*Somewhere over the endless wastes*

"Dude, I'm telling ya, it's the wind that moves the vertibird." The pilot of the aircraft said to the co-pilot.

"No no no, it's the vertibird that moves the wind! Come on, think about it, man."

"Are you daft? The wind is what pushes the vertibird upwards!"

"Wrong, the vertibird pushes on the wind, moving it downwards."

A slightly agitated, rough, booming voice erupted from the back of the vehicle. "Gentlemen, please, calm yourselves. It is not the vertibird that moves. It is not the wind that moves. It is your mind that moves."

There was a moment of silence, and then the co-pilot leaned over to pilot and whispered into his ear. "Is this the super-mutant they keep talking about, the one with skin of steel and mind of gold?"

"Some people say that about me." The booming voice from the back replied.

The pilot leaned back towards the co-pilot and answered his question. "Yes, it is, and you can add super hearing to the list, too."

"So what are we bringing this guy over this way for, anyway? Take down an army? Smash through buildings? Rape and pillage?"

"One, he's going to be setting up relations with the towns in the area, and two, his type have no genitals."

"So… we're sending this behemoth to make friends with villagers? What sense does that make?"

"I dunno, it's not my job to question the leader's judgment."

Fawkes smiled and thought about his friend, and what he was doing for the world. "It seems that just one torch can dissipate the darkness of a thousand eons."

*In a town about the same size as Megaton in the middle of the wastes, not far from Driftwood*

"Enough is enough! Those damn raiders took my daughter! We're out of water, we're out of food, we're running out of people, and the caravans are afraid to come near us!" A man said, his pistol clutched in his hand as he yelled in rage.

"My wife is gone, and I hate to think about what they're doing to her…" Another said with tears dripping from his face.

Another man burst into the meeting room. "Quick! There's something entering from the gate!"

"Fuck, not more raiders!"

"No, it's not human!"

"What the hell do you mean, 'not human'?"

The small meeting was broken up as they rushed outside. They saw a majority of the town raising their gun up at a large, hulking green man, dressed in a red robe and a large metallic tank trapped onto his back, and several Brahmin leather bags over his shoulders. They were afraid to shoot, thinking that they might make it angry. The hulking man walked into the center of town, then placed the tank and bags on the large rock that the townspeople used as a table. Then he spoke in a loud booming voice that was heard clearly all over the town, "Come! Come all of you who are thirsty, come to me! All of those with no money, come, buy and eat without cost! Come and buy clean water, fresh bread and cooked meat freely!"

There everybody was quiet, thinking that it was a trap. However, a skinny, sickly man who they were sure would die within the next few days from thirst and hunger, ran towards the man crying out 'Water! Food! I'm saved!" and turned a lever on the tank, allowing the clean water to flow from the spout near the bottom of the tank. He lowered to the ground, using his mouth to catch the falling water, not wanting to miss a single drop. After he was finished, and was catching his breath, he looked up at the green man, and asked him "Who are you… are you a god?"

He shook his head and replied in his deep voice, "No, my friend, I am not."

"Are you a saint?"

"No, I am not."

"An angel?"

"No, my friend."

"Then what are you?"

Fawkes looked towards the clear blue sky, and replied, "I am awake."

The current leader of the town walked up to Fawkes and spoke in a harsh tone. "And why are you just sharing precious water and food with people you don't even know? There's something in these, isn't there?"

"If men truly understood the blessings of sharing gifts, they would not enjoy their own gifts without sharing them with others. Even if it were their last bit of food, they would not take satisfaction from it unless they shared it with someone who needed it as bad as them." Fawkes turned around and headed for the gate. "I must take my leave, as I have much to do, but I shall return tomorrow. I will leave the food and water; there should be enough for all."

Leaving through the gate, he walked to the west and waited for the vertibird to pick him up.

Authors notes: Fawkes's diolog is inspired by many Zen Bhuddism quotes. For those who are still in the dark, Zen Bhuddism seems to be the only 'cure' for being turned into a super mutant. It allows you to keep your sanity, as showed by Fawkes and another meta-human you encouter in Fallout 3.