The Power of the Atom The Power of the Atom is a " Fallout 3 " quest . It is also a PS3 trophy , and an Xbox 360 and PC achievement . In the quest , the Lone Wanderer is given the choice of disarming or detonating an atomic bomb , thus deciding the fate of a town and its inhabitants . The quest is considered to be one of the best in " Fallout 3 " , and has been described as " game - defining . " Detailed walkthrough . This quest is given to you by : Rig Megaton ' s atomic bomb to explode . To rig the bomb , the Lone Wanderer has to place a fusion pulse charge , given to them by Burke , inside the bomb . This requires an Explosives skill of 25 or higher for a successful attempt . Mentats and / or the Raider blastmaster helmet can be used to boost the Explosives skill if the player character is within seven points of the required threshold . In the Japanese version of " Fallout 3 " , Mister Burke does not appear and the player character cannot get the fusion pulse charge . The only options are to disarm the nuke or ignore it . Report to Mister Burke in Tenpenny Tower . After rigging the bomb , meet Burke at Tenpenny Tower , which is southwest of Megaton near the RobCo facility . There , the explosion can be observed from a safe distance together with Burke and Tenpenny . Mister Burke will give the player character the ' privilege ' to push the button to detonate the bomb . Doing so instantly lowers the player character ' s Karma by 1000 points . If Karma before detonation was 0 or negative , a change of - 1000 Karma will instantly lead to the lowest possible Karma in the game . If helping Roy Phillips take over Tenpenny Tower in the Tenpenny Tower quest prior to completing Power of the Atom , the player character may still complete Power of the Atom . When returning to the top floor penthouse , the player character will stumble onto Roy Phillips and Mister Burke having a conversation . Roy is intimidated by Mister Burke and the fact that he made his way to the top floor . Roy agrees with Burke on the matter of blowing up Megaton and also states that he could use a man like Burke , thus Burke begins a new partnership with Roy Phillips . Disarm Megaton ' s atomic bomb . Lucas Simms wants the Lone Wanderer to disarm Megaton ' s bomb . The player character ' s Explosives skill must be at least 25 to attempt this . Taking some Mentats and / or equipping the Raider blastmaster helmet can temporarily increase it to the necessary level , unless it was very low to begin with . If successful , the player character will get a cash reward and the keys to a personal Megaton house . The cash reward is usually 100 caps , but with a successful use of the Speech skill on Lucas ( before actually disarming the bomb ) the reward can be upped to 500 caps . If the player character declines payment , they will typically gain 200 Karma instead . If the bomb is disarmed before speaking to Simms , he will give the player character 100 caps if it is brought up in further conversation . Mister Burke will leave Megaton after defusing the bomb . As a result of disarming the bomb , Talon Company mercenaries hired by Mister Burke will randomly appear in an attempt to kill the Lone Wanderer . Optional : Deal with Mister Burke . This section of the quest is optional . The player character can kill Burke after speaking to him , without talking to Simms first . Killing him will result in good Karma and avoid risking Simms possibly getting killed . The player character can also accept the quest to blow up Megaton , and then kill Mister Burke , without penalty . Optional : Leo Stahl ' s drug stash . If the Explosives skill is insufficient ( below 25 ) , the player character will be unable to rig or disarm the Megaton bomb . If Perception is at least 5 and / or the Explosives skill is at least 20 , it can be sufficiently raised by consuming Mentats . One nearby source of Mentats is Leo Stahl ' s drug cache , which is hidden inside a desk within the water processing plant . One can gain access via the " Leo ' s Drug Habit " quest , by picking the lock on the desk ( very hard ) , or by speaking to Doc Church . Report Mister Burke to Lucas Simms . After speaking to Burke , a new dialogue option will become available when speaking with Lucas Simms , which can result in him confronting Burke about the plot to destroy Megaton , as long as one ' s Karma is low enough ( if the fusion pulse charge has already been acquired , mention it , and Simms will take it away and proceed ) . Take care not to " cry wolf , " so to speak , because he will not believe the player character if the initial warning is rescinded . Lucas Simms will tell the Lone Wanderer to follow , after informing them that they ' re about to see " Wasteland justice " first hand . Simms will then attempt to arrest Burke . Burke will deny the allegations , but will eventually agree to be detained and suggest that Lucas " Lead the way . " As Simms turns to lead Burke to jail , Burke pulls a silenced 10mm pistol on Simms and kills him . ( It seems that , if Simms manages to exit the room before Burke takes the shot , the latter will just shoot at nothing in particular . Lucas Simms can then be found dead , outside the saloon . ) Most of the time , saving Simms would involve killing Burke before he draws his weapon , or even before Simms confronts him ( which will still yield the same amount of positive Karma ) . However , if one wishes to listen to the dialogue between Burke and Simms , one can still prevent Simms from dying by killing Burke as soon as he pulls out his gun . To do this , have a high powered gun ( scoped . 44 Magnum , sniper rifle , combat shotgun or possibly even a decent melee weapon like a baseball bat ) drawn and ready while the two are having their conversation , and as soon as Mister Burke draws his gun , blast him ( preferably a headshot to ensure an instant kill ) manually or with V . A . T . S . If it takes more than one shot ( either in or out of V . A . T . S . ) to kill him , Mister Burke may still kill Simms . It is possible to shoot the silenced 10mm out of Burke ' s hand instead of killing him . This will give the sheriff time to respond and give the player character more wiggle room in dealing with Burke , since he will now be unarmed . If Burke is killed before he kills Lucas , the sheriff will thank the player character afterward . The same response is given whether or not Burke is killed before or after he drew his weapon . It is also possible to immediately press the action button to talk to Burke just before he attempts to kill Lucas after Lucas tells Burke to follow him and turns his back . He will be irritated but will pause to speak . During this time the player character can take out their own weapon and kill Burke . If one doesn ' t act fast , Simms is killed . Afterward , Mister Burke will threaten the Lone Wanderer and disappear . If Burke is killed before he disappears , he says his friends will avenge him . If Burke kills Lucas Simms and then the player character kills Burke , both bodies can be looted . This will net a silenced 10mm pistol and a Chinese assault rifle , plus some caps and ammunition . If Lucas Simms dies , one can still complete this quest by talking with his son , Harden Simms , after disarming the bomb . Neither option will result in a negative reaction from the townspeople , though they may comment " better him ( or her ) than me " if they see it take place . If in any way the player character accidentally hits Simms , the town may become hostile and retaliate . Seducing Mister Burke . If playing as a female character and have the Black Widow perk , Burke can be seduced and persuaded to spare Megaton . He will then leave the city , with the promise of sending for the player character later ; he will even send love letters , which can be picked up at Moriarty ' s Saloon . Another possibility is persuading him to give the Lone Wanderer 1 , 000 caps upon detonation of the bomb , as opposed to the 500 normally given . Using the Black Widow perk to seduce Burke still results in him putting a hit out on the Lone Wanderer if the bomb is disarmed later .