Fallout 4: AR

51. The Institute

"It's nice to make your acquaintance at last, Anne," Father said as he brought a chair over to sit by the side of the gurney, "though I could have wished it was in better circumstances."

"How... how did you know my name?" I wasn't going to call this man "Father," title or not. I had a father, and he was back home with the rest of my family.

A slight smile creased the corners of his mouth. "Ah, my associates from your world provided me with your information when they sent that little gadget to you. After all, you were supposed to have been transported directly here to our secure underground facilities as a welcome guest of the Institute, not stranded on the surface to fend for yourself. No matter, the miscalculation on such a small scale will be easy to correct once we finish our download."

Underground? No wonder no one's been able to find the entrance; there isn't one. At this point, though, I only had one question on my mind. "Why?" My voice cracked with emotion, and I fought to hold back tears of frustration. "What's going on? Why did you do this to me?"

For a long, quiet moment, broken only by the whirring of the computer banks in the wall, I thought this "Father" person was going to ignore my question. Just as I was about to give up all hope of an answer, he replied in a quiet, even voice. "Do you know the history of this place? Had you read the instruction manual, it would have given you a basic overview of our world."

If I want information from him, I better contribute to the conversation and at least pretend to go along. "I skimmed it. This was supposed to be a game, after all. I wanted to experience the Virtual reality storyline without spoilers. I remember it saying something about post nuclear-war Boston. How is it you match the game world's elements so perfectly?" As much as I tried to stay neutral, some of my feelings leaked through my voice.

"Where do you think Bethesda got the idea?" He chuckled slightly at my jaw drop of reaction. "We've been working with them for years, presenting the premise of the Wasteland to their programmers to help us research some of our own technological developments. That they took our information and turned it into a series of successful computer games is quite ingenious." The man seemed quite happy to have a new audience for his narrative, and I wasn't about to stop him from talking, though this last revelation struck me to the core.

"Bethesda?" Could that be the first word of the acronym? "I got a letter from B.I.R.D..." I mused aloud.

"Bethesda/Institute Research and Development," Father explained. "The culmination of our years of exchanging information. I admit, when we first developed molecular relay technology, we hadn't known about other realities. Once we discovered the existence of the multiverse, completely by accident of course, it was only a matter of time before we tried to communicate and, eventually, transport physically." His dark eyes sparkled with fervent emotion. "It is a truly remarkable scientific breakthrough! You're the recipient of the most amazing piece of technology created by our two organizations working together." He reached out to pat the back of my hand, stroking across the buried cathodes in a proprietary manner. "You are now a truly... fascinating specimen; the melding of our advanced technology with your own body in such a thorough, yet compatible way. That it was successfully able to bring you to our world is nothing short of phenomenal, and allows us to move ahead in our project."

Inwardly I squirmed, unnerved by his not-quite-personable fascination. He looked at me like I was some kind of precious possession, despite his earlier assurances that I would have been treated like a guest. Yeah, right. "Welcome guests" aren't usually strapped to an examination table. Well, at least he's more willing to chat than that woman doctor was. I went to hold up my arm, but the restraints prevented any movement. "But... why?" I asked again, "I'm nobody. Why did you choose me?"