Katherine "Kat" Swan is a potential lite ally living in Appalachia. She is a professional astronomer, as well as an avid extraterrestrial theorist.
Katherine was unlockable upon reaching rank 25 of the Zorbo's Revenge season, and a plan for her was released with the Invaders from Beyond update.
Background[]
As a teenager, Katherine was aloof, and she thought about majoring in biology, chemistry or physics. However, she never felt fulfilled learning about these subjects, finding them mundane. When she heard the poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman, which she learned to recite from memory, it changed her outlook to extraterrestrial pursuits.[1][2] Allured by the thrill of discovery itself,[3][4][5][6][7][8] she knew she found her calling.[9][10] Seeing the poem as a way one should live their lives.[11][12]
The story of how her parents met changed as she grew older. For years, they told her how her mother was a nurse. In actuality, her mother was a former patient at Allegheny Asylum, and her father worked at Vault-Tec University and needed her mother's help for a project he was working on. He pulled some strings and got her out of the asylum, and along the way, she stole a worker's uniform. When the scandal broke, she decided to confess to the lesser crime of being a patient. This revelation shocked Katherine, who became concerned that she would develop any mental illnesses herself.[13]
Seeking to validate her sanity, she decided to test the question, "How far does the apple fall from the tree?" literally. She found and shook a tree viciously, only stopping when apples rained down on her. In her embarrassment, she realized that she had never any reason to suspect her mother was mentally ill. Although at peace with this information, her mental sanity is a continual sore spot.[14] If she is called "crazy," she will threaten to slap the offender, but will back off in the name of germaphobia.[15]
Shortly after the Great War, she lost her family, traumatizing her, and she managed to comfort herself by the thought that they were spared from the aftermath. At some point, she traveled to the ATLAS Observatory and managed to make her way through the hostile robot guards. She was disappointed to discover it had been used as a front for ulterior motives (specifically, weather manipulation).[16][17]
She would later return to the site, now dubbed Fort Atlas, after it became occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel. Katherine describes the Brotherhood as "an interesting lot." Although she is suspicious of their motives, due to their proclivity of hoarding technology, she is satisfied that they at least will keep the more dangerous stuff away from the raider clans.[18]
At some point, Katherine had a girlfriend, who she was only interested in for two reasons; one, Katherine believed that she was an alien[19] (possibly because of how she would also pronounce the letter "s" longer than needed),[20] and two, she was pretty. This ex-girlfriend told her that she loved books and Katherine would scrounge for novels for her while she was traveling as a gift. This woman was actually illiterate, but Katherine was willfully blind to her inability to read road signs.[17] She would also chastise this woman for not paying more in taxes prior to the War, only later coming to the conclusion that she was correct for doing so.[21]
During her time in Appalachia, she would meet and ally with at least one former dweller of Vault 76. At some point she would meet, and be disappointed with "Xerxo."[22] She has never met a living astronaut, and would be very interested in meeting Sofia Daguerre. The Vault 76 dweller can tell Katherine all about Daguerre, and she will be enthralled by her story.[23]
Personality[]
An astronomer by profession, Katherine is also an avid extraterrestrial theorist.[24] Neither of these professions have much of an income, so she sells weapons and schematics that have a vague connection to the former, rather than the latter.[25][26][27] Katherine's aforementioned alien theorizing is to the point of obsession, which she either actively or subconsciously bases on her personal preferences and biases. For example, she chooses to idealize a fictional alien civilization that she created while deriding humanity.[28][7] She derisively refers to humanity as "boring," "cowardly,"[29] "ridiculous,"[30] and a "failed experiment."[3] Meanwhile, she either cannot or does not want to discern science fiction from reality. Such is the case with her opinion on The Adventures of Captain Cosmos and its characters.[29][31][30][32][33]
This habit extends into her personal as well as her professional life,[24] for example, choosing to date a woman for two reasons, one being that she thought that she was an alien.[19] She believes she has a "winsome" personality,[26] while at other times she shows signs of self-absortion and narcissism.[3] She is also very vain,[34] choosing to blame her aliens for her aging.[35] She jokes about filing frivolous lawsuits,[36] and used to chastise her loved ones over not paying more in pre-War taxes.[21]
For fun[]
Katherine truly loves her work, although at times she feels overworked, considering herself to be constantly busy. As she puts it, "it literally hangs over [her] head," like the Sword of Damocles.[37] Believing in proper work-life balance,[28][38][39] in her free time, she likes to watch science fiction movies,[23] listen to classical music (though she prefers jazz when she wants to dance),[40] read[39] (even the occasional comic book),[41] drink wine[42] and play board games, sometimes competitively. Her favorite game is The Legendary Run, despite its flaws.[37] In her words, she has never been bored with Don't Be Bored Games Company products.
When stuck on a theory, Katherine likes to meditate, believing that meditation and exercises are good for the mind.[43] She believes that people should memorize the constellations as a way to not get lost while traveling in the wasteland. This is because, even though they are patterns projected on the stars in the night sky,[44] they will not change over time.[45]
Science[]
Katherine believes that any medium that promotes scientific curiosity and interest in astronomy is a positive force, even if it is poorly written science fiction.[31] This also applies to the ATLAS Observatory's weather manipulation technology.[46] That said, she either chooses to not discern between fiction and fact. She ultimately treats science as a religion, while also denouncing religion as "ridiculous."[4][30][35]
She takes her extraterrestrial theorizing extremely seriously.[47] At times, she finds investigating the claims of abductees and individuals to be extremely frustrating. The most frustrating interview she had ever done was with "Xerxo," the insane former Hollywood actor turned ghoul.[22] However, she does like to have fun while on the job, such as theorizing about alien abductions,[48] and drinking while stargazing. She likes to drink red wine when studying planets, because it reminds her of Mars, white wine whe studying the stars, and when doing both, a rosé.[42][49] When studying the extraterrestrial, the few answers she does get usually leads to more questions.[50]
One of the few things that she is sure of is that the aliens would not need to use cliché Hollywood lines such as "take me to your leader." Katherine believes firmly that they would not need an escort to find them.[51] Among her beliefs is that almost all unknown phenomena can be attributed to the extraterrestrial, from witchcraft to her gray hair.[35] Including that cats are aliens in disguise, because they come and go as they please, and are often adopted and cared for by humans, allowing for easy observation.[52] Such was the case with her pet cat Herschel, who could seemingly teleport from place to place.[20] Another of her beliefs is that the nuclear apocalypse set human-alien relations back by at least a century; or at least she hopes that it did, as she fears them invading with human civilization in its current state.[53] As she believes that humanity could use the experience of meeting another sentient species as a change at self-reflection.[8][54]
Among her investigations is Colton Pickins' pre-War claim to have met the Flatwoods monster.[55] She has never met Mr. Pickins, and how she came across this encounter is unclear. From what little she has gathered she believes, correctly, that the Flatwoods monster is in fact an alien. From there, everything she believes turns into baseless conspiracy and conjecture, jealous that Colton had the encounter rather then herself and judgmental of the man's carrier of selling hotdogs.[56][57][58][59]
She is frustrated that she cannot seem to meet the criteria to become a target for alien abduction.[56][59] Moreover, she believes that she should be invited in, dreaming that said aliens would take her to the furthest stars and walk on other worlds, especially if she is taken with someone who can be her friend.[60]
She has no tolerance for those she considers idiots or fools,[61][62] and would prefer accomplishing her work over being seen as sane, as most people try to avoid spending time with her due to her narcissism.[3][15][63] She also is critical of historically patriarchal institutions, citing Maria Mitchell's scientific discoveries being published under her father's name.[64] If a Vault Dweller is polite to her and tolerant of her wild theorizing, she will grow fond of them.[24] If the same Vault Dweller happens to be female, Katherine will refer to them as "highly attractive."[65] She will grow fond of the Vault Dweller(s), impressed at their ingenuity and productivity; she hopes that they could be her assistant, or even better, her protégé.[66]
Although she says that a good scientist has a healthy curiosity and an open mind,[67][58] she will deride other scientific theorists, such as astrology and "cryptid" hunters, considering them to be pseudo-scientific bunk which she has no time for.[61] Furthermore, she considers such people as the infamous Calvin van Lowe the worst.[68]
Captain Cosmos[]
Katherine's views on the Adventures of Captain Cosmos include that the character "Jangles the Moon Monkey" is a perfect representation of the "cowardice" of mankind, those who would rather use animals instead of humans in dangerous explorations.[29] She says that Dr. Zorbo, an evil green doctor actively trying to thwart humanity's attempts to travel through space with his death ray, is a story that has human origins and has the same level of credibility as religion.[31][30] She also states that his portrayal was less ridiculous than that of Captain Cosmos. In her opinion, he was meant to be a "mirror image of man," one who always wins.[41] To Katherine, Captain Cosmos represents how humanity is completely deluded in how important they are. This specifically alludes to how she sees men as a whole.[32] She views Stella Skyfire as a perfect Hollywood cartoon character, thin on characterization and quieter than she should be. Katherine wishes that she was more prominent on the show.[33]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
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This character cannot be killed. | |
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This character is a C.A.M.P. ally. Their associated workshop object is Katherine's research desk. | |
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This character is a vendor. |
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This character offers miscellaneous services. |
Alien Astronomer:
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Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratty skirt |
Notes[]
- She claims that the earliest recorded alien abduction was in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1697, and that she knows this from a tape of a man who claimed to have been taken into a "great spaceship in the sky." This is a reference to Andrew Endicott, whos recording is found on Mothership Zeta.[70]
- She finds anything that could prevent her stargazing distasteful, such as skyscrapers, clouds and rain.[71][72][73]
- She believes that coffee is overrated, as it does not appeal to her as much as tea.[74]
- She is fond of the constellation Pegasus.[75]
- She believes that the character Stella Skyfire's name is reference to Annie Jump Cannon, the astronomer who discovered Astronomical spectroscopy.[33]
- When commenting about Maria Mitchell discovering her comet, she mentions how she had to publish the find under her father's name.[64]
- That her most prized possession is a Dollond refracting telescope that has three inches of aperture and a forty-six inch focal length. Just like the one Maria Mitchell used to discover her comet.[69]
- She compares herself to Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Sir Isaac Newton should one question her sanity.[15][63]
- She named her pet cat after the astronomer Caroline Herschel.[20]
- She compares her work as an astronomer and her extra terrestrial investigations to the Sword of Damocles.[37]
- She has no idea what the slang term "toots" is and did not know how to respond to it when a scavenger called her it.[76]
- She once had a gun that never jammed, which she regretted selling it when she was in need of money.[77]
- She finds watching meteor shower romantic to watch.[78]
- She doesn't believe that people are entitled to second chances,[79] but does believe in fate.[54]
Notable quotes[]
- "When walking the tightrope of life, never look down."
- "That sounds like a recipe for boredom. Personally, I believe in a balance. The stars in the sky are beautiful, no doubt, but without the empty space, the light would be blinding. However, if all you had was the void, you would feel empty and alone."
- "Morning. People say it's a sunrise, but what they really mean is, the planet has made another spin."
- "If only the nukes could target skyscrapers, and only skyscrapers, it might almost be a net gain."
- "A good scientist has a healthy curiosity and an open mind. Too many learned men turn to books assuming the answers are already known."
- "It's important to read, but it's equally as important to experience. Finding the balance is key."
- "I don't mind sitting down and reading a comic book. I just hate the fact that Captain Cosmos always wins."
- "The apocalypse probably set us back a century in extraterrestrial relations. At least, I hope it did. God forbid they see it as a chance to invade."
- "Interviewing Mister Xerxo, which is obviously not his real name was, quite frankly, one of the most frustrating experiences of my career."
- "Aristotle believed the universe was composed of four elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. He also listed a fifth element, to describe the heavens. Ether. It's that fifth element, that unknown particle that stretches the cosmos, that is my calling."
- "Here on Earth, I've met my share of hare-brains and nincompoops. It'd be foolish to assume alien life doesn't have its fair share of the same."
- "The earliest recorded abduction was in Salem, in 1697. There's a tape of a man who claims to have been swept up into a great spaceship in the sky."
- "I never understood the appeal of coffee. Tea is by far the superior of the two."
Appearances[]
Katherine Swan appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Night of the Moth update.
Behind the scenes[]
- Katherine frequently references historical figures by name, ranging from female astronomers such as Caroline Herschel, Maria Mitchell and Annie Jump Cannon, to classical thinkers such as Aristotle, Copernicus, and Newton.
- She also references several in-game characters, such as Calvin van Lowe and Sofia Daguerre.
- Katherine's outfit first appeared on Ellie Perkins from Fallout 4. It is also used on the body of Amy Kerry.
Gallery[]
References[]
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