| Vault 54 | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Establishment: | 2075 |
| Disestablishment: | N/A |
| Status: | Active, sealed |
| Location Information | |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Societal Information | |
| Population: | 1,907 |
| Notable Individuals: | *Kara Stinson
|
| Factions: | N/A |
| Notable Events: | N/A |
Vault 54 is a Vault-Tec Vault located in eastern Michigan. Designed to test conditions for a hypothetical generation-ship voyage, the Vault’s experiment is still ongoing. Due to the nature of its experiment, one that involves a carefully managed and planned population, Vault 54 remains closed and isolated from the rest of the world.
History
Construction of Vault 54 was completed on-schedule in Fall 2075. Vault-Tec recruited the inhabitants from nearby communities, being sure to select young, healthy individuals with minimal family histories of chronic disease or other conditions. Where possible, they selected those that were unmarried and did not have children, although this was not allways possible. In the end, a thousand individuals, five hundred male and five hundred female, were selected for the experiment.
Unlike some other Vaults, the entire population of 54 arrived as expected on October 23, 2077. Security Staff deliberately separated spouses, children and other dependents, obstinately for ‘quarantine reasons’. In truth, they were sealed outside the Vault and left to their fate. The intended population were taken into the Vault, and inducted into its experiment.
Description
Vault 54 is of a relatively conventional construction. Due to the long-term nature of its experiment and the requirement to have a reasonably sized genetic pool, the Vault was designed to hold two thousand people. The Vault was equipped with the late-model, side-opening Vault Door of the same type used in the Commonwealth’s Vaults (eg Vault 111). The Vault was equipped with a standard Vault-Tec reactor to supply power and water needs. Otherwise, save for the deliberately limited medical facilities (see details on the Experiment below) Vault 54’s construction was unremarkable and more akin to the “Control” Vaults such as Vault 8.
Despite being in continuous operation for 210 years, Vault 54 is in good operational condition. It has not suffered any major system failures or the like, and is well-maintained by the existing population. Due to the nature of the experiment, the Vault was equipped with the capacity to manufacture replacement parts for its systems. Save for a catastrophic failure of a key system (eg the Reactor), Vault 54 is expected to remain operational for decades to come.
As is the norm for a Vault, the security staff are equipped with 10mm Pistols and batons for controlling pests and unruly vault dwellers. The Vault’s armour has a stock of R91 Assault Rifles and other heavy weapons for emergencies, but they have never had reason to use them.
Experiment
Vault 54 was intended to test conditions for a hypothetical generation ship voyage, specifically the perpetuation of a precisely managed population. In order to ensure the viability of the experiment, a number of conditions were placed upon both the population and the Vault’s facilities.
At birth, every Vault Dweller is matched up with a mate, based on genetic profiling. This profiling ensures a healthy population, and is specifically done to avoid inbreeding or genetic defects. When they come of age, every couple is given a strict procreation quota based on their genetic profile, the Vault’s current population, projected needs and so on. The couple has to meet their expected quota of children; no more or less. Couples that meet quotas are rewarded with access to better facilities, jobs, food and so on. Those that fail to meet or exceed the target are similarly penalised. The sole exception is in the case of unexpected multiple births. In such cases, the couple’s quota will be adjusted accordingly.
In addition to testing for genetic matches, all newborns are also tested to verify their parentage. Producing a child with an individual other then a designated mate is considered to be one of the most severe crimes that a Vault 54 dweller can commit, and the punishments for such can include exile. To further underpin the Vault’s experiment, 54 was not equipped with any form of birth control technology. Similarly, it has no capacity for artificial insemination. Effectively, this limits intercourse to be between official couples solely for the sake of procreation.
In the advent that a Vault Dweller is unable to fulfil their duty (due to death, injury, illness or other misadventure) their mate will be paired with a “backup” partner. Those who refuse to take part in the experiment for whatever reason are exiled, and again their partner will be paired with a backup. Such occurred when Kara Stinson refused to mate with Dylan Wheeler, her designated partner. Stinson was exiled and her partner was reassigned to another individual.
Population
Vault 54 currently has a population of 1907 dwellers, which is below it’s expected capacity. This has actually become something of an issue, as the population has been falling for the last ten years, and all efforts to reverse the trend have failed, primarily do to ever-decreasing birth rates. This factor, more then any equipment failure, may yet be the end for the Vault. As with many other vaults (such as 101), dwellers undergo GOAT tests in order to ensure that they are assigned to the roles where they will be the most useful to the Vault’s continued operation.
The population is supported by a team of a dozen Mister Handy robots. Installed when the Vault was first set up, the robots have been operating continuously since, save for when they are down for maintenance.
Notable Personnel
Mitch Mitchelson
The current overseer of Vault 54, Mitch Mitchelson has held the position for over twenty years now. An angry, resentful man, he never liked his designated partner, Delores Newmann, and tries his best to spend as little time with her as possible. Mitchelson is acutely aware of the Vault’s decline over the last two decades, and is worried that he’ll be remembered as the overseer who was responsible for it’s failure. Mitchelson has two adult sons, both of whom have never managed to rise beyond junior positions in the Vault’s support staff.
Rita Farnsbuger
The chief geneticist of Vault 54, Rita Farnsburger oversees the continued operation of the Vault Experiment. Her chief task is in the selection of mates for each newborn child, ensuring that each couple will produce healthy, viable offspring while avoiding inbreeding and other genetic defects. Her long-term goal is to find a way to halt the decline of the Vault’s population, a problem she has begun to suspect comes down to the number of bloodlines that have completely died out in the last two centuries.
| This has been written by KayEmm. Please contact this user before editing this article. |