Cerberus plays an important role in the original Mass Effect trilogy, serving as antagonists who become reluctant allies with Commander Shepard during the Reaper crisis. Untrustworthy, unscrupulous, and entirely ruthless, Cerberus does whatever it takes to guarantee humanity’s ascension as a galactic power player.
While the organization might appear inherently evil from the outside, Cerberus is painted with multiple shades of grey which have caused many to feel a kinship with its ideology. Here’s 10 things Mass Effect fans need to know about Cerberus, from its origins to its intentions, and its notorious history.
10 The Jack Harper Saga
When the First Contact War broke out between humanity and the Turians in 2157 CE, it nearly soured race relations between the two peoples to the point of no return. In the midst of the chaos, three human mercs captured a Turian General who wanted to use an alien artifact to create a race of deadly super-soldiers to use in the war.
With the aid of future villain Saren Arterius, the plot was foiled, but two of the mercs were killed in the process. The survivor, a man named Jack Harper, realized that humanity would need an edge if it wanted to survive in a dangerous galaxy. He took the title “Illusive Man,” and formed the first iteration of Cerberus.
9 Their Name
The Illusive Man named his organization Cerberus as a direct reference to the three-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades in Greek mythology. There’s more to it, however. The title is also a reference to the Charon Mass Relay which orbits Pluto and serves as humanity’s main bridge to the cultural and economic center of the galaxy.
The Illusive Man recognized a need to defend humanity from invading aliens that might come through the Charon Relay, with Cerberus as the gatekeeper. In Greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman who helps the dead cross over to the underworld via the river Styx. Not to mention, Pluto is the Roman equivalent of Hades.
8 They Aren’t Evil, At Least By Their Own Standards
It’s often been said that villains never truly believe they’re evil, and the same holds true for Cerberus. While their illegal, immoral, and unethical methods are unquestionably unacceptable, Cerberus operatives understand this and accept it as a part of their creed.
As such, Cerberus operates under an “end justifies the means” mantra, giving them carte blanche to commit every act right up to full-fledged terrorism while believing their cause is just.
7 No Such Thing As Bad Publicity
Cerberus’ early operations were mainly clandestine in nature, but a botched attempt to steal antimatter from the SSV Geneva finally put their name in lights when a surviving agent outed his organization for the first time.
In the aftermath, Cerberus became a major talking point, and their notoriety drove up enlistment numbers comprised of humans who identified with their radical cause.
6 They Installed Puppet Figures
Cerberus wasn’t above assassinating key political delegates and social influencers in order to achieve their plans. The Illusive Man ordered a hit on a former Pope in order to install a replacement more sympathetic to the Cerberus’ goals, and that was just the start.
The organization would order multiple hits on key figures in charge of powerful political outlets such as the anti-alien Terra Firma party, and the United North American States. Their objective remained the same - to weaken alien Council races, whilst propping up humanity’s ascension.
5 They Saved The Citadel Council
While Cerberus’ operations are extreme and unacceptable in nature, they do not seek to create chaos and destruction at every opportunity. Rather, their attacks are carefully planned, calculated, and executed to achieve particular goals, while maintaining a fragile galactic balance.
Proof of this came when Cerberus sent Miranda Lawson to assist Jacob Taylor in an investigation into a potential Batarian terrorist attack. When the two discovered a plot to assassinate the Citadel Council using a bioweapon, they stepped in to save the day, proving that Cerberus was not interested in full-scale galactic mayhem.
4 They Reverse-Engineered The Normandy
Mass Effect fans might believe the original Normandy SR-1 was a cooperative design between the Alliance and the Turians, but that’s only part of the story. Even here, Cerberus’ tentacles were already working in the background, with a goal in mind.
Cerberus was able to study Turian technology during the Normandy’s production while keeping the original schematics under lock and key. When the original Normandy SR-1 was destroyed by the Collectors just prior to Commander Shepard’s death, the Illusive Man kicked off the Lazarus Project and ordered production of the Normandy SR-2, built upon the groundwork laid down by the original.
3 They Keep Their Personnel In The Dark
The Illusive Man recognized humanity’s follies, one of which is the tendency for betrayal, and took steps to mitigate the risk by sectioning off important intel regarding each Cerberus cell. Each of these cells was led by a single in-charge agent reporting directly to him, with subordinates none the wiser as to the layout or intel of other cells.
By segmenting this intel, the Illusive Man was able to contain and closely monitor each Cerberus cell, making it far easier to determine who was being loyal, and who might be actively working against the organization as a whole.
2 Networking
With agents installed across the galaxy, Cerberus effectively has eyes and ears on the ground to monitor trade hubs, colonies, and various levels of government. This gives the Illusive Man an incredibly broad range of access to vital information that is second only to perhaps the Shadow Broker.
Cerberus does not have intelligence regarding uncharted systems, or the Quarian Migrant Fleet, however. The latter was especially troublesome for the Illusive Man, given the sheer size and magnitude of the Fleet.
1 Their Projects
Cerberus had multiple projects going on at any one time, but the Illusive Man was able to keep a tight grip on the goings-on of each, to prevent over-spending or betrayal.
Some of their more infamous projects included Project Doorway, which produced false identi-tags and medicards to allow Cerberus operatives freedom of movement within the Alliance, and Project Mia, involving the reverse-engineering of Reaper indoctrination technology.
NEXT: Ranking The 10 Best Games With A Morality System (According To Metacritic)
