The Watcher Initiative is a surveillance program created by the Institute spanning across the entire Commonwealth.
Background[]
By using synthetic animals such as crows or ravens as observation platforms, the Synth Retention Bureau is capable of receiving a wide array of intelligence in real time.[1][2][Non-game 1] Watcher pods are assigned on an as-needed basis to monitor priority locations. The use of these watchers is known to both the Minutemen and the Railroad.[3][4]
Appearances[]
The Watcher Initiative appears only in Fallout 4.
Behind the scenes[]
- A cut terminal entry from the Institute states that the locations of the watcher pods include four pods at Diamond City, three at Goodneighbor, two at Fort Hagen and Libertalia, and one at Covenant, Warwick homestead, and Vault 81.[5]
- Two years after the release of Fallout 4, a satirical conspiracy theory was created, positing that the United States government exterminated all the birds, replacing them with autonomous drones for the purposes of surveillance.
Gallery[]
Watcher crow from The Art of Fallout 4
Cut watcher sparrow from The Art of Fallout 4
References[]
- ↑
Watcher Initiative testing log
- ↑ Alana Secord: "Oh, yes. Uhh... Watchers have not shown any additional threats at this time. We're still monitoring increased activity around Fort Independence, though there's no immediate cause for concern. Boston International Airport remains occupied, and Brotherhood presence has been noted at several other locations. And, uhh... Despite a lack of concrete evidence, we have reason to believe that the "Railroad" continues to operate within the Commonwealth. Personally I suspect they're becoming more ambitious, but I can't confirm that at this time. For now, we have assets monitoring all known situations."
(Alana Secord's dialogue)
Note: These lines are a part of Inst303DirectorateOpeningScene. - ↑ Ronnie Shaw: "We've seen a lot of those Institute crow-things sniffing around. Looks like they're getting ready to try to take us out."
(Ronnie Shaw's dialogue) - ↑ Deacon: "You see those little raven bastards - they could be Watchers. Reporting everything back to the mother ship. So, the Institute wasn't content with just creating synth people. Oh no, they have synth birds, too. Or wherever the Institute's hiding. So smile for the pretty birdies."
(Deacon's dialogue) - ↑
Institute SRB terminal entries; SRB terminal 2, Watcher Allocation
Non-game
