau, who asks Shepard for their support in Mass Effect 1. By 2182 they were responsible for the assassinations of the leaders of the United North American States, China, and the Turian Hierarchy.

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In Mass Effect 1 Cerberus plays a key role, though it’s easy to miss. Cerberus is involved in experiments on both the Rachni and the Thorian. It’s even believed that Cerberus was behind the Thresher Maw attack on Akuze, of which Shepard was the sole survivor if the player picked that backstory. They also create EDI using the rogue VI encountered on Earth’s moon.

The organization was also behind several other unethical experiments. Cerberus agents performed experiments on human children purchased from Batarian slavers, enhancing their biotic abilities. Eventually, this research would lead to the creation of one of the most powerful human biotics to exist, Subject Zero, AKA Jack.

After Shepard’s death at the start of Mass Effect 2, Cerberus helped Liara T’Soni stop the Shadow Broker from selling Shepard’s body to the Collectors. As the Illusive Man explains to Shepard during their first meeting, the Lazarus Project brought Shepard back not just because of their competence, but their value as a symbol. Shepard’s past cooperation with aliens also made them a useful asset, with Cerberus’ pro-human reputation sometimes preventing the organization from being able to reach its ends.

The victory against the Collectors at the end of Mass Effect 2 made Cerberus more popular among the citizens of the Systems Alliance than ever before, particularly with the Citadel Council and the Systems Alliance themselves seemingly unable to take the necessary steps to protect them. This reputation would not last long.

After Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission, Cerberus kidnapped former asset Paul Grayson and implanted him with Reaper tech. Grayson’s adopted daughter had previously been the subject of Cerberus experiments to enhance biotics. Before he was taken, however, Grayson managed to release information about Cerberus which made its way to Shepard’s mentor, Captain Anderson. With Turian help, Anderson orchestrated several raids on Cerberus bases.

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The augmented Grayson escaped in the chaos, and the Illusive Man hired Omega’s Aria T’Loak to track him down, after which he was killed by Cerberus assassin Kai Leng. Aria’s alliance with Cerberus didn’t last long, however, taking over the station and ousting her until the events of Mass Effect 3’s Omega DLC.

Cerberus’ Downfall

By Mass Effect 3, Cerberus’ Reaper research had allowed the organization to create its own version of indoctrination, and an army of brain-washed civilians. The Illusive Man hoped to take control of the Reapers, and conquer the galaxy for humanity. An attempted takeover of the Citadel failed, and it was revealed that humanity’s Councilor Udina had – through indoctrination or his own sympathies – been compromised by the group.

Shepard was able to dismantle Cerberus’ operations, however, including killing Kai Leng. The Illusive Man appears for his final time right at the end of Mass Effect 3, on the Citadel now stationed in orbit around Earth. There, Shepard either killed him or convinced him that he was indoctrinated, leading to his suicide.

Cerberus is one of Mass Effect’s most interesting factions, even if its depiction tends to fluctuate between each of the games. In all versions, however, the Illusive Man is willing to do whatever it takes to prevent what he sees as humanity’s inevitable destruction at the hands of its newly-discovered alien neighbors.

Cerberus’ formation in aftermath of the First Contact War makes a lot of sense, but in just a few decades the organization’s primary motivation evolved from self-preservation to galactic domination. Perhaps this was because the Illusive Man believed that was the only way to prevent humanity’s extinction, or maybe it was the influence of the Reapers. One thing’s for sure – when players experience the story again in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, keen-eyed fans will notice the fingerprints of Cerberus across the entire trilogy.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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