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 Mariposa's vats before 2162 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Mariposa Military Base was a top-secret United States military facility built to house Forced Evolutionary Virus research previously conducted at West Tek, located somewhere in the area of the Mariposa unincorporated community in California.
Mariposa Military Base can be found thirteen squares west of Vault 13 in Fallout. In Fallout 2 it can be found ten squares east and twenty-seven squares south of Arroyo.
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[edit] Background
[edit] The FEV Project
In 2076, the NBC division of West-Tek achieved breakthrough results in the Pan-Immunity Virion Project. The United States Defense Department, in fear of international espionage, moved a military team under the command of Colonel Robert Spindel and Captain Roger Maxson onto the site to secure and oversee the project, now dubbed the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus) project.[1] On January 7, 2077, all FEV research was moved to the newly constructed Mariposa military base to commence testing of the virus on human subjects.[2][3] The security team was transferred to the newly constructed base as well, to provide protection for the research going on within the facility. They were not informed of the nature of the research.[4]
The secrecy backfired shortly before October 10, 2077, when soldiers stationed at the base discovered the human testing that was going on at the base, made worse by the fact that the scientists were using military prisoners as test subjects. Colonel Spindel suffered a nervous breakdown, locking himself in his office, leaving Captain Maxson to handle the deteriorating situation at the base. The soldiers were screaming for blood and became increasingly aggressive. When two days later, on October 12, the Captain stopped a soldier from murdering a scientist, he ordered the scientists to be interrogated.[4]
The first scientist to be interrogated by Captain Maxson was Robert Anderson, Chief Researcher of the research team at Mariposa. Anderson explained that the testing at the facility was sanctioned and, in fact, ordered by the government, as he outlined the experiments to the Captain. When Maxson refused to believe him, the scientist lost his nerve and started screaming how he was just following orders and that he was also a military man. In response, Captain Maxson murdered him.[4]
This established Maxson as the leader of the rebellion. His position was further reinforced on October 15, when Colonel Spindel commited suicide as his men broke into his office. Subsequent scientist interrogations invariably ended in executions. By October 18, the scientists of the project were all dead, murdered by Captain Maxson. Erin Shellman held out the longest, almost convincing the Captain that the experiments were really ordered by the government.[4] On October 20, 2077, Captain Maxson declared his unit in full secession from the United States, attempting to force the government to respond to the situation at Mariposa. No response came. A day later, he ordered the families of soldiers under his command to take shelter within the facility.[4]
On October 23, 2077, the Great War struck. As Maxson was halfway through prying the story from Leon von Felden at West Tek, he was cut off by the nuclear detonation at the West Tek research facility. Spared the nuclear devastation, Mariposa protected the inhabitants from nuclear fallout and the wild FEV flooding the wasteland. Fearing that China would soon make up for the oversight, on October 24, Maxson ordered his soldiers and their families to prepare to vacate the base the next day.[5].
On October 25, Sgt. Platner volunteered to take atmospheric readings outside the base. Reporting no significant amounts of radiation in the atmosphere, final preparations for the exodus were undertaken. On October 26, Maxson ordered the remains of the scientists to be buried in the wastes outside the base. A day later, on October 27, former US servicemen and their families left the base under the lead of Captain Roger Maxson, heading for the Lost Hills government bunker in the south.[4]
[edit] The Rise of the Master
The base was left sealed, but over the years, it slowly fell into disrepair, and eventually various creatures made their way inside, mutating due to FEV exposure and infesting the surrounding area, attacking fledgling human settlements and caravans. The problem was becoming increasingly severe, to the point when Harold, a caravan master from the Hub, mounted an expedition in 2102 to locate and destroy the source of mutants.
Dr. Richard Grey was one of the explorers who was part of the expedition. Harold led the men into Mariposa, but failed to account for the automated defenses, which were still online, and promptly attacked the explorers. Taking heavy casualties, they made their way to the deepest, fourth level, the F.E.V Vats, where a crane smashed into the two surviving explorers, Harold and Richard Grey. The former was knocked out, the latter landed in one of the virus vats, succumbing to a severe overdose.
In pain, horribly mutated, he crawled into the control room, as his intellect grew. In a few days, he was neurolinked to the base computer, drawing upon its sizable data banks. As he created the idea of the Unity, wanderers began to enter the facility, and Grey patiently captured and dipped them, in order to create beings as perfect as him. When the first true super mutants were created, he set out to create a true mutant army, at the same time deciding to look for a permanent base of operations. In 2155, one of his patrols located a group of vault dwellers from the LA Vault, and he made the decision to transfer himself there, occupying the Vault.
The base was entrusted to the Lieutenant, one of the greatest super mutant minds to exist. Mariposa was rebuilt and cleaned up, once again becoming the magnificent military base it was before the war. Super mutants roamed the halls, restocking the armories and medical base and soon it became the staging area for their assault on humanity, as well as the only super mutant production center.
Then came the Vault Dweller in 2162. It is unknown whether or not he infiltrated the base or blasted his way in - suffice to say, once he was through, Mariposa was little more than a caved-in, smoldering ruin.
[edit] Enclave's excavations
On July 20th, 2236, Enclave scouts (re)discovered the ruins of the Mariposa Military Base.[6] The Chemical Corps and other scientists begin to scour the base, while assault squads begin gathering slaves to use for excavating the base.[7] In the process, they capture Melchior from the town of Redding.[8] Excavations begin in September. The slaves and construction crews uncover dig into the collapsed base, removing tons of rock. Unprotected wastelanders are exposed to low levels of FEV in the ruins, released after the base self destructed. Mutations start to occur. At the same time, Frank Horrigan is exposed to the virus and sent to the oil rig for study.[9] By October, Melchior (now mutating) realizes that the Enclave will execute him and the others as soon as they recover the FEV and virus data. He begins secreting away weapons for the mutants in anticipation of the confrontation.[10] The excavations are complete in January 2237. Shortly after Enclave scientists manage to obtain a pure sample of FEV and leave the base, the mutants rise up against their Enclave overseers. After suffering heavy casualties, the Enclave forces fall back and seal the mutants in.[11] The remaining 1st and 2nd Generation super mutant slaves remained in the Base, and the group formed a new community under the leadership of Melchior, whose magic talents had allowed them to hide the weapons.
[edit] Layout
[edit] Surface (Fallout 1)
- Square footage: 30000 ft
The Mariposa was a reinforced military base, constructed in the middle of nowhere, in the side of a mountain. The exterior had a characteristic white lining and massive air conditioning vent providing fresh air for the complex. Inside, it consisted of four levels, stretching across a mile of depth.
[edit] Surface (Fallout 2)
The layout of the base is pretty much similar to that in Fallout, although there are some tents outside the base, pack of wolves, and the entrance to the base is blocked by rubble. To get in the base you will need to find the Metal pole and put it on the rail cart ("Use on"). Next, you need to put some dynamite (can be found in the little shack right from the entrance to the base) on the rail cart (you need to right click and hold on the cart, and then choose the "bag" option; after that, simply click on the dynamite from the menu) and push it down. Doing this will net you 5000 XP.
[edit] Stronghold Level 1 (Fallout)
- Square footage: 40000 ft
The first level of Mariposa housed the gear needed for any excursions, as well as a staging area for patrols. Oddly, the main control computers for the base's force fields and robotic guardians were located here, allowing any infiltrator to considerably sabotage the base, just by altering the Pest Control setting for the robobrains, in addition to altering the force field status remotely. Apart from that, guard barracks were located on this level, for off-duty surface security teams.
[edit] Stronghold Level 1 (Fallout 2)
When the player arrives to the first level of the base, first thing he/she would notice are the Enclave soldiers' and Mutant bodies lying around. It is recommended that the player loots these, especially Enclave, since some of them have holodisks, and one has a plasma pistol. The level is mostly filled with mutated rats (which can poison you if they bite), which can be easily dispatched. However, in one of the halls, there is a super mutant, Grundel, which will attack you, if you try to talk to him. He is wearing spiked knuckles. Note that in the south-west corner (in the hall leading to the elevator) there is a broken power generator, which can be repaired for 1500 XP (this can be easily done if you have Vic in your party). Doing this will also turn on the lights in the base.
[edit] Stronghold Level 2 (Fallout)
- Square footage: 60000 ft
The primary soldier living quarters, medbay and armory were located on this level. The quarters were spacious, although spartan in design, with a large stockpile of weapons just around the corner and a well equipped sickbay, stocked chock full of medical chems, surgical equipment and medical beds with integrated life support systems.
[edit] Stronghold Level 2 (Fallout 2)
Second level of the base is filled with super mutants, about 15 of them, but for an experienced player, they shouldn't pose a large threat. Mutants are usually wielding power fists and flamers, although few of them use laser rifles and plasma rifles. In most of the lockers you can find money, stimpaks, some ammunition and most notably, in the east corner of the map, a T-51b power armor.
[edit] Stronghold Level 3 (Fallout)
- Square footage: 80000 ft
The third level was divided in two, one was the general access area, where the assembly room and elevator to the commander's office were located, the second a military prison with an elevator going directly to the Vats. When Mariposa was operating under government jurisdiction, experimenting with FEV, only scientists and their security staff were allowed into the prison area and the Vats - soldiers under Colonel Spindel and Roger Maxson were (rightly so) barred from entry.
[edit] Stronghold Level 3 (Fallout 2)
Like on the second level of the base, third level is also inhabited by super mutants which use laser rifles, plasma rifles and flamers. Also, there are some Mutated Beasts (Pig rats) which are weak, but you can get poisoned if they bite you. Note that there are Super Duper Mutants on this level, which have greater HP than "normal" Mutants. As comes to the loot, you should pay attention to the first room after you exit the elevator. In the room is the locker, in which you can find Green memory module, which can be used to expand ACE's medical library, thus allowing you to increase your Perception by 1. Finally, in the south-eastern corner of the map, there is an elevator, which takes you to the final level of the base, the Vats.
[edit] Vats (Fallout)
- Square footage: 60000 ft
Divided in two as well, the deepest level housed the massive FEV Vats, together with their control room, scientist living quarters as well as the base commander's office. As with the third level, access to the FEV research area was strictly limited, with only scientists being allowed to enter. A special containment squad, the super mutant Vat Team 9, was stationed in the room near the cell block access elevator, to deal with any potential disturbances. It was composed of three soldiers.
The Vats control room was where the base's mainframe was also located, holding personnel logs (Boyarsky, Roger Maxson, Richard Grey etc.) as well as the self-destruction initiation subsystem. Encrypted behind a firewall, these were nonetheless accessible for a skilled hacker. Alternatively, just blowing the console up would trigger the self destruct sequence, but the base would be set to alert status, powering up the force fields.
Mariposa Encryption Codes
17652-1028-1285362 - 1 minute silent self destruct sequence
67209-5574-7805564 - 30 second self destruct, set base to alert
55658-8678-1251533 - set base to alert status
31914-1041-1251514 - 3 minute silent self destruct sequence
53478-2565-7763929 - 3 minute self destruct sequence, set base to alert
[edit] Vats (Fallout 2)
The deepest level of the base houses one of the tougher enemies in Fallout 2, Melchior. He is standing in the north-western corner of the map, surrounded by goo which has remained there since the Vault Dweller destroyed the FEV vats. Melchior himself is not that tough, but his abilities are quite unique. From the hat (or more precisely, the goo), he can and will summon deathclaws, fire geckos, floaters and mutated mole rats. They are summoned in that descending order, and if you are strong enough to survive several waves of them, you are rewarded with some funny lines. He can have 4 summoned allies at a time, which can be bothersome, so it is best to dispatch him first, and then his "pets". This is quite challenging, even for experienced player with a good party, so you should be very cautious, and prepared to leave the scene of battle with 1-2 companions less. Melchior also guards a locker containing a PPK12 Gauss pistol.
[edit] Notes
- The existence of the Mariposa Military Base was listed in Enclave records, and this enabled the Enclave to find the base and begin their excavations, so it is possible that some elements of the Pre-War Enclave had their fingers in the horrors taking place at Mariposa.[12]
[edit] Appearances
The Mariposa Military Base appears in Fallout and Fallout 2. It is mentioned in Fallout 3 by Harold in Oasis. The base is also mentioned in a terminal located in Vault 87. It is also mentioned in the personal journals of Maxson I, which are stored in the Citadel archives. It is mentioned on a Fallout: New Vegas loading screen saying that the super mutants in the Mojave are the remnants of Mariposa, and in its add-on Dead Money by Dog in idle dialog.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- According to Chris Taylor, Mariposa Military Base is based on Fort Ord, an old military base that has been shut down near Monterey Bay. It was called Base Omega in early design documents.
- The name of the base, Mariposa, in Spanish means butterfly. This is a probable reference to the metamorphosis that occurs in a caterpillar turning it into a "better" creature, in this case a butterfly. When pure humans are dipped into the FEV vats they transform into a "better" creature, in this case, a smarter / faster / stronger super mutant.
[edit] Bugs
- In a few cases the yellow force fields' device cannot be deactivated by the use of a Tool. If that happens it's only necessary to simply use the Repair skill directly into the force field device.
[edit] See also
[edit] Related Holodisks
[edit] Fallout
[edit] Fallout 2
[edit] References
- ↑ GPWRTERM.MSG: "{242}{}{In light of significant advances in 2076 by the NBC on the Pan-Immunity Virion Project, the United States Defense Department, in fear of international espionage,}"
- ↑ GPWRTERM.MSG: "{236}{}{2077. FEV nears completion. Test on lab animals are at a near 100% success rate. Size and muscle density increase approximately 60%, and the protential intelligence increase by 200%. }"
"{237}{}{Effects upon human subjects remain unknown; although they are theoretically promising. }"
"{238}{}{The military, wishing to continue further testing, builds a large facility at the Mariposa military installation in central California. At this new facility, testing of the FEV virus continues on volunteer subjects from the military.}" - ↑ FEV experiment disk: "Log Date January 7, 2077: Major Barnett has ordered transfer of all FEV research to the Mariposa Military Base. He plans to continue the project experiments on volunteer subjects. I am against this, and would like it noted here that research on human subjects is not recommended by myself or my staff."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Captain_Maxson's_Diary: Oct 10, 2077: I, Roger Maxson, Captain, serial number 072389 have started this log because it doesn't look good for any of us, and I'd like for people to know what really happened here.
All hell broke loose when we finally discovered what those scientist bastards were up to. The Colonel has locked himself in his office and seems to be having some sort of breakdown. The men are screaming for blood. They're looking to me for answers, and I'm not sure what to do. Someone has to do something, though, before this place sinks into an anarchistic bloodbath.
Oct. 12 2077: Every time we get a report from higher up things get worse here. The war is going in a very bad direction and this place is about to go into full mutiny, with all the chaos that entails. I stopped one of the men from executing a scientist today, and demanded that we interrogate them to find out what their orders were.
Oct.13 2077: I killed a man today. I was interrogating Chief Scientist Anderson and he was giving me the full details of their inhuman experiments. He said his orders came from the Gov't., but I didn't buy it. He started screaming about how he was following orders, how he was a military man, and I just shot him. I tell myself it was to keep him from causing a full mutiny among the men, but I'm not so sure.
Oct.15 2077: I tried again to speak to the colonel through the door, but he seems to have completely lost touch with reality. I broke down the door with several of the men just in time to watch him blow his head off. Right before he pulled the trigger he said he was sorry.
Oct. 18 2077: By killing the egghead, I seem to have confirmed my position as leader of the men. They follow me without question now. The interrogations invariably end up being executions. Shellman held out the longest, but the end result was the same. Her arguments about her orders were a bit too specific to be completely made up. I'm getting a real bad feeling in my gut about how this is all going to end up. I don't even lie to myself anymore about my reasons for executing the scientists.
Oct.20 2077: I finally replied to the outside world over our radio. I don't know why they never sent anyone here to see what was happening when we stopped responding to their transmissions. It doesn't make any sense. Well, they'll come now. I declared ourselves seceded from the union. They remember Jefferson Davis. What will history say about me?
Oct.22 2077: What the hell is going on? We declare ourselves to be in full desertion from the army and no longer under the Government's command and what happens? Nothing. Something bad is coming down.
Oct. 23 2077: I can't believe those bastards finally did it. Damn them all to Hell. They finally let the A-Bombs fly. We were right in the middle of trying to pry the real story out of von Felden when we completely lost contact. I have a feeling the research center was hit hard. I don't know why, just call it a gut feeling. It seems inconceivable that we were not targeted. I'm sure China will make up for that oversight real soon. Luckily, we had moved our families from outside into the facility the day before yesterday. We do not yet know if the fallout has reached this area.
Oct. 25 2077: Sgt. Platner volunteered to go outside today to take specific readings on the atmosphere. It seems the radiation has not spread this far. Since he was wearing his power armor, there was no threat to him from radiation, but if he had been exposed he would have had to be exiled. We don't have adequate decontamination facilities here.
Oct. 26 2077: I convinced the men that we should bury the scientists. I don't know why...perhaps it was to ease my conscience. I finally started to believe their stories when the last one was dying. My God, what have I become?
Oct. 27 2077: We're leaving this godforsaken place today. I'm leading the exodus to the old government bunker at Lost Hills. I'm leaving this log behind to be buried when this place goes in the next exchange. Who knows, maybe someone will find it someday....." - ↑ Maxson log
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike, 2236: July 20 "Enclave scouts discover the remains of the Mariposa Military Base and find it partially destroyed."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike, 2236: July-August "Enclave scientists and chemical corps scour the remains of Mariposa, while assault squads comb the desert for slaves they can use to mine the military base and get to the Vats. One of the squads includes soldier Frank Horrigan, 25 at the time, recently removed from duty on the President's secret service to take some RNR time in the wastes after some undocumented psychotic blunder or another."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike, 2236: August "Melchior is captured by an Enclave patrol and becomes part of the slave mining force at the Military Base."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike, 2236: September "Enclave construction crews and super mutant slaves begin excavations. They uncover the FEV virus, and mutations begin to occur in the human workers. Frank Horrigan comes into contact with the FEV and is sent to the Enclave labs for study."
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Timeline repair: Second strike, 2236: October "Melchior begins to mutate... but keeps his intelligence and cunning in the wake of the transformation, making him pretty smart for a super mutant. Realizing that the Enclave will kill the super mutants after they get the FEV data, he begins to use his magician talents to secret away weapons for the mutants to defend themselves when the Enclave decides to dispense with them."
- ↑ Military base outside
- ↑ Fallout Bible 0#Questions, questions:
2. Is military base part of enclave or something? (sorry i'am not good at english :) but I think that you know what i wanted to say) - Deadlus
"Unknown. The Mariposa Military Base was constructed for the purposes of FEV experimentation on human beings, and considering the nature of the "volunteers" (military prisoners who didn't have their brains scooped for use in brain bots) and the lack of any shred of ethics in the experimentation procedures, it is possible the Enclave had something to do with the experiments at Mariposa. In Mariposa records, however, the Military Base is never mentioned as under the direction of any organization called the "Enclave," and Colonel Spindel, head of the military squad stationed at the base, never indicated any Enclave allegiance... nor did Chief Scientist Anderson in the last few minutes before Maxson put a bullet through his skull."
"Still, the existence of the Mariposa Military Base was listed in Enclave records, and this enabled the Enclave to find the base and begin their excavations, so it is possible that some elements of the Pre-War Enclave had their fingers in the horrors taking place at Mariposa. They held the site for many years, but abandoned it after obtaining the FEV samples... and noting the high incidence of mutation among the worker slaves and some of their soldiers, including Frank Horrigan."
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