Dick Richardson

Dick Richardson (–2242) was an American politician who served as the President of the United States of America and as the highest Enclave executive in 2242. A passionate patriot—he desired to retake Continental America, and invoked extreme racial policies as a result.

Background
A thin, nervous man in a frayed suit, Richardson does not look like the most powerful man in the wastelands, deciding the fate of millions of human beings. Yet his frail physique conceals a powerful conviction that the Enclave's cause is just and their methods are righteous. Dick Richardson's political career began with his election to the Congress some time before 2215. It truly blossomed starting August 1, 2215, when his father, President Richardson, took him under his wing and used his political clout to push his son ahead in the ranks. Five years later, on March 5, 2220, Dick Richardson was elected President, completing his meteoric rise to power.

He continued the Enclave's plans for achieving dominance, fostering his father's own project, the development of the advanced power armor. Completed in October 2220, research data was immediately classified by the new President to preserve Enclave morale. However, it wasn't until almost twenty years later that Richardson would truly start shaping his legacy. Excavation teams working at Mariposa since 2236 finally yielded a pure sample of the FEV in 2238. Although it cost the Enclave dearly in manpower and materiel, the Enclave finally had a method for exterminating mutants worldwide.

The Chemical Corps under Lt. Col. Dr. Charles Curling immediately began developing a viable toxin. By 2242, the Project neared completion and FEV Curling-13 was almost ready for release. To Richardson, it was the dawn of a new era. He considers himself a patriot and a servant of humanity, returning Earth to "real" humanity, wrestling it away from the hands of mutants. His contempt for humans outside the Enclave is wrapped in ideological doublespeak, impossible to penetrate for anyone. Everyone outside the Enclave is a subhuman, with no exceptions.

Richardson was killed by the Chosen One in 2242, just hours before his dream could be achieved. The nuclear detonation that followed erased all traces of the President from history, save for what remained in isolated Enclave databanks.

Other interactions

 * Richardson outlines the entire plan of the Enclave and the history of their activities, acting as a one-man exposition machine. These include:
 * Great War summary, including a claim that the United States was actually winning the Sino-American War when China retaliated with nuclear weapons.
 * Vault experimentation background.
 * Enclave actions on the mainland.
 * The Project.
 * And much more.
 * Richardson also holds the unique Presidential access key, which allows the player to turn the turrets on the entry level against Horrigan. Killing him is somewhat problematic, but doable:
 * Use 14 super stimpaks on him and wait ten minutes. As each stim deals 9 hit points of damage after that period, using fourteen in total will kill him.
 * Planting a live explosive on him will either kill or severely injure him.
 * Killing him outright works, but will draw the ire of all Enclave troops on the level. The player can mitigate the risk somewhat by entering Sneak mode and trying to kill him in one hit. Sometimes the Sneak mode will work properly and the rest of the level won't be alerted.

Behind the scenes

 * Richardson's name is a reference to former President Richard Nixon, also known as "Tricky Dick."

Appearances

 * Dick Richardson appears only in Fallout 2 as a talking head and is mentioned in Fallout 3, as well as in Fallout: New Vegas.