Updated September 7, 2023, By Christopher Norman Worcester: With Starfield now officially in full release, much more information is now available to all players. This update will clarify several key elements of "Alternating Currents," helping players make the best possible decision when choosing who to deliver evidence to.
Starfield, like many of the incredibly complex RPGs from Bethesda, features several moments where the player must make a choice between two options. Some of these options may seem obvious to some players, but many more likely will not. One of the best parts about games like Starfield, is that you will never know beforehand which type of choice is being presented. Will it have a lasting impact? The only way to know for sure is to take a leap.
One of the earliest moments of choice in Starfield comes during an easily-missed side-quest titled "Alternating Currents." Like many of the early side-quests, the player will likely encounter this adventure by overhearing chatter among the residents of New Atlantis. The city is having a series of brown-outs, and all signs point to some kind of electrical issue coming from The Well, a residential area beneath the city that houses the less fortunate citizens of the United Colonies.
Deliver Evidence to Louisa or Zoe in Alternating Currents?
Should you deliver evidence to Louisa Reyez or Zoe Kaminski in Starfield? This question is the key component of Starfield's "Alternating Currents" quest. At first, the question of whom to give the info to might seem like it will have lasting consequences for the player. Should you give it to Zoe, who is connected to one of the games most reliable source of income, and possibly its biggest merchant? Or should you give it to Louisa, who is a humble public servant simply doing her job.
Louisa makes it clear that she needs the evidence in order to show her bosses that she was not wasting her time. She is also interested in seeing the perpetrator brought to justice, and would like to examine all the data.
Zoe's motivations for acquiring the data seem far more suspicious. She makes it perfectly clear that she will not give Louisa all the information to catch the crook. She would rather have the situation dealt with in-house, and with as little interference from the United Colonies as possible.
Louisa Reyez or Zoe Kaminiski in Starfield:
So with these two choices in hand, which one is the best option? The simple answer is this: it really does not matter. In this instance, picking either option will result in no known lasting consequences.
If the player gives the info to Zoe Kaminski in Starfield, she hoards it to herself, gives the player 5800 credits and 75XP, then goes about her business running the New Atlantis branch of the Trade Authority. She does say that the 'Trade Authority will remember what you did,' but that has yet to yield any results.
If the player gives the info to Louisa Reyez, she claims that the authorities will get the evidence, and her bosses will be happy with her performance. The player ends up with 5800 credits and 75XP. The exact same as giving the evidence to Zoe Kaminski.
Bethesda is known for their incredibly rich narratives, which offer a range of options. In this case, however, the option is not much more than an illusion. This is, of course, only one example of a quest-related choice during Starfield's considerable playtime. Players will have already met the pirate Brogan, and decided his fate. These situations are not unique, and players will always be kept on their toes when it comes to the possible outcomes of this incredible mechanic.
How to Find and Complete Alternating Currents
Starfield's "Alternating Currents" quest is essentially the second part of "Tapping the Grid," the quest which is initiated by overhearing NPCs talk about the brown-outs in the well. After helping Louisa by checking on a series of electrical boxes, the player is invited to tag along. It has at the end of this section of the quest that the player will need to decide to deliver evidence to Louisa or Zoe.
"Tapping the Grid" is relatively straightforward. Once set as the active mission, the quest markers will guide the player to the Well. This area is one of the few you cannot fast-travel to, and can be reached by using the elevators in the Spaceport or MAST New Atlantis Transit (NAT) stations. Once in the Well, look for Louisa Reyez directly across from the MedBay location. She will explain that there appears to be a single source drawing a massive amount of power.
Louisa will have the player visit a series of circuit breakers, all of which are marked with quest icons, so they are nearly impossible to miss. Eventually, the quest leads to the Trade Authority, where the player meets Zoe Kaminski, New Atlantis' TA representative. At first, it appears that it's the TA itself that is drawing the power, but after a verbal duel with Louisa, she insists that it only appears as if the Trade Authority is responsible. The power is being run through her building, but it is still being drawn from somewhere else.
Ultimately, this leads to a luxury apartment in Athena Tower, where the player will find a hacker setup dedicated to pulling pennies out of every GalBank transaction. The hacker is nowhere to be found, but the player is able to download a considerable amount of evidence from the system. This is where the game presents a choice: who should
Starfield is available now for Xbox Series X/S and PC.