Damn page breaks. I'm tempted to move the whole bulk of my previous post here. But I won't. I'll just finish what I started, since I've now finished the game along the 3 paths I cared about (of 4 overall).
I was right initially. My impressions about what's best for the Commonwealth were correct all along. What I said looked impossible in the biggest blacked-out area 2 posts up is actually doable, in essence completely, since I get to call all the shots at the end of this story branch:
[spoiler]The Institute is by far the best hope for mankind out of the 4 presented to us in this story. The problem is that everyone above ground considers them the boogeyman, obscure monsters akin to a tech-based version of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In reality, they are led by a sheltered visionary, whose closed-in upbringing has kept him from getting a complete picture of the greater good. As a result, some tragic mistakes were made, and blown way out of proportion by the fearful and ignorant wastelanders. They fear The Institute wants to supplant humanity with synthetic beings, and take over the world. The reality is quite different. The consensus at The Institute is that the surface world is dead already. As the wanderer's courser companion X6-88 puts it, the world is a corpse, carrion fed upon by the maggot-like remnants of surface-dwelling humanity. So they take steps to ensure the continued viability of their pristine underground facility, as a sort of ark to preserve what matters for the future, after the old world finishes burning itself out. They don't even like to go above ground, and do so only out of necessity. That perceived necessity includes taking steps to deter any invasion or other interference.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Shaun is the wanderer's son, but due to the cryogenic shenanigans that went on for 200 years, that son is a generation or two older than his father (or mother) by the time the two meet. He leads the Institute. Following this faction to the end allows the player to influence heavily the approach to the surface world. It can end in heavy antagonism with the outside world, or cooperation. The turning point is clever. The wanderer partially crafts a speech to be broadcast through Diamond City Radio. His multi-part influence on the speech determines whether the Institute will reveal itself as hostile and domineering, or reservedly benevolent and willing to help. Since Shaun is terminally ill, and dies by story's end of natural causes in this story path, the wanderer becomes director of the Institute as well. Because of these possibilities, a positive outcome is not impossible, as I had thought after following two other story branches. So I crafted the reveal speech to be as reassuring and open-armed as the choices let me. (I was trying to be Jean-Luc Picard in the TNG episode "First Contact".) I chose better weaponry instead of more synths at the meeting before the final push to defeat the sadly misled Brotherhood of Steel. (Humanity doesn't need even more synths scaring them.) And I dealt with the Minutemen benignly, complete with a (successful) conciliatory speech challenge. The result was a complete destruction of the BoS, the preservation of The Institute, now led by my benevolent character, the continued good work of Garvey and his minutemen on the surface, and no ridiculous new atomic devastation in the middle of Boston. The wasteland has had enough of that.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]The Railroad unfortunately had to go as well. In a replay, I may investigate if it's possible to reconcile with them, but I seriously doubt it. While not as destructively closed-minded or anywhere near the same military league as the BoS, they seem completely intent on destroying The Institute as a sort of emancipation of its enslaved synths. I found this conceit too unpalatable to really care about their pursuits, found them too weak and too fringe to support. As Director of The Institute, I can treat all sentient synths as free beings, whether the more fascist elements in the organization like it or not.[/spoiler]
Edit (4/15): "Official" in-game confirmation of this take, something I found more recently:
[spoiler]In an almost unthinkable series of recent events, the Institute has destroyed anyone in the Commonwealth who could conceivably stop them, including longterm player the Railroad, as well as the newly arrived Brotherhood of Steel. What's more, the shadowy, sinister organization has completed work on an advanced nuclear reactor that will provide them with nearly unlimited power for the foreseeable future. This surely means greater underground expansion, as well increased range of their teleporter technology (which, until recently, had been a closely-guarded Institute secret).
So what exactly does this mean for the Commonwealth, going forward?
"Nothing good" seems to be the consensus. In fact, most people assume the worst.
But isn't it possible these fears are unfounded? The Railroad may have opposed the Institute, but they also defended all synths - even those who would potentially infiltrate human society. And the Brotherhood's mighty airship may now lie a smoldering wreck - but was the neo-knightly order really interested in the Commonwealth's best interests anyway?
But perhaps the most compelling reason not to give up hope just yet is the fact that, if my sources are correct - and I know they are - the Institute is now under the direct influence of someone many of us have already met - the Wanderer. That lonely figure who came into our settlement searching for a missing child, and clearly found something else entirely. And maybe, just maybe, the Institute is all the better for it.
So be wary as we go into a new tomorrow, my friends. But stay strong. And always, always remember that humanity lives and dies on the surface. Humanity IS the Commonwealth. And maybe, just maybe, the Institute can be a part of that now.
-- from the final issue of
The Synthetic Truth, written by Piper
[/spoiler]
So it turns out there is a fair amount of choice and dimensionality here after all. The complete picture of the story with all its different perspectives and motivations is much better than some critics have led us to believe. I am glad I persevered until I found a good path to a better future for the story. I was completely immersed in its nuances.
Edit 4/29: Final one, I hope.
[spoiler]Finished the game with my 2nd character. I chased the storyline I skipped before--the Railroad. By far the most difficult to do, because it is the least appealing, and because it has very obscure quest-line triggers near the end. I resorted to an outline view of these online, something I normally hate to do. It was either that, or kill Desdemona and her gang yet again. It is as I thought, an allusion to the Underground Railroad from where the new $20 bill will draw its face. I cannot think of man-made synths as a downtrodden slave race. The parallel to Africans in America is troubling at best.
On top of that, there is no compelling reason for the Railroad to demand the total destruction of the Institute, and vice-versa. It makes sense that the Third-Reich-like Brotherhood of Steel has to exterminate or be exterminated. But the rift between the other factions is not nearly so absolute, or necessary. The game will not allow any alternative, however unreasonably inflexible that may be. This is something that could not have been learned in my first playthrough, since the Railroad went down the tubes first, ahead of the BoS.
As before, I felt a bit queasy forcing myself to side against the wanderer's son (my son, as I identify with the wanderer). It was the wrong thing to do, and I knew that before, during, and after the events. The destruction of the most promising technology happened again. The huge atomic crater in the middle of the Commonwealth happened again. But hey, Desdemona and her handful of cohorts are happy. Lucky us.[/spoiler]
