Doctor Mobius is a think tank operating in the Big MT in 2281. He is the leader of the robo-scorpion army and nemesis of Dr. Klein and the team he was once a part of.
Background
Doctor Mobius was one of the Big MT "Think Tank" executives before the Great War. Sometime after the War, he became a think tank in order to continue his work at Big MT. Like the others, he forgot a part of his personality and his real name, due to the recursion loop in their new perception programming.
After the escape of the cazadores and night stalkers, Mobius became disillusioned with the methods of the other think tanks. He grew tired of the endless and horrible experimentation, and was deeply afraid of the damage the amoral and psychosis-ridden think tanks would wreak upon the fragile, post-apocalyptic world in the name of science. He erected a radar fence - a kind of radar-guided repulsive field - around the perimeter of Big MT to prevent the disembodied brains from escaping into the wasteland.
After a severe dispute with Klein, Mobius removed all the chips of all personalities of The Sink; his room and personal laboratory, and against their will, hacked the data banks of his colleagues, reprogramming their chronometers, geometers and cartography programs, making them lose their sense of history, time and the world beyond Big MT to the point that they now believe Big MT is the world and nothing exists beyond its mountainous boundary. He also actively fostered the false notions that robo-scorpions are somehow able to consume intelligence from brains, fueling the Think Tanks' fear of leaving Big MT's central dome. In the process of making these alterations, though, he also damaged some of their memories and knowledge, leaving only mangled, disjointed versions behind. Disgusted to have done this to his friends, he also erased some sections of his own memory, like this event and his pre-War creation, the robo-scorpion, before exiling himself.
Afterward, Mobius moved to the X-42 robo-warfare facility (which he renamed the "Forbidden Zone") and began to "recreate" the robo-scorpion, inspired by radscorpions that had wandered into Big MT. These new versions included all features of the pre-War model, such as an energy bolt blaster in the tail, highly sensitive robotic eyes, and communication systems connected directly to his stronghold. Now in possession of a proper army, Mobius decided that without something to distract the other think tanks, the radar fence would eventually become insufficient to contain them. He began to send repetitive, threatening broadcasts, designed to instill fear and prompt the think tanks to focus on retrieving technologies with which to defend themselves. With the remaining think tanks trapped in the central dome by their exaggerated fear of Mobius, the Big MT fell mostly silent.
Although not originally aggressive in his intentions, Mobius' own behavior seems to have degraded over the years, likely in part due to an increasingly serious addiction to Mentats and Psycho. By 2281, he had not only lost the functionality of his right "eye" monitor, but also began to suffer from short term memory loss, hallucinations, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Although his plan had been mostly successful, the recent arrival of Father Elijah, Christine, and Ulysses from the Mojave has caused the curiosity of the think tanks to begin pushing beyond the boundaries he had set for them.
The arrival of the Courier, and the subsequent survival of their lobotomy, proved to be the last straw. Mobius unleashed a fresh wave of robo-scorpions and announced his false intention to finish the other think tanks off once and for all, while subliminally suggesting to them that various technologies around the Big MT would help them against him. These technologies - a sonic emitter, an X-2 antenna, and a Stealth suit Mk II - are actually all the components required to rehouse a brain inside a body. Eventually, the Courier defeated the X-42 giant robo-scorpion, entered the Forbidden Dome, and confronted Mobius.
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
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This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. | |
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This character is a permanent companion. They grant the - perk. | |
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This character is a temporary companion. | |
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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: You are to go to Mobius' lair and either kill him or reason with him.
Other interactions
- He will offer the Courier a Mentat upon interacting with him through dialogue, once per 24 hours.
- If you have consumed alcohol and Mobius asks you if you would like a Mentat you may turn it down saying you would rather avoid mixing it with alcohol.
- If you are already addicted to a drug when he asks you if you want some Mentats you can refuse stating you are tripping as it is already.
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | Brain beam Brain mesmetron |
- | Electron charge pack Mentats Psycho Stealth Boy Fission battery Scrap electronics Scrap metal Sensor module |
Notes
- Mobius mixes up a few of his words often. For example, instead of saying reason, quite, and desert he'll say raisin, quiet, and dessert.
- If you enter combat with Mobius, he will activate a Stealth Boy, and it will become impossible to target him in V.A.T.S. He will also summon several robo-scorpions.
- Dr. Mobius has significantly more health than the other Think Tank members. He also becomes stronger as the player's level increases, increasing in power every 10 player levels. The only other Think Tank member that also increases in power with the player's level is Dr. Klein.
- Although he is at first shown to be the antagonist of the Big MT, he is in actual fact saving the surrounding areas by confining the think tanks to the dome where they cannot perform their immoral experiments on the rest of the Mojave. (Borous alone is responsible for creating cazadores and night stalkers).
- Mobius programmed the Sink Central Intelligence Unit to accept bottle caps, allegedly as a "debug command". The reality was that Mobius was obsessed with what the post-nuclear war economy would be like, and correctly predicted that bottle caps would be the predominant currency of the new era.
- You can't "yield" to Mobius. Your decision to assault him is final.
- Mobius refers to tripping on psycho and Mentats. This can be seen in the upper rooms of the Forbidden Zone dome, which contains both samples of psycho, and an extremely large supply of Mentats.
- He was responsible for the creation of all of The Sink intelligences, except for Muggy.
- If you say that you "think you're going to kill him", Mobius claims he's never been killed before (obviously true), and that he's eager to see how it goes, obviously keeping to the nature of the think tanks. He'll still fight back and summon his robo-scorpion army, though.
- If Dr. Mobius survives the final Old World Blues quest, the Courier may return to Dr. Mobius and ask for Mentats. Dr. Mobius, through a roundabout way of speaking, will inform the Courier that more will be available every 24 in-game hours.
- He has the most damaged and rusted body, compared with other Think Tank members.
Notable quotes
- "I see you. Now, I end you."
- "Stop that! You'll damage the hull."
- "Well, there's many things they have forgotten, sitting in their bowls. Friendship. The thrill of discovery. Love. Masturbation. The usual."
- "You're really quite difficult to ignore, you know. It's because you're... well, bah! Rather intriguing, if you forgive an old brain for saying so."
- "It is I, Dr. Mobius, transmitting from my dome-shaped... dome in the Forbidden Zone. A zone... that is, yes... forbidden to you."
- "Think Tank... I wouldn't even use binary to describe my exponential hatred for you."
- "Bullets in the head are usually much more fatal, and yours was a light case of bullet-head-itis."
- "2 plus 2 equals {inaudible mumbling} 4-Bidden, idiots of the Think Tank!"
Appearances
Mobius appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
Behind the scenes
- Mobius was inspired by Dr. Edward Morbius, the antagonist in the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, as well as the name of his base was inspired by the name of the film.[1] He also references it in dialogue.
- His name is also a reference to the Möbius strip or Möbius Band, a 3D object which topologically has only one side.
- Mobius can say sometimes "Mmmmmm Men-thats" calling Mentats "Menthats", it's a reference to "Mmmm (object)" of Homer Simpson in the animated sitcom The Simpsons.
- The 'murderous gang of thugs' that he said once went looking for a spine, a heart, and a brain, but had them all along is a reference to Frank L. Baum's book The Wizard of Oz. The thugs refer to The Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion.
- If the player character has taken the Wild Wasteland trait, Mobius will mention keeping several "Plan 9s in place". This is a reference to the cult-classic, 1959 science fiction/horror film "Plan 9 From Outer Space", written and directed by the infamous Edward D. Wood Jr.
- The song Dr. Mobius occasionally sings in his lab ("Electron's attached to the... neutron. The neutron's attached to the... meson. Meson's connected to the... proton") is a reference to the spiritual song "Dem Bones" ("The leg bone is connected to the knee bone. The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone. The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.").
- His farewell dialogue "Please mind the equations on the floor" is a reference to a Greek scientist and engineer Archimedes, who was killed by a Roman legionary during the Second Punic War, purportedly because he angrily shouted to the legionary who unintentionally stepped over his mathematical writings on the ground, "Do not disturb my circles!"
- If asked about a non-violent way to deal with the Think Tank, Mobius will suggest appealing to their humanity, mentioning how "A wise man once said that the eyes do more than see". This is likely a reference to the short story "Eyes Do More Than See" by Isaac Asimov.
- If you talk to Mobius after defeating the giant robo-scorpion, you may be forced into killing him, as you can only end the conversation with "enough, I came here to kill you." This can be avoided if the player has a repair skill of 75, permitting the player to repair the "ghosting" in his optical sensors. This will open up the conversation to leave him be without killing him. However, the player can still kill Mobius if they so choose. Otherwise, the player must reload a save prior to talking to him.
Gallery
References
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