I know President Richardson was on the Oil Rig, but was he President when the bombs actually fell? I know the Enclave is the remnants of the government, but did anyone actually survive the attack from say, Congress and whatnot?

Furthermore, all the Radio Broadcast towers in Fallout 3, are they just automated distress calls? There are a few that have people talking, and one with a ghoul, but all the Lima November type ones have the same morse code signal I think.

Unknown.

Hmm, the only clue I guess is Eden saying "I watched the remnants of the government flee to the West Coast" which might suggest Richardson was President, or he took over directly after

Guys, you're forgotten that by Fallout 2, the bombs fell some /160/ years ago. Richardson's grandparents were not around when the bombs fell. It's entirely likely we may never find out the details about life /right/ before the war, as most records would've been completely /obliterated/ by the war... And those that aren't, well, the player doesn't really care, since they keep picking up Pre-War books and never reading them unless they're teaching the player how to pick locks better, or kill things easier. Richardson is likely descended from the original refugee president, but he was likely not the guy around in 2077.

Richardson was president in Fallout 2, set in 2241, which was 164 years after the Great War.

He was a decedent of the original president from just before the war.

Apparently, Congress did not have a good relationship with the White House, they impeached the president just before Richardson I think, so it is entirely possible that they fled to a separate facility where the government was supposed to go. Believe it or not but there was the http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11638 Bunker where they could have gone just as nukes were launched from China, they would have had two hours before the bombs hit them. It would be funny for West Virginia to be a sort of bastion of civilization.

Richardson was, as many pointed out, definitely not alive yet when the Great War happened. As for the rest...
I'd have to say probably not, considering that government buildings would have been top priority targets for whoever bombed the DC area.


Yeah, they're all automated. You can find the places that the broadcasts are coming from and turn them off, if you look hard enough.

The Congress could have easily escaped, the west coast was hit first, getting them from DC to a safe place would have been easy with vertibirds and mass transit or even with their personal cars. The Congress would have been the first body sent to a safe place once it was discovered what was happening, its been that way for a long time. They have had, for instance, a bunker since the 50s for government continuity. I've been quite surprised the Congress hasn't made an appearance or a US government except for the Enclave, which is in reality a splinter faction.



The Enclave is in control of the Emergency Broadcasting System, of course, you never see those towers.

ITRW The president heads to a shelter near Camp David. Congress would have headed to Greenbrier, but since thats now a declassified tourist attraction its unknown if the congress have a designated shelter, much less where it is.

So was the Enclave just what was left of the government or did some survive and not join that faction?

My mistake on the Richardson thing, haven't played 1 and 2 in a long time and I mix them up regularly

The Enclave was a shadow group within the government, military and corporations before the War that secretly controlled the country. Not all people in the government were part of the Enclave.

So I take it no one in government outside of the Enclave survived? Or if they did they were probably absorbed into it I'm sure.

Some less important government officials outside of the Enclave could have survived as well. There are probably other groups out there claiming to be the rightful descendants of the US government too.

That would be an interesting route for Beth to explore if they wipe out the Enclave in the Capital Wasteland after Broken Steel

In our timeline, yes, in Fallout I don't think so. Greenbrier was discovered after the Cold War, but the Cold War didn't end in the 90s.



Not many would like them, considering the state of the country, it seems like states have taken more importance especially when consider the Californian Republic. With the introduction of the nameless Commonwealth, it seems the old governments are popping up on the East Coast.

ITRW = In the Real world.

Personally, I think Greenbrier would be Obsolete in FO's timeline...

The reason Congress picked it had more to do with its location, actually, it was a nice resort after all.

They probably took a helicopter or another form of aerial transportation. I'd imagine that the roads would be clogged with D.C residents trying to flee what would obviously be ground zero for a nuclear attack.