Future Imperfect

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Future Imperfect is a Fallout 3 quest and the final of the flashbacks. For completing this quest, you get The G.O.A.T. Whisperer which is a Achievement on the Xbox 360 and PC; and a Bronze Trophy On the PlayStation 3.

Walkthrough

The quest starts after a talk with your Dad, during which you're told you have to go to class and take the G.O.A.T. test. Bobblehead - Medicine is on his desk; this is one of only four opportunities to take it. Just outside the classroom, Amata is being harassed by Butch DeLoria and his gang, the Tunnel Snakes. There are a variety of choices that can be taken here.

The player may pass a speech check warning Butch that the Overseer will come down on the Tunnel Snakes if he continues his actions. This will earn good Karma. Also for good Karma, Wally Mack may be convinced that he is being used by Butch as a lackey, which causes him and Paul Hannon to leave the group. More good karmatic options include Butch being told off, or fighting Butch and his gang. If the lattermost is chosen, then once the player or Butch is reduced to 50% health, the fight will stop (alternatively you can start the fight and run into the class room. This will stop the fight and still give you good karma). The only bad karmatic option here is telling Butch that Amata is sensitive about her weight, giving him more ideas to make fun of her. Wally Mack may still be convinced to leave Butch's gang after doing this. Alternatively, the player may ignore the incident completely for no change in Karma. Keep in mind that the path you take here will determine your initial karma levels in the game, and it will be very difficult to change your alignment afterwards (the karma shift is quite high).

Mr. Brotch will approach the player as they enter. If asked whether you really have to take the test, he will allow you to skip it, and select your tag skills directly. The player may also ask Mr. Brotch to fill out the G.O.A.T, whereupon he will ask what the player likes and will assign tag skills accordingly. This won't earn the achievement, though. Otherwise, the player is to sit down at a desk, after which the G.O.A.T will begin. See the G.O.A.T article for information on the questions and how how the answers given influence the results. If the tag skills given are undesired, they may be changed by speaking with Mr. Brotch after the test to change them. With the Tag! perk, you can choose a fourth tag skill, increasing it by 15 points, so if you make a mistake for your origninal tag skills, you can hoose one more.

Walking out of the classroom after setting your tag skills will move the game onto the next quest, 3 years after the quest.

Notes

• If you do not sit the test but bypass it through dialogue options with Mr. Brotch, you will not get the achievement "The G.O.A.T. Whisperer".
• If you wait and stand back you can listen to what everyone else got as they approach.
  • Amata is slated to go into a supervisory position, which her father probably had something to do with using his influence.
  • Butch DeLoria is slated to be a hairdresser. To this, he says he wanted to be a barber, which he claims is very different from a hairdresser. And indeed, during the return in the mission Trouble on the Homefront, he may give the player a haircut.
  • Paul Hannon Jr. is slated for the Engineering Track.
  • Christine Kendall is slated to go into Maintenance. She and her mother wanted her to go into Science or Home Economics.
  • Susie Mack is slated to go into teaching due to, according to Brotch, her gift of communication.
  • Wally Mack walks out of the room, without hearing the results of his G.O.A.T, saying over his shoulder how he knew which answers would lead to his ideal job, thus 'cheating' on the G.O.A.T. Mr Brotch is heard to remark: "Well I'll be damned, that little so and so, wish I'd thought of that when I was sixteen." He later ends up becoming a security officer.
  • Freddie Gomez is struggling with the test and stays behind to try to figure it out. We don't hear what he will become.
• If you activate the terminal in the office you start off in, you can read about an experiment that your dad and Jonas have done, foreshadowing Project Purity.
• Since you can change your Tag Skills after taking the G.O.A.T. -- and you can once again manually change these right before leaving Vault 101 -- it could be worthwhile for some players to Tag Skills useful during Escape! and then select different skills right before leaving the vault. For example, players could select Melee Weapons as a Tag Skill, relying on the Baseball Bat in dealing with any guards during the escape, and then drop Melee Weapons in exchange for a ranged weapon skill right before opening the outer door.
• The quest's name derives from the "future imperfect" tense, which describes ongoing action in the future: "I will be running." Outside of the context of grammar (which suits a segment that's mostly about school), "Future Imperfect" has been used as the title of many stories (including a Star Trek episode) about a dystopic or flawed future.
• Freddie Gomez has one particularly funny line when speaking to him after the G.O.A.T. He may ask, "I was going to go with The Overseer for Question 10. What did you put?"

Bugs

• The quest had a tendency to break in the PS3/360 version of the game; the test may fail to begin after the player sits in a desk. Some students may be scribbling some answers on their papers, but nothing else will happen. This has not been fixed with the patch.
• On the PS3 version it is also possible for Mr. Brotch to not address the player after entering the classroom. This happened after knocking more than one of the Tunnel Snakes unconscious in the hallway when they were teasing Amata.
• The quest may break on the 360 version of the game. If you sit in the second desk, on the right hand side of the classroom, the test will not begin despite several students scribbling on their papers. If you do sit there, it is better to reload your checkpoint and sit in the first desk on the same side.
• If the quest breaks while you are sitting, you may also fix it by Saving while sitting in the chair and reloading that save. The Test will immediately begin (360).
• On the 360 version, after the blinding light appears right before the quest begins, you can see your father examining you, but he has stretched and bent fingers.
• If you knock out all the tunnel snakes and sit in the last seat on the right and right when the test starts you can get up and leave the room to skip the test. (360)
• If your female character has the "Frazzled" hairstyle it will be replaced by the "Pretty Puff" style for the duration of this quest. (PS3/360)

See also

• Fallout 3 quests
• Fallout 3 achievements and trophies

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