Is The NCR The Best Hope For The Mojave And Post-Apocalyptic America?
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Filming for the new Fallout telelvision show by Amazon, Bethesda Studios, and Kilter Films has begun, and there have been many leaks on the production like how it may look like or what it will be about. This has caused me to go back and look at the previous games. I have loved Fallout for a very long time. Along with the many vaults and their various experiments, the many factions that you can be a part of always fascinate me. Fallout: New Vegas arguably has the best factions to choose from.
Of the many choices in New Vegas, there are four main factions, each with its own pros and cons when it comes to how they will affect the Mojave and the people in the desert. The truth is that any faction that you choose has the potential to solve some problems while creating other issues. The key is to pick the one that holds the same values as you and fight for it. One of the major factions that you can join is the New California Republic (NCR). They were based on the same ideologies of pre-war America. A good question to ask ourselves when we consider the world of Fallout as a whole and especially the Mojave Desert is, is this NCR the best option that we have for the Wasteland?
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According to Fallout canon, Aradesh and his settlement (from Fallout 1) began a democratic government that eventually blossomed into what we find in Fallout New Vegas as the NCR. Aradesh was the first president of the Republic for seven years before his death. His daughter Tandi was then elected president. She was considered by many to be the mother of the NCR, and since they did not have term limits, she was reelected time and again for 52 years before her death. She stood for equality, freedoms, and a strong ethics base, especially considering the general state of the tribes and societies in post-war America.
The NCR under Tandi grew at a healthy rate. They grew WITH their resources. After she passed away the presidents that followed her expanded their territory at an exponential rate, stretching their resources thin. It also caused the actions of the NCR to become more imperialistic as they took over territory and settlements, sometimes, against the wishes of the people in the settlements. In exchange for protection, the NCR demanded taxes from its settlements. As a result, these settlements did not feel like the NCR’s meager efforts were worth their money, and thus did not view the NCR government in a good light. Because of this, you could have a viable argument against the NCR being the best choice for the Mojave wasteland.
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The NCR strives for the rule of law, expansion, democracy, and other old-world values that are not often found in post-war America in Fallout. While they hold many ideas that a good amount of people would back up and support, many of the independent settlements do not like how the NCR claims territories as its own without giving the settlements any say in it. Beyond that, there is corruption, greed, and unnecessary political ambitions. Because of this, the NCR forgets the average everyday people whose lives are affected by their decisions. Even Aaron Kimball, who is president during the events of Fallout: New Vegas, only considered the NCR military as a tool for personal glory in claiming the Mojave Desert and its resources.
If we are going to make an educated decision concerning the NCR and if it is the best for the Mojave, we must consider the alternatives. One of which is the antagonist of the NCR, Caesar’s Legion. Without going into the details here on this faction, basically, they are based on the ancient Roman Empire with a Fallout twist. They encourage slavery, brutality, and expansion and absorption of settlements and tribes. Many would not even consider this on a practical level as an option.
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The other option is Mr. House who plans to run an autocratic government with himself as the ruler of the Mojave. He has machines that have kept him alive for hundreds of years. However, when the bombs dropped, they almost failed him. Who is to say that won’t happen again only for the government and order to dissipate when he dies, and we are back to square one as a society? Not to mention, he is but one man and isn’t infallible. He holds only one of many perspectives in the wasteland. Who’s to say he knows what is perfectly best for each settlement in the Mojave?
The other option is the Courier partnering with Yes Man for an “independent” New Vegas. A New Vegas where Yes Man has control of Mr. House’s technology and possibly his securitron army. At the end of Fallout: New Vegas, Yes Man talks to the Courier and says that he is going offline for a time to update his software and such to make himself “more assertive.” To me, that sounds dangerously like the plot to iRobot with Will Smith. What’s to say that Yes Man won’t wrest control from the Courier and run the Mojave as a machine? That sounds like a dangerous precedent to set first for the Courier and especially for the Mojave.
That finally leaves the NCR as a final major faction to choose from for the Mojave and potentially the rest of the Wasteland. While this nation has its own issues. While it has imperialistic tendencies and potential for political greed and limited resources, it also has the potential to bring post-war America and all its values back to prominence. The alternative is limited resources for many settlements, no protection against raiders and different hostile tribes, and to be honest, it leaves the wasteland susceptible to evil regimes such as Caesar’s Legion.
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After considering the alternatives to the NCR and what the NCR has done in the past, at least the people of the Republic have the opportunity to vote in good political leaders who will make good decisions for the people. Considering the resources and the safe distribution of those resources, the NCR appears to be the best option that the Fallout games offer to us. Despite their flaws, there is a potential for the Mojave wasteland to grow under the NCR that you won’t get from the other options. Because of this, I would say that the NCR is the best option for the Mojave and the Wasteland that is presented to us in Fallout: New Vegas.
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