Forum:Question about ME3 ending

So... I've just finished my first ME3 playthrough, and the ending brought up some questions, that I'd like very much to be answered.
 * First, I didn't play multiplayer. Prior to the assault on Cerberus HQ my readiness level was 6887, but effective readiness level was 3443 - which of them counts in the finale? The 6887 or the 3443?
 * Second, and main. I'll describe what happened in the end: my Shep falls into some pillar of light, the Reapers withdraw, pictures of Joker, Anderson and Liara flash, then there's some old guy holding a boy's hand on some snowy place and tells him something like, each star holds a lifeform, and each life has a story. The boy look somehow like the Catalyst, but I'm not sure. Who are those people? Then, Joker and EDI come out of the crashed Normandy and embrace each other, and also there's Tali (romanced her in ME 2-3). Errr... Is my Shep even alive? And, most importantly, WTF happened?-Algol- 04:36, March 10, 2012 (UTC)