Chapter 9: Mass Fusion
Return to the Institute and follow the quest marker to find Father, who has initiated a meeting with the Dikertorate. Remove any power armor you may be wearing, sit in the chair, and listen to Father explain the new changes to the game. When the meeting is over, speak with him again to complete the quest "Humanity Is Destined" and receive "Mass Fusion." Afterward, Hunter X6-88 can become your partner at this point.
Follow the quest marker and find Dr. Ellie Filmore, the head scientist working on the Institute's new reactor. She sends you to the Mass Fusion building to retrieve a "beryllium impeller" for the reactor. If you wish, you can bring it to the doctor along with your new friend X6-88. Alternatively, you can inform the Brotherhood of Steel about the operation and side with them. This will result in you being exiled from the Institute, requiring you to finish the game as either the Brotherhood or the Railroad.
If you follow the Institute path, proceed to the Science Prevails section, which will immediately end any relations with the Brotherhood of Steel, and soon after with the Railroad.
Science Prevails Walkthrough
Follow the quest marker to the glass elevator in the center of the institute. Climb up, then step into the relay apparatus to teleport to the top of the Mass Fusion building. If you're a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, a message warns that doing so will disrupt your standing with the faction. Upon arriving at Mass Fusion, you'll be greeted by Dr. Li, the mission will begin, and you'll immediately encounter the following BoS forces on the roof: Brotherhood Knight x3, Enemy: Brotherhood Gunner x5, Brotherhood Scribe x4. Inside, find the following ammo:
- .308 Round x20,
- .38 Round x8,
- 5mm Round x14.
Climb the steps and examine the desk for the Mass Fusion Executive ID and Mass Fusion Executive Password. Jump onto the small ledge north of the desk and enter another office. Take the "Oslo's Office Recording" holodisk for background information on the building and the following items:
Nuka Cherry x2, Mentats.
Use the unlocked research lab terminal to learn the exact location of the Beryllium Impeller. At the bottom, step onto the elevator platform and use the ID card to activate it. You will then slowly descend to the main floors of the building, while a large number of BoS fighters will fire. Don't worry about defeating 11 Brotherhood representatives along the way: Brotherhood Knight x3, Brotherhood Marksman x5, Brotherhood Scribe x3. At the bottom, you will encounter more troops after they disable the elevator, preventing further descent (three Brotherhood).
Enter the unlocked door to the north and take the Mass Fusion Lab Key from the table. Alternatively, hack the computer terminal (expert) to ensure full electrical functionality of the building. If you do this, you can use the elevator again to reach the main level. If you don't hack the terminal, you'll need to hack the other northern door (Advanced) and jump through the hole in the floor. Taking the elevator route, you'll fight several more BoS units on the way down: Brotherhood Knight x3, Brotherhood Assistant.
Turn right through the northern door and use the elevator. From here, through the door to the west, is a Novice terminal controlling the Protectron. Take the stairs through the door to the west, into a room with an Expert computer terminal, and through two more doors. Hacking the terminal and activating the defenses will release two hostile Assaultrons. The bathroom to the east contains medical supplies:
- Stimpak x2, RadAway x2, Rad-X x2.
Descend the stairs to the reactor control room. In the small room to the east, you'll find a Master-grade safe, which can be opened using the Novice computer terminal. The safe contains:
- .38 ammo x6, .44 ammo x6, .45 ammo x21.
Enter the airlock on the east side, press the button to flip it over, and access the reactor room. There will be a lot of radiation inside, noticeable even in power armor. However, the Hazmat Suit in the previous safe room isn't really necessary. A Rad Away or two will mitigate the effects. Climb to the top of the reactor, press the lock release button, and then remove the Beryllium Impeller. Sirens will sound and the reactor's defenses will activate. When you cross the airlock, you'll encounter a nasty Legendary Sentry Bot and a Protectron.
You can use the airlock tunnel for cover during the fight. My X-01 Power Armor suit was shredded during the fight with the Sentry Bot, so don't underestimate it. Now return to the main lobby, where BoS forces are still attacking. You can either stay and help the Synths defeat them, or run out the building's front doors and then return to the Institute.
Speak with Ellie in Advanced Systems, back at the Institute, to complete the "Mass Fusion" quest. The "Trapped" quest will then begin and you will be asked to report this to Father immediately.
Make a deal with the Minutemen (the good way)
Dad is happy working at Mass Fusion and already has another task. However, I hope it won't involve combat. It seems the man Dad tried to recruit to the Institute panicked and called in the local Minutemen for protection. As their commander, Dad expects you to end the situation and force the Minutemen to retreat. Completing this quest with good standing with the Minutemen will require grace and all the charisma you can muster. You'll also receive the Institute quest "A House Divided," below.
Fast travel to Graygardens, a short walk from the house where Wallace is locked up. The quest marker directs you to contact a Minuteman outside the house. Unfortunately, he won't recognize your Commander-in-Chief rank (considering you joined the Minutemen early in the game). Wearing charisma-boosting gear and using healing items will facilitate the next two conversations. Gain more Charisma and talk to the Minuteman. Use the orange-highlighted options that appeal to you and force them to retreat. If you order them to attack, you'll be exiled from the Institute, and you'll need to continue quests with the other factions to finish the game.
Once the Minuteman agrees to retreat, run into the house before any Charisma-boosting chems you used wear off. Talk to Dr. Thompson inside, and he'll explain the situation. After talking to him, quickly turn left and talk to Wallace behind the inaccessible door. If you do this quickly, your Charisma from the chems will last for the conversation. The orange "Calm Down" option is enough to convince him. Once he agrees to join, you've kept everyone happy. This completes the "Trapped" quest and begins "The Launch."
Higgs and his Gorrilo Synths
This section describes the Institute's side quest "A House Divided," obtained after completing "Mass Fusion." Go to the Biosciences facility and speak with Newton Oberly near the main door. He'll explain the situation and provide access to the maintenance tunnel on the right, as well as a holodisk entry that can be used as a last resort. Follow the tunnel, and you'll soon have to destroy: Synth, Synth Seeker.
The door to the next area is on the southeast wall between the shelves. Open it and look left to destroy a laser turret. You can loot several First Aid items behind the locked door (Novice). Open the door below the destroyed turret and look into the next room to destroy a couple more: Laser Turret x2.
Before following the quest marker to the next room, you can equip charisma-boosting clothing or use chemistry to increase your conversation skill when talking to Dr. Higgs. Enter the next room and speak to Higgs through the window. You'll have two options:
1. [Calmly] - Successfully respond with a hard (red) and then medium (orange) speech form to force him to surrender immediately.
2. [Gorilla Fight] - A less peaceful option, which you'll have to accept if diplomatic negotiations fail. Insert the holodisk given to you by Oberly into the terminal next to the observation window. If you choose to open the door, Higgs and the others inside will become hostile, demanding you fight them. You can also free the two synthetic gorillas from the enclosure, which will kill Higgs, but then you'll have to fight two gorillas to unlock the main door to the Biosciences department to complete the quest.
Once the door to the main lab is open and the situation with Higgs is somehow resolved, exit through the main Bioscience door and return to speak with Oberly to finish the quest. If you finish the quest by killing Higgs and the others, Oberly will be shocked by the violence and very disappointed. If you talk to Higgs, Oberly will be pleasantly surprised. In either case, you'll receive 250 XP, as well as: Jet x5, Mentats x5, RadAway x5. Now, Boston Airport.
Author: BitFlux Mobile, PartiallyRoyal
See also:
Chapter 8: The Institute
Chapter 7: Greentech Genetics and SIT
Chapter 6: Goodneighbor