Hello, Ric here, continuing the Mass Effect Lore series, this time looking into the covert
paramilitary group run by humans for humans, Cerberus. The Human Systems Alliance is a
relatively new addition to the greater galactic community and its rapid advancement among
the other species is often viewed with a mixture of admiration and great concern. Yet still,
it is human nature to continually push for advancement and this is interpreted by the
other races as an arrogant and impatience trait.
Yet even among humans, there are individuals who think that the great strides they’ve
made are not enough and that humanity is still owed a great deal more respect than it has.
One of these organisations is Cerberus. Named after the three headed mythological Greek
dog, the name was chosen as a reflection of the perceived need for the Charon mass relay
to have its own guardian. The realisation that the galaxy was a dangerous
place came about in 2157 after humanity’s encounter with the Turian species and the
“First Contact War”. A major revelation for mankind, the Turians simply referred to
this war as the “Relay 314 Incident”. From this conflict, the Systems Alliance emerged
as the governing body of Earth and we entered into a new chapter.
However, many, especially those who fought in the war decided that while the Systems
Alliance was busy trying to forge diplomatic ties, humanity needed to be prepared to curtail
and control alien threats. One of these individuals was known as Jack Harper, who would go on
to found Cerberus. After circulating a call to action, in the form of his manifesto, he
was termed by the media as the Illusive Man, a name he adopted.
The organisation focused on being untraceable and hidden from the public perception in its
early days because of the radical lengths it wished to go, to procure the advancement
of their human-centric goals. As humanity’s place in the Citadel became more stable, Cerberus’
goals began to incorporate the notion that humans should be in control, only then could
their safety be assured. This included acts of subterfuge, terrorism, blackmail, sabotage
as well as extensive scientific and military research. Such acts obviously branded the
organisation as an illegal one with efforts to capture its operatives increasing in priority
over time. The reason for its persistence is twofold.
First it operates in a cell-like structure where operatives are kept in the dark about
other cells activities. Those within a cell answer to a single operative who has direct
communications with the Illusive Man. This means that the only person who has purview
of the entire structure is the Illusive Man himself. As of 2185, Cerberus consisted of
3 cells. Each cell could oversee several projects with varying goals though at no time does
the number of active projects exceed a dozen at a time. This is likely done to maintain
the manageability of the organisation and prevent it growing too large. After all, the
larger it is, the more people and resources involved and the higher the risk of a security
leak, exposing the clandestine organisation. One such cell was known as the Lazarus Cell
and oversaw a project of the same name as well as construction of a stealth ship, the
Normandy SR-2. This extremely resource intensive operation was all to restore a human from
a deceased state and ultimately proved successful, though astronomically expensive and time consuming.
Other projects included the Enhanced Defensive Initiative, known as EDI which was Cerberus’
pioneer into Artificial Intelligence research, banned by the Citadel. EDI was first tested
on earth’s own Lunar base, where it went rogue under the guise of a simple VI.
There was Project Eva an android infiltrator advanced enough to pass among humans for a
long time with minimal risk of exposure. The Firewalker project produced the m-44 hammerhead
tank which went on to be analysed by the Systems Alliance.
Project Phoenix aimed to produce enhanced soldiers, beyond the use of standard military
genetic manipulation and incorporated new biotic techniques.
Project Overlord was one of the more unethical experiments run be Cerberus and saw the merger
of a Virtual Intelligence to David Archer, a savant of mathematics. The experiment went
awry and led to the destruction of much of the facility on the planet Aite.
Then there was the project on Pragia which produced the powerful biotic known as subject
zero by experimenting on biotic children. The other quality that maintains its incognito
status is its extensive list of supporters, powerful figures and hidden operatives who
deliberately obscure its activities or provide intelligence to the organisation. The supporters
range from politicians to military personnel who agree with pro-human sentiments and this
resulted in an extensive information network, though it still pales in comparison to that
of the Shadow Broker’s. The insidious nature of Cerberus means that not all of these individuals
are fully aware of the extreme lengths that Cerberus will go to, certainly not the unethical
experimentation and similarly abhorrent activities undertaken in secret. Though there are a few
secretly staunch supporters, Some may simply be drawn to the notion that the Systems Alliance
is often bogged down in red tape and Cerberus seems to get results. Others are in the throes
of blackmail and forced to act as insiders for Cerberus, unable to turn and disengage
with the organisation. Still others may simply not believe in the extensive list of activities
conducted by Cerberus, thinking media and propaganda are blowing it out of proportion.
Alongside this, Cerberus has numerous operatives that have diplomatic or military training
and can actively contribute to their goals. It often recruits ex-military personnel through
private security work to build its own paramilitary force as well as training its own members.
The organisation is always on the lookout for assets that can be recruited or utilised
for the cause from any background however, but it’s selective on which it fully integrates.
Cerberus cells often operate from numerous outpost stations throughout the galaxy, within
and without Citadel space. Several installations exist as space stations, being harder to track
and many are on remote worlds, often disguised as legitimate structures.
All these operations, extensive bases and personal all cost to maintain, which Cerberus
does through the utilisation of numerous shell companies and active corporations that turn
a profit, syphoning funds to the research and missions of Cerberus. As with the structure
of Cerberus, only the Illusive man has a complete understanding of all its assets and holdings.
It has several Companies including Cord-Hislop Aerospace, a starship manufacturer created
by Cerberus. CDR holdings was bought out and is likely a major shares owner. The Terra
Nova Commonwealth Bank which was a prominent bank of the highest populated Alliance colony
world. They obtained Haribon Military Industries which produced the popular M-55 Argus and
they set up the Milky Way Foundation as simply a shell company. New Dawn Pharmaceuticals
was purchased to conduct immoral experimentation on negating Asari Biotics. There are strong
suspicions that Binary Helix, a lead in the field of genetics and the Exogeni Corporation
are also tied to Cerberus. Furthermore, Cerberus’ agents are often
trained to infiltrate unaware organisation to steer them towards Cerberus’ own agenda
such as recruits in the Global Maritime Justice organisation. Light Shadow Pictures, a film
company sold its video editing software to a Cerberus shell, providing the ability to
create photorealistic forgeries. The list is endless, but in 2185, it had at least 150
embedded operatives. Considering it only takes a couple of operatives to manipulate and organisation,
this is more extensive than its sounds. Cerberus Skunkworks is its own in-house arms
manufacturer and probably the only openly Cerberus infrastructure and it has strong
ties to Terra Firma, a human-first political party, often taking action to place Terra
Firma in stronger diplomatic positions. The questionable actions performed by Cerberus
serve to highlight another need for its cell structure as it is likely that many of its
personnel would defect if they knew the scope of some of the travesties revealed. In fact,
by the year 2186 there were a lot of individuals who had indeed joined the Systems Alliance
or gone solo, after Commander Shepard severed ties with the organisation and handed the
Normandy SR-2 over to the Human Systems Alliance. Others included members of Project Phoenix,
as well as Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. Ultimately, only one person had the clearance
to see Cerberus for its entirety and that person was the Illusive Man. He alone oversaw
every aspect of the organisation and moulded it to his vision of control, despite his feigned
concerns about the ethics of certain cells, his position and the flow of information makes
it clear that he knew of every indecent, immoral action undertaken but likely justified it
with arguments of the greater good. Balancing his conscience with small acts of good that
Cerberus was able to eke out of its dark deeds. He was a suspected major financial backer
of the Andromeda Initiative to chart an exodus to the Andromeda galaxy. So without him, there
would have been no Andromeda. A we sure that’s a good thing? It is? Okay, it’s a good thing.
Thanks for watching this video on the Mass Effect universe’s darker side of human progress.
It was an inspired choice in Mass Effect 2 to allow the player within Cerberus as it
really does call their actions into question and honestly you could justify some of their
actions from a Renegade perspective. Cerberus really could have been a force for good if
the whole organisation did respond solely to the cynical will of one person who fell
right into the Reaper’s plans. Thanks again, I’ve been Ric and until next
time, Goodbye.