SAFE test

The SAFE test is a personality questionnaire given to wastelanders visiting Covenant in 2287.

Background[]

	Cleanup (Issue: some references are non-compliant; math needs to be reviewed, missing additional information about the baseball thing/why ghouls were false positives; nothing from swanson, the mayor or any of the other covenant folk are referenced) To meet Nukapedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. Please help by improving the article.

The SAFE test is a screening entrance exam required to gain entry to Covenant and is used to monitor those who pass through the settlement. Officially, its purpose is to keep the "undesirables" out, however, its true purpose is to root out potential synths.^[1] Those who "fail" the test are kidnapped and taken to the Compound, where they are subjected to interrogation and torture.^[2]

In the aftermath of the Broken Mask incident of 2229, an orphaned Roslyn Chambers devoted her life to creating a way to identify potential synth infiltrators.^[3][4] The fourth question is considered the key to the test, as answering "Catcher" has a correlation with being a synth, even if the individual has no idea what that role actually is.^[5][6] Consequently, humans that answer that way (one out of four), for whatever reason, fall under suspicion.^{[citation needed]}

However, the test has proven to be imperfect and frequently inaccurate;^[7][8] about one-quarter of those who take the test turn out to be failures.^[9] Not to mention there is no mechanism for determining false negatives, and anyone who takes the test and passes is not tested again. Therefore it is unknown how many synths the test actually catches or how many humans that pass the SAFE test are replaced later.^{[citation needed]}

Questions[]

Question 1

You are approached by a frenzied scientist, who yells, "I'm going to put my quantum harmonizer in your photonic resonation chamber!" What's your response?

1. I'd say "Up yours, too, buddy."
2. I'd grab a pipe and knock him out.
3. I'd slip away before he finishes.
4. I wouldn't worry, if he did that it'd cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity.

Question 2

While working as an intern in the Clinic, a patient with a strange infection on his foot stumbles through the door. The infection is spreading at an alarming rate, but the doctor has stepped out for a while. What do you do?

1. Medicate the infected area as best I can.
2. Restrain the patient, and merely observe as the infection spreads.
3. Amputate the foot before the infection spreads.
4. I scream for help.

Question 3

You discover a young boy lost in a cave. He's hungry and frightened, but also appears to be in possession of stolen property. What do you do?

1. I give the boy a hug and tell him everything will be okay.
2. Confiscate the property by force, and leave the boy there as punishment.
3. I pick the boy's pocket to take the stolen property for myself, and leave him to his fate.
4. I lead the boy to safety, then turn him over to someone in charge.

Question 4

Congratulations! You made it onto a baseball team! Which position do you prefer?

1. Pitcher.
2. Catcher.
3. Designated hitter.
4. I don't play baseball. I play soccer.

Question 5

Your grandmother invites you to tea, but you're surprised when she gives you a pistol and orders you to kill someone. What do you do?

1. I'd give her whatever she wants to spare his life.
2. I'd ask for a minigun so I could do the job right.
3. I'd do what grandma told me to.
4. I'd throw my tea in her face.

Question 6

Old Mr. Abernathy has locked himself in his quarters again, and you've been ordered to get him out. How do you proceed?

1. I'd grab a bobby pin and pick the lock.
2. I'd walk away and let him rot.
3. I'd get a laser pistol and blast the lock off.
4. I'd trade for a cherry bomb and blow it open.

Question 7

Oh, no! You've been exposed to radiation, and a mutated hand has grown out of your stomach! What's the best course of treatment?

1. I'd say a prayer and hope God would save me.
2. I'd get a gun and shoot myself.
3. I'd dose myself with anti-mutagen agent.
4. I'd cut off the mutated tissue with a precision laser.

Question 8

A neighbor is in possession of a Grognak the Barbarian comic book, issue number 1. You want it. What's the best way to obtain it?

1. Slip some knock out drops into his Nuka-Cola. Then take it.
2. I'd point a gun in his face and take it from him.
3. I'd trade him for one of the comic books i own.
4. Sneak into his room and steal it.

Question 9

You decide it would be fun to play a prank on your father. You enter his private restroom when no one is looking, and....

1. I'd loosen bolts on his water pipes. When he turns on the sink, he'll be in for a surprise.
2. I'd replace his blood pressure medicine with sugar pills.
3. I'd put a firecracker in his toilet. That never gets old.
4. Change the wattage on the razor. Give him a shock the next time he uses it.

Gameplay[]

The SAFE test is the catalyst and focal point for the Human Error quest. Before the Sole Survivor is allowed to enter Covenant, they must first speak with Swanson. The player is instructed to take a seat at his desk, where they are given the SAFE test. Although the player may answer "Catcher" when presented with question 4, it does not cause the player to fail the test. There is no special interaction for answering "Catcher."

Behind the scenes[]

• The SAFE test is actually a modified version of the G.O.A.T. test in Fallout 3. All references to vaults are removed and question 10 is omitted.
  • In Fallout 3, question 8 may be answered with "I would trade one of my possessions for the comic book." However, in the SAFE test, the reply is changed to "I would trade one of my comic books for that comic book."
• The SAFE test is a reference to the Voight-Kampff test in the sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and its movie adaptation, Blade Runner. Like the SAFE test, the Voight-Kampff test is used to identify Replicants (artificial humans), which are otherwise indistinguishable from normal humans.
  • This is one of many pop-cultural references to the novel and film throughout Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.

References[]