That Lucky Old Sun

That Lucky Old Sun is a side quest and achievement/trophy .
==Quick walkthrough==
==Detailed walkthrough==
===Finding the light===
If one talks to Old Lady Gibson at the Gibson scrap yard north of Novac, she gives a map marker to a location further to the north, the defunct power plant at HELIOS One. Approaching from the south leads to the discovery of the plant and that it's presently under NCR control, with the commanding officer, Lt. Haggerty standing out front. Walking up to her causes her to stop and question the Courier on why they're there:
* One of two passive responses will make Haggerty irate and ready to turn them away, leading to two new options:
** Passing a 30 Speech check to lie and say they have a brother who works there and wanted to visit.
** Passing a 30 Science check to point out that the tower is not working right and offer to help.
* An Accepted or better reputation with the NCR or wearing a disguise and passing a 35 Speech check allows for one to claim to be with the NCR. Failing the latter one will turn all soldiers hostile.
* Attack the NCR guards (more Karma is lost this way).
Whichever way the player character has convinced her, she tells them to talk to the "idiot wearing sunglasses."
Optionally, one can sneak in through a back door with a Very Easy lock (player loses Karma). From there, the player character should find the aforementioned idiot, Fantastic, and talk to him to begin the quest.
===The Fantastic talents of Ignacio===
In the back of the plant is a science lab of sorts, where the idiot, Fantastic, and Ignacio Rivas are trying to get the output of the plant up. Fantastic is a transparent fraud who clearly has no idea what he is doing whereas Rivas is an actual scientist, who is really working for the Followers of the Apocalypse, and worries that the plant is not merely a power plant, but a site for the development of pre-War military weapons that he wants kept out of the wrong hands.
Fantastic and Rivas explain that to get the plant running, the mirror control systems need to be connected to the mainframe and then the mirrors retargeted from the mainframe terminal in the plant itself. The two mirror control terminals require a password. Each man holds a password for one of the two mirror control terminals. Fantastic will give his up easily enough. Note that Fantastic's password is not in his inventory; it must either be obtained via dialogue or found in the same room as Rivas' password in a footlocker on the second floor.
To get the best rewards from Rivas by the end of the quest, the player must speak to him and make sure not to select "I'm with the NCR" when asked which group they fight for or belong to, nor select "War" when asked if they are a maker of war or peace. Any other option available will make him trust the Courier. Then, if he trusts them, talking to him further and telling him that "the NCR asked [the Courier] to increase the power plant's output" will lead to Ignacio asking the Courier to divert the power to the full region instead of only to the NCR. Ignacio will then also provide the eastern reflector control terminal password. If one did these steps, then at the end of the quest, after diverting the power, one will get the "Go talk to Ignacio" objective and get one of his possible rewards depending on where the player diverted the power to; the Big Book of Science being the reward for choosing to divert the power to the "full region," as he asked.
Failing to gain Rivas' trust will immediately prevent the Courier from receiving any rewards from him, no matter what other dialogue options are selected or actions done later in that quest. Likewise, even if one gained his trust, one has to mention that "the NCR asked [the Courier] to increase the power plant's output" before diverting the power in order for the "Go talk to Ignacio" objective to appear and be able to receive any rewards from him.
Rivas will only give the player character his password if they gain his trust by professing to be peaceful (or at least not trying to get involved, both available if the Courier states they only work for themselves), states that they want what he wants (must know Rivas is with the Followers, requiring a Speech check or Confirmed Bachelor perk), or if the player character claims to be with the Brotherhood of Steel. This may only be done in the first conversation. One can also pickpocket the password from him, or a duplicate password can be found in a second floor office, lying on a desk.
===Outside job===
Both terminals are inside small shacks on the outer perimeter of the mirror field. The west mirror control terminal requires the password obtained from Fantastic. The east one can be unlocked with the password obtained from Ignacio Rivas or from the office of the main building on the second floor by the room with the giant hole in the floor (take an immediate right after entering through the main door), or it can be hacked with 75 Science.
The western shack has multiple traps, including three frag mines, a rigged shotgun with a tripwire and two bear traps. Once the traps have been disarmed or avoided, the terminal just needs to be activated and "Reset Mainframe Connection" selected.
The second terminal is protected by several hostile NCR guard dogs. Killing them has no impact on NCR reputation and will not turn anyone nearby hostile. Activate it just like the first, by selecting "Reset Mainframe Connection."
===Heading skyward===
The Courier then enters the tower via a door near the base. Just past the door and a short hallway is an area with three hostile turrets and hostile robots. In a room just across from the entrance is an Easy-locked terminal that controls the turrets. This same room also has four armed land mines.
One must then wind through the rest of the building, destroying many robots along the way, until arriving at an elevator in the basement that takes the player character to the observation level. Along the way is a Poseidon Energy employee ID card. There are two lying on the floor in a room adjacent to the room with the elevator. There is a door in the elevator room with an Average lock that leads to the room with the IDs, or one can go back through a room filled with Protectrons and down a hall to reach the back door of the room. Combat with the aforementioned Protectrons can be avoided as they are contained in shielded charging stations until activated by a laser trip-wire at the base of the door to the room containing them. The tripwire requires a Repair skill of 85 or Science skill of 65 to disarm.
The observation level contains not much more than the mainframe itself and stairs to reach the exit door to the outer viewing deck. The mainframe is not working, as it does not have enough power because the attached generator is malfunctioning. The player character can either repair the generator (which is connected to the mainframe by a steaming hose) with a piece of scrap metal and 35 Repair or go up the stairs to find a maintenance bot called PYTHON, which can be activated with a Poseidon Energy employee ID card or with 45 Science. Once activated, the robot will repair the mainframe and then deactivate.
===Aiming a magnifying glass===
The terminal on the mainframe contains some notes the player character has probably already seen on previous terminals in the building and an option Configure Power Grid. Selecting it reveals 5 options:
# McCarran and Las Vegas Strip: By directing the extra power toward Camp McCarran and the Strip, the power will be transferred to the NCR home states along with the energy generated at Hoover Dam. NCR fame will be gained for making this decision.
# Fremont and Westside: This option will direct all the power toward the two poorest areas in the New Vegas area and the Followers of the Apocalypse camps located there. This pleases the Followers of the Apocalypse, though it will not benefit as many people as it potentially could.
# Full region: The energy will be distributed to the entire regional grid equally, but as a result everyone will only get a small amount of energy and the plant will suffer frequent brownouts. The Courier will gain a large amount of fame with the Followers of the Apocalypse and Ignacio Rivas will give them a Big Book of Science, 3 stimpaks and 2 doctor's bags as a reward for making this decision.
# ARCHIMEDES II: This option diverts power to the next-generation space laser system mentioned in the terminal notes and will give the player character the option of calling down space-laser strikes once every twenty four hours (patch update), provided the player character has also obtained Euclid's C-Finder. The Followers are satisfied with this option, as Ignacio Rivas does not know the location to which the power has been diverted. However, Ignacio will not give the Courier a Big Book of Science as part of their reward.
# Full region (emergency output level): This option overloads the plant, which prevents ARCHIMEDES from being activated (see further notes). This gains no reputation with any faction, as no one will be getting any power, but Ignacio Rivas will still give the player character a small reward out of sympathy.
Once one of the five options has been selected, the terminal returns to the main menu. A new option comes up at this point, Arm ARCHIMEDES Plant Defense System. If it is activated, then the ARCHIMEDES plant defense system will be triggered as soon as one activates the reflector control panel on the outside of the tower. Doing so will call down a laser strike on the area around the plant (unless power option 5 was selected), killing all the NCR personnel in the area. This result will earn the Courier massive infamy gain with the NCR and no rewards from either Fantastic or Ignacio Rivas, even if the power is diverted to their preferred location.
Until the choices are locked in by activating the reflector control panel, the status of the ARCHIMEDES defense system can be changed and the options for where the power goes can be changed.
===Switching on the sun===
Once the Courier has chosen the final power grid disposition and whether to activate ARCHIMEDES, the final step is to go up the stairs and through the door to the outside of the tower. The reflector control panel is down a spiral ramp to the left. It can only be activated between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., otherwise a message appears saying to wait. Once the control panel is activated, one of three things will happen:
* If one has chosen to activate the ARCHIMEDES defense system and has chosen option 5 (overload) for the power grid, horns will blare and a warning will play about the imminent weapon test, but shortly thereafter, everything grinds to a halt. If the player character is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, they can now go talk to him to receive their reward. Otherwise, the quest ends.
* If one has chosen to activate the ARCHIMEDES defense system and has chosen any of options 1–4 for the power grid, the horns blare and warnings sound, this time everything works perfectly. All of the NCR troops in the area of the plant (inside and out) are obliterated in a massive display of pyrotechnics. The quest ends and the Courier gains a significant amount of NCR infamy. Fantastic and Ignacio Rivas will not have been killed, but will refuse to talk to the player character. If one leaves the power plant and returns after two days, the plant will be occupied by Caesar's Legion, who have stepped in to fill the void.
If one has not chosen to activate ARCHIMEDES, but has chosen any power grid option, the plant powers up.
* If one chose anything other than option 1 and is not trusted by Ignacio Rivas, the quest will end with no reward.
* If option 1 is selected (McCarran and the Strip), one can talk to Fantastic, who will be thrilled, claim all the credit, and give the player character nothing. The player character will gain a lot of NCR fame.
* If option 2 is selected (Fremont and Westside) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, one can talk to him to get 3 stimpaks, 2 doctor's bags, and a moderate amount of Followers of the Apocalypse fame.
* If option 3 is chosen (Full Region) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, they can talk to him to get a Big Book of Science, 3 stimpaks, 2 doctor's bags, and a large amount of Followers of the Apocalypse fame.
* If option 4 is selected (ARCHIMEDES II) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, they can talk to him to get two stimpaks, a doctor's bag, and a small amount of Followers of the Apocalypse fame.
* If option 5 is selected (Full Region, Emergency Output Level) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, they can talk to him to get 3 stimpaks and 2 doctor's bags; however, there is no reputation gain.
No matter how the quest ends, Experience Points are gained.
==Quest stages==
==Notes== 
* In order to avoid glitches and bugs, it is a very good idea to wait by the reflector control panel at the top of the tower until the entire powering up sequence is done, whether the player character has elected to activate ARCHIMEDES or not. The sequence ends with a bright white light filling the screen (if ARCHIMEDES was not activated) or a large laser beam coming down from the sky, causing a massive explosion (if ARCHIMEDES was activated).
* If Arcade Gannon is an active companion, after first talking to Fantastic and learning what to do to power up the plant, he will encourage them to distribute the power over the Freeside and Westside districts of New Vegas, saying the NCR does not need it. With 7 Intelligence, the player character can convince Arcade that the NCR needs HELIOS One as a backup (doing so earns one "trust point" towards triggering For Auld Lang Syne). He may not say anything if the quest was started before receiving him as a companion. Whatever distribution choice the player character makes, he will comment on it. Arming ARCHIMEDES will cause him to get angry and leave permanently or become hostile, depending on the Courier's response to his confrontation.
* Activating the ARCHIMEDES defense system while having Boone as a companion might cause him to confront the player character and possibly leave or become hostile, depending on the player character's current NCR reputation. This is not unique to HELIOS One; he will confront the player character if their NCR fame/infamy ratio goes below neutral, or if he has warned the player character once about hurting the NCR and their reputation gets worse.
* If the player character did not arm ARCHIMEDES during this quest, they can come back later and arm it, then walk outside and the attack sequence will play (if they did not choose option 5 for the power up during the quest), producing the same infamy gain as if they did it during the quest. However, the NCR troops inside the building will not disappear, nor Haggerty and her troops at the front entrance and all NCR troopers in the area will turn hostile.
*If the player character returns after the Legion have taken over (after activating ARCHIMEDES), Ignacio Rivas will be dead and Fantastic will be wearing a Legion uniform. He has a whole new set of dialogue about his belief that Caesar's Legion is the next big thing.
* Fantastic can be killed without any loss of NCR reputation.
* If the Courier has joined the Legion and is Vilified by the NCR, this quest can still be completed. Just kill any soldiers encountered and no quest-essential NPCs will be hostile.
* Ignacio's dialogue serves as one of the triggers for the audio logs required to complete ED-E My Love.
* If one uses the console command to replay the quest, to be able to activate the reflector control panel and finish the quest, it will be necessary to target the control panel in the console (open console and click on the control panel) and type .
==Behind the scenes==
* The title of this quest is a reference to the song "That Lucky Old Sun" written in 1949 by Beasley Smith and Haven Gillespie.
* The passwords to the Eastern and Western reflector control terminals can be converted from hexadecimal into ASCII, producing the phrases "My voice is my passport" and "Too many secrets." The phrases are originally from the movie Sneakers, starring Robert Redford. They were used as computer passwords in that movie.
* Archimedes was the name of an ancient philosopher and scientist from Syracuse, Sicily. During the time of the Roman invasion, he created many military machines for the city to defend against Rome; one of them was said to be a collection of mirrors that redirected sunlight onto ships, setting them aflame.
* A number of remaining resources indicate that at one point, this quest included a method for completing it on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel, allowing them to take over the facility. Among other resources, the quest includes greeting dialogue for Brotherhood guards, indicating their satisfaction at gaining control of HELIOS One. Other unused resources include the guards themselves (FormID ) as well as the corresponding dialogue faction for these guards.
==Bugs==
* If Fantastic is killed before the power is restored, Ignacio Rivas may not provide the quest-ending dialogue option after powering up the plant and the quest cannot be completed. The only way to complete it is to kill Ignacio.
* If the player character goes to Hoover Dam to talk to the Commander before finishing this quest, Fantastic will be there instead of at HELIOS One, making it impossible to finish That Lucky Old Sun. To fix this, the player character must kill Fantastic at Hoover Dam.
* If the player character chooses to arm ARCHIMEDES, the orbital strike may not activate and all NCR soldiers within the base will become hostile. Arcade Gannon will still leave the player character.
* If the player character leaves the room after activating PYTHON, but before he fixes the generator, he will be deactivated when walking back inside again and will not perform the fixes.
* If the Courier obtains the password for the second terminal without talking to Rivas and activates ARCHIMEDES, Rivas will refuse to talk to them afterward and the quest cannot be completed. Killing Rivas completes the quest but no XP or rewards will be given to the Courier.
* The guard dogs guarding the eastern mainframe may not appear.
* If the player character speaks to Ignacio Rivas before speaking to Fantastic to learn about realigning the mirrors, Ignacio may not bring up the dialogue to suggest the player character reroute the power to the entire region. This will result in him not acknowledging the player character activating the plant, preventing the player character from receiving Followers fame and ending the quest.
* Ignacio Rivas will not give the Courier a Big Book of Science for completing That Lucky Old Sun by evenly distributing the power.
Category:Fallout: New Vegas side quests
Category:Fallout: New Vegas NCR quests
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