Doctor Lawrence Higgs is a mechanical engineer, overseeing the Institute's major life support and security systems.[1] Although many look down on him as a glorified repairman, Higgs is as much a scientist as any one of them. However, his occupation is only a part of the reason why he's not popular among the rest of the Institute: He believes that the obsession with third generation synths is detrimental to the mission of the Institute and it will eventually lead to complacency and laziness among the human staff, or even full replacement of flesh and blood humans by synths.
Nobody listens to him, leaving him bitter and resentful as his words fall on deaf ears. Higgs takes out his frustrations on random synths, holding them to impossible standards and routinely ordering older models disassembled if there's any suspicion of malfunction (and making one up if there's none)[2] and berating Coursers based on almost any pretense.[3]
A House Divided: Once Director Shaun announces his decision to appoint their parent as the next Director of the Institute, Higgs decides that enough is enough and seizes control of BioSciences together with Max Loken, trying to blackmail the Institute and the Director into reconsidering the appointment.
↑The Sole Survivor: "I'd like to know about the people in your division." Allie Filmore: "Of course.Doctor Lawrence Higgs is our mechanical engineer. He oversees the major life support and security systems. Power distribution is Doctor Evan Watson's area of expertise, and Doctor Newton Oberly is in charge of food and housing.He coordinates with BioScience to ensure that our meals are balanced for optimal nutrition.We also make use of a number of synth units for low-priority maintenance and labor." (Allie Filmore's dialogue)
↑Higgs: "You call this a clean floor? Are your visual receptors malfunctioning? Can you not see the grime and dust?" Synth: "My apologies, sir. I was issued a defective cleansing unit."
Synth: "My apologies, sir. I was issued a defective cleansing unit."
Higgs: "Don't make excuses. You're clearly defective, and I intend to report this. Perhaps after you've been disassembled, we can use your components to make something that's actually useful."
↑Courser: "Sir, we've had another situation. A code red." Higgs: "What? This is the third time in two weeks. This is unacceptable. How could this happen?" Courser: "We think there was a system glitch. We're looking into it." Higgs: "Damn it! You're all useless. I'll figure out what happened, but in the meantime, tell the others to be on high alert. I want more patrols, and more rounds.If you see anything even remotely suspicious, report it immediately. This absolutely cannot happen again. Got it?"
