Algernon

Algernon is a savant living underneath the New Reno Arms weapon shop in the city of New Reno.

Background
A very curious man, Algernon's prowess with all things mechanical is not to be underestimated, although his ability to deal with other people lags behind his ability to repair and upgrade the devices around him. A conversation with Algernon is practically one-sided. Only capable of expressing himself verbally via battle sound onomatopoeia, he nevertheless seems to understand what is said to him. But Algernon is not kept around for scintillating conversation.

Interactions with the player character
Upon sighting any stock weapons, Algernon will become extremely excited. If he can get his hands upon an unmodified weapon, Algernon will appear to find true happiness - at least for a few hours - tinkering with the weapon and vastly improving it. This process is not a quick one, however. Improvements on any weapon will take several hours, but with two distinct advantages over any other wasteland weaponsmiths:


 * He does not require any special parts, aside from the weapon itself.
 * He also does not take money for the service.

As such, characters with time to spare can improve whole arsenals of scavenged and looted weapons, selling the more valuable improved versions for tremendous profit.

In addition to the more mundane pistols, rifles, and plasma weapons, Algernon can also improve both flamethrowers and the fuel they consume, making the weapons much more powerful. (See Below)

A character with a low enough intelligence can start a "childhood cop and robbers" type dialog with Algernon that results in his death.

Upgrade list
Algernon can upgrade the following:

Appearances
Algernon only appears in Fallout 2.

Behind the scenes
Algernon's focused brilliance, and his name, probably pay homage to the book and later play Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. The book has received much criticism and compliment, and has been the focus of several controversies regarding its inclusion in school reading curricula. Charlie Gordon, the main character, is a 32 year-old mentally challenged janitor who briefly becomes a genius as the result of an experimental medical procedure, but becomes mentally challenged again and dies due to an unforeseen side effect of the procedure.