Madison Li

Doctor Madison Li is a scientist working on portable fusion power and hydroponics experiments in Rivet City in 2277. As of 2287, she is in the Commonwealth working for the Institute as head of their Advanced Systems division.

Early Life and Project Purity
Madison Li was born in 2229. She was a young, idealistic scientist when she met James and fully bought into the notion of Project Purity. Madison hid her growing romantic feelings for James while respecting his marriage to Catherine. The project was going smoothly, and even had the support and help of the Brotherhood of Steel, but soon it all went downhill. Super mutant attacks were more frequent and purifying water on a large scale was much harder than first thought. After James and Catherine had a child, things couldn't get any worse for Project Purity when Catherine died and James decided to abandon the project to keep his child safe. The Brotherhood and the other scientists also left, and Project Purity was put on hold.

Dr. Li is the first distinct face that the player sees, during the birthing scene, as she carries the newborn Lone Wanderer away while Catherine is going into cardiac arrest.

Rivet City
Although Madison Li was filled with remorse upon Catherine's death, her sadness was replaced with a powerful sense of betrayal after James abandoned Project Purity. She headed to Rivet City, hearing about its thriving scientific community set up by Horace Pinkerton. Soon after she arrived, she began to argue with Pinkerton, as they often had different views on the matters at hand. One day, having enough of it all, Pinkerton left Rivet City and began to live in the bow of the ship. Doctor Li soon became head scientist of the group and began to grow healthy, radiation-free produce like fresh apples and fresh pears.

Return to Project Purity
Nineteen years after abandoning Project Purity, she is older, wiser, and much more cynical. Her life was going smoothly, but things drastically changed when she got an unexpected visit from James, who had escaped from Vault 101 and returned to Rivet City. He tried to recruit Dr. Li in his efforts to revive Project Purity, but she refused, thinking too much time had passed. Soon after her talk with James, she meets the now-adult Lone Wanderer. With Dr. Li's directions, the Lone Wanderer locates James, who returns to Rivet City and is finally able to recruit Madison to help him. Along with several other scientists, they head for the Jefferson Memorial, the location of Project Purity.

Once there, the scientists begin repairs to make things operational again. All is going smoothly, but suddenly the Enclave arrives and quickly overruns Project Purity. A squad of troopers led by Augustus Autumn occupies the project control room, demanding that the project be handed over to them at once. James, not trusting the Enclave, refuses to hand over the project. When Autumn, losing his patience, kills Janice Kaplinski, a fellow scientist working on the project, James sabotages the project, resulting in his death. Madison hesitates for a moment, in shock over the death of James and Janice, but then tells the Lone Wanderer that they can escape through the Taft Tunnel. Madison, the Lone Wanderer, and possibly some other scientists, escape and eventually make it to the Citadel. She speaks to Elder Lyons personally and demands that the Brotherhood of Steel take back the purifier.

After the Brotherhood defeats the Enclave at Project Purity, she tells the Lone Wanderer and Sarah Lyons that the equipment has been damaged, whether unintentionally or by sabotage. She further tells the two that the project control room is lethally irradiated, but it still needs to be activated quickly or the facility would explode.

Departure
After the purifier was activated, Madison left the Capital Wasteland and traveled to the Commonwealth to pursue other scientific endeavors, after the events of Fallout 3. The Brotherhood stayed in the Capital Wasteland with a large military presence, Dr. Li disagreed with the Brotherhood, believing now that with Project Purity running and the Enclave destroyed, the Brotherhood no longer need to stay.

Fallout 4
By 2287, Madison Li joined the Institute and became director of its advanced systems division. However, unlike everyone else in the Institute, Li wants to help the people of the Commonwealth, and she thinks that the Institute could greatly improve the Wasteland.

During the quest From Within, she can be convinced by the Sole Survivor to rejoin the Brotherhood of Steel either by persuading, or by collecting evidence of Doctor Brian Virgil's fate. Afterwards, she leaves the Institute for the Brotherhood, where she will contribute to the project to rebuild Liberty Prime. After Prime is rebuilt and the Brotherhood wins the war against the Institute, she will express anger at the Sole Survivor for misleading her; believing that the Brotherhood would only use Prime as a show of force, and not to destroy the Institute. No matter what you say, Dr Li will be furious and will mockingly say, ""Ad Victoriam", Sentinel" and refuse to talk to the Survivor ever again.

Quests

 * Scientific Pursuits: Dr. Li points the Lone Wanderer in the direction of the Jefferson Memorial to further the search for James.
 * The Waters of Life: Shaken by the events in the purifier room, Dr. Li enlists the Lone Wanderer to escort the remaining scientists to the Citadel.

Effects of player's actions
If the Lone Wanderer has killed Three Dog before completing the Galaxy News Radio quest, the player will need to talk to Dr. Li to resume the plot.

Other interactions
If the Lone Wanderer passes a Speech check before going to Project Purity, Dr. Li rewards them with 5 stimpaks.

Quests

 * From Within: Elder Maxson knows Dr Li is working for the Institute, and wants her, once again, to work alongside the Brotherhood. One can give her the "Brian Virgil personal log 0176" to convince her to leave the Institute.

Appearances
Madison Li appears in Fallout 3, Fallout Shelter and in Fallout 4. Li is also mentioned in the Fallout 3 add-on Broken Steel.

Bugs

 * If the player chooses to have Doctor Li join the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4, but then has the Prydwen and airport destroyed, Doctor Li will survive, but will remain in a section of the Boston Airport ruins that is only accessible via Console commands. She cannot be interacted with.
 * Similarly to above, if the player convinces Li to join the Brotherhood but then destroys both the Institute and the Brotherhood along with the Prydwen and the airport, Li can be found standing in the Prydwen's burnt-out carcass, wearing her BOS attire and acting like she never left the Institute and the Sole Survivor was made its director.