517:: The Council is an executive committee composed of representatives from the Asari Republics, the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union. Though they have no official power over the independent governments of other species, the Council's decisions carry great weight throughout the galaxy. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the other two, and all have a vested interest in compromise and cooperation. Any species granted an embassy on the Citadel is considered an associate member, bound by the accords of the Citadel Conventions. Associate members may bring issues to the attention of the Council, though they have no input on the decision. The human Systems Alliance became an associate member of the Citadel in 2165.
366:, an ancient race of machine lifeforms that periodically cull the intelligent species of the galaxy. The mass relays are intended to guide species which have attained spaceflight technology to the Citadel, itself a tremendous relay that allows the full force of the Reapers to invade the galaxy. It was made to be habitable as a trap to encourage it to be used as the seat of galactic government, allowing it to be quickly wiped out by the Reapers. However, species wiped out by the Reapers previously recognized the Citadel as a potential weakness of the Reapers, and created plans for a device, the Crucible, to co-opt it as a countermeasure against them. In
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273:. Associate races who have embassies on the Citadel include the volus, a client race of the turians who always wear full-body environmental-suits outside of their homeworld; the hanar and the drell from the ocean world of Kahje, who associate with each other in a long-term, intimate symbiotic relationship called the Compact; and the elcor, a ponderous species resembling a cross between a
47:
428:
has criticized it for encouraging an unrealistic concept of how humans and aliens could co-exist, arguing that in reality, there would be far too many physical and mental obstacles for such divergent species to share the same living space. The fact that all alien races are younger than 50,000 years
197:
The
Citadel is capable of transforming from an open space station into an impenetrable shell, with each of the five sides containing a "ward" region about the size of Manhattan, while the middle ring contains a hub area known as the Presidium. The Keepers, an enigmatic non-communicative species of
316:
According to project director Casey Hudson, the
Citadel space station is the ideal setting for expanded universe projects in other medias because it serves as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the Milky Way galactic community. Describing its concept as an expansive and
288:, a hardy and warlike reptilian species in decline in the aftermath of the Krogan Rebellions against Council authority; the batarians, an isolationist people who recalled their embassy staff from the Citadel in protest against the integration of humanity into interstellar society; and the
198:
green insectoid creatures, are exclusively found on the
Citadel and are constantly preoccupied with the ongoing maintenance of the station and its systems. The Citadel's denizens are instructed never to interfere with their maintenance work within the inner systems of the Citadel.
307:
geth, who warred with their creators. Due to this, Citadel jurisdictions place strict limitations on their reliance of artificial intelligence by using "virtual intelligence" (VI) that lack self-awareness, and the quarian
Migrant Fleet is shunned in most of Citadel space.
193:
travel. Following this, an executive committee known as the
Citadel Council was created, with the station functioning as the seat of galactic government. The Council holds great sway in the galaxy, and are recognized as an authority by most of explored space.
388:'s world under one roof", saying it was "chock-full of interesting people and exciting encounters". Commenting that the station's reveal is "unapologetically indulgent", she states the scene "completely epitomizes all the ambition and wonder behind the first
162:. An ancient station supposedly constructed by the long-dead Protheans, it serves as the hub of interstellar politics and society in the Milky Way galaxy due to its status as the capital of the Citadel Council, the dominant galactic polity within the
370:, the races of the Milky Way galaxy collaborate to construct and deploy the Crucible, using it to either destroy, gain control of, or merge with the Reapers, though the Citadel is heavily damaged, and possibly destroyed in the process.
392:". Contrasting the Citadel with other games' "vast and impressive locations with nothing to do in them", she stated that the Citadel feels like "a real place inhabited by real people", but criticized the Citadel in
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325:
as a place populated with numerous cultures and where "thousands of stories" could be told. As the
Citadel represents the seat of power for the Council, the developers determined that it is the
177:
In series lore, the
Citadel is one of the largest artificial structures in the galaxy, with a population of 13.2 million intelligent beings from across the Milky Way galaxy, and uses
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348:. The outline of the Citadel's shape, based on a sculpture that had five sides and a ring, consists of large swooping curves cutting across vertical lines.
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and the salarians, the earliest post-Prothean races to discover the mass relays - megastructures scattered throughout the galaxy that facilitate
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818:
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438:
Johnson, M. R. (2018), “Megastructures, Superweapons and Global
Architectures in Science Fiction Computer Games”. In Davies, W. (Ed.),
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While most beings in the series initially believe that the
Citadel is a Prothean space station that was abandoned for unknown reasons,
281:, who preface everything they say with the intended emotion due to their lack of vocal inflection and discernible facial expressions.
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capability. Membership of the
Citadel Council is eventually expanded to include a human representative by the end of the first
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169:. The Citadel was praised by critics for its design, lore, and the diversity of its inhabitants enhancing the game world.
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While the Citadel is notable for how it brings together most of the intelligent alien races in the galaxy, astronomer
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old due to the Reapers' past actions is noted as what allows the aliens on the Citadel to commiserate in such a way.
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remarked that the Citadel was beautiful, comparing the interior of the station to a landscape from a "well-crafted
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413:", and stating that it inspires travel envy. In particular, he noted the Presidium's signature color scheme of "
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nomads who were forced to flee their homeworld Rannoch on a migratory fleet of ships when their development of
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Three politically dominant species make up the Citadel Council at the inception of the series: the asari, a
450:. Inter-Disciplinary Press. A (Dis)United Galaxy: The Silenced Voices of Non-Human Minorities in BioWare’s
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781:"Mass Effect's Citadel held the trilogy together by giving you the universe to explore under one roof"
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A few alien races are depicted as formerly part of the Citadel space community during the series: the
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tactics over raw military power; the salarians, an amphibious species who have an aptitude for
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841:"After talking to a scientist, Mass Effect's aliens are more believable than I ever expected"
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568:"Mass Effect keeper locations - where to find them all for the Scan the Keepers assignment"
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called the Citadel "a realistic way of bringing all the different elements of
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Erat, Vanessa (2016). Brittany Kuhn; Alexia Bhéreur-Lagounaris (eds.).
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architectural style and should aim to define the look of the series.
718:"The One Man Who Influenced Mass Effect's Look More Than Anyone Else"
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hologram integrated into various Citadel information terminals.
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Levelling Up: The Cultural Impact of Contemporary Videogames
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for its inhabitants. Initially, it was discovered by the
400:
for lacking as much immersion as its first incarnation.
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reveals that the Citadel was in fact constructed by the
336:
The Citadel's appearance was influenced by the art of
317:
highly livable setting, Hudson made an analogy to the
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748:"A Beginner's Guide To The World Of Mass Effect"
634:"A Beginner's Guide to the World Of Mass Effect"
596:
594:
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876:
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253:, a proud avian-like species known for their
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603:"The lore of Mass Effect: A complete guide"
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51:The Citadel, as shown on the galaxy map in
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485:"Major events in the Mass Effect timeline"
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690:"Mass Effect's Citadel "like Manhattan""
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245:, technological research, espionage and
205:
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688:Yin-Poole, Wesley (December 22, 2010).
14:
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158:franchise of video games developed by
1441:Fictional elements introduced in 2007
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811:"Musings Of A Mass Effect 1 Newcomer"
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539:The Art of the Mass Effect Universe
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24:
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660:Erik Brudvig (November 14, 2007).
566:Wilson, Iain (February 16, 2021).
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233:, diplomacy, biotic abilities and
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30:For the DLC of the same name, see
25:
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632:Hamilton, Kirk (March 21, 2017).
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832:
821:from the original on 2021-05-28
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791:from the original on 2018-03-12
779:Meehan, Alex (March 12, 2018).
758:from the original on 2021-05-14
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728:from the original on 2013-04-13
601:Polo, Susano (March 21, 2017).
839:Messner, Steven (2021-05-19).
709:
483:Macgregor, Jody (2021-02-06).
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311:
13:
1:
1086:Mass Effect Legendary Edition
746:Hamilton, Kirk (2021-05-14).
716:Plunkett, Luke (2013-04-09).
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1461:Fiction about megastructures
442:, Goldsmiths Press, 237-257.
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662:"Meet Mass Effect's Elcor"
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809:Notis, Ari (2021-05-28).
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340:, such as his design for
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1451:Fictional space stations
1079:Mass Effect Infiltrator
537:; Watts, Derek (2012).
515:Codex - Citadel Council
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329:most representative of
109:In-universe information
103:Role-playing video game
81:Mass Effect: Foundation
68:Mass Effect: Revelation
27:Fictional space station
968:Kasumi – Stolen Memory
301:synthetic intelligence
247:unconventional warfare
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32:Mass Effect 3: Citadel
1446:Fictional governments
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18:Keepers (Mass Effect)
1471:Video game locations
1011:Downloadable content
962:Downloadable content
267:military-industrial
1476:Video game objects
1072:Mass Effect Galaxy
344:concepts like the
298:advanced networked
225:species who favor
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183:artificial gravity
1466:Video game levels
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235:guerrilla warfare
179:centrifugal force
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848:. Retrieved
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1397:Mac Walters
1349:The Citadel
1282:Thane Krios
1242:Urdnot Wrex
1161:Other media
1129:Retribution
940:Mass Effect
928:Video games
893:Mass Effect
510:Mass Effect
452:Mass Effect
390:Mass Effect
386:Mass Effect
381:GamesRadar+
359:Mass Effect
321:borough of
312:Development
271:Mass Effect
259:stratocracy
243:technocracy
165:Mass Effect
155:Mass Effect
142:The Citadel
40:The Citadel
1435:Categories
1342:Technology
1292:James Vega
1247:Tali'Zorah
1209:Characters
1143:Foundation
1122:Redemption
1108:Revelation
1017:From Ashes
850:2021-05-29
825:2021-05-29
795:2020-10-09
785:gamesradar
762:2021-05-29
732:2021-05-29
645:October 6,
614:October 5,
573:GamesRadar
494:2021-05-29
470:References
417:blues and
249:; and the
239:liberalism
181:to create
132:Population
89:Created by
1176:New Earth
1150:Andromeda
1136:Deception
1115:Ascension
1054:Andromeda
1024:Leviathan
695:Eurogamer
508:BioWare.
421:greens".
419:Caribbean
374:Reception
323:Manhattan
210:Avina, a
1420:Category
1361:Normandy
1354:M35 Mako
1200:Universe
975:Overlord
845:PC Gamer
819:Archived
789:Archived
756:Archived
726:Archived
489:PC Gamer
338:Syd Mead
290:quarians
227:centrism
223:feminine
167:universe
124:Location
1375:Related
1328:Reapers
1323:Quarian
1038:Citadel
989:Arrival
910:BioWare
701:May 16,
673:May 12,
608:Polygon
579:May 12,
364:Reapers
305:sapient
279:gorilla
275:manatee
251:turians
160:BioWare
152:in the
93:BioWare
1333:Turian
1318:Krogan
1287:Legion
1277:Samara
1046:Ending
815:Kotaku
722:Kotaku
639:Kotaku
549:
458:
415:Aegean
406:Kotaku
286:krogan
277:and a
263:honour
84:(2013)
71:(2007)
57:(2010)
1313:Asari
1306:Races
1222:Joker
1100:Print
1064:Other
1031:Omega
920:Media
327:level
187:asari
99:Genre
1359:The
1272:Jack
703:2021
675:2021
647:2017
616:2017
581:2021
547:ISBN
456:ISBN
411:JRPG
396:and
352:Plot
342:NASA
148:and
114:Type
667:IGN
191:FTL
1437::
843:.
817:.
813:.
787:.
783:.
771:^
754:.
750:.
724:.
720:.
692:.
664:.
636:.
624:^
605:.
589:^
570:.
541:.
524:^
512:.
487:.
454:.
257:,
241:,
229:,
215:VI
884:e
877:t
870:v
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618:.
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