Overseer Alphonse Almodovar[Non-game 1] is the leader of Vault 101 in Fallout 3.
Background[]
Early life[]
A larger-than-life figure in Vault 101, Alphonse Almodovar was originally just one of many Vault dwellers, born in a time when the shelter allowed residents to freely venture into the world and trade with the outside. Under the overseer's leadership, the Vault was in excellent shape, despite pushing 170 years of age, well beyond anything Vault-Tec planned for. However, Almodovar saw it differently: growing up with parents who believed that the Vault should not be exposed to dangers, Alphonse developed a ruthless isolationist streak, biding his time until he could correct the gross lapses in security. He got his wish one day, when the overseer disappeared while out on a mission in the wasteland. Alphonse's youth and charisma allowed him to seize the opportunity and assume leadership, with the rest of the Vault having little choice but to accept.[Non-game 1]
Alphonse was convinced that the previous overseers who opened up the Vault were idiots, and the Vault was on the verge of destruction when he took over. As such, he ordered the Vault to be immediately sealed, so that he could set about correcting their mistakes and ensuring the Vault would become a refuge with the safest, purest humans left.[1] While there were casualties among the excursions, the situation was not as dire as Alphonse believed. However, he forced all the adults to swear a pact of secrecy, to pretend that the Vault has never opened since the Great War. Some assumed it was because of the casualties, and agreed to the ruse.[2][3]
Leadership[]
Alphonse's tenure as overseer proved to be disastrous for the Vault. Early on, he made a number of good decisions. The most important was filling a vacancy in the Vault's clinic, by letting James and his infant child inside around 2258,[4] ensuring the shelter had someone who understood cardiology, pediatrics, psychiatry and other essential branches of medicine.[5] Indirectly, it also provided a like-aged companion for Amata, his daughter, after Alphonse's wife passed away.[Non-game 2]
The newly bereaved overseer was obsessed with security to the point of oppression. Unlike the previous overseers, he cultivated an atmosphere of strict adherence to rules and secrecy, eventually instituting a cult of personality centered around himself. It failed to inspire anything but resentment among the adults[3] or ensure the continuing operation of the Vault. Within just twenty years, the Vault started to deteriorate uncontrollably.[6]
Similarly, the culture declined, with juvenile delinquency on the rise (more than usual),[3] offset by a sharp decline in population. By 2268, the number of young people born in the Vault was at one of its lowest points, with elder Vault dwellers comparing it unfavorably with the crowds that once filled the Vault in its heyday.[7]
A photograph of Alphonse and his daughter, a much younger Amata, in Amata's room.
As such, while Almodovar tried to instill virtues such as loyalty, honesty, commitment, and hard work in all of the dwellers, his repressive style of governance and ego achieved the opposite effect. Even his daughter was slowly resisting his indoctrination.[8] It did not help that for all his posing, his contempt for outsiders (such as the Lone Wanderer) was thinly veiled,[9] and his primary concern was getting everyone to work as hard and as soon as possible, including a policy of handing out work assignments to children as soon as they reached ten years of age.[10] He only bent his own rules for Amata, such as allowing her to host a short birthday party for her closest friend. Even then, it only meant a short break from everyday tedium, with security officers instructed to clean up the cafeteria and put everyone back to work a few minutes after the overseer left the party.[11] He sincerely believed that being overseer meant being firm, unbending, and utterly uncompromising - permitting a break was all he could do for his own daughter, besides "appropriate paternal encouragement," and he certainly could not divert any extra Vault resources for her.[12]
By 2274, the cult of personality and oppression became everyday features of Vault 101 life, with even the Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test used to determine Vault postings altered to reinforce Alphonse's position and ego. The final question demanded all youth to effectively swear allegiance to him, by stating that he is "indisputably the most important person in Vault 101, [...] who shelters [them] from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom [they] owe everything [they] have, including [their] lives?"[13] His rigid style of parenting and position steadily pushed Amata away, who was singled out by her few peers as the overseer's kid, getting what they saw as preferential treatment (despite her father trying otherwise).[8] Alphonse practically ensured this outcome by insisting to be present whenever she underwent a medical examination, including gynaecological check-ups by James. This controlling behavior was considered both ridiculous and sad, and proof that he did not trust even his own flesh and blood.[14] Others fared similarly poorly: Stanley Armstrong was the Vault's only maintenance engineer,[15] run ragged by the overseer, suffering from overwork and lack of sleep, and kept in working shape by mainlining aspirin,[16] while Freddie Gomez suffering from an acute case of Vault depressive syndrome was facing a lifetime on chlorpromazine, an anti-psychotic medication.[17]
His oppressive governance went beyond controlling and drugging dwellers, the nightsticks of his hand-picked security officers, or reinstating the post of Vault loyalty inspector formerly phased out decades prior.[18] He also took the Tunnel Snakes under his wing (unofficially) to act as a deniable asset in dealing with various problems in the Vault the security force would be unqualified for.[19]
James and his child's escape of Vault 101[]
In October 2277, the overseer seemed to have the Vault firmly under his thumb, dealing only with the frustration of Amata pushing him away,[8] the Tunnel Snakes picking on her too much for his liking,[19] and finding a long-term pharmaceutical solution to Beatrice Armstrong's declining mental faculties.[20] However, it was the calm before the storm. James, the physician he let into the Vault nearly 20 years prior, kept chipping away at Project Purity, leeching small amounts of power and supplies to keep a spark of the project going against Almodovar's wishes.[21] What started as an experiment to confirm that his child was not suffering from mutations or other degenerative conditions that affected cell division (which would likely cause severe repercussions with the overseer), blossomed into a scientific partnership with Jonas Palmer, assigned to the clinic as an assistant medic and understudy.[22]
The overseer had reservations about the assignment, putting two idealists together, but he considered Palmer's skills as a medic to be too important to have him languish in maintenance.[23][22] Jonas' help was invaluable in keeping Project Purity and pushed James to do more, and eventually he managed to sneak into Almodovar's office, half-drunk on scotch, and among propaganda, spy reports, and assorted ramblings characteristic of an autocrat, he found information connecting Stanislaus Braun with the G.E.C.K. and the Societal Preservation Program.[24] The Garden of Eden Creation Kit was something that could revive Project Purity, and after gaining enough leads to locate Braun and Vault 112, James did what Almodovar feared the most: he opened the Vault.[25]
Overseer Almodovar questioning his daughter as to the whereabouts of James' child. Amata refused to budge, leading to beatings by Officer Mack.
Upon realizing what happened, Alphonse went ballistic, setting his security force loose throughout the Vault to deal with any and all perceived dangers, and permission to open fire without warning. Special attention was paid to Jonas Palmer, beaten to death by Chief Hannon on Almodovar's orders, to discourage anyone else from leaving the Vault and depleting their numbers further.[26] Others were set up at critical points to deal with the radroach infestation and apprehend the child James left behind for "questioning." In an act of defiance, Amata evaded the lockdown and helped her friend avoid security, warning them of the crackdown in advance. When security caught her, as the future Lone Wanderer was making their way to the Vault door, the overseer had her brought in for questioning. Instead of mercy or leniency, he ordered Officer Mack to torture his own daughter for information, beating her while claiming it is unenjoyable, but necessary (much to Amata's disagreement).[27] The Lone Wanderer had an opportunity to save her and confront the overseer, and even kill him, on the way out.[28]
Sparing the overseer[]
After the chaos of the escape subsided, Alphonse turned his attention to securing the home front. He believed that the deaths among the dwellers were necessary to secure the Vault, including the cold-blooded murder of Jonas. As Amata and Edwin Brotch organized a resistance movement, with the young generation learning for the first time that the Vault was sealed not because of the surface being uninhabitable, but Alphonse's lies, the overseer blamed himself for the upheaval. Not his lies or oppression, but a lapse of judgement in letting an outsider sully "humanity's last pure specimens."[29] He did not realize that he was treating isolation as an end in itself, rather than the means for humanity's survival. The rebels and insurgents desiring to open up the Vault became his designated villains, and if they could be defeated, all would be well again.[30] As such, he has rededicated himself and the security force to restoring order by force, with constant pleas for reconciliation broadcast on the public address system.[31] However, he also swore off violence as a means of resolving the problem. The difficult decisions he made on the night of James' escape were necessary,[32] due to the clear and present threat to the future success of the Vault.[33] That success was keeping humanity untainted for as long as possible, rather than helping it survive and rebuild.[34] If Alphonse could permanently seal the Vault, he would be protecting this future,[35] with all of its inhabitants remaining a pure and protected breed of humans, untainted by the ravages of the war.[36]
However, Alphonse's intentions would see to it that they would be pure, protected, and very much dead: for starters, Almodovar lost control over his security force in his single-minded pursuit of purity and perfection in "his" Vault,[37] leading to them independently planning to raid the rebels to restore order by force, gunning down a couple of the rebels to bring the rest in line.[38] The combination of Almodovar's failed policies and the killings by his security force rendered Vault 101 unsustainable: if locked down, there would not be enough genetic diversity to preserve the population for more than a couple generations. The Vault would never make it another hundred years.[39] The safe haven for humanity was doomed to destruction,[40] by Almodovar's hand, who misinterpreted its mission, confusing survival with preserving genetic purity. Somewhat redeeming is the fact that once led down this avenue of reasoning, Alphonse is ready to admit his error and pass on the mantle to his daughter, who he tortured just a few weeks or months earlier.[41] In the end, all he wanted was to keep its inhabitants safe,[42] which is also why he has rejected the offer from the Enclave, promising amnesty and support in return for opening up the Vault.[43]
Killing the overseer[]
If Alphonse dies during the Lone Wanderer's escape, his demise has disastrous consequences. Allen Mack, who distinguished himself during the chaos by saving lives, including Stanley Armstrong's, becomes overseer. Mack is even more ruthless and oppressive than Alphonse, and virtually impossible to reason with.[44][45]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
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This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character drops a finger upon death (Lawbringer). | |
Quests[]
- Growing Up Fast: The overseer presents the Lone Wanderer with their Pip-Boy 3000 at their 10th birthday party.
- The player can follow the overseer as he goes past the reactor, up some stairs and engages in dialogue with Officer John Kendall, noting that the only reason he came to the party is that Amata is friends with the Lone Wanderer, and instructs the officer to clean up the place a few minutes later.
- Escape!: When James escapes, Almodovar sends his security officers after the Lone Wanderer and orders the death of Jonas after James' escape. He is met in person later during the escape, when he interrogates his own daughter and has Officer Mack torture her for information.
- The player can choose to intervene and kill the overseer, greatly affecting the outcome of the next quest. If the player lets Amata keep her father's gun, she will also shoot Officer Mack to stop the torture.
- If the player decides to turn themselves in, he will confiscate the weapons and immediately attack.
- Turning the overseer hostile will cause Amata to react as if the player killed Almodovar. In this case, Alphonse will keep following them throughout the Vault, all the way to the door.
- Trouble on the Homefront: Almodovar is the antagonist during the quest, but can be convinced to step down from his position and pass the mantle on to Amata. If Almodovar was killed by the player, Allen Mack is the new overseer, and he cannot be reasoned with to open up the Vault.
- Officer Mack killed Jonas, and Almodovar will reveal that it was on his orders: Security Chief Hannon was told to ensure Palmer's death.
- His computer terminal reveals that, after leaving, the Enclave contacted the Vault in an attempt to gain access, but he denied them entry as he would not trust the lives of the Vault inhabitants to outsiders.[43]
- If the player destroys the Vault by flooding it during Trouble on the Homefront and lies to the overseer by saying the rebels did it, the overseer will stay behind and die with the Vault, acknowledging his failure.[46]
Other interactions[]
- He will appear as one of the hallucinations in Vault 106.
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pip-Boy 3000 Vault 101 jumpsuit |
10mm pistol* | Overseer's office key Overseer's terminal password |
* Only during Trouble on the Homefront.
Notes[]
The overseer's first name is mentioned once in the game, by Stanley,[6] while his last name is only established by Edwin Brotch's reply to Amata and her test results.[47] The official game guide lists him by his full personals.[Non-game 1]
Notable quotes[]
- "I place the good of the Vault above everything, even my own paternal feelings. We must not allow sentiment to cloud our judgment! But I admire your protective instincts. Very well. I give you my word that Amata will not suffer further because of your actions. Now then. If you really care about Amata, you will see how dangerous your father's actions were. Hand over your weapons, and put an end to this dangerous situation. There's no need to join your father as a traitor to the Vault."
- "And you expect me to believe that the only way to do that is to let them travel out in the Wastes and mingle with those savages? I suppose it would allow them to stay alive, and we could still keep the Vault as our safe haven. But it'd require a new type of leader. And I know only one person with the proper attitude to do that. I'll inform my daughter Amata that she is the new overseer, effective immediately."
- "Really? And here I had expected you to be full of bullets and bravado, but short on brains. Perhaps you've grown up since you left our Vault. I regret the unfortunate events of that night, but I'm afraid that once your father left us, they were unavoidable. The sad truth is that his actions presented a real and direct threat to the future success of our Vault. And so, regrettably, they had to be opposed."
- "And what makes you so certain about that? I can't imagine you're still so naive after spending time in that hell outside. None of them know what the outside is like, and most of them would die out there. Then the rest of us inside would eventually die out, too. I won't risk all of our lives just for few people's passing fancy of taking a Wasteland vacation. I hope you can understand that."
Appearances[]
Alphonse Almodovar appears only in Fallout 3.
Behind the scenes[]
In promotional content for Fallout 76, a teammate with the nickname "AAlmadovar" can be seen.[citation needed]
Bugs[]
- If fought during the quest Escape!, he can sometimes say "The overseer will hear about this!" even though he is the overseer, as he also uses the generic Vault dweller lines.[verified]
- He will call characters "young men" regardless of gender during dialogue in Trouble on the Homefront. He is also always identified as "The Overseer," even if he relinquishes the position to Amata.[verified]
Gallery[]
References[]
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Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p. 89: "Overseer Alphonse Almodovar
Growing up in Vault 101 during a time when the Vault dwellers ventured freely into the outside world, Alphonse's parents believed the Vault should have no contact with the dangers out there. As he got older, Alphonse knew he had to correct the gross lapses in security. He got his chance when the Overseer—a strong proponent of outside contact—disappeared one day while out in the Wasteland. Many suspected foul play, but the young, charismatic, strong-willed Alphonse Almodovar offered the Vault dwellers new leadership, and they had little choice but to accept."
(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) - ↑ Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p. 60: "Amata Almodovar
Amata is the Overseer's daughter. Her mother died when she was just two years old. She loves her father dearly and is very loyal to him, but she hopes to change his stance on isolationism. She does not want to defy Alphonse but longs to experience the outside world. You and Amata have been best friends all your life, drawn together by the common bond of not having known your mothers."
(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
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