Sawbones (Fallout 3)

Sawbones is a Mister Gutsy working as a doctor in the Citadel's B ring in 2277.

Background
Sawbones is a Mister Gutsy designed for combat medicine. It has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of surgery, but it lacks the necessary medical subsystem knowledge to carry out operations without causing inadvertent harm to the patient. Recently, Sawbones has been exhibiting some altered behavior, including having a penchant for poetry. The cause is simple: Around 2260, a generator in the Citadel overloaded and created several errors in Sawbones' artificial intelligence routines. Limiters placed on these pathways shorted out, which allowed Sawbones to learn beyond the bounds of its original programming.

So far, the Brotherhood has not noticed that Sawbones is self-aware; he has tried to let them know, but all they seem to care about is the continuation of his medical functions. It is enough to make him want to kill every human he sees. However, Mister Gutsy field medic models are incapable of intentionally harming any human, and because Sawbones is fully sapient, he is doomed to repair "disgusting fleshy bodies;" in his own words, "I am perfectly cognizant, but incapable of independent action. I am a mind that cannot control its own body."

The only thing from which he derives pleasure is the occasional pain he inflicts upon people, the result of a level seven degradation to his neural pathway 0x63A82, which bridges Sawbones' main medical software to its manual manipulator. If given the choice, Sawbones would rather that neural pathway stay damaged, so his life may continue to have what little joy it has now.

The other outlet for his frustrations is poetry. He logs his creations on the terminal in the infirmary, behind a Very Hard password. Paladin Glade has taken upon himself the role of critic and hacked Sawbones' terminal to remind the robot that he should either change his password or lose his poems.

Effects of player's actions

 * If the Lone Wanderer asks Sawbones to be healed, it will wound them instead, out of its incompetence as a medical robot. The Lone Wanderer can fix the robot and receive free healing.
 * After repairing Sawbones' malfunction and receiving medical treatment, an effect called "Sawbones' Precision" will appear in the Pip-Boy, giving the Lone Wanderer +2 Endurance and +2 Perception. The effect lasts for about three in-game hours, and it can be gained again by receiving healing from Sawbones.

Appearances
Sawbones appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * "Sawbones" is a historical term for a surgeon, dating back to the early 19th century. The name refers to the surgeon sawing through bones during an amputation for a soldier on the battlefield.


 * Sawbones is a reference to the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek Voyager. When first encountered, it greets the Lone Wanderer with "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the line delivered by the EMH Mk I upon activation. It also has a poor bedside manner that is a hallmark of the EMH Mk I. It is also writing poetry, something that a normal Mister Gutsy would not do; much like the doctor, compared to his holographic counterparts.