Doctor 8 is a pre-War doctor who became a think tank to continue his work at the Big MT. He has lost the ability to talk due to damage sustained to his voice module during an encounter with another visitor, Elijah. Instead, he transmits RobCo sound waves, which appears in subtitles as patterned RobCo terminal symbols. However, after passing a 75 Science check or a 7 Perception check, the Courier seems to understand his language, although this does not alter the subtitled text.
Old World Blues: If Klein can't be convinced otherwise, 8, along with 2 other members of the Think Tank, are needed to convince Klein to give up trying to escape the Big MT.
Picking Your Brains: After completing Welcome to the Big Empty, one needs to talk to 8 and the rest of the think tanks to complete this quest.
Welcome to the Big Empty: The player character has to talk to 8 as with the rest of the think tank to complete the quest.
On the Same Wavelength: Though there is a language barrier between the player and Dr. 8, a Perception of 7 or a Science skill of 75 will enable communication with him.
Effects of player's actions
If the player character has shown 8 the fully upgraded sonic emitter, and if they don't have a 100 in Science or 85 in Medicine to convince Doctor Klein, 8 will side with the player character in convincing Klein to back down.
Other interactions
Talking to 8 with a fully upgraded sonic emitter will please him immensely, and he will provide 100 energy cells out of gratitude.
Through dialogue involving him 'warming up' the sonic emitter, he will give the Courier microfusion cells (if female) or two containers of Cram and two duct tapes (if male). After completing the quest On the Same Wavelength, the player can speak to the doctor about what he did to the sonic emitter.
Sympathizing with his 'needs' will yield ten microfusion cells and a copy of Tales of Chivalrie (if female), or La Fantoma! (if male). Once a day, it is possible to ask him if he knows any good ways to "'pass' the 'time'" (a clear euphemism for masturbation), which will yield the same gift; however, asking him for something to "literally" pass the time yields an egg timer instead.
Consoling him by telling him that his urges are natural opens up the option to ask him if he has made any new discoveries, which will yield a copy of Programmer's Digest, Fixin' Things and a sensor module.
He can be hacked through a dialogue option (requiring 75 Science) to gain some energy weapon ammunition and bad Karma.
If the Courier decides not to, 8 will express his gratitude by awarding several items and good Karma is earned.
His name is a reference to infinity, as the number 8 is an infinite loop, and the symbol for infinity (∞) resembles a sideways "8." This is featured in a conversation with Doctor Mobius.[1] "Doctor 8" is also a pun on a “doctorate" degree, such as a Ph.D.
His knowledge of the sonic emitter, the equipment discovered in his Higgs Village house, and his initial conversation with the Courier and the five monitors are all signs of Doctor 8's specialization in sound technology.
Apart from the usual items the think tank scientists carry, he also carries a skill magazine.
This is ironic seeing the skill magazine he carries is Meeting People, which increases your Speech skill, but 8 can't speak properly.
The friendship part of Mobius' speech probably refers to 8 for many reasons: First he has a Meeting People magazine, second Dala mentions that the Think Tank prefers 8 without the capacity to speak properly, third, he often differs with the opinions of his partners.
Dr. 8's name, personality, and belongings all display an obsession with the number 8.
His expertise as an acoustician may reference octaves - the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency.
His home (#108 in Higgs Village) contains groups of eight coffee cups, eight clocks, eight picture frames, and eight dinner sets. Outside the house, there are two flower boxes, each with two rows of eight flowers in them.
His room within the Think Tank contains eight clocks, eight ham radio speakers, and eight portable radio handsets.
His voice module wasn't actually damaged - it was reprogrammed. This can be discovered by talking to him after getting the sonic emitter upgrade.
In some instances, he may emulate the sounds of an eagle, a chimpanzee, and a faint speech of a person during his interactions.
It is likely 8 has a Mentats addiction, like Mobius. While probably not as severe as their arch-nemesis, Doctor 0 references this early on,[2] and a few Mentats are found in 8's house within Higgs Village.
Notable quotes
"@@[=$+<_--*]@@? @@[$((*#8#%]@@. @@[$((*&^#%]@@. ("Who am I? I am Dr. 8, audio engineer at this facility.")"
“Dr.8's current state in the game is the way I envisioned him in the first place — 8 being abstract was largely the point (and not that anyone ever wants to hear developer reasons for things, but it also cut down on resources and localization, since his voice didn't need to be localized or translated, so it was a low-impact way to get another colorful character in the mix without taxing our limits), and I think it makes him more sympathetic to be voiceless — much like ED-E and Dogmeat and other silent companions who stick with you — you can impose your own voice and personality on the little bits they give you (Seth McCaughey, one of our animators on the DLC, did all the ED-E's animations for DLC4, just like he did with the Think Tank chassis, and that did more to create emotion than anything I can write — especially the animations when Borous in DLC3 breaks down at his own memories). I feel the critiques of the other Think Tank regarding 8 are probably unfair in their negativity, and if they disliked his previous personality and voice, it may be because he was less annoying and more practical than anyone else. It's a mystery.”— Chris Avellone, Old World Questions
↑The Courier: "Klein... Mobius... O's a circle... 8's an infinity symbol... they're all loops, I get it." Doctor Mobius: "[SUCCEEDED] O, you figured it out. No pun intended." (Doctor Mobius' dialogue)
↑Doctor 0's dialogue: "*8, have you been in the Mentats again? If we slow down our auro-processo-receptors to understand this excretion, we'll all be rendered ignorant!*"
![8 before becoming a brainbot[Non-game 2]](/wiki/File:FNV_OWB_8_Human.png "FNV OWB 8 Human.png (806 KB)")
