Update: That was quick. Shortly before this article was first distributed, Bethesda design director Emil Pagliarulo revised what he revealed about the male protagonist (default name Nate) in "Fallout 4."

"I wanted to share what I thought was a cool little tidbit about 'Fallout,' but I didn't realize how controversial it was going to be," Pagliarulo tweeted. 'I should have... Not all of the fallout information I share is automatically canon. Nate is not a war criminal."

Okay. I hope Pagliarulo doesn't get flack for this. It's a theoretical history about a fake man living on our desktops. Nate Q. Fallout Four doesn't exist, and the US still hasn't annexed Canada in 2072.

Nate is innocent, but the unidentified second man in the Fallout 1 intro cut scene is not. Notice.

Original: This was unexpected: Fallout 4 lead writer Emil Pagliarulo took to Twitter yesterday to reveal that the male protagonist of Fallout 4 participated in the extrajudicial execution of Canadian partisans during the illegal US occupation of the neighboring country of the "North" in the 2070s. He revealed that he had been there. I always knew that man had a bad vibe.

Well, let's put on the brakes here. Given the great atmosphere these days and the millions of wonderful "Fallout" fans (that's you!) ), I feel like it's time to share the untold connections between "Fallout 1" and "Fallout 4," Pagliarulo tweeted. 'Remember the opening movie of Fallout 1? Annexation of Canada". Same guy.

The opening of "Fallout 1" has the sickest cutscene of any game, with Ink Spots' "Maybe" playing over a black-and-white Galaxy News clip of "annexed Canadian soldiers." Two soldiers in the T-51 power armor of the moment are pondering an unarmed prisoner, one (apparently this soldier) holding a plasma rifle and the other a pistol.

Then the second soldier marches in and mercilessly executes the prisoner; the two men notice the camera rolling and cheerfully wave, seemingly unconcerned that this has been captured on film. The broadcast then cuts to an advertisement, slowly panning the bombed-out city surrounding the TV, a perfect introduction to the haunting atmosphere of Fallout and its wry, ironic sense of humor.

In Fallout 4, on the other hand, the protagonist's choice is a married couple with an established history and personality, and those not chosen become NPCs in the game. The female protagonist is a successful family lawyer, while Sean's father traveled up the Yangtze River as part of the American invasion of China. Before that, Johnny Whalers My Son was in Saskatchewan, waging brutal imperial violence against the Fedaykin of Tim Hortons Resistance.

What are we to do now that we have been burdened with this knowledge? On the one hand, Pagliarulo's revelations remind me of the old social media style, before JK Rowling got totally creepy about trans people. At the same time, if this is what Bethesda had in mind during development, there may be a little more meat to Pagliarulo's disclosure.

Whatever the case, this is good news for those who don't want to role-play Sean's father as a war criminal. Whether or not it was "legitimate" in "New Vegas" or "The Fall of Shady Sands" or even Mr. Fallout 4 helping to kill that guy, you can crack open a soda and download a mod from the Nexus that turns Preston Garvey into Goku or something.