Mordin Solus

Mordin Solus is a salarian geneticist, professor, and a former operative of the Special Tasks Group, where he performed reconnaissance and participated in the modification of the genophage. In 2185, he was recruited by Commander Shepard to assist in a high-risk mission against the Collectors. Mordin has a moral character best described as consequentialistic, believing the ends justify the means, though he dislikes taking life without good cause. His actions are often guided by an impersonal logic, refusing to let his conscience, personal, and emotional connections cloud his judgment of what he believes is truly best in the big picture. Though he is affable, quick-talking and friendly, Mordin bears physical scars of his time in the STG and is still handling the consequences of his past.

Mordin Solus is voiced by Michael Beattie in Mass Effect 2 and by William Salyers in Mass Effect 3.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Submachine Guns
 * Heavy Pistols

Dossier
Born sometime in the 2150s, Mordin Solus is an expert geneticist, doctor, scientist and a former member of the salarian Special Tasks Group. His last mission in the STG before retiring involved the study of the krogan genophage.

Originally, Mordin's team was merely studying population growths to see if the genophage was still effective and designing possible pre-emptive strategies should the krogan regain their numbers. The study soon changed when the STG team discovered the krogan were naturally overcoming the genophage. The only option the team could agree upon was to design and implement a new genophage that, as Mordin maintains, would limit reproduction to a viable level for the krogan to survive; otherwise, a war could result that would likely end in the complete genocide of the krogan. Not everything went as planned, though; one botched mission to disperse the modified genophage in an area of Tuchanka resulted in injuries to his face and right cranial horn. Despite the hardship, Mordin would remember those days fondly, devoting his time to endless scientific research and discovery with people he respected and admired. But by the time the mission was complete, the team had gone their separate ways. Mordin himself, despite defending his decision as the only option, found the ethics of the project disturbing and even turned to religion to find some peace. The differing, sometimes contradictory, nature of religion led him to have a crisis of faith and left his worries unresolved.

After this experience, Mordin devoted his time to building a clinic on Omega, finding it easier to just heal people. He found himself unnaturally suited to life there, as he pulled strings in the STG to have some military grade mechs defend his clinic. Generally, he found it simpler to deal with problems himself, easily killing any Blue Suns or vorcha attempting to intimidate him. His reputation soon grew and the Blue Suns learned to stay away from him. Even Aria T'Loak would grow to like him for his casual ruthlessness. He only returned to Tuchanka to do follow-up work, ensuring the genophage was effective. Though others could have done it for him, Mordin felt he should see the damage he inflicted, finding it cowardly to simply walk away.

Shepard first meets the fast-talking salarian on Omega, where he is working on a cure for a bioengineered plague affecting the station, which Mordin identifies is of Collector origin. The plague has wiped out much of the Blue Suns forces, who maintained order in the district, allowing the resident vorcha, who themselves work distributing the plague for the Collectors, to make a push against them. After the vorcha deactivate environmental systems for the district in which they are located, Mordin gives Shepard a cure for the plague as well as a weapon taken off of a dead Blue Suns mercenary as a "bonus, in good faith" and tasks the commander with reactivating the power to the environmental systems. He also requests that Shepard find Daniel Abrams, one of his assistants who entered vorcha territory searching for plague victims but hasn't returned.

Once aboard the Normandy Mordin runs the tech labs, overseeing research projects to improve weapons, armor and abilities using resources collected during the mission. He spends a lot of time investigating Collector biology as part of the mission, but can also take time to demonstrate his excellent singing voice. If Shepard is pursuing a relationship, Mordin will give medical or personal advice, or&mdash;if Shepard has no romantic interests aboard the Normandy but frequently speaks to Mordin&mdash;tease Shepard by asking if the Commander is attracted to him. Mordin will then decline entering into a relationship, and if Shepard accepts this refusal, Mordin will state "If wanted to try human, would try you." (regardless of Shepard's gender).

Loyalty


After he's been aboard for a time, Mordin hears that his old assistant, Maelon, has apparently been captured on Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld. Fearing for Maelon's safety if the krogan discover he helped to modify the genophage, Mordin is anxious for them to find Maelon and help him. He learns from the Chief Scout of Clan Urdnot that Maelon was captured by Clan Weyrloc and is being held in a hospital converted into a fortress. He fought alongside Shepard inside the Weyrloc base and soon discovered that the clan needed Maelon's work so that they could create a cure for the genophage and conquer the galaxy. This entailed brutal experimentation on kidnapped subjects. One of the test subjects, however, was a female krogan who voluntarily underwent the tests in the hopes of becoming fertile. Her corpse was found by Mordin in a lab and served as a grim reminder of the lives he shattered through the genophage modification project. After killing Chief Weyrloc Guld, he and Shepard found Maelon alive and completely unharmed.

Mass Effect 3
Mordin is first encountered on the salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh, when Shepard is sent there to assist in the evacuation of the remaining fertile female krogan. If Maelon's research data was saved by Shepard, Mordin used the data to aid in the treatment of Eve, the only surviving female krogan from Mealon's experiments. As Shepard is preparing to evacuate Eve, the base is attacked by Cerberus forces seeking to kill or capture the female. Once Eve is secured, Wrex, Eve, and Mordin joins Shepard on the Normandy and discuss the plan for curing the genophage.

Depending on Shepard's actions, Mordin can sacrifice himself to cure the genophage that the salarians assisted in unleashing upon the krogans. He travels up in the elevator to the top of the Shroud Tower and releases the cure. He is killed in the subsequent explosion. If he sang for Shepard in the previous game, Mordin dies singing his favorite tune, "Scientist Salarian", finally at peace with his work on the genophage modification project. If Wrex and Eve are both alive, Eve insists their first child be named "Mordin" in honor of his sacrifice. In an alternate situation, if Shepard chooses not to warn about the Dalatrass Linron offer, Mordin discovers that the Shroud has been sabotaged and Shepard is forced to kill Mordin, preventing him from reaching the Shroud controls and the cure from being released. Should Mordin be killed on Tuchanka in any situation, his name will be engraved on the memorial wall on board the Normandy.

However, Mordin can be saved during the mission if Wreav is the clan leader and the lack of Maelon's data leads to Eve's death. In this case Mordin can be convinced the krogan will only repeat the Krogan Rebellions under Wreav's command and will willingly disappear to maintain the illusion of his death. If Mordin is saved and the genophage cure is sabotaged as a result, the salarians offers their support along with krogan support under Urdnot Wreav, as the krogan are unaware of the sabotage. Mordin also lends his expertise for the Crucible project.

If Mordin did not survive the suicide mission against the Collector Base, the STG base commander on Sur'Kesh, Padok Wiks, performs Mordin's role in key plot events during the Reapers invasion.

Trivia

 * Mordin will reveal an interest in performing Gilbert and Sullivan. He even sings a modified version of "The Major-General's Song" about himself as a "scientist salarian"; possibly because Michael Beattie, Mordin's voice actor, had a chorus role in the 1985 TV production of The Pirates of Penzance. If Shepard spoke to Mordin in Mass Effect 2 and got him to sing, he will sing the same verses as he is fixing the Shroud right before being killed in Mass Effect 3. On the Normandy, Shepard can also walk in on him singing a modified version of "Pirate King," also from "The Pirates of Penzance," about a "krogan queen" to Eve. Also, while talking to Eve, Mordin can be overheard singing "Asari-vorcha offspring have an allergy to dairy" to the tune of The Major General's Song.
 * Early on, Mordin reveals having served under Captain Kirrahe from the Virmire mission in Mass Effect, and makes a comment regarding his habit of holding speeches and using the expression "hold the line". If Mordin dies as the leader of the second fire team in the Suicide Mission, his last words are: "Tell them&hellip; I held the line&hellip;"
 * Content cut from Mass Effect 2 suggests that Mordin was originally intended to have a confrontation with Grunt, resembling the confrontations between Miranda and Jack, and Tali and Legion.
 * Other dialogue that never made it into the game implies that Mordin was originally intended to be a biotic, apparently able to maintain a biotic field powerful enough to have everyone survive during the final mission when loyal.
 * To date Mordin Solus is the only major character to be played by multiple actors, with William Salyers replacing Michael Beattie in Mass Effect 3.
 * At some point in Mass Effect 2, Mordin comments about Cerberus implanting cyanide pills in molars of their personnel, saying it's primitive and that ocular nerve flashbangs are harder to disarm. This suggestion might have actually been used, because in Mass Effect 3, based on Alliance in logs in Liara T'Soni's computer, a Cerberus operative's face exploded during interrogation.


 * As with all squad members, Mordin has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.
 * The Shadow Broker has files on Mordin Solus which can be accessed aboard his ship.