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Mariposa super mutant

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For general information about super mutants, see .
Mariposa super mutant
, the epitome of super mutant stupidity
variants
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 ... 

Mariposa super mutants or West Coast super mutants are a variety of common on the and throughout the that originated from the in . While some of them can be rather stupid, in general they are more intelligent and civilized than their distant .

Contents

Background

Main articles: , ,

Pre-War development

The Forced Evolution Virus responsible for creating super mutants originated from the Pan-Immunity Virion Project established in September in response to aggressive use of biochemical weapons by . In order to combat the newest biological weapons, the decision was made to create a viral defense that would alter uninfected DNA to render it immune to standard viral infection.

When it became apparent that PVP builds had unforeseen consequences, causing accelerated growth rate and increasing brain activity in test subjects, the secured all research on FEV in interests of national security. A separate installation, the , was built for testing human subjects transferred from military prisons across the country. It is unclear if 's team under had any notable successes in creating super mutants. The entire staff was killed by Captain following his discovery of human experimentation at the base.

has obtained samples of the virus and copies of research conducted at , in order for their Dr to continue work in parallel. has been designated as research center for the (EEP). However, Dr Merrick's work with FEV strains created by him yielded only , whereas FEV-II at Mariposa proved to be effective at creating actual super soldiers.

Richard Grey's work

FEV Vats

Following the abandonment of the base by Maxson and his forces, Mariposa slowly fell into disrepair. Animals began to wander into the facility. Those that were not eliminated by robot sentries eventually reached the FEV vats, mutating. These mutants spread like wildfire, eventually attacking caravans from the . Anxious to find the source of these attacks, , a major merchant, established an expedition in , to find out the source of these mutants. Accompanying the group was a brilliant scientist named .

Eventually, they managed to locate Mariposa and reach the vats inside, but not without severe casualties. There, the automated crane crashed into the two, knocking Harold out and flinging Grey into the vat with FEV. The exact details of subsequent events are not known. Harold woke up in the wastes outside the base, mutating due to exposure to FEV fumes, but becoming a special type of a -like mutant, rather than a super mutant. Grey, on the other hand, underwent extreme mutation due to prolonged exposure to the virus in the vat.

It is unknown what factors caused Richard Grey to mutate so radically. Rather than becoming a super mutant, he became a monstrous entity, still mobile, but capable of consuming others via a tendril-like appendage springing from his gut, as well as neurolinking to computers. His intellect grew exponentially, allowing him to comprehend even the most complex issues easily (or so he thought). Grey methodically researched FEV, experimenting with animals and eventually, captured scavengers that strayed into the facility. It wasn't until a few failed mutations that he discovered radiation count to be a deciding factor in the success of the change.

Unity

With this in mind, Grey began selecting subjects based on their irradiation. He also refines the dipping process, to avoid creating monsters similar to himself. The first classic super mutants are created in 2103, and Grey slowly built up his army for the next six decades, though these efforts were somewhat hampered by the Great Winter of 2130.

During this time, the was created. One of the few super mutants whose intellect wasn't lowered, but preserved (or even increased), he reviewed available evidence and concluded that in addition to radiation, prior exposure to FEV was also a factor. He concluded that failed mutations in relatively non-radiated humans are caused by the inoculating effect airborne FEV released during the destruction of the original research facility (the ) had on humans it came into contact with. Such exposure was not enough to cause phenotypical changes, but enough to cause conflicts when the pure FEV in Mariposa attempted to change the DNA, resulting in the death of the subject.

Armed with this knowledge, Grey (now calling himself the Master) concluded that prime subjects can be found among Vault populations. Super mutants were sent to uncover sealed Vaults and capture their inhabitants for processing. This move gave the Master unprecedented amounts of human subjects and in 2137 he begins to mass produce mutants. The success rate is only 8-10%, but the Unity steadily grew. The most successful mutations become known as the , with a distinct blue skin tone and form the elite of the Master's army.

The number of test subjects was further increased by raids on Hub caravans and the establishment of the in . Captive caravan drivers and zealots underwent processing, both in Mariposa and Grey's seat of power beneath the . In his lair, the Master and his staff experimented with FEV by injecting it into the brains of the subjects, triggering changes in brain chemistry. These experiments have limited success: four are created and an untold number of zombie-like mutants. Of course, there's also .

Fall of the Master

, Sheriff of

In , a person known as the eradicated the mutant army by destroying Mariposa and assassinating the Master. Without their two main bases and the leadership of their creator and his lieutenant, the mutants divided into at least four factions:

  • First of them, led by , fled California eastwards to find a place for themselves.
  • The second, under the leadership of , wanted to continue the Master's work, rebuild the army, and dominate the once again.
  • The third remained in the Core Region. Some of these super mutants, however, especially those who retained more of their intelligence than their less pure brethren, wanted to make peace with humans, put old differences aside and work together to rebuild the world after the War. Some super mutants also settled in other more tolerant human communities.
  • The fourth group, with some number of super mutants and members of the Children of the Cathedral traveled north.

The largest group of super mutants in Core Region under Marcus leadership founded the city of , together with human and ghouls. Local was created and prospered well until uranium ran out. While NCR claimed to be tolerant state, even allowing some super mutants like join their military forces, some dumb mutants still were hunted and other were persecuted. When NCR started to quickly expand, the super mutants became far less welcome.

However, many of the super mutants remained hostile to humans, and traveled the wastelands in small groups with floaters and centaurs, like during the Master's reign. These were known as the remnants of the mutant army.

Gammorin's Forces

The following is based on and some details might contradict .
Gammorin's super mutant

Some time after their departure, the faction led east by was pursued by airships. While most of them ended up in the vicinity of , far from Gammorin's forces, one of the zeppelins crashed north of the mutant encampment. The leader, Paladin , challenged Gammorin to a single unarmed combat and, to the surprise of everyone, killed the mighty mutant. As he defeated the previous chieftain, the super mutants expected him to become the new leader of their army. Latham suffered a head injury during the combat, and throughout the years, he grew more and more insane, even though he managed to organize the mutant forces into an army nearly as powerful as they had been during the Master's reign. This reshaped army was since led by him, his right hand and minor commanders.

When Latham's forces encountered 's robots from , he swore an oath to destroy the cybernetic menace. By that time, he assumed the name "Gammorin", after the mutant chief he had killed. Gammorin's mutant scientist ran extensive research in order to find a cure to super mutant sterility. However, his laboratory in was taken by a of the Brotherhood of Steel from the area, who believed it to be a weapons manufacturing plant. Eventually, Latham/Gammorin and his forces were defeated by the Brotherhood. After the defeat, many mutants were, however, allowed to join this Brotherhood to fight against the robots. The Brotherhood tried to continue the work on the cure to super mutant sterility, but they were unsuccessful.

End of information based on .

Forces of Attis

The following is based on and has not been confirmed by sources.
Attis' super mutants

A smaller sub-section of the mutant army remained together in the , under the command of a visionary lieutenant named Attis. Highly intelligent and vindictive towards the Brotherhood of Steel, Attis took his group into hiding, searching for clues regarding the history of the FEV virus. Some time after , learning about a secret installation in with new and possibly improved versions of the FEV virus, Attis led his group to the area where the rumors started, the ruined city of . His ultimate goal was the continuation of The Master's plan - to rebuild the mutant vats and eventually transform the entire human race into mutants. His forces were eventually defeated by the Brotherhood of Steel, who were hunting for them.

End of information based on .

Second Generation

In , the discovered the remnants of the Mariposa base. Soon, assault squads combed the desert for slaves they could use to mine the military base and get to the vats. One of the squads included soldier . Enclave construction crews, as well as human and super mutant slaves began excavations. In September, they uncovered FEV and mutations began to occur in the human workers. Frank Horrigan came into contact with the virus and was sent to the Enclave labs for study. He later became the Enclave's finest tool of warfare: a unique, deadly super mutant extremely loyal to the president.

In , having obtained the FEV data, the Enclave abandoned the site after more mutations occurred, causing Second Generation super mutants to arise - the Enclave left a single squad behind to wipe out the super mutants, but the mutants, using armaments they have cached in the base during excavation, reduced the squad to ashes after suffering heavy casualties. The remaining First and Second Generation super mutant slaves were sealed inside the base by Enclave sappers, who collapsed the entrance to the base. The mutants formed a new community under the leadership of , whose magician talents had allowed them to hide the weapons.

Mojave Wasteland

A Mariposa super mutant in

A population of First and Second generation Mariposa super mutants, as well as , retreat from after began quickly expand, and by , grouped under the leadership of in the region, in the radio complex. The smarter and more organized nightkin remnants are in charge of the dumber Second Generation mutants. Before Tabitha, Black Mountain was a peaceful refuge for , first and second generation alike, but Tabitha was welcomed into the community and took control of Black Mountain with her nightkin, whom she brought. She persuaded the unintelligent second generation mutants to join her with her bigoted radio broadcasts and now uses the very same broadcasts to attract other mutants to the refuge. The first generation mutants were not as easily persuaded into joining Tabitha, but could do nothing but leave due to her nightkin and second generation mutants.

, along with the others, left to find new lands to call home, but this task was tough due to the fact that super mutants are shunned from most settlements. Most of the peaceful first generation super mutants, including Marcus, the former mayor of , can be found in . They specifically chose Jacobstown due to its remote location. A first generation mutant, , can be found just before the route towards Black Mountain. He is also non-hostile and his purpose is spy on Tabitha for Marcus, as well as guide other super mutants away from Black Mountain and towards Jacobstown.

Also, there are some small bands of first generation super mutants remained hostile to humans, who survived the and later NCR oppression. However, to survive they must hide in high radioactive areas like or .

Characteristics

Biology

All super mutants originate from humans and retain a humanoid shape. However, changes in DNA caused by the also trigger real-time mutation and humans become considerably different from a super mutant.

The most important changes occur at cellular level. FEV is a shifting-absorptive virus, copying DNA patterns much like RNA, storing these patterns in exons. These exons, combined with the FEV, are re-injected into the host cells in typical viral infectious fashion. This causes the host cells to 'regenerate' their DNA. FEV comes pre-loaded with introns of corrected DNA that eradicate recessive genes responsible for ailments and alters RNA strands for greater transmission of signals. DNA altered by the virus renders the subject immune to biochemical weapons, radiation and common diseases. Cellular division rate is increased, with mitosis occurring at 115% of normal human rate. Normally non-regenerating tissue, such as neural tissue and non-somatic cells also begin to replicate, allowing for real-time regeneration.

Phenotypical changes are substantial, accomplished by recursive growth patterns integrated in FEV. The average super mutant is 3.2 meters (~10.5 feet) tall and weighs in excess of 350 kilograms (~770 pounds). Muscle accounts for over 75% of body mass, while bone and tissue are 10% each. Fat mass is exceedingly low, accounting for between 3-5% of body mass. The increased muscle and body mass lead to a change in posture: FEV super mutants have a characteristic, hunched stance.

The skin tone changes substantially and becomes gray with tints of light green, though as the mutant ages, it may become more green or even olive. The skin becomes much thicker and resistant to trauma, including cuts, bruises and damage from fire, acid or even gunfire. These changes are uniform across mutants, due to the aforementioned growth patterns and pre-programmed DNA loaded into the virus. This also has the effect of removing secondary sexual statistics, in favor of a pre-programmed masculine body shape. Primary sexual characteristics, such as the penis and testicles in males and the uterus and ovaries in females are unaffected. However, super mutants are sterile, as FEV perceives gametes as damaged DNA and corrects them, resulting in sterility.

Increased size of neural transmitters and synaptic receivers in the body give super mutants acute reflexes and heightened senses. However, these changes are not accompanied by a similar rise in intellect: the FEV strain in Mariposa typically lowers the intellect by 30%, though exceptional individuals may retain their intellect or even experience an increase. Damage is caused by recursive growth and increase in brain mass, which may be accompanied by disfigurement and damage to existing neural patterns, causing loss of memory.

The most stunning effect is practical immortality. Although theorized to only bring a circa 10% increase in life expectancy, the FEV strain in Mariposa results in a cell regeneration rate that exceeds cell death rate with no known Hayflick limit and presumably prevents telomere DNA cell degeneration through aging. This allows a super mutant to live for centuries, though if care is not given to exercising one's intellect, elder mutants may suffer from onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Nightkin

The nightkin are a special type of super mutant. They are exceptional humans who have undergone mutation perfectly and form the apex of super mutant development. They are characterized by high intelligence and perfect physical shape. However, the Master's policy of arming the nightkin with the best possible weapons and equipment had unforeseen consequences: routinely used by the nightkin also brought upon changes in brain chemistry and skin tone. The stealth field generated by the devices triggered the onset of various psychological ailments, ranging from paranoia to split personality disorder and schizophrenia. These changes are treatable, but it is quite hard to coerce blue-skinned nightkin into undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.

Gallery

Fallout and Fallout 2

  • Super mutant concept art

  • , a super mutant guard in Fallout

  • The from Fallout, also known as Lou or Lou Tenant

  • , as seen in Fallout 2

Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout Tactics

  • Toccamatta.jpg

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

Van Buren

Fallout d20

  • Interior illustration

  • First version of the cover

  • Second version of the cover

  • Final version of the cover

  • Second version of the cover

  • Final version of the cover

  • interior illustration

  • Mutant interior illustration

Sources

Holodisks

Dialogue

References

  1. ,
  3. 's : "{149}{}{Thanks. Now let's see... I remember my mom telling me about this huge migration that happened 70... or was it 80 years ago...}"
    "{151}{}{Really big mutants with weapons as tall as you and me came from the south. Mom said it looked like a big migration of some sort.}"
    "{153}{}{Don't know, but there were multiple groups of them. Some would continue north, others headed east. No one knew where they were going.}"
  4. Fallout 2 ending
  5. :All law-abiding and peaceful people, human or mutant, are eligible to become citizens of NCR.
  6. : "Eventually got caught somewhere around the Hub, back in NCR. Boy, they sure treated him mean down there. Cut him up so bad he can't talk no more."
  7. 's : '"{157}{}{My research into the Forced Evolution Virus, or FEV, indicates that it is a shifting-absorptive virus. It copies DNA patterns much like RNA, storing these patterns in exons.}"
    "{158}{}{These exons, combined with the FEV, are re-injected into the host cells in typical viral infectious fashion. This causes the host cells to 'regenerate' their DNA.}"
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