Megaton

Megaton is a town in the Capital Wasteland, east of Vault 101, built around a crater where an undetonated nuclear bomb lies. This nuke is worshiped by some citizens as a miraculous sign from God. People took this unexploded bomb as a sign from God that He intended them to survive. This encouraged them to build their town around this bomb, using salvaged parts including a downed airline carrier.

The bomb is exactly the same as those that can be found in storage at Fort Constantine.

As the PC approaches Megaton, he/she could see scavenging or hunting birds circling above the city.

Places in Megaton

 * Bomb at the bottom of the crater, lying in a pool of water, in which a single person is standing praying to the bomb.Unfortunately there is a bug where the person praying will suddenly die. Luckily this does not affect any quests. Although there could be a possibility that they die from radiation poisoning as the water just like all other sources of natural water in the game are highly radioactive. It's possible that Bethesda added this in to simply to add more realism.
 * Church of the Atom
 * Moriarty's Saloon
 * Craterside Supply
 * Megaton Shack ("luxury apartment")
 * Armory

Megaton characters

 * To the left of the gates of Megaton is a character "Micky" who requests Purified Water, in exchange for Karma.
 * Approaching travelers are greeted by deputy Weld, a Protectron robot (that looks, in shape, similar to Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet), who speaks (in a typical Lost In Space) robot voice:
 * "Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe, we promise. Please hold for threat level assessment. Threat level minimal. Open the gates. Open the gates. Welcome to Megaton." Then the gates are opened slowly by a sniper (Stockholm) perched on the wall.
 * The sheriff of Megaton (and mayor when the need arises) is Lucas Simms. He has a younger son running around the town.
 * Civilian residents include Billy Creel, a wanderer who saved a young girl named Maggie, from the dangers of the wastes after her parents were killed.
 * The local bad-ass is Jericho, a bitter ex-raider who moved to Megaton to escape the horrible things he's witnessed and committed out in the lawless wastes.
 * Running a bar and food stall is the Stahls (Leo, Jenna and Andy), a relatively new group of residents of Megaton, each with their own rough personalities.
 * There is Colin Moriarty, owner of Moriarty's Saloon who is known around town as a rather shifty character.
 * Gob, the misunderstood Ghoul, is the bartender of the saloon.
 * Nova is the well-known local prostitute, who works in the saloon for Colin.
 * There is a faction represented by the mysterious Mr. Burke, that wants the nuclear bomb detonated and Megaton wiped out.

Related quests

 * Following in His Footsteps: The main quest, a mission which is given once the player exits Vault 101. Finding the whereabouts of your father has it's beginnings in Megaton.
 * The Power of the Atom: A major quest in Megaton that revolves around disarming or detonating the bomb. If the Player detonates it he gets to watch the explosion from Tenpenny Tower, if he disarms it he receives the key to his own house in Megaton, which can be decorated and comes with a personal robot.
 * The Wasteland Survival Guide: Moira Brown, the local general shop owner of Craterside Supply, gives the mission if dialogue is pursued enough. The player is given a series of "tasks" to help her finish her Survival Guide, ranging from somewhat logical help by finding medical supplies and food in an old Super Duper Mart, to ludicrous and dangerous pursuits, like crippling body parts purposely, and over-dosing on radiation. All for her book.
 * Fix broken pipes around Megaton: Talk to Walter to start this mini quest. Repair the three water leaks throughout the town. If you don't have enough repair skill try mentats, gaining a level, or an outfit that adds +5 repair(Vault 101 Utility Jumpsuit). After repairing the leaks, Walter allows you to trade him Scrap Metal and in return he gives you 10 Bottlecaps each and some experience. If you refuse Bottlecaps you will recieve experience and positive Karma.
 * NOTE: This quest can become glitched and become either impossible to complete or, in some cases, even start it. After much debate and experimenting (as it doesn't appear to happen in every game) it has been found that the quest giver Walter can fall to his death. His dead body will be found behind either the Brass Lantern or the Doctor's Clinic. Save your game before taking this quest on so you can reload if Walter does indeed decide to take a trip over the railings. This quest is repeatable, so if at some point in the future he dies, you are out of luck. It's completely random if this happens or not and has been observed to be very rare, but it is still a possibility.

Appearances
Megaton appears only in Fallout 3.