So, in the theme of sharing headcanons while I should be working, I would like to present my thoughts on the Prothean beacon, and what exactly it did.
We know that Saren is trying to find the relay that hides Ilos and the way into the Citadel that was locked, but if that’s the case why didn’t it explode when Saren activated it? We see that he activates it, and later that he is furious that Shepard gets their hands on it.
But he had to know Shepard doesn’t have what they needs to access it, and is unlikely to get the support needed to access it. So why the fury?
Or is it fear?
So my theory is this: at some point the Protheans on Eden Prime, which was clearly advanced enough to build a cryogenic facility that would shelter a million souls, figured out how to block indoctrination. By the time they managed it there was no salvaging their cycle, so they buried it for the souls who were sleeping, to prevent another reaper victory.
But that’s doesn’t happen. The Protheans don’t wake. And just like Ilos, the beacon can sense when someone already enthralled touches it, so Saren-who is maybe already feeling the creeping doom and is desperate for a way to prevent it- doesn’t get what he needs.
But Shepard does. For a prothean the shield would have settled in place in the space of a moment, but their human mind is less compatible with this sort of communication, and it takes hours. Hours that his brain is running at capacity, as every fiber with being costed and guarded by this last desperate gift from a race long dead.
And is now the galaxy has one person immune to the Reapers, and that changes everything. Of course the Illusive Man will pay anything to bring them back unchanged— brilliant leader or no he *needs* that ability. No wonder Shepard doodle their way around and never get a twinge.
Of course Harbinger knows Shepards name—and is afraid. This could change everything.
And so Saren hates them all the more— because he is doomed, and the commanders victory is Al the harder the quash.
