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The mysterious serum is a consumable item in Fallout 4.

Background[]

This serum is derived from the blood of archaeologist Lorenzo Cabot, who discovered a mysterious artifact during an excavation in the Rub' al Khali in 1894.[1] The artifact granted him immortality, modifying his body in such a way as to prevent aging, and granting him various superhuman abilities. Lorenzo's son Jack, studying the artifact, found a way to transfer its effects to others by processing Lorenzo's blood into this serum.[2][3] By using it, the Cabots have managed to live for over three centuries. However, the serum used by the family is actually heavily diluted. In its purest form, the serum is capable of greatly increasing physical strength and resistance, much more than in the diluted version.[4]

The Cabot family has used the serum for so long that they are psychologically addicted to it, and could not possibly let it go on their own even though they assume that they could. Emogene Cabot is the only one who is aware of this, as she went without the serum for a month and could not bear to stop taking it afterwards.[5]

Characteristics[]

This consumable is only obtainable through the quests Special Delivery and The Secret of Cabot House. Eight guaranteed vials can be obtained during The Secret of Cabot House. An additional vial can be obtained if the player character passes a speech check to convince Jack Cabot that no serum was found at Parsons Creamery during Special Delivery, and one more can be gained if the player character sides with Lorenzo Cabot to the very end of The Secret of Cabot House. Should the player character decide to free Lorenzo, they will then gain access to an infinite supply of the serum, with a few caveats: only one can be received at a time and only when the Sole Survivor has none left, and the serum cannot be sold. It is also not possible to hoard the vials in containers and obtain more from Lorenzo, as he will know if the Sole Survivor has vials stored somewhere else in the Commonwealth.

The item's description lists a Radiation effect of -36,000, but this is misleading, as it does not act like a RadAway. Rather, this number comes from removing 10 rads per second for 3,600 seconds (60 minutes or one hour).

One potential use for the serum is boosting carrying capacity while scavenging. The boost of +5 Strength is significant, as the similar consumable Buffout only gives +2, and any chem mixed with it +3. Another use is most helpful when the perk Ghoulish is acquired and fully upgraded. When standing in irradiated water without Radiation Resistance, the player character will effectively take no new rads, but can gain up to 15 Hit Points per second with the perk. The serum can also be used to heal Andre Michaud in Far Harbor, but Lorenzo will no longer give the player character any more vials if it is used in that way unless it is done before completing The Secret of Cabot House.

Like all other anti-radiation drugs, in Survival mode the serum is affected by Immunodeficiency.

Locations[]

  • One at Parsons Creamery during Special Delivery. The player character can keep it by passing a speech check with Jack Cabot.
  • One in Parsons State Insane Asylum, on the ground next to a raider immediately inside the main entrance.
  • Five in Parsons State Insane Asylum, on the raider Lefty in the room containing Lorenzo's cell, but he will use one upon entering combat.
  • Three in Parsons State Insane Asylum, on a surgical tray on a table in the room containing Lorenzo's cell.
  • Seven berserk raiders and one raider (the first one encountered on the right) in Parsons State Insane Asylum have a vial of mysterious serum, but they will use them as soon as they enter combat.
  • One given by Lorenzo if the player character sides with him to the end of The Secret of Cabot House. This can be renewed if the player character has none left in their inventory. See details in the Characteristics section above.

Notes[]

  • The mysterious serum temporarily neutralizes the effect of the fog on the Sole Survivor while on the Island; the highly irradiated ocean will pull more than 10 rads per second, however.
  • It acts similarly while exploring Kiddie Kingdom as well; with its rad removal effect, it can almost completely negate the threat of the mist sprayers, especially with a full suit of power armor or a hazmat suit equipped.
  • Both Paladin Danse and X6-88 disapprove of giving Emogene the serum in the quest Emogene Takes a Lover (though only X6-88 will lose affinity). They state that the Sole Survivor should turn it in to the Brotherhood's scribes or Institute BioScience, respectively. However, there is no option to do either.
  • If Andre Michaud in Far Harbor is healed using the serum found during Special Delivery before meeting Lorenzo, Lorenzo will still give the player serum after completing The Secret of Cabot House, as the agreement of the serum being for personal use is made at the completion of the quest.
  • Using another mysterious serum again will only refresh its duration regardless of how much time the first dose has expired. The effect ends exactly 20 hours of in-game time after the last consumption, whether that time is used up by fast-traveling, waiting, sleeping or just playing normally.

References[]

  1. Lorenzo Cabot's journal
  2. The Sole Survivor: "Where do you get this serum from?"
    Jack Cabot: "My father, Lorenzo Cabot, is... confined in Parsons. He became dangerously unstable after handling an artifact he found on an archaeological dig in Arabia. He gained various seemingly paranormal powers... as well as becoming increasingly irrational and violent. In the end, I had no choice but to confine him - for his own safety as well as ours."
    Wilhelmina Cabot: "Jack! Are you sure it's wise, telling him/her all this?"
    Jack Cabot: "In the course of my attempts to cure him, I discovered that the artifact had introduced... anomalies into his blood. So, the source of his insanity is also the basis of the treatments that have prolonged all our lives. The irony isn't lost on me."
    (Jack Cabot's and Wilhelmina Cabot's dialogue)
  3. The Sole Survivor: "I want to know why no one in your family seems to age, and I want to know now."
    Emogene Cabot: "So either Jack blabbed or you're smarter than the thugs he usually has working for him. He must have told you about the strange artifact my father found? Jack's been studying it for years. Early on he figured out a way to transfer the beneficial side effects to the rest of us. He developed a serum that we all take. It pretty much halts aging, although you can see what happens if you stop taking it for too long. Don't worry, I'll be my usual stunning self as soon as I get some more serum."
    (Emogene Cabot's dialogue)
  4. The Sole Survivor: "So this serum does more than halt aging?"
    Jack Cabot: "I suppose it's time you knew. The main benefit of the serum is to halt aging. My family and I are all over 400 years old. But it also confers other... side effects, especially in the undiluted form that the raiders stole. It increases strength and resistance to all kinds of physical damage. So at least some of these raiders may be much more dangerous than the ones you're used to dealing with."
    (Jack Cabot's dialogue)
  5. Cabot House terminal entries; terminal, 05/03/1994
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