Synth



Synths are androids created by The Institute and found in the Commonwealth, with two found in the Capital Wasteland.

Background
Synths, created by the mysterious Institute, are classified into one of three generations depending upon their complexity. Generation 1 synths are purely mechanical humanoids with skeletal appearances; consequently, they are crude representations of living humans. Like their predecessors, Generation 2 synths are also mechanical, but have more advanced frames that are partially or fully covered in plastic panels that serve as "skin"; they might pass for humans if not closely inspected. Generation 3 synths represent the pinnacle of synth technology; with bio-mechanical bodies capable of respiration, bleeding, consuming, and having emotions and sensations, however, they may just be mimicking these emotions, either way, Generation 3 synths are indistinguishable from true humans.

Although it is unknown when each successive generation was developed, the people of Diamond City reportedly first encountered a synth that was for all appearances a normal human in 2229, in an incident called the "Broken Mask". The synth, which called itself Mr. Carter, may have been a Generation 3 prototype because of its external humanity, but internal artificiality. Many denizens of the Commonwealth have since become paranoid and prejudiced against synths, fearing they might be abducted by the Institute and replaced with identical copies of themselves. Their paranoia is justified to a certain extent, as some of the most sophisticated synths encountered act as spies and could fool the unaware.

Characteristics
Most encountered hostile synths belong to either Generations 1 or 2, and are armed with Institute laser weapons and Shock Batons.

When fighting against the Gen 1 and 2 Synths, it is possible to shoot off their limbs. This can come in handy if there are too many of them, as the moment one of their arms is destroyed, they may be unable to use their weapons - however they will then proceed to rush the player and begin attacking them with their remaining arm. Shooting their legs will result in them crawling to the player and attacking them with their hands.

In the mission Call to Arms, Institute synths display a disturbing level of sapience, eerily treading the line between man and machine. The synths' sapience is exemplified in their dialogue, they call out to both the Sole Survivor and Paladin Danse when in the ArcJet Systems building, stating "whoever you are, I know you're there". Synths will also question themselves if they have detected but cannot uncover a target, commenting that their systems may be in need of recalibration. This dialogue, more than anything, hints heavily at the level of potential independence possessed by the synthetic humanoids.

Gen 3 Controversy
There is a lot of controversy over the sentience of Gen 3 Synths and whether they should be allowed to live normal lives, some say they are mere machines mimicking Human emotion and are just like any other Mr. Handy, undeserving of free will (eg. The Institute), some say they are a dangerous threat and need to be destroyed due to their use above ground (eg. The Brotherhood of Steel), while others say they are fully sentient based of some of the evidence inside the institute and therefore deserve to be free. (eg. The Railroad)

One of the points for them counting as "Human" is the process of making, they are constructed bone by bone, then covered in muscle tissue, their heart is started then they are dipped in synthetic skin before being processed, they are made of flesh and blood despite it not being human, it is somewhere during this process that the Synth Component is added to them, this allows the Institute control over them via voice commands.

A second, more important point for their sentience would be their ability to do what they want, if they didn't have free will why would they want to leave the institute, some might call this a bug however some members of the institute itself think this might show something more, this is demonstrated in the quest Synth Retention where you have to go and bring back a rogue synth who had become a Raider. The Institute used this to say how Synths are too dangerous to be let free however, some saw this as proof that they are sentient.

Appearances
Synths appear in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. The two synths encountered in Fallout 3, Armitage and Harkness, were ostensibly Generation 3 synths, and Generation 1 and 2 synths were not introduced until Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * Synths share many similarities with the terminators from the Terminatorfilm franchise. The most notable one being that the Generation 1 synths are nothing more than endoskeletons that loosely resemble a human skeleton, just like the majority of terminators created by SkyNet. The Generation 2 synths differ in that they possess artificial skin like the T-600 terminators shown in Terminator Salvation. The Generation 3 synths were designed to look exactly like human beings so that they can infiltrate human settlements undetected, which is the exact purpose of the T-800 infiltrator seen in every Terminator film. Sometimes when in combat with Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths, they will say to the player "You must be terminated." Finally, the biggest similarity is that both the Fallout and Terminator franchises depict a post apocalyptic America destroyed by nuclear war.
 * The Generation 3 synths are much like Replicants from Blade Runner in that they are synthetic humans genetically engineered entirely out of organic substances and are virtually indistinguishable from real human beings. This is one of many Blade Runner references throughout the game. In fact, the surname "Deckard," if used in some way as part of the player's name, is one of the names that Codsworth is capable of saying. This is a reference to Rick Deckard from the film. In addition, the test required to enter Covenant measures psychological response to random questions, very similar to the exam that Blade Runners give to suspected Replicants.
 * The hunting of rogue synths somewhat references the movie Artificial Intelligence. The movie depicts a futuristic America where androids are used as servants for various jobs, but they commonly gain self awareness and run away only to be hunted down and destroyed.
 * The exact distinction between Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths is a little vague. In the games files there are three types of non Generation 3 synth not two. Some are unambiguously gen 1 synths and spawn with a completely exposed mechanical skeleton and typically don't use armor. On the other hand some are unambiguously gen 2 synths and have intact "skin" which can only be damaged by crippling their limbs, have expressive faces, and typically wear clothes. In between these are synths with rigid plastic skin which typically spawn at least partially damaged and can be blasted off by the player even without crippling limbs similar to other robots. The last group could represent gen 2's that have began to decay but given the more rigid appearance of their skin they appear to be an earlier model. differently than most robots It could be that Gen 1 synths may have been built with plastic casings that often degraded over time and some units simply have none left.

Gallery
Synth Синт