“I did so enjoy breathing once. Long ago...”
Doctor Dala is a pre-War scientist operating The Think Tank in the Big MT.
Background
Doctor Dala was the first head chief researcher of mineralogy who became a think tank to continue her work at the Big MT, such as studying Saturnite. When the Courier meets her, she's the expert on humanology and Lobotomite behavior, and has 211 doctorates from mineralogy and humanology to medicine and holodisk eidetic. Possessing a degree in Curiosity and Advanced Curiosity, Dala also has a fascination with the human body.
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
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This character starts quests. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character is a doctor. |
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This character is a merchant. |  -Sells: - |
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This character can repair items. | Max Repair condition: - |
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This character can modify weapons. |
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This character rents beds. | -.
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This character plays Caravan. | They can bid caps. |
Quests
- Old World Blues: If Klein can't be convinced otherwise, Dala, along with 2 other members of the Think Tank, are needed to convince Klein to give up trying to escape the Big MT.
- Picking Your Brains: After completing Welcome to the Big Empty, the player needs to talk to Dala and the rest of the think tanks to complete this quest.
- Welcome to the Big Empty: The player has to talk to Dala as with the rest of the think tanks to complete the quest.
- Coming Out of Her Shell: Dala would like to monitor your "biorhythms" and observe you as an organism.
- He Came... And Went: Dala can start this quest by picking the right speech choices in conversation.
Effects of player's actions
As long as the player completes "Coming Out of Her Shell" before confronting the Think Tank at the end of Old World Blues, she will side with the Courier if the option to have Klein consult with his colleagues is taken.
Other interactions
- Speech options can imply that she shows more emotion than the other doctors, especially if the Courier has the Lady Killer or Cherchez La Femme perk.
- After completing Coming Out of Her Shell, you can return to Dala once a day for a "breather" (literally letting her watch you breathe) for some ammunition (depleted energy cells) in return.
- If the Courier has an actual teddy bear in their inventory, new dialogue will be available.
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | Brain beam Brain mesmetron |
- | Electron charge packs, over charge Energy cells Fission battery Microfusion cells, over charge Scrap electronics Scrap metal Sensor module Teddy bear |
Notes
- Dala appears to have an obsession with teddy bears: she admits to this and it is reinforced by evidence in Higgs Village, in House #104.
- Apart from Doctor 8 she is the only one carrying a distinctive item.
- Other members of The Think Tank refer to Dala's collection of Formography—explained as obsession with the human body—as if it were a hoard of fetish material.
- When Doctor Mobius comments on the things the scientists have forgotten, masturbation is probably aimed at Dala, due to her fascination with the human body and tendency to make noises of ecstasy.
- If the Courier brings Dala a teddy bear, she will decline and explain that lobotomites are her teddy bears. Despite this, her home in Higgs Village and her room in The Think Tank are both filled with teddy bears.
Notable quotes
- "I did so enjoy breathing once. Long ago..."
- "Why my little bear of teddiness. I am Doctor Dala."
- "I love to hear you breathe."
- "There is no standing on the green pipes. If you are standing on the green pipes, please get off them at once."
- "Shh, little organs. Go to sleep in your tanks. Dala loves you."
- "Why would you want to do such a thing? You might surrender to your hormones and commit primal aggression on me...on us again and again! Then I would have to return the favor, activating my vivisectors and gently lobotomizing you from behind. Not something I would relish doing."
- "You are an unusual specimen, to so boldly... walk into the mighty expanse of the Think Tank. Fearless and proud as a teddy bear."
Appearances
Dala appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
Behind the scenes
- You have the option of telling her "The Quick Scribe jumped over the Lazy Paladin" which is clearly a reference to what Christine says in Dead Money. This is itself a reference to a typing exercise used because it uses every letter of the English alphabet: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
- Dala is a shortened form of Mandala, which means 'circle' in Sanskrit, another looping and infinite figure which follows the naming convention of the other members of the Think Tank.
Bugs
It is possible that you won't be able to initiate another "Breathing Session" with Dala after you have already done so once before. [verified]
Gallery
![Dala before becoming a think tank.[1]](/wiki/File:DalaHuman.png "DalaHuman.png (94 KB)")
Dala before becoming a think tank.[1]