Any Mass Effect fan who’s continuously replayed through the trilogy over the years can agree that Mordin Solus’ performance of the “I am the very model of a Scientist Salarian” is one of the sweetest moments in the franchise. A space-age rendition of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from their 1879 comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance, “Scientist Salarian” is a delightful take with lyrics featuring Mass Effect races and other “science-y” words thrown in.
Where, When, and What to do
You can access the conversation after the Collector Ship (mission), where Commander Shepard and co. discover the Collectors are repurposed Protheans. Then, head to the Normandy Tech Lab in between missions. When you start talking to Mordin, navigate through the conversational tree until you can select the option “Interest in art”. You’ll need to soon follow this with “Wait. You Sang?”, then simply sit back and enjoy those scientist Salarian vocals.
The full conversational path is as follows:
“I want to talk about you” > “I’m interested” > “How does that help us?” > “Investigate” > “Interest in art” > “Wait. You Sang?
In context, Mordin’s singing comes out of nowhere. Talking with Shepard about the Collector’s lack of culture, it quickly segues into Mordin’s own love for the arts, but I’ll never stop loving the fact our beloved Salarian took that as a signal to show off his pipes. Ahead of Mass Effect 2 re-releasing as part of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition on the 14th of May, here’s a reminder of how to get Mordin to regale us with his remarkable singing voice with “Scientist Salarian”.
No one would judge you for finding a way to set Scientist Salarian as your ringtone. Even without his singing voice, Mordin Solus is still one of fellow writer Eleni Thomas’ top 5 squadmates to focus on for Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Where does he rank on yours?
(Video by Nuclear Monster.)
