Control panel pattern

Sorry, Vlad, but you'll have to make do with what I posted in the IT thread. It's a lot of work providing descriptions and pictures for everything, and most of it is already in the other thread for you to see. I tried to do it again here, but I spent half an hour just describing the Overlord button. I did recently notice a few occurrences not mentioned in the thread, though, so FYI:

- in the Spectre office, in between the information terminal and the QEC, there's a device with the circuit board on top of it, much like the devices in Liara's Normandy room into which these thick blue/red cables feed

- the Cerberus lab you visit for an N7 mission in ME3, that has you collect Reaper artifacts, which look like a synthetic spine and another strange Reaper design. These artifacts are protected by force fields that contain "oily shadows." Also, we don't learn what Cerberus was researching here or what those artifacts were. Anyway, there's a huge circuit board pattern on the wall, in a room that seems to be the main laboratory.

Also, to satisfy your crazy theory thirst, here's what I wrote as a side note to the Overlord button. I got sidetracked a little...

It has to be stressed that orange grids are prominent in ME and are possibly related to virtual reality technology and / or the process of digitizing. Eg., Pinnacle Station, Armax Arena, meeting TIM in ME2, ME2 loading screens. Pinnacle Station was supposed to be part of the first game, hence the oddly placed VR room at Citadel Control in ME1, but they couldn't finish it in time. Its release as DLC proves how eager BW was to introduce the concept. Alas, the DLC was very poorly received and remains the worst DLC for ME. Yet for Citadel DLC they reintroduced the very same concept. Also, the ME2 loading animations are most often mandatory even if your computer is already done loading. Finally, not meeting a central character like TIM in the flesh up until the very ending, is odd.

Then there's the holographic principle, also called the holographic universe, which is briefly mentioned by EDI between missions for no apparent reason. Quantum entanglement is a cornerstone of this principle and actually fueled its formulation. Now why was the narrative in need of a second communications system, QEC, when in ME1 everybody was perfectly able to communicate using the conventional comm buoy network? The QEC lore is elaborated on, for instance by suggesting there's an organic equivalent used by the rachni and the Leviathans, without fully explaining everything. Furthermore, ME references a great deal of famous scientists, but those associated with the holographic principle are mentioned more than such a relatively obscure concept seems to warrant: 't Hooft, Susskind, Thorn(e), Bekenstein, Wheeler, Boltzmann, and Hawking are part of Wikipedia's article on the holographic principle as well as ME's lore. That's the majority of its contributors. Admittedly, these scientists are known for many other endeavors. Then again, so are many other scientists but we don't see them all getting a honorable mention.

Also, how could the pattern still be important, even if it's used in trivial ways too, like in skycars and haptic interfaces on the Normandy?

- Since these instances are small in number, they could be an oversight introduced by designers who weren't in the loop. The majority of circuit board patterns seems to occur at important moments and in curious ways.

- If everything is an illusion, the omnipresence of the pattern could indicate just that. Maybe the circuit board is later revealed to represent the tech behind the illusion, and as such shows up at all kinds of locations, but especially at telling locations. The eerie sleeper pod sound is also heard at several locations, some of them important, other quite random.

- It could be related to virtual reality technology specifically. And skycars and pilots / crewmen on starships could use such technology for navigation and combat assistance.

If it wasn't for the skycar and the haptic interface, I'd swear the pattern is relevant. Now I can't. You have to take my word that I tried to list every occurrence and these two are the only ones that seem random. Well, there's also Zakera Ward that has a few of them, but that entire Ward is just... off. Not right.

Could this pattern be a loading screen both physically and symbolically illustrating a change of paradigm or level or reality?

The neykia you were searching for.

I will, but later, busy today!

Could you please put here the list of the location where you spotted the control panels with pics if possible.

I'd like to have a place where I know I can find them, you did put them on the IT forum but I can't fidn all of them at once.

I'm trying to see if there could be a link between all of them. I'm in the mood of thinking about crazy theories.