#vault concept

Overview

Vault 198 was one of the more secret vaults built by Vault-Tec as part of their Vault Experiment programme. The location of the Vault is somewhere in the Capital Wasteland. Consisting of a relatively small area to work in, more comparable to the size of Vault 111 in terms of working space, but somewhat larger as it was designed for the residents to have some space to walk around in as well as having the cryochambers for the subjects to reside in.

Following the failure of the Forced Evolutionary Virus project at the Mariposa Military Base, two Vault-Tec scientists, Dr. Kei Hoshino and Dr. Raoul Freudenberger, were given special orders by Vault-Tec to take the FEV and refine it for the next series of FEV testing. With Vault 87 already commissioned for one testing batch, the two scientists were given the cryochamber technologies and ample supplies of FEV, and were instructed to continue FEV testing in Vault 198 with the addition of the cryo technology.

Vault 198 itself was publicly pressed by Vault-Tec as a secondary safehouse for disadvantaged individuals, i.e. the disabled, crippled, and those who were considered frail. People who could not afford to care for sick individuals could send the person they were caring for to Vault 198 where Vault-Tec had assured them that they would receive the most advanced care and medicine so that they could recover far faster than conventional doctors could ever hope to achieve. Little were the public aware that they were feeding the experiment with test subjects...

Much of the FEV testing remained away from the human subjects until some time after things went awry in Vault 87, though by then the two scientists had found that the FEV could rapidly repair and regenerate damaged bodily structures. With their damaged test subjects... perhaps the FEV could be used as a cure. But the failings of Mariposa were still high in their minds. Further testing of the FEV in the cryochambers showed that the mutation process was slowed and could even be controlled given the right situation and the right conditions.

The experiment itself was partially successful, with the desired results being attained. However, many of the test subjects did not withstand the cryogenic stasis too well and many died, with the exception of a few survivors. The survivors' whereabouts are largely unknown, and Hoshino and Freudenberger were never found after the vault door had been opened, though they are presumed to be in hiding. Despite the vault being open, much of the work in Vault 198 remains a complete mystery to any outsider. Only those with a particularly scientific disposition would be able to try to comprehend what was happening within the vault.

Notable Personnel

Overseer: Lara Bannister Head Scientist: Dr. Kei Hoshino Second in Command Scientist: Dr. Raoul Freudenberger Maintenance Lead: Alexander Flitwick Cryochamber Engineer: Shanice Cross

Vault Inhabitants and Statistics

Construction Dates: 2045-2051 Total Inhabitants: 225 Recorded Deaths: 207 - Cryostasis Incompatibility: 99 (marked in most terminals as unexplained) - FEV Incompatibility: 108 (marked in most terminals as unexplained) - Secondary Illness: 7 - Age: 12 - Other: 8 N.B. The unrecorded inhabitants are either presumed missing or dead. Few know if any survivors exist. NOTE: FEV/cryo deaths appear in most terminals as unexplained. Only terminals in the laboratories will show exact causes of death.

Notable Vault Inhabitants

Theresa Mayer: Diagnosed with genetic mental retardation at 20, presumably Huntington's disease. Admitted to Vault 198 at the age of 25 when her parents could no longer afford her medical bills. Maximillian Stark: Paralysed from the neck down at 15, spinal cord trauma suspected as no genetic cause found. Admitted to Vault 198 at 19 when his father began to struggle to cover medical costs as well as also seeing his son's mental health decline. Lloyd Webber: War veteran diagnosed with PTSD after coming back following a mine that blew off both legs and part of an arm. Aged 29. Admitted to Vault 198 just six months after returning to civilian life, his family unable to cope with the strain of PTSD. Nadia Reynold: Chronic brittle asthma sufferer, aged 12. Admitted to Vault 198 moments after her diagnosis as her parents had no choice, unable to afford her medical care costs.

All notable inhabitants have no recorded death in any of Vault 198's databases.

FEV Strain Catalog