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There's a big Poseidon oil rig left out on the water. That's the final base of the Enclave, and unless I miss my bet, that's where your friends are, too.
”— A. Ron MeyersThe Poseidon Energy Oil Rig (Control Station ENCLAVE in official Enclave records) was a pre-War deep sea drilling platform, built over the world's last accessible underwater oil field, located 175 miles off the coast of California (37° 17' N, -124° 23' 24" W).[1]
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[edit] History
In March 2077, with the world heading directly for nuclear confrontation, the President of the United States and other members of the Enclave retreated to various fortified areas around the globe. The Poseidon Oil derrick in the Pacific Ocean was chosen a secret base from which the USA could continue to exist and wage war on China, with the eventual goal of retaking the continental United States. Some members of the Enclave retreated to remote locations in other parts of the world, but when the bombs hit, they lost all contact with the main group.[2] As the world burned and United States disintegrated, its President and the Enclave, remnants of the pre-War American government,[3][4] established themselves as its continuation, claiming authority over the United States mainland.
In 2242, the Chosen One traveled there via an oil tanker to save his tribe and the previous inhabitants of Vault 13, as well as to stop the Enclave and President Richardson from releasing FEV Curling-13 into the world's jet streams, killing all humans outside the Enclave world wide, in preparation for Enclave's colonization. The Chosen One (aided by Marcus and others recruited to his cause)[5] destroyed the Oil Rig by overloading its primary reactor and causing a megaton-sized thermonuclear explosion.[6] Enclave survivors never learned the truth behind the rig's destruction.[7][8]
[edit] Overview
The oil rig was, in fact, a disguised, powerful military base with industrial facilities, top notch medical technology, completely self-sufficient and able to provide the Enclave with a power base. It was connected to other Enclave, military, and corporate facilities via PoseidoNet (curiously, it seems the oil rig's PoseidoNet software was a trial version, initialized in 2079).[9]
The usual computer unit used on the Enclave oil rig was a DataPlex 2000 SmarTerminal.[10]Operating systems used on the platform included Fenestra '98,[11] Apricot OS,[12] and Vault-Tec proprietary OS.[13]
[edit] Power
The oil rig was powered by a Vault-Tec uranium nuclear reactor. The entire process was automated, thanks to a supercomputer running synchronized multi-processors on a tri-processor motherboard, which carefully regulated coolant temperature, intake of sea water for cooling, expending hot water and waste from it, as well as regulating the neutron bombardment on the uranium fuel rods. Seawater was pumped from 500 meters depth, used both to move the turbines and cool the core. Radiated water and miscellaneous toxic byproducts of the operation were disposed off through a waste conduit, terminating one mile south of the rig, causing irreversible ecological damage to coasts of southern California and Mexico. The biggest flaw in the system was that even the slightest disuption in the supercomputer's operations would lead to a 100 kiloton nuclear explosion within two hours, due to an uncontrolled bombardment of the uranium isotopes. The loss of power would also severely cripple the oil rig, as energy intensive systems would shut down (force fields, for example) and watertight doors would close, to prevent any flooding.[14] What's worse, manually retracting the containment rods would trigger the same reaction, with no hope of restoring control, as putting them down to slow down the reaction would overheat the reactor.[15]
[edit] Defenses
As a military base, the Oil Rig was heavily defended, including external guns to protect against seaborne threats (i.e. everything without a Poseidon IFF transponder).[16] The rig also had a significant transport Vertibird fleet. Internally, apart from Enclave soldiers outfitted with advanced power armor, an extensive network of security turrets (dual .223 miniguns) and sentry robots was present, ready to obliterate any foe. Quite probably, the Oil Rig was the single most well protected location in the entire post-nuclear America.
[edit] Industrial and scientific facilities
The oil rig's scientific facilities were outfitted with cutting edge pre-War technology. Equipment present in them included infrared spectrometers and gear for synthesizing compounds - in vast quantities, if need be.[17]
[edit] Inhabitants
By 2242, the Enclave expanded its operations to the mainland; the amount of permanent residents on the oil rig was between 60 and 80.[18] Taking into account non-permanent residents, the Enclave oil rig was home to about a thousand.[19]
All oil rig residents tended to be pale, due to the sheltered environment, but healthy.[20] Their occupation could be identified basing on their clothes and equipment. Citizens wore blue and yellow jumpsuits, identical in design to those of Vault-Tec shelter inhabitants, and carried no weaponry. Members of the science division wore lab coats and carried personal defense weapons (usually a Wattz 1000 laser pistol), while the military (including the Secret Service) used T-51b power armors and M72 Gauss rifles (lower-ranking soldiers) or advanced power armor and various heavy duty weapons. The President was unarmed, but carried what was probably the most important asset on the Oil Rig - the presidential access card, giving him full control over the systems of the drilling platform.
Security drills were a regular feature of life on the oil rig.[21] Evening entertainment usually consisted of various safety movies.[22]
[edit] Layout
The massive structure of the oil rig probably had many facilities for industrial manufacturing, research and development, Vertibird maintenance etc. However, in-game, only a small portion of the Oil Rig is accessed by the player.
[edit] Oil Rig Dock
The entrance to the rig, a large dock illuminated with yellow spotlights. Every arriving vessel docks here, and the PMV Valdez is no exception.
[edit] Oil Rig Entry Hall
The entrance hall of the rig, lined with powerful auto-turrets that are designed to obliterate everything and everyone foolish enough to attempt an attack on the installation. The main hall's floor is a massive relief with the word Enclave stamped on it, with a small access terminal in the lower left corner. The hall connects via a spiral staircase to the detention/R&D level and the barracks, via a passageway with a waiting room.
The final battle with Frank Horrigan is fought here.
[edit] Oil Rig Barracks
Connected to the entrance hall, the Barracks area housed a storeroom, where T-51b power armors were used instead of forklifts, troop housing (together with a large gym and lavatories), an armory stocked with explosives, the admin section for the soldiers and their CO's living quarters. A spiral staircase sealed behind flood doors connected to the Presidential level.
| Loot |
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Storeroom:
Security Room:
Lounge: Barracks:
Admin: Armory:
CO Quarters:
Presidential Security Checkpoint: |
[edit] Oil Rig Detention and Research Level
Houses the prison cells used to contain the Arroyo villagers and the people from Vault 13. Also contains several small labs and medical facilities, and storage areas. It is located south from the entry hall, and connects to the Trap Room.
[edit] Oil Rig Trap Room
A series of small rooms with computer-controlled doors and an electrified floor. Unless the right combination of computers are accessed, the doors will trap the unfortunate explorer and leave them at the mercy of the floors. Two small side rooms provide storage and a reprieve from the traps. A GECK can be found here in the northeastern room in the left survival locker in the back Survival Gear room. It is south of the Detention Level and connects to the Presidential Level.
| Easter Egg |
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If you have your Science and Repair skills high, you can try repairing computers in the room with electric floor. If you are successful you will obtain an Easter egg, which transforms into a special reward based on your passive and diplomatic skills. If the skill is tagged and over 100%, you will receive (in the event there's more than one, they go in this order):
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[edit] Oil Rig Presidential Level
Home of the offices of President Dick Richardson, Vice-president Bird, Richardson's secretary, and the Enclave's other elite. Also contains a bomb, a war room, a conference room, and medical facilities where testing on the FEV is being done. A rear staircase connects it to the Reactor Level, and an emergency stairwell connects it to the Detention Level.
[edit] Oil Rig Reactor Level
The deepest level of the rig, it houses the central computer, the rig's power generators, a small barracks, and several scientists and citizens to maintain the former two. It is only accessible by a staircase on the Presidential Level. The reactor is not in the best of condition as it breaks down frequently.[23]
[edit] Appearances
The Oil Rig appears at the very end of Fallout 2 and is mentioned by several characters in Fallout: New Vegas.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] References
- ↑ CCNCOMP.MSG: "Searching... Accessing geographical maps... Data acquired. Enclave headquarters is located 175 miles off of the coast of California in the Pacific ocean. Coordinates are 37 degrees 18 minutes north latitude by 120 degrees 7 minutes west longitude."
Note: the coordinates as given by the computer are erroneous, as they place the oil rig deep inland. The coordinates were worked out by assuming that latitude is correct, while using the distance provided by the computer to gauge distance. San Francisco was used as point of reference, since it is also the location mentioned by the computer. - ↑ Fallout Bible 0
- ↑ Arcade: "My late father was an officer in a group called the Enclave, a remnant of America's Pre-War government."
- ↑ Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.41: "In the recent past, the Enclave—the remains of the United States government— were evacuated to an oil rig off the coast of California."
- ↑ Marcus in FNV
- ↑ Power plant operations
- ↑ Judah Kreger: "Internal sabotage took down the oil rig - never did get the full story. The NCR took out Navarro, saying we posed a threat to the region."
- ↑ Enclave Remnants
- ↑ QITURTRM.MSG: "{228}{}{User Help file update not available with trial PoseidoNet software. Please purchase full version for full access to all further updates. Your trial period for PoseidoNet access is 59, 439 days overdue.}"
- ↑ QITURTRM.MSG: {103}{}{You see a DataPlex 2000 SmarTerminal, with a full 64k of RAM, it's the very latest in computer technology.}
- ↑ QITURTRM.MSG: "{116}{}{This terminal has a message on it; "Loading Fenestra '98." The terminal is covered with a thick layer of dust. }"
- ↑ QITURTRM.MSG: "{117}{}{This terminal seems to be an Apricot-brand terminal. It's running something called Fallout 2. Wow, it looks like it's multiplayer and 3D.}"
- ↑ QITURTRM.MSG: "{242}{}{Presidential Security Passkey recognized, Good day, Mr. President. Emergency Counter Insurgency Protocol initiated (**Malfunction**) Security link offline on this level. Please submit form FG-I-106-32-0635 to authorize repair services. Thanks for using another fine Vault-Tek product. Good day.}"
- ↑ Power plant operations: "Vault-Tec's new Uranium Nuclear Reactor has been working to top efficiency so far. With the state of the art computer systems that were made specifically for the task of regulating the coolant temperature as well as many other key functions, we are able to allow the reactor to run with minimal supervision.
The new Synchronic multi-processors that we had built into the tri-processor motherboard are able to multitask the coolant temperature, the intake of cool sea water, the outtake of expended coolant and waste from the reactions, and the regulation of the neutron bombardment upon the uranium. Without the computer systems, the reactor would go out of balance almost immediately, causing a chain-reaction bombardment of the uranium isotopes. Within two hours, or less, this would result in a nuclear explosion equivalent in the 100-kiloton range.
The sum of the main portions of the reactor are placed underwater, beneath the station. This arrangement allows the ocean's natural temperature to keep the exterior cooler. Seawater, from 500 meters, is pumped into the coolant chamber. A portion of the cool seawater is diverted to the containment unit, where the core and control rods are. There, it circulates through the core, becoming heated from the nuclear reaction taking place. The seawater reaches the boiling point and the resulting steam is used to turn the turbine generator to create all of our electricity. The steam then condenses and returns to a filter tank. The cleansed water is entered back into a preparation tank, ready to start the cycle all over again.
Severely radiated water, and miscellaneous toxic materials, are pumped out of the station through a waste-conduit, terminating one mile to the south. Reports from our survey crews state that our effluvia drifts down the coast of southern California and Mexico, causing irreversible ecological damage. Many of the beaches are now saturated with toxic waste, and highly radiated sea life. Fortunately, this doesn't effect us.
In any case, if our reactor is shut down, we do have some backup batteries that can be used to power vital systems throughout the Enclave until power is restored. However, these do not include extraneous and high energy items such as forcefields. Also, as a safety precaution, certain watertight doors throughout the station, will close when power is reduced (to prevent flooding in case of an emergency). This will restrict movement through the station but movement to the top of the station is still possible, through alternate routes.
The real problem is that if the computer is shut down or destroyed, unlikely though both of those events may be, the reactor will go critical to the point of meltdown within two-hours. We need to install some sort of a human-maintained backup system. I know that you may think I'm an alarmist for bringing up these provisions for an unthinkable event, however it always pays to be prepared." - ↑ Tom Murray: "Okay, okay. I'll do it. Just take it easy now. But I'm telling you - it's going to overheat as soon as I put the containment rods down. If we perform a crash shutdown like this we'll have to scram the whole reactor-or we better learn to speak Chinese."
- ↑ A. Ron Meyers: "{This ship's a Poseidon tanker. It's equipped with tech that lasted through the war. It's got a FOB that allows access to the navigation computer room, and it's got an IFF transponder that protects it from Poseidon guns."
- ↑ QCGENSCI.MSG: "{109}{}{This spectrometer is fucked up.}
{110}{}{Where's the maintenance crew when you need them?}
{111}{}{I just calibrated the IR-spectrometer.}
{112}{}{How did the recrystalization go?}
{113}{}{The synthesis is complete, doctor.}" - ↑ Ask Chris Avellone by Vault13.net (archived)
- ↑ Curling: "It's not pretty. You should leave as soon as possible. But I'd rather have the weight of a thousand on my conscience than several hundred-thousand. Our time is through here. We had our chance."
- ↑ QCGENCIT.MSG: "{102}{}{You see a pale but healthy looking citizen.}"
- ↑ QCGENSCI.MSG: "{138}{}{Must be another security drill.}
{139}{}{Don't those troopers ever get tired of these drills?}" - ↑ QCGENCIT.MSG: "{104}{}{Wonder what the safety movie is tonight?}"
- ↑ Enclave citizen's dialogue:
"{114}{}{What's all that racket?}"
"{115}{}{That's the reactor alarm.}"
"{116}{}{Uh, oh.}"
"{117}{}{Better find some Rad-X, again.}"
"{118}{}{That thing's always breaking down.}"
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