'There is no magic - only technology, tools that we can master. Tools we must master. Not just to survive - but for the betterment of mankind.'
— Jack Harper, Mass Effect: Evolution
The Illusive Man's real name and his life before Cerberus are both long forgotten by most. For years, the Illusive Man has been using Cerberus and his immense network of contacts to achieve his goal - that of making humanity ascendant above all other races.
His long-term objectives are unknown, although it is known that he is working on many projects at the same time, all with the goal of assisting mankind in achieving its "rightful place" in the cosmos. Currently, it appears that his primary concentration is on the Reapers: comprehending the enormous threat they represent to humanity's existence while simultaneously admitting the benefits of their technology, he devotes his considerable resources to harnessing their power by whatever means necessary.
The Illusive Man was crafted to be that very title, so we know only so much about him, yet there are certain tales and mysteries inside this character that might tie into the different theories within Mass Effect, And the fact that you're watching this video suggests that you like the franchise, so subscribe to my channel to learn more about BioWare in general.
Regardless, Who Exactly is the Illusive Man? let's begin-
A Hero - Jack Harper
We know little of the Illusive Man in the games and lean onto the comics. According to Mass Effect: Evolution - Before establishing Cerberus, the Illusive Man was known as Jack Harper, a mercenary and member of a special group led by General Williams. Harper served on Shanxi during the First Contact War, and in the latter stages of the conflict, he, and his comrads Ben Hislop, and Eva Coré were responsible for the capture of a turian commander called Desolas Arterius, who we know as Saren Arterius' elder brother.
During the capture, they were led to find a mysterious Reaper artifact, known as the Arca monolith. Jack's friend Ben Hislop gets tossed inside the Reaper artifact after a small confrontation. When they both get zapped, Jack tries to pull Ben out. However, Ben receives full insta-indoctrination, whilst Jack receives a secondary blast that substantially improves his physical prowess and intelligence without truly brainwashing him. To cut a long tale short, after pursuing the relic from Shanxi to Illium to Palaven, we discover that the Turians inadvertently possess another Reaper item within one of their most important temples (parallels to Prothean beacon we see on Thessia) that held their Valluvian priests.
In truth, this monastery had a renowned reputation for hosting military monks who were peaceful unless the temple itself was endangered. Jack Harper now possessed the unique ability to comprehend alien languages, including the ancient turian glypts written within the Valluvian temple.
'Your people discovered it ages ago. Just like now, it created superstrong Turians — Your "Valluvian Priests" of legend.'— Jack Harper, ME: Evolution
The Arca monolith, or Reaper artifact as Jack Harper called it, was a 'de-evolution' device created to indoctrinate the turians and Ben as something that only guarded this relic. It was constructed by the creators, commonly known as the Reapers, to warn them to the "presence of advanced species and to turn individuals of those species into something they could control."
While this is all happening, Eva shoots the artifact while Ben tries to protect it, potentially giving Eva a concussion in the process. Ben throws himself and Desolas into the artifact, which eventually leaves many unconscious within the temple, including Saren.
As the events of the Palaven temple come to a close, Jack is shown sitting alone, witnessing the memorial service for his comrades Eva and Ben. He also realizes that mankind will not always be embraced and begins composing a manifesto. A dark period is coming for mankind, and humanity will be tried, and while they may not know who is testing them or why, humanity must face the challenges as they have faced all before. He will keep an eye on the dark places and illuminate them, and there will be technology and tools that people will not only be able to use, but must learn in order to exist. Humanity will eventually assume its proper position among the stars. As the tape concludes, Jack assumes the role of the Illusive Man, the Leader of Cerberus.
Jack appears to be the main protagonist in this comic, but it depicts his dismal failure by being affected by this device and therefore progressively becoming enslaved by the Reapers day by day, with it being very evident with the events shown at the conclusion of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. His desperate advancement to higher levels of his race only results in becoming-
A Villain - The Illusive Man
The Illusive Man was never ethically right, which was always alluded within BioWare's writing. Cerberus the group led by the Illusive Man was founded on performing paramilitary missions that included illicit or dangerous experimentation, terrorist operations, sabotage, and assassination.
Cerberus agents acknowledge that their techniques are ruthless, but they think that history will justify them. Nonetheless, both the Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council have designated Cerberus as a terrorist group and will punish any recognized Cerberus agents. This is the persona that the Illusive Man has built, and whether we depend on his never-ending desire to ensure that mankind never becomes a danger again, it seemingly appears to work in his favor, yet it causes him to be wicked in every way conceivable.
Cerberus's acts of sabotage, assassination, media manipulation, and espionage left a lasting mark on the trajectory of human evolution as it grew. Cerberus rose to prominence following an unsuccessful effort to steal antimatter from the cruiser SSV Geneva in 2165. The only survivor of the operation dubbed his sponsor "Cerberus," and the tragedy prompted an upsurge in recruiting.
Another act from Cerberus was to create more biotic children- It was subsequently discovered that Paul Grayson, following Cerberus' instructions, caused a big crash over Yandoa, a human colony. The element zero freighter detonated above the human settlement of Yandoa, causing birth deformities and biotic births among the survivors. The Illusive Man was highly involved in creating biotic powered humans in whatever manner imaginable, even if it meant murdering the parents of biotic children in order to train and test on them (like Jack).
Cerberus was also responsible for the assassination of presidents, dignitaries, and to even Popes. Cerberus sponsored all of these activities, which were mostly commanded by the Illusive Man, who was now by association the leader of this terrorist group.
So, let us also examine TIM's behavior in ME1/ME2. Cerberus is shown in ME1 engaging in a variety of gruesome biological experiments aimed at creating supersoldiers, including tests on rachni and Thorian Creepers. They are also associated with a Chasca settlement whose colonial pioneer team was turned into Husks. And, of course, only gets worse with the use of Reaper technology on humans and attempting to control the Reapers' power through it through the events of ME2 & 3.
The Illusive Man's Hail Mary pass appears to be the Lazarus Project, his final real blow against the Reapers and his own creeping indoctrination. It's a stretch, but it makes his actions in ME2 and 3 much more thematically coherent.
Saving Shepard
The Illusive Man ultimately discovered the truth about the Reapers and the danger they represented to the whole cosmos. He knew that the galaxy's best hope was Commander Shepard. If the galaxy's hero dies, the remainder of mankind may perish. As a result, he takes precautions to ensure that Cerberus does not lose Shepard.
According to Mass Effect: Redemption, Cerberus helped recover Shepard's body following the Collectors' destruction of the SSV Normandy, the Illusive Man utilized his contacts after discovering the Shadow Broker agents were about to transfer the Commander's body to the Collectors. As a result, the Illusive Man establishes a partnership with Liara T'Soni, one of Shepard's alien allies, to locate the body before the deal is finalized and learn the Collectors' plans for it.
Why did he seek out Shepard? Because he was aware that the Collectors were after Shepard's corpse, he deduced that the Reapers had a personal interest in researching Shepard. He established the inevitable collision course by reviving Shepard and putting him on the trail of the Collectors (for the convenient reason that the Collectors were abducting whole human settlements).
The Illusive Man spent a substantial amount of Cerberus' resources over the course of two years on the Lazarus Project, a project managed by Miranda Lawson that was completely committed to resurrecting Shepard. He did, however, reject Miranda's suggestion that a control chip be implanted in the Commander's brain because he wanted Shepard to be precisely as they were before their deaths.
In ME2, TIM resurrects Shepard. In the game itself, he comes across as a Renegade ideal. Achieving is ultimately a good thing (defeating the Collectors), by any means necessary. If asked about his previous experiments, he either denies responsibility (Overlord, Pragia) or says it was cruel but necessary. He assigns Shepard lots of dossiers, instead of just assigning existing Cerberus troops/scientists. This is explained in ME3, where he says he wanted Shepard to be surrounded by sympathetic figures so he would remain largely in the dark about Cerberus' true motives.
He intended to utilize Shepard as an instrument for mankind, and to be honest, he succeeded admirably. Shepard was aware of the current Reaper danger and, as a result, may either outsmart or join the Illusive Man's logic. The menace of the Reapers could only be handled by Shepard, and The Illusive Man benefits from our hero's story.
However, many fans are surprised by the narrative of the Illusive Man's indoctrination...
Indoctrination- Saren vs Illusive Man
The exact mechanisms of the indoctrination effect are unknown. It is suspected that the Reapers use an electromagnetic field, infrared and ultrasonic waves, or both to excite parts of the victim's brain and limbic system. The victim may have migraines and hallucinations, sensations of "being watched" or paranoia, or learn to regard the Reaper itself with superstitious reverence, depending on the Reaper's goal. Eventually, the Reaper obtains the capacity to magnify its signal by using the victim's body, appearing as voices within the victim's head.
Throughout the Mass Effect trilogy, we witness several characters undergo indoctrination, with Saren and The Illusive Man being the most prominent examples. Even when Commander Shepard is included in this cognitive process, there is something quite similar between all of these characters.
What all of these individuals seem to do well is learn about the Reapers plot in the universe, but they all go in different directions. The interesting bit is how this sets up the motivations of both Saren and Jack Harper, henceforth calling himself The Illusive Man. Both of them saw the power of the Reaper artifacts but both react differently. Saren feels doubt and fear and sets off to investigate who made these artifacts. The Illusive Man, on the other hand, having lost his team and his humanity with it, is intrigued by the possibility of power and interested in learning the Reaper's secrets, even if it costs everything to do it.
Indoctrination is a gradual process within every individual, it progressed throughout the events within Saren and the development of the Illusive Man.
That was evident from the beginning. I've always assumed that the Illusive Man wants Shepard back because, unlike Saren and Illusive Man, Shepard is the only one who can beat the Reapers. They all come dangerously close to being the savior the galaxy requires, only to fall short, whereas Commander Shepard will rise to the moment.
But with that, we are going to wrap up, it seems you and I now both know a little bit more about The Illusive Man. Do you have any theories about Mr. Harper? Let me know in the comments below, and if you don't comment- well I'm going to assume you're indoctrinated, the Reapers don't want this video out- so maker sure you.. (add cracks, end)
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