Robert Baker

Sergeant Robert "Bob" Baker was one of the residents of Vault 51. He was let into the vault early and held the duty of assisting ZAX in selection an overseer.

Background
Formerly a sergeant with the United States Armed Forces, Robert Baker was assigned to Vault 51 to advise the vault's ZAX artificial intelligence in finding the best way to select an overseer. Baker was concerned with the safety of his own family, and agreed to help ZAX learn about leadership knowing that his wife and children were safe. Baker first proposed a democratic vote to select the overseer, but it ended in failure when candidates voted for themselves, factions were formed and no one gained a majority. ZAX was not satisfied with the results, even after different types of elections were tried, and attempted to cut off any more votes. Baker stopped him, and mentioned that in his eyes, a leader was someone that stepped up in times of crisis. Unknown to Baker, this description of a leader doomed the vault to its deadly fate, as ZAX tried to create these crises from that point on.

ZAX began to psychologically manipulate Vault 51's residents and create conflict, even going as far as to plant weapons in the vault. When a resident with a gun nearly committed a mass shooting in the cafeteria on July 27, 2078, Baker disarmed the perpetrator and killed him with his own weapon. Baker confronted ZAX with the firearm, to which ZAX flatly admitted that it was creating the crises to speed up the overseer selection process. Unable to believe what he was hearing, Baker stormed out of the room and refused to help ZAX anymore.

After Reuben Gill went on a rampage, killing many of the vault's remaining residents on August 6, 2078, Baker had Gill in his sights but could not bring himself to kill anyone else, fearing that Gill's death would perpetuate a cycle of murder. Baker suffered a bullet wound and, dying in his barricaded room, asked ZAX if his family was safe. ZAX admitted that they were all killed in an "accident" prior to their assigned vault's sealing, the revelation of which caused Baker's heart to stop.

Appearances
Robert Baker is mentioned only in the Fallout 76 add-on Nuclear Winter.