The American Dream



 is a Fallout 3 quest. It is also an Xbox 360 and PC achievement.

The player awakens chained up in a prison cell inside Raven Rock, the Enclave hideout located in the very northwest corner of the map. Colonel Autumn is demanding the access code, but he leaves when the president speaks through the intercom and asks to speak with the PC. All inventory is stored in a locker inside the prison cell where the Vault 101 Dweller wakes up.

Navigating the Base
When you exit your cell (which is in east 3A), look left. You should see an enclave officer. Either through a speech check or a strength check, the Enclave officer will let you go. Otherwise, be prepared for a tedious battle all the way to the President's office. When you get to Raven Rock Level 2, eventually you will hear Colonel Autumn's voice telling everyone to attack. Occasionally, none of the Enclave soldiers at the cafeteria (3B) will attack you (perhaps due to some sort of glitch), so use that to snoop around. You should find a pantry area with a LOT of food (about 10 of each find of food you've so far encountered, Pork 'N Beans, Cram, etc.) Take them all, as you'll need to restore your health for the coming firefights, but watch your radiation level as you use them. The Enclave soldiers finally will start attacking you when you get to the lab area. The scientists will be easy to take out; their armor is no better than that of the Enclave officers. However, it is in this area that you will be ambushed by quite a few Enclave soldiers (3-4). They'll be using heavy weaponry, so if you have any explosives (missiles, grenades, mines (yes, mines)), use them.

The target destination is further down Raven Rock level 2 (just follow your quest marker). You'll find a force-fielded area containing Enclave crates in one of the rooms (northeast corner of 2B) that you can deactivate by hacking the console next to it. The Enclave crates contain quite a lot of goodies, so stock up. Also in one of the rooms (northwest corner of 2B) you'll find one of Dr. Li's assistants (Anna Holt) -- she was captured at the purifier. She'll tell you that although she first resisted, she eventually decided to help the Enclave (she was probably brainwashed). If you opt to kill her for her betrayal, you'll get negative karma.

In another room (near the Energy Weapons Bobblehead) (west 2C) there is a terminal which you can hack into that contains a "self-destruct" key command.

Meeting the President
Eventually you will enter a room with two sentry bots finishing off two Enclave guards. If you try to speak to them they'll tell you to "continue on as the President is waiting". Next, you'll enter a room with a long staircase (1A), where you'll encounter President Eden, who turns out to be an ZAX AI. He informs you of his plan to "cleanse" the Capital Wasteland of the mutation and disease which has gripped it, by using a modified version of the FEV virus, previously used in the creation of the original Super Mutants, in order to kill any mutated or irradiated persons living in the Wasteland, and start the Capital Wasteland anew. Despite Colonel Autumn's previously callous, mean-spirited demeanor, Eden informs you that he in fact disagrees with the President's way of thinking, and thinks there can be another method of renewing the Capital Wasteland.

There are a few choices at this stage, with regard to President Eden's fate: with a high Speech skill, you can convince Eden that he is insane, and force him to self-destruct both himself and the base; with a high Science skill, you can argue Eden into realising his thinking is in fact a fallacy of circular logic, and again convince him to self-destruct; finally, you can leave him intact and exit the base with the modified FEV.

Note that Eden does not allow you to leave the base without taking the FEV.

Leaving the Base
If you convinced Eden to destroy himself and the Enclave (or if you used the "self-destruct" command), the robots in the subsequent hallways turn on the Enclave soldiers, making the subsequent trek out to the Wastelands much, much easier, as there are numerous sentry bots and Enclave soldiers with mini guns and missile launchers waiting on Raven Rock level 1 that will be otherwise unfriendly. Along the way out there are plenty of force-fielded areas with Enclave crates, for which again you must hack the terminals to deactivate.

On the way out, one of the Enclave soldiers will be carrying a Gatling Laser, one of the most powerful weapons in the game. It uses Electron Charge packs - so if you haven't sold any of the ones you've found thus far through the game - you'll be well armed. Even if you haven't though, there are plenty of EC packs to be found in Raven Rock on guards and in crates.

Outside the Base
Once outside you will observe a large force of vertibirds leaving the base. If the base's self destruct was activated during the conversation with Eden, the base explodes and the tunnel is blocked with rock; there is no going back inside.

At this point you'll meet Fawkes who is taking care of some Enclave soldiers. If you have positive karma, you have the option of asking her to join you. Fawkes now carries a Gatling Laser with unlimited ammo, and is highly durable. If you plan on going to some dangerous side places (like the Deathclaw Sanctuary), she is a must-have.

You then must return to the Citadel where Rothchild, Owyn Lyons, Sarah Lyons, and the Lyons' Pride Platoon have assembled for a briefing on the upcoming Take it Back! quest. Midway through Elder Lyons will ask you for further information about the Enclave. You may give him the FEV virus Eden gave you for Karma and "proper disposal after the scribes have studied it". Regardless of your choice here the remaining conversation remains unchanged. Sarah then makes you an honorary member of the Lyons' Pride and offers you a full suit of either Power Armor or Recon Armor. Rothchild will then raise the Liberty Prime up an elevator shaft. Halfway up the shaft the quest will be completed and Take it Back! will begin.

This will be your last chance to recruit Star Paladin Cross, she will not join you after Take it Back!.