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Dakota Michelson
A Fallout 4 Fan Fiction
Chapter 15: Institutionalized
My vision starts to clear and feeling is restored to my body. I realize I'm standing in a strange room with a doorway directly in front of me. I move into the room and already I can see that this is technologically superior to anything in the Commonwealth. I look around, suspicious that there would be cameras or something monitoring this room, but I don't see any. There's a terminal facing the room I had just left. "How convenient!" I think to myself. I walk towards it and I hear footsteps coming down the hall.
I run to the closets hiding spot I can find, an area that appears to be for storage, and hope that they don't come over here. I hear them sit in the chair in front of the terminal. I wait patiently for them to leave. It's not long before I hear them get up and walk back down the hall.
I get up and look at the terminal to find an access log. It just says "Error, Signal Re-routed". I wonder if they know that there's an intruder based on this. It's pretty vague of a message. Maybe another courser was trying to return back at the same time? I quickly pop in Ingram's holotape and begin the scan. While it's scanning, I constantly am looking over my shoulder, paranoid. The holotape finishes and I eject it.
I walk down the hall and what looks to be an elevator with glass walls. If I get in here, will everyone be able to see me? Without much of a choice, I proceed to walk towards it when a voice blares on the intercom.
"Hello."
I look around, alarmed.
"I wondered if you might make it here. You're quite resourceful. Unfortunately for you, we were aware of your plan well before your arrival."
There's a pause. I'm not sure what to even do at this point, so I stay still.
"I'm known as Father. The Institute is under my guidance. I'd like to discuss a few things with you, face-to-face. But first, I'll need you to drop your weapons where you are and proceed towards the elevator."
I'm hesitant. He's probably going to send a bunch of synths after me and I'm done for.
"Dakota, that wasn't a request. I'm sure by now, you know you're outnumbered. If you drop your weapons now, I can guarantee you'll be unharmed."
My heart is pounding. How much does he know about me? I slowly bend down and put my laser rifle on the ground. The glass casing around the elevator spins, allowing me to enter. "Please proceed to the elevator," Father says.
I step in and the elevator "closes" and starts to lower. The walls outside the elevator are just black now and I can't see anything but the lights in the elevator.
"I can only imagine what you've heard," the voice says. "What you think of us. I'd like to show you that you may have the wrong impression." Maxson warned me against this. Next, they will try to turn me against the Brotherhood, I bet.
All of a sudden the darkness passes and I see a very large and tall room. I see what looks like it's supposed to replicate the sky. There are hallways and lights all around me.
"Welcome to the Institute."
As the elevator continues to lower, I see trees, rooms, balconies, a few grassy areas, a waterfall under the ground on all sides of me. This place... it's amazing.
"This is the reality of Institute. This place, these people, the work we do. For over a hundred years, we've dedicated ourselves to humanity's survival. Decades of research, countless experiments and trials. A shared vision of how science can help shape the future. It has never been easy, and our actions are often misinterpreted by those above ground. Someday, perhaps, we can show them what we've accomplished. But for now, we must remain underground. There's too much at stake here to risk it all. As you've seen, things above are unstable. I'd like to talk to you about what we can do… for everyone."
I snap out of it when he says this, and remember he is trying to trick me. The elevator descends into another hallway and the door opens.
I walk down the hallway to see another elevator. I look around and there appears to be no other way to go, so I step in. The door closes and rises upwards, but just for a short time. Probably just one story.
The door opens and I step out. There's a room surrounded by glass and there's a young boy inside of the room. I approach the glass wall cautiously and look around. I can't help but wonder if this child was kidnapped from the Commonwealth. I kneel down so I am at eye level with the child.
"Are you from the Commonwealth?" I ask the child.
"No," the child says. "Who are you?"
"Dakota…" I say. I'm suspicious now that this is some sort of trap. "Where is everyone?"
"Father! What's going on? What's happening?" the boy yells.
The door to the right of the cell opens and an old man in a lab coat walks through. He says, "Shaun. S9-23 Recall Code Cirrus." The boy closes his eyes and goes limp. "Fascinating, but disappointing. The child's responses were not at all what I anticipated. He's a prototype, you understand. We're only just now beginning to explore the effects of extreme emotional stimuli. Let's start anew. I am Father."
"Father?" I ask. "That's your name?"
"'Father' is my unofficial title," he says. "It's what I've come to mean to the people of the Institute. My DNA became the synthetic organics used to create every human-like synth you see today. I am their Father. Through Science, we are family."
"So you're in charge of the Institute?" I ask.
"I am the acting Director, yes," he says. "I spent decades working to reach this point. It's a responsibility I take very seriously. The Institute… It's important. It really is humanity's best hope for the future, no matter what those above ground might think of us. Ultimately the Commonwealth has nothing to fear from us. Whatever you've seen or heard, I know I can convince you of that. Dakota, the Institute is on the verge of some important breakthroughs. I know of your technical expertise and fascination, your unfortunate incident in Vault 111 that led you to this world, and your knowledge that you've obtained in the Commonwealth to this point. Your presence would be… appreciated as we approach those breakthroughs. You could have a new life here, away from all of the dangers of the Commonwealth. What do you say?"
I knew it… He is trying to get me to stay here and help them! As I try to figure out my options, I realize I don't have very many and so I decide to play along, just until I have what I need and escape.
"This is a lot to take in," I say. "But… I'll try to be open-minded and see how it works out."
"I understand. I simply ask that you give the Institute a chance to show you what I've been telling you is true. We really do have humanity's best interest at heart. For now, I'd like you to take some time and get to know the Institute. Meet the people you'll be working with. You'll want to introduce yourself to the Division Heads: Doctor Fillmore in Facilities, Doctor Ayo in the SRB… ah, Doctor Holdren in BioScience, and finally Doctor Li in Advanced Systems. They've all been notified of your arrival, of course. Meet them, and then we'll discuss what comes next."
Doctor Li? Honestly, this situation can't get much better! He's leading me right to her. I decide to meet either Doctor Fillmore or Doctor Ayo first, then Doctor Holdren. I will try to find the cure for Virgil's condition while I'm there, as I promised to do. Then I will meet Doctor Li and convince her to leave with me to join the Brotherhood.
Father directs me to the door and gives me directions to go downstairs to get to each division. I head downstairs and overhear a conversation.
"As far as I'm concerned, the phase-out on these older models can't come soon enough." "Oh I don't know. Most of them have lasted long past their projected lifespans. If you ask me, they were built pretty well." "I can't argue with that. Even so, I'm ready to see the full gen-3 rollout." I find the source of the conversation and see two women and an older model synth. "There we go. All set. Unit, you can return to duty."
A woman in a white and yellow outfit walks up to me. "We don't usually welcome outsiders. I hope you can appreciate your good fortune. I'm Allie Fillmore. You can think of me as the Institute's Chief Engineer." I put a forced smile on and say, "Dakota. Nice to meet you." She continues, "as you might guess, the Facilities division keeps the Institute's mechanical and electrical systems running smoothly. We maintain and upgrade all of the systems that make it possible to live and work in a place like this. There's a lot of machinery behind these walls that recycles the air and water and provides power to the laboratories and quarters. The work we do might not be as exciting as some of the other departments, but it's at least as important. Now, did you have any questions regarding the Facilities division?"
I did genuinely have tons of questions that interested me about this place. Why not go ahead and find out?
"Who built this place, originally?" I ask. "Has it been here long?"
"The construction of the Institute is the work of generations of scientists. The original survivors of the war took refuge in the basement of the old Commonwealth Institute of Technology. We have since gone underground further and have sealed off the connection of the old CIT building. It's a process that's still going on today. Even now, we're digging out tunnels for new facilities and infrastructure. Just think what this place will look like a hundred years from now. I hope I'm there to see it."
"To see it? How? Are you going to freeze yourself?"
"Oh. I've probably said too much. Why don't you meet with the other division heads? I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon," she said as she walks away.
Hmmm…. That's a bit suspicious. I wonder if they have some way to prolong people's lives.
I look right and see a bright red sign that reads BIOSCIENCE. I guess it's time to find that cure.
