James ( Fallout 3 ) James ( also known as Dad ) is the Lone Wanderer ' s father and Vault 101 ' s resident doctor in 2277 . Background . Early life and Project Purity . James was born in 2226 . Later in his life he met a group of scientists and formed a team . One of them was Dr . Madison Li and another was Catherine , the love of his life . The group had one goal , to provide clean , free water for the Capital Wasteland , that was soon dubbed Project Purity , and its main objective was to purify all the water in the Tidal Basin at once . James was the chief scientist and leader of the project , however , when his wife died after giving birth to the Lone Wanderer , he left the project to its fate and traveled to Megaton with the help of Star Paladin Cross . He then asked for entry for himself and his child into Vault 101 in return for becoming the vault ' s new physician , and the overseer granted his request . Life underground . Upon being accepted by the overseer into Vault 101 , James becomes the vault ' s new physician due to his extensive medical knowledge and training . James never warmed up to the totalitarian state of the vault ; his only wish was to return to the Wasteland to bring clean water to the people of D . C . However , because of his love for his child , he decided to stay , raising his child until they became of age . Never forgetting this mission or his deceased love , he reminds himself of her and his mission to give purified water to the Wasteland through his love ' s favorite biblical quote , Revelation 21 : 6 , which he framed and hung in his living quarters and office in the vault . He went through great lengths to ensure his child ' s happiness , from throwing them parties even to giving them a BB gun that his best friend found in the reactor room , which he fixed using parts from Butch ' s switchblade . Return to the world above . In 2277 , James planned to return to the surface , leaving his child in the vault to be safe . His assistant and friend Jonas distracted the guards so he could escape and therefore the overseer had Jonas killed . Despite James ' plans , his escape triggered a security crisis in Vault 101 , where several security guards and the overseer believed that the Lone Wanderer had something to do with it , but the Lone Wanderer was completely unaware that James had escaped from the vault . However , the Lone Wanderer picked up a holotape recorded by James and discovered a secret passageway in the overseer ' s office leading directly to the Vault 101 Entrance . The Lone Wanderer then escaped the vault and followed his trail . James first went to the small town of Megaton to visit Colin Moriarty , who he had met nineteen years ago on his way to the vault . He asked Colin what ' s been happening in the wasteland since then and Colin told him about Galaxy News Radio . James left in a hurry and managed to make his way through the ruins of Washington , D . C . , and reached the GNR building plaza , where he talked to Three Dog . He told James what had been happening recently in the wasteland , and then James left to find Dr . Li . Arriving at Rivet City , he asked for Madison ' s help to restore the project but she declined . Then he headed off to the old lab at the Jefferson Memorial . James soon found out he needed a Garden of Eden Creation Kit . He marked his way to Vault 112 to find Stanislaus Braun , the creator of the G . E . C . K . , and to learn more about it . James arrived at Vault 112 and entered the Tranquility Lane simulation . He talked with Braun but did not want to play any of his games , so Braun trapped him in the body of a dog named " Doc . " The Lone Wanderer arrived in Tranquility Lane and soon frees their father . After a talk , the two return to Rivet City . At Rivet City , James successfully recruits Madison Li and her team and they head to the Jefferson Memorial . After arriving at the memorial , the scientists soon get things back on track , but then the Enclave arrive . The Ultimate Sacrifice . Augustus Autumn entered the facility under guard of Enclave soldiers . The activation room has been locked and Autumn begins to threaten James , demanding he hand over the activated Project Purity . James explains that the project is not yet functional , but then , after the other scientist in the room is shot and killed , James submitted and caused a disruption within the activation room . This caused a massive radiation leak that killed everyone in the control room with the exception of Autumn . James then collapses and dies of radiation poisoning , after telling his child to run . Interactions with the player character . Other interactions . Birth scene : James delights over the birth of his child , presenting the child to his wife , who expresses pride and happiness before going into cardiac arrest . James then tries , to no avail , to save her . Appearances . James appears in " Fallout 3 " and " Fallout Shelter " . A photograph of him appears in " " .