Tom Anderson

Tom Anderson is an exiled member of the Followers of the Apocalypse, an engineer and co-owner of the Westside Cooperative, living in Westside in 2281.

Background
Anderson is an agriculture and water specialist who trained with the Followers of the Apocalypse. He previously ran operations for the NCR's R&D branch Office of Science and Industry, but has had a falling out with the NCR similar to other members of the Followers of the Apocalypse, though he is still close to his fellow Followers despite the separation. Currently, Anderson has splintered from the Followers of the Apocalypse to help local Vegas residents in growing crops in the Westside area. Many of the citizens of Westside say that Anderson's assistance is the main reason why Westside can grow crops at all and survive. This has allowed the area a level of self-sustainability not seen in the other outer communities of New Vegas.

Despite having the good opinion of most of Westside's citizens, Tom has a troubled past which may explain his separation from other Followers of the Apocalypse. As documented in Anderson's confession, he has broken the law many times due to his belief in the maxim "the end justifies the means." He has even committed murder, killing an NCR trooper to cover his diversion of water to Westside to prevent local crop failure. Ironically, unknown to Anderson, the water is contaminated, as the Courier will discover in the quest Hard Luck Blues. This will inevitably shrink Westside's crop yield, similar to the situation at the NCR sharecropper farms.

Quests

 * The White Wash: Anderson has some useful information about the whereabouts of Corporal White.
 * I Could Make You Care: During the aforementioned quest, Anderson attempts to explain his beliefs and those of the Followers. This may trigger a reaction in Veronica Santangelo initiating her personal quest.

Appearances
Tom Anderson appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Bugs

 * While in prison in the Camp McCarran terminal building, Anderson may still talk as though he were still in Westside.
 * Anderson can disappear into the wall of his apartment though he remains on your radar, if this happens prior to the White Wash quest, the quest becomes impossible to finish.
 * Even though you can find him in the prison at the Camp McCarran terminal building at the end of the quest, you can still find him in Westside. There will be two non-player characters of Anderson.