User blog comment:Arbington/ME3 Theories/@comment-1462101-20100630160719

This is certainly an interesting conversation, but by what means with the Reapers reach the galaxy? The Relay in Dark Space won't work- so assuming that these reapers have FTL, and that Dark Space is approximately half the distance between the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies (1.58×10^5 AU). That means that it would take the Reapers 1,250,000 years to reach the milky way at light speed. Assuming that FTL is at least 20 times the speed of light, that shortens the time to about 62,000 years. Is there any way to determine how close the reapers are to the galaxy? Because by my calculations, there's no way that the reapers will make it to the Milky Way fast enough for Shepard to even be alive. But one serious question remains. If the Reapers do have the speed capabilities to reach the Milky Way without a Mass Relay, then why did they need the Vanguard (Sovereign) to open the relay? Unless ME3 in far into the future, then what's the point?