Father Elijah is a former Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout: New Vegas. He is the primary antagonist of Dead Money.
Background[edit]
Elijah was a Scribe within the Brotherhood of Steel who was promoted to the rank of Elder, a position typically reserved for Paladins. His promotion was an exception, attributed to his significant aptitude for understanding and analyzing advanced technology.[1]
Elijah's technical skills were widely acknowledged, particularly his ability to assess and comprehend complex machinery with minimal analysis. His approach emphasized not only the recovery but also the enhancement of pre-War technology, a perspective that diverged from the Brotherhood’s traditional emphasis on preservation.[2]
During his tenure as Elder, Elijah frequently deployed Scribes on missions to retrieve lost or advanced technologies, often acting on fragmented or speculative leads.[3]
His efforts to innovate and develop new technologies, including experimental weaponry, generated conflict with the Brotherhood’s leadership. These disputes ultimately led to Elijah being reassigned to the Mojave region, where he was tasked with investigating the Hoover Dam and assessing its potential for reactivation.[4]
By the time Elijah arrived, the New California Republic had already secured control of the dam. In response, Elijah redirected Brotherhood operations to the nearby HELIOS One solar energy facility. His focus on securing and activating the facility, along with resisting NCR forces, resulted in the Brotherhood neglecting the emergence of the Van Graff family as local distributors of energy weapons.[5] Elijah ultimately abandoned the Brotherhood during the conflict at HELIOS One.[6]
Operation: Sunburst[edit]
During Operation: Sunburst, the Brotherhood of Steel suffered significant losses while attempting to hold the HELIOS One facility. Despite the deteriorating situation, Elder Elijah continued to direct operations, remaining focused on acquiring technology that could be used to counter the New California Republic. He authorized a series of missions that were considered by some within the Brotherhood to be tactically unsound. These missions ultimately led to the discovery of the experimental ARCHIMEDES II weapon system. Elijah believed that activating ARCHIMEDES could shift the balance of power in the Brotherhood’s favor.[7]
Elijah ordered Brotherhood forces to hold HELIOS One until the system could be brought online. However, the NCR eventually overran the facility before the weapon could be fully activated. Elijah disappeared during the battle, and his whereabouts were initially unknown.[7][8]
Following his disappearance, Elijah continued to pursue technological advancement independently. He sought out locations containing remnants of pre-War scientific research and development, including the Big MT facility, referred to by Elijah as the Big Empty, as well as the Sierra Madre and the Divide. Elijah viewed these sites as potential sources of technology that could restore or reshape the Brotherhood's future.[9]
Elijah came to believe that the Brotherhood's existing structure was unsustainable and that its survival depended on radical change. He advocated for a new beginning centered around the acquisition and deployment of advanced technologies, regardless of ethical concerns. His post-Brotherhood travels included time among the Ciphers of the West and further exploration of the wasteland in pursuit of these goals.[10]
Big MT[edit]
During his travels, Elijah discovered the Big MT facility, also known as the Big Empty, which contained a substantial repository of pre-War technology. Upon arrival, he was briefly captured by the Think Tank, but escaped shortly thereafter by overriding their containment systems. According to Doctor 0, Elijah subsequently took control of Little Yangtze, an abandoned prison facility, where he experimented with explosive collars and refined their operating frequencies.[11]
While at Big MT, Elijah encountered Ulysses, who informed him of the Sierra Madre and its rumored technological assets. Elijah began preparations to travel there by continuing his collar experiments at Little Yangtze. He used the surviving prisoners for testing, searching for and eventually isolating the Sierra Madre Broadcast signal.[12] He also suffered neurological strain from excessive Mentats usage, which he used to enhance his cognitive abilities during this period.[12]
To avoid detection, Elijah relocated several times, including to the rooftop of the Signal Hills Transmitter and the cliffs above the Big MT North Tunnel. He utilized malfunctioning Securitrons for defense and established a series of fallback positions.[13] Elijah eventually accessed the Think Tank’s mainframe, disabling Doctor 8's voice module and rerouting Doctor 0’s processors to gain control of the Big MT train network. He used this to force open a sealed tunnel, allowing him to escape the facility.[11]
After leaving Big MT, Elijah traveled to the Sierra Madre region, bringing with him advanced weapon prototypes such as Elijah's Advanced LAER and Elijah's Jury-Rigged Tesla Cannon, though these were later abandoned. He carried with him a Gauss Rifle and knowledge he believed would allow him to reshape the Mojave.[14] He also established a forward base in the Mojave by refurbishing an Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel Bunker, which he intended to use after securing the technologies of the Sierra Madre. He conducted multiple reconnaissance trips between this location and the Sierra Madre, including analyses of the Cloud, a persistent toxic agent, and its environmental impact. Prior to entering the Sierra Madre, he left a final message for Veronica in case he did not return.[15]
Sierra Madre[edit]
Upon arriving at the Sierra Madre Casino, Elijah encountered multiple forms of pre-War technology. The pervasive Cloud had prevented environmental degradation and served as a deterrent to intruders. He also identified advanced automated security systems, including functioning hologram units, which he believed could be weaponized as autonomous battlefield assets.[16]
Among the technology Elijah found most promising were the Sierra Madre Vending Machines, which could fabricate supplies, tools, and other items using Sierra Madre Chips as a resource. Elijah envisioned these machines as a means of creating a self-sustaining infrastructure, capable of producing food, medicine, ammunition, and currency and serving as the foundation for a new society. His long-term goal involved using the Cloud as a form of population control, holograms for defense, and the vending machines for provisioning.[17]
Unable to unlock the casino’s vault alone, Elijah employed a strategy of capturing and coercing individuals using explosive collars. He lured treasure seekers via the Sierra Madre broadcast and forced them into a series of tasks necessary to access the vault. Among these individuals was Dog, a Nightkin with a fractured psyche, whose submissive personality enabled Elijah to manipulate him without the use of a collar. However, internal conflicts among the conscripted teams led to frequent betrayals and failures, with many perishing before completing their objectives.[18]
One group eventually succeeded in granting Elijah access to the vault, but all were killed in the process. Elijah remained trapped inside due to the facility's automated lockdown protocols. To prevent future failures, he modified the collar system so that the death of one individual would trigger the death of all remaining collared individuals. He remained isolated until Dog, following previously issued instructions, captured a new subject, the Courier, whose Pip-Boy allowed Elijah to reestablish external communication.[19]
Elijah then instructed the Courier to gather the remaining collar subjects: Dog and God, Christine Royce (a former Brotherhood operative dispatched to assassinate Elijah), and Dean Domino, a pre-War ghoul entertainer. He directed them to activate the Gala Event, which opened the doors to the casino.[20] Once the vault was accessible, the Courier confronted Elijah, leading to the culmination of the events surrounding the Sierra Madre.
Interactions Overview[edit]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| This character starts quests. | ||
| This character has a physical disability. | ||
Quests[edit]
- Find Collar 8: "Dog": Elijah sends the player character out to recruit Dog in the Villa Police Station.
- Find Collar 12: Christine: Elijah sends the player character out to recruit Christine Royce in the Villa Clinic.
- Find Collar 14: Dean Domino: Elijah sends the player character out to recruit Dean Domino in the Residential District.
- Heist of the Centuries: The Courier can either kill, join forces or imprison Elijah inside the Sierra Madre vault.
Other interactions[edit]
- If the Courier has exhausted all dialogue about him with Veronica before starting Dead Money, they can bring her up in conversation in the vault's chamber.
- If he is trapped in the Sierra Madre vault, he can be heard mumbling to himself on his radio signal.
Endings[edit]
| # | Slide | Voice-over narration | In-game condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
In the years that followed, the legend of the Sierra Madre faded, and there were no... new visitors to the city. Years later, when a mysterious blood red cloud began to roll across the Mojave, then West toward the Republic, no one knew where it had come from. Only that it brought death in its wake. Attempts to find the source of the toxic cloud failed. The Mojave was cut off. Through the Cloud, lights were seen from HELIOS One. There were stories of ghosts immune to gunfire, who struck down anyone they saw with rays of light. The last chapter of the Mojave came when a modified REPCONN rocket struck Hoover Dam, releasing a blood-red cloud, killing all stationed there. All attempts to penetrate the Cloud and re-take the Dam failed, and both the NCR and Legion finally turned away from it, citing the place as cursed. In the years that followed, communities across the West began to die as traces of the Cloud began to drift over lands held by the NCR¹. Only two remained alive in the depths of the Cloud, at the Sierra Madre, waiting for their new world to begin again. |
The Courier sides with Elijah. |
- Elijah is killed fighting the Courier
- Elijah meets his end abruptly in the vault, where he fights the Courier and falls in single combat. His corpse, along with that of Frederick Sinclair, lies in the now totally inaccessible vault forever.
- Elijah is locked in the vault
- Elijah, lured by the promise of the Sierra Madre, cannot escape. Once inside the vault, the casino does not let go. When Elijah finally passes away, the casino creates a new hologram to walk with the other ghosts that fill its casino. It is a pre-programmed homage intended for another. It assumes a new meaning in the likeness of Elijah. A means of allowing even the dead to begin again.
Inventory[edit]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Father Elijah's Robes | Gauss Rifle* | Stimpak Microfusion Cell |
- *Elijah carries two Gauss rifles; a normal one which he will drop upon death, and a special non-player character-only version which he will use if his regular Gauss rifle is dropped. Elijah's non-player character-only Gauss rifle is coded as a companion weapon; it does not use ammunition, cannot be disarmed and cannot be looted.
Notes[edit]
- Elijah claims to have made more Holorifles, but he does not use any, nor are there any others in Dead Money. However, by listening to his broadcast while in Salida del Sol, the Courier can overhear him bemoan giving up the holorifle.
- Elijah is a challenging combatant. Besides his powerful Gauss Rifle, he has a high amount of Hit Points for a human character, more than most companions with the exception of Dog and God and Lily.
- Elijah has a Pip-Boy himself, despite the fact that he belittles the Courier's use of one on several occasions. This is best seen with a Stealth Boy and closely looking while inside the vault. He also uses it to control the force fields in the casino vault.
- His in-game appearance differs from his holographic representation.
- Locations visited by Elijah in Old World Blues can be identified by scattered Drained Microfusion Cells left in the area.
- Elijah appears to have been capable of reprogramming the Sierra Madre vending machines, and adding new items to their production lists, as evidenced by the machine's ability to produce holorifle modifications.
- Elijah's line "Ask! You still have time," spoken in dialogue with the Courier once the latter has opened the Sierra Madre's vault, is spoken as if Elijah is standing next to the Courier, without the added sound effect of conversing over radio/intercom/terminal speakers.
Quotes[edit]
- "Finding it, though, that's not the hard part. It's letting go."
- "Sources of food, supplies, medical assistance, ammo, make more collars, even print currency! Make a nation. The Cloud allows me to wipe the slate clean."
- "I'll scour Hoover Dam with the Cloud, rain its walls with spears from the sun - with an army of Old World ghosts behind me, Holograms all. I'll kill them until it's only me, me alone in a quiet world. In a world that's nothing like what happened at HELIOS One."
- "That thing on your wrist - it's a convenience. It tells you where to go, what to do, dulls your brain.. It may have helped you find the Sierra Madre broadcast, but it's just as much a crutch today as it was in the Old World."
- "Once they realized the Sierra Madre could be theirs, they cared nothing for their freedom... their survival... or each other."
Appearances[edit]
Father Elijah is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, and appears in the add-on Dead Money.
Behind the Scenes[edit]
- Chris Avellone stated that fake topic lines where Veronica discusses Elijah were added as placeholders in the game files so not to spoil then-upcoming DLCs.[Dev 1] He also mentioned that he worked with Eric Fenstermaker to create the dialogue, and sat in on the recording sessions with Felicia Day to make sure it connected Veronica's backstory with Elijah. Fenstermaker also set up the bomb collar victims in the Mojave to set up evidence for Elijah's path.[Ext 1]
- Elijah was planned for inclusion in Van Buren. He was described as a "good guy" who locked the Brotherhood of Steel from their Power Armor to avoid a war with the NCR. This led to the Brotherhood of Steel relying on Stealth Boys.[Dev 2][Dev 3][Dev 4] In the Maxson Bunker design document, Elijah is not mentioned, and instead the armory would be locked by Devon Hill.
- Avellone also mentioned that Elijah was intended to track the player throughout Dead Money but this was determined to be too complicated and was scrapped.[Ext 2]
- At GDC 2012, Avellone gave a presentation which described Elijah as a "Post-Apocalyptic Merlin" super genius who is looking for Pre-War Tech. He was also intended to the player using their Pip-Boy so the quest objectives would appear to be written by him, and he could download notes, holotapes etc. onto the Pip-Boy.[Doc 1]
Gallery[edit]
Christine and dead Elijah in the cut endings slide
As depicted in Cash Out
Slide from a 2012 GDC presentation by Chris Avellone
Concept Art from the same presentation
References[edit]
|
- ↑ Chris Avellone: "Doing these hooks aren’t easy to mask because everyone can have access to the GECK and files on release, so as one example – with Felicia Day’s recordings where Veronica discusses Elijah post-Dead Money, we had to make up fake topic lines in order to mask who she’d really be talking about when the DLC was released."
(Unmasking the Gamers Chris Avellone - Part 3 - ↑ Chris Avellone: "No, Elijah locked the Brotherhood out of their own armors and almost no one else had them."
Van Buren Developer Statements - Characters; Chris Avellone, Elijah and Power Armor Availability, 2016 January 2 - ↑ Chris Avellone:"Yeah, that was caused by the Stealth Boy usage. They had to partially resort to Stealth Boys because Elijah (a good guy in VanBuren) had locked the BoS out of their Power Armor to try and stop them from waging war on the NCR."
Van Buren Developer Statements - Characters; Chris Avellone, Elijah's Role in Van Buren, 2022 March 10 - ↑ Question:"@ChrisAvellone Dead Money was so underrated dude. I have so many questions for Elijah that my character couldn't ask."
Chris Avellone:"He was supposed to be in Van Buren (but a good guy). Would have been speech opportunities then, alas!"
Van Buren Developer Statements - Characters; Chris Avellone, Elijah in Van Buren, 2016 August 18
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