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- "You can't see that we could be at the threshold of something bewildering and beautiful."
- — Talking to James Maxwell during Childhood's End
Roger Bacon is a side character in We Happy Few, and the protagonist of They Came From Below.
He is the assistant of Dr. Helen Faraday and the romantic partner of James Maxwell (Also referred to as "Moo")
Appearance[]
Roger has reddish brown hair and green eyes, he is most commonly seen wearing a navy blue jacket with a white and navy blue striped collar shirt underneath, beige pants and a sailor hat.
Personality[]
Roger is more laid back and reckless compared to James, often pushing buttons and handling objects that he doesn't know what they do beforehand. He's easily empathetic and is the first to realize that the robots have emotions, immediately feeling regret over killing a dozen of them.
While he cares about the well being of James and Dr. Faraday, he isn't afraid to speak out when he thinks they're wrong about a situation, much to the dismay of the two.
Events of We Happy Few[]
Act I[]
Roger is first seen dancing around the house as James yells at him from outside. When Arthur enters, he can find Roger laying on the bed. He won't say anything to Arthur when greeted.
Act II[]
Roger and James are heard arguing before Sally arrives. While James blatantly lies about Dr. Faraday dying in a lab accident, Roger insists on telling Sally the truth.
Act III[]
Roger and James are under house arrest inside Dr. Faraday's lab some time after Dr. Faraday's disappearance. They help Ollie get the blueprints of the underground tunnels after he helps them water and pollinate their flowers.
Events of They Came From Below[]
Two years prior the events of We Happy Few, Roger Bacon was living in Inis Holm.
On November 26th, 1962 Roger heads into town to retrieve a Bobby Helmet and buy various items. As he returns home, an explosion suddenly erupts from the workshop.
Roger attempts to contact his boyfriend, James, via his walkie-talkie to ask what just happened, but James does not answer. Roger runs inside and finds James in Faraday's Lab, unconscious, but still alive, witnessing Dr. Faraday getting pulled into a portal. After successfully waking up James, he and Roger begin searching around the house for clues as to where Faraday might have disappeared.
After a little bit of poking and prodding, the two of them discover a secret hatch which leads to a cellar that in turn contains an elevator. James tells Roger not to enter the elevator, saying that they have no knowledge of where it would bring them.
Roger decides to activate the elevator anyway, and it begins bringing them deeper underground, eventually bringing them into a vast industrial/research compound. On the way down, Roger briefly spots something strange walking across a catwalk, before the elevator's movement brings it out of view. Eventually, the elevator stops and opens up into a large control room.
He goes down the stairs and finds a Ray Gun, James warns him not to touch it, but Roger does so anyways. After an ambush with a rogue robot, Roger decides to investigate the Power Wing first. While there, he activates the security system and has to traverse the area to deactivate it.
After he finds the room controlling the power, the light cuts out, prompting James to call Roger and direct him towards the Generator room. While there, Roger finds that there are two teams of robots, both of which are at each others throats, which causes Roger to thinking about something.
After making his escape up and out, ending up back in Inis Holm, he not only watches as Viv dies in front of him, but also finds that the whole town is under attack by the robots. Roger decides to take matter into his own hands and rescue the town from the invasion. After he's killed some, he realizes that James might be in danger, running back home right away.
He finds that James is unscathed, but urges Roger to stay put upstairs while he goes down the basement to find Faraday himself in order to keep him safe, but Roger refuses again as James is still hurt. While on their ride back to the control room, Roger concludes that Faraday must be in the Research Wing, heading there next.
While there, Roger finds that at least one of the robots know how to speak English, wishing to meet it at some point. He questions why they have a word for happiness, considering their murderous behaviour. As Roger rides a gondola to the next part of the area, he suggests to James that there must be a way to talk to the Robots, which quickly turns into an argument between the two, where Roger calls James a coward for thinking its safer to be terrified of everything strange. Their conversations goes quiet afterwards.
In the next area, Roger figures that Faraday was testing the robots puzzle solving capabilities, he also finds that some of the robots are being taken apart in order to be used for other devices. One of these devices turns out to be a sort of giant weed cutter meant to garden and grow food for the populace. However, a robot enters the room while Roger observes what's going on, tearing off one of the robot heads of the machine while repeating the word 'Sorrow'. This event causes Roger to realize that all of the robots are sentient, capable of thought and emotion.
Roger eventually finds Faraday and confronts her, to which she explains she's planning on turning them into gardening tools so that they can grow food again, reassuring that the robots aren't really alive. Before she leaves, she explains that she's planning on using a "positronic converter" to hijack their feedback loops so that she doesn't have to break their programming into steps.
After getting past a smelting room, Roger finds a barely alive robot that he decides to activate. He explains that while he works for Dr. Faraday, he doesn't agree with what she does to them, and the robot responds by admitting they didn't know humans had the capability for empathy. The robot then explains that they weigh their actions based on their hopes against their fears, sometimes sacrificing themselves for those they love, they then mention that Faraday has the capability of making them love her, so that they can do whatever it is she wants of them without complain. As the robot deactivates, Roger returns to James.
As soon as Roger returns to the control room, Roger gets berated by James, who tells him that the entire point of the robots' existence is being mechanical servants, and when Roger attempts to suggest for them to find a way to learn from the robots, James cuts him off and reminds him they're there to help Dr. Faraday do whatever she believes is right. After the exchange, Roger heads into the Conversion wing.
After a bit of searching, Roger finally finds the positronic converter, with Faraday overlooking what's going on. She tells Roger to check the converter as it has gone offline, soon deciding instead call in robots to be rid of Roger when he refuses to do what she tells him to, destroying the converter in the end.
Because of this, Dr. Faraday decides to catalyse and burn all of the robots on their side of the portal, or else everyone in Wellington Wells dies. James angrily tells Roger to come back to the control room immediately.
Upon arrival, James asks Roger who he's siding with; the robots or the humans, and Roger answers by telling him he's siding with both. James then says he must stop Roger from making a terrible mistake, and the two end up in a fight. In the end, James gets knocked out.
Roger heads back downstairs and into the area below the control room. Once at the bottom, he gets into a fight against Dr. Faraday's giant headmistresses. After the headmistress been damaged a bit, James arrives through another entrance to the room, throwing a ring of 5 bangers onto the headmistress.
In the end, once Faraday's headmistress has been defeated, the robots take Helen to their side of the portal in order to reprogram her, deciding to close the portals for good, which Roger doesn't want to happen. The robot tells him he can try and convince the other robots on their planet to keep the portals open, which Roger then hesitates on as he's afraid he's not going to be able to return if he can't convince them.
James turns to Roger and tells him he has to go, or else he'll always wonder what he missed. He then also tells him that he's going to get kicked out of the house if he doesn't go, as there's nothing else keeping him in Wellington Wells, to which Roger tells him he should go with him, though James doesn't believe he's capable of convincing robots of anything.
Depending on the player's choice, James either joins Roger on their journey to the other planet, or he gets left behind in Wellington Wells.
Act II[]
- Oh, this again. It was months ago. I was only dancing!
- James. You're everyone that ever cared.
- She turned me on. But I was only dancing... Won't you dance with me? Please?
Act III[]
- Help! Let us out! Please! Hello?! Somebody?!
- James! You don't have to air our dirty laundry to every stranger that passes by!
- Oh. Ramsgate. Sorry to intrude.
- Don't tell anyone. If she's gone for good, we're out of work.
- Once again the heroes of Ramsgate save the nation.
- You can't expect a soldier to know about flowers, James.
- All right, fine. Here's the bee cannon. You'll love it. It's got "cannon" in its name.
They Came From Below[]
- I used to wonder if there were other forms of life. Other people, on other planets. I used to wonder if they'd be friendly. I don't wonder that any more.
- And then, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse... it got worse.
- That's very kind of you. We're... not Irish.
- The house is trying to kill me!
- This is all going to be my fault, somehow.
- I just pull this trigger, don't I? Pew! Pew! Pew!- Oh shit!
- Oh, someone's in a mood.
- I think we should go back upstairs. And maybe start running, and keep running till we've gone across a few bridges.
- There's more of those marks. This time on the wall. It's not hieroglyphics. I'd recognize Hangul or Devanagari.
- Oh dear. I seem to have made things a bit worse.
- It just did that by itself.
- Oh, a new kind of robot! En-chan-té.
- You ought to listen to me more often, you know.
- James! The robots are fighting each other! It almost looks like there's two teams of robots. It's really quite violent!
- Cute little bastards.
- What makes you the bloody expert?
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc." ("After this, therefore because of this")
- There must be some way we can talk to the robots. Maybe some of these dead robots aren't all the way dead. Maybe we can turn one of them back on!
- You really have a very great contempt for me don't you James!
- You can't imagine things different from the way you think they are. You think it's safer to be terrified of everything strange. And you think I'm a child for even trying to embrace it. But sometimes there's a bigger price for being a coward.
- Sorry. I didn't mean that.
- That was bloody fucking terrifying... Have I become brave?
- It keep repeating one word. "Sorrow"! That's the word it's saying!
- My god. They think and feel. And I've killed so many of them.
- You're dismantling them and making farm machinery?
- Maybe if you stopped grafting their heads onto monstrous spider machines, they wouldn't feel the urge to...
- I work for Dr. F. But I don't agree with -- I'm very much worried that she's kidnapping you robots and using you for parts! I think you're self-aware. And you know pain. And sorrow.
- How would you like it if someone you hate reprogrammed you to love them instead?
- What if we didn't have to kill them all? What if we could go to their world and learn from them --
- You can't see that we could be at the threshold of something bewildering and beautiful. You refuse to.
- How many worlds are lost when we kill each other. What could we win if we could only talk.
- You're enslaving them. Worse. Making them love their slavery. So they can work the fields for you.
- I can't let her murder innocent people.
- I'm siding with both.
- What have I done? God, I hope I'm right.
- Look, we -- we got off to a bad start. We have so much to learn from each other. Please don't close the portals.
- But perhaps I can't convince you. And then I couldn't come back.
- They'll take care of us. I'll take care of you.
Convincing James[]
- Come on. It'll be a smashing adventure!
- I do love you, James.
Leaving James Behind[]
- I'll get them to open the portals. I'll come back.
- Goodbye, James.
Bartering With Vivien[]
- Could I have one of those? (Purchasing)
- Haven't seen one of those in a while. (Purchasing)
- I'll be off now. (Leaving)
- Thanks! (Leaving)
- That one looks good. (Purchasing)
- This will be very helpful. (Purchasing)
Talking to Wellies[]
- Don't you look smart!
- Got your note on the blower. Brilliant!
- Jolly good!
- Lovely day for it!
- Lovely weather, isn't it?
- Marvellous, isn't it?
- Spiffing weather!
- There you are!
Talking to James[]
- Are you fussing? You're fussing, aren't you?
- Be careful, all right?
- Don't give me that look.
- It'll be fine!
- Moo?
- Something to tell our grandkids, eh?
- What a day!
- You all right, Moo?
- You're a silly cow, Moo.
Strangling Wellies[]
- Doesn't feel right, sneaking like this.
- Hardly cricket, is it?
- I hope Moo's impressed.
- I'm amazed this even works!
- I wonder if it knows what's happening to it.
- I wonder if it feels.
- I always was good at breaking things.
- I hope this doesn't hurt.
After Beating Robots[]
- All quiet on the Western Front.
- And Moo thinks he's the only soldier.
- And stay down!
- In Flanders Fields the poppies grow.
- Into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.
- Lovely day for it.
- There has got to be a better way.
- This fighting business really takes it out on you.
- The villainy you teach me, I shall execute.
- Welcome to Wellington Wells!
Removed/Unintended Voice Lines[]
Alpha[]
- That's right, I do everything wrong. Blame everything on Roger, because Jimmy is perfect! Brilliant Jimmy never makes a mistake, it's all Roger! He's a bad'un. Fucking Jimmy. I'd like to strangle him sometimes, I would.
Main Game[]
- Oh, for fuck's sake, Roger, again? She told you to stay off the grounding pole! It's going to be a month of feeding you soup again, isn't it? Why don't you ever listen?
DLC[]
Looting[]
- Feel like a bit of a cannibal. (Robot)
- I wonder what I can do with this. (Robot)
- I wonder what this bit does. (Robot)
- I'll get you a new one. (Human)
- I'm glad I'm not made out of useful bits. (Robot)
- It's for the best (Human)
- Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. (Robot)
- Sharing is caring. (Human)
- Sorry, needs must. (Human)
- Sorry, old boy. (Robot)
Overburdened[]
- Don't be stupid, you can't carry all of this.
- This is gonna get rather tedious if I don't drop some things.
- Where's a porter when you need one?
- You can't have everything. Certainly can't carry it.
- You're gonna have to leave some of the impedimenta behind.
Resting[]
- Ah, nice to take a load off.
- Don't mind me, just reading the paper.
Waking Up[]
- Dulce et decorum est.
- If this is hell, someone needs a better imagination.
- Let's not do that again.
- Moo is gonna be so mad at me.
- Oh, I suppose I still have time to make something of myself.
- Stiff upper lip. Oh boy.
- The trick is not minding that it hurts.
- Try not to die old boy, who wouldn't Moo take care of?
General[]
- Roger can play the piano very well.
- Roger is the second LGBTQ+ character introduced in the game.
- It's hinted in a conversation with James in Act II that Roger may specifically be Bisexual, having attraction for both men and women.
- Roger's pet name is Puppy or Pup, though James sometimes calls him Rog.
- In the note Molecules, it's revealed that he has a brother named Francis.
- Roger can read hieroglyphics, Devanagari and Hangul. Writings from Egypt, India and Korea respectively.
Other[]
- It is possible for Roger to choke people out in the DLC, he even has lines when doing it. (See Quotes)
- Roger's name is a reference to English philosopher Rodger Bacon, known for his studies on Empiricism.
- His brother's name likely references the English philosopher Francis Bacon, whose scientific work was most credited commonly known as the Baconian method. He also studied Empiricism.
- The choice the player makes at the end of the DLC does not matter, as the two return home/reunite some time later.
- His death screen is the only death screen that doesn't mention the protagonist of the story (Roger). Instead, it mentions a "fireworks show in Inis Holm, brought to you by Helen Faraday's Lab."
- During Alpha, if the player were to talk to Roger he would, for whatever reason, refer to James as "Jimmy". He'd also admit that he sometimes wants to strangle "Jimmy" in an angry tone. (See Quotes)
- The term "Houseboy" has three backgrounds, a houseboy would've been a British Empire, the Military term for a male house cleaner, and in homosexual culture as someone who performs domestic work.
