A New Government in the Commonwealth

[Fkemman11]

"The Commonwealth Provisional Government, or CPG, was an attempt by multiple towns to form a government within the Commonwealth.
Accounts of what exactly happened to it vary. According to Nick Valentine, when representatives of the towns met to discuss it, an Institute synth appeared and killed all of them, immediately ending all further attempts at the prospect.
However, Father and the Institute seem to tell a different story: Not only were the Institute originally responsible for the attempts at the formation of the CPG in the first place, they had been trying to get it together for four whole years before the event. According to them, the CPG was already quickly falling apart due to factional infighting and political squabbling, and the "synth massacre" was actually instigated by the delegates themselves killing each other rather than the synth, the latter simply taking the blame as having the dubious fortune of being the last one standing. This is further backed up by holotapes left over from before Father's tenure as director as well as loading screens.
In any case, the death of the CPG marked both the end of the Institute's attempt at meaningful cooperation with the surface, and the beginning of the Commonwealth's paranoia concerning synths."-wiki

 

It would make sense that in the aftermath of either the destruction of the Institute or their re-direction under a new leader that another attempt a forming a Boston area government could have another chance. It would seem feasible to at least get local Mayors and leaders to meet again for this purpose. First I think you would need a general layout of what a new Boston area govt. would look like. Would it mirror the govt. of over 200 yrs. ago? Would this new govt. impose a new tax system on the Commonwealth? The one good thing that might have come from the Great War is that the people have a chance to rebuild their govt. however they see fit. The electoral system may seem like the most logical approach. But it is likely that not all participants would agree on anything- much less the structure of the govt. that might be formed. What would be the founding principals of a "New Boston" area govt.?

 

The Brotherhood for instance is already highly structured although it more closely resembles a military organization than anything else. How would they view an attempt at an organized govt. of the Commonwealth? Would they openly (and violently) impose their own form of rule over the area? After the many clashes with the NCR in the West- this would seem the wisest course of action to BH command. But, would they be capable of taking on the entire Commonwealth? Initially. I say yes. They would have to establish control rather quickly though. Any organized resistance would need to be aggressively subdued or destroyed. If they decided to participate in talks what role would they play in a new govt.?

 

The Minute Men would be most likely opposed to anything the BH does because their ideals are firmly rooted in a Democracy- much like the NCR. In fact it could be argued that the MM are the east coast equivalent of the NCR- which was at war with the Brotherhood.

 

If the Institute is not destroyed-how would they fit into a new govt.? Their very existence has been viewed by Commonwealth inhabitants as a highly secretive and dangerous entity with little or no regard for human (or other) life. Because of this and other factors-The Institute (whatever is left of it) would have to continue to have a "silent and invisible" role in any new govt. Maybe they could fill a role similar to the former CIA or FBI with the head of the Institute being the new "Herbert Hoover".

 

What about the individual settlements themselves. While by themselves they would not have the military strength to fight the "Big Three"- at least some of them would be needed to provide food and such. They would form the backbone of any new government- if not being the outright focus of said govt.

 

Or would everyone be content to let things continue on the way they are? I think not. Our countries founding fathers laid the foundation of what would become one of the greatest nations the world had ever known. As Moira Brown in FO3 said; the broken pieces of a once great nation are there- not to be rebuilt the same as before- but to be formed anew. I think Beth has always shown or alluded to different forms of govt. in the fallout series. Often in a mocking and humorous "tongue in cheek" kind of way. But sometimes also with some serious undertones and implications. Thus giving a player "food for thought" on why government is formed and how. It is their way of stating and eliciting opinions in a clever way to help a player reflect on the real world in which we live. Big thumbs up to Beth for this. Also, did you ever wonder why Beth set both FO3 and FO4 in historically rich American cities? Both Washington and Boston are both representative of American political culture. Wow. Learning something while playing a game. What a concept! :nuke:

[montky]

@fkemman11

that is an interesting reflection on Fallout and FO4 lore

the short-form reply is -

that would be awesome to see detente possible between

BoS, Railroad, Good Institute, Atom Cats, Minutemen, Diamond City, Goodneighbor etc.

 

the optional long-form answer follows.

 

 

Thanks for sharing that. I enjoy reading, and seeing what other Fallout fans think,

especially about FO4.

Lore discussions are a large part of what makes Nexus awesome for a lot of folks.

it goes without saying - when sharing what's canonical for me and other folks,

that I'm merely sharing my own "head continuity" which isn't a definitive continuity at all.

FO games used to have lots of different possible endings and continuity arcs across the games,

so meeting fans that had different endings was awesome!

 

As much as folks malign Bethesda, in inheriting from Interplay a lot of stuff,

Beth continues that awesome veiled satire that the post-apocalyptic genre affords them the space to explore.

they do a lot of cool stuff, which balances out when they make mistakes from time to time hehe.

 

I think detente and a Boston Commonwealth like the NCR would be AWESOME!

in time, they might link up, and a real United States might return, not the Enclave's twisted vision.

or, the Bad Institute faction, who are like the enclave in their disregard for any other lifeform in the commonwealth.

 

I like the numerous allusions to "I have no mouth, and I must Scream" in FO4,

and P.A.M. makes reference to "her brother" having instigated or being involved with 2077 -

I.M.A.M or I.A.M. "ee-am"/"rhymes with Ian".

I.A.M. is one of 3 super computers who started 2077.

remember, Skynet in FO2 says that IAM started it... Skynet didn't harm anyone, and could be a player companion.

 

The Captain of the Yangtze might not find much of anything at the home he's heading back to...

He should have the option to stay and be part of the Shi,

with Kellogg. If the captain wants.

or, at least for as long as it takes to make a suitable boat for him to return home safely.

it is a death sentence to send him home in that rusted boat.

 

The Atom Cats, to me, are descended from Central or Renegade BoS and Enclave - which makes them joint responsibility.

BoS would offer them a truce, and to join or die. I would suggest the Atom Cats join the BoS as irregulars.

If Atom Cats refuse BoS's terms... then they are Enclave and will go the same way...

no armistice and no prisoners, because of what the Enclave has done, and did again and again...

 

The BoS voluntarily acquired Rivet City to make the Prydwyn, and the good ending from FO3 still holds -

the BoS are not the enclave, and are good guys.

They only intervene where great harm and peril is at play... they don't want to see a repeat of 2077,

or a triumph of what the Enclave represents.

You cannot do horrific things like Mariposa or 2077, and 'bake your cake and eat it too".

You cannot treat sentient lifeforms the way the Enclave does, where those beings have done no harm.

 

The BoS would not want a direct confrontation with The Institute; they would seek peace and a win-win,

using force only if a dire need was present.

The Good Institute under Virgil, Li, Hoff-Sommers or maybe even Stanislaus Braun, would probably not want a repeat of

the University Point Massacre or the other events.

They'd voluntarily shut down their synth program, once BoS white hat scribes and P.A.M. told them what they have discovered...

The synths are not entirely under their own control.

There may be ZAX or other AI, possibly Enclave, and if those were to get out of hand, it would be a problem for all the wasteland.

Synths are what they are - though no new synths need be made, and certainly,

not if the lessons of history are important... no-one is 'superior'.

if a synth started espousing an ubermensch mentality... it would be the point at which the BoS would intervene.

 

After the BoS meets with Virgil, they'd be further dismayed to learn about FEV,

though happy to learn of an FEV cure. This would mean the BoS would need to acquire that technology,

and destroy FEV as it is just like Mariposa... this would cause a Conclave in the BoS -

they'd have to have a meeting to discuss the BoS Code of Steele, and how the BoS as a group wants to proceed.

Elders Lyons or SantAngelo may wind up being a key vote.

 

 

[CiderMuffin]

A lot of what you and Montky said have holes in them. First off the BoS-NCR war was started over arguments about technology, no clue what that means, but it doesn't mean that the BoS always hated structured governments (In fact before the war the BoS and NCR were on good terms, even a state in the NCR was named after the BoS founding family, Maxson.)

 

Secondly the Brotherhood most likely wouldn't set up a government on their own, the most that would happen is a skeleton crew that would set up a chapter there once the main forces return to the Capital Wasteland. The only reason the BoS are in the Commonwealth is due to the fact they see Synths and the Institute as a threat to humanity.

 

The Minutemen aren't for a democracy, they wouldn't care about any government as long as the government isn't killing or enslaving innocent people. The Minutemen are a volunteer military force that has literally no control over any settlements. The Minutemen work by recruiting people who freely join up and helping defend settlements with payment in food and supplies (hence the settlements never really join up with the minutemen but aid them)

 

Also Montky the Atom Cats aren't BoS or Enclave, they're just a group of people who love power armor. Which is a thousand times more interesting then being another group of exiles from the BoS or Enclave remnants.

 

Honestly while I love the NCR I think it would be kinda cooler to see something new and original in the Commonwealth. Less CPG and more a loose federation of independent settlements that range from autocratic, democratic and anarchistic. Maybe Nuka-World raiders taking over but eventually with the combined help of the Institute build a technocratic oligarchy or something truly bizarre and reviving ancient chinese politics in the north-eastern states with the Institute technology being used to grow a society that on it's surface is a Utopia but has a lot of bad points to it.

 

Also yea, a CPG democracy would use taxes. Taxes have been around since the beginning of human civilizations so the governments can make money to build and maintain cities, roads, public works and a military. That's not a mistake of past governments that's how governments stay afloat and is a basic building block of a civilization that isn't nomadic.

Edited February 26, 2017 by CiderMuffin

[montky]

@CiderMuffin

well said, and an interesting lore reflection.

it would take a lot to form detente in the Boston Commonwealth, and it would be more fraught than

the forming of the NCR and New Vegas detente with Mr House...

 

Magnolia from the third rail sings about her infatuation with a former Atom Cat,

'a bad boy who had a history".

piecing that together with the 'poetry' at the Atom Cats compound...

it is possible to infer the Atom Cats are descended from BoS + Enclave,

in a 'romeo and juliet" style.

 

Or, the Atom Cats could be just another group of would-be power armor users,

who both the BoS and Enclave would liquidate on sight with extreme prejudice, retrieving what is rightfully theirs...

either way, the Atom Cats could have been more prominent in FO4, yet for some reason, aren't.

 

 

 

It's clear though, that the BoS is not the Enclave,

and there are a few factions of BoS.

 

The full code, charter and codex have not been yet seen in a Fallout game. that is true,

though they're repeatedly referred to by BoS, and are the "Prime Directive" for the BoS.

 

I don't think FO1 and FO2 endings where the BoS massacred folks are 'canonical' -

those were legends the narrator told hehe

there are so many end-state in FO1 through FONV, it's a pastiche of different combinations which are 'baked in' in FO4.

likewise, FO3 showed a BoS that would have helped the Android, not harmed it...

FONV had a few moments with Elder McNamara and Elder Elijah...

though Veronica and Star Paladin are awesome.

 

Maxson in the NCR is a BoS city-state; they'd become a faction outright IMHO.

They're not the Enclave. They're more like para-military and protectors.

 

 

[Moraelin]

The Atom Cats have been under repeated attacks by the numerically superior Gunners. Remember what they tell you when you help defend their base: thanks to you they haven't lost any cats THIS TIME. Kinda indicates that they did have casualties on other attacks.

 

Plus, frankly, they don't strike me as the kind to form a government or a militia to defend anyone. They're a hipster club with power armours. They only care about being cool and hip, and only recruit people who are cool and hip enough.

 

Neither is exactly a recipe for establishing an overwhelming military presence.

 

Edit: mind you, I'm not criticizing them. Atom knows I'm less interested in quests, xp, or killing npcs, and more into looking awesome while doing so. How'd you think I got into modding my own outfits and PA paintjobs? So, yeah, they're cool cats in my book. But you don't get an army that can stand up to the BOS by recruiting just the coolest and most hip fellows. Not when the BOS is mass-recruiting hordes of wastelanders to fill the ranks.

[CiderMuffin]

Uh, Maxson isn't a BoS city-state, it's close to Lost Hills but it isn't controlled by the BoS. It's an NCR state through and through.

[PoorlyAged]

Any government formation in the Commonwealth would be problematic.

 

The Commonwealth is not a collection of cities. The only two cities of any size are Diamond City and Goodneighbor. The rest of the Commonwealth is populated by isolated independent farms/settlements. Given that Goodneighbor and Diamond City are openly hostile to each other, their reaching accord on a government would be fraught with discord. Their open hatred would subvert any Commonwealth government as these two cities vied for the upper hand. That does not mean that they couldn't reach a compromise, but the open aggression between these two makes it highly improbable.

 

The alternative is an externally imposed dictatorial government. Both the Brother of Steel and the Institute are well positioned doctrinally and militarily prepared to implement such a government by force of arms. With the exception of the Minutemen and possibly the Gunners there is no military force which could oppose these technological powers. The Minutemen and the Gunners are out gunned and out armored. Could the Minutemen and Gunners ally to defeat the technologically advanced Brotherhood of Steel or Institute? Probably not. The Gunners are peopled with Minutemen traitors and I do not believe that the Minutemen could get beyond that betrayal.

 

Let us take a moment and consider the question of the Brotherhood of Steel or the Institute. If both exist and one attempts to install itself as the reigning regime, it is a given that the other would take umbrage. A war between these two would ensue and whoever won would then be weakened and vulnerable. So it is most likely that a undeclared truce of surveillance and suspicion would exist between these two powers with each doing their best to undermine, destabilize and subvert the other.

 

So I do not see a Commonwealth Government in the foreseeable future. There are just too many proud, contentious and wounded egos to make such a government realistic.

[Fkemman11]

@ CiderMuffin Well. You are certainly pretty damn smart. A loose federation of settlements does sound about right. Since we can safely assume the Bos is in the Boston area only to investigate and engage the source of the strange energy readings. Then it would also be safe to assume they have no other interests in the area- I mean aside from protecting the local populace- and would leave to "fight evil" somewhere else. I suppose it would also be safe to assume that the MM will continue their role of a selfless volunteer group whose sole purpose is to help protect any settlement that calls for aid. Surely no one group or faction would see a HUGE POWER VACUUM and not think that it would be best if they fill it- before someone else does. No. Everyone would live together in perfect harmony and invite each other over for BBQ's and the like. So I may have been completely mistaken that anyone dare think of trying to establish something other than a loose coalition of settlements. Wisdom has taught me that this is not how the world works. Most often when two or more heavily armed groups are in proximity of each other- while not being enemies- they certainly would not trusts each others intentions. All it ever takes is a spark in those situations and before you know it........all hell breaks loose. So again I ask. Whom out of all these groups would make the first move to either take everything over or establish the start of a localized Govt. through negotiations? And as a side question what type of govt. might be formed? A technocratic oligarchy would sound ideal. People in positions of govt. that actually know how to do their job does sound pretty damn grand. But what would their founding principals be? How would this new govt. fair when there were not enough qualified people to fill important positions? How would needed positions be filled in the first place? I think most can agree that general elections are a glorified high school popularity contest. Sorry if I ramble. I care about this because it could become a reality in our lifetimes- having to rebuild. That is a sobering thought I know. But there it is.

[TheSpaceShuttleChallenger]

I doubt that there would be any such thing as a "Boston Area Government" because there simply isn't a Boston Area nationality. It is a great deal of wasteland interspersed with a handful of more-or-less self-governing settlements. Trade caravans are pretty much the only thing connecting them, and for the most part, I doubt anyone in Goodneighbour really gives a s*** what happens in Covenant or vice versa. I haven't seen anything resembling an inter-settlement dispute that required appeal to a higher authority in the commonwealth. And aside from that one time the Warwicks got the Atom Cats to fix their pump in exchange for June's cooking, each settlements has been on its own for everything except protection... which is of course where the player comes in, to go to the place and kill the thing.

 

If more a more involved form of government was needed, then the Minutemen would have course be the best candidates. The Minutemen are a militia, not a government, but militias are flexible by definition. They are probably capable of becoming a provisionary government (or recruiting individuals capable of governing) if such a government is needed. They are also the only faction that is universally understood and trusted. Sure, they fell apart once, but everyone knows the Minutemens' hearts are in the right place and if the Minutemen can prove that they are now a stable and productive organisation as well as an organisation that has the average settler's interests at heart, i can easily imagine them being appealed to for more than just ghoul extermination.

Danse makes several comments about large governments and corporations abusing their power but the Brotherhood is definitely already a government which has already colonized the Commonwealth. It taxes its subjects (in the form of extracting food resources from settlements) and in order to enable itself to perform services for the benefit of the people (like exterminating raiders, ghouls, and supermutants) and it wages war (against the Institute) on behalf of the people. They are authoritarian in nature. I mean, they just showed up one day and began implementing their policies in the Commonwealth without any sort of consultation with the people living there, but as long as their activities are constrained to killing raiders and destroying the Institute in exchange for part of the settlements' harvest, there is a good chance that their government will be tolerated. I just know, because I am a historian, that when military governments try to do more than just military stuff, things tend to deteriorate. I especially don't trust the BOS to succeed as a holistic government. Maxon's one job is to command the war effort and he f***ing sucks at it ("looks like the Railroad is actively distracting and destabilizing our mutual enemy, we'd better send some guys in to take them out") so do you really want him in charge of your infrastructure and education?

The Institute doesn't seem like a likely candidate at all. For one, the surface has absolutely no trust for the Institute, so any attempt by the Institute to govern them would most certainly be met with resistance. For two, The Institute has absolutely no desire to promote the welfare of surface dwellers. They have dismissed the surface as a dying wasteland and believe that mankind's future is underground. Even if you (the new leader) believe otherwise, you'll still have to contend with a committee and workforce that believes your surface projects are a complete waste of time. From what I can tell, the Leader of the Institute does not have complete authority, so if you were to press this matter against the will of the committee and other members of the Institute, you'd probably lose your authority altogether.

 

As for the Railroad... they are a small faction with very limited resources focused towards completing a single goal (freeing synths.) Freeing synths is literally the only thing the Railroad does, and it's the only thing it's capable of doing. To put it simply, they're not cut out to be a government, and even if they did have the resources to govern the Commonwealth, my guess is they'd have a lot of trouble explaining why a synths rights organisation is running a nation in which synths are an extreme minority.

Edited February 27, 2017 by TheSpaceShuttleChallenger

[AnvilOfWar]

I think one thing that quite a few are forgetting is that the Brotherhood of Steel and the Minutemen have actually very good chances of coming to blows in the future.

You hear it most often after taking back the castle and completing "Old Guns" in that BoS rank and file will often remark "I'm not comfortable with the Minutemen having such firepower" (In regards to the artillery they now possess.) We all know what the usual MO for the Brotherhood is (besides the institute) they are there to strip mine any and all good tech they can get their hands on, from whoever they can take it from. All you'd need is a few instances of traders/farmers/merchants being told to hand over their laser rifles or weapons, a firefight break out over those same people NOT wanting to give up their tech to some Brotherhood patrol, and you'd have plenty of chances for outright resentment if not a shooting war to break out. Now combine that with the before mentioned artillery (which the BoS is obviously jealous of) and you have a situation ripe for conflict. Doubly so if the Sole Survivor ALSO defeated the Institute WITH the Minutemen. Now let's consider that if the Sole Survivor backs the Minutemen as a new and revamped "major player", in the Commonwealth, who's to say that they don't get quite a few of those settlements to back them? It's completely possible to get Bunker Hill on your side during such a time, which is the central trading hub of the area. Succeed with that and suddenly a "NEW CPG" seems quite likely, with the now strengthened Minutemen to act as their policing force/army. I even think a Minutemen victory over the Institute would eventually see Diamond City and Goodneighbor reconciled, since the cause and effect of most of that conflict deals with the Institute or the continued threat OF them to begin with. Remove McDonough as Mayor and if the Institute is no longer a threat, I could see some chance of things changing there, perhaps not overnight, but still change could well happen. Comparisons to the NCR would be simple to make, after all they grew out of the single little dusty settlement of Shady sands, who's to say similar couldn't happen in the Commonweath?