Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues Analysis Pt.2

A Bright New Future

One last thing I will say about OWB is that it touches on a major theme in the Fallout universe which is that technology lead to the downfall of man.

Fallout is an alternate history that doesn't just present the scenario of nuclear war. The universe is completely different with respect to the level of technology of the world. Despite the 50's aesthetic, the Fallout universe has futuristic stuff like robots, laser weapons, fusion-reactor cars and so on. You can call it "atompunk" if you like. The thing that strikes me most though is that it has a certain vibe to it that brings to mind the optimism people had about technology, specifically, nuclear technology.

Once upon a time there was optimism. People had high hopes for the bright future nuclear technology could bring. Of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened. There was that business of the Cold War too. But for a moment, there was the happy thought of a future powered by the atom and not scoured by it. This is present in Fallout too. It wasn't as pronounced in Fallout 1 and 2 and was merely design. It was excessively cranked up in 3 as was all things "ironic". In FONV, it was left on the wayside since the whole NCR and Legion conflict was more important. But OWB allows us to dwell on the subject for a bit.

The world of Big Mountain is the most futuristic place in the game or even perhaps, the series. Big Mountain is at the very cutting edge of technology. It had the best minds on the planet working inside its labs and money was hardly an issue with so many clients, public and private. Yet, look at all the bullshit that's happened. The Think Tank being composed of disembodied brains in jars made sense. Not only was it meant to show their complete and utter lack of humanity but also that they were nothing but the raw power of intellect. They had no heart nor soul. It's a story of science gone wrong and goes to show that whatever new thing people can come up with, it can be ruined and used to create invisible rattlesnake coyote hybrids that stalk the desert and kill lots of people. It's the same story we've seen before with nuclear energy. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes.

But it's not all bad. In the ending of OWB, the Courier can choose to use the Think Tank for his own ends either for good or evil. Again, just like religion in Honest Hearts, science isn't evil per se. 

It all depends on the person and how he uses it.

Fallout New Vegas - Old World Blues Analysis Pt.1

Behind Big Mountain

Big Mountain was a private defense contractor before the War. It was a facility within a literal big mountain until an "accident" reduced Big Mountain into a big crater in the ground. Big Mountain was built with the intention to develop and invent the technology of tomorrow without any restraints. It employed the most brilliant minds of the day from all fields of study.

Even when the world was scoured by atomic fire, research in Big Mountain continued unabated without much care. At some point, the six chief scientists shed their bodies and became the Think Tank so that research can go on indefinitely. They shed more than their physical bodies as they took on new names and "reprogrammed" themselves as well. The Think Tank's research became more depraved as the years went on and eventually, all the other human researchers either escaped or were killed by rogue experiments.

At some point, Dr.Mobius realized that the experiments of the Think Tank had gone too far. He erected a radar fence around the crater to prevent the Think Tank from escaping and "experimenting" with the world beyond. Furthermore, Mobius hacked into his colleagues and reprogrammed them to lose all sense of time and history and trapped them in a loop. Mobius also waged a campaign of fear and terror to deter the Think Tank from escaping. It was so successful in fact,  that the Think Tank  believed that the world outside didn't exist at all. Mobius regularly played a broadcast to threaten the Think Tank and used his robo-scorpions, which could allegedly "steal a person's intelligence", to keep the Think Tank penned in. Ever since then, Big Mountain descended to a state of chaos and insanity as the power struggle between the Think Tank and Mobius raged on while the various experiments, lobotomites and haywire robots ran rampant around the facility.

Outsiders avoided Big Mountain for the most part since the large crater made it appear like the site of a nuclear bomb explosion. Ironically, many thought that Big Mountain, a facility dedicated to future technologies and wonders, had nothing of value in it hence they named it the "Big Empty". Those few foolish enough to wander close were either captured by robots and experimented on or killed outright by the various experiments if they were lucky.

When the courier was captured, his head wound activated a different protocol for the auto-doc which revealed to the Think Tank a way to escape. They would transplant their brains into bodies and walk out of Big Mountain. Dr.Mobius saw this and raided the Think Tank to take the Courier's brain before they could work on it.

A Little Twist

The story had a nice little twist. When you first meet the Think Tank, Mobius was doing his little broadcast of terror on them and it seemed like he was a mad scientist who needed to be stopped. As it turns out, Mobius kind of has a point. Even if the Think Tank are "funny" and have "wacky" personalities, they're pretty dangerous if you look at all the stuff they've been up to. In fact, Mobius had a pretty well thought out plan to keep them in check had it not been for several visitors from the outside world. 

 

After you beat his giant robot scorpion and meet Mobius, he doesn't even appear threatening. He seems more like a senile old man happily offering a child some candy (mentats) and constantly misuses words and phrases. Mobius seems the nonviolent type too since he needs a dose of "psycho" to get him worked up to sound only mildly threatening. The tables turn and it is the Think Tank and their ambition that is arguably the greater villain in the story. This is true since the Think Tank do attempt to betray you in the end, as futile as the attempt was.

What Has Science Done!?

One thing I like about OWB is that it's far from the "hilarious", oh-so-random humor that you might have expected. The dialogue and situations are indeed funny and entertaining but if you take that all away and look at everything seriously, OWB is pretty messed up. Many of the goings on are not just little experiments gone wrong but could qualify as full blown human atrocities. Let's go over them shall we?

1. The cazadors, the worst enemies in the game, were created in Big Mountain.
2. The nightstalkers were created in Big Mountain as well.
3. The toxic "cloud" surrounding the Sierra Madre was an experiment made by Big Mountain.
4. The experimental hazmat suits that produced the "ghost people" was also a follow-up experiment to the cloud.
4. Big Mountain operated and maintained a concentration camp full of Chinese POWs complete with slave collars that exploded if any prisoner escaped.
5. The Think Tank captures and lobotomizes people like it's nothing.
6. The spore carriers in the facility imply the toxins from Vault 22 came from Big Mountain.
7. Probably developed countless weapons and robots for war.
8. Vaporized the entire mountain and killed off much of the original staff.

I could go on but my point here is that Big Mountain produced more harm than good. Sure, they created useful stuff like the replicators and auto-docs but if only that was all they did.

The humor in OWB is certainly dark. It fits the universe of Fallout very well. Next time, I'll go over a major recurring theme in Fallout that is cranked up in OWB.

Fallout: New Vegas Analysis: Old World Blues Intro

Alright. So the previous DLCs of Fallout:New Vegas dealt with some pretty heavy stuff. In Dead Money, we learned about the dangers of greed and obsession. In Honest Hearts, we learned about human nature and the positive or negative influences of religion. In the third DLC, Old World Blues, the courier is teleported to the wonderful world of the "Big MT" where we have lighthearted adventures in wacky, funny SCIENCE! It's gonna be fun right?

Make no mistake though, OWB is a lot deeper than it looks and a whole lot more depressing than the wacky SCIENCE! would have you think.

The Main Plot

The story begins when the Courier, drawn by a mysterious and jazzy broadcast, happens upon an old drive-in theater with what looks like a satellite or at least, a highly complex machine of some sort. Upon touching the thing, he was transported instantly to the Big Mountain Research and Development Center (erroneously called the Big Empty or Big MT)  where he was experimented on while unconscious from the trip. The Courier awoke feeling a bit light-headed which was no surprise given his brain, as well as his spine and heart, were removed and replaced with implants. Stranded, the Courier stumbles on in search for his missing organs and a way out.

The Courier meets The Think Tank, a group of genius scientists who aren't exactly human anymore. He meets five brains-in-jars basically. The members of the Think Tank are: Dr.0 who is an alleged expert in robotics, Dr.Borous who has a thing for DNA-scrambling technology, Dr.Klein the head researcher of the bunch, Dr.Dala an expert in "Humanology" with a degree in Curiosity and Advanced Curiosity and finally, Dr.8 an Acoustics Expert who ironically has no voice.

The Think Tank were responsible for The Courier's organ removal but now seek the Courier's help. It turns out that the Think Tank are being terrorized by a former colleague gone mad scientist named Dr.Mobius who keeps the Think Tank trapped in their research center.

Big Mountain, as it turns out, isn't a mountain at all but a huge crater. A small laboratory accident blew the mountain up but no worries, an advanced shield system surrounding the crater prevents anything from escaping. This is good seeing how all sorts of dangerous monsters and "experiment" stalk the facility grounds and abandoned laboratories. Will the Courier survive? Of course he will. He's the mythical badass.

Next time, let's talk about the sinister undercurrents of this bright and cheerful place.