A few theories after listening to some people.

[Deleted40542685User]

Well to answer your question, We inherit telomeres from our parents, but no matter the length of our telomeres at birth, everyone’s get shorter as they age. Shorter telomeres have a negative effect on our health. Telomere shortening is the main cause of age-related break down of our cells. When telomeres get too short (ageing), our cells can no longer reproduce, which causes our tissues to degenerate and eventually die. Some cells, like those found in the skin, hair and immune system, are most affected by telomere shortening because they reproduce more often.

 

The problem with getting in to the vault is not answerable, I don't see a way to enter the vault from the outside. But a lot of what you say has merit, I also have a theory that fathers strong hatred of the railroad has to do with the fact that its probable the railroad stole the tech that gives them the ability to change the memories of synths just like the Institute, That's the reason they can give the synths new lives. That is unless you think Tinker Tom was able to come up with that one on his own, which would make Einstein look like a Idiot. So much of the game is vague, that speculation can go on like who killed Kennedy.

[SirTwist]

I like how we have all at least agree that there is some chance that Father is not Shaun. Or at least Kellogg and Father is lying to us.

 

As to some thoughts, I believe that Father may look like something of both parents, but I want to add something here. JustnAzdog, I want to expand on something you said. The Memory Loungers are similar to the virtual reality chairs found in both Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I won't spoil that part. However, I am wondering how the Institute got it hands one themselves. Here's a speculation on things. I believe that the Institute has teams scattered across the U.S., and has been scouring for technology, etc. to use. In it's search, they found those virtual reality pods. Stealing one with the computer support, they replicate the chair itself, and then work with the software to be able to do a lot of things. They can copy memories from people, and rearrange things, and implant them into another person, or even synth. Knowing this, it can be an effective tool to use on Gen 3 synths, as well as Coursers. And even on clones. After witnessing the instability of using one person to clone from, they use more than one source, as to prevent instability issues. Also, implanted memories help, as well, with things.

 

One thing to note is that this game does have it's fair share of bad writing moments. So this could all be us projecting something that doesn't need to be projected. But I still say father is NOT Shaun.

[sinlessorrow]

Father is Shaun. If you change your character's face, Father's face will change along with it. If you look at two different playthroughs, with different looking characters, Father will not appear the same. Sometimes it really is just that simple, and we have to use Occam's razor.

 

The mystery isn't Father's identity, but rather his motivations.

Because Bethesda wanted an awesome full on assault with Liberty Prime.

[Deleted40542685User]

I like how we have all at least agree that there is some chance that Father is not Shaun. Or at least Kellogg and Father is lying to us.

 

As to some thoughts, I believe that Father may look like something of both parents, but I want to add something here. JustnAzdog, I want to expand on something you said. The Memory Loungers are similar to the virtual reality chairs found in both Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I won't spoil that part. However, I am wondering how the Institute got it hands one themselves. Here's a speculation on things. I believe that the Institute has teams scattered across the U.S., and has been scouring for technology, etc. to use. In it's search, they found those virtual reality pods. Stealing one with the computer support, they replicate the chair itself, and then work with the software to be able to do a lot of things. They can copy memories from people, and rearrange things, and implant them into another person, or even synth. Knowing this, it can be an effective tool to use on Gen 3 synths, as well as Coursers. And even on clones. After witnessing the instability of using one person to clone from, they use more than one source, as to prevent instability issues. Also, implanted memories help, as well, with things.

 

One thing to note is that this game does have it's fair share of bad writing moments. So this could all be us projecting something that doesn't need to be projected. But I still say father is NOT Shaun.

I agree completely, the Institute would have probably taken baby Shaun and used his DNA for perfecting a synth. They were very logical with little concern about humanity. They probably turned him into a undamaged genetic soup, the base for all future synths, father included. When he says he is the players son he isn't lying, but he isn't telling the truth either. A synthetic life form would age and die just like us, but the length of life would be controlled by what its use to the Institute would be. The movie Blade runner is a good example of Bio engineering, in it, the head of the Tyrell empire tells the Synth "you burn twice as bright, but only half as long.

[TheGadget1945]

I've raised this point before , but in the story Father is dying of cancer. Leaving aside the fact that he is head of a highly advanced scientific organisation which is apparently incapable of curing cancer, why couldn't the Institute get Dr Amari to upload his consciousness into a fresh Synth body and thereby "technically" save his life ?

Objections to this are typically that Dr Amari "wouldn't do it" but the Institute would surely be able to compel her to do it or at least divulge HOW to do it. Since the memory loungers and Amari's computers appear to be pre war antiques I don't think the Instutute would have any problem copying them.

[MightyZ0G]

1 thing I have noticed after having to restart the game multiple times is that you, your spouse and Shaun are all outside the vault when the bomb went off and you all get a little taste of the radioactive wind that blasts across the lift. of all the people in that vault, you and your family are in the minority that do not have dna that is free from radioactive contamination.

I'm guessing that this falls into the bad writing catagory rather than part of the Father is not Shaun theory.

 

if 1 of the other fan theories is correct, Deacon has got a pip-boy. he got it for his birthday, along with a BB gun and a sweetroll a few years before he set out to explore the Capitol Wasteland.

[SirTwist]

I don't know why Father did not want to do that, even though he could have, easily enough. I feel the last time he did it was before he ordered Shaun kidnapped. What I can find out about Doctor Amari, which is very little by the way, is that she would do something for Father, if she didn't know who he was. And if he consented a transfer. This would negate the need for him to die, as well as his current cancer. I wonder how that would go down. I am pretty sure that the Institute can do this without her. However, I am pretty sure that she could do a much better job.

 

On a side note, there isn't much on Doctor Amari. I wish there was more, but there isn't. What follows is some supposition on my part. Do NOT take any of this as anything more than supposition and guesswork, and even some opinion. Dr. Amari was part of the Institute. She worked on, possibly, the neuro-science behind the Gen 3 synths, at least took over for that. Probably didn't work on the early stuff, as she seems not old enough to have worked on Nick or Dima. I believe she refined, further, what they did with Nick and Dima. I think that she wasn't the only one, but part of a team. But she left, for reasons unknown, and worked with the Railroad to help escaping synths to change identity, and become actual people.

[TheGadget1945]

I don't know why Father did not want to do that, even though he could have, easily enough. I feel the last time he did it was before he ordered Shaun kidnapped. What I can find out about Doctor Amari, which is very little by the way, is that she would do something for Father, if she didn't know who he was. And if he consented a transfer. This would negate the need for him to die, as well as his current cancer. I wonder how that would go down. I am pretty sure that the Institute can do this without her. However, I am pretty sure that she could do a much better job.

 

On a side note, there isn't much on Doctor Amari. I wish there was more, but there isn't. What follows is some supposition on my part. Do NOT take any of this as anything more than supposition and guesswork, and even some opinion. Dr. Amari was part of the Institute. She worked on, possibly, the neuro-science behind the Gen 3 synths, at least took over for that. Probably didn't work on the early stuff, as she seems not old enough to have worked on Nick or Dima. I believe she refined, further, what they did with Nick and Dima. I think that she wasn't the only one, but part of a team. But she left, for reasons unknown, and worked with the Railroad to help escaping synths to change identity, and become actual people.

 

The problem with the idea of Amari having been part of the Institute is that as we saw with Virgil a) they wouldn't let her go and b) If she escaped they would send a Courser to bring her back or kill her. Plus she has no idea that the Institute uses teleportation or come to that any knowledge of it whatsoever.

[SirTwist]

I believe the problem with Doctor Amari being Institute before was all of that. However, it doesn't mean someone else from the Institute escaped, trained her, then a memory wipe, and moved on. I have a feeling that only time will tell with that character. I still can't believe how much is not known about her. Where would she have gotten the training? Or where she came from, or anything else? Makes me wonder.

[metaphorset]

At some point, most possibly late at night or very early in the morning right after getting up, I found myself asking the same questions. But then I remembered all those other BGS games that came after Morrowind and everything started to make perfect sense again.

You see, the most important rule for bad storytelling demands that you must have a rough framework and then you absolutely need to fill in the gaps with the least amount of effort possible. You have to ensure that in the end nothing fits together neatly, no matter what theory the audience comes up with. Kinda like that bird feeder some of us built in first grade with the help of our manually untalented dad, only with words.

 

Bad story telling in games demands furthermore, that there are different groups working on different parts of the main and side quests, the narrative design and so on and they all should have little to no contact to each other. You should also give them the bare minimum of information they need to complete their task. For example, instead of "make a tree for a post-apocalyptic world" you tell them "make a burnt tree". That even works great with voice actors, although it might come out as actually quite good (Kellogg).

 

Take all of this in account and it will answer all of the questions about things that don't make sense in every BGS game in the past (except Morrowind), present and future.