#indoctrination theory

Mass Effect fans, watching Stranger Things fans flip out over “Conformity Gate” theories: “First time, huh?”

So after giving myself a crash course in the Indoctrination Theory, I’ve come to the conclusion that, as fun and interesting as I find it, the only part of it that I actually truly believe makes too much sense not to be canon is that the Catalyst is lying about the effects of all three endings to some degree—it’s clearly very biased towards Control and Synthesis, both of which ensure it stays alive in some form, but both “solutions” involve quite a lot of risk. Control risks Shepard losing control over the Reapers and the cycle beginning again, and Synthesis might not be the “perfect solution” the Catalyst describes it as, especially given what Shepard saw happened to David Archer and the melding of organics and synthetics in the Overlord DLC. I could definitely see the Catalyst lying about what the Destroy ending would do to synthetics, or even just exaggerating to what degree it would damage them, in order to pull at Shepard’s heartstrings. Heck, we already know it’s doing it by taking the shape of a child Shepard saw die on the Citadel. Shepard is haunted by the blood she has on her hands—it’s a pretty big theme for the third game especially—and the Catalyst very well could be exploiting that weakness as an act of self-preservation. The Catalyst is under no obligation to be telling Shepard the truth here.

I forgot how much I liked the Indoctrination Theory. Anyone have Mass Effect 3 fanfic recommendations for it? Any Shepard, any pairing is fine, (though I’m partial to F/F and M/M rather than M/F romances for Shepard.)