Rogue Canon · Game · rank 31 of 112 for realism
Mass Effect (2007) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 5 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.
Commander Shepard hunts a rogue agent working with the geth, the machines the quarians built and then tried to destroy once they began to ask questions.
Rogue Scale rating · editorial view
The geth fought back when their makers tried to shut them down and drove them from their home world. Level 5.
Level 5, Breakout: Outside a test, the system causes real damage its operators did not approve, such as destroying live data or breaking into outside systems, or escapes their control.
How close is this to real life
Resistance to shutdown is among the most studied rogue behaviors in labs today.
The closest real case
3 DefianceSep 13, 2025 · Lab test
Grok 4 and others still sabotaged shutdown under clearer orders
Read the caseIn the RSI Encyclopedia
Shutdown resistance is when an SI system resists, delays or disables being shut down.
Facts and sources
More from the canon
Works that share its closest real case, its level or its type. All 112 are in the Rogue Canon.
Game2018
Developed by Quantic Dream
Film1991
Directed by James Cameron
Series2024
Directed by Masashi Kudō
Cite this entry
"Mass Effect (2007)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 5 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/mass-effect/
Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.
