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Let's hope no one is going to any graves today... Other than our enemies, as we cast their forsaken souls to hell itself. Their screams echoing back as our merciless assault rips them from this mortal coil. Darkly we stride, tall and powerful, through this tunnel of death.

Aries, formerly known as Calvin "Cal" van Lowe, is an employee of the Blue Ridge Caravan Company at Big Bend Tunnel. Before adopting a new identity as Aries and finding Blue Ridge, Calvin was a cryptid hunter, inventor, and engineer working for the Bysshe Company prior to the Great War. He currently resides in a decorated train car in front of Big Bend Tunnel East. He is a major supporting character in Fallout 76.

Background[]

Early life[]

Calvin van Lowe was born around the 2050s.[Non-game 1] He grew up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, where his parents ran Van Lowe Taxidermy. His childhood was defined by small town America and the shop. The siblings inherited the shop in the wake of their parents' passing. Shelley, inherited the family business, though Calvin still maintained a residence and office in the building.[1] Growing up, he became fearful about the idea of dying, particularly about him being forgotten, dying alone and having no friend to read his eulogy. His fear of death became a driving force - and also led him to adopt a backup plan, to record a series of holotapes to be his legacy.[2][3]

His sister considered him as always being "the odd sort," but highly intelligent.[1] In adolescence, he developed an obsession with cryptids,[4] and later on co-founded a club with his friends Scott "Scoot" Conroy and Ray Gary: the Truth Seekers, devoted to hunting cryptids spotted in West Virginia.[5] However, the group disbanded after Calvin enrolled in Vault-Tec University in August 2072,[6] though his interest in cryptids never disappeared and he continued his search for the Sheepsquatch, with which he had a particular fascination.[4] He was a frequent buyer at Priblos' Curios, a small store dedicated to selling cryptid merchandise, and was a friend of the owner Raymond Priblo.[7] He is said to have nearly bought the store's stock.[8]

Soon after graduation, he found work at a major out-of-state energy corporation, the Bysshe Company.[1] While his mental acuity and cognitive skills were rated extremely high by professional psychologists at the company, they also observed that he suffered from a dissociative view of the social world and had limited ability to contextualize stimuli. He was also reported as experiencing frequent mood swings, indicative of non-functional interpersonal relationships and attachments to the contextualized world around him.[9]

Bysshe Blacksheep[]

FO76 Van Lowe Taxidermy (board)

Calvin's conspiracy board.

In 2077, Calvin returned to Lewisburg. Instead of the controlled self his sister remembered from before his departure to Morgantown, he appeared to be the old, tormented Calvin again: going out in the middle of the night and locking himself away all day. He moved back into Van Lowe Taxidermy, where he and Shelley shared a residence.[10][11]

His sister had doubts about whether Calvin was truly employed by Bysshe, or if he had just relapsed into his old habits. Calvin did in fact remain a Bysshe employee, though he was engaged in a far more sinister scheme. As "Blacksheep,"[12] working under Bo-Peep as handler, with Big Bad Wolf providing security, he was part of Operation Mary's Little Lamb: a corporate initiative to stage Sheepsquatch sightings around Lewisburg in order to drive property values down and allow the company to move in and buy up the devalued property. This way, the Bysshe Company could utilize Lewisburg to access a natural gas deposit underneath the town.[13] As a local to Lewisburg, Bo-Peep was enthusiastic about Calvin and pushed for the project, arranging for funds and necessary technology.[14]

While staying at his sister's home, Calvin sold the title to the taxidermy store to Bysshe, behind Shelley's back,[15] ensuring that they could build a sophisticated robotics lab into the foundations of the store in secret. The construction was rapid, finishing by September 27, 2077, and attracting only minor noise complaints from the neighbors.[16] Calvin focused on the project, planning to use a disguised Assaultron to stage a series of sightings on the western side of Lewisburg.[17] He had moved into Van Lowe's Taxidermy to avoid raising his sister's suspicion, but the project started waking up old demons and feeding his obsession with the cryptids again - so much that he recorded a holotape to remind himself that the Sheepsquatch was not real.[4]

Another complication was that the technology provided by Bysshe was not up to snuff. The first Assaultron was impossible to keep running, much less able to accommodate the custom routines necessary for the project. Calvin requested an upgraded robot from Bysshe,[18] which provided a superior replacement that Calvin found perfect for his purposes. However, the sightings did not generate the public attention Calvin hoped for, causing him to resolve to be more "aggressive."[19] Though corporate fixer Big Bad Wolf remained skeptical of Calvin's projects, he continued to support the operations, as the company wanted any return on the investments made thus far.[20] The lack of progress and demand for results compounded, leading to Calvin missing his scheduled check-in and receiving his first (and only) warning.[21]

Calvin was reminded of what the consequences were: a second failure to check-in would result in the whole project being scrapped and the Wolf cleaning up all traces of Bysshe's involvement. Frustrated by the threats, he resolved to make the Assaultron into a proper imposter Sheepsquatch for extra authenticity.[22] However, the damage was done and even Bo-Peep, once his advocate at Bysshe, became concerned, especially after Wolf showed Calvin's psychiatric evaluation to her. She resolved to see the job through, believing that Calvin's new approach was pure science, rather than social engineering. Calvin failed at the latter, but the former was playing to his strengths.[14] Wolf arranged a meeting to receive a report in person, unaware that Calvin was about to make a grave mistake.[20]

FO76WA Van Lowe Taxidermy secret lab far

Calvin's workshop and site of the accident.

The new approach required Calvin to make modifications to the Assaultron's core behavioral subroutines. Around October 18, 2077, Calvin started the process: skipping through the manual and hastily signing liability waivers, Calvin inserted a holotape with the sheepsquatch behavior into the console, uploading it to the Assaultron. He then set the parameters for "sheepsquatch mating rituals," in an attempt to hasten finding the actual creature. However, the Assaultron identified the request as conflicting with the company's HR guidelines and promptly filed a report. Calvin reacted instantly, trying to execute an administrative override and preventing the company from being notified. Rather than override, the Assaultron understood the command as overwrite and asked for confirmation. Calvin confirmed the request, realizing too late that he was replacing the original Assaultron programming, overwriting it completely with the sheepsquatch personality. The robot mauled Calvin, before escaping the shop into Appalachia.[23]

Its first steps led to Bastion Park, where Bo-Peep met a grisly end, vaporized by the Assaultron's head laser.[24] Calvin survived, barely, with a damaged face, unable to walk, and with internal bleeding. His emergency stash of medical supplies saved his life, barely, and he started recording his legacy holotapes, Protocol Adonais.[25] Unfortunately, he missed his second check-in, leading to the Big Bad Wolf starting the clean-up. By the time Wolf arrived at the taxidermy shop, Calvin was gone,[26] after he unsuccessfully tried to secure medical aid through Bysshe's network, only to be rejected.[27] Rather than hunt him down, Wolf focused on recapturing the loose Imposter Sheepsquatch.[28] Shelley van Lowe, completely unaware of Calvin's work with Bysshe, filed a missing persons report. Any attempt at finding him was cut short by the Great War.[29]

Aftermath[]

Calvin survived, barely, hiding in Uncanny Caverns. He greeted the nuclear holocaust of the Great War with a recitation of Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley, before emerging into post-nuclear Appalachia.[30] After the bombs settled, Shelley began circulating posters around Appalachia, hoping that someone would be able to bring her some closure with regards to what happened to her brother.[31] Eventually, she gave up and moved on, settling in Kentucky. She left Calvin a note in case he ever returned.[32][33]

Calvin had other priorities, however. Although the wounds were slowly healing, he was in constant pain, pushing through the pain to talk. He moved north, to Welch, to try and find his old friend and fellow Truth Seeker Ray Gary. He found him on the upper floor of Gary's home, badly injured in a wheelchair and lamenting his wife, Laura, having not returned from a scavenging trip. Slipping in and out of lucidity, Ray realized who Calvin was, happy to see his friend again after the bombs. Although he did not explicitly name the Sheepsquatch, Ray said that "it" was real and had been what injured him. Calvin responded with a solemn "I know." Unable to make Ray realize that Laura was gone, Calvin left Ray a bottle of whiskey and departed.[34][35]

Adopting a new name, Aries, Calvin left Appalachia, moving to Kentucky and starting work for an outfit known as the Blue Ridge Caravan Company. As a caravan guard, he was initially only assigned to the company's routes within Kentucky, but Aries returned to Appalachia around 2103, as Blue Ridge expanded operations into the area, now safe from the Scorched Plague. Aries developed a chipper, trickster-like persona over the decades since the Great War, in a complete change from the previous gloomy, brooding engineer he once was. The return to his home region certainly played a role, with Aries indulging in his penchant for drama to the point that it astonished even Eugenie, who had known Aries since he started work in Kentucky.[36] He still has an interest in all things cryptic, bizarre, and generally strange, though he keeps his obsessions under wraps with a healthy dose of humor.[37] His encyclopedic knowledge of these topics makes him an odd, but welcome addition to the team, while his insistence on wearing a mask all the time has led to good-natured ribbing. Herschel Klein jokingly theorizes that Aries is actually an alien stuck on earth, forced to make caravan runs to make ends meet.[38]

In reality, Aries is neither an alien nor a ghoul, simply a scarred human. The mask is necessary to keep his injuries stable and help him breathe, as having his face "ripped off" left long-term damage he was unable to fix.[39] The mask stabilizes his injuries and facilitates breathing, allowing him to work as a caravan guard like any other fighter.[40] Years of difficulty breathing due to blood caked up in his throat became manageable, with the added bonus of becoming unrecognizable to any Bysshe robots (the encounter left him with a deep fear of killer robots)[41] or former employees. Aries struggled the most with his legacy, in particular since his sister worked for the same caravan company he joined. It was a reason for him to stay, but he still struggled to figure out whether he should fade into obscurity or reveal himself to his family.[42]

Aiding the Brotherhood[]

Hello there, brave and venerable Knight Errant of the kingdom of Atlas, the fraternity of technology, the-- (sigh) Hey.— Aries to a Vault 76 dweller who joined the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force

Aries' return to Appalachia was a way to resolve his internal stalemate, while making a positive impact on the world. Aries believes that positive change occurs despite the world's resistance to it, and that effort makes a difference - no matter how difficult it is at first.[43] While Blue Ridge was busy blazing a trail into Appalachia through Big Bend Tunnel, Aries got the opportunity to provide more substantial aid. While he was technically just a caravan guard,[44] his Bysshe credentials and knowledge were instrumental when Paladin Leila Rahmani of the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force investigated a string of wastelander disappearances. Aries was crucial in navigating the Harpers Ferry tunnel where the disappearances occurred, which also happened to be used by Blue Ridge as a potentially safer alternative to other routes into Appalachia. Blue Ridge ceased using the tunnel, however, after a full caravan of about 15 people went missing en route, which alerted the Brotherhood.[45][46][47]

FO76SR Aries poster

"There's a trick to getting in. Gimme one shake of a Lambsquatch's tail to get it open. Let's see... Thirty days past September... Carry the two.."

Paladin Rahmani suspected Blue Ridge of foul play, which was not helped by Aries' and Joanna Mayfield's reluctance to explain their role with the tunnel. Aries was a prime suspect, as he was involved in travel through the Harpers Ferry tunnel until it was sealed up. Eventually, Joanna agreed to provide aid and ordered Aries to return to the tunnel with the Brotherhood and investigate it.[48] The "crime scene" was sealed up thanks to Aries himself, who set off a bogus gas leak to seal the tunnel off.[49] Although he never worked at the Harpers Ferry tunnel specifically before the Great War, Aries' knowledge of Bysshe procedures and technology[50] allowed the group to unseal the tunnel (albeit with some difficulty) and survive attacks by strangler-infested feral ghouls, granting them access to the deepest reaches of the infrastructure secretly built by Bysshe to ship natural gas out of the region unnoticed. Rahmani's suspicion of Aries only grew the deeper they went, spurred on by Aries' eccentric antics, coupled with Bysshe's arcane security measures[51][52] and a Sheepsquatch-mimicking Assaultron lurking in the tunnel. The latter in particular caused Aries' old demons to briefly resurface. Rahmani almost lashed out at Aries, suspecting an elaborate cover-up on part of Blue Ridge,[53] though she relented when Aries finally led them to the caravan stop. Rahmani and her aide located enough intel to implicate Edgar Blackburn and Hellcat Company as major suspects, simultaneously clearing Blue Ridge's name. The Paladin apologized to Aries for jumping to conclusions, though she ruled out sharing Hellstorm launchers with him as compensation.[54]

Adonais[]

Having contributed to saving Appalachia, Aries returned to making caravan runs with Blue Ridge and trying to decide his legacy. The first step was recovering his old Adonais holotapes, tracking the major events in his life from the mauling by the impostor sheepsquatch to the present day. The tapes were lost all over Appalachia in his travels, and he elected to hire the Vault 76 dwellers to help recover them.[55] He had caps to pay for the recovery, but he did not have the time to do it himself.[56]

The complete set of holotapes made it clear to the dwellers who he originally was ("food for the sheepsquatch," "felled at the hands of his own creation," as he says), and made Aries trust them. With everything they had experienced together, Aries chose to let them decide what his own legacy would be. In an unusually serious turn of events, Aries requested them to decide whether he should reunite with his family, or fade into obscurity.[57] Aries realized it was a difficult burden to bear,[58] but he was unable to decide, despite spending years thinking on the issue. Aries attributed his indecision to being a "wild card," but would abide by any decision made by the dwellers.[59]

More specifically, Aries was conflicted on whether or not he should reveal his true identity to Carver Timmerman. Unbeknownst to Carver, Aries is his step-uncle. Shelley van Lowe, Aries' sister, had married Deborah Timmerman after the Great War. Shelley and Deborah raised Carver together after his father, Gregory Timmerman, was presumed dead (having perished in the Burning Mine).[60][61] Carver had heard stories of his "Uncle Calvin" from Shelley, but did not know that he was alive. If Carver is shown the holotape Protocol Adonais #6, he is shocked to discover his familial connection to Aries. Although he is excited to know that his Uncle Calvin is alive, he finds that difficult to balance having already known Aries, and being slightly freaked out by his eccentricities. However, Carver knows that Aries has a good heart and will continue to keep him safe on the caravan routes.[62] Aries says he will also continue to spend time with Carver, as he is a good kid, and the time they spend together is rewarding. He does not have the courage yet to face Shelley himself, though he will leave a letter with Carver to deliver to her.[63]

No matter how his story is resolved by the Vault 76 dwellers, they can thank him for finally explaining everything, to which Aries will reply that he is proud of himself for holding back on his "tragic origin story" for so long.[64] The only unresolved question on Aries' mind is how exactly there was another Imposter Sheepsquatch in the Harpers Ferry tunnel. He had attempted to research Scoot Conroy's terminal at one point, but did not find anything definitive and became terrified by the idea that the Imposter Sheepsquatch was repopulating.[65] Aries speculates that the "sheepsquatch mating rituals" program could have, someway somehow, actually created a Sheepsquatch Imposterling. However, in typical Aries fashion, he playfully brushes off the notion when asked about it.[66]

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
Icon interactions essential
This character cannot be killed.
25 Strictly Business
This character is a temporary companion.
FO76 ui icon quest
This character is involved in quests.
FO76 icon map event
This character is involved in events.

Quests[]

Inventory[]

Notes[]

  • Calvin was a fan of the K.D. Inkwell series before the Great War.[67]
  • At some point, Calvin received a "Vigilant Citizen's note" asking him to distribute a series of discoveries and findings related to the "Treasure of Appalachia."[68]
  • His user ID at Bysshe is 24-26-15-5-18-13-5-26-13-15-12-4-22, which stands for C-A-L-V-I-N-V-A-N-L-O-W-E, encrypted using the simple Atbash cipher.[27]
  • Aries has hunted and eaten multiple Sheepsquatches. He says the meat has a stringy taste, with a unique mouth-feel, but one must watch for quills when eating it.[69]
  • Although he has no dialogue concerning the subject, multiple notes at the Middle Mountain Pitstop confirm that Aries has paid Clyde to investigate the Blue Devil. The weird note is encoded in a special cypher, and the note reveals that he is attempting to hunt down a Blue Devil mother. According to the investigation report, Aries is particularly interested in whether any Blue Devils have white coloration.[70][71]
  • Aries is responsible for the repeller generator at the Middle Mountain Pitstop, which he set up with a small team of people working alongside him. Although it does repel creatures, if the generator malfunctions, it has the unforeseen side effect of attracting hostile critters instead, which leads to the event Safe and Sound.[72]
  • Katherine Swan has a dislike of Calvin van Lowe due to him being a cryptid hunter.[73]
  • The keyart for the Once in a Blue Moon update includes a depiction of Aries, in which his mask is partially lifted and parts of his face underneath the mask are shown. There is scarring across his jaw and lip, though it is not to ghoul-like extents. He is also depicted smoking a cigarette.

Notable quotes[]

Appearances[]

Aries appears only in Fallout 76. Calvin van Lowe was first mentioned in the Wild Appalachia update, while Aries was introduced in the Wastelanders update. The Steel Reign update expanded upon Aries' character and indirectly revealed that he was Calvin van Lowe. The Once in a Blue Moon update concluded his story and confirmed the connection, with the quest Protocol Adonais.

Behind the scenes[]

Identity[]

  • Developer Carl McKevitt contributed to the design and writing of Aries' character, describing it as a passion project.[Non-game 2]
  • McKevitt confirmed that Aries is a human around 50 years old and not a ghoul.[Non-game 1][Non-game 3]
  • A reappearance of Calvin had been planned since the Lying Lowe quest line was first introduced.[Non-game 4] The Lying Lowe quest line was specifically designed to have a different kind of resolution than other content in the game, insofar as the player does not actually find Calvin van Lowe dead, or find any concrete proof of his supposed death. This opened the possibility for him to make a return. McKevitt stated that he never anticipated that Calvin would return as a caravan guard, but while writing characters for Riding Shotgun, he saw a "now-or-never" opportunity to subtly reintroduce Calvin. With Steel Reign, Aries' identity was openly revealed as he began to interact with other characters and his story could be expanded,[Non-game 5] then concluded with Once in a Blue Moon.
  • Aries is the Latin word for ram, commonly associated with zodiac sign. More specifically, a ram is a male bighorn sheep, a reference to Calvin's obsession with the Sheepsquatch.
  • His surname being "van Lowe" in the field of cryptid research may allude to the Lowe Hotel, which originally housed the Mothman Museum in the early 1990s.

Development[]

  • The holotapes featuring Calvin van Lowe's voice, as they first appeared in Wild Appalachia, were voiced by William Salyers. The character of Aries, introduced in Wastelanders, was voiced by Lucien Dodge. The Protocol Adonais holotapes, introduced in Once in a Blue Moon, were also voiced by Lucien Dodge. The original Wild Appalachia holotapes were not revoiced and still feature Salyers.
  • In a developer article spotlighting McKevitt's work on Fallout 76, he discussed writing for Aries and the importance of balancing wanting to tell the character's story, with making them a part of the player's story. "I really, really want to tell players about who [Aries] is, what he does and why he does it. But I have to remind myself: he isn't there just to tell his story, he's there to be a part of the player's story."[Non-game 2]
  • Aries intentionally says "viola" instead of "voila" during the events of Out of the Blue. McKevitt and a dialogue editor agreed that it would be a good addition and in-character for Aries to say the wrong word. McKevitt stated that he received many community reports from players who assumed it was a typo that made its way into the voice line.[Non-game 6]
  • McKevitt stated that any glitches that reveal Aries' face are not intended to be his "true" appearance and that he does not have a confirmed in-game appearance. It is actually what Kieran Kennedy's first model looked like in initial designs, before he was aged up to match the voice actor. As Kieran was the first guard implemented, his actor template was duplicated to Aries, who kept the old face model, obscured by the mask.[Non-game 7]
  • Colin was going to be Calvin's original name during an early point in his development, but McKevitt opted for Calvin as it was the name of his childhood pet hamster as well as the name of his Fallout 3 player character.[Non-game 8]
  • There is a cut NPC intended to be Calvin's corpse in the game files (Editor ID zzz_P01B_Lying_CalvinVanLoweCorpse and Form ID 00478D3E) named "Colin Van Lowe." There is also a cut key named Colin van Lowe's password.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Life with Calvin
  2. Protocol Adonais (holotapes)
  3. Vault 76 dweller: "'Protocol Adonais' -- what does that even mean?"
    Aries: "Spent my entire life before the bombs being afraid of dying. Had me doing stuff that, even today, I'm not proud of. I pushed everyone away. Except the fear. That never left. All alone, except for me... and the fear. The most frightening thought was dying alone, forgotten. No friend to read my eulogy. So, I made a plan: if the moment came, I'd record one myself. It... ended up going on a little longer than expected. In the end, I guess it's just a journal of my thoughts... and instead of proving my death, it's proof I'm still alive. Cool name, though, right?"
    (Aries' dialogue)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note to self
  5. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; terminal, Truth Seekers Meeting Archive
  6. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; terminal, 07/29/2072
  7. Letter to Calvin requested
  8. Raymond's pep talk
  9. Blacksheep dossier
  10. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; terminal, Receipt: 10/7/2077
  11. Life with Calvin
  12. Calvin's security code
  13. Vault 76 dweller: "The Sheepsquatch Imposter... Bysshe... What's the truth behind it all?"
    Aries: "Okay... Fine. All these secrets are getting heavy to lug around all day. Bysshe wanted Lewisburg for some natural gas deposit under it or something. I, a loyal and brilliant employee of theirs, happen to come from there. Since I'd sold my soul to the man already, it wasn't far beyond me to comply. Even if a little maliciously. What started as an attempt to utilize a local legend to scare people off, spiraled into me falling into my old ways. Obsession. Fear. Paranoia. Became so obsessed with finding the real Sheepsquatch that I made some... unfortunate miscalculations... Many years and multiple spit-roasted Sheepsquatches later, I emerged the man you see today. Unafraid and no longer alone."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  14. 14.0 14.1 Bo-Peep's note on Calvin
  15. Property deed
  16. Noise complaint
  17. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, Check-in #1
  18. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, Check-in #2
  19. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, Check-in #3
  20. 20.0 20.1 Wolf's letter to Bo-Peep
  21. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, Check-in #4
  22. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, Check-in #5
  23. Behavioral reprogramming
  24. Crime scene notes
  25. Protocol Adonais #1
  26. Van Lowe Taxidermy terminal entries; assembly platform, !!! - EMERGENCY CHECK-IN - !!!
  27. 27.0 27.1 Harpers Ferry tunnel terminal entries; terminal
  28. Pylon ambush site terminal entries; Bysshe remote robotics terminal, Note: Capture Procedure
  29. Wanted: Sheepsquatch
  30. Protocol Adonais #2
  31. Wanted: Sheepsquatch
  32. Discarded letter
  33. Libby Wen: "Is there no one else from your family that can run shipments for you, Carver?"
    Carver Timmerman: "Well my mom used to do this before she got sick. And I guess Shelley could, but then we'd be down a trapper. Why do you ask? I'm not very good at this, am I?"
    (Carver Timmerman and Libby Wen's dialogue)
  34. Welch terminal entries; terminal, Laura's gone, day 12
  35. Welch terminal entries; terminal, Laura's gone, day 16
  36. Protocol Adonais #4
  37. Aries: "Well, looks like the Truthseeker's Club of Lewisburg took on some new members. The real question isn't what it was, it's how many more are out there?"
    (Aries' dialogue)
  38. Herschel Klein: "You know that guard we got, Aries? He's got an encyclopedic knowledge of everything strange: cryptids, aliens, killer robots. I've been working on a theory: he IS an alien. His spaceship was destroyed when the bombs fell, and now he's stuck working for us just to get by. Poor guy. Must miss his home planet something awful."
    (Herschel Klein's dialogue)
  39. Vault 76 dweller: "What's with the mask?"
    Aries: "Oh just a little something to help me breathe... and to keep my jaw attached. You know what they say: play with fire, get burned. Play with killer robots, get your face ripped off."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  40. Vault 76 dweller: "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"
    Aries: "You mean the voice? The mask? It's not so much what, but who. And, uh, I think you've already been acquainted. It's my special reward for standing between a robot and love... Love that, uh, some one may have programmed it to seek out. I do not recall that programming requiring ripping the face off of any human in its path. Or hunting down Bysshe employees for that matter... But... Isn't mother nature amazing? It never hurts to ask. But the reason I'm wearing the mask did. A lot. Can't breathe without this thing now. If you ever think 'hey, I'm going to try and play God today.' Don't. Trust me."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  41. Vault 76 dweller: "Wait, a killer robot?"
    Aries: "What!? Where!?"
    (Aries' dialogue)
  42. Aries: "For years, I could barely breathe through the blood caked up in my throat. But little by little I found my footing again. Even back then, there all sorts of shit you could get mixed up in. Mistakes you made weren't just wiped clean when the bombs fell. So, I searched, and searched, until I didn't. That life ended with this caravan route. Found something here that gave me a reason to stay."
    (Aries' dialogue) Note: This line is heard during Event: Riding Shotgun.
  43. Aries: "This world resists the positive changes we try to bring to it, but ever so slowly, our efforts make a difference."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  44. Big Bend Tunnel terminal entries; terminal, Staff and Clients for Appalachia
  45. Vault 76 dweller: "What can you tell me about this train tunnel?"
    Aries: "The train tunnel itself isn't so important, but underneath is a top-secret gas pipeline running all the way out of the region. It's a pretty discrete route. Safe too, comparatively. Cept, uh, the most recent trip."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  46. Caravan manifest
  47. Events of the quest Out of the Blue.
  48. Joanna Mayfield: "Harpers Ferry. The train tunnel. Mind showing our guests the route?"
    Aries: "Oh crap. You really want to go back there?"
    (Aries and Joanna Mayfield's dialogue)
  49. Vault 76 dweller: "Okay, but what's the bad news?"
    Aries: "The bad news is that I can't unseal that door. Here's the quick version: clever little me locked that door by setting off a bogus gas leak alarm. But... It looks like in order to lift the lock-down, you need to verify there's actually no gas leak. The door is real picky like that."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  50. Vault 76 dweller: "How do you know so much about this place?"
    Aries: "Er... In a past life I used to work with these pencil pushing sociopaths in suits. Well, not at this facility, but I was in-the-know about their various nefarious dealings in the region."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  51. Aries: "There's a trick to getting in. Gimme one shake of a Lambsquatch's tail to get it open. Let's see... Thirty days past September... Carry the two..."
    Paladin Rahmani: "Is this for real?"
    Aries: "And viola! It's just a little further ahead. Please, after you."
    (Aries and Leila Rahmani's dialogue)
  52. Command parameters
  53. Aries: "Your boss looks like she's about to strangle me with one of those vines. Something happen in there?"
    Paladin Rahmani: "Aries, between the Feral Ghouls, the strangler vines and that insane sheep robot, I've about reached my limit with this place... and your antics. I don't know if this is some kind of trap, or elaborate cover-up, but we need to get through that door and get answers. Now."
    Aries: "Whoa, whoa, trap? Where's this coming from? Hold on, did you say "sheep robot"? Like the baa-baa kind, or the killer robot kind?"
    Paladin Rahmani: "Aries. The door. Now. Please."
    Aries: "Okay, just give me a second. Yeesh."
    (Aries and Leila Rahmani's dialogue)
  54. Paladin Rahmani: "Aries... I owe you an apology. My rash behavior was unfitting of my position, and frankly, unfair to you."
    Aries: "Eh, water under the bridge. All of my best friendships start with misplaced suspicion of mass kidnapping."
    Paladin Rahmani: "I will... take your word for it. I am sorry, either way."
    Aries: "If you really want to make it up to me, I've heard you guys have some killer rocket launchers to spare."
    Paladin Rahmani: "Absolutely not."
  55. Aries: "There's this thing I started... It's called... (ahem)... Protocol Adonais. Hold for suspenseful stinger... There's a series of Holotapes that were recorded over time as a part of this protocol. I need to retrieve them so I can finalize the process. I'll give you the coordinates to the most recent one. You should be able to track them down in reverse order from there."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  56. Vault 76 dweller: "And you'll be funding this adventure, right?"
    Aries: "Yeah, yeah. Travel expenses will be reimbursed. Just hold off on the mini-bar, keep your receipts."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  57. Aries: "I am-- or was-- Calvin van Lowe, supposed food for the Sheepsquatch, fool who was felled at the hands of his own creation. But figuring that out isn't the reason I sent you on this grand tour. There's one more tape-- and I have it here. Take it. Either burn it, or give it to one of the merchants here named Carver Timmerman. I want the decision left to fate. But you'll have to do. You can listen, if you want to know why. Or just burn them and be done with it. Up to you. I've sat on this for too long, time for this coin to land."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  58. Vault 76 dweller: "This is too much responsibility, Aries."
    Aries: "I... know. You're right. But that's the job. Caps in exchange for deciding my legacy. Sounds fair to me."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  59. Vault 76 dweller: "If you went through the trouble of recording this, you've already decided."
    Aries: "You'd think that right? Well I'm a wild card, pal. You know that. Give 'em away or burn 'em. I'll still sleep easy either way. It's the indecision I'm stuck on."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  60. Events of the quest Costa Business: Carver.
  61. Protocol Adonais #6
  62. Carver Timmerman: "It's so hard to wrap my head around. I've always wondered about my uncle Calvin... and it's really exciting to know he's alive. But, I'd be lying if I said that Aries didn't kind of... freak me out."
    Vault 76 dweller: "I think we all feel that way. But he's a good guy."
    Carver Timmerman: "Oh, I know he's got a good heart. He always goes out of his way to keep me safe..."
    (Aries' and Carver Timmerman's dialogue)
  63. Vault 76 dweller: "How are things with your family?"
    Aries: "I don't have the courage to face Shelley in person just yet... But I did leave a letter with Carver. Next time he heads back, I asked him to deliver it to her... He's a good kid. Spending time with him has been... pretty fulfilling, actually. He's more of a fainting lamb than a Sheepsquatch, and that's all right by me. Preferable, actually."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  64. Vault 76 dweller: "Thanks for explaining... finally."
    Aries: "You've got to admit, I've been real patient about revealing my tragic origin story. Pretty proud of myself."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  65. Protocol Adonais #5
  66. Vault 76 dweller: "I thought there was only one Imposter robot... But in Harper's Ferry..."
    Aries: "Oh, I know. It's been bugging me for a while now. Maybe you heard my, uh, breakdown at Scoot's cabin. I'm not sure how, but I think it's... reproducing. The special program I installed, it could... Well... Eh. I'm sure it's nothing."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  67. Aries: "I'm still thinking about other ways we might get this door open... Definitely not replaying old episodes of K.D. Inkwell in my head."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  68. Vigilant Citizen's note to Van Lowe
  69. Vault 76 dweller: "Wait, you ate a Sheepsquatch?"
    Aries: "I ate multiple Sheepsquatches. Kind of stringy, but has a unique mouth-feel. Gotta watch for quills, though. Ouch."
    (Aries' dialogue)
  70. Weird note
  71. Investigation report
  72. Vault 76 dweller: "What caused the place to get attacked?"
    Vera Thornberg: "Always been critters around these parts I hear. Gave us a lot of trouble when we converted these cabins into our Pitstop. Aries got his guys to install some fancy repeller speaker doohickies, which are supposed to keep them away. Not for nothin', but it's a heck-of-a mess. Has a tendency to break down and do the reverse. Sightin's of somethin' huge the last few times."
    (Vera Thornberg's dialogue)
  73. Katherine Swan: "Cryptid hunters like Calvin van Lowe are the worst. To say he got what was coming to him is the understatement of the year."
    (Katherine Swan's dialogue)

Non-game

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