Arcade Gannon

Arcade Israel Gannon, is a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse with a mysterious past in 2281.

Background
Gannon is the son of an Enclave officer, born in Navarro in 2246. As a boy, he bore witness to the aftermath of the oil rig's destruction and suffered the loss of his father, who was killed on a combat mission away from the base. He was close with his mother and especially close with the Enclave Remnants, who became his defacto family when they were forced out of NCR territories eastward. He joined the Followers to find a peaceful application for his skills and eventually arrived in Freeside.

His hobbies include reading pre-War books about failed socioeconomic theories. Gannon speaks fluent Latin, a skill he shares with Caesar.

Personality
Arcade is quiet, analytical, and cautious. Highly ethical and moral, he understands the post-apocalyptic world is one in which sometimes, people just have to be shot in the head. He is more concerned with large-scale issues than the needs of individuals. He may appreciate what individual people go through, but firmly believes that it's more important to affect large-scale societal change than to fix problems little by little. Forced to conceal his past for fear of NCR persecution, he struggles to find a confidant, as while he had many men in his life, lovers make poor confidants.

Interactions with the player character
During the course of the game, you'll have the opportunity to acquire Gannon as a companion if you have the Confirmed Bachelor perk or by passing a speech check of 75 or a high reputation with Followers of the Apocalypse if the other conditions are not fulfilled. He will also take pity on a character with a very low intelligence stat and join you, remarking, "You sound like you really do need some help." Gannon is geared towards using the Medicine and Science skills.

After shifting the balance between factions (most certain objective is killing Mr House) and exploring several locations that trigger memories of his days with the Enclave (REPCONN Headquarters, crashed Vertibird and Silver Rush), Gannon will offer the quest For Auld Lang Syne to reunite the members of the Enclave that he was associated with before settling in the Mojave Wasteland in order to have them render assistance against the Legion. Alternatively, you can travel with other companions until just before the Hoover Dam battle, then pick up Gannon and he will offer the quest immediately.

During this quest he will open up further with the player, revealing snippets of personal information that he otherwise would keep hidden.

If you have Arcade Gannon as a companion when speaking to Caesar during the Et Tumor, Brute? quest, you also have the option of selling him into slavery as Caesar's personal doctor.

Fate
One of the more tragic characters, there are many ways in which Gannon's ultimate fate can turn out to be the worst of the worst.


 * If the NCR wins and Gannon fights at the Dam, he is identified as an Enclave member and forced to flee east, pursued by bounty hunters, NCR Rangers and the Brotherhood. He is never heard from again.
 * If the Legion wins and Gannon fights at the Dam, he covers NCR's retreat at the Mojave Outpost. However, when one of the Rangers identifies his father's armour as Enclave gear, he is captured and imprisoned for life.
 * If New Vegas becomes independent and Gannon fights at the Dam, Arcade is hailed as a hero and uses his Enclave knowledge and technology to keep order
 * If House wins and Gannon fights at the Dam, Arcade leaves the Mojave, never to be heard from again.
 * If the NCR wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, he eventually returns to NCR territories and becomes a Followers teacher.
 * If the Legion wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, he is gunned down in Westside as he helps some of the locals escape Caesar's grip.
 * If New Vegas becomes independent and Gannon stays in Freeside, Arcade helps the locals govern themselves.
 * If House wins and Gannon stays in Freeside, Arcade, disillusioned with the Followers of the Apocalypse, settles down on the outskirts of the Boneyard, where he works happily as a family doctor.
 * If the NCR wins and Gannon was sold into slavery, he dies during the Legion's retreat and his body is heaped with those of many others in a nameless ravine on the Legion's long march home.
 * If Caesar survives and Gannon was sold into slavery, he becomes the Legion leader's favourite intellectual sparring partner. After years of servitude, he commits suicide by disemboweling himself with a scalpel and his bare hands during one unguarded moment.
 * If Caesar is dead, the Legion is victorious and Gannon was sold into slavery, Arcade is crucified by Lanius, who grew tired of his acerbic wit.

Appearances
Arcade Gannon only appears in Fallout: New Vegas, but was going to appear in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, as an Enclave infantryman who could also identify the Poseidon Energy logos denoting the AGRICOLA lab.

While the Denver design document mentions him as being in Hoover Dam, the Hoover Dam design document does not mention Gannon, which probably indicates that he was added into the game after the latter was written.

Bugs

 * Sometimes after passing the speech check and successfully persuading him into your party he will stay at his current location and only offer dialogue. When the player says, "I'd like you to come with me." Arcade simply replies, "As the old saying goes two's company but three's a small army, I'm paraphrasing a bit but you get the idea." And that is all that may be done with him.


 * Likewise with all companions on New Vegas, sometimes via script such as entering casinos will remove their "companion only" weapon. Upon leaving you will receive it in your inventory and can even use it, but if you happen to drop it on the ground, you cannot pick it back up when you click it -- it will only say "steal" with no weapon name shown.


 * Sometimes, after firing him, the dialogue option to rehire him will not appear when returning to him in Freeside. If you have another humanoid companion with you, the dialogue will appear but he will reject you, saying that you already have too many companions. Upon firing your current companion, the dialogue option to hire him will disappear again, effectively making him unrecruitable. One explanation is he may not join because ED-E/Rex is in the party. Removing ED-E/Rex may let you invite Arcade to your party.  You may then re-invite ED-E/Rex (Confirmed).
 * If this fails, advancing in the storyline a bit and then trying again may help.
 * Completing For Auld Lang Syne also triggers this bug, except there is no way to recruit him back.


 * Sometimes he fails to leave areas with you and remains in the previous one, mostly noticed this happens at Camp McCarran. Arcade may also disappear entirely from the game when the player enters Camp McCarran with him following (even when told to wait outside); This may be solved by firing Arcade and re-hiring him after your business in Camp McCarran has been concluded. Confirmed on PC and Xbox 360. Most likely happened at the Strip.


 * if you remove his eyeglass from his inventory, he will still have a pair on. Furthermore, if you give him his eyeglasses back, he will wear 2 pairs of eyeglasses at once. (Not on my copy of the game (PC). CapAp 23:34, November 2, 2010 (UTC))


 * Sometimes he fails to show a companion screen and will instead simply talk to you. Happened after completion of For Auld Lang Syne


 * Sometimes he will die when you are not on hardcore mode. Happened after completion of For Auld Lang Syne

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