» Tue May 08, 2012 11:18 am On a ranch, somewhere south of the Las Vegas ruins, a man and his wife set up a life of their own. They grew crops, raised big horn, and the man even protected his nearby neighbors to the south from raiders. Then one day so strange people in power armor emerged from the west. The called themselves the Brotherhood of Steel and they were lead by a man named Elijah. They searched the man's ranch for technology, but found nothing of interest. So he and his wife were left alone. For a few years the man watched from the distance as the BoS attempted to start the nearby solar arrays, and he was inspired by the sight. His felt a great pride that these people were trying to bring life back to Mojave desert. That pride would soon come to an end. More people emerged from the west, this time under the flag of the two headed bear. They drove the BoS from the solar array and some fled toward the man and his ranch. They sought to hide there but the man refused, fearing they would only bring destruction from this NCR. In the incurring fight, the man's wife was shot by one of the young knights. The knights fled fearing the shot would draw attention, leaving the man and wife there alone. The man attempted to save her but to no avail. She passed away, and was buried on the ranch. The man spent days drinking by her grave when a troop of NCR soldiers came looking for the BoS knights. The man found his way to get revenge on the knights, by joining the NCR and tracking them down. He was sent further was into a territory uncharted since before the war. While exploring the ruins with his fellow NCR, the troop found an old military base. Thinking the BoS might seek refuge there, they searched it. There was no trace of the BoS, but instead they found an cache of nuclear warheads and a prototype for a device that could control the weather. For a few more years the man and his fellow troops were ordered to protect the facility until further research could be done. Over time he lost his thirst for revenge in the stale routine of duty and became a simple, garden variety soldier. He saw in the NCR what he once saw in the BoS. A chance to bring life back to the Mojave and maybe even the once proud country of America. Again his hopes would be dashed away by one single mistake. Sometime after the facility was brought back up to full working order, the NCR had to develop a way to reactivate the weather machine. The scientists that were just starting up at the new NCR base known as Camp McCarran, developing a digital key that would unlock the system. Fearing that their new enemy from across the Dam or some remnant BoS soldiers would steal it, they thought of a way for it to be delivered in confidence. The Mojave Express. The man greeted this Courier as he approached the gates and lead him to the leader of his troop to deliver the code. Neither knowing of the secret the package contained. The Courier was offered a bed to rest in which the man lead him to, and then the man returned to his post. When the lead scientist activated the weather machine, a terrible thing occurred. The machine went out of control, causing massive tornadoes and earthquakes to happen. One of the nuclear warheads, thought to be deactivated was set off. Destroying to base and all in it. Except for that one man. When he awoke to destruction, he was once again faced with a horrible truth. This time the NCR was no good to save this world, and now his thirst for revenge came back. This time he sought those responsible for all destruction in the Mojave. The BoS and the NCR became his enemies, but he also sought someone who would protect and even revive the great splendor that was the idea of America. Traveling back to the Mojave he encountered spies of the Legion, he was able to fight them off until one came up behind him and knocked him out. They brought him before Caesar and he offered to man a position as a Frumentarii. He accepted but only to be given the freedom and materials to search for his own answers. Caesar named him Ulysses and assigned him to infiltrate the Mojave Express as a courier. After a few deliveries that got him close to both NCR territory and the spectacle of Mr. House's New Vegas, the man found himself in Primm to acquire a job that would get him in with Mr. House himself. Only to find a familiar name on the list, a name he thought had died years ago. Ulysses finally decided to set his final plan into motion. He told Nash to give to job to this courier in hopes that he would get killed out of fear that this courier would be able to stop him. While traveling to the Big Empty, Ulysses heard of a courier that had survived being shot in the head near Goodsprings. He decided then that he would have to take care of the courier himself. In the Big Empty, Ulysses sought answers to weather machine he encountered in what was now called the Divide, but he found something more. A woman by the name of Christine was trapped in a machine that was tampering with her head. He rescued her, and when she told him of her hunt for Elijah, he remembered what had happened to his wife. Within the records at the Big Empty, Ulysses learned of the deadly experiments at the Sierra Madre Casino, and decided to send Elijah there to end his life. When he told Christine of this she decided to follow Elijah, Ulysses would not stop her for he too knew what it felt like to be "looking for someone." When he found the answers he sought in the Big Empty, Ulysses headed back to the Divide, with only one stop. To send a message to that courier he sought revenge upon for his unknown hand in Ulysses final hope in humanity and the American idea. This is where the Lonesome Road begins.
Hey its just a theory and I'll admit its weak in a few places, but there are a few things I'd like to point out.
Wolfhorn Ranch is a hop skip and jump away from Helios One, which makes it possible that some BoS members could have ran that direction in the fight against NCR.
There is a grave at the Wolfhorn Ranch which is Ulysses' supposed original location.
Joshua Graham was excepting a Frumentarii traveling as a courier, he said that the courier sought the enemies of Caesar but that could have been misinformation.
There are several weather control machines in game. One in the Big Empty and one that hides Hidden Valley near Scorpion Gulch in the Mojave.
Ulysses' seeks the courier for his involvement in whatever happened in the Divide. Whether he was aware of that action or not.
And, the most important thing I'd like to point out, is that this is a theory. Please don't tear me apart and call me an idiot. I've been a big fan of Obsidian since Sith Lords and an even bigger fan of Bethesda since Morrowind. Hell, I live in Maryland. When I first played Fallout 3 I fell in love with games all over again. Fallout New Vegas was the first game I preordered months in advance. It was the first time I woke up at 5 am to travel to another part of the state to get my preorder. (I had moved away several months earlier and didn't want to cancel it.) I have loved every second of it. The story line, the choices, the characters. Yeah there have been those moments when the screen would freeze and I'd lose ten minutes of play because I rely heavily on autosave. There have been the delays, the patches, the moving around the state (me not the game) and yes even the terrible hacking occurence that plagued my PS3. I didn't get my info stolen but I still had to wait for Honest Hearts. But above all else this is the only time I've waited, and pondered, and checked, and rechecked the wiki for those dates that would finally give me the answers. And tonight when I saw that September date, and those screenshots, and those words. It all came together in one big flash of light. I love New Vegas, it has to be the only game I've given this much attention since KOTOR. This is my love for the game and love for story making coming together in one big gushy fan bile. So please be kind to me. I'm just a lonely dork that loves his game.
liked the story and theory. im still kinda personally going with that Ulysses real name is Bill calhoun, which would explain why ulysses was working for ceaser, and as far as Ulysses wanting Courier dead/to fight.....maybe Ulysses wife was working/living in the divide and the courier accidently messed up the weather system and/or delivered the news of Ulysses' wife death to him resulting ulysses to shot the courier in the head and leave him for dead, and ulysses goes on a journey to gather information on how to turn off the machine, wanting to speak with MrHouse since hes lived prewar he wants to deliver the chip to get inside, but is shocked to see the courier's name on the list and lets the courier deliver the package knowing the dangers will kill him. crossing mrHouse off the list, he travels to distance areas coming across the Siere madre, after creeping around seeing the tech wonders, he finds out the stuff come from the big empty, sets off there. in owbs, after finally gathering the information on how to stop the machine, he sets off to the divide. During his travels to the divide, he hears that the courier is still alive, so he discides that maybe the courier can atone by fixing the mess he created in first place before he dies. 
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