The Replicated Man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Zimmer, the android's creator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Replicated Man is a side quest in Fallout 3 as well as an achievement/trophy.
Quick Walkthrough[]
- Talk to Dr. Zimmer in Rivet City or find one of the clues.
- Acquire three more clues about the clues.
- Talk to Horace Pinkerton in the Rivet City bow.
- Either:
- Convince Harkness that he is an android. To do this, you need proof from either Pinkerton or Doctor Preston.
- Tell Zimmer that Harkness is the android.
- Show Zimmer the android component obtained from Victoria Watts and convince him the android is dead.
Detailed walkthrough[]
Dr. Zimmer in the Rivet City science lab is missing an android and came to the scientific center of the Capital Wasteland to investigate its disappearance. Having not gotten anywhere with his inquiries, Zimmer asks you to track down an android that has escaped. The android has become independent and does not wish to return. Alternatively, the quest can also be started by finding one of the Replicated Man holotapes.
Find more clues[]
After the quest has started three more clues need to be found. Generally, these are tied to certain non-player characters and you mostly have two options to obtain a clue from each of those people: through dialogue or by finding a holotape/terminal in the person's possession or room.
If asked where to start tracking down the android, Dr. Zimmer suggests searching the offices of "doctors and techies" and adds the optional objective of talking to Dr. Preston in Rivet City. Preston hands the player one of the android's recordings and tells them that similar tapes were sent to almost every scientist in the Wastelands. In total, there are 20 of these clues scattered throughout settlements throughout the Capital Wasteland, but only three are required.
The Railroad[]
Victoria Watts
At any time during this quest, you may be approached by a woman named Victoria Watts of The Railroad, an organization dedicated to helping androids gain their independence (Herbert "Daring" Dashwood, Tulip, Father Clifford, and Manya are also members of the Railroad). She asks you to tell Dr. Zimmer that the android is dead, and gives you a piece of his body to support your claim. If the quest has not been started yet (e.g. the holotapes have been obtained, but not viewed), it can be started from here. After receiving the android component, the player can simply end the quest by giving it to Zimmer, however the reward for taking this path is pitiful compared to the other two rewards. If you do not choose to finish the quest using this method, the dialogue options for Victoria Watts will stay the same as when she first meets you, even after completing the quest using any other method.
Looking for Pinkerton[]
After obtaining the third clue, A free man... a new man..., you learn that Horace Pinkerton in the broken bow near Rivet City "reconstructed" the android, making him the only one who knows the android's current appearance and whereabouts.
Since he's rather hard to get to, players that are yet to finish one of the final goals for The Wasteland Survival Guide, specifically the one that requires the player to find out the history of Rivet City, may want to use this opportunity also speak to Pinkerton about Rivet City's history, although once you have found him, you can exit through the locked door discussed below and later come back in that way, which is very easy.
There are two ways to enter the bow section, either by picking a locked door (100 Lockpick skill required) on the starboard (right) side or by entering an underwater door where the bow section has broken off. The latter requires the player to swim a moderate distance through irradiated water. If you have put off this mission until you got a 100 Lockpick skill, then you may bypass the long route; for everyone else, you are going to be swimming. The quicker, less radiation way is simple; climb the ship to the deck, then slip off the side at the bow. Go down as low as you can get before falling through the floor to the water. Several traps, mines and leveled mirelurks protect this section of the broken ship.
When the player finally speaks with Pinkerton, he will reveal that the android's name is Harkness and that he personally performed the facial reconstructive surgery and memory wipe. He will also reveal that Harkness's mind was not actually wiped, but rather his old identity has been buried deep and that it can be reactivated by means of a certain code word. Harkness is now employed as the security chief in Rivet City, and was actually the person who greeted the player upon arrival in Rivet City. Pinkerton also gives you the password to his terminal downstairs; log on and download it to your Pip-Boy the proof Harkness will want to see. Sometimes you can get away with not even accessing the terminal and just confronting Harkness head on.
The easiest way out of this area of the ship is through the "Very Hard" locked door. On this side of the door is a switch that can be activated to unlock the door. This makes going back to Pinkerton for any reason much simpler...and leaves you not glowing in the dark from the rads you would be exposed to.
The decision[]
There are now several possible courses of action which will complete the quest:
Quick resolution[]
- Show Dr. Zimmer the android part received from the Railroad agent, and inform him that the android is dead. The reward for this is 50 caps and good Karma. This can technically be done at any time after receiving the component, but you will lose the chance of getting the Wired Reflexes perk. This will get Zimmer angry and leave Rivet City with Armitage forever, and successfully let you finish the quest.
Keep the secret[]
- Speak to Harkness and convince him that he's an android. There are several options to choose from in the conversation, but only the final two matter. Regardless of the choices made, you will receive A3-21's plasma rifle and 200 Karma (unless convinced to go with Zimmer) as a reward.
- If told his secret is safe with the player, Harkness will do nothing. However, he can still be turned in to Zimmer or said to be dead with the android component if this is chosen.
- If asked what he will do, Harkness will state his intentions to kill Zimmer. The player may ask if he can order them to leave instead by making up several false charges instead of resorting to violence, or request if they can have the honor of killing Zimmer (the latter rewards further good karma).
- If told that Zimmer is waiting for him, the player can pass a Speech check to convince him to go with Zimmer, at which point they must go to Zimmer and tell him about Harkness. Both rewards can be claimed in this fashion, but only the Bad Karma will be earned. Alternatively, a different speech check can be passed to convince him that he should stay, at which point he'll proceed to go kill Zimmer. If neither speech test is chosen or passed, the player can choose to tell Harkness that it is his choice. He responds that he has to rethink his options, because Rivet City is no longer a safe place for him, as someone could eventually discover his secret. This suggests that he could eventually leave Rivet City. However, after the completion of the quest you can ask him, whether he has already decided what to do with his life. He responds that many people on the boat rely on him and continues his duty of a Security Chief. Zimmer himself will remain in the Science Lab and occasionally complain to the scientists, but will only say "there's nothing more to discuss" if spoken to.
Expose the android[]
- Tell Dr. Zimmer the android's human name and reveal the code to uncover the buried memories. The player is rewarded with the Wired Reflexes perk and -200 karma. Dr. Zimmer will then walk to Harkness's location and claim the android as his property. Harkness will initially resist until Dr. Zimmer uses an override code to reset Harkness to factory defaults. Dr. Zimmer and Armitage will then leave Rivet City with Harkness in tow.
- If you had told Harkness his secret was safe with you, you will be unable to kill Zimmer and Armitage while they are walking to find and reset Harkness. They will be set to invincible until they have reset Harkness.
- If Zimmer and Armitage are killed after Harkness is reset, the android will stand wherever he was for the rest of the game, continuing to ask for parameters if spoken to.
Maximum Reward[]
- To get both rewards without risking Harkness' memory, tell him who he is and ask what he plans to do about Zimmer. Before choosing any other dialogue option, ask to kill Zimmer yourself. Harkness will hand you his trusty A3-21's plasma rifle and you will earn good karma. Then, reveal to Zimmer that Harkness is the android, which gives you bad karma (offset by the previously earned good karma) and earns you the Wired Reflexes perk. You may then either kill Zimmer and Armitage or allow them to wipe Harkness' memory and take him away.
Quest stages[]
| Stage | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Learn more about the escaped android. | |
| 5 | Visit Rivet City to learn more about the android from the Commonwealth. | |
| 10 | Search for clues about Zimmer's missing android. | |
| 11 | [Optional] Discover what Dr. Preston knows about the android. | |
| 15 | Continue to search for clues to the android's identity OR tell Zimmer he's dead. | |
| 20 | Find out what Pinkerton at Rivet City knows about the android. | |
| 100 | Report to Zimmer OR warn Harkness about Zimmer. | |
| 200 | NOTE: The quest is actually marked completed in dialog options where you tell Zimmer or Harkness that Harkness is an Android. This quest stays running until the end confrontation scene is resolved, after which this quest is also stopped. This is because you can tell Harkness "your secret is safe with me" which should seem like the quest is complete, but no confrontation occurs, allowing the player to also tell Zimmer about Harkness, in which a confrontation does occur. |
Behind the scenes[]
- The Replicated Man is a reference, in name, content and theme, to the androids/replicants from Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and its movie adaptation, Blade Runner.
- It also references a similar 1993 film, Mandroid, from which Dr. Zimmer's name was likely borrowed. The control suit in the movie strongly resembles the armor of the Brotherhood of Steel.
- The holotape title "Self-determination is not a malfunction" may be a reference to the line "Life is not a malfunction" in the film Short Circuit.
Bugs[]
Although Harkness says that he is leaving after giving the player his plasma rifle, he will still be found standing in the Rivet City Market all day. His replacement, Danvers, will appear and say that Harkness is gone, even when she is standing right next to him.- If the player chooses to give Zimmer the component after talking to Watts you never find out that Harkness is the android and the quest is permanently in your quest list as unfinished.
- Sometimes if you obtain the chip and give it to Dr. Zimmer, the new security chief will appear even if you have not discovered that Harkness is in fact the android.
- This may result in the possibility of the door to Pinkerton's Lab never opening, and thus the quest is never able to be completed. However, this can be circumvented using the console (tcl) to go through the door and talk to Pinkerton, and then be able to proceed with the quest. However, the door will stay closed, making access to Pinkerton tedious.
- Alternatively, if you give Zimmer the component, you can still talk to Pinkerton to find out that Harkness is the android. If you talk to Harkness afterwards, you will get the dialog option to tell him "Zimmer thought you were an android, don't worry, I set him straight though.", and Harkness will respond with shock and relief. However you cannot progress in the quest any further, and cannot obtain his plasma rifle.
- After first getting the quest from Zimmer and talking to Doctor Preston, going back to Zimmer may add dialogue options that mention a few pieces of technology without even really having done any research. Doing so will allow you to bypass finding the holotapes completely by talking to Doc Church in Megaton. He will have a new dialogue option in which you can ask about a piece of technology pertaining to the android. The quest will update and you can then talk to Pinkerton about Harkness.
- Talking to Pinkerton about the Wasteland quest while both the Wasteland quest is active and the Replicated man might result in the dialogue options for the Replicated man to disappear.
