10 Video Game Villains Who Stupidly Helped The Hero Win
2. John Henry Eden - Fallout 3
There’s a lot of angst in the world today over the perils of AI, but if our digital baby turns out anything like Fallout 3’s John Henry Eden, we have nothing to fear.
With the quest to complete Project Purity, a means to provide radiation-free water to all of the Capital Wasteland’s citizens, nearing its end, the protagonist, the Lone Wanderer, is ambushed by the Enclave, the game’s villains, and detained in their Raven Rock facility.
Locked in a cell with the torture about to start, President Eden, Enclave leader, orders the Wanderer’s release, the return of their weapons, and invites them for the equivalent of a chat over a cup of tea. This order is promptly countermanded by Eden’s second in command, sparking a mutiny that completely guts the Enclave’s fighting strength.
This happens because of Eden’s misplaced belief that he could negotiate a deal with the Lone Wanderer to ‘purify’ the Wasteland, never apparently thinking that the Lone Wanderer might refuse, or (depending on player skills) conclude the meeting by shutting Eden down for good.
It’s a faux pas that, come the end of the game, sees the Enclave essentially wiped out. Artificial, yes. Intelligence? Not so much.