Mira is the VI at the Peak 15 facility on Noveria. It helps to coordinate lab functions, security and search queries. Unlike a basic question-and-answer VI like Avina, Mira is responsible for much of the sophisticated lab work at Peak 15, which might explain why its processing core is so big. Among other things, Mira was working with the scientists to develop a cure for a biotoxin leak when it was unexpectedly shut down because of problems in the facility.
According to Mira, shutting its core down and purging its program is standard in the event of serious lab problems. Commander Shepard is surprised that the scientists 'kill' Mira if something goes wrong, but Mira is philosophically calm about it, saying: "To be 'killed', I would need to be alive."
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“This mission just got a lot more complicated.” — Spoilers for Mass Effect follow. |
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Reactivating Mira
When Commander Shepard's team arrives at Peak 15, they find the power has been shut down and Mira is inactive. Shepard goes into Mira's core and manages to repair it to find out what is happening at the station. Because of Shepard's status as a Spectre, Mira permits secure access of data and explains that there has been a 'contaminant leak' at Peak 15, which has prompted the Code Omega shutdown. Shepard tries to get more answers, but the details on the 'contaminants' are restricted, as they relate to the rachni egg that has been hatched there. Mira's landlines have been disconnected, cutting the power and shutting it off from the rest of the facility. Shepard and the squad are able to reconnect them and restore power so they can follow Matriarch Benezia to the hot labs.
Shepard can find Mira's holographic terminals throughout Peak 15. As more of Mira's systems are restored, it can give Shepard more information on what is happening in the facility. The most useful is the terminal in the medical room at Rift Station where Dr. Zev Cohen is working, which can administer first aid to the squad. Mira also oversees the neutron purge system in the hot labs, which Shepard must activate before escaping to kill the remaining rachni.
Hot Labs
If Shepard does not obtain the codes from Yaroslev Tartakovsky, and then speaks to Mira in the hot labs control room beyond him, the Commander can ask about the neutron purge system. Mira explains how the purge system works and gives a dire warning about the levels of radiation involved.
Trivia
- The game that restarts Mira is based on the Tower of Hanoi, a mathematical puzzle frequently used in teaching basic computer programming as an example of a recursive algorithm, and in psychological research and testing of problem solving skills.
- A similar puzzle appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (also developed by BioWare), in Naga Sadow's tomb on Korriban.
- The system which drops you down is also similar to the carbonization chamber which Han Solo was lowered into in Star Wars Episode V.
- Mira's dialogue "It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" and the renegade choice for Shepard's dialogue "Crap, a pop-up" is a reference to Clippy, the Microsoft Office help pop up.