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Hadriel Application
PLAYER
Player name: Ana
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
cuddlebug
Characters currently in-game: Pellaz Cevarro, Drake Holloway, Washington
CHARACTER
Character Name: DiMA
Character Age: over 100
Canon: Fallout
Canon Point: post completion of the Far Harbor DLC (specific story path in history)
History: DiMA’s wikia covers the backstory just fine but is sparse on the outcomes of possible player actions. This DiMA is coming from the first possible path, where the player tells him what he did but decides to keep it a secret. Although DiMA is horrified to learn what he’s done and is the first to admit that neither intent nor success could justify the act, he also acknowledges it was a solid plan with minimal bloodshed that obviously worked just as it was meant to. So he suggests doing it again with the leader of the Children of Atom. The player agrees and sets out to replace High Confessor Tektus with a reprogrammed synth, just as was done with Captain Avery. On this path DiMA actually asks the player to kill Tektus but instead s/he passes a persuasion check and convinces the cult leader to flee the Island instead, so there is one less person’s blood spilled in the name of peace. Far Harbor is safe under this new, milder Tektus, and the Island carries on in blissful ignorance but DiMA chooses not to offload the memories this time. To live with what he’s done, out of respect for the people he sacrificed as well as the player and his brother Nick, who have no choice but to remember.
Personality: Until the release of Far Harbor, the only fully sentient but visibly robotic synth we know of is Nick Valentine, a prototype created between generations 2 and 3. He has a personality, but it’s not one that was programmed or naturally developed -- Nick is based off a pre-war human, so he’s kind of something in between man and synth. And for most of Fallout 4, we believe he is the only one of his kind. Then… we meet DiMA, and learn that they are a pair. An experiment, two synths made identical in every way but one: where Nick was given a pre-existing mind to test the synthetic brain, DiMA was allowed to develop his personality through experience and choice. It took him a very long time even after his escape to really embrace the latter and as such the concept of personal autonomy, of making one’s own decisions for any reason, logic or morality or just emotion, is of the utmost importance to him. Acadia, the sanctuary he creates for synths, is meant to be a place where they don’t have to sacrifice their identities for the sake of safety. They are definitely still fearful of the Institute and very much in hiding (unlike Nick who goes where he wants and lets the hate roll off his trenchcoat) so it’s far from a perfect setup, but the alternative for gen 3s is the Railroad, who will typically wipe their memories so they can “pass” while believing they are human. Although segregation isn’t ideal, Acadia’s hope is that humanity will come around in time and to DiMA, it’s not really living your life if you are not yourself. The self that you made yourself to be.
This is very literal, in DiMA’s case. The storage limitations of his and Nick’s prototype brains put DiMA in a unique position. He knows he is losing memories -- more than a century’s worth will not fit. But since he is aware of this, unlike Nick, he is able to curate his own life experience, so to speak. Decide what to “forget” and what to remember, and since our experiences so heavily shape who we are… DiMA is therefore basically able to create a person he believes to be his best self. It is a conscious decision as much as a natural inclination to be peaceful, to value both synth and human life, and to remember his origins. Other things… not so much, but I’ll get there.
DiMA is, by all appearances, the wise old synth on the mountain. Peaceful and welcoming, soft-spoken, gentle and patient. Humans in Fallout are generally prejudiced against synths, but some have accepted DiMA in the past and so he wants to believe that everyone is capable of change -- that even the outspoken warmongers on the Island can come around if approached with kindness and understanding. He does everything he can to help both factions survive and to keep them at peace, and his actions seem to be motivated at least as much by his genuinely valuing human life as intended to win favor for the safety of Acadia. He greets the player warmly despite the fact we are here to investigate him, is one of the only characters in the entire game who doesn’t get impatient or annoyed if the player goes idle while thinking over a response, and addresses Nick as “brother” and forgives him all his skepticism and hostility. DiMA is, at first glance, a loving and understanding old robot who simply wants the best for everyone on the Island but probably wouldn’t harm a fly.
The situation’s far more complicated than that.
It’s true that DiMA’s primary motivation is protecting the inhabitants of the Island; from one another, from the encroaching fog, and occasionally from themselves. His apparent selflessness is not an affect -- DiMA generally does think of others first. It took him so long to figure out he had free will to make his own decisions even after escaping the Institute because he didn’t really do that for his own benefit. He was overwhelmed by Nick’s suffering, watching his brother be rebooted again and again. The two of them were both being experimented on and picked apart, but DiMA wanted to save Nick. Saving himself was an afterthought, and when they made it out and Nick was so disoriented as to attack him, it caused DiMA great pain to have to abandon his brother. His decisions the rest of the game track, as he does have a strong sense of self preservation but his personal well being is never his ultimate priority. The plight of the Island is a troublesome one to solve because favoring either side could harm the other, and DiMA values all of their lives. Even the lunatics and raging assholes. What he first decided to do, although technically logical, was something seemingly at odds with the wise old synth who only wants peace: a contingency plan for each faction, should he have to protect the other or his own people. Perhaps it’s that logic is an inherent part of him, as a robot. Or perhaps it’s just realism. DiMA comes across as an idealist at heart, but also very practical after having lived so long and seen so much. He saw motions towards peace fail, watched the tensions escalate, but still was not willing to pull the trigger. So what he next decided to do was more… let’s say it’s going back to his roots. A trick, exactly what the Institute does and DiMA himself denounces: killing a human and replacing it with a reprogrammed synth. Far Harbor needed a “moderate voice,” as DiMA puts it, and he had the know-how to plant just such a person in their midst.
DiMA very obviously knows this is wrong. Never once does he try to justify to the player that his position is right in any way, simply that it was the best path to peace as he saw it. He struggled so deeply with the reality that he has killed a human and erased a synth that he chose to remove those memories, and if the player calls him a monster when he remembers and still suggests they do this trick again despite his obvious distress, he does not argue. He does not ever bring up any moral superiority despite the fact that sacrificing one or two lives to save an entire island (the total population is unknown, but likely there are hundreds of people between the three settlements) is probably objectively better. He simply says he can live with that, and this time he will. He seems fairly world-weary at this point, feeling there is no perfect solution because people are not perfect. Could you folks please stop trying to kill each other already? Please? He’d really like that.
In alternate paths, which I consider to all be valid as characterization because they are determined by player action, not DiMA himself, and therefore representative of his reactions when faced with different scenarios: he can be convinced to turn himself in as a murderer and face execution, or condemn the player for pulling the trigger on either contingency plan and killing a faction. DiMA is a murderer, but he has his limits. He may have set up the contingency plans himself, but it’s pretty clear he would not have used them unless there was absolutely no other option. Most likely, judging by his horror and grief upon learning either settlement is gone (and outright disgust and rage if the player chooses to destroy Far Harbor, whom it cannot be argued accepted their fate) he would have held mutually assured destruction over the Island’s heads or perhaps come up with the synth replacement plan again on his own. If he could not justify even one murder, being responsible for the loss of an entire faction would have destroyed him. Another interesting thing that gives weight to DiMA’s value of life over his own survival is that if the player destroys the Institute, upon hearing this news DiMA is of course relieved that synthkind no longer has to worry about them as a threat to their existence -- their actions have made them a “great evil” despite being where synths came from -- but still, still, DiMA first and foremost mourns the loss of synth and human life.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Despite the heavy concepts he is constantly wrestling with throughout the game, DiMA manages to not be a constantly heavy presence himself. He has a subtle good humor, appreciating the player’s sarcasm and joking with Nick about how they’re falling apart and require constant maintenance -- sometimes there’s literally a screw loose, get it? He’s intelligent and highly adaptable, and with his gentle kindness has managed to charm a large number of humans even if they still don’t completely trust him. Speaking of trust, DiMA is understandably wary at times but will generally take the player’s word without requiring persuasion checks. He wants to believe you when you say you’ll protect Acadia, or that you’ll keep the nuclear launch key a secret, or that you have the best intentions for Kasumi. He believes in people’s goodness and even when he’s being cautious and realistic, hope is there. Fragile as he is, he knows he probably won’t be the one to lead a charge for synthkind but still wants to be “an example in the face of adversity” since he cannot hide his nature. He wants to give synths the courage to be themselves instead of submitting to memory wipes, and he wants to someday coexist with humanity. If the player reveals themself to be a member of a faction that opposes synths, DiMA passionately asks them to reconsider their position and says he will never strike first. Even when warning the player he'll fight to defend Acadia and what they stand for, he is never hostile. He just wants you to understand his cause and let him live in peace.
All good intentions, but you have to wonder what else DiMA is actually capable of, and what he could do if he were pushed.
Inventory: Although it’s not technically something “on his person,” DiMA would quickly become unplayable without some sort of memory bank to offload his data. He’ll be distressed without access to his full bank of course but I’m really just concerned about playability, so was thinking he could be brought to Hadriel during an offload, and thus hooked up to the Acadia memory bank directly. The particular storage partition he was working with (canon is not explicit for terminology but I think of his memory banks as a series of data cores or hard drives) is the only one that came with him, so his space is still limited. That way he’ll have compatible tech off the bat but will need to work with other characters to power, maintain, and expand it.
Abilities: Being a synth means a few things. DiMA is immune to radiation and does not feel physical pain, and his awareness of his nature means he does not experience hunger or tiredness like newer synths. (However, he is old and worn out and somewhat fragile, requiring frequent maintenance and memory offloading so his life experience is not lost due to the limited capacity of his prototype brain.) He is extremely technologically knowledgeable, able to design and fabricate the fog condensers, figure out a way to offload and encrypt his excess memories, and knows how to reprogram and physically modify gen 3 synths. In theory, DiMA can also hold his own in hand to hand and is skilled with a plasma gun, though in his story path he is not shown to do so. If the player makes a choice that threatens Acadia and DiMA is still alive for the attack, he will fight back. He does not appear to be a particularly challenging enemy in combat.
Flaws: DiMA is extremely morally grey. Despite the value he places on sentient life, he is a murderer three times over, which he acknowledges is not made any more acceptable by his motivation serving the objective greater good. It’s still his motivation, and technically has no more weight than either side of the potential war. He also, rather than dealing with the guilt over his actions, chooses to simply offload the memories, to “forget” the horrible thing he’s done, and when he remembers? He immediately suggests doing that horrible thing again because hey, it worked. It’s still murder, DiMA. To Nick, this is black and white and unacceptable. Murder bad, even just one person to save a whole island. To DiMA? He will be the monster, put more blood on his hands, to avoid a war. Although in all paths he does at least a bit better the second time around -- there is a path where he turns himself in, this path where he keeps the memories out of respect, and two paths where the player can wipe out either faction and DiMA condemns you for what amounts to mass murder -- he did take the easy out the first time around. And for all he suffers he doesn’t ever actually regret what he’s done. It’s not exactly objectivity, since he does struggle so terribly within himself, but it’s clear DiMA will continue to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. Right now the goal is something “good,” to keep as many people alive as possible. What if that were to change..?
SAMPLES
Action Log Sample: TDM thread!
Player name: Ana
Contact:
Characters currently in-game: Pellaz Cevarro, Drake Holloway, Washington
CHARACTER
Character Name: DiMA
Character Age: over 100
Canon: Fallout
Canon Point: post completion of the Far Harbor DLC (specific story path in history)
History: DiMA’s wikia covers the backstory just fine but is sparse on the outcomes of possible player actions. This DiMA is coming from the first possible path, where the player tells him what he did but decides to keep it a secret. Although DiMA is horrified to learn what he’s done and is the first to admit that neither intent nor success could justify the act, he also acknowledges it was a solid plan with minimal bloodshed that obviously worked just as it was meant to. So he suggests doing it again with the leader of the Children of Atom. The player agrees and sets out to replace High Confessor Tektus with a reprogrammed synth, just as was done with Captain Avery. On this path DiMA actually asks the player to kill Tektus but instead s/he passes a persuasion check and convinces the cult leader to flee the Island instead, so there is one less person’s blood spilled in the name of peace. Far Harbor is safe under this new, milder Tektus, and the Island carries on in blissful ignorance but DiMA chooses not to offload the memories this time. To live with what he’s done, out of respect for the people he sacrificed as well as the player and his brother Nick, who have no choice but to remember.
Personality: Until the release of Far Harbor, the only fully sentient but visibly robotic synth we know of is Nick Valentine, a prototype created between generations 2 and 3. He has a personality, but it’s not one that was programmed or naturally developed -- Nick is based off a pre-war human, so he’s kind of something in between man and synth. And for most of Fallout 4, we believe he is the only one of his kind. Then… we meet DiMA, and learn that they are a pair. An experiment, two synths made identical in every way but one: where Nick was given a pre-existing mind to test the synthetic brain, DiMA was allowed to develop his personality through experience and choice. It took him a very long time even after his escape to really embrace the latter and as such the concept of personal autonomy, of making one’s own decisions for any reason, logic or morality or just emotion, is of the utmost importance to him. Acadia, the sanctuary he creates for synths, is meant to be a place where they don’t have to sacrifice their identities for the sake of safety. They are definitely still fearful of the Institute and very much in hiding (unlike Nick who goes where he wants and lets the hate roll off his trenchcoat) so it’s far from a perfect setup, but the alternative for gen 3s is the Railroad, who will typically wipe their memories so they can “pass” while believing they are human. Although segregation isn’t ideal, Acadia’s hope is that humanity will come around in time and to DiMA, it’s not really living your life if you are not yourself. The self that you made yourself to be.
This is very literal, in DiMA’s case. The storage limitations of his and Nick’s prototype brains put DiMA in a unique position. He knows he is losing memories -- more than a century’s worth will not fit. But since he is aware of this, unlike Nick, he is able to curate his own life experience, so to speak. Decide what to “forget” and what to remember, and since our experiences so heavily shape who we are… DiMA is therefore basically able to create a person he believes to be his best self. It is a conscious decision as much as a natural inclination to be peaceful, to value both synth and human life, and to remember his origins. Other things… not so much, but I’ll get there.
DiMA is, by all appearances, the wise old synth on the mountain. Peaceful and welcoming, soft-spoken, gentle and patient. Humans in Fallout are generally prejudiced against synths, but some have accepted DiMA in the past and so he wants to believe that everyone is capable of change -- that even the outspoken warmongers on the Island can come around if approached with kindness and understanding. He does everything he can to help both factions survive and to keep them at peace, and his actions seem to be motivated at least as much by his genuinely valuing human life as intended to win favor for the safety of Acadia. He greets the player warmly despite the fact we are here to investigate him, is one of the only characters in the entire game who doesn’t get impatient or annoyed if the player goes idle while thinking over a response, and addresses Nick as “brother” and forgives him all his skepticism and hostility. DiMA is, at first glance, a loving and understanding old robot who simply wants the best for everyone on the Island but probably wouldn’t harm a fly.
The situation’s far more complicated than that.
It’s true that DiMA’s primary motivation is protecting the inhabitants of the Island; from one another, from the encroaching fog, and occasionally from themselves. His apparent selflessness is not an affect -- DiMA generally does think of others first. It took him so long to figure out he had free will to make his own decisions even after escaping the Institute because he didn’t really do that for his own benefit. He was overwhelmed by Nick’s suffering, watching his brother be rebooted again and again. The two of them were both being experimented on and picked apart, but DiMA wanted to save Nick. Saving himself was an afterthought, and when they made it out and Nick was so disoriented as to attack him, it caused DiMA great pain to have to abandon his brother. His decisions the rest of the game track, as he does have a strong sense of self preservation but his personal well being is never his ultimate priority. The plight of the Island is a troublesome one to solve because favoring either side could harm the other, and DiMA values all of their lives. Even the lunatics and raging assholes. What he first decided to do, although technically logical, was something seemingly at odds with the wise old synth who only wants peace: a contingency plan for each faction, should he have to protect the other or his own people. Perhaps it’s that logic is an inherent part of him, as a robot. Or perhaps it’s just realism. DiMA comes across as an idealist at heart, but also very practical after having lived so long and seen so much. He saw motions towards peace fail, watched the tensions escalate, but still was not willing to pull the trigger. So what he next decided to do was more… let’s say it’s going back to his roots. A trick, exactly what the Institute does and DiMA himself denounces: killing a human and replacing it with a reprogrammed synth. Far Harbor needed a “moderate voice,” as DiMA puts it, and he had the know-how to plant just such a person in their midst.
DiMA very obviously knows this is wrong. Never once does he try to justify to the player that his position is right in any way, simply that it was the best path to peace as he saw it. He struggled so deeply with the reality that he has killed a human and erased a synth that he chose to remove those memories, and if the player calls him a monster when he remembers and still suggests they do this trick again despite his obvious distress, he does not argue. He does not ever bring up any moral superiority despite the fact that sacrificing one or two lives to save an entire island (the total population is unknown, but likely there are hundreds of people between the three settlements) is probably objectively better. He simply says he can live with that, and this time he will. He seems fairly world-weary at this point, feeling there is no perfect solution because people are not perfect. Could you folks please stop trying to kill each other already? Please? He’d really like that.
In alternate paths, which I consider to all be valid as characterization because they are determined by player action, not DiMA himself, and therefore representative of his reactions when faced with different scenarios: he can be convinced to turn himself in as a murderer and face execution, or condemn the player for pulling the trigger on either contingency plan and killing a faction. DiMA is a murderer, but he has his limits. He may have set up the contingency plans himself, but it’s pretty clear he would not have used them unless there was absolutely no other option. Most likely, judging by his horror and grief upon learning either settlement is gone (and outright disgust and rage if the player chooses to destroy Far Harbor, whom it cannot be argued accepted their fate) he would have held mutually assured destruction over the Island’s heads or perhaps come up with the synth replacement plan again on his own. If he could not justify even one murder, being responsible for the loss of an entire faction would have destroyed him. Another interesting thing that gives weight to DiMA’s value of life over his own survival is that if the player destroys the Institute, upon hearing this news DiMA is of course relieved that synthkind no longer has to worry about them as a threat to their existence -- their actions have made them a “great evil” despite being where synths came from -- but still, still, DiMA first and foremost mourns the loss of synth and human life.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Despite the heavy concepts he is constantly wrestling with throughout the game, DiMA manages to not be a constantly heavy presence himself. He has a subtle good humor, appreciating the player’s sarcasm and joking with Nick about how they’re falling apart and require constant maintenance -- sometimes there’s literally a screw loose, get it? He’s intelligent and highly adaptable, and with his gentle kindness has managed to charm a large number of humans even if they still don’t completely trust him. Speaking of trust, DiMA is understandably wary at times but will generally take the player’s word without requiring persuasion checks. He wants to believe you when you say you’ll protect Acadia, or that you’ll keep the nuclear launch key a secret, or that you have the best intentions for Kasumi. He believes in people’s goodness and even when he’s being cautious and realistic, hope is there. Fragile as he is, he knows he probably won’t be the one to lead a charge for synthkind but still wants to be “an example in the face of adversity” since he cannot hide his nature. He wants to give synths the courage to be themselves instead of submitting to memory wipes, and he wants to someday coexist with humanity. If the player reveals themself to be a member of a faction that opposes synths, DiMA passionately asks them to reconsider their position and says he will never strike first. Even when warning the player he'll fight to defend Acadia and what they stand for, he is never hostile. He just wants you to understand his cause and let him live in peace.
All good intentions, but you have to wonder what else DiMA is actually capable of, and what he could do if he were pushed.
Inventory: Although it’s not technically something “on his person,” DiMA would quickly become unplayable without some sort of memory bank to offload his data. He’ll be distressed without access to his full bank of course but I’m really just concerned about playability, so was thinking he could be brought to Hadriel during an offload, and thus hooked up to the Acadia memory bank directly. The particular storage partition he was working with (canon is not explicit for terminology but I think of his memory banks as a series of data cores or hard drives) is the only one that came with him, so his space is still limited. That way he’ll have compatible tech off the bat but will need to work with other characters to power, maintain, and expand it.
Abilities: Being a synth means a few things. DiMA is immune to radiation and does not feel physical pain, and his awareness of his nature means he does not experience hunger or tiredness like newer synths. (However, he is old and worn out and somewhat fragile, requiring frequent maintenance and memory offloading so his life experience is not lost due to the limited capacity of his prototype brain.) He is extremely technologically knowledgeable, able to design and fabricate the fog condensers, figure out a way to offload and encrypt his excess memories, and knows how to reprogram and physically modify gen 3 synths. In theory, DiMA can also hold his own in hand to hand and is skilled with a plasma gun, though in his story path he is not shown to do so. If the player makes a choice that threatens Acadia and DiMA is still alive for the attack, he will fight back. He does not appear to be a particularly challenging enemy in combat.
Flaws: DiMA is extremely morally grey. Despite the value he places on sentient life, he is a murderer three times over, which he acknowledges is not made any more acceptable by his motivation serving the objective greater good. It’s still his motivation, and technically has no more weight than either side of the potential war. He also, rather than dealing with the guilt over his actions, chooses to simply offload the memories, to “forget” the horrible thing he’s done, and when he remembers? He immediately suggests doing that horrible thing again because hey, it worked. It’s still murder, DiMA. To Nick, this is black and white and unacceptable. Murder bad, even just one person to save a whole island. To DiMA? He will be the monster, put more blood on his hands, to avoid a war. Although in all paths he does at least a bit better the second time around -- there is a path where he turns himself in, this path where he keeps the memories out of respect, and two paths where the player can wipe out either faction and DiMA condemns you for what amounts to mass murder -- he did take the easy out the first time around. And for all he suffers he doesn’t ever actually regret what he’s done. It’s not exactly objectivity, since he does struggle so terribly within himself, but it’s clear DiMA will continue to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. Right now the goal is something “good,” to keep as many people alive as possible. What if that were to change..?
SAMPLES
Action Log Sample: TDM thread!