The Galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. For an undetermined length of time, possibly since the beginning of it all, a struggle has gone on between organisms, and machines. The , apex of evolution and existence, the most powerful beings in the known universe, harvest us for reasons beyond our understanding. Every 50,000 years, a civilization rises to its zenith and is destroyed. Nobody knows why. At first it was believed the Reapers did this so they can harvest our genetic material to substitute for Reaper reproduction, but this is not so. Reapers leave behind a vanguard, if that vanguard fails, they create a new one, the real reason probably equates to something having to do with metaphysical essences. A theory is believed to exist that says the Reapers are actually metaphysical bein