Laptops contain vital information about Armacham Technology Corporation and can be found throughout F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon, as well as the non-canon stand-alone expansion F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate. They are a major source of storyline information.
When activated by the player, a laptop's information is typically uploaded to Rodney Betters, who then briefs the player on the acquired information. Other laptops may simply play a video or an audio recording, while some others must be activated in order to complete an objective.
In F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon, the information found in laptops is always presented to the player in the same order, regardless of which laptops are activated. For example, if a single laptop is missed, then its information will be found on the next laptop, and the information that would normally be found on the final optional laptop will be unattainable. In the transcripts below, each laptop's information is listed under the area in which it can first be found.
Both Timelines[]
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon[]
Interval 03 - Escalation[]
Infiltration[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Alright, it's uploading... Interesting. I found a wastewater analysis summary addressed to an Armacham review committee. According to the abstract, there's some major contamination coming from upstream. I can't imagine why Armacham would be interested unless they're responsible.
Exeunt Omnes[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Remember that wastewater report I mentioned? There's a little more info here. The contamination seems to originate in the Auburn area. That place is practically deserted nowadays. Probably not a coincidence.
Interval 04 - Infiltration[]
Watchers[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): There's a reference to something called Icarus. Says here that it was a bioengineering program that started in 1973. Something about health issues related to microgravity. Loss of muscle mass, bone density, shit like that.
- Rodney Betters (radio): Looks like the Icarus program got shut down in favor of something called Perseus, which from what I can tell is funded by DOD. I'm guessing that's where Fettel and his soldiers came from.
Interval 05 - Extraction[]
Bishop[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Well, this confirms the point of Perseus was to train telepathic commanders to work with clone soldiers, although it looks like Paxton Fettel was the only commander in the program. The weird thing is that they refer to him as the second prototype.
Interval 06 - Interception[]
Sayonara, Sucker[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Here's some more information on Fettel. He was developed as part of a project called "Origin". It says that the first prototype didn't work out, Fettel was the second and there was never a third. They pulled the plug a few years after he was born.
Unauthorized Personnel[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): There's a little more here about Origin. The reason they shut it down was a synchronicity event. Doesn't say what that means, but I guess there were a few casualties.
- Rodney Betters (radio): This is interesting. When they pulled the plug on Origin, apparently they just locked the doors and threw away the key. They didn't go into a lot of detail, but I guess the place was really dangerous to be in. I wonder if it was some kind of chemical leak or something.
Afterimage[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Get this. A few weeks ago, ATC reopened the Origin Facility. They were planning to clean it out and start the program back up, but they lost contact with everyone they sent in. So they just sealed the place back up.
Interval 07 - Redirection[]
Alice Wade[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): This Harlan Wade guy has been associated with Origin since the beginning. He's the one that put it together.
- Rodney Betters (radio): Listen to this. Marshall Disler, Bill Moody, and Aldus Bishop were all working on some kind of task force together. The other members are Iain Hives, Alice Wade, Norton Mapes, and Charles Habegger. And Harlan Wade is the one pulling the strings. I guess that means Fettel's working his way up the food chain.
- When the player uploads UTM coordinates of the secret Armacham facility:
Rowdy Betters (radio): All right, the data's been uploaded.
If the player uploads the information before Betters asks for it:
Rowdy Betters (radio): It looks like I've already got the data.
Flight[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): So the whole point of this task force I told you about has to do with bad shit that started happening after ATC opened up the Origin Facility. Judging by this report, the epicenter is in the Auburn district. That must be where the facility is.
- Rodney Betters (radio): I found some more information on Origin. The prototypes were created from a "genetic reference". I think that's just a euphemism for somebody's DNA. There's no indication of who the lucky son of a bitch was, but I'm guessing Harlan Wade, since he started the program.
- Rodney Betters (radio): Well, Fettel wasn't made from Harlan's DNA. There's an email from Wade about the "subject" being in an induced coma. No wonder those ATC security goons didn't want this getting out. They aren't just worried about some ethically questionable bioengineering experiments. I think they're covering up some pretty nasty shit.
Interval 09 - Incursion[]
Lapdog[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): More info on Origin. The genetic reference they used for the program was apparently a powerful psychic. Makes sense. If you want a telepathic commander, you need a telepath. And it was a woman. Says here she gave live birth to the prototypes. Seems Wade wasn't convinced that the psychic characteristics were genetic. He figured there was a better chance they'd be passed along if the fetus gestated inside the subject. So they put her in a coma, made her carry a genetically engineered baby to term, and then induced labor. That's pretty fucking sick.
- Rodney Betters (radio): I figured out what a synchronicity event is. There was an incident when they lost control of Fettel. He just suddenly started freaking out. He was only about 10 years old at the time, but I guess he killed a few people. In the investigation, they discovered that there had been a telepathic link between Fettel and Alma even though she was in a coma. They concluded that she was influencing him. That must have been why they pulled the plug on Origin.
Bypass[]
- Rodney Betters (radio): Things are starting to make sense. The name of the woman they used for Origin is Alma. That's who Fettel's looking for. He's going home.
- Rodney Betters (radio): Oh Jesus. She was just a kid. Says here Alma was 8 years old when Origin started up. They used a little girl. No wonder they're so fucking anxious to keep the lid on this mess. Somebody's going to burn for this. No wonder Aristide hasn't returned my calls. She's probably on a plane to Jamaica.
Interval 10 - Revelation[]
The Vault[]
- Harlan Wade (video): She was a very disturbed child. Terrible, debilitating nightmares. Hallucinations. Hysteria. She never had a chance at a normal life. It was Disler who realized that she was telepathic. He speculated that she was extremely sensitive to the negative emotions of people around her. We removed her from that chamber only twice. She was fifteen when the first prototype was born. She was supposed to be comatose. But she started screaming when we induced labor and didn't stop until the liquid filled her lungs. There are plausible scientific explanations for everything that followed, but I think was really just a question of hatred. It is the way of men to make monsters. And it is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers.
Vivendi Timeline[]
F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate[]
Interval 02 - Revelation[]
Disturbance[]
- When the player completes an objective by uploading vital information to Betters:
Rodney Betters (radio): Fantastic! The data's uploading. Ok, make your way to the lobby and wait for extraction.
- When the player completes an objective by uploading vital information to Betters:
Interval 03 - Apprehension[]
Bio-Research[]
- Charles Habegger (video): The dead stay dead.
- Rodney Betters (radio): The Source is Paxton Fettel. Apparently, he is the primary Replica gene donor. Now, if Fettel's DNA is here, what's on that island?
Interval 05 - Infiltration[]
Basecamp[]
- Nightcrawler Elite (recording): All mission essential personnel are to report to the helipad for deployment. If you encounter Morrison, bring him immediately to the Commander. He and the Senator are rapidly becoming more trouble than they're worth.
David Raynes (radio): Did he just say Senator? Figures, with Morrison involved. Wonder how high up this goes? - Nightcrawler Elite (recording): We've lost six men to the creatures in the shadows. Avoid the dark, if you can.
- Nightcrawler Elite (recording): We're seeing Replica activity in the train yard. Proceed with caution. While serious, the situation we are facing is not unique. Standard protocol still apply.
- Nightcrawler Elite (recording): All mission essential personnel are to report to the helipad for deployment. If you encounter Morrison, bring him immediately to the Commander. He and the Senator are rapidly becoming more trouble than they're worth.
Interval 07 - Extermination[]
Clone Facility[]
- ATC Researcher (recording): The subject has changed. Anyone can see that. Breyers says it's because of her. ATC has quarantined the facility and placed us all under "precautionary observation."
- John Breyers (recording): My name is John Breyers. I'm a geneticist with Armacham's Perseus project. The entire facility is in lockdown. We are being held prisoner.
ATC Researcher (recording): Get to Fettel. They're here.
John Breyers (recording): Som... Something has gone wrong with the second prototype.
(gunshots, screams and explosions)
Paxton Fettel: (laughs) I never cared much for him.
Trivia[]
- Interestingly, two of the messages seem to be out of order. In one message, Betters mentions Alma by name, but it isn't until the next message that he says he's just discovered her name.