User blog comment:SolitaryReaper/Shepard in Javik's position/@comment-2228120-20120726081446/@comment-1388547-20120726170656

It doesn't matter how slim the chances of victory are, if there's no distinction between surrender and defeat. If the Reapers win, we're all harvested, and the next cycle still has to deal with them, so fighting is still the best choice. Even if a single cycle's war isn't enough, maybe a multi-cycle war of attrition can do the job.

On that note, maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems like organic civilizations are getting better at fighting the Reapers in recent cycles. The Catalyst Kid's comments on the Crucible indicate that it's an organic invention, and that it might not be very many cycles old. This past cycle, the Protheans also managed to leave the Reapers a nasty surprise with their sabotage of the Citadel and the warning embedded in their beacons, and the time bought with that allowed organics to reverse-engineer some Reaper technology (Thanix cannons being a prime example). With their penchant for doing things their own way, the geth probably have a few surprises up their sleeve, too. Liara's time capsule should enable the next cycle to prepare even better -- in fact, it allows the next cycle to end the Reaper threat in the Refuse ending. Even if we're doing non-canonical speculation like this blog, it seems clear the Reapers' days are nearing an end.