The Broken Mask incident is a mentioned-only event in Fallout 4.
Events[]
According to eyewitness Eustace Hawthorne, a man named Carter joined a group of patrons at the central bar in Diamond City on an unsuspecting May evening in 2229.[1] Mr. Carter claimed to be from "out west," and shared stories about the Commonwealth with the rest of the individuals that had gathered at the establishment.[1] The group enjoyed several drinks together over the course of the evening.
Eustace testifies she saw Mr. Carter's smile fade abruptly, and that his cheek began twitching.[1] Unprompted, Mr. Carter suddenly drew his revolver and shot the then-bartender Henry in the head with neither emotion nor hesitation. His cheek continued to twitch as he methodically executed several other residents in cold blood.[2] As Diamond City security arrived and opened fire, Carter continued his frenzy, "tossing people left and right," until he was eventually "put down" by security.[3]
At least ten people and the gunman were dead. Upon closer inspection of Carter's corpse, the survivors discovered an undisclosed amount of plastic and metal. It was determined that Carter was not human, but instead an advanced synth created by the Institute.[1]
Aftermath[]
The Broken Mask incident, as it came to be known, revealed the existence of the Institute's Generation 3 synths to the people of the Commonwealth. People disagreed as to whether the Institute had intended to cause a massacre or if "Mr. Carter" had simply malfunctioned (based on his twitching cheek), but this was not nearly as important as the fact that the Institute, whose goals were unknown to the public, had infiltrated their society and could possibly control or attack them from within. Fear and mistrust of the Institute has spiraled ever since.[2][3][4]
The incident was, in fact, just a malfunction. When the incumbent director learned of the situation, she was furious; the synth was a prototype that had not been approved for field testing and was sent to the surface without authorization, apparently by a department headed by someone named Galton. The director called an emergency directorate meeting to launch an investigation into the incident, seeking to identify those responsible.[5] However the Institute resolved this event internally, they evidently never mended their relationship with the people of the Commonwealth. Their continued isolation, combined with future events such as the massacre of the CPG in the 2230s,[6] the razing and salvaging of settlements such as University Point,[7][8][Non-game 1] and hundreds of allegedly Institute-caused kidnappings over the years,[9] have only deepened the bilateral mistrust and hostility between the Institute and the surface.
By 2287, the fear that strangers, neighbors or even family members could be replaced by synths has become a common anxiety felt throughout the Commonwealth.[10][11][12] This region-wide paranoia has led some to take extreme measures against the alleged synth threat. Among these is the Compound, a synth-detection project founded by Roslyn Chambers, who lost her parents in the incident. She and like-minded individuals created a fake town dedicated to identifying, catching and eliminating hidden synths.[13] The sentiment has recently escalated due to unexplained disappearances of citizens such as Charlie Fallon.[14]
Appearances[]
The Broken Mask incident is mentioned only in Fallout 4.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Synthetic Truth
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sole Survivor: "What happened to you?"
Roslyn Chambers: "In Diamond City, a lifetime ago, my parents and eight others were massacred by someone. At first we thought the maniac was human. But that was the day we learned of the Institute's latest creations. The synths. As long as the Institute walks invisibly amongst us, they strike without warning and control us from the shadows."
(Roslyn Chambers' dialogue) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Sole Survivor: "Broken Mask?"
Nick Valentine: "This was long before I'd moved to town, but apparently, some gentleman-type shows up in Diamond City, heads down to Power Noodles. Guess he didn't like the food because he pulled his pistol and opened fire on the folks enjoying theirs. When security finally put enough holes in him to drop him, they say he was full of servos and sprockets, just like yours truly. Seems he malfunctioned, went berserk. It was the first time people realized that Synths had stopped looking like me and started looking like them. Considering what these folks went through, I felt real lucky they let me in the front gate at all."
(Nick Valentine's companion dialogue) - ↑ Fallout 4 loading screens: "In the year 2229, a mysterious visitor to Diamond City killed several people. It was only after he was shot dead by city security that the stranger was revealed to be a synth. The people of the Commonwealth have feared the Institute ever since."
- ↑ Director's recording #108
- ↑ The Sole Survivor: "Massacre of the CPG? What's that?"
Nick Valentine: "The Commonwealth Provisional Government. Years back a group of settlements tried to get together and form a coalition. Every settlement with even a hint of clout sent representatives to try and hash out an agreement. Only the Institute sent a representative of their own, a Synth. The man killed every rep at the talks. The Commonwealth Provisional Government was over before it even got off the ground. I took up in town not long after. I was damn lucky they didn't just tell me to scram right then and there."
(Nick Valentine's companion dialogue) Note: Nick says he came to Diamond City "not long after" the CPG massacre, whereas he says that the Broken Mask incident happened "long before" then (this reference is also in this article). This suggests the CPG massacre happened after the Broken Mask incident. - ↑ The Sole Survivor: "You're afraid of the Institute? Who are they?"
Moe Cronin:"Hell if I know. One day someone's human, next day they're a synth. And no one can tell the difference. Not until they kill someone for no reason. It was bad enough when the older, robot-looking Synths would occasionally grind a town down to pulp and haul off what was left. University Point was the last loser in that game. Nothing there but Synths now."
(Moe Cronin's dialogue) - ↑ Preston Garvey: "The Institute massacred this whole settlement a few years back. It was all over before the Minutemen could respond."
(Preston Garvey's dialogue) - ↑ Sole Survivor: "A war, really? Is it that bad?"
Roslyn Chambers: "Hundreds of kidnappings over the years. Ask the survivors if it's really 'that bad'."
(Roslyn Chambers' dialogue) - ↑ Nick Valentine: "Hey. Let me ask you something. It's just, with everything that's happened with you, your family. It's a whole hell of a lot to process. I wanted to make sure you're holding up alright."
Sole Survivor: "I don't know, Nick. My family's in tatters. I've been dropped into this place where everything's trying to kill me. You tell me."
Nick Valentine: "I'd expect you feel lost, scared, and mad as hell. I sure did. Took me a long damn time to get a feel for this place. Thank goodness I found Diamond City. It's got its flaws, sure, but it beats the hell out of anywhere else in the Commonwealth. Course, when I took up there back when, people were just as scared of the Institute as they are now, maybe more. The massacre of the CPG was still pretty fresh in people's minds at that point, and folks were still losing sleep over the Broken Mask. Plenty of people assumed I was just a saboteur, moving in to melt down the reactor or poison the drinking water. But, at the time, they couldn't exactly turn me away."
(Nick Valentine's dialogue) - ↑ The Boogeyman banished?
- ↑ Diamond City security officer: "Broke up with my girl. She kept the cap off the toothpaste. Know who does that? A synth."
(Diamond City security officers' dialogue) - ↑ Sole Survivor: "You can't seriously want to kill all the synths..."
Roslyn Chambers: "As long as the Institute walks invisibly amongst us, they strike without warning and control us from the shadows. I've dedicated my life to devising a test to detect these hidden synths. To root them out, so they can be extinguished."
(Roslyn Chambers' dialogue) - ↑ Sole Survivor: "Your husband was taken by the Institute?"
Becky Fallon: "Well he ain't here anymore, that's for sure. Not like the Institute leaves a trail besides those damn synths."
Sole Survivor: "What do you know about synths?"
Becky Fallon: "Just what I read in the papers. That the Institute builds 'em, and some even look human. So much you can't tell the real difference. Lucky me, huh? Institute takes my Charlie, and doesn't even bother replacing him."
(Becky Fallon's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Collector's Edition pp.518-519: "[18.09] UNIVERSITY POINT
This once-thriving settlement was built into the ruins of the old university. Approximately one year before current events, synths from the Institute wiped this trading post off the map after a disagreement regarding classified research. An explosion in the service tunnels under Sedgwick Hall killed many, released a large amount of radioactive material, and caused the building to partly collapse."
(Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Map)
