Vera Keyes

Vera Keyes was a pre-War starlet for whom Frederick Sinclair built the Sierra Madre. Though long dead, she appears in the form of holograms and is a major part of the backstory.
==Background==
Using the stage name "Vera Keyes," the young starlet made a name for herself in Hollywood for her impeccable beauty and for appearing in a number of poorly-written romances that drew large box office crowds regardless of critical reception, such as Love Sets Sail!.Dead Money loading screen hints: "Not much is known about Vera Keyes, only that that is not believed to have been her real name."Dead Money loading screen hints: "Vera Keyes was a Pre-War Hollywood starlet. Her claim to fame was a number of poorly-written romances that nonetheless drew in large box office crowds - and poor reviews." She also starred opposite Cooper Howard in Under the Covers, a film that Howard was fond of enough to frame the movie's poster at his home.
Keyes was one of the celebrities invited to the Grand Opening of the Sierra Madre Casino. Of all the guests there, she had a special connection to the casino - she was the inspiration for its construction by its founder, Frederick Sinclair. Sinclair worshiped the ground she walked on and built the casino as both a monument to her and a fortress to protect her. Sinclair was no fool; he could easily see the war on the horizon, and he wanted his love to be safe from it. So he built the Sierra Madre, with its vault as the ultimate nuclear fallout shelter, for him and his love. Vera's voice was the key to the casino's vault, specifically, the words "begin again" and "let go" spoken in her voice into a specific terminal in the casino would activate the elevator down into the casino's vault.
Dean Domino, an old flame of Vera's, introduced her to Sinclair after seeing that she had caught his eye. But things were never simple: Dean had grown resentful of the other man and decided to take everything from him, and Vera had been coerced to agree to help with his plan because of past history.Dean Domino's blackmail evidenceSierra Madre vault terminals; Vault Control Terminal, Sinclair's Personal Accounts.The Courier: ""Dean Domino: " Look, I'm more about the short goodbyes than long thankful speeches... - partner. I know you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart. So let me give you something a little more practical - a way we both come out ahead."The Courier: "What do you mean?"Dean Domino: " "The Courier: "What do you mean?"Dean Domino: " Vera. "The Courier: "How so?"Dean Domino: "Sinclair was already puppy-eyed, so all I had to do was the introductions. "The Courier: "Go on."Dean Domino: "All she had to do was get inside the Sierra Madre for the Gala, then use her voice to open the door. "The Courier: "So what happened?"Dean Domino: " the end of the story - then you came along. "(Dean Domino's dialogue) When she later started to get cold feet, he secured her assistance by blackmailing her with evidence of her romantic "indiscretions" and her addictions to Med-X and super stimpaks. What he did not know was that the addictions stemmed from her taking the drugs as pain relief, a refuge from a terminal illness.Villa clinic terminals; Terminal, Appointment CalendarVera Keyes' medical report Meanwhile, the shame of betraying Sinclair was percolating to the surface of even her public persona.Torn journal Vera, overcome with guilt, finally told Sinclair of the plot. Although he had long known about her and Domino's intentions, he had managed to bear that fact. However, the confession blackened Sinclair's heart, and he turned the vault into a trap for Domino, making it impossible to leave so that he would have an eternity to contemplate his betrayal.Extracted holotape Sinclair eventually relented and attempted to return the casino to its original purpose, but this proved impossible, as it had simply been built too well. He did what he could and hoped that after the doors to the vault locked, the Sierra Madre Broadcast, the casino's emergency signal, would bring help from the authorities and unlock the vault's treasure -- Vera.
On the night the bombs dropped, the night of the Grand Opening, the casino locked its doors and its security systems activated. The security holograms massacred the guests, and Vera was trapped in her room, with only one way out. She pleaded for Sinclair to find and help her -- to no avail, as he had also perished. With no hope of a rescue, and the holograms recording her every word, Vera chose to take her own life. Before overdosing on her chems, she scrawled her last words, LET GO, on the wall.
Meanwhile, a malfunction with the emergency broadcast, caused by the Gala Event's broadcasting being routed via the emergency announcement system to save money, caused the advertisement for the casino's grand opening to be sent across the airwaves, rather than the intended rescue broadcast. For over two centuries, Vera's voice would act as bait, not for the rescue Sinclair had hoped for, but for potential treasure hunters, luring them to their deaths, urging them to come to the Sierra Madre, a place where they could begin again.
The earthly remains of Vera can be found in a chair in her suite, still wearing her gala dress. Her last moments were recorded by the security equipment, making the holograms patrolling the area, as well as the hologram in the Villa's fountain, take her form while playing her last words, a plea to Sinclair to let her go.
==Inventory==
==Filmography==
* Love Sets Sail!
* Under the Covers
==Notes==
* Vera Keyes was merely her stage name; her real name is unknown.
* Vera's skeletal corpse can be devoured if the Courier has the Cannibal perk and her corpse can be dismembered.
* She had made enemies with another starlet named Gilda Broscoe, because she took the leading role in Love Sets Sail! away from her due to her uncle being the producer.
* Before completion of Dead Money, the hologram of Vera in the hotel will be hostile to the Courier.
* Vera's skeleton can be resurrected using console commands, a trait that only Dr. Calis' skeleton from Old World Blues shares. This is because, in both cases, the skeleton is merely a piece of clothing worn by a regular NPC.
* Two unused versions of Vera Keyes exist "in the flesh." One is a placeholder used to run some scripts for the recording in the Sierra Madre executive suites and the ending slides. The other is a ghoul intended for use as a corpse; her charred (yet fully clothed) skeleton was used instead.
==Appearances==
Vera Keyes' corpse, recorded voice and holograms in her likeness appear in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money. She is also mentioned in Old World Blues with many posters and pictures of her throughout the research facilities. She is also mentioned in the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor in dialogue with Gilda Broscoe,Gilda Broscoe: "Did you know that I was supposed to star in Love Sets Sail? The only reason that bitch Vera got the part is because her uncle was the producer."(Gilda Broscoe's dialogue) as well as in a film poster .
==Behind the scenes==
One of her songs is heard in-game on the mysterious broadcast radio station added by Old World Blues. It is performed by Stephanie Dowling and Justin Bell, with lyrics by Mikey Dowling and Chris Avellone. Other songs by her include Let the Bright Tomorrow in and Go to the Faraway.
==Gallery==
Deadmoney-screen02B.jpg|Holographic projection of Vera
VeraKeyesSkeleton.png|Vera Keyes' remains
Nvdlc01framepicture.png
Vera Keyes poster.png|Vera on the Love Sets Sail! poster
SMPoster1.png|Vera on a poster for the Sierra Madre
DeadMoneyStarletPhoto.png|A photo of Vera that was never used in Dead Money, but was used in Old World Blues
DeadMoneyStarletFlesh.png|Human model of Vera used as a base for the holographic projection
DeadMoneyStarletGhoul.png| Ghoul model of Vera that was unused in the game
FOTV Under the Covers (F76).png|Under the Covers poster
Vera Keyes design doc sheet.png|Vera's concept design sheet (see file page for transcript)
==References==
Category:Dead Money mentioned-only characters
Category:Old World Blues mentioned-only characters
Category:Far Harbor mentioned-only human characters
Category:Fallout TV series mentioned-only characters
Category:Pre-War actors
Category:Pre-War musicians
de:Vera Keyes
es:Vera Keyes
pl:Vera Keyes
ru:Вера Киз
uk:Віра Кіз