Maximillian DeSoto

>
> “
>
> Devout true believer.
>
>
>
>
>
> „
> —Analysis
>

**Maximillian DeSoto**, often referred to just as **Vicar Max** is a possible companion for the Stranger. He is a vicar of the Order of Scientific Inquiry assigned to the town of Edgewater.

While in the player's party, he will improve the player character's Hack, Intimidate, and Science skills.

## Background

Max was born into a working class family in a town he describes as similar to Edgewater. But he was never content as a laborer. He envied the peace and happiness his parents found in Scientism. Max believed that if he studied Scientism enough, he could be happy like his parents. Because of this he left home against his parents' wishes to join the Order of Scientific Inquiry (OSI) and become a vicar.

Max had trouble fully accepting the answers Scientism provided to explain the universe and mankind's role within it. Max believed the OSI was missing key insight from books on philosophy that they had decided to ban rather than study. Unknown to him at the time the OSI only banned these books because they could contradict the teachings of Scientism. Max was later sentenced to a prison on Tartarus for expressing his interest in studying the banned literature with his superiors.

During his time in prison, Max acted as the prison's vicar and joined one of the prison's tossball teams where he played as his team's Fifth-Back. Prison allowed him to give into his rage and frustration. Sometime during his stay he savagely beat a fellow inmate named Lem who he would later refer to as a degenerate. Lem's injuries were so severe that Reginald revealed "He's still eating through a tube, last I heard". He also met another inmate, Reginald Chaney. Chaney shared information with him on the whereabouts of one of the philosophical texts the OSI had banned, the journal of M. Bakonu. Sometime after getting out of prison, Max intentionally got himself stationed near where Reginald said the book would be, the town of Edgewater. He hoped the book could give him the knowledge he lacked to fully understand the universe and the "Plan".

As a vicar, Max was trained in science and computer use. With the computer skills the OSI taught him, he became well versed in hacking. This is exemplified when he easily bypasses the security system on the Groundbreaker. Additionally, his time in prison and his experience playing tossball help Max to be proficient in melee combat, further to this he "earned quite a reputation as a fifth-back" tossball player during his time in prison (this also explains why Max has such good advice to give Felix Millstone on how to pack a better punch, and why the first weapon he mentions being good with is a tossball stick). He has a collection of tossball cards that suggest his two favorite teams are the Hephaestos Hammers and the Tile Backers.

### Personality

Vicar Max tries to maintain the civility and piety associated with being a vicar, but frequently lets his true emotions show. When angered, he can reveal the disdain he has for the places and people in his life. Often he can be arrogant and self-centered. He believes that he is capable of deciphering the "Plan", what Scientism claims to be the meaning of the universe. He looks down upon those he deems immoral or lesser than him. Despite this he is willing to lie and break the law to get what he wants. He has learnt to channel his "violently enthusiastic" disposition into "[his] quest for knowledge. But [his] childhood, that is a different tale." Max's surfacing anger issues and subsequent penchant for violence go back a long ways and is further highlighted where Parvarti can *"hear Vicar saying prayers to himself and sometimes she hears him cussing about tossball scores."*.

Looking past his flaws, he is intelligent and does what he believes to be right. While he can seem unsympathetic at times, he frequently tries to help people by giving advice and moral guidance.

After the completion of The Empty Man, Vicar Max's personality will shift. He is considerably less angry and will lash out less. His faith in Scientism starts to wane as he begins to understand that Scientism was only created to control the population of Halcyon.

Max says he doesn't have much of a sweet-tooth, saying that "indulgences like Rizzo were frowned upon in [his] household."

## Related Quests

* Comes Now the Power: If you accept Parvati as a companion, she will ask to speak to you once you have left Reed Tobson's office. She suggests going to the town's vicar for moral guidance on whether it is more ethical to shut off Edgewater's power or the power to the Botanical labs. Vicar Max will suggest bringing the deserters back to Edgewater, than shutting the power off for the Botanical labs. That way, as few people as possible are negatively affected.
	+ When talking to Vicar Max for the first time, the player will likely accept his quest, The Illustrated Manual.
	+ Rerouting the power to the Botanical labs will cause a significant negative reputation with Spacer's Choice. If this results in Angry reputation or worse, Vicar Max will attack you on sight, effectively botching your chance of finishing any of his open quests or getting him to join you as a companion.

* The Illustrated Manual: Vicar Max will ask you to retrieve a heretical text so that he can study it. When you return to him with the text, Max learns the book is written entirely in French, a language few people can read.

* The Empty Man: After confronting the "scholar" Reginald Chaney at Fallbrook , Reginald would reveal a hermit on Scylla who is able to translate the text. Vicar Max will ask the Stranger to aid him in searching for the hermit on Scylla. Once on Scylla, the Stranger and Vicar Max would need to travel to the Hermit's Lodge located at the Abandoned Mining Outpost. The Stranger and the vicar will be able to converse with the Hermit, once acquainted, the Hermit will instruct them to enter the meditation chamber and initiate the meditative experience to seek the answers he seeks.