Frederick Sinclair was a pre-War businessman, serving as the founder and financier of the Sierra Madre and a close affiliate of the Big MT research company. He is mentioned in the Fallout: New Vegas add-ons Dead Money and Old World Blues, and makes an appearance in the Fallout TV series.
Background[]
Financial recovery[]
Though a wealthy businessman with a boastful and egotistical disposition, Frederick Sinclair suffered many crippling financial losses around the 2070s, but nonetheless managed to hold on to the remainder of his fortune and even expand it. It was believed that his near-poverty affected Sinclair deeply to the point he remained obsessed with security for years to come.[1]
One of Sinclair's biggest prospects was as a major client of the Big MT think tank, which developed much of the technology he utilized in his ventures.[2][3][4][5]
Meeting with Vault-Tec[]
At some point before the Great War, though previously known as simply an affiliate of the company,[6] Sinclair was apparently chosen to represent Big MT at a corporate executive meeting held at a Vault-Tec building in Los Angeles alongside other industry heads: Vault-Tec's Barb Howard and Bud Askins, REPCONN Aerospace's Julia Masters, West Tek's Leon Von Felden and RobCo Industries's Robert House. He was informed of Vault-Tec's protracted plans to extend their network of vaults across the nation and heard their offer of selecting some vaults to be used for social experiments at the behest of the corporate heads, which he participated in.[7]
- See: TV series inconsistencies for more information about the contradictions between Sinclair's potrayal in the Fallout: New Vegas add-ons and the TV series.
The Sierra Madre[]
Sinclair was once friends with lounge singer Dean Domino, who introduced a fellow performer, Vera Keyes to him. From that moment, Sinclair fell in love with the starlet,[8][9][10] and thus started on his greatest project to create an impenetrable safe haven in which she would be protected from the impending nuclear apocalypse, the Sierra Madre Casino & Resort.[11]
Despite every measure taken to ensure its outcome, Sinclair did not anticipate that his plans were compromised from the very beginning.[12] In truth, Domino had introduced Sinclair to Vera, with whom Domino once had a torrid affair if the tabloid press was to be believed, as part of a plot to break into the casino vault and take the treasures that lay within for themselves.[11] Upon learning the truth, Sinclair's heart was shattered and filled with bitterness and a desire for revenge. He set about preparing a trap, and had the builders design the casino so that the vault, once accessed, would be impossible to escape.[13][14] However, after Vera confessed her betrayal to him, overcome by guilt, Sinclair, remorseful, decided enough was enough, and it was time that the casino returned to its original purpose.[12]
Although he would never again love her like he did, left hollow by her betrayal, Sinclair could not bear to condemn Vera to the death he planned for her after hearing her genuine guilt and remorse. Sometime shortly before the Great War, he returned to the vault and removed the terminal entry he wrote for her, replacing it with an apology. Subsequently, Sinclair attempted to jury rig the shelter's electronics to remove the trap by directly accessing them from the pipes,[12] but due to a leak in the system, he succumbed to the effects of lethal toxins that had been amassing in the ventilation. For the next 200 years, his remains lay undisturbed in the bowels of the Sierra Madre resort, separated from his once-true love Vera forever, while the grand resort was turned into a nightmarish city of the dead that lured countless wasteland treasure hunters to their doom choking on the poisonous miasma that blanketed it.
Notes[]
- When inside the vault during Heist of the Centuries, Sinclair's skeletal remains can be found lying on a set of pipes next to a duffle bag near the vault door (below where the extracted holotape is found)
- If one approaches the corpse, they are identified as "The Founder's Remains."
- While having the appearance of a skeleton, the Founder's Remains are actually a container, albeit with nothing inside it.[15]
- Since most of the technology found at the Sierra Madre was developed there, Sinclair is mentioned in numerous terminals across Big MT during Old World Blues.[2][3][4][5]
- Sinclair held a nostalgic feeling for the Art Deco era, which factored into his designs and the aesthetic of the Sierra Madre.[16]
Appearances[]
Frederick Sinclair's skeletal remains appear in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money and he is mentioned in the add-on Old World Blues. He appears in a pre-War scene in the Fallout TV series episode "The Beginning" where he is portrayed by Michael Mulheren.
Behind the scenes[]
- The quote attributed to Sinclair, "Know that on the night of the Gala Event I shall raise my glass and whisper, 'Fortunato.'" is a direct reference to "The Cask of Amontillado", a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Chris Avellone stated that the character's last name is a nod to Upton Sinclair.[Non-game 1]
TV series inconsistencies[]
- In Dead Money, Sinclair is stated to merely be a client of Big MT, whereas his appearance in the Fallout TV series presents a characterization that differs from that of the game, as he is shown to be the company's representative at the executive meeting with Vault-Tec and willfully offers up unethical suggestions for the Vaults' experiments. His exact relationship with the company and his role within it that would lead to this is currently unclear.
- Sinclair's physical appearance in the TV show is very different from how it is depicted in Dead Money. However, considering that his appearance from the game comes from a mural depiction, it might have an explanation as being that the mural shows him as he looked like in his youth, rather than what his actual appearance was in the 2070s.
- After reviewing the TV series, Chris Avellone, the project director on Dead Money, publicly questioned the depiction of Sinclair, saying that the character's physical appearance on-screen "didn't really mesh with his appearance in the Sierra Madre," seemingly indicating that the murals found in the Sierra Madre during Dead Money were intended to be an accurate portrayal of Sinclair. Avellone also commented that Sinclair representing Big MT was "weird" and disputed his characterization as a willful participant in advocating for cruel experimentation in the Vaults.[Non-game 2]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Dead Money loading screens: "Sinclair, the financier and architect of the Sierra Madre casino was obsessed with security, believed due to his own financial losses."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Y-0 research center terminal entries; Terminal; Requisition Order: Dispensers
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Y-0 research center terminal entries; Terminal; Dispenser Funding Update
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Z-38 lightwave dynamics research terminal entries; Terminal; Requisition Order: Holograms
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Z-38 lightwave dynamics research terminal entries; Terminal; Vera Keyes: Hologram Progress Report
- ↑ Z-43 innovative toxins plant terminal entries; Terminal, Requisition Order: Chemical Suits
- ↑ Fallout TV series, Season 1, Episode 8: "The Beginning"
- ↑ Dean Domino's blackmail evidence
- ↑ The Courier: "Why did you need her?"
Dean Domino: "Because she could get closer to Sinclair than I ever could. He built this place for her... well, after the two 'chanced' to meet."
(Dean Domino's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Can you tell me about her?"
Dean Domino: "Vera was a big star, back before the Bomb. Not the best actress, but... well, she had other talents. Nice voice, nice legs. For some reason, Sinclair... he built this place... she caught his eye. Once he was hooked, that was it, had to have her. So made the introductions, and guess what? He builds this place for her, like some kind of Cleopatra obsession. Wasn't always a deathtrap."
(Dean Domino's dialogue) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 Extracted holotape
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Sierra Madre vault terminal entries; Vault control terminal, Vera, To Vera.
- ↑ Sierra Madre vault terminal entries; Vault security terminal, Elevator Protocols: Warning.
- ↑ Sierra Madre vault terminal entries; Vault maintenance access terminal, Vault Security System Protocols: Warning.
- ↑ Container functionality, or using a Moveable Static, is required for nameplate displaying.
- ↑ Dead Money loading screens: "Sinclair was drawn to the nostalgic Art Deco era, and it's reflected in the architecture of the casino."
Non-game
- ↑ Chris Avellone: "It was a nod to Upton Sinclair. In essence, the Villa and Sierra Madre was supposed to be a safe village in the event of war."
- ↑ "Fallout Apocrypha: TV Series Review Part 2" by Chris Avellone
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||