If you’ve been around theFallout 4fandom long enough, you’ve probably heard plenty of fan theories and uncomfortable thoughts about assaultrons. But one topic of discussion that continues rising to the surface is whether the player character is actually a synth.
Bethesda has disproved this idea, as fitting as it might be. Synthetic beings secretly replacing humans is a common and compelling theme in the game, after all. But while manycharacters in Fallout 4 are revealed to be synthsat some point, the wily nature of the Institute hints that almost anybody could be one. So who are some others that might still be concealing their artificial nature?
10Brother Thomas
The Institute has an interest in maintaining a presence in the wasteland while also spiriting regular people away to their secret facility. Whether as recruitment or for experiments, they need people to help make this happen, so why not a cult leader?
Granted, Brother Thomas of the Pillars of the Community is actually just a grifter taking poor unfortunate souls for all they’re worth (which is, to be fair, par for the course with religious cults), but it’s still a good cover. Plus, he immediately shows up to replace the previous leader when the quest Emogene Takes a Lover begins; there’s no guarantee that he’s a synth agent, but that’s some Institute-level efficiency right there.
9Ronnie Shaw
One of the Minutemen’s oldest and most seasoned members might seem like a bit of a challenge to replace with a synth, but frankly, the bigger hurdle would be for the Institute to accurately emulate the hot flashes of someone her age. So how could she be anything but human?
Well, you may recall that Ronnie only recently returned to the Minutemen after leaving years ago. Considering how powerful they become, it makes sense that the Institute might want someone to infiltrate the plucky neighborhood watch, and what better way than snatching up an old veteran who nobody had seen in nearly 5 years?
8Any Of The Atom Cats
Among the more enjoyable crews to interact with along with themain Fallout 4 factions, the Atom Cats operate by one simple philosophy: stay cool. Thanks to power armor, they’ve essentially achieved greaser enlightenment by way of wearable tricked-out hot rods, so who wouldn’t be chill?
They’re cool with everybody, and that includes synths, so if anyone would be immediately welcoming to a newcomer with few questions asked, it’s these party cats. The Institute probably wouldn’t have much reason to infiltrate the Atom Cats, but the Railroad might consider them a safe space to send a runaway or two.
7Cricket
This might be obvious, but do you remember Cricket, the kind of gaunt trader you can find at Bunker Hill and around the Commonwealth? Well, it turns out this suspicious person is actually suspicious, as she works as a secret informant for the Institute’s Synth Retention Bureau.
It would frankly be ironic and entirely in character for the Institute if she was a synth herself without her knowledge. She clearly doesn’t trust synths and the Institute doesn’t trust people it can’t control, so it sounds like a fittingly tragic fate for someone in her line of work.
6Travis Miles
Diamond City Radio host Travis is quite possibly the least charismatic person in all of Fallout, and this is the same series where you’re able to meet a group of shaky Elvis impersonators. What possible reason would there be for him to be a synth, you ask?
Well, what if a synth malfunctioned and went rogue in the most goofy possible way? Maybe Travis was sent to Diamond City in an attempt to spread Institute propaganda, but instead glitched out and just ended up stuttering into a microphone forever. Hey, if someone cool like Glory can be a synth, so can an awkward little DJ Twink.
5Rylee
She’s got a friendly demeanor and a name spelled like it was given by a millennial parent. Rylee is your first introduction to pretty much theonly non-terrifying Vault in Fallout, Vault 81, and it’s a real anomaly in the wasteland.
Vault 81 largely keeps to itself, like most Vaults, but it also maintains a connection to the outside world thanks to more nomadic residents like Rylee. The Institute would likely relish a chance to get someone inside there, and Rylee with a synth version during her travels would unfortunately be easy pickings.
4Tinker Tom
The Railroad’s resident conspiracy theorist, quartermaster Tinker Tom has reasons for his paranoia, unlike his real-life counterparts to whom “vaccine” is a slur. His family was killed by an Institute attack, so he found himself taken in by Desdemona and the synth-rescuing Railroad.
Except what if he didn’t survive the attack? What if the Institute took them all out and brought in a synth version of Tom to join the Railroad as a spy? He’s already got the tragic backstory that made him a perfect candidate. Just don’t tell him this theory. He’d cut off his arm just to test it.
3Fahrenheit
Never mind the fact that she’s already got the warm personality of an automaton. Hancock’s bodyguard Fahrenheit just makes sense as a secret synth because of her position in the town of Goodneighbor.
On one hand, the Institute would probably love to have someone keeping an eye on a chaos-bringer likeFallout 4’s Hancock. But on the flip side, even if she’s a synth not affiliated with the Institute, Hancock might want her around just for the novelty, besides, only a robot would be that obsessed with chess.
2Pickman
Hey now, don’t discriminate; a synth can be anything they set their mind to, whether that be a town leader, a scientist, or a serial killer. Dream big. Pickman is known for his grotesque artwork made with corpses of raiders, and who says a synth can’t be an artist either?
One theory here is that the Institute needed someone to collect faulty parts from defective synths on the surface. So rather than being subtle, they pulled a reverse Sweeney Todd and hid their true intentions behind a shiny veneer of dismemberment.
1Mama Murphy
Come on, you’ve thought of it too;Fallout 4 meme-central Mama Murphyseemingly has this mystical power of foresight that just so happens to be powered by chems. It would be a pretty good racket considering how spot-on her predictions are, even if they sound slightly less impressive in a thick Boston accent.
But what if the predictions are sophisticated synth programming that reads a thousand minuscule details about a person and just makes an educated guess? The kind of processing power required would be immense, and that’s where the chems come in. That’s right, Mama Murphy is the most sophisticated fortune-telling machine this side of Big.
