Madison Li is a recurring character in the Fallout series. She first appears as a supporting character in the main questline of Fallout 3, then again as a side character in Fallout 4.
Despite taking a back seat in both the Lone Wanderer and Sole Survivor’s stories in the Fallout franchise, Madison is an interesting character. Delving into her dialogue and terminal entries in the games reveals her internal struggles and motivations.
Madison Li and Project Purity in Fallout 3
Madison Li first met James and Catherine — the parents of Fallout 3’s Lone Wanderer — when they brought her on to work on Project Purity. The initiative aimed to build a mass purification machine that could convert the irradiated water of the Tidal Basin into clean water. This would provide the people of the Capital Wasteland and beyond with potable drinking water, staving off sicknesses brought about by radiation. Madison, a young scientist at the time, happily joined the team and worked with them at the Jefferson Memorial.
In the beginning, the Project Purity team found little success, as it was difficult to find an efficient purification method that would work on large amounts of water. Additionally, the super mutants of Fallout 3 started attacking the site, nearly causing the project to fail. Luckily, a group of Brotherhood of Steel soldiers found their way to Jefferson Memorial and set up shop there, providing the Project Purity team with some much-needed firepower. Madison didn’t trust the Brotherhood, but James knew that they needed the military organization’s help to fight against the super mutants.
Sometime later, Catherine found out that she was pregnant. This spurred the scientists to work harder on Project Purity, as they believed that they were doing so for themselves and the next generation. Unfortunately, the super mutant attacks in the Capital Wasteland intensified as time passed. With no concrete results to show for Project Purity, the team and the Brotherhood’s relationship grew strained.
The project finally fell apart in the year 2258. James sought refuge in Fallout 3’s Vault 101 to help Catherine give birth. Though their child came out healthy, Catherine perished due to unspecified birth complications. Devastated, James abandoned Project Purity altogether and decided to stay in Vault 101 to raise his child. Madison was betrayed and turned her back on the project as well, choosing instead to reside in Rivet City to do her own research.
After settling in Rivet City in Fallout 3, Madison worked on portable fusion power experiments and hydroponics tests. There, she met Horace Pinkerton, a talented electrician and scientist. However, the two could never see eye to eye on scientific matters. So, Horace eventually left to live in the bow of Rivet City, where he could conduct his experiments in peace. This allowed Madison to become the head of the group of scientists and Rivet City, and they’d go on to grow fresh, radiation-free fruits.
Meeting the Lone Wanderer and Continuing Project Purity
In the year 2277 — 19 years after Project Purity halted operations — James escapes Vault 101 and goes to Madison in Rivet City, asking her to help revive the project once more. Madison refuses, likely because she had lost her trust in James, so he leaves alone. Not long after, the Lone Wanderer finds Madison and asks her about their father’s whereabouts. After the player rescues James, he returns to Rivet City and finally gets Madison on board with the revival of Project Purity.
As the team works on rebuilding the abandoned machinery in Jefferson Memorial, the Enclave in the Fallout series takes over the site and demands that the scientists hand over the project to them. James refuses, sabotaging the machinery resulting in his and the Enclave colonel’s death. Madison is severely taken aback by this, but she quickly directs everyone to the underground tunnel, allowing them to escape the Jefferson Memorial. Madison then brings them to the Citadel, where the Brotherhood of Steel has established a base. There, Madison speaks to Elder Lyons and asks that they help take back the water purifier.
The Brotherhood agrees to help, but this forces Madison to work on Liberty Prime. She’s still distrustful of the Brotherhood, as they had tried to take control of Project Purity in the past. However, she knows that she and the rest of the team have no other options. With their help, Madison and the Lone Wanderer finally got Project Purity up and running. Soon after its completion, she left for the Commonwealth, supposedly to pursue other scientific endeavors. Though, in reality, she feared for her life since many members of the Brotherhood of Steel saw her as a security risk who knew too much.
Madison Li in Fallout 4
It’s unknown what exactly Madison did upon arriving in the Commonwealth. However, her scientific prowess drew the attention of Fallout 4’s Institute, and by the year 2287, she was the directress of their Advanced Systems division. Despite this, she disliked the Institute as a whole for their dubious motivations and lack of transparency. Madison also didn’t understand why the Institute was being so selfish with their scientific breakthroughs. It didn’t make sense to her that the organization was hoarding all the advanced technology while the people of the Commonwealth suffered.
Worst of all, however, was the loss of her friend Brian Virgil. Brian had left the Institute because he felt guilty about what he’d done while studying the Forced Evolutionary Virus of the Fallout world. After he escaped, the Institute simply pronounced him dead. Madison tried to push for an official investigation, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Should the Sole Survivor of Fallout 4 join the Brotherhood of Steel, they’ll be given the quest “From Within,” wherein they must recruit Madison so that she can work on a “special project.” Upon completing the quest, Madison will join the Brotherhood and work on Liberty Prime once again, even though she detests working on weapons technology.
What happens to Madison after the events of Fallout 4 is uncertain, but her actions leading up to it have certainly had mixed effects on the wasteland. In Fallout 3, she provided the people of the Capital Wasteland with a means of acquiring clean water. However, in Fallout 4, she sided with what was essentially the “bogeyman of the Commonwealth.” It’s a testament to her flawed yet intriguing character.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.