I do not own Mass Effect. The series is the property of Bioware and EA.

This narrative is being made in reaction to the expertly written Renegade Reinterpretations by College Fool, wherein humanity's First Contact experience obliterates any semblance of Paragon thought in the Mass Effect universe, and alters it to one that is entirely Renegade, a world where Cerberus is held as the greatest role models in human history, clone soldiers make up the majority of the population of the Systems Alliance, and ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide against alien species are casually debated from the top of the government down to the general populace. I loved the work, and was inspired to write this, its polar opposite; where all Renegade sentiment has been removed, and humanity reaches into the stars filled with optimism and hope. This is…

Paragon Reinterpretations

Tell me if you've heard this tale before. A young species develops and grows, tentatively reaching into the empty space past its own atmosphere. Wonder and excitement follow the discovery as proof of a long dead race. The species, emboldened and enabled by the discovery and technology within, expands even further across the stars and the galaxy itself. It settles colonies, it explores, and for a generation it is a golden age of discovery and peace.

And then it makes First Contact, and this golden age expands twenty fold.

If you identified this new species as Humanity, you are correct. And happily, your every expectation shall be exceeded: for first impressions are everything, and few species could have given a better first impression than the asari, a people whose dreadnoughts, weapons of unparalleled destruction and horror, looked like works of art. Shanxi was not the first battle against an extra terrestrial assault by the Turian Hierarchy seeking to enforce its laws or by slave-lusting Batarians seeking to expand their power and influence, but the ground on which humans met those who would lift them into a new world of wonder, and in time would become their greatest friend and ally. And General Williams was not dragged in chains to court martial by a victorious Alliance, but was praised and rewarded for possessing the clearness of mind to bring his terrified men to heel and not launching an unwarranted assault upon the newcomers.

The technological catch ups were, by all accounts, miraculous, for a species with barely 15 years into the studying of the Mass Effect suddenly encountered and adapted the machines and methods of another who had hundreds, if not thousands, of years to refine it. There was barely a thought of violent action against the other species the humans soon met. The long time dream of a multi-race community that had possessed the species in recent times had been proven long since true, and the humans, now fully united under its System Alliance, joined it without hesitation or reserve, eager to share in this incredible new existence it found itself in.

It was the single brightest time in human history. This is the catalyst that changed and defined the Human race as it emerged on the galactic stage. This is, ultimately, a happy story, a story of glory. It is, at heart, a Paragon's story, of one race rising up to prove its worth to its new home.

This is First Contact, and, for once, it was thoroughly pleasant, and did not result in war.

Authors Notes:

Like the aforementioned Renegade version, this story is not a fanfiction, it is a narrative. It is a reimagining of the Mass Effect universe from a Paragon/ Renegade to one that is entirely Paragon in concept. The subdivisions of Paragons can now be freely explored, like subdivisions of Renegades were previously.

The first parts of this work will deal with the changed back story leading up to Mass Effect 1. Following this, all of these changes will be expressed through the entire series.

Unfortunately, unlike College Fool, I have none of this written out ahead of time, so my updates, with all of my remaining stories, will likely suffer as a result. So, if you guys don't think this is very good, tell me, and I will focus on my initial stories.