Fallout 4 isn't real.
The internet is filled with fan theories about games. And there’s just as many about Bethesda’s
Fallout 4. But there’s one that people haven’t even touched on. Probably because no one wants to discuss the awful truth. Except me.
Fallout 4 isn’t real. It’s an illusion. A delusion dreamed up by a grieving spouse and parent.
But even that could be suspect. We have no way of knowing what is real and what isn’t after the first time we’re put in cryo-stasis. Everything after that is unreliable. Yes, Shaun’s kidnapping and your spouse’s murder could be a figment of your imagination. Isn’t that the absolute worst fear of any parent/spouse? That you’re helpless to do anything while your child is kidnapped and your significant other is murdered for trying to be a good parent? What if that is the the first indication of delusion? It’s a figment, manifested by the soul survivor’s fears.
Ask yourself this: why unfreeze both pods, and not just the pod containing Shaun? They’re on opposite sides of the room. They’re not on the same circuit. Each pod can be individually controlled and monitored, which you find out once you’ve been released. Which means they didn’t have to unfreeze both. So why would the Institute unfreeze you, just so you could watch your child get stolen, and the unfortunate incident of your spouse getting killed? They wouldn’t. So, already the game is suspect.
Where else in pop culture have we seen fades to white?
Fight Club. And while the book and the movie differ slightly on points, they both have the same common thread. Delusion dreamed up by the main character. ***Spoiler Alert*** In both, Tyler shoots himself in the mouth. But, in the book, Tyler wakes up in a white room. He thinks it’s heaven, but in fact it’s a mental institution. He’s been having a psychotic episode, or something similar. Typically, when we see a fade to white, it’s either an indication of death or hallucination.
People have questioned why the Brotherhood of Steel travels to New England. A decent point. In this game, the BoS is the closest thing to a working military. And we know that the husband was in the military, as was a good portion of his family. So it makes sense that a militaristic presence would make itself known in the delusion. For both husband and wife. It also makes sense that the military delusion would have the strongest affinity for destroying technology. Technology is the very reason there was a war. The very reason he served his country. If technology hadn’t grown to such proportions as it did to warrant a nuclear war, the family would still be together. The military is a representation of the sole survivor’s aggression.
Now, at the time the family goes into stasis, the only robots in existence are helpers like Codsworth. So the synths are a pure fabrication. But we’ll get to them in a second. Right now, what they represent, at least on some level, is hope. Why else would the Railroad be saving them? The Railroad itself is that sense of hope. Because if you can protect helpless beings in the escaped Synths, you can protect others. There’s a chance of survival if you can help them.
And Nick Valentine. A detective, who looks for lost people. Who just happens to be synthetic. A product of the Institute (We’ll get to that in a second). Is he not an even better representation of hope? Of a time long past? His side mission is all about the past. A gangster from before the bombs dropped. A cop from back in the day. He tells a story of people accepting him. But it starts with children. Children. Like Shaun. He’s hope and acceptance all rolled into one. He’s a bridge between two sides. Says it himself. A prototype. A bridge, between emotion and logic.
The Minutemen represent a sense of honor and duty. You have to put them back together again. Because, if you failed to protect your family, you need to get that sense back. You need to be able to protect people, always. Without fail. And you’ve already failed once. So, never again with the Minutemen.
I understand that’s all fairly circumstantial when it comes to evidence. It could be. But it also makes sense. Each character, each companion represents a different aspect of the psyche. Many of them coincide with the organizations they represent. Each one has a lesson and each one has the possibility of changing and shaping the sole survivor. Making them a better person. Struggling with aspects of their sub-conscious. It all fits in perfectly.
And ask yourself this: ***Spoiler Alert**** Why are the most precious relics, those deemed a treasure, why is the Treasure of Jamaica Plain a room full of relics from right before the bombs dropped? Because that was the last time you remember being happy. It was also just before Shaun was born, which means no mental anguish tied to any of them. Seriously. And think about this. In the 1950s, the World Series took place in late September/early October. Even though the game starts in 2077, it’s patterned after the 50s. Isn’t it then possible that the 2077 World Series bat would be in the Treasure, not the 2076? Why specifically the 2076? Exactly one year before the bombs and before Shaun’s birth?
But, the evidence that most tells me that the game is a delusion is the junk that you find. Wooden blocks, teddy bears, bottles, rattles. Cribs in random locations, where cribs shouldn’t be. Everything tied to a baby. You see little reminders everywhere. Places where those things shouldn’t be. In the scattered ruins that make up the mind of the sole survivor, tiny reminders of your previous life have been scattered, like grains of sand on the wind. There’s no rhyme or reason why any of those items should be where they are. Why does a Super-Mutant have a wooden block? Or a Mirelurk have a baby rattle? Because everywhere you look, your mind is telling you not to forget about your son.
It’s like a bad
Matrix sequel, except this time it actually makes sense.
We only know two things for sure: nuclear war occurred, and you went into cryo-stasis separated from your family.
And speaking of family. The Institute. Father. ***Spoiler alert*** Your son. Who wants you to take over and be the leader of the Institute. And what has Shaun become in your little fantasy? A father figure to hundreds, a savior to the people, someone looking out for the betterment of society. And isn’t that what all parents want for their children? To make an impact on the world? Well, Father is making a world that is safe, where no one has to worry, no one gets sick, no one has to be afraid. He’s creating a utopia with synths. That seems to be the dream to me. He’s making it so no one dies. No one get sick. The synths aren’t affected by radiation. So nuclear war doesn’t matter. Sounds like every parents’ dream. A natural progression of what we want for children. To make the world better.
Look at the game again. Pay attention to the details. Does it seem real? Or do things seem too good to be true? Or does everything work out just a bit too well? You be the judge. Are we really seeing what society would look like after a nuclear holocaust, or are we seeing a fiction, a fantasy played out in one person’s mind? It wouldn’t be the first time an amazing game was just a delusion created by a character.
