Mobius

Doctor Mobius is a think tank operating in the Big MT in 2281. He is the leader of the robo-scorpion army and nemesis of Dr. Klein and the team to which he belonged.
==Background==
Doctor Mobius was one of the Big MT "Think Tank" executives before the Great War. Sometime after the War, he became a think tank in order to continue his work at Big MT. Like the others, he forgot a part of his personality and his real name, due to the recursion loop in their new perception programming.The Courier: "Sounds like you forgot your master plan - surprised you remember your own name."Mobius: "This name's as real as you or I, although I believe your brain expressed similar incredulity at the nature of such an appellation. Someone's been watching too many Old World science fiction movies, it said. I must admit I have a vulnerability for holotape fantasies of planets and robots and all that is forbidden. As for the name I was born with... ...like the Think Tank, we were all reprogrammed to forget them, take on new names. It enforces the recursion loop in our perception programming."(Mobius' dialogue)
After the escape of the cazadores and night stalkers, Mobius became disillusioned with the methods of the other think tanks. He grew tired of the endless and horrible experimentation and was deeply afraid of the damage the amoral and psychosis-ridden think tanks would wreak upon the fragile, post-apocalyptic world in the name of science.Mobius: "Dr. O... which is actually not his real name multiplied, since you can't multiply his real name in the first place... Klein... They have all forgotten themselves. And not only themselves, but the world, sense of time, and history. All that is left is what's here. I reprogrammed their chronometers, geometers, and cartography programs. This is now their world, here, Big It was a merciful lobotomy, really, thinking back. They were my friends, but... That's my professional opinion, anyway, and I am told I was once quiet professional."(Mobius' dialogue) He erected a radar fence, a kind of radar-guided repulsive field, around the perimeter of Big MT to prevent the disembodied brains from escaping into the wasteland.The Courier: "Pylons? What pylons?"Klein: "THE RADAR FENCE THAT SURROUNDS THE BIG MT CRATER WILL PREVENT - ER, PROTECT YOU FROM STRAYING BEYOND THE FACILITY."The Courier: "Can you tell me more about these pylons?"Klein: "ASK BOROUS. I BELIEVE HE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE FENCE THAN ANY BRAIN. EXCEPT MAYBE MOBIUS. MOBIUS WAS INVOLVED IN THEIR CONSTRUCTION, IF I RECALL. BUT HE'S SUCH A HACK, HE PROBABLY WAS READING OFF OF BOROUS' NOTES AND SCHEMATICS."(Klein's dialogue)The Courier: "Tell me about this "Radar Fence" around the Crater."Borous: -The RADAR FENCE protects us all! If evidence is correct, the one who built it - is ME!- -It keeps anything with a disembodied brain INSIDE - like US - and anything without a brain... also INSIDE!- -It is the ULTIMATE DEFENSE against Communist aggression. There'll be no infectious ideas on MY watch!-"The Courier: "Wait a minute - that means you're trapped here?"Borous: "-TRAPPED? NONSENSE, we are SECURE here. From evil philosophies.- -Ever since my anxiety-filled days of powerlessness and being bullied in American High School, I have dreamed of such security as the FENCE.- -That, and giant cybernetic dogs that would ruthlessly patrol and kill anyone who wasn't my friend. Like RICHIE MARCUS. And BETSY BRIGHT.- --"(Borous' dialogue)
After a severe dispute with Klein, Mobius removed all the chips of all personalities of The Sink; his room and personal laboratory,The Courier: "This chip looks like it was mass-produced. Are there other chips?"Klein: "[SUCCEEDED] ARE THERE OTHER CHIPS?"0: "**"Dala: "He's asking, yes. Dr. Klein, there are other personalities. If you recall, you hurled them off the Sink balcony after your argument with Mobius."Klein: "IT IS AN ARGUMENT IF ONE IS CLEARLY RIGHT AND THE OTHER IS CLEARLY WRONG! I REMEMBER NOW. YES, LOBOTOMITE, THERE ARE OTHER CHIPS. IF YOU WANT, FIND THEM. I BELIEVE THEY ARE STORED ON HOLOTAPES IN MANY OF OUR FACILITIES. BUT YOU SHOULD STAY OUT OF THOSE - THE SINK CENTRAL "INTELLIGENCE" SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR YOUR... HEH... "(Klein's, 0's, and Dala's dailogue) and against their will, hacked the data banks of his colleagues, reprogramming their chronometers, geometers and cartography programs, making them lose their sense of history, time and the world beyond Big MT to the point that they now believe Big MT is the world and nothing exists beyond its mountainous boundary.The Courier: "You reprogrammed their names as part of recursion loop? What, to trap their processors?"Mobius: "[SUCCEEDED] But... yes, I did... take some liberties with their programming. It's all right, they don't remember. I certainly didn't until you said "trap." And then I said "excrement." And then..."The Courier: "Why did you trap them?"Mobius: "The Radar Fence to keep the Think Tank hemmed in wasn't really enough. They keep testing things, they would have found a way to disarm it. So I had to do something else to keep them occupied here. Or as you like to say "trapped." I prefer to have several plan Bs in case the As fail."(Mobius' dialogue)The Courier: "Don't you want to leave here?"Borous: "-NO! Beyond... is DEATH, despite mounting evidence to the contrary!- -No matter where these strange humans wander in from with their IDEAS and new BRAINS, there is NOTHING beyond BIG -"The Couroer: "Evidence to the contrary?"Borous: "-ENOUGH! Stop filling my precious brain cell units with irrelevant data!- -You sound like the OTHER visitors. Making WILD claims of a WORLD beyond, where there is a WAR beyond WAR. It is UNPROVEN! And UNTHINKABLE!- -Bother the OTHER DOCTORS with your crackpot theories, I have NO TIME! NONE of us do.-"(Borous' dialogue) He also actively fostered the false notions that robo-scorpions are somehow able to consume intelligence from brains, fueling the Think Tanks' fear of leaving Big MT's central dome.The Courier: "These mechanical Robo-Scorpions "consume" intelligence? Are you certain of your findings?"Klein: "[SUCCEEDED] IS CERTAIN OF HIS FINDINGS. AND NO ONE ELSE IN THE THINK TANK IS WILLING TO TEST THE RESULTS. LOSS OF BRAINIAL POWER - TERRIFYING. O HAS SAID ON MANY OCCASIONS HIS INABILITY TO COMPREHEND MOBIUS' ROBO-SCHEMATICS IS BECAUSE OF REPEATED ROBO-SCORPION STINGS."(Klein's dialogue)The Courier: "Wait... sounds like you built the Robo-Scorpions, issued threats to keep the Think Tank occupied."Mobius: "Did I? Maybe I did. Can't have them leaving. You and your Brain are quite alike, I'm sure it knows the raisins better than I do."(Mobius' dialogue) In the process of making these alterations, though, he also damaged some of their memories and knowledge, leaving only mangled, disjointed versions behind. Disgusted to have done this to his friends, he also erased some sections of his own memory, like this event and his pre-War creation, the robo-scorpion, before exiling himself.
Afterward, Mobius moved to the X-42 robo-warfare facility (which he renamed the "Forbidden Zone") and began to "recreate" the robo-scorpion, inspired by radscorpions that had wandered into Big MT. These new versions included all features of the pre-War model, such as an energy bolt blaster in the tail, highly sensitive robotic eyes, and communication systems connected directly to his stronghold.The Courier: "Can you tell me about your Robo-Scorpions?"Mobius: " Mine came to me after these rather large scorpions kept coming in from the Like poisonous frosting. How scary, I thought! But they had survived when nothing else had. Perfect candidates for improvement, as a reward for their tenacity. Then I thought, what if they shot energy bolts and acted as walking eyes and data-drained computers and acted as bullhorns? Then I made them bigger. Then, I thought about... custard. I do so love custard. Or was it mustard? Mustard custard. Mmmm. I miss sugars and salts."(Mobius' dialogue) Now in possession of a proper army, Mobius decided that without something to distract the other think tanks, the radar fence would eventually become insufficient to contain them. He began to send repetitive, threatening broadcasts, designed to instill fear and prompt the think tanks to focus on retrieving technologies with which to defend themselves.The Courier: "Klein said they had the idea to get the three technologies after your broadcast. Coincidence?"Mobius: "[SUCCEEDED] I consider "coincidence" to be profanity, along with the words, "astrology," "herbal tea," and "luck." So watch it, Potty Mouth. My threat broadcast is designed to instill... and install... fear. And along with the emotional download, other data rides the fear carrier wave. It prompted them to focus on retrieving those technologies and bring them to "attack" me. And coincidentally... pardon my language... all those technologies are needed to put a brain, your brain, back into its skull. Properly."(Mobius' dialogue)Mobius: " "Klein: " ALWAYS THE SAME BROADCAST. HE'S CLEARLY MAD, DRIVEN INSANE BY HIS FLAWED AND IMPRECISE KINDERGARTEN-LEVEL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY."(Mobius' and Klein's dialogue)
With the remaining think tanks trapped in the central dome by their exaggerated fear of Mobius, the Big MT fell mostly silent.
Although not originally aggressive in his intentions, Mobius' own behavior seems to have degraded over the years, likely in part due to an increasingly serious addiction to Mentats and Psycho.The Courier: "You don't seem aggressive. Why broadcast threats to the Think Tank?"Mobius: "Oh, I was probably tripping hard on Psycho when I sent that. Had to work myself up to it, not usually violent, except when I am. Then, huh! Watch out! So many chems, such varieties! Whenever I take Mentats, I can feel my entire chassis breeeeeathe like a big spherical lung. As for the Psycho, sometimes get the chem in my tank all switched up, go in the wrong tube - still, served its purpose."(Mobius' dialogue) By 2281, he had not only lost the functionality of his right "eye" monitor after trying to fix it with a hammer,The Courier: "I can't fix your monitor, but if you're getting ghost reception, I can fix that."Mobius: "[SUCCEEDED] The ghosts aren't real? That changes everything. Why, I can save my computing power for other perceptual unpossibilities. Please be my guest... the receptor is there... and the side-switching wobbly-bob, just turn that... good, good, better... Oh... oooooh, yes, that feels wonderful. Mmmmm. This is even better than my afternoon Mentats break. Mmmm."(Mobius' dialogue)The Courier: "A good hit with a hammer might fix your monitor."Mobius: "[FAILED] Oh, I tried that already. Might have to the problem, now that I re-think it. "(Mobius' dialogue) but also began to suffer from short term memory loss,The Courier: "What was the plan you had?"Mobius: "Something ingenious and needlessly complicated, I expect. I may have already told you and forgotten it. I forgot I had forgotten pencils until one day I found one. Spent days studying its purpose before my memory circuit kicked in. Felt quiet silly."(Mobius' dialogue) hallucinations,The Courier: "Is that better?"Mobius: " Should look at getting the visual nerves re-attached... it's just that the right eye would the wrong things. Would you care for a Mentat?"(Mobius' dialogue) and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Although his plan had been mostly successful, the recent arrival of Father Elijah, Christine and Ulysses from the Mojave has caused the curiosity of the think tanks to begin pushing beyond the boundaries he had set for them.The Courier: "Do you know anything about the other visitors?"Mobius: "Oh, not much, except they contaminated Big MT and installed new ideas in the Think Tank. One caused a great deal of infrastructure damage with his brain and smartyness. Ruthless, that one. Played a little rough with the trains. The Courier: "What do you mean?"Mobius: "The first one, the ruthless one who smashed up our toy trains, asked for weapons, power. Items he could use to destroy a nation with force. He spoke to the Think Tank, to Klein. Showed them the flag of the Old World... and it made them remember. All of it. All that had happened. They shared things with him that they shouldn't. He now carries those ideas, that knowledge elsewhere."(Mobius' dialogue)
The arrival of the Courier, and the subsequent survival of their lobotomy proved to be the last straw.The Courier: "But there must have been other signs of a larger world."Mobius: "There have been other visitors to make them doubt their perceptions, but you are the one who dialed back their monitor-micro-magnifiers. You were irrefutable proof that there was a world outside. And then there was the whole "brain" fiasco, which forced me to take steps. See, your brain had a special kind of... uh... wrinkle, a unique-ity that they had never thought to try in all their countless escape attempts."(Mobius' dialogue) Mobius unleashed a fresh wave of robo-scorpions and announced his false intention to finish the other think tanks off once and for all, while subliminally suggesting to them that various technologies around the Big MT would help them against him.The Courier: "Was there any other data transmitted in your threat broadcast?"Mobius: "Yes, my overly aggressive chemmed-up broadcast was designed to keep reinforcing the "forget," "fear," "rinse," and "repeat" program. Oh, and the "get me the things to castrate your only possible escape attempt." But I couldn't delete you or your arrival anymore than I could the other visitors. You're really quiet difficult to ignore, you know. It's because you're... well, bah! Rather intriguing, if you'll forgive an old brain for saying so."(Mobius' dialogue) These technologies, a sonic emitter, an X-2 antenna, and a Stealth suit Mk II are actually all the components required to rehouse a brain inside a body.The Courier: "What is the purpose of the technologies?"Mobius: "The X-2 Antenna can be used to focus your alpha wave frequency thought patterns. The Sneaky Suit? Why, it houses a cardiac regulator. And the sonic soundwave projecto-emitter was never intended as a weapon. It was a medicinal vertebrae-pulse-de-sensitizer. In short: Brains, a heart, and courage... spine. "(Mobius' dialogue) Eventually, the Courier defeats the X-42 giant robo-scorpion, enters the Forbidden Dome and confronts Mobius.
==Interactions with the player character==
===Interactions overview===
===Quests===
* Old World Blues: The player character is to go to Mobius' lair and either kill him or reason with him.
===Other interactions===
* If the player character has a Repair skill of 75, this allows them to repair the "ghosting" in Mobius optical sensors. Doing so makes it easier to leave Mobius be instead of killing him.
** Player characters do not need to do the 75 Repair check in order "spare" Mobius.
* He will offer the Courier a tin of Mentats upon interacting with him through dialogue, once per 24 hours.The Courier: "Can I have a Mentat?"Mobius: "Another? Why, of course. Happy to contribute to Science through chemistry. Come back within the sequential span of twenty-five hours minus one, I'll have more... or is it two or three more spans? "(Mobius' dialogue)
** If one has consumed alcohol and Mobius asks them if they would like a Mentat, they may turn it down saying that they would rather avoid mixing it with alcohol.The Courier: "I'll save it, don't want to mix it with alcohol if I can help it."Mobius: ""(Mobius' dialogue)
** If one is already addicted to a drug when he asks them if they want some Mentats, they can refuse, stating that they are tripping as it is already.The Courier: "I don't know, I'm tripping pretty hard right now."Mobius: ""(Mobius' dialogue)
===Fighting Mobius===
* If the player character says that they think they're going to kill him, Mobius claims he's never been killed before, and that he's eager to see how it goes. However, he will still fight back and summon his robo-scorpion army.The Courier: "Enough. I'm here to kill you."Mobius: "Oh, intriguing. I've never been killed before. Well, if there's going to be killing, I defer to your expertise in this matter. How should we begin? Engineered viruses? Canceratic beams? Atomics? Electrocutioning? Or... should I summon my minions...? "The Courier: "What minions?"Mobius: "Whoa, have they not constructed themselves yet? That's a bit premature of me. The Robo-Scorpions, of course. They can assemble themselves from floor panels and parts scattered about, quiet inventive - never really know when they might suddenly appear."The Courier: "I'll trash them like I did your giant piece of junk downstairs."Mobius: "Oh now you've done it. I feel a twinge of regret over that little mistake I left on. Minions! To me! "(Mobius' dialogue)
* Once combat is entered, Mobius will activate a Stealth Boy, this making it impossible to target him in V.A.T.S.
* Dr. Mobius has significantly more health than the other Think Tank members, and along with Doctor Klein is the only Think Tank that levels with the player character.
* The player character cannot yield to Mobius. The decision to assault him is final.
==Inventory==
==Notes==
* Mobius has a tendency for malapropisms. For example, instead of saying "reason," "quite" and "desert," he'll say "raisin," "quiet" and "dessert." He also struggles to differentiate between other words and names, such as "custard" and "mustard."The Courier: "Why did you steal my brain?"Mobius: "Oh, a variety of you're something of a homily. Er, anomaly? You're really special, and not in the cranially-challenged way. You see, you are the most successful brain extraction experiment ever performed here at Big MT. A victim of your own success, as it were. If you were to go back with what brain knows about the procedure, well... ...your brain could be popped back in and you could walk right out of here. Can't have brains moving around of their own volition."(Mobius' dialogue)
* Mobius programmed the Sink Central Intelligence Unit to accept bottle caps. Dr. 0 believed they were added in as debug code, though Dr. Dala states that Mobius was obsessed with what the post-nuclear war economy would be like, and correctly predicted that bottle caps would become valued currency post-war.The Courier: "I can trade with the Sink Intelligence? Then I'll need something to activate that function, won't I?"Klein: "[SUCCEEDED] I CANNOT DISPUTE YOUR LOGIC. DO WE HAVE OBJECTS TO ACTIVATE THE CHIP'S EXCHANGE ROUTINES?"0: "**"Klein: ""0: "** *Still, might be enough to trick the Sink's trade routines. Mobius put that test line for caps in the code as a debug command, I think.*"Dala: "I don't believe that was Mobius' reason. His wild speculation concerning post-holocaust economic systems was quite extensive. And of high decibel."(Klein's, 0's, and Dala's dialogue)
* Mobius refers to tripping on Psycho and Mentats. This can be seen in the upper rooms of the Forbidden Zone dome, which contains both samples of Psycho, and an extremely large supply of Mentats. 
* He appears to be a fan of Nuka-Cola, as many empty Nuka-Cola bottles and paraphernalia can be found in his old room in both the Think Tank and Higgs Village.
* He was responsible for the creation of all of The Sink intelligences, except for Muggy, who was created by Dr. 0.The Courier: "Why are there so many personality modules?"Sink Central Intelligence Unit: "As I am given to understand, sir, this facility was once the property of a Dr. Mobius. He crafted the personality modules as part of a collection of experiments on the subject of machine/human interface. As to the reason for the unusual choices of devices to receive the modules, I cannot say."(Sink Central Intelligence Unit's dialogue)The Courier: "Who are you?"Muggy: " Maybe you've seen some of those big, imposing Securitrons with their lovely laser guns and rocket launchers and scary faces? I'm not one of those. Dr. O was always jealous of House Industries, and he thought it would be fucking hilarious to build a tiny neurotic Securitron. Big fucking laugh. So, umm... you got any coffee cups for me now?"(Muggy's dialogue)
* He has the most damaged and rusted body, compared with other Think Tank members.
==Notable quotes==
==Appearances==
Mobius appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
==Behind the scenes==
* Mobius was inspired by Dr. Edward Morbius, the antagonist in the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, as well as the name of his base.Chris Avellone on Twitter
* His name is also a direct reference to the Möbius strip or Möbius band, a 3D object which topologically has only one side.
* If the player character has taken the Wild Wasteland trait, Mobius will mention keeping several "Plan 9s in place."The Courier: "Why did you trap them?"Doctor Mobius: " So I had to do something else to keep them occupied here. Or as you like to say 'trapped.' I prefer to have several Plan 9s in case the 7s fail."(Dr. Mobius' dialogue) This is a reference to the cult-classic, 1959 science fiction/horror film Plan 9 From Outer Space.
* Frank L. Baum's book, The Wizard of Oz, is referenced by both a line of dialogue and a script note in Mobius' dialogue.Doctor Mobius: " I think there was a story once where a band of murderous thugs sought these things."(Dr. Mobius' dialogue)
* The spiritual song "Dem Bones" is referenced by both a line of dialogue and a script note in Mobius' dialogue.Doctor Mobius: "(Dr. Mobius' dialogue)
* His farewell dialogue "Please mind the equations on the floor"The Courier: "Time for me to go. Goodbye."Doctor Mobius: "Indeed, the uh... goodbye part of our little chat, then. Uh... Goodbye. Please mind the equations on the floor."(Dr. Mobius' dialogue) is a nod to a Greek scientist and engineer Archimedes, who was killed by a Roman legionary during the Second Punic War, purportedly because he angrily shouted to the legionary who unintentionally stepped over his mathematical writings on the ground, "Do not disturb my circles!"
* If asked about a non-violent way to deal with the Think Tank, Mobius will suggest appealing to their humanity, mentioning how "A wise man once said that the eyes do more than see."Doctor Mobius: "...a wise man once said, the eyes do more than see. Make them see, if you can."(Dr. Mobius' dialogue) This alludes to the short story Eyes Do More Than See by Isaac Asimov.
==Gallery==
Doctor Mobius in Think Tank.jpg|Mobius on the screen in the Think Tank
Nvdlc03 endingslide mobius.jpg|Doctor Mobius ending slide
MobiusHuman.png|Mobius before becoming a think tank
==References==
Non-game
Category:Big MT characters
Category:Fallout: New Vegas scientists
Category:Think Tank characters
Category:Antagonists
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