Arcade Gannon

"It's...a thing. A science thing. It hurts robots. Don't worry about it."

Arcade Israel Gannon, is a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse with a mysterious past in 2281.

Background
Gannon is the son of an Enclave officer, born in Navarro in 2246. As a boy, he bore witness to the aftermath of the oil rig's destruction and suffered the loss of his father, who was killed on a combat mission away from the base. He was close with his mother and especially close with the Enclave Remnants, who became his de facto family when they were forced out of NCR territories eastward. He joined the Followers to find a peaceful application for his skills and eventually arrived in Freeside.

His hobbies include reading pre-War books about failed socioeconomic theories. Gannon speaks fluent Latin, although he is quick to assure the Courier that it was not a skill he picked up from Caesar's Legion.

Personality
Arcade is quiet, analytical, and cautious. Highly ethical and moral, he understands the post-apocalyptic world is one in which sometimes, people just have to be shot in the head. He is more concerned with large-scale issues than the needs of individuals. He may appreciate what individual people go through, but firmly believes that it's more important to affect large-scale societal change than to fix problems little by little.

Forced to conceal his past for fear of NCR persecution, he struggles to find a confidante, and while he had many men in his life, lovers make poor confidantes. Daisy Whitman is the only woman in his life after the death of his mother. For her, Arcade is like a son she never had.

Other interactions
During the course of the game, you'll have the opportunity to acquire Gannon as a companion if you have the Confirmed Bachelor perk or by passing a speech check of 75. He will also take pity on a character with a very low intelligence stat and join you, remarking, "You sound like you really do need some help." It is also possible to aquire him as a companion if you have helped the Followers of the Apocalypse and gained a good reputation with them. When speaking to Arcade ask him if he wants any help and he will comment that whilst he does not need any help, the Courier has helped Julie Farkas. You then have the option to ask him if he will join you. If you already have a humanoid companion he will say yes, but you wont be allowed to recruit him. Once you have no humanoid companions, simply ask again if he needs any help. He will offer the same reply but this time accept. Gannon is geared towards using the Medicine and Science skills, and is most effective when equipped with energy weapons. Gannon will refuse to join the Courier if they are accepted with the Legion.

After shifting the balance between factions and exploring several locations that trigger memories of his days with the Enclave, Arcade will offer the quest For Auld Lang Syne to reunite the members of his father's old squad in order to have them render assistance in the upcoming battle at Hoover Dam. Alternately, you can travel with other companions until just before the Hoover Dam battle, then pick up Gannon and he will offer the quest immediately.

During this quest he will open up further with the player, revealing snippets of personal information that he otherwise would keep hidden. At the end of his quest, he will become permanently unavailable as a companion. He may show up at the end of the game as a non-player character, though, depending on how the Courier completes the quest.

If you have Arcade Gannon as a companion when speaking to Caesar during the Et Tumor, Brute? quest, you also have the option of selling him into slavery as Caesar's personal doctor.

The Gannon of Van Buren was a former Enclave infantryman operating in the Midwestern United States. At some point he deserted the Enclave and joined the Followers of the Apocalypse in Hoover Dam. In Burham Springs, he could identify the Poseidon Energy logos denoting the AGRICOLA lab.

Endings
One of the more tragic characters, there are many ways in which Gannon's ultimate fate can turn out to be the worst of the worst:
 * If the NCR wins and Gannon fights at Hoover Dam, he is identified as an Enclave member and forced to flee east, pursued by bounty hunters, NCR Rangers and the Brotherhood. He is never heard from again.
 * If the Legion wins and Gannon fights at the Dam, he covers NCR's retreat at the Mojave Outpost. However, when one of the Rangers identifies his father's armor as Enclave gear, he is captured and imprisoned for life.
 * If New Vegas becomes independent and Gannon fights at the Dam, Arcade is hailed as a hero and uses his Enclave knowledge and technology to keep order.
 * If House wins and Gannon fights at Hoover Dam, Arcade leaves the Mojave, never to be heard from again.
 * If the NCR wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, he eventually returns to NCR territory and becomes a Followers teacher.
 * If the Legion wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, he is gunned down in Westside as he helps some of the locals escape Caesar's grip.
 * If New Vegas becomes independent and Gannon stays in Freeside, Arcade helps the locals govern themselves.
 * If House wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, Arcade, disillusioned with the Followers of the Apocalypse, settles down on the outskirts of the Boneyard, where he works happily as a family doctor.
 * If the NCR wins and Gannon was sold into slavery, he dies during the Legion's retreat and his body is heaped with those of many others in a nameless ravine on the Legion's long march home.
 * If Caesar survives and Gannon was sold into slavery, he becomes the Caesar's favourite intellectual sparring partner. After years of servitude, he commits suicide by disembowelling himself with a scalpel and his bare hands during unguarded moment. His loss is mourned by Caesar for months.
 * If Caesar is dead, the Legion is victorious and Gannon was sold into slavery, Arcade is crucified by Lanius, who grew tired of his acerbic wit.

Appearances
Arcade Gannon only appears in Fallout: New Vegas, but was going to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

While the Denver design document mentions him as being in Hoover Dam, the Hoover Dam design document does not mention Gannon, which probably indicates that he was added into the game after the latter was written.

Bugs

 * Arcade will sometimes completely vanish during play (such as when entering or leaving Hoover Dam or Camp McCarran). Waiting or fast-travelling will not bring him back.  To fix this issue, press ~ to open the console. Type (without the quotation marks) "prid 0010d8eb" then press enter.  You should now see Gannon's name at the top of the screen.  Type (without the quotation marks) "moveto player" then press enter. Close the console by pressing ~ again and Gannon should now be next to the player. On consoles, waiting at the Old Mormon Fort for 3 days should reset his location.
 * Sometimes when you try to get him to rejoin you, there won't be an option in the dialog to do so. Having another humanoid companion will restore the dialog, but of course that means he refuses to join you until that companion is fired. Sometimes asking Rex or ED-E to leave the party can fix this, and if not, progressing in the main story a bit.
 * At the end of For Auld Lang Syne, Arcade Gannon can leave the player's party to return to Freeside, but will instead return to the Lucky 38.
 * After the end of For Auld Lang Syne, if Arcade decides to fight with the Remnants at Hoover Dam, he will not actually be present at the battle.
 * Like with all companions on New Vegas, sometimes via script such as entering casinos will remove their "companion only" weapon. Upon leaving you will receive it in your inventory and can even use it, but if you happen to drop it on the ground, you cannot pick it back up when you click it -- it will only say "steal" with no weapon name shown. If you don't have the weapons in your inventory check ED-E or Rex by taking all items out of his inventory and checking his inventory weight.
 * Arcade will completely vanish if he is following you when you enter Hoover Dam. He will not even reappear if you fast travel. The only known ways to fix this are to reload a save or use the elevator in Vault 22; or, unless you have started Auld Lang Syne, and have not talked to all the remnants, you can talk to any of them and Arcade will reappear after you do so (assuming you convince them to attend the reunion). This problem can easily be avoided by having him wait outside while you enter the Dam.
 * Arcade disappears when entering Camp McCarran, but if you have started Auld Lang Syne, and have not talked to all the Remnants, you can talk to any of them and Arcade will reappear after you do so (assuming you convince them to attend the reunion). If you gave him a weapon, he may not have it when he reappears though, so be careful when giving companions unique weapons.
 * If you remove his eyeglass from his inventory, he will still have a pair on. Furthermore, if you give him his eyeglasses back, he will wear 2 pairs of eyeglasses at once.
 * Sometimes he fails to show a companion screen and will instead simply talk to you after completion of For Auld Lang Syne.
 * Occasionally Arcade's Plasma Defender can go missing from his inventory and become the default weapon for other companions such as Boone. He will fight unarmed until provided with something else.
 * Sometimes he will die when you are not on hardcore mode. Happened after completion of For Auld Lang Syne. This may because the game does not consider Arcade a companion anymore after For Auld Lang Syne.
 * Occasionally upon entering the Old Mormon Fort, there is a glitch were he has 'two heads', although they are in the exact same place. This is easily seen while he is talking, as the inside head will not move, so while he's talking, there are lips and skin in his mouth. This is known as the "Oblivion double-face bug" and was fairly common in TES IV: Oblivion but not seen at all in Fallout 3.
 * Although he will not join you as a companion if you have a favorable rating with the Legion and will not speak to you while you have Legion armor on, Arcade can equip and wear Legion Centurion armor.
 * Sometimes he will disappear after exiting Hoover Dam and Camp McCarran.
 * Sometimes if he wears a helmet for too long, when you remov his helmet, he may never put his glasses back on.
 * Arcade has been known to initiate random, out-of-sequence, exchanges with the Courier. These are often in reference to events that took place in the past, but are phrased as though they are about to be initiated. This can occur if PC engages the Legion while Arcade is hung up in another part of the map, and will result in Arcade inquiring "Am I Virgil to your Dante?" at a random place and time later in the game.
 * Arcade might vanish if you or him go swimming near Hoover Dam. This problem can be solved by visiting Hoover Dam and travel to Old Mormon Fort and wait 2-4 in-game days. He will then proceed to say something about Hoover Dam even though he's in Old Mormon Fort.

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