“So, those half-wits are getting messages from the professor, right? So, he's off somewhere, broadcasting to 'em. But without those buggers to do things for him, he can't do much for himself. So, we cut off his ability to talk to 'em, and he'll need to try harder. Maybe then I can find the squishy little worm, and finish him off for good!”— Desmond Lockheart
Thought Control is a Fallout 3 quest that is added to the game with the Point Lookout add-on.
Quick walkthrough
| Main Quest: Thought Control | |||||||||||||
| After receiving Desmond's instruction to plant the cogwave jammer on the Wheel of Wonder, travel there. | |||||||||||||
| Once arrived, Calvert (brain) will try to convince the Lone Wanderer to side with him and destroy the device, opening up two options: | |||||||||||||
| Side with Desmond and install the Cogwave Jammer on the Ferris Wheel. | Side with Calvert and use the trash compactor to destroy the cogwave jammer. | ||||||||||||
| Return to the Calvert Mansion. | |||||||||||||
| Reward: 300 XP | |||||||||||||
| Leads to: A Meeting of the Minds | |||||||||||||
Detailed walkthrough
Talk to Desmond
Desmond Lockheart reveals the brain to be Professor Calvert, a brilliant pre-War scientist and the last remaining member of the Calvert family. Desmond has a long history of tampering with the Calvert family, going as far as staging a scandal between a Presidential nominee and a dog. He then instructs the Lone Wanderer to plant a cogwave jammer on the Wheel of Wonder that will disrupt the messages that Calvert has been trying to send throughout the Point Lookout area. When approaching the Wheel of Wonder, Calvert's voice will try to persuade the Lone Wanderer to side with him instead and destroy Desmond's device.
To plant or not to plant
Upon reaching the Wheel of Wonder, two options become open, but either choice will not greatly affect the main storyline or change the player character's Karma.
Side with Desmond
- Install the Cogwave Jammer on the Ferris Wheel. Calvert's signal is disrupted and a group of tribals will attack from the roofs and at street-level.
- Once all the attacking tribals are dead, the Lone Wanderer can return to the mansion.
- This route will cause all the unnamed tribals at Ark & Dove cathedral to become hostile. The named tribals will not be hostile unless they witness the Lone Wanderer attacking any unnamed tribals. Nadine will remain friendly.
Side with Calvert
- Use the trash compactor to destroy the cogwave jammer. Follow Calvert's instruction to place it in a nearby trash compactor.
- Calvert will then instruct the Lone Wanderer to return to the mansion.
Return to the Mansion
Regardless of which path is taken, return to Calvert Mansion. Upon approaching the mansion, it will be destroyed in a huge explosion that knocks the Lone Wanderer over.
Reward
- 300 XP
- 250 caps after completing a Speech check. After hearing the voice of Professor Calvert, the Lone Wanderer may return to Desmond and extort 250 caps from him.
Quest stages
Bugs
Even after destroying the cogwave jammer in the trash compactor, you can still walk up to the Ferris wheel and it has the "Activate Ferris Wheel" option, which if you click it, it says "The Cogwave Jammer has been installed.", when it really hasn't been. (All Versions) Doing so may leave you unable to complete the quest with the "Return to Mansion" objective never being able to be satisfied.[verified]- If you fast travel to a different area while Professor Calvert is telling you to destroy the cogwave jammer, you may not be able to finish the quest. You can't plant it or destroy it until the power turns on, which is after Professor Calvert is done talking. When you come back to the Ferris wheel or trash compactor later it will tell you that the power needs to be turned on, and there is no way to do it. Even if you don't do the fast travel, you may be forced to take Desmond's path.[verified]
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