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This page is about the city from Fallout. For the founder of Hubology, see Dick Hubbell. |
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The Hub is a major trading city located in southern California.
The Hub is an enormous trading center and settlement established in an old town relatively untouched by the Great War. Caravans are organized here, carrying goods north to Shady Sands, Junktown, the Mojave Wasteland, and south to the Boneyard. It houses a large community of traders, barterers, gamblers, and other interesting individuals. The wide variety of people passing through ensures that there is always something interesting going on. The caravan houses that work the routes trade in everything: chems, tires, guns, bullets, food, brahmin, dirt, even scraps of metal.
It is one of the core states of the New California Republic, alongside the states of Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, and Dayglow with its representatives (or "governors") having a major say in the affairs of the fledgling republic.[1]
Background
The Hub was founded in 2093 by a man named Angus, who set up camp around a filthy oasis in the desert and an old town, relatively untouched by the Great War,[2] and proceeded to begin trading with other settlements.
In 2096, a man named Harold rose to the level of a caravan boss in the Hub. His caravans suffered occasional attacks in the wastes, but Harold's caravan outfit survived and prospered until the mutant attacks began to pick up a few years later. Increasing mutant attacks on his caravans so infuriated Harold that, in 2102, he financed an adventuring party to find out where the mutants were coming from.
Consulting with a scientist and doctor at the Hub, a man by the name of Richard Grey, the two of them decided to join forces. They, along with two others, sought out the source of mutants that had been attacking civilians in the area. Their travels led them to the Mariposa Military Base, where, after stiff resistance from robots, everyone was separated, and both Richard Grey and Harold were exposed to the FEV vats. A few months later, Harold was found by traders and taken back to the Hub. But he wasn't human anymore - he was transforming into a strange ghoul-like mutant. His former caravan partners and employees, horrified by his condition, abandoned him without even two bottle caps to rub together. However, he soon became the leader of the Hub's small ghoul population.
 | The following is based on Fallout Bible developer commentary. |
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In 2120, Angus established himself as the governor of the growing Hub. Five years later he managed to stop the Vipers' attempt to raid the city. Sadly, He was murdered in the winter of the same year by an unknown assailant, throwing the Hub into chaos.[3]
| End of information based on Fallout Bible developer commentary |
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In 2126, the Great Merchant Wars started when a band of merchants seized the water tower in the Hub. They demanded anyone wanting water must pay a toll. The war lasted for two years. The water merchants sealed up the town but were outnumbered. A man named Roy Greene (Justin Greene's grandfather) made the peace and negotiated a settlement. The Hub's central council was formed, composed of two representatives from each of the Hub caravan companies. A long period of indecisiveness and meetings maintain the status quo in the Hub.
In 2131, the Master began ordering his super mutants to gather human stock from caravans. For many years, the caravan disappearances were blamed on monsters in the desert, and even when the abductions begin to occur on Hub caravans, the blame lay on wild deathclaws. The Hub Underground was formed by a man called Decker in 2140, who quickly started pulling the strings in the town.
With the Vault Dweller's assistance, old Harold brought the ghoul population of the Hub into equality with the humans. The two sides worked together, and the Hub prospered. Old Harold is still alive, as far as anyone knows. In 2189, the Hub became one of the five founding states within the NCR. By 2281, the Hub has become much more peaceful than it once was, thanks to the annexation of the NCR. However, it is mentioned by many characters in Fallout: New Vegas that raider gangs still exist there, and many of the Powder Gangers were from gangs in the Hub, such as Dawes.
Location
The Hub can be found one square east and thirteen squares south of Vault 13. It's also four squares south of Junktown.
Layout
The Hub is divided into five districts and two outside sections.
| Hub entrance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ | ||||
| Heights | ← | Hub Downtown | → | Old Town |
| ↓ | ||||
| Irwin's Farm | Water Merchants | Deathclaw's lair |
Hub Entrance
Welcome to the biggest traders city in the Wastes!
Fundamentally, the entrance of the Hub serves as both a landing and a jumping-off point for the countless caravans that crisscross the wastes. At any time, several caravans will be loading or offloading goods, typically accompanied by a retinue of heavily-armed mercenary guards. Apart from the staging areas for the caravans, much of this outskirts area is given over to agriculture, under the protection of the Hub police.
Downtown
Heart of the city
The busiest section of the Hub, Hub Downtown is second only to the entrance in terms of foot traffic, the entrance only busier due to caravans. Downtown is host to most of the city services, including the Hub police station and library, as well as a number of commercial interests: both the Far Go Traders and Crimson Caravan hold offices in downtown, as does the Friendly Lending Company, as well as a few arms merchants. One colorful character in downtown is Iguana Bob Frazier, proprietor of a lucrative iguana-on-a-stick stand. The Maltese Falcon, the local bar and flophouse, rounds out the area. The occasional homeless or drifter, such as Irwin, can also often be found here.
Old Town
Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
The enigmatic section of town, Old Town is a combination residential and commercial district. Several important characters, including Harold and Loxley, can be found in Old Town, along with a handful of arms merchants and miscellaneous Hub residents. Despite its unassuming appearance, however, a great deal of danger can be found in Old Town by the adventurous or unwary, and several miscellaneous quests have their roots here.
Water Merchants
Vitality of the city
One of the most vital sections of the Hub, yet home to one of the most unscrupulous commercial entities in California, the water merchants section of town is home to the titular Water Merchants, a trading group specializing in the sale of potable water to various settlements in the wasteland. As "clean" water is a precious commodity, the water merchants section of town is the site of great wealth, both in coin and in water, and is therefore well-guarded. Any person wishing to do business with the water merchants must come to this section of the Hub. There is also a hospital run by the Children of the Cathedral in this area.
Heights
High society, Hub style
The Heights is the upper-class residential area of the Hub and is home to Daren Hightower, a local and very wealthy merchant. That Hightower keeps considerable valuables in his mansion is an open secret, any merchant as rich as Hightower certainly has items of value worth taking. Hightower, however, has not made his money through foolish risk-taking, so the Heights are often patrolled by paid mercenary guards. Any visitors without a good reason - or at least a good story - for being in the area are promptly ushered out, usually at gunpoint.
Irwin's Farm
Farm, Hub style
This location is only accessible during the quest "Help Irwin." It's a small farm, next to the Hub, owned by Irwin, which is now under the control of a band composed of seven raiders.
Deathclaw's Lair
Find out about the deathclaw?
This location is only accessible during the quest "Find the missing caravans." The deathclaw's lair is a cave near the Hub and the home of one of the fearsome deathclaws and a dying super mutant.
Factions
Several factions constantly vie for control of The Hub:
- Hub police attempt to maintain law and order in the town, however, their attempts are coming under increasing pressure from both the merchants and the Hub Underground.
- Merchant companies, principally the Crimson Caravan, Far Go Traders, and the Water Merchants all seek to maximize profits, which sometimes runs at odds with the law. Additionally, the merchants constantly find themselves the target of raids or extortion attempts.
- The Underground, a criminal element headed by Decker, seeks to control the Hub and its massive trading profits.
- The Thieves' Guild, run by Loxley, does not necessarily want to control the Hub as such, but nevertheless is at odds with all three of the other factions by the simple virtue of endeavoring to steal what they have.
As of the arrival of the Vault Dweller, the Underground is known to have been destroyed by them (with the help of the Hub police or not), since the Hub is still here in 2241.
Notes
- The background music is "A Trader's Life," which was later used for NCR town.
- It's not actually possible to save the Hub, as a special quest, as well as a global variable, cannot be completed or activated.
- The Vault Dweller was supposed to be kind to Harold by giving him some caps, which would give the old mutant a chance to bring equality into ghouls and humans alike.
- In Fallout 4, during Kellogg's memories, it is mentioned that the Hub held a referendum on ascension to the NCR, the vote count was 55% in favor of joining.
Appearances
The Hub appears in Fallout, and is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas[4][5] and its add-on Lonesome Road,[6] Fallout 4,[7] and the Fallout Bible.[8]
Behind the scenes
Although the Fallout Official Survival Guide says the Hub was founded on the ruins of Barstow,[citation needed] its location corresponds more closely with the present-day Edwards Air Force Base, whereas Necropolis lies where Barstow would be.
Gallery
See also
References
- ↑ NCR history holodisk: " Founded eighty years ago, the NCR is now comprised of the states of Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub, and Dayglow. Approximately 700,000 citizens are pleased to call NCR home."
- ↑ Fallout Official Survival Guide
- ↑ Fallout Bible 6:"Defeat at the Hub in 2125: Their failed attempt to raid the Hub during the Hub's formative years, stopped almost solely by Angus, the founder of the Hub. Angus' defense caused the Vipers to retreat north, and they roamed the wastes for many, many years, occasionally attacking caravans and small settlements. Around the early 2150s, however, the Vipers had grown to their former strength from captured slaves and caravan drivers and had begun to establish a power base in the badlands to the North of the Hub (and south of the Lost Hills Bunker). Driven by a religious frenzy (and the need to provide for their much larger numbers of soldiers and disciples), they began raiding more frequently than before, attracting the attention of the Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood sent out a few squads of scouts to track the raiders down - it was more of a training exercise conducted by John Maxson's father, as the Brotherhood was convinced that small detachment of troops in Power Armor would be sufficient to deal with a group of raiders, no matter how large. In the winter of the same year, however, he was murdered which threw the Hub into chaos."
- ↑ The Courier: "You're well-dressed for this place."
Alice McLafferty: "Normally, I oversee company operations at the Hub in California. However, the New Vegas branch has been underperforming in recent years. Given the conditions here, it's not hard to see why. I'll change all that, soon enough."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ Nipton terminal entries; Mayor Steyn's terminal, Prison Break
- ↑ For whoever finds this....
- ↑ Conrad Kellogg: "I was the worst thing that ever happened to her. If she'd never met me, she'd have stayed in the Hub, maybe hooked up with someone who didn't kill people for a living. Probably been happier than she was with me. Almost certainly lived longer."
(Conrad Kellog's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout Bible; Page 82: "Junktown became part of NCR as part of the state of Shady, and it was one of the first provisional states, considering it was one of the first (and most trustworthy) of the Shady Sands trading partners during its early formation. Its alliance with Shady Sands did cause some alarm from the caravans in the Hub, but it didn't hurt the Hub communities any... and the Hub eventually became part of NCR as well."
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