Collector

The Collectors are an enigmatic race that live beyond the Omega-4 mass relay, within the same system as Omega, within the Terminus Systems. They are rarely seen in the Terminus itself, let alone Citadel space, and are regarded as a myth by Citadel citizens. Definite sightings of Collectors have been made on Omega every few centuries. They are thought to be highly advanced and are known for their odd trade requests.

The Collectors offer new technologies, often of a startling level of advancement, in return for -- for example -- two dozen left-handed salarians, sixteen sets of batarian twins, a krogan born of parents from feuding clans, or two dozen "pure" quarians (quarians that have never left the Migrant Fleet due to illness, importance to the fleet, or disability). One of their current interests is in healthy human biotics. No one knows what happens to the individuals concerned after the exchange is completed.

Culture
The Collectors usually operate through agents, such as the quarian Golo, to make their deals. It has been speculated that the Collectors make these strange requests because of strange fetishes or gruesome culinary tastes. However, it is more likely that they perform genetic experiments on these subjects. Regardless of the possible danger, their requests are often granted by fringe groups because the technology the Collectors offer in return is often extremely valuable, giving any race who receives it an immediate advantage before it becomes adapted to the galactic community.

All known expeditions to investigate the Collectors have failed. No vessel that has ventured beyond the Omega-4 relay has ever returned. Some speculate that there is a black hole at the relay's counterpart, but this raises the question of how the Collectors can safely use it. Another, rather fantastic, explanation is that on the other side of the relay is a paradise which no citizen of Omega would care to leave due to the crime and suffering of the asteroid. A more likely reason is that the Collectors either detain or destroy any vessels encroaching on their space. The Collectors are controlled by a single leader who can possess any member of its species at any time, instantly turning them into the most dangerous Collector on the battlefield. When a Collector is possessed by the leader the outer surface of their body appears to crack open, revealing an orange glow that resembles molten rock.

Biology
Like the Rachni, the Collectors appear to be divided into several different sub-castes. The first caste encountered appear as swarms of flying quadrupeds with exoskeletons and carry a paralyzing "sting" that is used to incapacitate other organic races, particularly humans. Given that the Collectors are able to utilize a form of biotic based attack in Mass Effect 2, this may be a form of stasis. They possess four membranous flying wings, akin to Earth's moths. Unlike the first caste, the second encountered appear as flying bipeds, possibly a matured form of the first caste, and the mainstream combat caste of Collectors.

They possess membranous flying wings that extend out of the back and sides when in flight and are concealed from within the Collector's torso when on the ground. They are four eyed and appear as ten-limbed, with six of these limbs located on the sides of the torso. These particular limbs appear more insect-like, akin to Earth's cockroaches and mantids, than the more humanoid-like arms and legs. Given the Collectors' genetic experimentation with humans and other trade interests, this is likely due to radical genetic enhancements. The final caste is that of the leader of the Collectors. These are similar in appearances to the second caste in terms of their heads and eyes but are arachnid in their locomotion with six of their "hind" legs used for locomotion and the others used for manipulating objects.

They appear to have similar mental abilities to those of the Rachni queens in that they can exert mental control over organics. This also suggests that the leader castes exhibit a type of neural link to each of their underlings similar to the Rachni queens. However, unlike Rachni queens, this neural link more centralized and focused as the leader caste is capable of exerting total control over a specific individual at will whereas the Rachni take a less focused mental control over the rest of the species. These mental abilities suggest the leader caste possess biotic abilities. When the leader caste exerts "mind control" over a specific Collector, possessed Collectors also gain a form of biotic abilities and can project energy beams through their arms similar in appearance to their particle beam weapons.

Mass Effect: Ascension
The quarian Golo was a member of the Usela's crew, until he made a deal with the Collectors. They wanted two dozen 'pure' quarians from the Flotilla, quarians who were uncontaminated because they had not gone on their Pilgrimage. Golo agreed to sell his own people in exchange for new technology, but he was discovered and punished with exile.

In 2183, Golo offered Cerberus operative Pel a deal to give healthy human biotics to the Collectors, in exchange for enough credits to escape Cerberus. Thus, the latter planned on giving the captured Gillian Grayson and Hendel Mitra in, as well as throw in Kahlee Sanders, a specialists on biotics and Paul Grayson in as bonuses. However, they were rescued by Lemm'Shal nar Tesleya before the deal could be transacted and Pel and his cohorts were all killed.

Mass Effect 2
The Collectors appear as adversaries in Mass Effect 2, launching a campaign of mass human abductions that Cerberus recruits Commander Shepard to stop.

The Collectors attack human colonies by arriving in their enormous ship and releasing a swarm of bugs that paralyse everyone in the colony. Once this is completed the Collectors gather up all the paralysed people, put them in stasis pods, and leave.

Trivia

 * The actions of the Collectors vaguely recall the mythological sacrifice of Athens, where seven young men and women would be sent to Knossos every year as tribute, only to be devoured by the Minotaur deep in the Labyrinth.


 * This could have been partially influenced by the "To Serve Man" episode of the Twilight Zone, in which an alien race provided much useful technology before they invited many humans to their planet to be "served". The humans believed they were being brought to a paradise planet when in reality they were to be cooked and eaten by the aliens ("To Serve Man" being the name of the aliens' cook book). [1]