Dr. Zimmer

Dr. Zimmer is a scientist in Fallout 3 who is temporarily staying at Rivet City, searching for his prized escaped androids. Zimmer hails from the Commonwealth, and has arrived at Rivet City in hopes of recovering his lost android. Zimmer offers you the The Replicated Man quest.

Biography
Not much is known about Dr. Zimmer except that he is a scientist from the Commonwealth, formerly the pre-War state of Massachusetts, who specialises in robitics, specifically androids. He is from the Institute, a mysterious organisation with advanced technology and technological skills.

Sometime in 2277 Dr. Zimmer left the Commonwealth for the Capital Wasteland in search of a missing android. Accompanied by another android, Armitage, he made his way to Rivet City in the hopes that fellow scientist Dr. Madison Li could assist him in his search for his missing android. On arrival in the science lab he is refused the right to speak with Li by Anna Holt, Li's assistant. Despite being refused assistance he remains within the lab, refusing to leave and demanding he speaks directly with Li and refuses to leave until Li "stops playing with her chemistry set and starts talking real science".

Location
Dr. Zimmer can be found in the science lab in Rivet City.

Quest: The Replicated Man

 * ''Main Article: The Replicated Man

The Lone Wanderer can choose to aid Zimmer in reclaiming his missing android, Harkness, or help the android escape capture.
 * 1) If the player chooses to warn Harkness of Zimmer's plan to capture him, Harkness will either kill Zimmer and his android bodyguard, Armitage, or evict them from Rivet City (depending on the player's responses to dialog).
 * 2) Warning Harkness will also yield the option of killing Zimmer yourself. If you choose this option, Harkness will give you A3-21's Plasma Rifle, which is in perfect condition and is worth over 2K caps.


 * 1) If the player chooses to inform Zimmer of Harkness's identity, Zimmer will capture and detain Harkness against his will.

Both Armitage and Zimmer drop Zimmer's Key when killed.


 * Note: In order to finish this quest the 'optimal' way (i.e. obtaining both rewards, punishing the evil people, and harming the good people as little as possible), the player must inform Harkness that they wish to kill Zimmer themselves during the dialogue following the the revelation to Harkness that he is an android. If this option is not selected (i.e. if you choose to say "your secret is safe with me" instead), Zimmer will remain an essential character until after he has wiped Harkness' memory.  You can still kill Zimmer after this happens, but Harkness will have lost his memory and become a much less interesting character.  Also, it's much easier to kill Zimmer and Armitage in the isolation of the Science lab at night than it is to pop them wherever else on the ship they go to find Harkness.  To summarize:
 * Reveal Harkness' identity to him and then tell him that you wish to kill Zimmer for him. This will give you the A3-21's Plasma Rifle and remove Zimmer's Essential flag.
 * Wait until it's late at night (at least 11 PM) and then go find Zimmer in the Science Lab. Reveal Harkness' identity to him to receive Wired Reflexes.
 * Pop Zimmer and Armitage, loot their corpses, and pat yourself on the back.

Trivia

 * The name Dr. Zimmer is possibly a reference to the movie Mandroid (1993), in which the character Dr. Karl Zimmer is the creator of a humanoid robot.
 * After completing The Replicated Man and killing Dr. Zimmer, he drops an Android Component similar to that looted from Armitage and given by The Railroad, possibly suggesting that he himself is an android. Although, as a scientist, he may simply be carrying a spare part.
 * The Fallout 3 Official Game Guide states that Zimmer is in fact an android.
 * Zimmer slightly resembles Tyrell, the creator of the replicants in the movie Blade Runner; a strong influence upon 'The Replicated Man'.
 * Zimmer appearance and behaviour is very similar to the real-world Austrian psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud. It is possible that in behaviour Zimmer is based on him.
 * The Institute is most likely a reference to MIT, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.