Re: Acs Master Fallout 4
Tasha Feil
The Master of the Super Mutants[5] or simply the Master, referred to by the Children of the Cathedral as the Holy Flame, Dark God,[3] and Father Hope,[Non-game 3] was the founder and leader of the Unity, a mutant-led organization dedicated to the transhumanist transformation of mankind in post-nuclear world. By the time he was encountered by the Vault Dweller, the Master was a hybridized amalgamation of several dozens of humans and other mutants, as well as the Cathedral's computer network, speaking in multiple voices and switching between them on the fly.
The Master's end goal was to create a new race from humanity using FEV, one that could thrive in the post-apocalyptic conditions of the world and to rid humanity of its differences and reasons for waging war. The Master's race of mutants would be dubbed super mutants colloquially by most and would become a permanent presence throughout California and neighboring areas and a long-lasting reminder of the Master's attempt to reform humanity.
Born Richard Moreau,[Non-game 1][1] he would later change his name to Richard Grey while still human. A variety of names used to refer to him by his followers, including Holy Flame, Dark God,[3] Father Hope and others.[Non-game 3] The Master is the antagonist of Fallout, encountered at the Cathedral. Destroying him is required to eliminate the mutant threat, although meeting the Master in person is entirely optional.[Non-game 3]
Richard Moreau was born before the Great War, but little is known about his past except for the fact that he was one of the lucky few who found shelter in Vault 8 when the bombs fell. When the Vault opened in 2092, he was exiled for murder shortly after; traveling to the newly-founded Hub more than four hundred miles to the south and established himself as a doctor there, adopting the last name Grey.[Non-game 1][1] Doctor Grey became popular, especially with one of the caravan masters by the name of Harold, who considered him a brilliant doctor and philosopher.[6] His story could have ended there, were it not for his decision to investigate the mutant attacks that plagued caravans. Along with gangers and scavengers, mutants were the primary problem for caravans, and their attacks were increasing. Caravan masters were forced to hire large numbers of guards, but even with their firepower they kept losing men. Harold, a noted local merchant at the time, organized an expedition to try and find the source of the mutations and shut it down, if possible. Richard Grey joined it, assuming leadership.[2]
The expedition launched in mid-2102. Grey led the small group (consisting of Harold, Francine, Mark and several others) to investigate in a northwestern direction, where most of the attacks came from. On June 23, the expedition discovered Mariposa Military Base and hordes of mutants within, alongside vicious security bots. The group sustained significant casualties while fighting their way into the base. He and Harold were the only ones to locate and enter the Vats, only for the robot crane to crash into them. Harold was knocked out, awakening later in the wasteland. His last memory from the base was the sight of Grey being thrown into what appeared to be an acid bath: a vat full of FEV.[2] Grey floated in the slime for days, nearly drowning, with the extreme level of exposure starting him on the path to becoming the Master.[Non-game 4] After he regained consciousness and dragged himself from the vats, he continued to mutate after the week-long immersion.[Non-game 5][7] The mutation eventually stabilized enough for him to notice his greatly increased mental capacity, capable of resolving the most complex of philosophical questions. He began experimenting on animals infesting the military base by exposing them to the virus. When he dipped a rat and a dog into the virus at the same time, the resulting fusion inspired him to begin formulating a philosophy of unification, laying the groundwork for the Unity.[Non-game 6][7] However, experiments were disrupted by the lack of subjects and his own limited understanding of the virus.[Non-game 7][7]
In December 2102, following a series of directed mutations by injecting doses of the virus into various areas of his mutated body, Grey gained the ability to neurologically link with computers, allowing him to access the base's databanks. Aided by the data, he began experiments on humans who strayed into the facilities, at first, without much luck.[Non-game 8][7] Finally, in January 2103, he isolated radiation exposure as the crucial factor affecting transformation success. The first intelligent super mutant was assimilated by Grey as a fellow mind, creating the fledgling Master hive mind: the Unity began in earnest[7][Non-game 9] as the Master began to gather test subjects from local human communities. The process was slow, hampered by their scarcity, but over the next thirty years he built up a small force of super mutants, until the Great Winter of 2130 caused a shortage of specimens.[7]
In 2131, the Master decided to focus on acquiring subjects (ironically given his original mission) from the increasing number of caravans crossing the wasteland. The human settlements were oblivious to the true nature of the raids, blaming them on wasteland "monsters." Their ignorance allowed the army to grow exponentially.[Non-game 10] By 2137, there were enough super mutants to sustain mass production. While the success rate was between 15-20%, with half going on to join the Master's army, it grew rapidly into a potent military force. The resulting army was named the Unity by the Master, becoming the foundation of his vision for humanity and the world.[Non-game 11] For the next fifteen years, the Unity would expand over New California, adding to its ranks and preparing to make their presence known.
In 2152, the Master enlisted the aid of Morpheus and his doomsday cultists, realizing the benefits of retaining unaltered humans in his service to act as spies throughout the region, thereby expanding his power. To this end, he established the Children of the Cathedral to act as the Unity's public face as well as maintain secrecy.[Non-game 12]
Just three years later, in 2155, the Unity experienced a breakthrough in its operations. After apprehending a caravan of vault dwellers from the Los Angeles Vault (a Vault prototype), the Master transferred his command, along with his immense and pervasive body, to the vault. He also ordered Morpheus' cultists to renovate the building above the Vault, establishing the Cathedral. The cult became known as the Children of the Cathedral and continued to be led by Morpheus, who reported directly to the Master. The Cathedral was guarded by the nightkin, super mutant elite troops equipped with Stealth Boy technology.
The Vault itself provided a wealth of information to the Master and the Unity, most importantly the locations of other vaults. Super mutants began searching their suspected locations, gathering prime subjects for super mutant conversion.[Non-game 13][Non-game 14] Not all operations were successful: the detachment sent to investigate Bakersfield and Vault 12 wound up engaging the ghouls living among the ruins. Fighting only ceasing when Set brokered a ceasefire, explaining that the ghouls were what remained of Vault 12's dwellers. A garrison was left behind to ensure Set's cooperation and apprehend the occasional human passing through.[Non-game 15]
However, the Master did not account for the Vault Dweller's interference, who managed to uncover the plan while retrieving a water chip for Vault 13. Spurred into action by the Vault 13 overseer, on March 3, 2162, they infiltrated the Cathedral and destroyed it with a nuclear weapon, killing the Master.[Non-game 16] The Unity retaliated by attacking Necropolis, trying to locate the Vault Dweller, but it was too late.[8] On April 20, less than two months after the death of the Master, the Vault Dweller delivered the killing blow to the Unity by destroying the Mariposa Military Base.[Non-game 17] Although they disappeared into the wasteland, the Brotherhood of Steel picked up where the Dweller left off, driving the super mutants away with minimal loss of life for both sides of the conflict, establishing itself as a major power in the wasteland but wisely remaining out of the power structure.[9] Surviving super mutants would attempt to integrate into society or find a new life for themselves, with one attempt being Broken Hills, founded by Marcus and Knight Jacob in 2185, as a place where regular and mutated humans could live side by side.[Non-game 18] Yet other groups migrated away from New California, north and east, looking for new places to settle.[10]
The Master is the creator and leader of the super mutants. He is also the mastermind behind a movement called "The Unity," the aim of which is to see as many humans as possible turned into super mutants (whether voluntarily or by force) by means of the FEV. He claims that those who cannot be mutated by the virus, as well as those that choose not to, will be allowed to live, provided they submit themselves to sterilization. Those that resist the Unity outright will be executed for trying to stand in the way of the Master's "progress." In theory, the Unity is working toward the betterment of humanity, as super mutants are better adapted to live in a post-nuclear wasteland. Also, according to the Master, turning all living beings into one single race would finally eliminate the differences and the human fallacies that ultimately brought about nuclear war.
However, the Master is unaware of a fatal flaw in his plan: all super mutants are sterile. The Vault Dweller can help Vree, a scientist of the Brotherhood of Steel, come to this conclusion, and later use this information to convince the Master that his endeavor has no chance of success. Or if they decide to join the Unity, the ending will show the Vault Dweller being turned into a super mutant, then show the Vault 13 residents being killed by the super mutants. This ending is non-canon however, as it would contrast with the events of Fallout 2.
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