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Sturges A Synth?[]
Can we actually confirm that Sturges is a synth? Him dropping a component could just be coincidence.
- I don't know why you need more proof than this, based on the fact that nobody else drops synth components except synths. This is even how some people check their settlements for synth infiltrators, any settler who drops a component on death has been swapped with a synth. But I double checked and it was in the Fallout4.esm file that Sturges drops a Synth Component on death. I looked at a lot of other NPCs and only ones that the game itself has told us are synths have the synth component on death. (For example, Mayor McDonough and Danse have synth components where as 60-year-old Shaun does not)
He mentions all the time that he likes to fix things. If we say he's a synth, and a very confident one at that, I don't know why they wouldn't put a hint in the story or something, especially since he's essential so you aren't supposed to find out. Unless they put that in a DLC. I lean more towards him fixing a synth at some point, or maybe multiple. Perhaps a previous interaction with the Railroad?--Trpc21 (talk) 12:01, December 1, 2015 (UTC)
I honestly don't think he is a synth; wastelanders keep all sorts of odd trinkets and having a piece of a synth as one isn't too odd. Plus, he isn't immune to radiation damage which all synths are
Please note, Sturges is likely a 3rd Gen synth, who are susceptible to radiation poisoning like humans. They are based off of Father's DNA directly. They are not some form of advances from GEN 1 or 2s, they are simply ground up, from Father's DNA. They are susceptible to radiation... albiet with alterations to make them more resistant than usual.
Why Sturges is not a synth[]
The only piece of evidence that Sturges is a synth comes from looking at his death item in the game files. In the game, Sturges is set as essential, thus he cannot die. There is no way to kill Sturges without cheating. Therefore, his death item has no bearing on what is canon.
In the game files, there's a raider named Patches who sells weapons in the Combat Zone. Is Patches a canon character simply because he's in the game files? No, we refer to him as "cut content" and thus not canon. It's the same thing with Sturges. Just because it's in the files doesn't mean it's in the world.
I hear people refer to Sturges' unusually high Energy Resistance, and I have to ask "What energy resistance?". I finally went to confirm this and I looked at Sturges in game, I looked at him in the files, and I can't find it. He doesn't have this supposed resistance. The only resistance he has is the 10 damage resistance he gets from his clothing. See for yourself. If you don't know how to access the game files then either get the Awareness perk and target him in VATS or simply type the command "1a4d8.getav energyresist".
The game makes no reference to him being a synth. There's no file on him in the SRB, there's no dialogue where anyone even hints at it. Heck, if the game weren't on PC, no one would even suspect it. The only reason anyone even thinks he's a synth is because they looked at the things the developers had hidden. Again, this is referred to as "cut content".
Sure, make a note of it in the notes section, have fun with it in your fan fiction, but there is absolutely no reason this should be touted as canon and placed in the infobox. The only reason I'm not undoing the last person who put false info is because they're an admin.
Either we extrapolate from what we think the game intended, or we go strictly by what is there. We can't have both Sturges be a synth and Curie be a Mr Handy. Everything in the files points to her being a Miss Nanny from her texture color to sharing a voice actor with the other Nannies, but the game presents her as a Handy, so the wiki calls her a Handy. Sturges can look like a synth in the game files all he wants, but the game presents him as a human, so he's a human. There is no middleground. --Xernoc (talk) 20:31, January 12, 2016 (UTC)
Argument for Sturges as a Synth[]
Just my two cents and reasoning as to why Sturges should be perceived as a synth. Spoilers will follow; read at your own risk.
The general practice on the wiki appears to be that an NPC can be identified as a (3rd generation) synth on the basis of their inventory containing a Synth Component. This makes logical sense and follows the examples of self admitted synths such as Mayor McDonough, Art, Danse, etc. However, the argument which is being taken against this stance is that a Synth Component is not the final criteria on determining an NPC as a synth. This is perfectly sound; a Synth Component is a necessary condition of being a synth, but not a sufficient condition to declare one as a synth. The example has been given that a character (such as even the player) could merely have come into possession of a Synth Component.
However, if the statement "If it's a Synth, they have a Synth Component" is true, it follows that the contrapositive statement must also be true: "If they don't have a synth Component, they are not a Synth." This brings up the subject of much debate that is Glory. There has been much discussion as to the validation of her claim to being a Synth, despite the fact that she does not have a Synth Component. Her dialog continues to elaborate that she has maintained memory of her time within the Institute, leading players to believe that (1) she never had her memory wiped by the Institute if she were discarded by them or (2) she never underwent the voluntary "mind job" by Doctor Amari after being liberated from the institute. She even discusses her time within the Institute pertaining to the Synth G5-19.
It makes sense that the Institute would attempt to infiltrate a settlement in much the same way they had done with Diamond City and Warwick. Sturges could simply be their means of infiltration in Quincy and subsequently with the Minutemen following the Quincy Massacre.
"Death of the Author" arguments do not allow these issues to sufficiently be explained merely by the content and context of the narrative. After all, authors are not infallible. It takes deliberate action for a designer to place a Synth Component into the inventory of Sturges, but it only takes an accidental oversight to forget to place one in Glory's. It is for these reasons that I believe Sturges to be a Synth, by both the intention of the game's designers and within the contingency of the game's narrative. As for Glory, all of her dialog and actions within the game appear to declare her as a Synth as well, with only a slight oversight of the designers to be a discrepancy. Butterqup (talk) 21:44, January 12, 2016 (UTC)
- Glory is an entirely separate matter because her problem is a contradiction found in gameplay. The story and all dialogue claim her as a synth, yet she lacks what the game has taught us to be the defining mark: the component. Thus a contradiction that is found in normal play.
- Sturges is a different matter because there is no contradiction. In normal gameplay he has no synth component. Regardless of what his death item is, since he cannot die that makes his death item cut content. Since his synth component was cut, that means there is no question of his humanity and thus no contradiction. --Xernoc (talk) 23:09, January 12, 2016 (UTC)
Energy Resistance[]
What is the source of him having high energy resistance? Sturges in my game at Sanctuary Hills has energy resistance 0 as evidenced by getav EnergyResist. I can see nothing in the game data giving him energy resistance either. The only way I see for him to aquire energy resistance is giving him equipment with energy resistance. --Alfwyn (talk) 23:02, January 17, 2016 (UTC)
aswell is not a word.[]
It won't let me edit the page but can somebody please correct the "word" aswell in this article to "as well"?
Institute Background[]
"Before the events of the story, Sturges was liberated from the The Institute, presumably by The Railroad. He eventually arrived and settled down in Quincy, and joined the Commonwealth Minutemen." was recently added, I move it to here for now. What is the source of this? --Alfwyn (talk) 23:23, January 31, 2016 (UTC)