Vault-Tec and its vaunted Vaults made sure that humanity survived a nuclear war. Just look at the good* these Vaults have done!
The Vaults of Fallout, designed and engineered by Vault-Tec at the height of pre-war tensions, were all about ensuring the survival of humanity if anything bad should happen. And sure, Vault-Tec may have helped escalate tensions in the prelude to the Sino-American war that devastated all life on Earth. But it was only to increase profits and prove the worth of its product.
Oh. And to secretly conduct social experiments on an unwitting populace with no choice but to be under the complete control of Vault-Tec. But hey, maybe you were one of the lucky ones to end up in the Vaults, where they wanted to know what would happen if life turned out good for the Vault inhabitants. But… most of them ended up like the Vaults you’ll see here.
Vault 11
Perhaps one of the most telling of Vault-Tec’s experimental Vaults. The inhabitants of Vault 11 were subject to a secret social experiment investigating what would happen if people were told they had to sacrifice one inhabitant for the good of the many.
In this case, as the blast doors to the Vault were sealed, the Vault computer informed the inhabitants that they would have to sacrifice one Vault dweller every year or else be killed. But the reality was that if the residents should refuse, a message from Vault-Tec would play rewarding the dwellers for their “commitment to human life.” Of course, what actually happened was that the Vault tore itself apart with gruesome “elections” determining who would be sacrificed. Voting blocs rose to power, became corrupt, and eventually the experiment was “solved” but by then the Vault was down to only 5 inhabitants.
Vault 108
Vault 107, on the other hand, had a more obtuse experiment running. It was built to house a total of 475 inhabitants, and outfitted with three times the amount of defensive weaponry, but none of the entertainments included for other vaults. Additionally, all standard positions were to be left unfilled, to be chosen personally by the Overseer.
On top of that, the primary power source was set to fail after 20 years, with the backup generator insidious to power the entire vault. And the overseer chosen by Vault-Tec was predisposed to a rare type of cancer that would leave the Vault leaderless within three or so years. What the actual experiment would have been is anyone’s guess. Instead of whatever Vault-Tec hoped for, the cloning experiments simultaneously being run in the Vault left it with a population of clones of a man named Gary, with each Gary growing more and more hostile to any non-Gary life forms. They eventually took over the Vault entirely.
Vault 111
Vault 111, the Vault at the center of Fallout 4 was much less complex in comparison. It was designed to test the effects of long-term cryogenic suspension on human subjects. To that end, its inhabitants were told they were entering “decontamination pods”, which were in actually just cryogenic sleep pods.
Eventually, the shadowy science society known as The Institute discovered the whereabouts of the Vault and broke into it to try and extract “uncontaminated” pre-war human DNA. Between an incursion and a mutiny, Vault 111 was left with only a sole survivor. A Final Pam if you will.
Vault 112
And then there was Vault 112. This Vault was less “social experiment” and more “the inhabitants of this vault were the playthings of a psychotic madman.” In this case, it was Stanislaus Braun, the creator of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.). In Vault 112, a small vault intended for only 85 or so occupants inhabiting a virtual reality simulation, Braun ruled as tyrannical god-king.
Within the simulated utopias, the inhabitants could live a peaceful, perfect life in virtual perpetuity. However, what actually happened was that Dr. Braun took over the simulation and used the simulated realities to “kill” each of its inhabitants in increasingly creative ways, only to wipe their memories and resurrect them within the program. And this process happened again and again, with its inhabitants held in suspended animation, unable to escape their torment or their tormentor until a Lone Wanderer came along.
Vault 13
Then of course, there’s perhaps the most impactful Vault in the Wasteland. Vault 13. This Vault was the last one constructed on the West Coast, and was one of the biggest. Vault 13 was initially intended to operate for ten years, this Vault lasted a good deal longer with almost everything it needed to survive through to the Wasteland.
It was originally intended as a study of prolonged isolation, designed to be sealed for 200 years. However, even this experiment could not be carried out. Vault 13’s inhabitants faced difficulties as the Vault’s water purification chip began to fail. Owing to a logistical problem (and not secretly a social experiment), Vault 13 never received its shipment of backup water purification chips. It instead had two G.E.C.K.s.
Thus, in 2161, Vault 13 opened its doors and sent out a Vault Dweller to retrieve a water chip from somewhere in the Wasteland. The Vault Dweller did so, however, as thanks, they were banished. Exiled from the Vault and left to found a tribe somewhere in the settlement known as the Arroyo. Eighty years later, a Chosen One would return to Vault 13 and discover the keys to stopping the Enclave once and for all – at least on the West Coast.
The rest comes down to history!
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