Fallout 4 has no shortage of fascinating and complex characters, from the companions who choose to travel with the Sole Survivor to the NPCs encountered during quests. One particularly interesting character is Dr. Brian Virgil, a former Institute scientist who can be met as part of the main questline during the journey to find Shaun. While Virgil is instrumental in assisting the Sole Survivor in locating the Institute, his personal side quest poses a moral dilemma that can have a tragic outcome.
This article contains mentions of suicide and self-harm.
After hunting down Kellogg in Fort Hagen, the Sole Survivor learns of an escaped Institute scientist the grizzled mercenary was supposed to locate. This begins the quest "The Glowing Sea" and leads the Sole Survivor to a rocky cave in the far southwest corner of the map. Talking to Virgil will set the next goal on the journey to reach Shaun, and will also start the side quest "Virgil's Cure," which may seem simple on the surface but has a lot of ethical implications.
Who Is Brian Virgil In Fallout 4?
Why Is An Ex-Institute Scientist So Important?
When considering whether to help Virgil, it's important to understand who he is and how he got into this situation. As the Sole Survivor enters the cave in the Glowing Sea, expecting to find a timid Institute scientist, they instead find a massive Super Mutant. Speaking to him, he reveals that Virgil's plan to get out of the Institute and hide in an area where the Coursers couldn't get to him was to willingly turn himself into one of the hulking abominations.
Finding Virgil in the midst of the wasteland that is The Glowing Sea can be quite tricky if you do not know the way or have protection in Fallout 4.
Whichever way this is looked at, Virgil’s plan is an extreme one and immediately makes people wonder why he went to such extravagant lengths. The answer to that can be found inside the Institute's Bioscience division, in an abandoned laboratory where Virgil and other scientists were studying the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). The studies were carried out originally as part of the process to create what would become the Gen 3 Synths. However, they continued for decades after, with Commonwealth citizens being kidnapped for over a century.
When Virgil became the new head of the project in 2286, he initially carried on with the experiments. However, only a year later he was complaining to Father, as the experiments were not yielding any new results and were only causing harm to the Commonwealth. When Father refused to shut the project down, Virgil took matters into his own hands, turning himself into a Super Mutant so he could escape, and destroying the Institute’s FEV lab in the process.
What Happens If Virgil Isn't Cured?
Without A Cure, Virgil Will Make A Dark Request
When speaking with Virgil, he will ask the Sole Survivor to find a cure he had made for himself. It can be found inside the old FEV lab inside the Institute and is on a table in the room with the Super Mutants in tanks, labeled as Experimental Serum. However, given his involvement with the Institute’s FEV project for so long, it would be reasonable in the eyes of many to deny Virgil his cure. After all, he experimented on kidnapped Commonwealth residents for years and seemingly would have continued to do so if it had produced better results.
Virgil’s logs could be interpreted in such a way as to assume that he would have been able to justify the cost of life if the Institute was learning something or there had been a scientific breakthrough. And depending on which Fallout 4 faction the Sole Survivor is planning to side with, not curing Virgil might be the only logical choice. If planning not to give Virgil the cure, the Sole Survivor can either not pick it up when in the Institute, tell him they have no intention of curing him, or lie about finding it.
Companions will react to the decision based on their backstories and beliefs. For example, Strong approves of denying Virgil the cure as he believes Super Mutants are superior, while Danse will approve of denying Virgil because of what happened to his friend Cutler.
If the Sole Survivor goes back on their word to find the cure, Virgil will become hostile. However, if he is lied to, then there are two options for dealing with the situation. Virgil will express that he doesn't want to continue to live as a Super Mutant, and request that the Sole Survivor kill him. However, there is also the option to talk Virgil into committing suicide, which is one of the most evil choices in Fallout 4 and only available if Swan’s Pond has been visited and the backstory of Edgar Swann has been learned.
If Virgil isn’t cured, then he will either die immediately at the hands of the Sole Survivor, or if the cave is returned to later, after convincing him to take his own life, then Virgil will be dead. Either way, the contents of the cave can be looted, along with Virgil’s personal weapon. Virgil’s Rifle is a decent weapon, if looking at the situation from a purely game mechanics/rewards perspective, which deals 50% more damage to Super Mutants.
What Happens If Virgil Is Given The Cure?
Helping Virgil Gives Him A Second Chance To Change Things
However, there is also an argument to be made for helping Virgil and delivering his cure to him. Virgil is nothing but helpful to the Sole Survivor, not only telling them that the Institute uses teleportation but designing the schematics for the Molecular Relay as well. He also seems genuinely remorseful about his past actions, as can be heard in his last log which can be found inside the FEV lab.
It will take approximately 72 in-game hours for Virgil to turn back into a human, where he will remark about having hair again.
Virgil did realize what he was doing in the Institute was wrong and made repeated requests that the lab be shut down because he didn't want to hurt people. Although he did take part in the experiments, as soon as he was in a position of power to stop it, Virgil made every attempt to do that. Ultimately, Virgil is completely reliant on the player to cure him, so his fate comes down to how sympathetic they find him.
Saving Virgil doesn’t give any extra reward other than allowing the Sole Survivor loot and to use the equipment in his cave home. However, curing him is the right thing to do and gives Virgil the opportunity to fully make amends for his past actions. Virgil’s cure will only work on his specific strain of FEV, but he will say that he intends to keep working to find a cure for the other Super Mutants in the Commonwealth. This potentially has huge consequences for Fallout 4 lore on the East Coast, which would be exciting to see in future installments.
Bethesda's action RPG Fallout 4 puts players into the vault suit of the Lone Survivor, a pre-war soldier from an alternate future cryogenically frozen inside Vault 111. After their infant son is kidnapped, they venture out into the irradiated wasteland of the Commonwealth to scour the ruins of Boston for any sign of him. In doing so, they encounter various factions and companions and use an array of skills and abilities to navigate the apocalyptic remnants of society.
Released November 10, 2015
ESRB M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
Custom image by Sarah-Jane Simpson
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