↑The Chosen One: "What about Vault 13? What was it's purpose?" Dick Richardson: "Ahh. Vault 13 was a special case. It was supposed to remain closed until the subjects were needed. Vault 13 was, in scientific parlance, a control group." (Dick Richardson's dialogue)
↑The overseer: "Well, do you have the chip?" The Vault Dweller: "Not yet. Sorry." The overseer: "[The Overseer sighs.] Don't be sorry. I know you're trying your best and that means a lot. But you can't give up now." (The overseer's dialogue)
↑ 3.03.1The Vault Dweller: "So you volunteered." Talius: "Yes. The overseer of the community gave me a shotgun and some shells. However, those were lost many years passed. Since I have never found anything, I could not return." (Talius' dialogue)
↑ 4.04.14.2The overseer: "{Ahh, you're here. Good. Well, only good that you're here. We've got a problem. A big one. The controller chip for our water purification system has given up the ghost. We can't make another one and the process is too complicated for a work-around system. Simply put, we're running out of drinking water. No water, no Vault. Now we both know we've had our differences as you've grown up. You've got the wanderlust in you - desires for things the Vault just can't satisfy. And you know I think this just might be the last safe place anywhere so I'm always worried about those who want to take off on adventures. Hey, if everyone left, I'd be out of a job! Seriously, this is crucial to our survival. And frankly, I think you're the only hope we have. You need to go find us another controller chip." (The overseer's dialogue)
↑"Due to a shipping error, it appears Vault 8 received a box of surplus water chips intended for another Vault. The other Vault most likely received Vault 8's second GECK." (Vault 8 central computer's information)
↑The Vault Dweller: "I haven't found the chip yet. Can't we just make a replacement?" The overseer: "Ahh, you never did listen to me. We don't have the necessary parts anymore. We've used up all the supplies required." (The overseer's dialogue)
↑ 7.07.17.2The Vault Dweller: "Where were you from originally?" Talius: "Some time ago, I lived in a place far to the north of here. They were having a problem with the water supply and sought out people to find a way to repair or replace the component." (Talius' dialogue)
↑The overseer: "You saved the Vault. You should be proud. But now, we need your report. We'll get it from you in the library. Please go there now." (The overseer' dialogue)
↑ 10.010.1The overseer: "I' I don't like your reports. What was in the reports, that is. Heh. In fact, they scared the heck out of me. It's those mutants. I've done some calculations and, well, I've come to an unpleasant conclusion." The Vault Dweller: "What's that?" The overseer: "[Sigh] The mutant population is far greater than could be expected by natural growth or mutations. This leads me to believe in -- I don't really understand it. But it looks like someone's generating new mutants. And at a startling rate." The Vault Dweller: "Must be a lab somewhere then." The overseer: "Exactly! And as you've probably guessed, none of these mutations could have occurred naturally, even with the radiation from the war." The Vault Dweller: "What do you want me to do about it?" The overseer: "As long as someone is creating hostile mutants at this rate, the Vault's safety is at stake! Find and destroy this lab as soon as you can." (The overseer's dialogue)
↑The Chosen One: "I’m descended from the original Vault Dweller, you know." Marcus: "The "original Vault Dweller"? You mean the one who killed the Master and destroyed the vats?" (Marcus's dialogue)
↑ 12.012.1The overseer: "You've done it! That's . . . wonderful. Amazing! I'm so proud of what you've accomplished, what you've endured. There's no way the people of the Vault can ever thank you enough for what you've done. You've saved all our lives. Who knows, maybe even saved the human race. [The Overseer sighs.] That makes the rest of this even harder. Everyone will want to talk to you. Every youngster will look up to you. And want to emulate you. And then what? They'll want to leave. What happens to the Vault if we lose the best of a generation? What if we are the only safe place in the world? You just gave us back all these lives . . . I can't take the chance of losing them. I've made a lot of tough decisions since I took this position. But none of them harder than this one. You saved us, but you'll kill us. I'm sorry. You're a hero . . . and you have to leave." (The overseer's dialogue)
↑ 13.013.1The Chosen One: "Are you the Overseer?" Martin Frobisher: "We don't use that term anymore. There used to be an overseer, many years ago, but he did a bad thing and many of our people left the vault - only to die in the wastes, I'm sure. He was tried and sentenced to death for his crime. We haven't used the title since." (Martin Frobisher's dialogue)
↑Fallout Bible p.11: "VAULT SYSTEM" The player was also intended to apply his Science skill to the central computer in Vault 13 to obtain a history of Vault 13, the Overseer's involvement in the Vault Dweller's expulsion, and even worse, the true purposes of the Vaults. The Overseer was conscious of the true purpose of the Vaults as social experiments on a grand scale, and he drove out the Vault Dweller because he was afraid that he would ruin the experiment... or uncover it. Of course, the Overseer himself caused problems not long after this, according to Martin Frobisher, the leader of Vault 13 in Fallout 2:"
↑Fallout Bible p.11: "VAULT SYSTEM" "Vault 13: Intended to stay closed for 200 years as a study of prolonged isolation, the broken water chip forced the Overseer to improvise and use the Vault Dweller as a pawn. Later study of the Vault 13 records by the Enclave led them to their current plan to end the war."
↑Fallout Official Survival Guide p.88: "The Overseer: Leader of Your Community" "This distinguished looking gentleman is the ruler of Vault 13, the man who is sending you out into the world of Fallout to find a replacement for the Vault's water purifier chip. He genuinely cares about you and everyone in the community, though he can be a bit paternalistic, even condescending, at times."
↑''Fallout Bible p.75: "QUESTIONS GALORE" "What's the deal with Ed? Zed's Dead, baby, Zed's dead. From Pulp Fiction. That's part of the reference. Ed was twofold: to immediately show the player that the outside world was dangerous, and to tell the player that he wasn't the first choice of someone to send out. Ed was sent out before the waterchip malfunction, however, since he's just bones."
↑TimCain: "I always thought of Fallout's story of drawing straws was something the Overseer thought of. "Look, someone has to go outside, and they may die out there, so let's draw straws". Someone, probably not the Overseer since he wouldn't have gone outside no matter what, demanded that EVERYONE draw a straw in order to be truly fair. But to be honest, the vault dwellers were simpy terrified of going outside, and terrified people do not always make the wisest decisions.
