Ignacio Rivas

Ignacio Rivas is a Followers of the Apocalypse scientist living at HELIOS One in 2281. He tends to the management of the plant alongside the NCR.

Background
Rivas is a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse and has been working with the NCR on getting HELIOS One operational since the NCR took control of the location from the Brotherhood of Steel during Operation: Sunburst. Under the guise of research into the potential for solar energy, Rivas was sent to HELIOS by the Followers in order to investigate its connection with the pre-War company Poseidon Energy, and its business outside of alternative energy.

Despite the relationship of the Followers with the NCR, the NCR allowed Rivas to stay in order to gain as much information about HELIOS One as possible. Meanwhile, Rivas has been deliberately keeping them in the dark to conceal the existence of a powerful weapon, Archimedes II, from them. The NCR hired an additional technician, Fantastic, to help in the repair of HELIOS. Luckily for Rivas, Fantastic turned out to be completely incompetent, having conned his way into the position. So far, he hasn't made any discoveries on HELIOS One's true purpose, much less getting anything at the plant to actually work, and Rivas is not planning on correcting that any time soon.

From his time at HELIOS, Rivas has learned that it was affiliated with the United States military in some way and holds the key to a secret still-operational orbital laser, Archimedes II, in Earth's orbit. However, Rivas is concerned what would happen if either of the warring factions (the NCR or Caesar's Legion in particular) happened to learn how to utilize the technology. Personally, he hopes for a win-win scenario for the Followers where the energy is diverted equally across the region and not to power a weapon. For now, Rivas keeps watch of the plant, making sure the dangers are minimized.

Quests

 * ED-E My Love: Talking about technology with Rivas when ED-E is in the party will trigger an audio log.
 * That Lucky Old Sun: Rivas will give the Courier the Eastern reflector control terminal password needed to access the reflector mainframe. He also tells them that he suspects HELIOS One may be more than a simple energy plant, as Poseidon Energy was also interested in the development of weapons. He also remarks that it is convenient that the NCR hired an idiot who will not figure out the true purpose of the plant. He only reveals this information if he feels the player character will not use this information to arm the secret weapons Archimedes I and Archimedes II.

Other interactions

 * When speaking to Ignacio with Intelligence 3 or lower, the player character has unique topics such as, "Me help shoulders make shinies warm," "Who are Flowers of Pock-lips?" and "Do Flowers and NCR Bear play together?" It's also possible to respond with "pizza" and "warm" instead of "peace" and "war" when he asks the player character which they support.
 * If the player character has completed Eyesight to the Blind and is a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, they can mention it to Ignacio who will be relieved to have them there to help.
 * The player character can also mention they're with Caesar's Legion and will refuse to talk to the player from thereon.
 * If the Courier is male, they can flirt with him if they have the Confirmed Bachelor perk.

Effects of the player's actions

 * If the player character uses Archimedes to kill all the NCR forces at HELIOS One, he will later be found dead. Nearby is Fantastic, who has donned Legion recruit armor. When inquiring about Ignacio, Fantastic does not know what happened to him, or if he is personally responsible or not.

Appearances
Ignacio Rivas appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.