Nick Valentine



Nick Valentine is a synthetic private detective and potential companion living in Diamond City. He is found in Vault 114 in 2287.

Background
An unusual robotic detective, Nick Valentine operates a small agency in Diamond City. In addition to possessing the memories of a late pre-war detective, Nick has certain synth gifts that complement his investigative skills: he is very effective at hacking computers, and adept at both ranged and melee combat. Valentine believes himself to be a prototype between second generation synths and the latest, which might explain why he exhibits sapient intelligence and is not innately hostile towards non-Institute humans. He is generally well respected throughout Diamond City despite his mysterious origins.

Although Diamond City holds no small amount of hatred for the Institute and their synths, Nick gained their respect by saving the daughter of the city's former mayor when she ran away with a caravan trader. The caravan trader and his companions were, unbeknownst to the girl, actually kidnappers who (as kidnappers tend to do) proceeded to take her hostage. Nick stumbled upon the kidnappers purely by happenstance when he was wandering the Commonwealth wasteland, having been almost exclusively itinerant since his "awakening". Finding himself held at gunpoint and likely the girl's only hope, Nick scared the abductors away by claiming that he had a bomb inside him and beeping (true to Fallout-style humor, Nick claims that he literally just said the word "beep" repeatedly).

When the Mayor's daughter told Nick what had happened he returned her to her father, who in turn gave him a house in Diamond City as compensation despite the citizens' dismay and objections; Nick gradually assuaged the citizens' fears by acting as Diamond City's handyman. His formidable detective skills were brought to the forefront when he helped to find a wife who was thought dead: Nick discovered that she had in actuality run away with her lover. In time, people stopped asking Nick to fix things when it became clear that he had found his true calling as Diamond City's private investigator.

Once the Sole Survivor gains a sufficiently positive relationship with Nick, he will reveal that his personality and memories are those of a pre-war detective who volunteered to have his memories encoded into an early synth model by the Institute (which was at the time still known as the Commonwealth Institute of Technology). Upon awakening in his synth body many years later, Nick -- being possessed only of those memories and with no recollection of his construction nor of the Institute -- suffered tremendously from confusion and disorientation as he attempted to navigate the Commonwealth and to acclimate himself to his new reality.

It is revealed in Far Harbor that Nick is one of two unique synths the Institute manufactured to test if synths could handle independent thinking and judgement, with the other being DiMA-- the current leader of Acadia. DiMA and Nick were close while in the Institute, and eventually escaped together. However, once outside, Nick--still disoriented from being experimented on--panicked and attacked DiMA. Having no other choice, DiMA knocks him unconscious and abandons him for unknown reasons. The two are reunited when Nick and the Sole Survivor travel to Far Harbor on a case, and though DiMA is very glad to see his brother again, Nick is reluctant due to not remembering DiMA at all. Upon finding proof of their relationship, the Sole Survivor can convince Nick to accept DiMA as his brother, and the two will occasionally greet each other or chat upon entering Acadia.

As synths and their associated technology were largely unknown at the time Nick escaped the Institute, most wastelanders regarded Nick with equal parts fear and awe; however, he was eventually accepted into a small local community where a mechanic offered to repair the damage he had sustained in his travels. During this time Nick befriended a child he knew only as "Jim" the first human contact Nick ever had. Nick eventually left that settlement; upon visiting years later, he found that it had been pillaged by raiders. The fate of its population remains unclear.

During the quest Long Time Coming Nick reveals that an old criminal from before the war, Edward Winter, killed his fiancé Jennifer Lands. After killing Eddie, Nick will lead to a spot nearby which he then explains is the spot where Jennifer was murdered.

Companion uses

 * Valentine can be used to hack terminals of any tier by guiding him to the nearest terminal. This will take some time, depending on the difficulty. However, he might fail and be locked out forever. This chance increases with each tier. If he fails and locks himself out of the terminal, the terminal can still be hacked.
 * Valentine will not hack terminals that strictly belong to someone else.

Other interactions

 * Valentine cannot be romanced.

Effects of player's actions

 * Achieving maximum relationship with Nick Valentine gives the Survivor the Close to Metal perk which allows one extra attempt when hacking and a 50% reduced lockout time upon failing a hack. His personal quest Long Time Coming must be completed before the perk can be obtained. The quest Dangerous Minds must be completed to trigger quest Long Time Coming if maximum relationship already achieved.
 * He will comment on the Sole Survivor's decisions after completing the main questline. He responds negatively to choosing the Institute.

Appearances
Nick Valentine appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * Nick Valentine's name is similar to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade: Spade is the name of a suit of playing cards while a "Valentine," often given on Valentine's Day, is also associated with a heart-shape (another suit of cards.) And, of course, Nick is inspired by the classic noir detective of which Sam Spade is the archetype. His costume, facial appearance, and voice are also similar to those of Humphrey Bogart, who was famous for his roles as a hard-boiled detective in various films noir, most notably as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.
 * Nick could also be influenced by the character Pero from the 2001 movie Metropolis as Nick and Pero, after his fatal gunshot wound, have similar appearances, outfits, jobs and even injuries.
 * Nick Valentine's voice shares a number of characteristics with the voice of George Valentine (portrayed by Bob Bailey) from the radio serial "Let George Do It", about a detective-for-hire. His first client in the pilot episode is a Mr. Winters, who dies under mysterious circumstances.

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