Doctor Mobius

Doctor Mobius is a think tank operating in the Big MT in 2281. He is the leader of the robo-scorpion army and nemesis of Dr. Klein and his team.

Background
Doctor Mobius was one of the Big MT "Think Tank" executives before the Great War. Sometime after the War, he became a think tank during the "Think Tank Project" in order to continue his work at the Big MT. Like the others, he forgot a part of his personality and his real name, due to the recursion loop in their new perception programming.

After the escape of the cazadores and nightstalkers, Mobius became disillusioned with the methods of the other think tanks. He grew tired of the endless and horrible experimentation, and was deeply afraid of the damage the amoral and psychosis-ridden think tanks would wreak upon the fragile, post-apocalyptic world in the name of science. He erected a radar fence - a kind of radar-guided repulsive field - around the perimeter of Big MT to prevent the disembodied brains from escaping into the wasteland.

After a severe dispute with Klein, Mobius removed all the chips of all personalities of The Sink; his room and personal laboratory, and against their will, hacked the data banks of his colleagues, reprogramming their chronometers, geometers and cartography programs, making them lose their sense of history, time and the world beyond Big MT. He also actively fostered the false notions that robo-scorpions are somehow able to consume intelligence from brains, fueling the Think Tanks' fear of leaving Big MT's central dome, he was exiled for crimes too heinous to remain in recorded memory, and a belief that Big MT is the world, and nothing exist out of Big MT. However in the process, it also damaged some of their memories and knowledge, leaving mangled, disjointed versions of themselves. Disgusted to have done this to his friends, he also erased some parts of his memory, like this event and his pre-War creation, the robo-scorpion.

Afterward, Mobius moved to the X-42 robo-warfare facility (which he renamed the "Forbidden Zone") and began to "re-create" the robo-scorpion after seeing some radscorpions coming into Big MT, with all features of the pre-War model as energy bolts blaster in the tail, eyes and bullhorns systems connected to him. Now with a proper army, Mobius decided that without something to distract the other think tanks, the radar fence would eventually become insufficient to contain them. He began to send repetitive, threatening broadcasts, instilling fear and prompting the think tanks to focus on retrieving technologies with which to defend themselves against Mobius. With the remaining think thanks restricted to central dome because of the fear instilled in them by Mobius, the Big MT fell mostly silent.

Although not originally aggressive in his intentions, Mobius' own behavior seems to have degraded over the years, likely in part due to an increasingly serious addiction to Mentats and Psycho. By 2281, he had not only lost the functionality of his right 'eye' monitor, but also began to suffer from short term memory loss, hallucinations and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Although his plan had been mostly successful, the recent arrival of Father Elijah, Christine and Ulysses from The Mojave has caused the curiosity of the think tanks to begin pushing beyond the boundaries he had set for them.

The arrival of the Courier, and the subsequent survival of his/her lobotomy, proved to be the last straw. Mobius unleashed a fresh wave of robo-scorpions and announced his false intention to finish the other think tanks off once and for all, whilst subliminally suggesting to them that various technologies around the Big MT would help them against him. These technologies - a sonic emitter, a X-2 antenna and a Stealth suit Mk II - are actually all the components required to rehouse a brain inside a body. Eventually, the Courier defeated the X-42 giant robo-scorpion, entered the Forbidden Dome, and a confrontation ensued.

Quests

 * Old World Blues: You are to go to Mobius' lair and either kill him or reason with him.

Notable quotes

 * "I see you. Now, I end you." nvdlc03gen_attack_00015edb_1.ogg
 * "Well, there's many things they have forgotten sitting in their bowls. Friendship. The thrill of discovery. Love. Masturbation. The usual."
 * "You're really quiet difficult to ignore, you know. It's because you're... well, bah! Rather intriguing, if you don't mind an old brain for saying so."

Appearances
Mobius appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.

Behind the scenes

 * Mobius as well as the name of his base was inspired by Dr. Edward Morbius, the antagonist in the 1956 sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet".
 * His name is a reference to the Möbius strip, a 3D object which topologically has only one side. It is often used as a metaphor for infinity or looping.
 * Mobius makes a comment "Mmmmmm Men-thats" calling mentats "menthats" a reference to the Simpsons with Homers' "Mmmm (object)"
 * Mobius often says "raisins" instead of "reasons", this could be a reference to the Big Brain that appeared in an episode of Futurama, after being made stupid by Fry it comments "Now I will leave Earth for no raisin!".
 * The 'Murderous gang of thugs' that he said once went looking for a spine, a heart, and a brain, but had them all along is a reference to Frank L. Baum's book The Wizard of Oz. The thugs refer to The Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion.
 * Mobius' damaged right eye may be a reference to eye patches worn by villains in B-Movies.
 * This is possibly a reference to Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, the inventor of the Oxygen Destroyer used to kill Godzilla in the 1954 classic Godzilla, who wore an eye patch over the right eye.
 * If the player character has taken the Wild Wasteland trait, Mobius will mention keeping several "Plan 9s in place". This is a reference to the cult-classic, 1959 science fiction/horror film "Plan 9 From Outer Space", written and directed by the infamous Edward D. Wood Jr.
 * Mobius single eye watching over Big MT. seems to be a reference to "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe. This may also be a reference to the PnP RPG "Paranoia" where an ever-watchful computer (portrayed by an eye on a screen) is on constant lookout for mutants and commies.

Bugs

 * If you talk to Mobius after defeating the giant roboscorpion, you may be forced into killing him, as you can only end the conversation with "enough, I came here to kill you." This can be avoided if the player has a repair skill of 75, permitting the player to repair the "ghosting" in his optical sensors. This will open up the conversation to leave him be without killing him. However, the player can still kill Mobius if they so choose.