For the location as a whole in Fallout 4, see The Institute (location). For the specific cell named "The Institute", see Institute concourse. |
The Institute is an elusive scientific society based in the Commonwealth. Founded in 2110 by survivors from the Commonwealth Institute of Technology and their descendants, the Institute considers itself a bastion of knowledge and prosperity amid a dying world, and by 2287 has developed numerous revolutionary and advanced technologies such as teleportation and synthetic humans.
Disdainful of the outside world, they aim to monitor and control the Commonwealth through both subterfuge and brute force, to ensure their work is not disrupted. This secretive and hostile attitude has turned the Institute into a "boogeyman" in the wasteland, and its presence is a major cause of paranoia for the people of the Commonwealth.[1]
The Fallout TV series implies the Institute was destroyed by the Sole Survivor in the canon of the series since the Prydwen still exists, suggesting the Institute was annihilated by either the Commonwealth Minutemen or the Brotherhood of Steel, but not the Railroad.
Background
The Institute was built upon the site of the former Commonwealth Institute of Technology, or C.I.T.[2] While the college itself laid in ruins for more than two centuries, at the time of the Great War, those present took refuge underground.[2] The Institute was formally founded by the children of the original survivors, who dug into the earth and built increasingly sophisticated residential facilities and laboratories, starting an ongoing process of infrastructure expansion.[3]
Isolated from the outside world, the scientists continued their work, disregarding the mayhem and destruction occurring outside of its grounds. As they worked on creating synths, they attempted to work peacefully with the people of the Commonwealth using first generation synths as well as help create a new stabilized government, but mutual mistrust and infighting ended that relationship quickly and they returned to isolation.[4][5] Eventually, the scientists have utterly put ubiquitous pre-War technology to shame,[6] to the point where they believed that wastelanders would be unlikely to understand the sheer scope of the Institute's achievement,[7] such as the creation of the molecular relay (teleporter) in the 2180s,[8] which resulted in the Institute sealing itself off from the surface permanently,[9] and the development of synths. For decades, the first and second generation synths were the most visible part of the Institute's operations, scavenging for materials and performing experiments on the wasteland. The scientists did not concern themselves with the effect their actions had on the surface, sometimes resulting in entire settlements being destroyed.[10][11][12]
However, the Institute eventually reached the limits of the synth technology that underpinned their society. Although powerful, the second generation synth was an inherently limited, mechanical platform. To overcome the limitations of metal synthetic materials, the Institute endeavored to create synthetic flesh, with the first research initiative beginning in 2178. Under the auspices of Doctor Frederick, FEV samples served as the starting point for the new, organic synthetic program despite the objections of some members of BioScience.[13][14] Research slowed in March 2224, as the research team concluded that the organic synth project could not proceed despite perfecting two FEV strains for the project. Radiation-induced hereditary damage proved too much of an obstacle.[15]
The solution came in 2227, with the acquisition of a baby named Shaun who had an undamaged pre-War genetic code. Shaun was abducted from his parents in Vault 111 by Institute mercenary Conrad Kellogg. The organic synth project was spun off from the FEV research initiative,[16][17] and his DNA became the basis of the third generation synths. The infant Shaun became "Father" to a whole family of engineered synthetic beings.
Two incidents caused the Institute to have a negative perception by the surface dwellers. In 2229, a defective synth caused the Broken Mask Incident in Diamond City, vilifying the Institute in the eyes of the Commonwealth,[18] and causing no small amount of internal problems for the Institute, as he was sent out without proper testing or approval.[19] During the 2230s, the Massacre of the CPG occurred in which the Institute killed people trying to create a stable Commonwealth government.
By 2266, the Institute had learned about the Railroad, an organization dedicated to helping escaped synths. The Institute raided and massacred the Railroad's headquarters, and murdered their leader Wyatt in 2273.
The FEV research effort continued for several more decades, despite producing no useful data; except for manufacturing more super mutants for the surface to contend with.[20][21] When Brian Virgil succeeded Dr. Syverson as head of the project in April 2286, it became evident that FEV experimentation ran its course and served no useful purpose, not with the availability of third generation synths.[22] The Institute's experiments with the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV, ended when Doctor Virgil went rogue and fled into the Commonwealth.[23]
The Institute is constantly facing shortages in its power budget, in no small part due to the fact that the molecular de-materializer (the only way in and out of the facility) requires immense amounts of power for each use.[24] Moreover, despite the luster of the Institute's facilities, a lot of the crucial facilities (particularly the reactor) are pre-War technology and despite continued maintenance requires increasing amounts of resources to keep running after two centuries of expansion.[25] The technology still holds up, as it was built to last.[26]
To overcome at least one problem, the ultimate goal of the Institute is energy independence, which they believe can be achieved by restarting the ancient nuclear reactor once used by the C.I.T. to perform experiments and providing the Institute with near limitless power.[27] The design has been revised and the reactor itself extensively upgraded and improved, turning it from a testing reactor into a proper source of electricity.[28] Activating it would free the Institute from the need to compromise and sacrifice,[29] and especially drawing power from above-ground installations.[30]
Organization
The Institute allows humans to live in a clean, safe, comfortable environment deep underground, free from the strife and environmental hazards present on the surface.[31] Their headquarters is located underneath the C.I.T. ruins.
Over the decades of isolation and development, the Institute has developed a very effective system that maximizes efficiency and promotes individual development and research. The leadership over the Institute is in the hands of the directorate, made up of the individual heads of each division, and one specially-appointed director.[32] The divisions of the Institute are fairly autonomous, perfectly capable of functioning without intervention. Where those divisions interact, however, problems can arise. As such, the director is appointed to set policy, resolve disputes, and otherwise act as an intermediary.[33]
Each director heads a division that is instrumental to the Institute's continued existence. On the other hand, despite the pressing need for cooperation, knowledge is heavily compartmentalized and the divisions are often kept in the dark by each other or by Father regarding important information.[34][35] Inconvenient facts are routinely buried under pretenses, especially when it comes to high-profile members fleeing the organization, like Dr. Brian Virgil.[36]
Due to the fact that the Institute exists in isolation from sunlight, there is an artificial time cycle implemented to simulate a day-night cycle. "Quiet time" for resting runs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.[37]
Advanced Systems
Headed by Madison Li, the Advanced Systems division works on applied physics (plasma weaponry and teleportation), as well as special projects currently classified.[Non-game 1] They are also responsible for the advanced weapons and armor that the synths and Institute members wear on their trips to the surface. They run the Robotics lab, which produces new synths. Their primary focus is the implementation of Phase Three, an upgrade to the Instute's massive fusion reactor that would completely solve their power needs for the foreseeable future.[38]
BioScience
Headed by Clayton Holdren, the BioScience division specializes in fields of study such as botany, genetics and medicine. They are also responsible for all biotech advancements, including crop production, pharmaceuticals and genetic engineering. They also hold samples of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, which was responsible for creating super mutants. Rumor has it that they are working on a way to reverse engineer the virus to create a cure. Their most important directive is to ensure the health and well-being of everyone in the Institute. To that end, they cultivate highly specialized breeds of flora for use in food and medicine, providing the majority of the Institute's food.[39] They have even started to explore the idea of synthetic animal life. Currently experimenting with replicated gorillas, the synthanimal initiative is just a pet project, but the potential is considered exciting.[40]
Facilities
A thoroughly underappreciated branch of the Institute, the Facilities division under Allie Filmore is responsible for keeping the Institute in operation on a day-to-day basis. It performs daily tasks like servicing the life support systems, ventilation, and the power network. All the old technology that forms the foundation of the Institute's efforts requires constant maintenance to prevent blackouts, which can have lethal consequences for the sequestered society.[25] In a nutshell, they keep the Institute's mechanical and electrical systems running smoothly. They maintain and upgrade all of the systems that make it possible to live and work in a place like the Institute's underground habitat: Crucial apparatus that recycles the air and water and provides power to the laboratories and quarters. The work they do might not be as exciting as some of the other departments, but it's at least as important.[41] They have a large number of first generation synths used for maintenance duties. They are simple, but effective tools for keeping the Institute in operation.[42]
Members of the division include the aforementioned Allie Filmore, division head (or chief engineer, as some would call her), Doctor Lawrence Higgs, a mechanical engineer overseeing the major life support and security systems, Doctor Evan Watson in power distribution, and Doctor Newton Oberly, responsible for food and housing. He liaisons with BioScience to ensure that meals are balanced for optimal nutrition.[43]
Robotics
Headed by Alan Binet, Robotics is a branch of the Institute responsible for the manufacture of synths. Currently focused on mass production and induction of third generation synths,[44] it is also responsible for processing upgrades that ensure synths remain functional at optimal capacity. Currently, the division is implementing existing upgrades.[45]
Synth Retention Bureau
Headed by Justin Ayo, the SRB was designed to perform one task: it tracks down and returns rogue synths to the Institute. To do this, the Institute created a specific synth model called the Courser. Coursers have their personality levels tweaked to ensure they won't rebel, while their combat abilities have been vastly improved over other models. Other divisions within the Institute fear the SRB, as they have a hit squad of Coursers under their command and they are very effective in their role. The SRB also works to hunt down Railroad members so they can shut down the rebel organization once and for all. The SRB also employs a murder, or flock, of "Watchers," synthetic crows with built-in monitoring devices. Synths are the primary labor force of the Institute,[46] but the more advanced their processing becomes, the more inevitable that the synth will attain consciousness and attempt escape.[47] As third generation synths are indistinguishable from normal biological humans,[48] the Synth Retention Bureau specializes in the capture of runaways.[49][50]
The primary instrument of the SRB is the Courser, a third-generation synth assigned to operate on the surface. Coursers hunt down and reclaim synths that have escaped the Institute. They are highly self-sufficient, trained in combat, infiltration, and tracking. In a word, Coursers are relentless.[51] Coursers are selected from the general third generation synth population. Due to the variability of the manufacturing process, the SRB constantly monitors the third generation population looking for tenacity, fearlessness, and independence. Synths selected to undergo a rigorous training regimen. They are taught armed and unarmed combat, investigative techniques, psychology, and mechanical skills. Those who pass a final evaluation become Coursers, re-registered as X synths (eg. X6-88). The rest have their memories wiped and return to their former duties.[52]
Synths are usually recovered by using a recall code to wipe their memories and render it inert. Once returned to the Institute, the delicate process of restoring the neural pathways to their original configuration begins. In those cases where the procedure is successful, the synth returns to duty with no memory of its time on the surface. All too often, the SRB staff is unable to repair the damage and is forced to dispose of the unit entirely.[53]
Another priority of the SRB is surveillance, achieved by using watchers to monitor the surface remotely and covertly.[54][55]
Society
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Formed by the descendants of teachers and students from the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, the Institute reflects generations of devotion to technological achievement and vision. The survivors and their descendants built an impressive underground fortress, complete with virtually all the material abundance they could need, even exceeding pre-War conditions in some respects. As time progressed, they coalesced around a small ruling body made up of the division heads (Facilities, Robotics, Advanced Systems, Synth Retention, and BioScience) chaired by the Director, an official who sets the near-term vision and strategy of the institute.
However, this exterior of safety and abundance belies the organization's absolute self-interest: to protect their secrecy, autonomy, and technology at all costs. As such, society in the institute reflects generations of isolation, elitism, and moral hypocrisy. The current director, "Father," claims that the surface is a lost cause and so they ruthlessly scavenge resources, siphon power, and relentlessly pursue escaped synths for their own benefit. When confronted, most Institute members will rationalize that the ends justify the means: individual raids and minor pilfering of the Commonwealth are necessary for the development of the Institute. This philosophy echoes their vision that one day the Institute will emerge from seclusion to reclaim the Commonwealth, if not the surface as a whole, after its current residents die out.
Despite the Institute's prowess, there are a limited amount of scientists at its disposal, with a small team working with each division and several auxiliary scientists elsewhere. As a result, the Institute requires relatively little housing space and has apartments to accommodate all scientists and their families. Scientists interact regularly and often spend time inside the cafeteria and main chamber, supplemented by the numerous Gen 1, 2, and 3 synths who perform any and all maintenance tasks required to preserve the Institute facilities and infrastructure.
Due to the generational nature of the Institute, their existing scientists show considerable intelligence and motivation for technical achievement -- "geniuses" in the truest sense. Members of each division have continued pursuits in their fields, having met or exceeded the pre-War status of those professions. However, they are deeply mistrustful of outsiders (that is, anyone physically outside of the Institute) and lack a firm grasp of societal nuances outside the institute; as such, they employ a limited number of specialists to handle outside jobs, such as escort of Institute scientists, recruitment, and assassination, since the sheltered life and devotion to science have made them less capable of physical confrontation and negotiation necessary to survive.
In spite of the Institute's relative abundance compared to the outside world, its inhabitants are frequently pushy and demanding, particularly to the Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths who perform menial labor throughout the Institute. Passing conversation is often filled with verbal abuse, with inhabitants condescending to the problem-solving skills of Gen 1s or threatening to shut down Gen 2s for sub-par performance. Scientists freely use Gen 3 synths as test subjects for dangerous experiments, since they are nearly identical to humans in most regards.
Despite its secrecy, the Institute has both adopted and recruited outsiders to join their ranks. The current director, Father, was adopted as an infant and raised within the Institute. Others, like Dr. Madison Li, are recruited due to their intellect, achievements, and similar views on pursuing independent research without interference. With those they have accepted, the Institute maintains a friendly and welcoming demeanor.
While the Institute does have a working economy, there is little buying and trading taking place outside of designated areas and products from the outside world are limited. There appear to be no strict work hours for most scientists, as they often take many hours off and come and go as they please from meals; even so, the scientists are remarkably productive, with several working tirelessly for the next big "breakthrough" in their research.
Outside relations
The Institute is very secretive of the projects occurring within its organization and seeks to keep as much information internally as possible. This leads to it limiting outside contact as much as possible without compromising the security of the facility.[56] Of course, security is an exception and the Institute's SRB operates a network of informants in the entire Commonwealth, monitoring developments to ensure they cannot threaten the Institute.[57]
Another exception is its scientific experiments. While it seeks to minimize direct contact, the Institute has no reservations about using the surface for its experiments and as a source of readily available raw materials. All research initiatives are meticulously documented with academic precision, from hypothesis to the conclusions. For example: Warwick homestead was targeted to test genetically-modified seeds in the unique climate of the Commonwealth, in order to ascertain whether ambient radiation, soil acidity and its fertility found there could provide an accelerated growth rate and a two-fold increase in size and thus yield.[58] Though ostensibly harmless, the research initiative involved abducting Roger Warwick and processing him to gain intelligence, then using Roger's replica to oversee the experiment, collect research data and eventually eliminate all evidence of the research initiative on the surface.[59] The Institute's activities on the surface go beyond agricultural research. Past projects also involved other bioengineered experiments, including diseases and FEV-induced mutations. Abductions remain a routine element of these research activities.[60]
Finally, anyone who holds anything of value to the Institute, especially technology and research data, are vulnerable. University Point was an example of this: When Jacqueline Spencer uncovered pre-War research on reactor efficiency and tried to find a buyer via a caravan, the Institute picked up the trail and a synth representative demanded that the town hand it over. When the settlement failed to comply, due to the chaos that broke out and Spencer being separated from the drive by her well-intentioned father, the SRB wiped the town out.[61] The Institute also attempts to procure data from rival polities, like the Brotherhood, whenever it can, in order to maintain its technological advantage.[62]
Threats
As an organization, the Institute fears discovery, loss of power, and the theft of their technology. This combination of hubris and fear directly impacted the way that they addressed perceived threats, preferring infiltration, subterfuge, and sabotage to direct confrontation.
Prior to 2287, the Institute sabotaged efforts by the Commonwealth Minutemen to create a provisional government; while not a direct threat, a stronger Commonwealth would be more difficult to manipulate and would inevitably attempt to locate them and their technology.[63] This was not their original intention: at the start, the Institute had actually supported the provisional government, but their attitude changed over time as progress stagnated amidst political infighting.[64] Nevertheless, many settlements have remained small and disconnected afterwards, particularly with the waning influence of the Minutemen, making them vulnerable both to external threats and Institute infiltration.
The principal foe of the Institute in 2287 is the Brotherhood of Steel, which is ideologically opposed to the activities of the Institute. The Institute seeks ways to counter the Brotherhood without forcing a decisive confrontation unless the outcome is assured in their favor.
The Railroad is a threat of secondary importance, targeted mostly to minimize the disruption of Institute operations and preserve the secrecy of its activities. While Railroad sympathizers are suspected to operate within the Institute, internal security doesn't devote much resources to rooting them out, as they are considered a minor nuisance in general despite their ideological opposition to the Institute.[65] However, this has not reduced their ruthlessness or relentlessness in pursuing the Railroad, its agents, or escaped synths, at one point committing to a full-frontal assault of the Switchboard, the Railroad's headquarters prior to 2287 and defunct national intelligence hub.[66]
Threats such as super mutants or raider gangs are of a tertiary nature, usually given a wide berth by Institute operatives, rather than confronted directly. Contrary to Father's claims of the Institute's desire to improve the Commonwealth, the Institute has not directly addressed these threats to the people, only direct threats to the Institute itself; further, the Institute frequently siphoned power off of successful settlements to supplement their own flagging generators. As such, the Institute generally only addresses threats to their interests, rationalizing that they can only be benefactors to the Commonwealth if they remain secret, powerful, and in possession of their own resources.
Ideology
The Institute see themselves as the inheritors of mankind's legacy of technological development, and seek not just to preserve old technology like the Brotherhood, but actively pursue the advancement of new-technology in the post-war era. Examples of their technological development include their own laser-weapon design, the invention of teleportation technology, and creation of synths. Synths are seen both within and by outsiders as the purest distillation of the Institute. The initial idea was that the human body represented the most advanced creature produced by nature, and therefore the most advanced robot that could be created would completely mirror the human body. However, synths are considered a robotic slave race by the Institute that lacks free will, and any evidence that contradicts this is swiftly dismissed.
Despite espousing altruistic ideas of saving mankind, this does not mean they have any care for surface dwellers. To them the Institute alone are the only elements of humanity that deserve to be saved, anyone else can be easily used as fodder for experiments or killed to acquire their resources. They are willing to slaughter wholesale settlements on the surface, sometimes for reasons as trivial as experimenting with soil production. They frequently murder individuals with the intent of replacing them with Synths to act as surface dwellers. Even those within the Institute are not free from the lack of ethical morals that come with the Institute's experiments, such as Swanson a Janitor that was caught stealing cigars and subjected to FEV treatments following a trial. The experiments they focus on also frequently have dubious utility to them in benefiting either the Wasteland or the Institute such as the development of synthetic gorillas. The Institute also uses the Commonwealth as a dumping ground for their experiments that no longer serve a use, such as their Gen-1 Synths, and the Institute variant Super Mutants. All this combined has installed a massive paranoia, fear, and animosity of the Institute in the Commonwealth.
The Institute highly values their secrecy, ensuring that any escaped Synths have little to no memory of their time in the Institute, and installing Synth sleeper agents in factions they deem a risk to them. As an extension of this paranoia they sent a Synth infiltrator to the meeting of the Commonwealth Provisional Government that was meant to start talks on possible unification, where the Institute slaughtered all of the delegates destroying any hopes of a post-war government in the Commonwealth. However they largely dismiss the Railroad, the faction most dedicated to opposing the Institute as 'fighting for toaster rights'.
Despite preferring to operate from the shadows, over the course of their war with the Brotherhood they can be convinced to start acting in the open, and taking charge over the Commonwealth area in an official capacity.
Military
While the Institute is primarily a scientific group, it has a powerful army at its disposal: synths. Inside the main HQ of the Institute, the Robotics division can produce very large numbers of synthetic organisms, which can be very efficient foot soldiers with enhanced strength and resilience. This, coupled with the advanced technology at their disposal, makes the Institute's synths a serious threat to anyone who dares to oppose them. Generation 1 and 2 synths serve as the backbone of forces, equipped with variants of the Institute laser gun, shock batons, and synth armor.
Coursers are a particular type of Generation 3 synth with higher military capability, used as special agents to pursue and recover lost synths, and as special forces. They are trained and deployed by the Synth Retention Bureau. Coursers are equipped with variants of the Institute laser gun, the signature Courser coat, and synth relay grenades that allow them to teleport Generation 1 synths to help them in combat. They commonly utilize Stealth Boys.
They maintain an information network to assist them in strategy. The Synth Retention Bureau maintains a fleet of watchers, synth crows with internal cameras. From the SRB, scientists monitor live feeds from locations all across the Commonwealth with these. The SRB also inserts synth agents into positions of importance (such as the mayor of Diamond City and the leader of a successful homestead) and maintains a network of paid informants, such as merchants and bartenders.
They are the only faction in the Commonwealth with access to teleportation, and this is a military advantage. They can attack a location with zero warning at any time and leave before backup arrives. For this reason, they excel at hit-and-run tactics. Grenade-like devices can be used by field-agents to call in squads of synths to the surface.
Technology
The Institute is one of the most technologically advanced factions in the wasteland. Their primary and most notable achievement is the ability to field an army of synthetic entities and eliminate the need for menial labor, with the latest third generation models being not only indistinguishable from humans, but also immune to disease, able to subsist on minimal energy intake without loss of performance, and do not require sleep.[67] Moreover, the Institute can assemble them at a rapid pace within its Robotics laboratory, from scratch.[68] The Institute has constructed an entire subterranean habitat after the Great War when most humans struggle and get by with shacks and tents. Not only that, but it can also manufacture its own energy weapons and advanced armor in numbers large enough to outfit all of its security forces.[69] Though not used extensively, the Institute can also produce plasma weapons and developed a polymerized casting for the X-01 power armor. Furthermore, it uses genetically modified crops to provide sustenance for its researchers.[70] As a result, safe, pure water and food is also commonly available to all members of the Institute. Food synthesizers help provide a balanced diet, with additional luxury goods scavenged by synths from the topside, such as Nuka-Cola, Gwinnett beer and coffee among others.[71][72]
The Institute had a large advantage, having emerged out of the ashes of one of the most advanced centers of research and development in the world. Most of its achievements are still deeply rooted in the C.I.T. For example, its security system architecture is derived from the C.I.T. Code Defender, a revolutionary intrusion countermeasure system developed before the Great War. Terminals running the original version of the system still remain in the Institute's inventory, despite advances made by the SRB.[73]
Another impressive achievement of the Institute is its development of teleportation technology. The only other factions known to possess similar technology are the Think Tank and the Zetan aliens.[74] Unlike the Think Tank, however, the Institute is able to teleport multiple individuals in rapid succession.
In the past, the Institute has also worked on cybernetics and artificial prolongation of the human lifespan. Its only test subject was Conrad Kellogg, as the program was abandoned and forgotten, save for the jealousy the grizzled mercenary inspired in Institute scientists due to his life span.[75] Father terminated the project as he believed that the Institute was about preserving humanity rather than the fusion of biology and technology that cybernetics was poised to create.[76]
Another 'dead-end' project was the Institute's experiments with FEV. No known innovations or discoveries were made before the research into the field was ended, with the resulting armies of Super Mutants simply dumped on the Commonwealth alongside Mutant Hounds and the occasional Behemoth.
Iconography
The Institute's iconography mostly focuses on the symbol of the Vitruvian Man in red upon a white background. This symbolizes their intent to move past old limitations and advance humanity as a whole.
Interactions with the player character
Fallout 3
- The Lone Wanderer can either help or hinder Institute scientist Dr. Zimmer in his search for the missing "android" A3-21 in the quest The Replicated Man.
Fallout 4
- The Institute, as one of the major factions of the game, offers multiple quests to the Sole Survivor. Their objective is to secure power and autonomy within the Commonwealth.
- During Institutionalized, Dr. Madison Li installs a chip in the Sole Survivor's Pip-Boy which grants them unrestricted access to the teleporter, allowing them to enter or leave the institute at will (provided they do nothing to be banished). According to Li, this is a unique privilege granted the Sole Survivor by Father.
- Upon gaining rank inside the Institute, the Sole Survivor is rewarded with a special signal grenade, which summons a Gen 1 synth to attack any hostiles nearby. These grenades can also be found on the corpses of synth coursers or purchased from the synth vendors within the Institute's headquarters.
- To complete the Institute questline, the Sole Survivor must clear out the Railroad's headquarters under the Old North Church and eject the Brotherhood of Steel from the Commonwealth by destroying the Prydwen.
- The Institute's questline will not cause the Railroad to become hostile towards the Sole Survivor until they begin End of the Line.
- If the Sole Survivor completes the Institute's questline, they become the new director and can undertake quests for other members of the faction. Groups of synths will begin to patrol the Commonwealth and will assist the player character in combat.
- If the Institute is destroyed during The Nuclear Option, Classical Radio will be shut down and unavailable to listen to. However, jukeboxes built in settlements will still work.
Notable members
- A-2018 (synth)
- A3-21 (former member, escaped synth)
- Alan Binet (Director of Robotics)
- Alana Secord (Synth Retention Bureau)
- Alice Thompson (child)
- Dr. Allie Filmore (chief engineer, head of Facilities)
- Armitage (synth)
- B2-57 (former member, escaped synth)
- Brendan Volkert (BioScience)
- Dr. Brian Virgil (former member, BioScience)
- Dr. Clayton Holdren (Director of BioScience)
- Conrad Kellogg (surface operative)
- Dr. Dean Volkert (Physician)
- Enrico Thompson (Facilities)
- Evan Watson (Facilities)
- Eve (synth)
- Father (Director of the Institute)
- Gabriel (former member, escaped synth)
- H2-22 (former member, escaped synth)
- Isaac Karlin (BioScience)
- Janet Thompson (Advanced Systems)
- Julia Thompson (child)
- Dr. Justin Ayo (Director of the Synth Retention Bureau)
- K1-98 (former member, escaped synth)
- Lawrence Higgs (BioScience)
- Liam Binet (scientist, double agent)
- Dr. Madison Li (Director of Advanced Systems)
- Max Loken (scientist)
- Nathan Filmore (Advanced Systems)
- Newton Oberly (Facilities)
- Quentin Filmore (child)
- Rosalind Orman (Advanced Systems)
- Shaun (synth)
- Sole Survivor (optional)
- T.S. Wallace (optional)
- William Moseley
- X4-18 (courser)
- X6-88 (courser)
- X9-27 (courser)
- XPN-20A (synth)
- Z1-14 (synth, double agent)
- Z2-47 (courser)
- Z4K-97B (synth)
- Dr. Zimmer (former head of Synth Retention Bureau)
- Chase (former member, courser)
Notes
After becoming the director, various members of the Institute will remark on how the player should approve new policies, make some reforms and reconsider priorities. However, none of those are available in the game and at best suggest what the player could be doing in the future.
Appearances
The Institute makes a small appearance in Fallout 3 in the form of two of their members during The Replicated Man. In Fallout 4, the Institute makes a full appearance as one of the major factions in the game. It is also mentioned in the Fallout 4 add-ons Far Harbor and Nuka-World.
Behind the scenes
- According to The Art of Fallout 4, the Institute was inspired by "a Logan's Run-like utopian future society" far removed from anything else in the world.[Non-game 2]
- The symbol of the Institute is based off of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.
Gallery
References
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Non-game
- ↑ Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide[clarification needed]
- ↑ The Art of Fallout 4: "Inspired by a Logan's Run-like utopian society, the Institute has a completely unique design language that's far removed from anything else in the world."
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