Institute Spies

[jjb54]

 

The fact University Point got wiped out after a girl found some pre-war hard drive and asked a passing merchant what he'd be willing to pay for it, is also a giveaway that travelling merchants pass-on their knowledge to the Institute. There's also a mod that lets you make goggles that can spot synth infiltrators among your settlers. If you don't get rid of those, they commit acts of sabotage inside your settlements, like distroying generators or crops. Hell, there's even synth Brahmin that enter your settlements.

I am curious what the institute hopes to gain by sabotaging the surface dwellers...... It's obvious they don't have any real use for them, aside from subjects for their experiments.... but, they regularly replace folks, with no apparent rhyme or reason. The Mayor in DC I can kinda understand, but, regular (useless) settlers? WHY???? What's the point?

 

 

FEAR .... is a powerful weapon. You have people so afraid, that they think the other is a Synth and / or - like the gal at the Docks who thought / thinks she is one and isolated herself.

 

Then they have an easier way of " taking over " .... because everyone is now so afraid, they become paralyzed.

[Zorkaz]

That whole discussion reminds me why I like the main setting in the end.

At first it threw me off, as it wasn't exactly Blade Runner. But playing Wasteland 2 and other android featuring games made me appreciate the setting more. Especially the suspicion and the what-ifs.

[JohnnyQuest101]

"We know that the Institute has various means of keeping tabs on the outside world. A couple of them have been mentioned lately, but I kinda wanted to expand on that."

 

 

Well, that way they knew when the surface dwellers were planning an attack. They were afraid of the surface dwellers.

 

If you talk to your son, he does mention the Institute made plenty of mistakes by counting on Kellogg too much. You can change that as a Director. At the end of the game if you side with the Institute, Synths will openly visit Diamond City.

[Moksha8088]

Heather Casdin strongly suspects that Cricket tipped off the Institute to University Point.

[fraquar]

I'm not sure that the University Point thing was a result of a spy infiltrated as a merchant - more that merchants reach out to anyone AND everyone to try to move goods (especially when they are higher than a kite most of the time). I'm not sure Cricket can remember who she sold that "Spray 'N Pray" to - even though she likely never meant to sell it to begin with. :D. That arguably is the most brain dead sale in the history of sales - i.e. who in their right mind sells "the real game changer". :D

[Stronglav]

go to the Institute SRB section.

There is a terminal with institute spy names.

All the traders work for institute.

 

Quote X6-88 about goodneighboor:

They think they safe here.The're mistaken.

Goodneighboor is the hub of institute spies.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Stronglav

[fraquar]

There is a difference between being an informant (and likely having no idea who you are even giving information to) and a spy.

 

You look at that list, only one name really surprises me - Morowski.

He doesn't really need to move information for money - he's a Chem supplier - he's like a Mob boss everything comes to him. When it doesn't, he's going to get his cut whether it be in caps or limbs.

[robeagle]

I just want to say, Mayor McDonalds is now something I have fallen in love with thank you.

 

Besides that...

 

Theres also evidence that the Institute has actual Cameras around the wasteland in the positions of the Crows

[monesq]

If I recall correctly, the majority of the traveling traders are spies. I was surprised initially when I saw Trashcan Carla on the list. I think it is the terminal in the SRB that has this info.

 

Having infiltrators in settlements actually makes sense. Remember The Institute destroyed a coalition of leaders who wanted to create a quasi government because the institute fears that a consolidated Commonwealth may present a security threat to the Institute, especially since they have energy needs and siphon energy from above, preventing a coalition brings havoc into the society which in turn would make it easier to siphon their energy needs. Reeking havoc in settlements weakens the settlements and they are more likely to be raided or just fall apart with settlers just roaming around and eking out a simple survival existence until they die of hunger or are killed by raiders or the wildlife in the Commonwealth. Very good tactics if you are playing a war of attrition.

 

The birds and the monkeys, I shoot them on site. Have never found synth components in them. But they do react as something mechanical (the birds of course). With respect to the monkeys, I have my suspicions since their eyes glow when you approach them. Could these have been supplied to raiders as an early warning system by the Institute?

 

As for Tinker Tom, he is just plain nuts, but a genius. Given the energy shortages, and the Institutes' goals of basically replacing humanity with synths, creating and producing sufficient mic-robotic spies to infest the food supplies would not be cost effective, and more than likely, impossible. Airborne spies would go everywhere, including animals. Too much in wasted resources. Their interests would be better served by slowly poisoning the Commonwealth with drugs that would make them infertile and/or cause genetic anomalies in their progeny thus limiting or ending their progeny's lives prematurely. Such an effort would be easy and would be hard to spot as it could be blamed on radiation poisoning. You simply add the necessary chemicals to the water supplies, such as the large one in Diamond City which is a hub for travelers, traders and the like. Traders may buy the water to sell throughout the Commonwealth. The Institute is playing a long game and basically eliminating future generations of humans is very cost efficient as their scientists can manipulate the genes of plants, etc., so including drugs/chemicals into the water would be an easy task.

The three pronged attack, spies, unrest in settlements to make sure they do not grow, and eliminating future generations of human citizens of the Commonwealth would be very easy and cost effective and would limit exposure of the Institute to the Commonwealth, that is until the sole-survivor shows up.

 

It would be an interesting quest actually to catch a synth who is poisoning the water supplies, tracing him/her back to a group of spies, both human and synth, thus lending credibility to Pipers concerns about synths.

 

My two-cents worth.

[monesq]

Theres also evidence that the Institute has actual Cameras around the wasteland in the positions of the Crows

 

 

 

Where have you seen cameras??