Frieda Lane is the head of the Muni divisions providing power and water to Atlantic City. She is a supporting character in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part two, America's Playground.
Background[]
A native of the Atlantic City area, Frieda and Tim Lane were originally high school sweethearts. Tim was the last in a long line of farmers working the land on Lane farm, while Frieda wanted to pursue an engineering degree. Rather than forcing her to choose between love and career, Timothy promised to pay for her degree with profits from farm produce. He kept his word after marriage, and Frieda graduated with a degree in engineering - an asset that would become crucial after the Great War.[1]
While the nuclear war and the subsequent flood severely damaged the city proper, it spared the outlying farms. Thanks to Frieda's expertise, the Lane farm soon had some of the only viable crops around Atlantic City, as she managed to purify the soil of nuclear fallout and keep growing the crops. It was not until the situation in the City got so bad that the Family started sending out raiding parties to the surrounding farms that the Lanes realized how bad the situation got, thanks to Carly Day's inaction. Tim killed all but one mobster from the party, interrogating him.[2]
Atlantic City was without a supply of food, water, or electricity, with the mafia and Showmen running the show instead of the skeletal municipal government. The situation was dismal and Tim decided to address it directly.[3] He marched on city hall and confronted Day, demanding she step down and turn over the reins of governance. According to him and Buttercup, Day stepped down and fled the city. Frieda accepted him at his word, unaware that he simply shot the mayor and took her position over. She never really questioned his version, as she despises Carly Day for her cowardice and allowing thugs to run the city, and considers her husband a hero for stepping up.[4]
Tim Lane reformed the municipal government, with Frieda appointed the head of the Power Production and Management Division, responsible for electricity production and distribution, and the Water Purification and Distribution Division, which handles water purification and distribution (she considers the two essentially the same, but with different trade goods).[5] Since then, she and the other Munis (as they have been nicknamed by the Family and the Showmen) have worked around the clock to keep the city running, taking care of everything from food and water, through electricity, and trade, to medicine and security. It is exhausting work, but she considers it essential and noble,[6] despite shortages of supplies, personnel, and time to devote to the city.[7]
Unlike her husband's unflappable attitude, Frieda is slowly becoming tired of keeping the city running. She has actually suggested, more than once, that Tim give up so that they may retire back to the farm they came from.[8] However, while she does advise the younger Munis, like Anna Barone, to consider not wasting their life away in the job,[9] she is not about to turn tail and flee. Until something changes, she'll remain the head of the Muni divisions, keep training engineers and electricians, and keep the city going as much as possible.[10] In a way, she seems to relish being the mayor's wife and focusing not on political maneuvering, but actually improving people's lives by getting her hands dirty,[11] even if it makes her stressed and overworked.[12]
Personality[]
Frieda is generally friendly and amicable,[13] with a penchant for making sarcastic jokes to cope with the amount of work she has to do on a daily basis.[14] Many are cracked at her own expense, for example, she feels one would have to be either crazy selfless or crazy dumb to work as a Muni, which likely makes her both.[15][16] She's almost constantly wrapped up in her work,[17][18] risking and experiencing electrocution constantly,[19] while her gray hairs are starting to grow grey hairs (e.g. due to brownouts).[20] She's actually starting to miss the simple farm life,[21] especially since nobody seems to appreciate Muni efforts to keep the City alive.[22] On the other hand, she is having nightmares that the city would collapse without her there to maintain its many organs.[23]
Frieda loves her husband, considering him one of the few good man in a city where they're exceedingly hard to come by.[24] The two have a deep relationship, full of genuine respect for each other's skills,[25] gentle ribbing and playful banter,[26] though on occasion she wonders if they're not a couple, but a throuple, with them both married to Atlantic City.[27] Thanks to this dedication, the power grid keeps running fine. Although exhausted,[28] Frieda is ready to take the fight to the Overgrown herself if they keep creating problems like getting into the city generators.[29] She does not envy Sloane Cao's work, though.[30]
She is very protective of her fellow Munis and people working for the municipal government, willing to sic Buttercup on them, not unlike a mother would[31] (Buttercup also mystifies her, as it seems impossible for him to maintain his physique with so little protein in his diet).[32] This doesn't stop her from engaging in playful ribbing, especially with Anna Barone, who's her direct underling and notorious for drinking up coffee.[33]
There's one exception to her nature: Vices that provide Atlantic City with tourists and revenue, and destroy lives.[34] She despises both The Showmen and the Lombardi Family, considering the former to be thugs in costumes, and the latter absolute criminals. Frieda is proud of her unwillingness to flatter them in any way and comes up with increasingly clever ways to express her disapproval - especially since she is perfectly aware that Acee needs them to sustain itself.[35]
She is not petty: She does not care about the nickname given to the Municipal Government by the other two factions, finding the attempts laughable. The Mayor's Office takes on much bigger fights every day and ignored the petty attempt at insulting. Frieda eventually turned the insult around, noting that its origins likely lie in their short attention spans.[36]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
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This character ignores combat and cannot be damaged. | |
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This character cannot be killed. | |
Inventory[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items |
|---|---|---|
| Muni operator outfit Steel worker hat |
Appearances[]
Frieda Lane appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part two, America's Playground.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vault 76 dweller: "What did you two do before he became mayor?"
Frieda Lane: "We were farmers. Lived on the outskirts of Atlantic City. He was my high school sweetheart. Tim's family had been farmers for generations, and he was set to take over the family farm. I felt stuck. I felt I had to choose between him and pursuing my engineering degree. But we made it work. Tim promised to help me pay for my degree with the profits from the farm. So we married, and he kept his word. I ended up using my expertise to fix up our equipment. It gave us a competitive edge in the area." - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Did the Family try to rob you?"
Mayor Timothy Lane: "Keyword there is 'try.' My wife's an engineer, and managed to keep the soil on our land purified. We had some of the only viable crops in the area. The Family wanted it all for themselves. They were pretty surprised when I took all but one of their raiding party out with my shotgun. Then, it became more of a negotiation. The one fellow I left alive told me about how bad things had gotten in the city proper. I knew if I didn't do something, Atlantic City would crumble."
(Timothy Lane's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "So what happened then? How does a farmer become a mayor?"
Mayor Timothy Lane: "By convincing my livestock to vote for me. No, in all seriousness, the situation in Atlantic City after the bombs was grim. The previous mayor was a woman named Carly Day. She was elected mayor during the before times, and it just carried over. But she was doing nothing, letting everyone starve and crime skyrocket. People were getting desperate. Soon, there wasn't enough food even for the kingpins. That's when the Family came knocking at my door."
(Timothy Lane's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "So what changed? How did you end up here?"
Frieda Lane: "Ha! Now that's a story. Back in the day, the mayor was a woman named Carly Day. A bland career politician. And a notorious coward. When the bombs dropped, she let the mafia and the entertainers who would become the Showmen run wild doing whatever they wanted. People were starving and getting sick from dirty water. There was no electricity. They were ready to riot. Turns out, entertainment doesn't matter much when you're on death's door. The Family got desperate, and they came knocking on the farms for food. They underestimated Tim, that's for sure. After he shot their whole raiding party, they got on their knees and pleaded for food. So he marched over to City Hall and confronted Carly. Shotgun in hand. Needless to say, she stepped down, and he stepped up. I came with him to help, obviously. We got a group of charitable Samaritans to join up. We've been running things around here ever since."
Vault 76 dweller: "So what happened to Carly?"
Frieda Lane: "She fled the city. Least, that's what Tim told me. Like I said, she wasn't the bravest. She knew she couldn't handle it. Dunno where she went. I haven't seen her since."
(Frieda Lane's dialogue) - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What are the different departments?"
Frieda Lane: "Let's see now. There's my department, the Power Production and Management Division. We produce electricity and distribute it. I also handle the Water Purification and Distribution Division. Same thing, just with clean water instead of power. There's the Internal Revenue Service. Buttercup heads that. They're in charge of...uh, collecting taxes to keep everything running. They're the auditors you've probably seen around town. Then there's the Agricultural and Caravanning Services. Tim oversees that himself. He manages the output of the farms on the outskirts and ensures the farmers and their farmhands are all properly compensated. Additionally, they distribute food in the city so no one goes hungry. They also trade with the caravans 'round here for essentials. There's the Emergency Services Division. Anna runs that. They're the paramedics and firefighters. Dispatchers. She makes sure every emergency is addressed and that the right people are sent to handle it. Finally, there's the Pine Barrens Forestry Division, led by Sloane. They're basically our park rangers. They handle the Overgrown threat. You won't see them around City Hall much as they spend the day usually scouting the perimeter of the city." - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What is the civilian government responsible for?"<br /Frieda Lane: "To be blunt, we handle basically everything. Electricity, food, clean water, trade, medicine, security... We make sure the people of Atlantic City are taken care of. It's exhausting work, but no one else is going to do it."
- ↑ City hall terminal entries; Dispatch terminal, Lane, Timothy: Hang in there!
- ↑ No place like home
- ↑ City hall terminal entries; Dispatch terminal, Lane, Frieda: Re: Hang in there???
- ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What do you do here?"
Frieda Lane: "I'm an engineer. Well, I'm the lead engineer, technically."
I'm the head of the Power Production and Management Division of the Mayor's Office. Or the PPMD, if you want to save time. It's a fancy way of saying I make sure the power keeps running and that it's diverted to the right places. I oversee all of the other engineers and electricians. I also train them and send them out if anything goes wrong. Things usually go wrong." - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Is Tim your husband?"
Frieda Lane: "Oh, yes. I realize I don't really look the part of a mayor's wife, but if you haven't noticed, the world ended. I doubt schmoozing and political greasing matter much these days." - ↑ Pete Rutledge: "Frieda's looking stressed. More than usual, anyway."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "I'm Frieda, Frieda Lane. I keep the lights on around here."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "You thinking of sticking around the city center for long? Might want to invest in a swimsuit."
- ↑
Frieda Lane: "You'd have to be either crazy selfless or crazy dumb to want to work for the Mayor's Office. I'm probably both."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "It's a beautiful day outside, so long as my eyes are closed."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Can't talk now. Need to reconfigure a few bits and bobbles."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Just cross the green wire over the blue and then...no, that's not right."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "If you ever feel like getting electrocuted, feel free to lend a hand."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "If we have another brownout, my gray hairs will grow gray hairs."
- ↑
Frieda Lane: "I'm starting to miss farm life. Things used to be so simple."
- ↑
Frieda Lane: "Sometimes I wonder what the point of all this is. No one seems to appreciate anything we do."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Had a dream last night I had a day off. It was more of a nightmare, because the city fell apart immediately. Maybe a vision?"
- ↑
Frieda Lane: "Tim's a good man. And you'd do well to know this city's in short supply of good men. Just go take a walk in the Entertainment District."
- ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What does the Mayor's Office do around here?"
Mayor Timothy Lane: "A bit of this and a lot of that. My wife Frieda could probably give you a more cohesive breakdown. Easy answer is, we make sure everyone is fed, watered, safe, and comfortable. We grow the food and promote trade in and out of the city, as well as handle the water purification and the electricity output. And, more recently, we've been taking care of the Overgrown issue. I like to call it trimming the hedges."
(Timothy Lane's dialogue) - ↑ Frieda Lane: "If you need anything, feel free to bother my husband."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Occasionally it feels like Tim and I aren't a couple, but a throuple. The third being Atlantic City, of course."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "The power grid's running just fine, yet here I am running on fumes."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "If those Overgrown get into the generators again, I swear I'm going to cut them down like a pine tree on Christmas."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Sloane's been roaming around the perimeter taking out Overgrown. Can't say I envy her work."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "If anyone gives you trouble, you let me know. I may not be an auditor, but I can sic Buttercup on 'em."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "How the hell does Buttercup maintain his muscles with such little protein in his diet?"
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "If you're looking for coffee, I'm pretty sure Anna already drank all of it."
- ↑ Frieda Lane: "Try not to lose all your money at the casinos. That tends to be a problem around here."
- ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What's your opinion on the Showmen?"
Frieda Lane: "They're a bunch of thugs who think they're entertainers because they wear costumes and speak all fancy. I'd rather moonwalk through a minefield than attend one of their shows. Are you starting to get a good picture of Atlantic City now?"
Vault 76 dweller: "You seem to hate them."
Frieda Lane: "Oh yes. I'm glad my feelings came across clearly. I wouldn't want you thinking I like them or anything. They're criminals. The only reason they're still around is because their 'business' brings tourists in. We need tourists in Atlantic City to make enough money to keep our civilians alive. Make sense?" - ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Why do people call you guys Munis?"
Frieda Lane: "Short attention span, probably. I assume "muni" is short for "municipal." As in, "municipal government", which is what we are. I think the Family and the Showmen were the ones who started it up. Meant to be derogatory, no doubt. We don't care much to stop it. We've got bigger problems than a nickname. Formally, we're known as the Mayor's Office."