Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Charles Curling[1] is the head of the United States Chemical Corps in 2242.[2] Stationed on the Enclave Oil Rig off the coast of San Francisco, it is Curling's job to implement the project to reclaim the world through total genocide. As part of the plan to reclaim both the mainland United States as well as the rest of the world, Curling was tasked with finding a way to modify the Forced Evolutionary Virus into a targeted killing machine: FEV Curling-13.
Background[]
A very tired looking man in a white coat seemingly perpetually stained with chemicals,[2] Charles Curling's unassuming appearance hides his real position. Ever since 2236, he became the foundation of the Enclave's plan to destroy mutants on a global scale. On July 20, 2236, Enclave scouts (re)discovered the ruins of the Mariposa Military Base.[Non-game 1] Curling's Chemical Corps and other scientists began to scour the base, while assault squads began gathering slaves to use for excavating the base.[Non-game 2] Excavations began in September. The slaves and construction crews dug into the collapsed base, removing tons of rock. Unprotected wastelanders were exposed to low levels of FEV in the ruins, released after the base self-destructed and mutations began to occur. At the same time, Frank Horrigan was exposed to the virus and sent to the oil rig for study.[Non-game 3] By October, Melchior (now mutating) realized that the Enclave would execute him and the others as soon as they recovered the FEV and virus data. He began secreting away weapons for the mutants in anticipation of the confrontation.[Non-game 4] The excavations were completed in January 2237. Shortly after Curling's men managed to obtain a pure sample of FEV and leave the base, the mutants rose up against their Enclave overseers. After suffering heavy casualties, the Enclave forces fell back and sealed the mutants in the ruins of the facility.[3]
Although it came at a heavy price, the sample allowed the Chemical Corps to start research into the creation of a biological agent that would allow for killing mutants worldwide. Dubbed FEV Curling-13, after the good doctor, the leader of the project, the sample was modified and refined by the Chemical Corps into a staggeringly effective killer. The Enclave defined the project's goal as achieving a global clean sweep with a 99.5% extermination rate.[4] In the meantime, between 2236 and 2238, the scientists also conducted experiment after experiment on Frank Horrigan, including injecting him with modified FEV strains. The mutating trooper was kept heavily sedated: whenever he was conscious, "incidents" occurred that resulted in major bloodshed.[Non-game 5] By January 2239, tests ran dry and the decision was made to use Horrigan for field work.[Non-game 6] On March 27, 2239, Horrigan was sealed within power armor custom-manufactured to fit his massive physique. After a number of horrifically successful field tests, he became the Enclave's solution to a number of sticky problems.[Non-game 7][5] To protect Enclave citizens from exposure, Curling also developed a vaccine.[6]
In 2241, the project was in its final stages. Although the Enclave ran into shortages of certain critical chemicals, they got around that problem by forming a secret relationship with the Salvatores of New Reno: in exchange for laser pistols, the mobsters provided them with the necessary chemicals made in their drug labs.[7][8] Final testing required representative population samples for the toxin and the inoculation against it. The Enclave raided Vault 13 on March 16, 2242; the Vault's inhabitants were taken to the oil rig, so that the inoculation rendering humans immune to the FEV-based toxin could be tested.[Non-game 8][9] At roughly the same time, the village of Arroyo was also raided, to acquire subjects to verify the effectiveness of FEV Curling-13. By Autumn of 2242, the testing was completed and the target toxin efficiency of 99.5% was reached. 250,000 gallons were manufactured and prepared for release into the jet streams. However, hours before the toxin could be released, the Chosen One infiltrated the oil rig, assassinated President Dick Richardson and Frank Horrigan, and triggered a nuclear detonation, obliterating the toxin supply and averting global genocide. Curling perished in the blast.[10]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
  |
This character is involved in quests. | |
Quests[]
- Stop the Enclave: A Speech check allows the player to awaken Curling's dormant conscience, convince him that he is aiding global genocide, and release the FEV toxin into the airducts of the Enclave. The virus kills all unprotected humans within minutes (resting 10 minutes suffices). Curling inoculates the player and the prisoners through airborne dispersal to protect them.
- The presidential quarters are either served by a separate system or he and his staff have already been inoculated. To obtain the presidential access key, the player must kill the president directly.
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Scientist outfit |
Appearances[]
Charles Curling appears only in Fallout 2.
Behind the scenes[]
- The poem Curling recites when convinced of the horrific nature of his actions is William Blake's "The Tyger."[11]
- After initiating the rig's self-destruct, in one of his floating lines, he wonders if there are enough lifeboats available,[12] a reference to Titanic.
References[]
- ↑ Charles Curling: "{115}{}{Welcome to the Chemical Corps section, trooper. I'm Lt. Col. Dr. Charles Curling. Now that we've been introduced - get the hell out of my lab.}"
(Charles Curling's dialogue) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Charles Curling's character description: "{100}{}{You see a very tired looking man in a white coat.}"
"{101}{}{You see Dr. Curling, head of the United States Chemical Corps.}"
"{102}{}{You see a man in a chemical-stained lab-coat.}"
(Charles Curling's dialogue) - ↑ Military base outside
- ↑ The Project
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{195}{}{The F.E.V. toxin? What's that?}"
Charles Curling: "{200}{}{One of our patrols found the research data, and several samples, about the F.E.V. virus in a former military research base that had been almost completely destroyed.}"
The Chosen One: "{201}{}{Okay, now I know where you found it, but what does it do?}"
Charles Curling: "{202}{}{The F.E.V. was initially designed as a virus that was supposed to turn humans into super-soldiers. That experiment seems to have been an utter failure, although I did try a modification of the virus on one of our Secret Service agents with some success.}"
The Chosen One: "{203}{}{Great for you, but how does that have anything to do with eradicating everyone?}"
Charles Curling: "{204}{}{Oh, yes, well, I was getting to that….The F.E.V. virus bond is species specific, it will only bond with human glyco-proteins. It only took a few years to tweak the F.E.V. virus to make it more lethal than it all ready was. The result was just what the doctor ordered, perfect in every way. }"
(Charles Curling's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{237}{}{What about my people? Or me? Or you, for that matter?}"
Charles Curling: "{238}{}{I can release the antidote into the air-system for all the cells. The detention level is served by a separate air system from the rest of the Enclave. Everyone will think that I'm just running another test. You, I can inoculate directly, here and now. (he reaches for you with a syringe)}"
(Charles Curling's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{180}{}{Before you get into that…I saw some of your Vertibirds doing some trade with New Reno. What's that all about?}"
Dick Richardson: "{248}{prs44}{We've run short of certain critical chemicals. We can get them from the drug labs of New Reno. If the mutant-mobsters use our guns to kill each other, just saves us the trouble.}"
(Dick Richardson's dialogue) Note: This line is only available should the player have either witnessed,[verification needed] helped guard, or disrupted the secret Enclave-Salvatores trade deal. - ↑ The Chosen One: "{460}{}{What kind transmissions are you talking about?}"
Metzger: "{485}{}{The Enclave and New… hey. What the hell you care for? It's business. I need to be sure no one's trying to fuck me over. That's all you need to know.}"
(Metzger's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{141}{}{That sounds nasty. Why are they using your people for a test?}"
Martin Frobisher: "{142}{}{They took us all from our vault because they wanted test subjects for the antidote. They needed people from outside the Enclave, and who were still pure-strain-humans. So they took us.}"
(Martin Frobisher's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{263}{}{There's no way in hell that I can let you do this.}"
Dick Richardson: "{265}{prs50}{You can't stop it. The tests are complete and the toxin is ready for release. In hours, your villagers will be the first to make the ultimate sacrifice. The other mutants will follow. An unfortunate footnote in the continuing history of the human race.}"
(Dick Richardson's dialogue) - ↑ The Chosen One: "{244}{}{Thanks for the information you've given me. Your sacrifice will be remembered by all the peoples of the earth.}"
Charles Curling: "{246}{}{When the stars threw down their spears,}"
"{247}{}{And water'd heaven with their tears,}"
"{248}{}{Did he smile his work to see?}"
"{249}{}{Did he who made the Lamb make thee?}"
"{250}{}{Huh?}"
Charles Curling: "{251}{}{Oh, just something I remembered from a long dead poet. I was wondering if there's still a place for those who've worked towards such a dark end for so long. Our time is over, yours has just begun. Get going!}"
(Charles Curling's dialogue) - ↑ Charles Curling: "{119}{}{Alarm stations everyone.}"
"{120}{}{Get out of my way!}"
"{121}{}{Clear for action!}"
"{122}{}{Get out of here, I'm too busy to deal with you.}"
"{123}{}{Didn't you hear the alarm?}"
"{124}{}{Run for cover! The alarm has sounded!}"
"{125}{}{I hope there are enough lifeboats.}"
"{126}{}{Everybody out!}"
(Charles Curling's dialogue)
Non-game
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2236: July 20 "Enclave scouts discover the remains of the Mariposa Military Base and find it partially destroyed."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2236: July-August "Enclave scientists and chemical corps scour the remains of Mariposa, while assault squads comb the desert for slaves they can use to mine the military base and get to the Vats. One of the squads includes soldier Frank Horrigan, 25 at the time, recently removed from duty on the President's secret service to take some RNR time in the wastes after some undocumented psychotic blunder or another."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2236: September "Enclave construction crews and super mutant slaves begin excavations. They uncover the FEV virus, and mutations begin to occur in the human workers. Frank Horrigan comes into contact with the FEV and is sent to the Enclave labs for study."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2236: October "Melchior begins to mutate... but keeps his intelligence and cunning in the wake of the transformation, making him pretty smart for a super mutant. Realizing that the Enclave will kill the super mutants after they get the FEV data, he begins to use his magician talents to secret away weapons for the mutants to defend themselves when the Enclave decides to dispense with them."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2236-2238 "Horrigan gradually mutates from exposure to FEV, gaining the physique and slow, stupid, single-mindedness of a super mutant. He is kept heavily sedated, operated on, and studied. He is conscious for only brief periods at a time, then quickly sedated after the bloodshed is over."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2239: January 23 "Tests begin to run dry on Frank Horrigan. It is suggested that he be used as a field operative and be used in tests in the wasteland against local populations."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2239: March 27 "Frank Horrigan is manufactured for his new role. A new version of Power Armor is built to accommodate his mass, and he is sealed inside. After a few horrifically successful field tests, Horrigan becomes the Enclave's solution to numerous sticky problems."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0, 2242: May 16 "Less than a day later, Vault 13 is opened, only to be greeted by two Enclave verti-assault squads. The squads kill three of the citizens who were "resisting capture," and storm the Vault, kidnapping all the inhabitants."
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