I mean, I don't really -think- they're the same character, but there's a lot of weird details and story incongruities; that kind of lead me to believe that maybe at one point in development the possibility that the player character was a synth was meant to be a bit stronger then it was in the released game; but that's my personal paranoia speaking.
Not only that, but he also did several Diablo 1 (and 2) characters, like the Narrator, Pepin, Lachdanan, Archbishop Lazarus and the Warrior. I recognize that voice anywhere, haha
@@iwanttocry3212given the power Zimmer had as head of SRB it is possible he would be able to do something inhuman like combining human intelligence and machines. This is something that the institute has banned before (see the cyborg program i.e. Kellog). Perhaps Zimmer transfered his consciousness to a synth without the others in the institute knowing.
@@loonychloe558 true but I think it would cause a major plot hole if they did go that route cause like he can do it but no one offered for Shaun to do it?
I suspect the EpicNate is missing a point here. That the unofficial quest ending in Fallout 3 was that Zimmer was killed. And since Zimmer is missing in Fallout 4, the indication is that Zimmer use to send out Synths who were designed to look like him to hunt down the Synths. He did this in the hope that they would simply give up if they thought they were facing him specifically. But because his synth was killed in Fallout 3, he started to do the missions personally. Which is unlikely to be successful considering his age even in Fallout 3. But I have a theory. Harkness, Pinkerton, and Dr. Zimmer are all the same model synth. Just aged differently. They all have the same hairline, the same eye color, same large nose, and the same large ears. Harkness jawline is different but that could be because his synth is designed as a younger model so his face is more fleshed out. Zimmer used himself as the template. Which is why he is so adament that he would have found the synth unless he had done facial reconstruction. Because at some point, somebody would confuse him for the synth he was looking for or at least assume a family connection and bring it up in small talk. Pinkerton is in hiding because he didn't want potential exposure if Harkness was discovered. As for the mind wipe, I'd be willing to bet that Zimmer programmed all his important synths with the same personality traits. So whatever interests Zimmer would like be of interest to the synth as well.
But Dr. Zimmer could be alive even if you killed "him" in FO3, as the Dr. Zimmer in FO3 could just be a synth fed with his memories and would serve as a way for Dr. Zimmer to "personally" take care of business without the risk of dying himself
It could even be entirely possible there was MORE THAN ONE Dr. Zimmer around the Commonwealth area, the brains alongside a Courser escort both meant to look blended in to not risk outward retaliation from other factions. It's only 10 years after that the Institute goes public after all.
In a way, I believe "Dr, Zimmer" is looking for himself!! Plausible? Maybe. He thinks he is the Real Zimmer,but can be THE escaped synth! Just delusional and brainwashed,wires crossed or something. The woman with the railroad knows he is THE synth and wants to get rid of him anyway.
I wonder if he secretly has cybernetic enhancements or had a secret android stand in. In my opinion, its unlikely they would trust a synth with such status
Or an avatar-like synth, created to go on high risk missions like heading to the Captial Wasteland; Just upload Zimmers personality and memories and send him out
Same with Pinkerton - tbh given his abilities and how he basically dismissed Institute tech as not all that complicated when talking about Harkness, I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkerton came from the Institute back in the day.
Yeah I think its a little far fetched that he is a synth, especially because he acts like he is superior to synths. Its possible that he's unknowingly a synth, but him being enhanced lile Kellog seems more likely.
You can tell Zimmer "Get his reward" then instantly kill him, then go in tell harkness the truth and also get his reward. You get both the gun and upgrade. 😎
My theory on Zimmer is that he was cut out to leave room for an Institute faction or presence in another Fallout game down the line. That way, even if you wipe out the Institute in Fallout 4, Zimmer could be in charge of a surviving or renegade faction in another future game set somewhere else.
@@werr3222werrrevery faction has this. While the jackels and vipers can be mostly wiped out they are in the mountains of Vegas, the Khan's are reborn multiple times even getting a huge empire in the north later on, the enclave is back into hiding and has remnants all around just truly hidden. See remnants of NV and the fact that air force base might not be the only enclave outpost just the last main bastion. hell the BOS is in hiding in the west. It's a reoccurring theme.
In that Zimmer's quest from Fallout 3 he explains that he's from the Institute from the Commonwealth and that the Institute makes synthetic people. Not only that, as the quest progresses a character claiming to be a member of the Railroad appears to the player asking to give false information to Zimmer in order to prevent him from getting the synth. And that 7 years before Fallout 4 was released. This makes me believe that Bethesda took that quest as a starting point to write the story of Fallout 4.
"they trusted a synth to manage an entire division"...did they though? doesn't it make more sense that they would have these models made to represent them outside the commonwealth. After all, losing a synth is a much lighter blow than losing a scientist and the wastelands are a dangerous place. No, i'm pretty convinced the dr. zimmer we met in fallout 3 is not the real one.
clericofchaos1, He also could have been modified similar to Kellogg, and the Android Component you can find on him if you kill him is similar to what modifications and enhancements that Kellogg has
@@treyjordan3168 I doubt it, from what I could tell rom the lore, Kellogg was a once off thing, and by the time Zimmer would have been in a superior position in the institute I think they would've already mothballed the tech
I remember doing this mission 3 and immediately being hooked on the ideas of The Common Wealth and The Institute. Wondering what was going on in a different part of the fallout world and hoping we could see it one day. When it all came full circle in 4 it was honestly one of the most satisfying gaming moments ive ever had.
@@sheabenitez8897 i still dont get why people hate fallout 4, maybe the writing ain't as good but the game is fun af, and well, that's the whole point of a video game, fallout 4 ain't as bad as people paint it to be
It has to be that they left Zimmer's fate purposely ambiguous so that whatever you decided the outcome of the Replicated Man was could be canon in your playthrough.
@@awsome14619 there's freedom of decision in all the games, but there's also the "canon outcome". like the first games canon is that the vault dweller defeats the master and saves vault 13 and the wasteland then is cast out to settle arroyo setting up the second game you didn't do it wrong if you played the first game and sided with the master, its just that isn't the canon ending. in short, it is in fact lazy writing
Exactly what I was thinking not sure why he couldn't make an appearance in fo4 unless they wrote in that he died of old age but they didn't so where is he?
Or simply to ensure his safety, the wasteland is a dangerous place after all. He’s probably in a luxurious apartment in the Institute listed on the building plans as a secondary broom closet or something. Watching the progress of his synth stand ins through a surveillance node in their synth components
Ayo killed the real zim and replaced him with a synth in order to take command of the SRB. Why would the institute allow a synth to lead SRB? THEY would not do it intentionally because there’s no tactical value but Dr Ayeo would replace zimmer with synth to seize power. With zimmer replaced with a programmable body double, Ayeo can crown himself or use the authority of zimmer to get whatever he wants by making synth Zimmer parrot ayeos wishes. It was not a institutionalized decision it was a selfish power grab. Ayeo is confrontational, power hungry, and makes threats to his fellow institute scientists so this is perfectly in character and I can see father looking the other way (assuming he knew) if zimmer disagreed with fathers more authoritarian politics.
While he does find gold quite often... so much is over-thought speculation about surface level details, minor coincidences, and stuff Bethesda has just made up and don't even fit the lore. Still enjoy the vids.
@Anklebiting too bad it might be canon if we destroy the institute in Fallout 4 and there's no karma system to tell you if that was a good or bad karma deed
@Anklebiting *I can see the BOS panicking if they introduced it and the Institute got bad karma if ya destroyed em and the BOS gave ya good karma if you destroyed em*
House is (or was) a member of the institute. He graduated from CIT and worked with them before founding Robco. Its entirely possible he knows of the synth project but i doubt he would trust them to make the body for him, hed rather do it himself most likely
This is a terrific video, thanks for digging into the lore! I always wondered why, given the Institute's general squeamishness about exposing themselves to the surface, one of their senior staff - and no spring chicken - would be personally searching the wasteland, hundreds of miles from home. This explains why quite nicely. Some random speculation to add: - At the time FO3 takes place, Gen 3 synths would have been around for 50 years (given Sean's 60 year age in FO4). - In FO3, Zimmer has the appearance of a man who is in his 70s at best. - It seems odd that the Institute population at large - given their general attitude toward synths -would have wanted a synth to be the head of the SRB. - It also seems odd that they would have specifically chosen to give such a synth the appearance of a man in his 70s who needs corrective lenses. (yes, maybe for the "people respect older male figures" factor, but this seems weak.) My hypothesis is this: there originally was a human Zimmer, possibly one of the first scientists who worked on the Gen 3 project, fifty years prior to FO3. He eventually became the first head of the SRB - there would have been no need for such a division prior to the Gen 3s - and developed the first Coursers, and very likely iterated on them to produce the superior models we eventually see in FO4. So how did we end up with Zimmer the synth? This is where we get into more speculative territory, but what do else do we know was happening at the Institute prior to the time of FO3? Sean (Father) was rising to a position of leadership in the organization. At the time of FO3 he would be approximately 50, but we know he was already in charge when the FEV experiments were ordered, so he would have had to become Director at least ten years before that (in his 40s.) Now maybe he rose from living DNA source to respected leader all on the merits, but it's not unreasonable to assume that Sean might have faced some opposition, especially from someone more senior, who was actually involved in creating the Gen 3s... like Zimmer. And given what we know of Sean's fairly amoral nature, one way to eliminate that opposition would be to have Zimmer replaced. The synth Zimmer could go on doing his job, without the rest of the Institute knowing a thing. He could back Sean's bid to become director, giving him the legitimacy of an endorsement from the "old guard." And, if Sean became worried that somebody might discover Zimmer's true nature, he could send him on an extended mission out into the Wasteland to find the most critical missing synths. Anyway, I never tire of theorizing about this series, I think filling in the blanks is one of the great joys of Fallout lore. Thanks again!
Considering they want no--one on the outside to know the location of the Institute it is a poor decision to exile the 'Railroad benefactor', Liam, if his 'hobby' is discovered. He can't be the first such 'offender' as exile seems to be automatic, as if they've resorted to it on previous occasions and it is the set penalty. Thus we are to believe that all of these exiles endured their fate with no ill feeling for the Institute that would spur them to give its location away to any and all on the surface, or even sell that information for survival purposes. Would the Institute ignore such a risk, or does the mindwipe and reprogramming work on ordinary humans, too? .
@Prof Sakharov I think you just answered your own theory the institute probably doesn't have to worry about the exiles revealing sensitve/detailed data on the institutes location because they probably mind wipe that info from them and even if they did tell someone how to get into the institute they probably wouldn't be able to get there because they wouldn't have been able to teleport inside O
@@gumshoe1285Or people just wouldn’t believe them. I’d imagine there were a lot of rumors about them at the time, and im sure they wouldn’t let Liam out with proof of the inside, so people would probably think he’s lying
I wonder if the Zimmer who was in charge of the SRB was the real man, and the synth sent to retrieve Harkness was also another courser prototype he helped to create. Very curious. I've played through both games numerous times and this thought has only just come to me now after your video. Great content as always 😁👍
My theory is a bit more out there. Firstly, since when do Institute scientists PERSONALLY go out in the field? From everything we learn in Fallout 4, actually leaving the Institute is a remarkably rare thing for them, and basically ceased when they recruited Kellogg as their surface agent. Ten years ago, while the Gen 3's were still in development it may still have been necessary, but almost certainly rare. My theory is this: Justin Ayo wanted control of the SRB; He saw the potential of the Coursers and it suited his own authoritarian tendencies. But they'd never put him in charge as long as Zimmerman was there. Justin couldn't just murder Zimmerman or make him disappear, because an unexplained death in such a insular community would be investigated thoroughly. So what he did was he REPLACED Zimmerman with a Synth, one that believed it WAS Zimmerman. Then he gave the Synth the impulse to go out on a wild goose chase for the Courser prototype, to a wildly dangerous part of the Capital Wasteland. There he could safely 'disappear' without too many people asking questions. And so he did. Unfortunately for Justin, without conclusive proof of Zimmerman's death, Father never confirmed Justin as anything but the Acting head of SRB... precisely because Father knew Justin was potential trouble. And what is the SRB up to now? Replacing people with duplicates. Ten years of practise have made them VERY good at copying people, mannerisms, even transcribing memories. Not PERFECT, mind you... but very good. So, TL;DR Justin Ayo murdered Dr. Zimmerman to get his position, covered it up by making a Synth replica of Zimmerman, then sent the synth on a wild goose chase that he was never intended to return from. He then took over the SRB, and continued to use that exact same technique to replace significant people in the Commonwealth.
@@IsilmeTuruphant they can leave for synth retrieval if the synth is far enough, my proof? far harbor, join the Insitute. tell them about the synths and soon you will go with a scientist to get the synths, yes this is rare, but it can happen if the synths are out of teleporting distance, plus there is actually a synth, if you want more details, look for the quest "the replicated man"
@cpt nordbart they probably needed someone to keep an eye on the operation who could also work a teleporter, hence the scientist, or maybe kellog, didn't work with the Institute during that time
Imagine living beneath the waves with a strong-sighted blessing of most excellent fabric. Holding the fabric over your gills, you would begin to breathe-drink its warp and weft. Though the plant matter fibers imbue your soul, the wretched plankton would pollute the cloth until it stank to heavens of prophecy. This is one manner in which the Synths first came to pass, but are we the sea, or the breather, or the fabric? Or are we the breath itself?
@@In_Thy_Flesh yes "Skyrim:Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)" en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Ruminations_on_the_Elder_Scrolls
Zimmer is either dead at the hands of Harkness or the Lone Wanderer, or he's out there still looking for the other "High Profile" units. It was implied he was going after more than one and it's likely the one he had with him at Rivet City was brought from the institute as a guard rather than another he was trying to recapture. If so, he still has units to recapture after getting A3-21 back and it's entirely possible he got killed at another point along the way or simply hasn't finished the task.
yeah i think its entirely possible that he disappeared more recently and would make more sense for Justin to be acting director cause if he was missing for a decade i think Justin Ayo wouldve become lead of the srb instead
I believe the Dr Zimmer we saw in fallout 3 was in fact a synth created by the real Dr Zimmer. After obtaining Saun from the vault, he was able to create a duplicate of himself right down to his own memories essentially making himself immortal. Maybe he was sick or dying, and this was his solution to keep his work going. This would make the "old man" mystery make alot more sense if it was Zimmer himself sending kellogg into the vault.
I don’t get this theory entirely since we already know the institute is able to make mercenaries like Kellogg live well past their time with minor enhancements, making himself a synth doesn’t make a ton of sense to me when that option is already open.
“Old Man” is a common term in military circles for the officer in charge. Has nothing to do with age. Kellogg just uses much of the same type of language.
My theories: •The Dr. Zimmer android was built by the real Dr. Zimmer for field missions. Being as smart as he is, he would never put his true self in danger. He possibly has multiple out in the field, while he is safe in some research facility. •It may be possible that Pinkerton is the Synth that Zimmer was looking for. He performed a memory wipe and facial reconstruction on “Harkness”. It is possible that he swapped components with the other Synth, as a way to throw off the doctor. This is why the unique phrase worked on Harkness. (Additionally, it’s possible that Pinkerton gave Harkness the memories he did, planning on him becoming a leader of the community. When Harkness is taken, it could cause division among the other leaders. Giving Pinkerton a perfect opportunity to regain his position.)
I think the same about your first point, that Zimmer made a 'clone' of himself. And the more I thought about itt he more I realised that Zimmer could have been the scientist that helps us enter the institute instead of Virgil, the creator realises that his creations are alive not just machines, but clearly someone decided Virgil was better?
I was about to say the same thing, given how smart the guy is and how much he seems to dislike the Wasteland why would he go on his own. He might have a a private base somewere far from danger in the Wasteland while monitoring his Zimmer bot.
Well it's said at the institute that Zimmer himself had left on a mission to supervise the retrieval of some high profile units. In other words, he left himself.
Laff700 Yes he did leave the institute headquarters. But that just means he isn’t there anymore. He could be at another research facility or similar location. Perhaps he left the institute to create his own organization.
What if the "package" lost to raiders was Zimmer? Oxhorn did a video where he decoded one of the Railroad Morse code messages in Fallout 4, where a supposed "priority" subject was lost in transit.
Oxhorn also tested out various weapons on Horace Pinkerton And the only weapon that could kill him was the weapon he gives the player Also Horace had an android component if I'm remembering correctly This is an indicator that Harkness like Watts is a railroad agent And that Horace Pinkerton is A3-21, And if you think about it why would a courser erase their own memory When you could only leave them vulnerable Instead use your tactical and scientific knowledge Just send a Zimmer out on a wild goose Chase, Also if Zimmer is killed they also have an android component Very similar to Kellogg When he is finally killed Now if you think back to Justin AO He's been supervising the central tension bureau for 10 years Where Zimmer is unaccounted for With likely no intention of even being found Also about 40 years before Zimmer's interaction in fallout 3 Was the broken mask incident in Diamond City That is 50 years by the time The sole survivor Is emerges from vault 111, Sean would have to be in the institute for about 10 years.
@@dereckbrajevich6474 shaun was in it was longer, dude think, they couldnt make synths because they didnt have oure DNA, Shaun was oure DNA so they could FINALLY make synths, synths were then made 50 YEARS ago, so you are right by the time shaun gets in the institute he is 10, when you meet him he is 60 as logic dictates because synths only apread 50 years ago so no shaun wouldnt be 10 he would be old like he is, did you jusg prove yourself wrong 😂
@@cyber1ifeconnor By the time of the Broken Mask incident Sean would have the likeness of a 10 year old, By the time Zimmer Traveled to the Capital Shawn would have the likeness of a 50 year old and 60 years when the sol survivor meets him again. Question is, How much older is Justin Ayo, did he compromise Zimmer with Cyber Technology or kill and replace Zimmer with a Synthetic, Also in the memory ofthe Cryogenic Vault, was Kellogg referring to Zimmer or Ayo when he said "Guess the Old Man didn't want loos ends"
Nothing Oxhorn says can be taken with any sort of accuracy. He's a garbage lore creator that supports retcons, makes up random bullshit and doesn't actually understand the lore he talks about so no.
I think it would be useful to construct a timeline on this. After all, Zimmer and Pinkerton might not have been "born" synths, but rather may be replacements. There would have been no need for an SRB before there were Gen 3 synths. So, the SRB may have been brand new at the time of Fallout 3. Zimmer may have had another role previously, perhaps a hand in creation of Gen 3, and he became emotionally attached to his creations, thus wanted the position as head of the SRB. He may have replaced himself as a bid for immortality.
The problem with the institute is that at NO POINT it ever becomes clear what their actual goal is, WHY they are replacing people with synths or even making synths at all? Is this guy a villain? A hero? Literally nobody knows because nobody, probably not even Bethesda, knows WHAT he and everyone in his organization are actually trying to do. Siding with the Institute actually gave me brain damage, because you're suddenly the leader and still have no idea what anyone around you is actually doing. Though I guess this is a thing in a lot of Bethesda games.
Some synths are put in to oversee experiments on the surface (such as Roger Warwick), others as spies and agents to gather information or supplies, other are simply "Why the hell not, lets see what happens". The institute is all about advancing technology for humankind, which is a worthwhile goal if it wasn't for the fact that they now see only themselves as the true inheritors of mankind and everyone else is pretty much savages barely above the radroaches. Which of course means its perfectly okay to experiment on them because they arent true humans.
@@SH-qs7ee But why advance technology, to what end? Power for the sake of power is pointless, nowhere do they ever state what their actual goal is, what they want to achieve, besides something vague like "humanity redefined".
I know, right? Like Father describes "Mankind, Re-Defined" as their motto and nominal goal but the only thing they've done to 're-define' mankind is develop the gen 3 synth and they're doing their damnedest to keep the gen 3s totally suppressed and subservient. The Institute is just blindly fumbling in the vague direction of evil science because... reasons? But hey, Bethesda wanted a stand-in for the Enclave but doesn't actually understand how the Enclave was written in Fallout 2 so they just made a vaguely super-advanced and secretive society which does evil for science instead.
@@junieb9446 The worst part is that the Enclave at least seemed strong and fairly competent as a whole, while the Institute is losing track of synths left and right, and not even using the synths they actually did place as replacements for humans for anything besides growing plants (don't have have a super advanced bio lab themselves, hello?) and spying on some people as a mayor for... some reason, probably. The rest don't know they're a synth and often don't even seem to have any reason to BE a synth. Paladin Danse for example, WHY was he a synth? He didn't even know, so as far as that goes he wasn't helping the Institute by being a synth either. Bethesda really dropped the ball.
That's the point of Bethesda's games. You are not told the story, you make the story. And everytime is different. That's why delving too deeply looking for sense never works in any of their games. Their greatest strength and the reason we play them.
Fallout 3 was my first induction into the franchise. I remember the replicated man very well after watching this video. I actually wound up being a fan of Blade Runner as a result of this game. This video brings back some memories for sure and I like the way you put it together. My ears did perk up a bit though when you dismissed the idea of Pinkerton being the actual synth that the institute was looking for. It's very plausible that he IS in fact the VERY synth they were looking for. Yes, the doctor made what he was looking for and yes he had the exact code to power down Harkness.... but you overlooked what was in your video all along. The railroad agent offers you a component to prove that the synth that Zimmer is looking for is dead. This works when it's done. These components are most commonly acquired off of dead synths, but Harkness isn't dead. Nor is Pikerton. Also there is the idea of the institute trusting a synth to run a whole division of the institute. This implies that there are some very advanced synths that serve other purposes other than labor and acquisition of other synths. Synths that are this smart would have no problem placing their original components into another synth to avoid capture once and for all. Not to mention that it seems these components seem to be the only thing defining these synths at this point. Maybe a human with a synth component installed can be controlled as such. It goes all over the board when we begin to think like this. But, none the less, it's very plausible for Pinkerton to be the real synth in this situation. He's more than clever enough to pull something as simple as a switheroo with everything else he's got going for him. The only other thing that I wanted to add is the actual reason for Zimmer's absence from Fallout 4. It is most likely because of the style of game that the fallout games are. I believe only in one installment do we see what the developers decided the first player character would look like in a following game. It didn't bode well with audiences as that character has so much range based on what we as players ultimately decided we wanted to look like. To just narrow down to one choice option strips away what Fallout ultimately is strong for in one situation. This ties in with all of the different choices we make in prior games as well. And yes, as the games are made, the developers do take liberties with ultimately making choices that could have gone which ever way by how we played. I believe the choice to leave out Zimmer was one of those areas that by leaving him out; it doesn't hurt the prior story we made in a prior game. There is just enough information to recall him and just enough to not finalize what we may have done with him in fallout 3. But for all that it's worth, these types of things are what I truly believe is so very strong in the Fallout world. It's the lore driven by choices we can make. Don't get me wrong, as a fan I am very well aware how broken and unfinished these games are... but they just have that something special about them, don't they? Thanks for the video, this one was a good one. I very rarely comment... ever. This one for some reason made me want to let you know you do a good job with these. It's been years since this game has been out, I wonder if you'll find inspiration to revisit this in the future. Take care and thanks.
Theory: Pinkerton put “his” shutdown code in harkness when he did the mind wipe. It was part of the new memories he installed in harkness. So that when somebody came looking for him, he could give up harkness and the shutdown code would work and they would think they have A3-21 captured.
I really love fallout 3, and rivet city is really interesting. I also like the idea of recycling giant cruise ships and aircraft carriers as an alternative form of housing
It is quite an old idea. Hulks that were no longer seaworthy were anchored in a major river and used as prisons. Might work today for accommodation, as long as hygiene is top priority. 17th, 18th, and 19th century hygienic norms didn't make the grade and such vessels were highly-flammable, disease-ridden deathtraps. They would become the same in a post-apocalyptic world, if not worse, depending on what caused the apocalypse. .
@@johnnydamn3923 They assaulted Rivet City and ripped out its fusion generator to power their airship. Likely killed a lot of civilians in the process who called Rivet City their home and scattered the survivors.
What I'd like to know is why or what program was responsible for the synth replacement of various people in the commonwealth like the mayor of Diamond city or how Danse was a synth, and why they were doing this to random people...never find that out. It's like a cliff hanger mystery that never gets revealed/solved.
I wonder if Danse was the one being searched for by Zimmer? Danse is a synth and even said he was in Rivet city around that time as a junk vendor. Having his mind wiped would explain why he doesn't remember he's a synth and being a courser would explain why he is so good at following orders and his combat skills.
late but spoilers (just in case, i know some people are picky about them) below the synth we track down was a security guard. You can track down the same synth in the quest "The Replicated Man"
@Matthew fraser depends on the outcome or "canon" response if we let him go, then maybe but then the other outcome is that we reclaimed him also, until you scan the network, there was no mention of danse being a synth, not even a log about rivet city
@sans the skeleton 2222 yeah well my theory danse is harkness, wiped and new face again something that was said happened to him before being hardness. There was no danse in 3 because he was still hardness till the quest and sure in 3 we can have hardness taken or killed but 4 seems to have chosen the endings where he isn't found out or zimmer got killed by him. Hardness would've realised more would come after him and need to hide again at least that's what I'd probably do in his shoes though I'd probably want to remember who I was lol
@@thecrimsondragon2379 I just started playing fallout 3 and i happened on this quest,since i had played fallout 4 i made the connection and loved the interconnected storytelling
I was making noodles not really paying attention then he dropped this line “in the commonwealth we used these machines..” crazy how long Bethesda been holding onto the concept and world already it seems.
I'm sure this will get lost in the comments.. but I found a very interesting mystery today in Fallout 4 that I think you might find intriguing! There is a man by the name of Wayne Tournquist who has created a small radio broadcast for his wife Bonnie to find him and their kids with at their bunker in West Everett Estates. There is a lot of interesting stuff including a holotape by Bonnie at the Mass Bay Medical Center which confirms that both Wayne/kids AND Bonnie escaped where they were at! Did they find each other, did they die separately in the wastes? A super mutant named Hammer makes a holotape where he kills a human, but was that one of the raiders that killed his neighbors, or was that Wayne himself dying? I can't seem to find an answer, but the story is tragic and compelling so I figure you're the man for the job!
Oxhorn does a video on it. Although he can't find a real conclusion to their demise besides some coding he thinks the developers discarded. Maybe nate can figure out the true demise. Otherwise this is the link for that one ua-cam.com/video/22HyfU6ooqY/v-deo.html If you seen it already sorry for wasting your time
Im sure its just random story filler, but yeah I found that too and thought it was interesting, shame we never find out if they found each other. If you want to lookup something else that is interesting, I'd suggest Covenants Synth test. ( *Long story ahead so if you don't want to read any of it then it's fine* ) The SAFE test doesn't work because some of the questions asked are related to baseball, something that no one has true knowledge of in the post apocalyptic world. The Wastelands biggest history buff for baseball is Moe. The guy in Diamond City who tells everyone that baseball was a deathsport where two teams would beat each other to death to win the game and passes that "knowledge" on as pure fact to everyone he meets, even after the sole survivor corrects him and explains how baseball is actually played. Moe replies with, "My version is better" and continues to tell his version of the game instead of the real sport. You can find a Holotape in the Compound near Covenant where they've been conducting tests which has the scientists asking a synth what position they would play in baseball. The synth answers "Catcher" but they still continue to torture him because they think the answer is wrong, saying. "Do synths even know the rules of baseball?" It implies they only know of Moe's version of baseball which I assume never mentions a catcher position since his baseball story is just people beating each other to death with Swatters. It's even hinted at with the note found at the Compound, which mentions synths reacting strangely to the baseball question and that the key to finding out whether or not people are real has to do with that specific question.
Pinkerton could still be A3-21. If he was aware of the fact that he was a synth, and knowledgeable enough to be able to reprogram another synth, he might have been aware of his own control code. So when he wiped Harkness' memory he implanted the code there as well as a backup in case the institute came looking for him. That's why he so casually gives Harkness up when asked about him. It was the plan all along.
Ikr Bethesda has these cool new factions but they legit just put all that effort into the Brotherhood which is bad, just oh my God it isn't great, went full Enclave Wannabes route, as much as Clichè Elder Lyons was, it was unique and uncalled for the Brotherhood so it gets that, the Gunners should've been expanded and not become Talon Company 2.0, the Minutemen should've included more characters and development which you can influence and climb the ranks of, the Institute had lots of potential of being a truly morally grey faction that is the anthesis of the Brotherhood and what they stand for.
@@quirinoguy8665 fuck the minutemen. You stumble across the one guy who has kept the dream alive for his entire life and he instantly say "youre the leader now. Now do everything it takes to build our faction"
Thought: Everyone in the Institute is a synth. When we get there, they convince us they're real. But the robot uprising was long, long ago after Zimmer was sent back in a box.
@@leo-paulgrain3832 unless of course if they are the most 'advanced' of the synths and hence are the core members of the institute. Maybe they are so advance, they do not drop any synth components at all.
Honestly, just been given some really bad news and, oddly enough, this actually made me feel better. Thank you, Nate. You're epic. Edit: My god, you guys are so damn nice. Genuinely. Thank you all. And thank you Nate for bringing together such an incredible bunch of people.
(finally my chance to not be against all people and posting a comment early and make it hip and perfect and obviously it has to be a quirky yet relatable response to the top comment that absolutely no one can even think of something somewhat similiar now to think of what... I got it) hi! Ok but seriously stay strong people love you
Zimmer knew he was a target for the railroad and had himself replicated in the synthetic Dr. Zimmer, knowing that most people would write him off if he was dead and not dig deeper. This would allow him to trace back his assassins to track down the synthetic and the railroad agents that he's looking for, so it's an extra layer of protection with an added bonus. The reason he is still gone is that he's got more stunts to find, maybe he's looking for DiMa and Chase?
Imagine him making it back to the commonwealth after not being able to teleport back to the institute and just finding the spot of the explosion, like: Institute: angers commonwealth residents Commonwealth residents: blows up institute Zimmer: *surprised pikachu*
Zimmer: "Finally back in the commonwealth, soon I'll be home in the civilized comfort of the Institute" Institute: *A giant hole glowing faintly in the dark* Zimmer "What the Fu...! What is it with Vault people and screwing me around!"
31:12 If Pinkerton wiped out Harkness memory, and was savvy enough to be able to do that, Pinkerton could have as much copied his codes to Harkness, thus making Harkness act like he was A3-21. So that point doesn't invalidate the theory, provided Pinkerton is knowledgeable enough to be able to do that. Going down the rabbit hole (and completely bonkers in conspiracy theory), it might be that Pinkerton was an early version of Zimmer that was faulty (not following the "I'm a scientist working for the Institute") that escaped, and thus, is able to do something as complicated as erasing and rewriting Android/Synths memories. Which would sustain the possibility of Harkness being the fake A3-21. EDIT: Also, since Zimmer is an android/synth, his fate in F3 is irrelevant, provided the Institute can simply make a copy. So, the one in F4 is probably just away on the field, and the changes to cut him out were possibly made to not give players too much room in discovering he's an android/synth (in case they didn't in F3).
I think Bethesda should include an option at the beginning of the game that asks the player what options they choose to go with on certain main or side quests in the previous game. This would allow Bethesda the opportunity to go into further detail with NPCs from previous Fallout games instead of giving a vague answer as to his whereabouts. For example if you killed zimmer or if you helped him capture the synth.
And an "I've never played a previous game" option, that randomizes who's lived or died and whats happened, so they can just sound crazy when they try to talk lore with someone who's played other games.
or why not an option of "Have you played previous games?" and if you say yes, then it'll check for save files in your device, and in case it detects i.e. Fallout 3 save files, then it checks your (important) decisions and selects what to use or what not to use upon that. It's most likely very hard to do, and we are talking about Bethesda here, so thinking they'll do that is just a dream.
M0D Yeah once you start thinking about all the different outcomes and possibilities it would make development a nightmare. Developing one game would be like developing 3. So I can see why they would want to stay away from that. Eventually though, after several games, I do see Bethesda having to make a decision on which endings they consider to be the “canon” or the preferred ending to some of the more major quests that could have a huge impact on surrounding cities and states( like for example if the Institute still exists or if it was blown up)
I like the idea that Zimmer was a normal human but at one point created a gen 3 synth clone to be his proxy, or perhaps multiple synth clones, while he himself could monitor it/them from a secure location. So android component on Zimmer in Fallout 3 makes sense but also why he was the head of a branch in the Institute. Also, Pinkerton could have been replaced much like in Fallout 4, but started out human.
That whole "Replicated Man" quest feels like content a studio would patch in when it came close to the next game coming out, as a teaser, rather than something thats there almost a decade before. I've never done the quest so hearing all these plot elememts, the commonwealth and the organizations mentioned so clearly really took me by surprise. Crazy.
if it was originally in 3 on release (which i dont see why it wouldnt be) My guess is that they were setting up for a villain that was enclave-like, but not the enclave. the android thing was, at worst, just a reference to "do androids dream of electric sheep" and similar concepts, while at best it was a great prelude for things to come.
its a blade runner reference. the name of the quest is "the replicated man." in the blade runner world theyre called replicants. blade runners are replicants that hunt down other rogue replicants for decommission.
in your section about Dr. Zimmer being a Synth, it is possible that he made Synth Clones of himself to deal with the High profile targets, like a safety precaution incase of betrayal or if his targets come after him, this way his one of his clones goes offline he can then dispatch someone else to the area and keep trying, alternatively Dr. Zimmer could have originally been a human in the past and before dying made a synth clone of himself to take over after his death.
I love this content so much, whenever I am playing Skyrim and it gets boring I will just go to your channel and watch your content for hours. Keep up the good work! Because Lydia won't stop standing in a door frame...
@@lunavarion sneaky enough. She doesnt give away my position like all the housecarls do, and once I loose my first arrow every enemy focuses on her, allowing me to shoot from the shadows.
@@lunavarion huh. I don't have that problem. I sneak everywhere. She isn't perfect, but she doesn't give away my position, at least that I've ever noticed.
It would have been a hell of a plot twist if we saw him in FO4, even if he where killed in FO3, he is a synth after all, he can be made again in the institute.
My best guess is that when hunting the important synths Dr. Zimmer was shown that he was one of them and escaped with them. This would also open up the opportunity of Dr. Zimmer and other unique synths appearing future Fallout content.
I think Pinkerton might still be who you really where looking for, what if he removed the chip and or modded it then did the same to Harkness or just swapped things outright when he di surgery. Pinkerton might end up being a main story character later if the sinth story keeps carrying out. Who knows maybe he will build an army like he said. If he knows enough to change ones codes and make them believe they are someone else on two levels. This is probably wrong but it would be a hell of a story.
I doubt Harkness is related to Zimmer's FEV expiraments because I feel like 3 months isn't long enough for Harkness to escape the Institute, travel to the Capital Wasteland, get facial reconstruction surgery and a mind wipe, AND live in rivet city long enough to become the head of security.
All of that AND the Reason he leaves in the first place he was on missions where he killed or recaptured multiple other Synths coming to the realization at some point along the way that what he was doing is working for a slave system and it's immoral. None of this could happen within months.
If the Railroad moves synths to the Capital Wasteland as a matter of policy, then I imagine the Institute would have little trouble in making the same trips. Furthermore the Institute would have access to vertibirds or other vehicles (as yet discovered). Given FO3 DLC you can take a subway to Andrews, who knows how far the subways extend in this world. Surgery and mind wipes takes less than a day in the Fallout Universe, and in RL you can walk from DC to Boston in a few days... I don't imagine the turnover or mortality of a Rivet City guard to be very high, what's more as a former Courser, Harkness would have extensive training in all fields combat-orientated; I'd imagine 3 months is more than enough time to prove yourself as not only deadly, efficient, and tactical, but ...still alive. He could have very well been sent to DC to hunt synths, and had his turn-of-heart moment in the field - it's more than likely.
It could also just be that Harkness was given Pinkerton as his target, and that led him to Rivet city, but he decided to run away during the process of finding him, or even while talking to him, and ended up asking for help from his target. Then Zimmer, who believed himself to be human, went after Harkness.
Adding onto the idea that Zimmer is a synth in the game Fallout Shelter Online Dr.Zimmer is a character . With each character under the traits of that character the race is listed, like how Hacock is a ghoul and Dogmeat is an animal, and it says that Zimmer is a human. One weird thing that is shown is that Sturges is a synth.
Kellogg, dangerous mind quest (memory) about "The Voice" fight with Young Kellogg at Corridor, still mystery. Who is "the voice" mocking Kellogg at the Corridor?
Dr. Zimmer is possibly either still looking for the one synth from Fallout 3, or he may have moved on, and could be elsewhere looking for another lost synth.
Makes me wonder how many other synths were present in fallout 3, such as the good doctor, who were completely undetectable without console commands? And what impact on the game lore those possible synths could have?
Never understood or liked the idea of making AI robots look like human, not only is it disturbing even if consensual but also kind of defeat the idea of having a second species servant, I wouldn't want to have a robot that looks like a human and can be confuse as one You would think that in the future the idea of human labor and servitude would be taboo, also the human body is very limiting wouldn't it be better to make something that is better then humans on all aspects? I don't know, for me making them look human is only making the idea of narcissistic, sociopathic greedy elite want nothing more then a humanity in pure servitude
Humanoid shapes are generally good for all purpose servants, if you want a servile to navigate and interact with existing infrastructure and tools, give them human hands to use them and make them human shape to use existing vehicles. It is limiting for highly specialised tasks, but its extremely flexible. But I agree it is strange to give them human skin and personality if you planned to have them do farming or sweep floors though. Build Mr Handy's for that stuff.
@@MediumRareOpinions Mr Handys with legs though. Unless we discover an unlimited source of power and extremely powerful non-thermal thrusters then "hovering" robots just make absolutely zero sense. Mr Handys run on flamethrower fuel basically, and should be starting fires everywhere they go with their exhausts :/ Plus any time they lift something they would have to increase thrust. I dont know why RobCo ever tried to steal credit for such a horrible design O.o Legs and wheels are good for things that need to be energy efficient. Forget the Circular Saw and Blow torch too. Just put manipulators on all the arms. O.o Or just get a Roomba. Roombas are nice and safe...
@@grayeaglej all true, perhaps RobCo were onto a winner with the Protectron weird as it sounds. They may be basic and crude but pre war they seemed to fulfil a lot of labouring and assistant roles without being excessively complex to build or maintain. Plus they arent exactly going to overthrow their human masters any time soon, they have whisks for brains.
@@MediumRareOpinions Woo Hoo Brain Whisks! :D Convenient for making a souffle o.o Though the Courier has Tesla Coil brain, so maybe Whiskey Brain is not so bad? O.o And Protectrons seem to have been used for every task imaginable. There are security models, police, military, firefighters, medic, lumberjack, train conductor, bartenders, cashiers, and janitors. And then there is FISTO... O.O So yeah, Robbie The Robot sure got around and they should have worked harder on that or perhaps expanding the functions of the more advances and "flexible" Assaultrons. O.o
I was playing Fallout 3, and I was sitting there in awe wondering what "The Commonwealth" was, and what the "Institute" was, and then one trip to the Mojave later and I end up in Boston and Cambridge, seeing what the true reality of the Institute was, and it was cool. 2nd only to when I first saw the Prydwen arrive.
They do both have glasses, similiar look and knowledge of blending in. Recon its plausible. I mean we never knew Zimmer's origins either and we do know institute takes in outsiders sooo....
did wonder why Zimmer wasn't in the game kinda thought be might been held back to appear in fallout 5 or something to carry on the synth storey in future games like being the big bad guy in the next fallout but yeah, of course, they needed it to be a bit open-ended of where he is since there were multiple endings to his quest in fallout 3 don't really makes sense him being a synth tho any way could you do a video about Marowski cause he confused me like why is he in the game felt like he was supposed to be a big deal but there is next to nothing to do with him
i replayed replicated man and its really crazy because the random victoria watts settler that tells you off and gives a broken component, offers you to join the railroad. I wonder if the Lone Wanderer in canon ends up having some collab with the railroad in someway. Considering the ties with the brotherhood however, we would have to wait and see.
What I think is so awesome is that Robert Picardo (the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek Voyager) voices Alan Binet, someone who sympathized with synths/believed they were sentient beings, and a few other NPC characters. Picardo’s Star Trek character was a synthetic being that spent the series gripping with becoming an individual and living outside his mechanics. Not to mention the weird coincidence where you have Dr. Zimmer in F4 and Picardo’s EMH character in Star Trek was made by a Dr. Zimmerman (also played by picardo)
Funnily enough, in Fallout 4 Lancer captain Kells (The captain of the Prydwen) is voiced by Tim Russ who played Lt commander Tuvok. Also Marcus the super mutant from Fallout 2 and NV is voiced by Micheal Dorn, Who plays Worf.
I would posit that Zimmer's relation to the fev indicates that he might have been Virgil originally but they decided not to go that route. The fev virus would also explain his long life and his absence in the story as he was out in the cave looking for a cure. The entire mystery makes sense if you replace Virgil with Zimmer.
he was caught by the Imperial ambush while trying to cross the border
HALT!!! You've violated the law.
And then he suddenly heard a mysterious voice saying:
*Hey you,you finally awake!*
TIL the name of Skyrim's protagonist was Zimmer
RALOF
Jordan Spencer I used to be a lone wander like you then I took a bullet to the knee
If Dr. Zimmer's voice sounds familiar it's 'cause he's got the same voice actor as the Vault-Tec Salesman from Fallout 4.
dr zimmer is the salesman confirmed
Splendid! Splendid! :D
I mean, I don't really -think- they're the same character, but there's a lot of weird details and story incongruities; that kind of lead me to believe that maybe at one point in development the possibility that the player character was a synth was meant to be a bit stronger then it was in the released game; but that's my personal paranoia speaking.
Not only that, but he also did several Diablo 1 (and 2) characters, like the Narrator, Pepin, Lachdanan, Archbishop Lazarus and the Warrior. I recognize that voice anywhere, haha
The Pepin connection struck me like an electric shock.
Me:"He's a synth, you're a synth, I'm a synth; is everyone on this blasted planet a synth?" Dogmeat: "Woof"
Sadly dogmeat is a synth 😅
That's true and funny
@@sesebas127 facts there is no way there is a pure breed dog who didn’t die from the rads
Dogmeat: “coughs out synth component”
Maybe father sent him to you so youd have a bit of something to remind you of prewar life to help your moral
Perhaps Zimmer, given his age, implanted his memories into a synth as a way of extending his existence.
Maybe but if he could why couldn’t we do that with Shaun or anyone in the institute
@@iwanttocry3212given the power Zimmer had as head of SRB it is possible he would be able to do something inhuman like combining human intelligence and machines. This is something that the institute has banned before (see the cyborg program i.e. Kellog). Perhaps Zimmer transfered his consciousness to a synth without the others in the institute knowing.
@@loonychloe558 true but I think it would cause a major plot hole if they did go that route cause like he can do it but no one offered for Shaun to do it?
I suspect the EpicNate is missing a point here. That the unofficial quest ending in Fallout 3 was that Zimmer was killed. And since Zimmer is missing in Fallout 4, the indication is that Zimmer use to send out Synths who were designed to look like him to hunt down the Synths. He did this in the hope that they would simply give up if they thought they were facing him specifically.
But because his synth was killed in Fallout 3, he started to do the missions personally. Which is unlikely to be successful considering his age even in Fallout 3.
But I have a theory. Harkness, Pinkerton, and Dr. Zimmer are all the same model synth. Just aged differently. They all have the same hairline, the same eye color, same large nose, and the same large ears. Harkness jawline is different but that could be because his synth is designed as a younger model so his face is more fleshed out.
Zimmer used himself as the template. Which is why he is so adament that he would have found the synth unless he had done facial reconstruction. Because at some point, somebody would confuse him for the synth he was looking for or at least assume a family connection and bring it up in small talk. Pinkerton is in hiding because he didn't want potential exposure if Harkness was discovered. As for the mind wipe, I'd be willing to bet that Zimmer programmed all his important synths with the same personality traits. So whatever interests Zimmer would like be of interest to the synth as well.
he's already a synth
But Dr. Zimmer could be alive even if you killed "him" in FO3, as the Dr. Zimmer in FO3 could just be a synth fed with his memories and would serve as a way for Dr. Zimmer to "personally" take care of business without the risk of dying himself
It could even be entirely possible there was MORE THAN ONE Dr. Zimmer around the Commonwealth area, the brains alongside a Courser escort both meant to look blended in to not risk outward retaliation from other factions. It's only 10 years after that the Institute goes public after all.
In a way, I believe "Dr, Zimmer" is looking for himself!! Plausible? Maybe. He thinks he is the Real Zimmer,but can be THE escaped synth! Just delusional and brainwashed,wires crossed or something. The woman with the railroad knows he is THE synth and wants to get rid of him anyway.
thats much more reasonable than risking one of their head scientists on traveling all across the wasteland.
@@unkosherfood especially with only a couple bodyguards like wtf?
I wonder if he secretly has cybernetic enhancements or had a secret android stand in. In my opinion, its unlikely they would trust a synth with such status
Me: "Wait, they're all synths?"
Nate: "Always have been."
Stfu
@wolfninja 1849 not you. The commenter.
@wolfninja 1849 apologies. I just dislike memes/meme comments.
@wolfninja 1849 oh. Interesting..
@wolfninja 1849 I dont see how that was a meme but gg.
If he was a synth, he could have been rebuild and appear in FO4. It is more likely he was enhanced with synth components like Kellog.
Or an avatar-like synth, created to go on high risk missions like heading to the Captial Wasteland; Just upload Zimmers personality and memories and send him out
yeah good point don't make sense Zimmer being a synth
Same with Pinkerton - tbh given his abilities and how he basically dismissed Institute tech as not all that complicated when talking about Harkness, I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkerton came from the Institute back in the day.
Yeah I think its a little far fetched that he is a synth, especially because he acts like he is superior to synths. Its possible that he's unknowingly a synth, but him being enhanced lile Kellog seems more likely.
could he just be hidden in a bin or something like that in FO76 ?
You can tell Zimmer "Get his reward" then instantly kill him, then go in tell harkness the truth and also get his reward. You get both the gun and upgrade. 😎
This is clearly the canon ending.
This is the way us exploiters play
The gun sucks
@@darwinchica8133 it's a named unique in a Bethesda game, it could have a DPS of 0.5 and people would still want to collect it.
You can also be given permission to kill zimmer get the gun, go tell Zimmer to go get his synth then kill him with a hunted synth's plasma rifle
My theory on Zimmer is that he was cut out to leave room for an Institute faction or presence in another Fallout game down the line. That way, even if you wipe out the Institute in Fallout 4, Zimmer could be in charge of a surviving or renegade faction in another future game set somewhere else.
I like this theory similar to the brotherhood and their different branches
@@werr3222werrrevery faction has this. While the jackels and vipers can be mostly wiped out they are in the mountains of Vegas, the Khan's are reborn multiple times even getting a huge empire in the north later on, the enclave is back into hiding and has remnants all around just truly hidden. See remnants of NV and the fact that air force base might not be the only enclave outpost just the last main bastion. hell the BOS is in hiding in the west. It's a reoccurring theme.
In that Zimmer's quest from Fallout 3 he explains that he's from the Institute from the Commonwealth and that the Institute makes synthetic people. Not only that, as the quest progresses a character claiming to be a member of the Railroad appears to the player asking to give false information to Zimmer in order to prevent him from getting the synth. And that 7 years before Fallout 4 was released. This makes me believe that Bethesda took that quest as a starting point to write the story of Fallout 4.
Or they already had Fallout 4s plot points mapped out and included a taste of it in 3 to connect the games and lore
Gee, ya think?
@Bill Clinton Enjoyer blows my mind....
The quest is a direct rip off Bladerunner they even use the same name
@@iami3rian394 acting like an asshole online doesnt make anyone like you
"Zimmer is a synth"
I sleep
"Pinkerton is a synth"
REAL S#!%
Rivers Cuomo is a synth?
"Pinkerton" would be such a good name for a former courser.
*Agent Milton would like to know your location*
@@This-jy6wn lol
What about the Pinkertons?
(John dies recap)
*No.*
"they trusted a synth to manage an entire division"...did they though? doesn't it make more sense that they would have these models made to represent them outside the commonwealth. After all, losing a synth is a much lighter blow than losing a scientist and the wastelands are a dangerous place. No, i'm pretty convinced the dr. zimmer we met in fallout 3 is not the real one.
This is my current theory
clericofchaos1, He also could have been modified similar to Kellogg, and the Android Component you can find on him if you kill him is similar to what modifications and enhancements that Kellogg has
@@treyjordan3168 I doubt it, from what I could tell rom the lore, Kellogg was a once off thing, and by the time Zimmer would have been in a superior position in the institute I think they would've already mothballed the tech
Oh I think he was the real deal I think he was enhanced with implants and got an inflated ego
@@SH-qs7ee yeah, kellog was alive before the events in fallout 1 and he wasn't a synth. he was closer to a cyborg than anything else.
Happy Saturday!
You too, Nate.
Happy Saturday!
U to man
Keep up the good content
Same to you
I remember doing this mission 3 and immediately being hooked on the ideas of The Common Wealth and The Institute. Wondering what was going on in a different part of the fallout world and hoping we could see it one day. When it all came full circle in 4 it was honestly one of the most satisfying gaming moments ive ever had.
Bruh I had the same thought when I first played this game. I was so fascinated with this commonwealth zimmer was talking about
And then we got fallout 4 and the execution was horrible which destroyed this whole idea and concept.
@@chabbab6698 seriously
Fallout 4 didn’t do fallout justice
@@sheabenitez8897 i still dont get why people hate fallout 4, maybe the writing ain't as good but the game is fun af, and well, that's the whole point of a video game, fallout 4 ain't as bad as people paint it to be
It has to be that they left Zimmer's fate purposely ambiguous so that whatever you decided the outcome of the Replicated Man was could be canon in your playthrough.
That’s just lazy writing
@@seantheguy1391 How? What if you killed him I'm Fallout 3? Now he is suddenly alive because they needed him for Fallout 4? That's lazy writing.
@@seantheguy1391 ^ this guy makes a good point
@@awsome14619 there's freedom of decision in all the games, but there's also the "canon outcome". like the first games canon is that the vault dweller defeats the master and saves vault 13 and the wasteland then is cast out to settle arroyo setting up the second game
you didn't do it wrong if you played the first game and sided with the master, its just that isn't the canon ending. in short, it is in fact lazy writing
@@saml302 you're right, that makes sense. Do you know what the canon outcome of Fo4 is?
The real doctor Zimmer made synthetic versions of himself to cover more ground to collect the other synthetics as fast as possible
Exactly what I was thinking not sure why he couldn't make an appearance in fo4 unless they wrote in that he died of old age but they didn't so where is he?
@@kyleknoll2563 Forward base maybe?
Or simply to ensure his safety, the wasteland is a dangerous place after all. He’s probably in a luxurious apartment in the Institute listed on the building plans as a secondary broom closet or something. Watching the progress of his synth stand ins through a surveillance node in their synth components
Ayo killed the real zim and replaced him with a synth in order to take command of the SRB. Why would the institute allow a synth to lead SRB? THEY would not do it intentionally because there’s no tactical value but Dr Ayeo would replace zimmer with synth to seize power. With zimmer replaced with a programmable body double, Ayeo can crown himself or use the authority of zimmer to get whatever he wants by making synth Zimmer parrot ayeos wishes. It was not a institutionalized decision it was a selfish power grab. Ayeo is confrontational, power hungry, and makes threats to his fellow institute scientists so this is perfectly in character and I can see father looking the other way (assuming he knew) if zimmer disagreed with fathers more authoritarian politics.
But the “real “ Zimmer was made
Nate you need some scuba gear for how deep you’re diving into the lore
Outstanding joke, Knight
Good joke knight
Knight why aren't you on guard duty?
That joke is good knight, now go and kill some synth's
While he does find gold quite often... so much is over-thought speculation about surface level details, minor coincidences, and stuff Bethesda has just made up and don't even fit the lore. Still enjoy the vids.
Imagine the institute dealing with Mr. House and making him a new body
I see I’m not the only one
Imagine if Mr. House had lasted long enough to meet the Institute
@Anklebiting too bad it might be canon if we destroy the institute in Fallout 4 and there's no karma system to tell you if that was a good or bad karma deed
@Anklebiting *I can see the BOS panicking if they introduced it and the Institute got bad karma if ya destroyed em and the BOS gave ya good karma if you destroyed em*
House is (or was) a member of the institute. He graduated from CIT and worked with them before founding Robco. Its entirely possible he knows of the synth project but i doubt he would trust them to make the body for him, hed rather do it himself most likely
This is a terrific video, thanks for digging into the lore! I always wondered why, given the Institute's general squeamishness about exposing themselves to the surface, one of their senior staff - and no spring chicken - would be personally searching the wasteland, hundreds of miles from home. This explains why quite nicely.
Some random speculation to add:
- At the time FO3 takes place, Gen 3 synths would have been around for 50 years (given Sean's 60 year age in FO4).
- In FO3, Zimmer has the appearance of a man who is in his 70s at best.
- It seems odd that the Institute population at large - given their general attitude toward synths -would have wanted a synth to be the head of the SRB.
- It also seems odd that they would have specifically chosen to give such a synth the appearance of a man in his 70s who needs corrective lenses. (yes, maybe for the "people respect older male figures" factor, but this seems weak.)
My hypothesis is this: there originally was a human Zimmer, possibly one of the first scientists who worked on the Gen 3 project, fifty years prior to FO3. He eventually became the first head of the SRB - there would have been no need for such a division prior to the Gen 3s - and developed the first Coursers, and very likely iterated on them to produce the superior models we eventually see in FO4.
So how did we end up with Zimmer the synth? This is where we get into more speculative territory, but what do else do we know was happening at the Institute prior to the time of FO3? Sean (Father) was rising to a position of leadership in the organization. At the time of FO3 he would be approximately 50, but we know he was already in charge when the FEV experiments were ordered, so he would have had to become Director at least ten years before that (in his 40s.) Now maybe he rose from living DNA source to respected leader all on the merits, but it's not unreasonable to assume that Sean might have faced some opposition, especially from someone more senior, who was actually involved in creating the Gen 3s... like Zimmer. And given what we know of Sean's fairly amoral nature, one way to eliminate that opposition would be to have Zimmer replaced. The synth Zimmer could go on doing his job, without the rest of the Institute knowing a thing. He could back Sean's bid to become director, giving him the legitimacy of an endorsement from the "old guard." And, if Sean became worried that somebody might discover Zimmer's true nature, he could send him on an extended mission out into the Wasteland to find the most critical missing synths.
Anyway, I never tire of theorizing about this series, I think filling in the blanks is one of the great joys of Fallout lore. Thanks again!
Considering they want no--one on the outside to know the location of the Institute it is a poor decision to exile the 'Railroad benefactor', Liam, if his 'hobby' is discovered. He can't be the first such 'offender' as exile seems to be automatic, as if they've resorted to it on previous occasions and it is the set penalty. Thus we are to believe that all of these exiles endured their fate with no ill feeling for the Institute that would spur them to give its location away to any and all on the surface, or even sell that information for survival purposes. Would the Institute ignore such a risk, or does the mindwipe and reprogramming work on ordinary humans, too?
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@Prof Sakharov I think you just answered your own theory the institute probably doesn't have to worry about the exiles revealing sensitve/detailed data on the institutes location because they probably mind wipe that info from them and even if they did tell someone how to get into the institute they probably wouldn't be able to get there because they wouldn't have been able to teleport inside
O
@@gumshoe1285Or people just wouldn’t believe them. I’d imagine there were a lot of rumors about them at the time, and im sure they wouldn’t let Liam out with proof of the inside, so people would probably think he’s lying
I wonder if the Zimmer who was in charge of the SRB was the real man, and the synth sent to retrieve Harkness was also another courser prototype he helped to create. Very curious. I've played through both games numerous times and this thought has only just come to me now after your video. Great content as always 😁👍
My theory is a bit more out there.
Firstly, since when do Institute scientists PERSONALLY go out in the field? From everything we learn in Fallout 4, actually leaving the Institute is a remarkably rare thing for them, and basically ceased when they recruited Kellogg as their surface agent. Ten years ago, while the Gen 3's were still in development it may still have been necessary, but almost certainly rare.
My theory is this: Justin Ayo wanted control of the SRB; He saw the potential of the Coursers and it suited his own authoritarian tendencies. But they'd never put him in charge as long as Zimmerman was there. Justin couldn't just murder Zimmerman or make him disappear, because an unexplained death in such a insular community would be investigated thoroughly. So what he did was he REPLACED Zimmerman with a Synth, one that believed it WAS Zimmerman. Then he gave the Synth the impulse to go out on a wild goose chase for the Courser prototype, to a wildly dangerous part of the Capital Wasteland. There he could safely 'disappear' without too many people asking questions. And so he did.
Unfortunately for Justin, without conclusive proof of Zimmerman's death, Father never confirmed Justin as anything but the Acting head of SRB... precisely because Father knew Justin was potential trouble.
And what is the SRB up to now? Replacing people with duplicates. Ten years of practise have made them VERY good at copying people, mannerisms, even transcribing memories. Not PERFECT, mind you... but very good.
So, TL;DR Justin Ayo murdered Dr. Zimmerman to get his position, covered it up by making a Synth replica of Zimmerman, then sent the synth on a wild goose chase that he was never intended to return from. He then took over the SRB, and continued to use that exact same technique to replace significant people in the Commonwealth.
@@IsilmeTuruphant they can leave for synth retrieval if the synth is far enough, my proof? far harbor, join the Insitute. tell them about the synths and soon you will go with a scientist to get the synths, yes this is rare, but it can happen if the synths are out of teleporting distance, plus there is actually a synth, if you want more details, look for the quest "the replicated man"
Why wouldn't he send Kellogg though?
@cpt nordbart they probably needed someone to keep an eye on the operation who could also work a teleporter, hence the scientist, or maybe kellog, didn't work with the Institute during that time
You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13
Knowing Bethesda, they probably canon killed him off during the events of Fallout 3. My guess is that he is dead.
Hey there Mantis, like your content m8.
Hey mantis.
BeThEsda BaD
You can kill him in fallout three as one of multiple quest endings
Its why I don’t play fallout 3 4 and 76
are there any ties from Horace Pinkerton to the Railroads "Pinky" character that lead before des?
underrated comment, i think people should be discussing this
@@mendaxMultorum I agree honestly it’s a very close similarity in naming
yeah it's most likely as I believe the time line may be close enough that those two could be the same person
That moment when your realize Dr. Zimmer is also Septimus Signus.
Imagine living beneath the waves with a strong-sighted blessing of most excellent fabric. Holding the fabric over your gills, you would begin to breathe-drink its warp and weft. Though the plant matter fibers imbue your soul, the wretched plankton would pollute the cloth until it stank to heavens of prophecy. This is one manner in which the Synths first came to pass, but are we the sea, or the breather, or the fabric? Or are we the breath itself?
@@dolorousjohn5499 Wait what?
@@In_Thy_Flesh it's a mash up of a rambling book about elder scrolls from Skyrim and sprinkles of synth and fallout stuff.
@@Ryan6.022 no
@@In_Thy_Flesh yes "Skyrim:Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)" en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Ruminations_on_the_Elder_Scrolls
Zimmer is either dead at the hands of Harkness or the Lone Wanderer, or he's out there still looking for the other "High Profile" units. It was implied he was going after more than one and it's likely the one he had with him at Rivet City was brought from the institute as a guard rather than another he was trying to recapture. If so, he still has units to recapture after getting A3-21 back and it's entirely possible he got killed at another point along the way or simply hasn't finished the task.
Perhaps the BoS got to him.
yeah i think its entirely possible that he disappeared more recently and would make more sense for Justin to be acting director cause if he was missing for a decade i think Justin Ayo wouldve become lead of the srb instead
I believe the Dr Zimmer we saw in fallout 3 was in fact a synth created by the real Dr Zimmer. After obtaining Saun from the vault, he was able to create a duplicate of himself right down to his own memories essentially making himself immortal. Maybe he was sick or dying, and this was his solution to keep his work going. This would make the "old man" mystery make alot more sense if it was Zimmer himself sending kellogg into the vault.
I wonder if we'll meet a bunch of zimmers in fallout 5 lol
I don’t get this theory entirely since we already know the institute is able to make mercenaries like Kellogg live well past their time with minor enhancements, making himself a synth doesn’t make a ton of sense to me when that option is already open.
@@DogsRNice Hahahaha.... Zimmer....
“Old Man” is a common term in military circles for the officer in charge. Has nothing to do with age. Kellogg just uses much of the same type of language.
Hans Zimmer was going to be a bad guy?! Damn, he would have beat us with his amazing orchestral songs
Aniquin batman
@Aniquin Marty O'Donnell is the Halo Music composer
You should have stopped at 'beat'
ora ora ora ora ora ora
I killed Dr. Zimmer after he gave me the reward. Then talked to the synth and got the Plasma gun as well, Yah Fallout.
YEAH! I did the same thing!
It just works.
Yeess! I've done that too. :D Gosh I love that game. The fact that it allows you to do that is so good.
“Pro gamer move” right there
My theories:
•The Dr. Zimmer android was built by the real Dr. Zimmer for field missions. Being as smart as he is, he would never put his true self in danger. He possibly has multiple out in the field, while he is safe in some research facility.
•It may be possible that Pinkerton is the Synth that Zimmer was looking for. He performed a memory wipe and facial reconstruction on “Harkness”. It is possible that he swapped components with the other Synth, as a way to throw off the doctor. This is why the unique phrase worked on Harkness.
(Additionally, it’s possible that Pinkerton gave Harkness the memories he did, planning on him becoming a leader of the community. When Harkness is taken, it could cause division among the other leaders. Giving Pinkerton a perfect opportunity to regain his position.)
I think the same about your first point, that Zimmer made a 'clone' of himself. And the more I thought about itt he more I realised that Zimmer could have been the scientist that helps us enter the institute instead of Virgil, the creator realises that his creations are alive not just machines, but clearly someone decided Virgil was better?
I was about to say the same thing, given how smart the guy is and how much he seems to dislike the Wasteland why would he go on his own.
He might have a a private base somewere far from danger in the Wasteland while monitoring his Zimmer bot.
First thing that came to my mind as well. Makes much more sense that Zimmer made a synth to go in his stead as a body double.
Well it's said at the institute that Zimmer himself had left on a mission to supervise the retrieval of some high profile units. In other words, he left himself.
Laff700
Yes he did leave the institute headquarters. But that just means he isn’t there anymore. He could be at another research facility or similar location.
Perhaps he left the institute to create his own organization.
What if the "package" lost to raiders was Zimmer?
Oxhorn did a video where he decoded one of the Railroad Morse code messages in Fallout 4, where a supposed "priority" subject was lost in transit.
Oxhorn also tested out various weapons on Horace Pinkerton And the only weapon that could kill him was the weapon he gives the player Also Horace had an android component if I'm remembering correctly This is an indicator that Harkness like Watts is a railroad agent And that Horace Pinkerton is A3-21, And if you think about it why would a courser erase their own memory When you could only leave them vulnerable Instead use your tactical and scientific knowledge Just send a Zimmer out on a wild goose Chase, Also if Zimmer is killed they also have an android component Very similar to Kellogg When he is finally killed Now if you think back to Justin AO He's been supervising the central tension bureau for 10 years Where Zimmer is unaccounted for With likely no intention of even being found Also about 40 years before Zimmer's interaction in fallout 3 Was the broken mask incident in Diamond City That is 50 years by the time The sole survivor Is emerges from vault 111, Sean would have to be in the institute for about 10 years.
@@dereckbrajevich6474 shaun was in it was longer, dude think, they couldnt make synths because they didnt have oure DNA, Shaun was oure DNA so they could FINALLY make synths, synths were then made 50 YEARS ago, so you are right by the time shaun gets in the institute he is 10, when you meet him he is 60 as logic dictates because synths only apread 50 years ago so no shaun wouldnt be 10 he would be old like he is, did you jusg prove yourself wrong 😂
@@cyber1ifeconnor By the time of the Broken Mask incident Sean would have the likeness of a 10 year old, By the time Zimmer Traveled to the Capital Shawn would have the likeness of a 50 year old and 60 years when the sol survivor meets him again. Question is, How much older is Justin Ayo, did he compromise Zimmer with Cyber Technology or kill and replace Zimmer with a Synthetic, Also in the memory ofthe Cryogenic Vault, was Kellogg referring to Zimmer or Ayo when he said "Guess the Old Man didn't want loos ends"
Nothing Oxhorn says can be taken with any sort of accuracy. He's a garbage lore creator that supports retcons, makes up random bullshit and doesn't actually understand the lore he talks about so no.
I think it would be useful to construct a timeline on this. After all, Zimmer and Pinkerton might not have been "born" synths, but rather may be replacements. There would have been no need for an SRB before there were Gen 3 synths. So, the SRB may have been brand new at the time of Fallout 3. Zimmer may have had another role previously, perhaps a hand in creation of Gen 3, and he became emotionally attached to his creations, thus wanted the position as head of the SRB. He may have replaced himself as a bid for immortality.
The problem with the institute is that at NO POINT it ever becomes clear what their actual goal is, WHY they are replacing people with synths or even making synths at all? Is this guy a villain? A hero? Literally nobody knows because nobody, probably not even Bethesda, knows WHAT he and everyone in his organization are actually trying to do. Siding with the Institute actually gave me brain damage, because you're suddenly the leader and still have no idea what anyone around you is actually doing. Though I guess this is a thing in a lot of Bethesda games.
Some synths are put in to oversee experiments on the surface (such as Roger Warwick), others as spies and agents to gather information or supplies, other are simply "Why the hell not, lets see what happens". The institute is all about advancing technology for humankind, which is a worthwhile goal if it wasn't for the fact that they now see only themselves as the true inheritors of mankind and everyone else is pretty much savages barely above the radroaches. Which of course means its perfectly okay to experiment on them because they arent true humans.
@@SH-qs7ee But why advance technology, to what end? Power for the sake of power is pointless, nowhere do they ever state what their actual goal is, what they want to achieve, besides something vague like "humanity redefined".
I know, right? Like Father describes "Mankind, Re-Defined" as their motto and nominal goal but the only thing they've done to 're-define' mankind is develop the gen 3 synth and they're doing their damnedest to keep the gen 3s totally suppressed and subservient. The Institute is just blindly fumbling in the vague direction of evil science because... reasons? But hey, Bethesda wanted a stand-in for the Enclave but doesn't actually understand how the Enclave was written in Fallout 2 so they just made a vaguely super-advanced and secretive society which does evil for science instead.
@@junieb9446 The worst part is that the Enclave at least seemed strong and fairly competent as a whole, while the Institute is losing track of synths left and right, and not even using the synths they actually did place as replacements for humans for anything besides growing plants (don't have have a super advanced bio lab themselves, hello?) and spying on some people as a mayor for... some reason, probably. The rest don't know they're a synth and often don't even seem to have any reason to BE a synth. Paladin Danse for example, WHY was he a synth? He didn't even know, so as far as that goes he wasn't helping the Institute by being a synth either. Bethesda really dropped the ball.
That's the point of Bethesda's games. You are not told the story, you make the story. And everytime is different. That's why delving too deeply looking for sense never works in any of their games. Their greatest strength and the reason we play them.
"Where is Dr. Zimmer?!"
Lol we dont know but heres his relation to FO3 & FO4 for 35 mins.
He probably got shot by 101 or died between the Commonwealth and DC that would be my guess
Nate NEVER runs out of mysteries.
Change my mind
I'd be amazed if he DID run out, Fallout and The Elder Scrolls have so much Lore, it is insane
Oxhorn kinda ran out of lore to cover.. After like 100 videos
Nate's Missing Mystery
@@nielsfrederiksen6636 for what game? He has 280 lore videos for Fallout 4 itself
Fallout 3 was my first induction into the franchise. I remember the replicated man very well after watching this video. I actually wound up being a fan of Blade Runner as a result of this game. This video brings back some memories for sure and I like the way you put it together. My ears did perk up a bit though when you dismissed the idea of Pinkerton being the actual synth that the institute was looking for. It's very plausible that he IS in fact the VERY synth they were looking for. Yes, the doctor made what he was looking for and yes he had the exact code to power down Harkness.... but you overlooked what was in your video all along. The railroad agent offers you a component to prove that the synth that Zimmer is looking for is dead. This works when it's done. These components are most commonly acquired off of dead synths, but Harkness isn't dead. Nor is Pikerton. Also there is the idea of the institute trusting a synth to run a whole division of the institute. This implies that there are some very advanced synths that serve other purposes other than labor and acquisition of other synths. Synths that are this smart would have no problem placing their original components into another synth to avoid capture once and for all. Not to mention that it seems these components seem to be the only thing defining these synths at this point. Maybe a human with a synth component installed can be controlled as such. It goes all over the board when we begin to think like this. But, none the less, it's very plausible for Pinkerton to be the real synth in this situation. He's more than clever enough to pull something as simple as a switheroo with everything else he's got going for him. The only other thing that I wanted to add is the actual reason for Zimmer's absence from Fallout 4. It is most likely because of the style of game that the fallout games are. I believe only in one installment do we see what the developers decided the first player character would look like in a following game. It didn't bode well with audiences as that character has so much range based on what we as players ultimately decided we wanted to look like. To just narrow down to one choice option strips away what Fallout ultimately is strong for in one situation. This ties in with all of the different choices we make in prior games as well. And yes, as the games are made, the developers do take liberties with ultimately making choices that could have gone which ever way by how we played. I believe the choice to leave out Zimmer was one of those areas that by leaving him out; it doesn't hurt the prior story we made in a prior game. There is just enough information to recall him and just enough to not finalize what we may have done with him in fallout 3. But for all that it's worth, these types of things are what I truly believe is so very strong in the Fallout world. It's the lore driven by choices we can make. Don't get me wrong, as a fan I am very well aware how broken and unfinished these games are... but they just have that something special about them, don't they? Thanks for the video, this one was a good one. I very rarely comment... ever. This one for some reason made me want to let you know you do a good job with these. It's been years since this game has been out, I wonder if you'll find inspiration to revisit this in the future. Take care and thanks.
Theory: Pinkerton put “his” shutdown code in harkness when he did the mind wipe. It was part of the new memories he installed in harkness. So that when somebody came looking for him, he could give up harkness and the shutdown code would work and they would think they have A3-21 captured.
I really love fallout 3, and rivet city is really interesting. I also like the idea of recycling giant cruise ships and aircraft carriers as an alternative form of housing
It is quite an old idea. Hulks that were no longer seaworthy were anchored in a major river and used as prisons. Might work today for accommodation, as long as hygiene is top priority. 17th, 18th, and 19th century hygienic norms didn't make the grade and such vessels were highly-flammable, disease-ridden deathtraps. They would become the same in a post-apocalyptic world, if not worse, depending on what caused the apocalypse.
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It's heart breaking when you realized what happened to Rivet City just prior to Fallout 4. Maxson and the BOS be damned.
@@captainyossarian388 what happened so I don’t have to look it up 😮💨 I can’t remember
@@johnnydamn3923 They assaulted Rivet City and ripped out its fusion generator to power their airship. Likely killed a lot of civilians in the process who called Rivet City their home and scattered the survivors.
There's a 10 year time gap and he was kinda old, he's probably dead
Kellogg is canon like 120 and from the NCR, his life extended through Institute tech, so it's not at all unlikely Zimmer's like 97 or something.
Nah. According to the wiki, he was 58 in Fallout 3 fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Zimmer
Then he's a 68 year old badass whose life was extended to a hundred more years
If he was a Synth, Synths don’t age
@@lordrahl_95 the synth he was searching for was the first of its kind, the original gen 3 (i think)
"Change the way you look at the Institute for the worse." - How can it be worse!?
Right? How can the best faction be seen as bad?
What I'd like to know is why or what program was responsible for the synth replacement of various people in the commonwealth like the mayor of Diamond city or how Danse was a synth, and why they were doing this to random people...never find that out. It's like a cliff hanger mystery that never gets revealed/solved.
its the robotics team in the insitute plus kellogg mightve been invovled at some point
I wonder if Danse was the one being searched for by Zimmer? Danse is a synth and even said he was in Rivet city around that time as a junk vendor. Having his mind wiped would explain why he doesn't remember he's a synth and being a courser would explain why he is so good at following orders and his combat skills.
I likes yr theory, that's some good thinking right there bud.
My own little theory is danse IS the same synth we helped
The guard guy became danse
late but spoilers (just in case, i know some people are picky about them) below
the synth we track down was a security guard. You can track down the same synth in the quest "The Replicated Man"
@Matthew fraser depends on the outcome or "canon" response
if we let him go, then maybe
but then the other outcome is that we reclaimed him
also, until you scan the network, there was no mention of danse being a synth, not even a log about rivet city
@sans the skeleton 2222 yeah well my theory danse is harkness, wiped and new face again something that was said happened to him before being hardness. There was no danse in 3 because he was still hardness till the quest and sure in 3 we can have hardness taken or killed but 4 seems to have chosen the endings where he isn't found out or zimmer got killed by him. Hardness would've realised more would come after him and need to hide again at least that's what I'd probably do in his shoes though I'd probably want to remember who I was lol
Zimmer might have put his mind in a synth body as a means of immortality.
Houston Davis that’s exactly what I was thinking
He did come across as synth to me in FO3. Remember doing the quest and expecting that outcome as a twist.
Once I heard "The Replicated Man" I was like "HOLY SHIT That quest!" I never put the two together. Thank you Nate.
I haven’t played fallout three but I know about that quest, never made the connection
@@thecrimsondragon2379 I just started playing fallout 3 and i happened on this quest,since i had played fallout 4 i made the connection and loved the interconnected storytelling
I was making noodles not really paying attention then he dropped this line “in the commonwealth we used these machines..” crazy how long Bethesda been holding onto the concept and world already it seems.
I'm sure this will get lost in the comments.. but I found a very interesting mystery today in Fallout 4 that I think you might find intriguing! There is a man by the name of Wayne Tournquist who has created a small radio broadcast for his wife Bonnie to find him and their kids with at their bunker in West Everett Estates. There is a lot of interesting stuff including a holotape by Bonnie at the Mass Bay Medical Center which confirms that both Wayne/kids AND Bonnie escaped where they were at! Did they find each other, did they die separately in the wastes? A super mutant named Hammer makes a holotape where he kills a human, but was that one of the raiders that killed his neighbors, or was that Wayne himself dying? I can't seem to find an answer, but the story is tragic and compelling so I figure you're the man for the job!
Oxhorn does a video on it. Although he can't find a real conclusion to their demise besides some coding he thinks the developers discarded.
Maybe nate can figure out the true demise. Otherwise this is the link for that one ua-cam.com/video/22HyfU6ooqY/v-deo.html
If you seen it already sorry for wasting your time
Im sure its just random story filler, but yeah I found that too and thought it was interesting, shame we never find out if they found each other.
If you want to lookup something else that is interesting, I'd suggest Covenants Synth test.
( *Long story ahead so if you don't want to read any of it then it's fine* )
The SAFE test doesn't work because some of the questions asked are related to baseball, something that no one has true knowledge of in the post apocalyptic world.
The Wastelands biggest history buff for baseball is Moe.
The guy in Diamond City who tells everyone that baseball was a deathsport where two teams would beat each other to death to win the game and passes that "knowledge" on as pure fact to everyone he meets, even after the sole survivor corrects him and explains how baseball is actually played.
Moe replies with,
"My version is better" and continues to tell his version of the game instead of the real sport.
You can find a Holotape in the Compound near Covenant where they've been conducting tests which has the scientists asking a synth what position they would play in baseball.
The synth answers "Catcher" but they still continue to torture him because they think the answer is wrong, saying.
"Do synths even know the rules of baseball?"
It implies they only know of Moe's version of baseball which I assume never mentions a catcher position since his baseball story is just people beating each other to death with Swatters.
It's even hinted at with the note found at the Compound, which mentions synths reacting strangely to the baseball question and that the key to finding out whether or not people are real has to do with that specific question.
Pinkerton could still be A3-21. If he was aware of the fact that he was a synth, and knowledgeable enough to be able to reprogram another synth, he might have been aware of his own control code. So when he wiped Harkness' memory he implanted the code there as well as a backup in case the institute came looking for him. That's why he so casually gives Harkness up when asked about him. It was the plan all along.
I love Nates’ attention to detail, holy shit man. His is fr some of the highest quality content on this niche I’ve seen, in all aspects
The Institute is such a great Fallout faction, too bad the Fallout 4 story left a lot to be desired
Ikr Bethesda has these cool new factions but they legit just put all that effort into the Brotherhood which is bad, just oh my God it isn't great, went full Enclave Wannabes route, as much as Clichè Elder Lyons was, it was unique and uncalled for the Brotherhood so it gets that, the Gunners should've been expanded and not become Talon Company 2.0, the Minutemen should've included more characters and development which you can influence and climb the ranks of, the Institute had lots of potential of being a truly morally grey faction that is the anthesis of the Brotherhood and what they stand for.
F the institute
The Institute wouldn't been so awesome if Bethesda knew how to properly write a good main story.
@@quirinoguy8665 fuck the minutemen. You stumble across the one guy who has kept the dream alive for his entire life and he instantly say "youre the leader now. Now do everything it takes to build our faction"
My 'Fallout 4 story' left very little to be desired after I pressed the button that created a nice new bay on the Charles riverbank.
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Thought: Everyone in the Institute is a synth. When we get there, they convince us they're real. But the robot uprising was long, long ago after Zimmer was sent back in a box.
That would be an awesome concept to explore in future fallout games
This theory is fun but if it were true we would find synth components on all their body when they are dead.
@@leo-paulgrain3832 unless of course if they are the most 'advanced' of the synths and hence are the core members of the institute. Maybe they are so advance, they do not drop any synth components at all.
I always wondered why father didn’t just replace himself with a synth copy
Honestly, just been given some really bad news and, oddly enough, this actually made me feel better. Thank you, Nate. You're epic.
Edit: My god, you guys are so damn nice. Genuinely. Thank you all. And thank you Nate for bringing together such an incredible bunch of people.
Not gonna ask what it was, but stay strong budyy!!
(finally my chance to not be against all people and posting a comment early and make it hip and perfect and obviously it has to be a quirky yet relatable response to the top comment that absolutely no one can even think of something somewhat similiar now to think of what... I got it) hi!
Ok but seriously stay strong people love you
Hope it wasn't anything too bad. I know it doesn't mean much from a total stranger, but I'll send you some positive waves!
@@blackhawks81H Positive waves received and appreciated.
Stay strong
I love how Fallout 4's great fantastical reveal was just one of the many many different concepts provided by the previous installments. kinda sad
Zimmer knew he was a target for the railroad and had himself replicated in the synthetic Dr. Zimmer, knowing that most people would write him off if he was dead and not dig deeper. This would allow him to trace back his assassins to track down the synthetic and the railroad agents that he's looking for, so it's an extra layer of protection with an added bonus. The reason he is still gone is that he's got more stunts to find, maybe he's looking for DiMa and Chase?
Imagine him making it back to the commonwealth after not being able to teleport back to the institute and just finding the spot of the explosion, like:
Institute: angers commonwealth residents
Commonwealth residents: blows up institute
Zimmer: *surprised pikachu*
Zimmer: "Finally back in the commonwealth, soon I'll be home in the civilized comfort of the Institute"
Institute: *A giant hole glowing faintly in the dark*
Zimmer "What the Fu...! What is it with Vault people and screwing me around!"
Haha! Thats gold
The frig happened while I was gone
This was probably Jim's fault
31:12 If Pinkerton wiped out Harkness memory, and was savvy enough to be able to do that, Pinkerton could have as much copied his codes to Harkness, thus making Harkness act like he was A3-21. So that point doesn't invalidate the theory, provided Pinkerton is knowledgeable enough to be able to do that.
Going down the rabbit hole (and completely bonkers in conspiracy theory), it might be that Pinkerton was an early version of Zimmer that was faulty (not following the "I'm a scientist working for the Institute") that escaped, and thus, is able to do something as complicated as erasing and rewriting Android/Synths memories. Which would sustain the possibility of Harkness being the fake A3-21.
EDIT: Also, since Zimmer is an android/synth, his fate in F3 is irrelevant, provided the Institute can simply make a copy. So, the one in F4 is probably just away on the field, and the changes to cut him out were possibly made to not give players too much room in discovering he's an android/synth (in case they didn't in F3).
I think Bethesda should include an option at the beginning of the game that asks the player what options they choose to go with on certain main or side quests in the previous game. This would allow Bethesda the opportunity to go into further detail with NPCs from previous Fallout games instead of giving a vague answer as to his whereabouts. For example if you killed zimmer or if you helped him capture the synth.
And an "I've never played a previous game" option, that randomizes who's lived or died and whats happened, so they can just sound crazy when they try to talk lore with someone who's played other games.
or why not an option of "Have you played previous games?" and if you say yes, then it'll check for save files in your device, and in case it detects i.e. Fallout 3 save files, then it checks your (important) decisions and selects what to use or what not to use upon that. It's most likely very hard to do, and we are talking about Bethesda here, so thinking they'll do that is just a dream.
M0D Yeah once you start thinking about all the different outcomes and possibilities it would make development a nightmare. Developing one game would be like developing 3. So I can see why they would want to stay away from that. Eventually though, after several games, I do see Bethesda having to make a decision on which endings they consider to be the “canon” or the preferred ending to some of the more major quests that could have a huge impact on surrounding cities and states( like for example if the Institute still exists or if it was blown up)
they could but it would be very hard so theyll probably just ask about some important few decisions
or randomize it
like mass effect 2 and 3
I like the idea that Zimmer was a normal human but at one point created a gen 3 synth clone to be his proxy, or perhaps multiple synth clones, while he himself could monitor it/them from a secure location. So android component on Zimmer in Fallout 3 makes sense but also why he was the head of a branch in the Institute. Also, Pinkerton could have been replaced much like in Fallout 4, but started out human.
That whole "Replicated Man" quest feels like content a studio would patch in when it came close to the next game coming out, as a teaser, rather than something thats there almost a decade before.
I've never done the quest so hearing all these plot elememts, the commonwealth and the organizations mentioned so clearly really took me by surprise. Crazy.
if it was originally in 3 on release (which i dont see why it wouldnt be) My guess is that they were setting up for a villain that was enclave-like, but not the enclave. the android thing was, at worst, just a reference to "do androids dream of electric sheep" and similar concepts, while at best it was a great prelude for things to come.
its a blade runner reference. the name of the quest is "the replicated man." in the blade runner world theyre called replicants. blade runners are replicants that hunt down other rogue replicants for decommission.
If Zimmer is a synth in fo3 maby there is a "real Dr. Zimmer" this could be the reason he would have exsisted in fo4 i suppose
we should know by know, its not canon till Nate says it is.
Haha U know he works for Bethesda so U know it's cannon 👀 don't lie now Nate
crazy that back when fallout 3 came out and I did the Replicated Man quest I had no idea it was hinting to synths in fallout 4....
I don't think anyone expected fallout 4
@@caitlinspry6278 yeah not back then, but its a pretty big hint/easter egg when you look back on it
Sorta like Skyrim and the akavirii being mentioned in oblivion before Skyrim came out. Bethesda’s pretty good at this
Crazy to think that's how long they were planning the story
“[NAME] is a Synth…”
*200,000 units are ready, with a million more well on the way.*
in your section about Dr. Zimmer being a Synth, it is possible that he made Synth Clones of himself to deal with the High profile targets, like a safety precaution incase of betrayal or if his targets come after him, this way his one of his clones goes offline he can then dispatch someone else to the area and keep trying, alternatively Dr. Zimmer could have originally been a human in the past and before dying made a synth clone of himself to take over after his death.
could it be that instead of dr. zimmer being an android himself, the zimmer that you meet is just an android replica
Hence, "The Replicated Man", what if it was referring to Zimmer, not Harkness?
I love this content so much, whenever I am playing Skyrim and it gets boring I will just go to your channel and watch your content for hours. Keep up the good work! Because Lydia won't stop standing in a door frame...
Serana is the only follower I use. Shes sneky
@@lunavarion sneaky enough. She doesnt give away my position like all the housecarls do, and once I loose my first arrow every enemy focuses on her, allowing me to shoot from the shadows.
@@lunavarion huh. I don't have that problem. I sneak everywhere. She isn't perfect, but she doesn't give away my position, at least that I've ever noticed.
“But our son...” Hi Nate. I’ll see you in court for child support.
It would have been a hell of a plot twist if we saw him in FO4, even if he where killed in FO3, he is a synth after all, he can be made again in the institute.
I love the references in this quest. Armitage for instance is also the name of an gynoid protagonist in the Armitage the Third anime movies.
No one appreciates nate enough, he gives so much time to educate us simpletons about the real facts
Absolutely no one
*has 840k subs and at least a million views on most big videos*
when Harknass turns off i wished he did the XP shut down sound
He's in Fusion City. He approaches you asking help to find his blue pills. If he doesn't find them, his evening will be a disappointment.
I met him in the project Valkyrie story line.
Wonderful mods 😀
I feel like it’s worth mentioning that we find a character named Pinkerton in fallout 4 who shares the same last name as the one from fallout 3.
Dude I was thinking about that guy Zimmer and Harkens but your the first person to bring the details together for me, Kudos !! Thanks !
did you forget about nick valentine? his personality being the imprint of another human
Yeah apparently the code for making synths act human is really some method of digitizing brainwaves.
My best guess is that when hunting the important synths Dr. Zimmer was shown that he was one of them and escaped with them. This would also open up the opportunity of Dr. Zimmer and other unique synths appearing future Fallout content.
Thank you for still posting about Fallout 4
I actually like all of the canon fallout games except for 76
Maybe Zimmer used a synth version of him self as a safety precaution. When it was killed he used to opportunity to go and do his own thing
I think Pinkerton might still be who you really where looking for, what if he removed the chip and or modded it then did the same to Harkness or just swapped things outright when he di surgery.
Pinkerton might end up being a main story character later if the sinth story keeps carrying out. Who knows maybe he will build an army like he said. If he knows enough to change ones codes and make them believe they are someone else on two levels. This is probably wrong but it would be a hell of a story.
No, no. You're onto something
When I was a kid I had a doctor named Zimmer. My current psychiatrist looks like Shawn.
Your psychiatrist is a child?!
Dale Icious old Shawn I assume
@@mlee9118 Yup. White beard and all.
My own dad looks like both Shawn and The dad from FO3... me, I look like Deacon, for some reason.
you're all in the simulation and character models are being recycled. you need to find the hidden terminal.
"change the way you look at the Institute, for the worse"
*wearing BOS shirt, saying 'Ad Victoriam' every hour'*
Impossible
*Dons trifold hat*
_challenge accepted_
Ad Victoriam brother or sister.
@@Gilhelmi AD VICTORIAM BROTHER
*raw dogs my toaster*
yeah sure okay
We update synths with white hot lead 'round these parts.
I doubt Harkness is related to Zimmer's FEV expiraments because I feel like 3 months isn't long enough for Harkness to escape the Institute, travel to the Capital Wasteland, get facial reconstruction surgery and a mind wipe, AND live in rivet city long enough to become the head of security.
All of that AND the Reason he leaves in the first place he was on missions where he killed or recaptured multiple other Synths coming to the realization at some point along the way that what he was doing is working for a slave system and it's immoral. None of this could happen within months.
If the Railroad moves synths to the Capital Wasteland as a matter of policy, then I imagine the Institute would have little trouble in making the same trips. Furthermore the Institute would have access to vertibirds or other vehicles (as yet discovered). Given FO3 DLC you can take a subway to Andrews, who knows how far the subways extend in this world.
Surgery and mind wipes takes less than a day in the Fallout Universe, and in RL you can walk from DC to Boston in a few days... I don't imagine the turnover or mortality of a Rivet City guard to be very high, what's more as a former Courser, Harkness would have extensive training in all fields combat-orientated; I'd imagine 3 months is more than enough time to prove yourself as not only deadly, efficient, and tactical, but ...still alive. He could have very well been sent to DC to hunt synths, and had his turn-of-heart moment in the field - it's more than likely.
It could also just be that Harkness was given Pinkerton as his target, and that led him to Rivet city, but he decided to run away during the process of finding him, or even while talking to him, and ended up asking for help from his target. Then Zimmer, who believed himself to be human, went after Harkness.
One of the best quests in fallout 3 who would’ve thought all those years ago we were staring at the plot for fallout 4’s entire story
Adding onto the idea that Zimmer is a synth in the game Fallout Shelter Online Dr.Zimmer is a character . With each character under the traits of that character the race is listed, like how Hacock is a ghoul and Dogmeat is an animal, and it says that Zimmer is a human. One weird thing that is shown is that Sturges is a synth.
Well considering his backstory describes him as an escaped synth, this makes perfect sense.
Yes Sturges is a synth. Blew my mind when I learned that
@@Brando216 I mean it’s possible that he isn’t and that component is part of cut content and the devs forgot to remove the component.
Kellogg, dangerous mind quest (memory) about "The Voice" fight with Young Kellogg at Corridor, still mystery. Who is "the voice" mocking Kellogg at the Corridor?
Last time I was this early i still had my sweetroll
Did butch take it?
LoserManic TUNNEL SNAKES RULES!!!
@@GlennSkywalker2305 Are you gonna show Amata a tunnel snake?
LoserManic I actually never play 3 but I played 4 and nv also I’m a guy who ingore some annoying npc or kill them
Last time I was this early barbus was still a scamp
Dr. Zimmer is possibly either still looking for the one synth from Fallout 3, or he may have moved on, and could be elsewhere looking for another lost synth.
I just found this channel and it’s keeping me up past my bedtime two nights in a row.
Makes me wonder how many other synths were present in fallout 3, such as the good doctor, who were completely undetectable without console commands? And what impact on the game lore those possible synths could have?
Hey Nate, its guys here. Thanks for another awesome video!
Never understood or liked the idea of making AI robots look like human, not only is it disturbing even if consensual but also kind of defeat the idea of having a second species servant, I wouldn't want to have a robot that looks like a human and can be confuse as one
You would think that in the future the idea of human labor and servitude would be taboo, also the human body is very limiting wouldn't it be better to make something that is better then humans on all aspects?
I don't know, for me making them look human is only making the idea of narcissistic, sociopathic greedy elite want nothing more then a humanity in pure servitude
Yes, this is why all servile robots should be in the form of CatGirlz... or something o.o
Humanoid shapes are generally good for all purpose servants, if you want a servile to navigate and interact with existing infrastructure and tools, give them human hands to use them and make them human shape to use existing vehicles.
It is limiting for highly specialised tasks, but its extremely flexible.
But I agree it is strange to give them human skin and personality if you planned to have them do farming or sweep floors though. Build Mr Handy's for that stuff.
@@MediumRareOpinions Mr Handys with legs though. Unless we discover an unlimited source of power and extremely powerful non-thermal thrusters then "hovering" robots just make absolutely zero sense.
Mr Handys run on flamethrower fuel basically, and should be starting fires everywhere they go with their exhausts :/ Plus any time they lift something they would have to increase thrust.
I dont know why RobCo ever tried to steal credit for such a horrible design O.o
Legs and wheels are good for things that need to be energy efficient.
Forget the Circular Saw and Blow torch too. Just put manipulators on all the arms. O.o
Or just get a Roomba. Roombas are nice and safe...
@@grayeaglej all true, perhaps RobCo were onto a winner with the Protectron weird as it sounds. They may be basic and crude but pre war they seemed to fulfil a lot of labouring and assistant roles without being excessively complex to build or maintain.
Plus they arent exactly going to overthrow their human masters any time soon, they have whisks for brains.
@@MediumRareOpinions Woo Hoo Brain Whisks! :D Convenient for making a souffle o.o
Though the Courier has Tesla Coil brain, so maybe Whiskey Brain is not so bad? O.o
And Protectrons seem to have been used for every task imaginable. There are security models, police, military, firefighters, medic, lumberjack, train conductor, bartenders, cashiers, and janitors. And then there is FISTO... O.O
So yeah, Robbie The Robot sure got around and they should have worked harder on that or perhaps expanding the functions of the more advances and "flexible" Assaultrons. O.o
Helping Zimmer doesn’t give you a gun, it give you the Wired Reflex perk.
Technically yes if you pickpocket Harkness.
I was playing Fallout 3, and I was sitting there in awe wondering what "The Commonwealth" was, and what the "Institute" was, and then one trip to the Mojave later and I end up in Boston and Cambridge, seeing what the true reality of the Institute was, and it was cool. 2nd only to when I first saw the Prydwen arrive.
The good doctor is a pile of ashes in rivet city science lab 😂
Alright I’m gonna blow your mind: Dr. Zimmer is Deacon
They do both have glasses, similiar look and knowledge of blending in. Recon its plausible. I mean we never knew Zimmer's origins either and we do know institute takes in outsiders sooo....
I was looking through the comments for this very 1 😂
My brain just exploded
did wonder why Zimmer wasn't in the game kinda thought be might been held back to appear in fallout 5 or something to carry on the synth storey in future games like being the big bad guy in the next fallout but yeah, of course, they needed it to be a bit open-ended of where he is since there were multiple endings to his quest in fallout 3 don't really makes sense him being a synth tho any way could you do a video about Marowski cause he confused me like why is he in the game felt like he was supposed to be a big deal but there is next to nothing to do with him
i replayed replicated man and its really crazy because the random victoria watts settler that tells you off and gives a broken component, offers you to join the railroad. I wonder if the Lone Wanderer in canon ends up having some collab with the railroad in someway. Considering the ties with the brotherhood however, we would have to wait and see.
What I think is so awesome is that Robert Picardo (the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek Voyager) voices Alan Binet, someone who sympathized with synths/believed they were sentient beings, and a few other NPC characters. Picardo’s Star Trek character was a synthetic being that spent the series gripping with becoming an individual and living outside his mechanics.
Not to mention the weird coincidence where you have Dr. Zimmer in F4 and Picardo’s EMH character in Star Trek was made by a Dr. Zimmerman (also played by picardo)
Funnily enough, in Fallout 4 Lancer captain Kells (The captain of the Prydwen) is voiced by Tim Russ who played Lt commander Tuvok. Also Marcus the super mutant from Fallout 2 and NV is voiced by Micheal Dorn, Who plays Worf.
The only missing villain is God Howard. Praise be!
ALL HAIL GOD HOWARD
Im really todd Howard you are getting banned from fallout 76 I will find out your username
HACK
Omg yes
Godd Howard*
I'm sorry but I didn't hear 'murdered to death' anywhere in this video so I'm extremely disappointed.
Me: *Watches documentary*
UA-cam: Fallout's missing vil-
Me: Say no more.
Tf does that even mean?
@@jackcutter2 Who does even care?
I would posit that Zimmer's relation to the fev indicates that he might have been Virgil originally but they decided not to go that route. The fev virus would also explain his long life and his absence in the story as he was out in the cave looking for a cure. The entire mystery makes sense if you replace Virgil with Zimmer.
I never truly got deep into fallout 4 bc I was busy but it had so much potential.