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"The Vault of the Future"
A traveler that passed through here not long ago told everyone he met that there's some kind of plant paradise to the west where food is abundant. All the people foolish enough to listen to him and head out that way never came back.Rotface

Vault 22 is a location in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[]

Before the War, the Vault contained scientists working under the auspice of experimentation with staple crops to combat global hunger. The entrance sign describes the projects underway within, from developing advanced fertilizers to improving crop production and increasing these crops' resistance to insects, drought, and disease.[1]

After the War, the scientists within the Vault continued agricultural-based initiatives, with the goal of sustaining the Vault population with plants grown within its confines. Designed as a green Vault, people selected for populating the Vault were dedicated to such goals and some of their most successful experiments were donated by defense contractors, such as the fungus that would eventually become the Vault's undoing.[2]

Beauveria mordicana was originally an entomopathogenic fungus designed for pest control. When a pest is exposed to the fungal spores, the fungus infests it and begins to colonize the host body. The host eventually dies due to failure of body functions, as the colony expands through its body. However, the dead body continues to be controlled by the fungal colony, allowing it to move around and infect more pests by spraying spores around the host body. While effective in the long term, it still takes between 10 to 20 days to kill its prey and achieves limited effectiveness when dealing with unsocial pests.[3] The fungus was originally developed at the X-22 botanical garden at Big MT, though the technology was eventually shared with Vault-Tec, to enable botanical experiments at Vault 22.[4]

As with many technologies coming out of Big MT, the fungus was a Pandora's box. Once the Vault scientists began experimentation with the fungus after the Great War, they effectively signed their death warrant. While ostensibly designed to provide effective means of long-term pest control, the fungus was perfectly capable of infecting human bodies.[5] Fungal spores gradually spread through the Vault, slowly infecting the population. The first confirmed infection was Dr. Harrison Peters, who also provided insight into the development of the infection. It begins with pneumonia as the fungus invades the lungs, eventually transforming into chills, a fever, and a terrible racking cough. The fungal colony causes the body to actively reject anti-fungal treatments, leading to death due to organ failure. As with smaller pests, the fungal colony continues to grow and develop. Eventually, it spreads far enough to establish control over the deceased person's body, becoming a highly aggressive spore carrier, a mindless beast whose sole purpose is spreading the spores. The untreatable infection baffled the scientists and spread through the Vault like wildfire.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

The widespread infection led to a collapse of social order in the Vault. Infected humans were turned into spore carriers, with the airborne fungal spores threatening the remaining living residents. Scientists attempted to eradicate them by igniting gas deliberately released in the lower levels of the Vault.[12] However, the release triggered an incredibly aggressive reaction from the carriers, which attacked the scientists, tearing them limb from limb.[13]

By 2096, the Vault was finally abandoned; the dead eventually became spore carriers or stationary colonies of the fungus.[14][15][16] A party of 118 survivors traveled to Zion Canyon, where they encountered another group of refugees from Mexico. With greater numbers, strong discipline, tactics, and firepower, the Vault dwellers had every advantage over the Mexicans. They hit the Mexicans' camp on February 11, killing all the men and shooting down women and children that resisted. The remainder were taken to the main camp of the dwellers and penned in like livestock.[17][18]

Randall Clark, the guardian of the valley, was desperate to help the Mexican survivors. Over the next two days, he surveyed the area. The Vault 22 dwellers were organized well, with patrols and sentries set up along all approaches into the camp, except for the stream. The coughing among the dwellers puzzled Clark, but he ignored it as he prepared to save the surviving Mexicans. He went into the camp on February 14th.[17][18] What he saw snapped something inside him. The Vault 22 dwellers had killed and eaten everyone they took from the Mexican survivors' camp. Clark retaliated, waging a brutal war of attrition against them. With his rifle and any explosives he could loot, he ambushed the dwellers where he could and booby-trapped bodies and weapons he had to leave behind.[17][18] By the end of February, he had killed 24 dwellers in a cold, merciless campaign of vengeance, suffering only one wound: a 10mm steel-jacketed round through the thigh, which missed the femoral artery. Though he remained unseen by his quarry, he was forced to move camp on March 2nd; a small patrol entered his cave and one was caught in a deadfall trap. Panic fire from the others almost hit him. After he disposed of the intruders, he moved camp to Cueva Guarache.[19][20]

Ten months later, after losing more than eighty members of the group to Clark and sickness, the dwellers gave up and fled the canyon, after eating their own dead for nourishment.[21] History loses track of them past that point. Occasionally, damaged Pip-Boys and Vault jumpsuits from the Vault would find their way into the hands of prospectors.[22]

The Vault itself fell into disrepair over the years, overrun by the plants and wildlife that thrived in the conditions within. The occasional scavenger quickly fell prey to the creatures dwelling within or the fungus. It wasn't until roughly 2281 when it piqued the interest of others, specifically Thomas Hildern, director of the NCR's Office of Science and Industry, or OSI East. He hired multiple mercenaries to retrieve the secret of the Vault, hoping to find a way to enhance the agricultural output of the NCR and stave off projected famine. Of course, the biggest benefit would be a major promotion for him. His latest hire, Keely, has gone missing much like the previous mercenaries, but this time, the situation is different.

Layout[]

Entrance[]

The plants kill

Vault 22 warning graffiti

Located south-southwest of the Griffin Wares sacked caravan, east of Jacobstown and west from the Thorn, the Vault entrance is advertised with a sign that reads "Welcome to Vault 22" covered by graffiti which says "Stay out! The plants kill!" The advertisement in and of itself is unique when compared to other Vaults that generally attempt to stay concealed. Under the graffiti, the original sign reads:

Under the heart of the Mojave desert, Vault 22 provides a fertile laboratory for experimentation on staple crops to maximize their potential. Within the Vault, scientists and horticulturalists continue to innovate our understanding of agricultural possibilities in the fight against the global hunger crisis. The scientists who developed a miracle fertilizer within have made a profound impact on your ordinary life. So take a second to reflect on the hard work of Vault-Tec scientists in improving crop production in arid biomes like the Mojave, and for increasing crops' resistance to insects, drought, and disease.

Additionally, the Vault door leads directly outside, unlike most that have a natural rock formation or tunnel enclosing the entrance. There is a hollowed-out rock directly across from the sign at the entrance. The whole surrounding area of the entrance is choked in plant growth and thick vines.

Once inside the Vault, the Courier will come to a door that leads to a room with an elevator and stairs. From here on out, the player character will encounter spore carriers, spore plants and giant mantises throughout the Vault. The Vault is split into five levels, and the different floors can be accessed by repairing the main elevator within the Vault (requires Repair skill of 50) or accessed by perpendicular staircases.

1st floor - Entrance hall[]

Vault 22 entrance

Immediately upon entering the Vault, turn to the left to find a usable mattress, a duffle bag with some supplies and one of Keely's terminals with entries 1 and 2. Next to the mattress, hidden between two books, is a Programmer's Digest.

2nd floor - Oxygen recycling[]

Vault 22 Oxygen Recycling

Oxygen recycling

From the entrance of the lab take a right and continue to the room directly across the hall to find one of Keely's terminals with entries 3, 4 and 5 in the series.

3rd floor - Food production[]

The keycard to access the cave tunnels on level 4 is located in the common quarters (the floor below). Once inside, an Average locked door must be opened on the lower level in the northwestern corner of the room or progress to the overseer's office, and use the terminal and disengage the lock. Once inside, the first room on the left, on a shelving unit will have the Vault 22 cave door keycard. The keycard does not open the cave door on level 3 directly, it instructs the terminal next to the cave door to unlock the door.

From the elevator, go down to the hallway and into the first room on the right to find one of Keely's terminals with entries 6 and 7 in the series. For the quest Bleed Me Dry, the pile of giant mantis egg(s) will spawn in the caverns down a side tunnel guarded by a giant mantis female and several giant mantis nymphs.

4th floor - Common areas[]

Vault 22

From the entrance to the commons, take a right over the little bridge and straight back to the billiard room for one of Keely's terminals with entries 8 and 9 in the series. The keycard that unlocks the door to the tunnels on the food production level is found in the lower level of the common areas in the quarters section on a shelf in the first room to the left. If the keycard cannot be found, check the floor near the shelf, as it may have somehow fallen off. It is a darkish red/orange color. The stairs between this level and the fifth level are blocked by debris. The tunnels on the third level or the elevator can be used to bypass it. A flamer and several cans of fuel can be found in the room across from the room with the terminal that talks about Dr. Peter's re-animation.

5th floor - Pest control[]

Vault 22 Pest Control

Pest control, cave area

This floor is filled with deadly "savage" spore carriers. The large cavern contains many giant mantises and spore plants. Five mantis ootheca and Keely are located here, in an alcove on the far end of the cavern.

Original inhabitants[]

Notable loot[]

Vault 22 oxygen recycling map

Oxygen recycling

Vault 22 food production map

Food production

Vault 22 common areas map

Common areas

Vault 22 pest control map

Pest control

  • AER14 prototype - On the stairs between the fourth and fifth floor, the door to the stairway from pest control has a Very Easy lock. The AER14 is lying on the ground next to a scorched skeleton with a couple of energy cells.
  • Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor - Located on the 5th level, in the pest control section. Take the elevator to pest control and turn left to go upstairs to a large room with a door that leads to the food production caves. Turn left and the book is on a long table with bubbling vials or on the floor in front of the long table.
  • Six HEPA 20 cartridge filters - Needed for the Still in the Dark quest, in a blocked-off section of 2nd level oxygen recycling area which can only be accessed via the cave system surrounding the Vault (the room and its cave entrance are visible through a window on the main part of the 2nd level). There are entrances to these caves on the 5th level, pest control, and on the 3rd level, food production. The terminal on the 3rd level will not open the door to the caves without the cave access keycard, which is found in the common areas, downstairs on a shelf in the bedroom with the baby carriage. To locate the HEPA filters, go to the third floor. Open the metal door to the cave, then turn right at the fork. Follow the cave to find another wooden door labeled oxygen recycling. The HEPA filters are located in a locker in the upper right corner of the room.
  • A food additive meant for Cpl. William Farber in Camp McCarran - When exiting the elevator on the 3rd Floor - food production level, go forward through the vegetation and turn left down a hallway, enter the door on the left. This room has a long railed off area of undeveloped maize. Turn right (northwest) and walk to the far end of the room where there is a small office. There are spores growing around and on the desk. The food additive is sitting on the corner of the desk but can be knocked off onto the floor by a spore carrier.
  • Six frag grenades - In Keely's duffle bag in the oxygen recycling.

Related quests[]

Notes[]

  • The background music is "The Vault of the Future," which was originally used for Vault 13 in Fallout.
  • The Vault door is slightly open and the entrance room is visible through the gap.
  • Despite Keely's claims that the spores are contagious, the player suffers no adverse effects from continued exposure to the air in the Vault, even in the lower levels where the concentration is the highest.
  • This is one of the only Vaults in the Mojave Wasteland without an entry tunnel, the other being Vault 3. Furthermore, 22 is the only Vault in the Mojave Wasteland whose Vault door would have opened directly to the outside world at the time of its construction, similar to many of the west coast Vaults.
  • If the Courier has found and spoken to Keely, she remotely locks the entrance to Vault 22. They can get her to unlock it only after completing her quest. Alternatively, the player can pickpocket her for her terminal password and use it to access her terminal on level 2 (where they met up after finding her in the caves) and unlock the door themself.
  • The Vault dwellers are responsible for bringing spore plants and spore carriers to the Zion area.
  • When examining the outer Vault door closely, the door number actually reads "92" instead of "22."
  • The first interior door to the staircase very faintly reads "101" under the grime.
  • The origins of the spore plants in Vault 22 are explained in an ending of Old World Blues, in one of the endings for the biological research station (an automated personality), he requests an entrance to the X-22 botanical garden (from which the spore plants originated from) who politely refuse, saying they had prior commitments with a Vault it had infected before the war.
  • Ricky claims to have lived in Vault 22, but if the player has been to the Vault, or has a high enough Perception, they can challenge him on that claim. If successful, Ricky will tell the truth, that he found his broken Pip-Boy and Vault 22 jumpsuit on a dead prospector.
  • The elevator is scripted to move companions to be near the player whenever they use its service, even if they tell them to wait outside the Vault.
  • Strange voices and typing sounds can be heard throughout the Vault. These are actually part of the aforementioned background music.

Appearances[]

Vault 22 appears in Fallout: New Vegas and is mentioned in its add-ons Honest Hearts[21] and Old World Blues.[23]

Behind the scenes[]

  • There are two cut robot NPCs associated with Vault 22, Koch and Bohr, both named after real world scientists.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 In the top floor of the common areas, one of the rooms has a booth seat placed close to a wall that is only visible from certain angles, if the player sits in this boot they will glitch into the wall and upon getting up will be stuck inside the wall.[verified]
  • PCPC The key card from quarters (needed to enter the cave) can, on rare occasions, never appear and cannot be found.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 With the PS3 system update 3.60, the "trigger" event to download the data from the terminal on Level 5 doesn't happen, preventing the continuation of the storyline.[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Use caution if you are to take ED-E on to the fifth floor and trigger the flames. Make sure ED-E is in a room where he is protected from the flames as he can be "killed" even if you are not in Hardcore mode and never register as being dead (in fact you will still see a marker indicating that he is at Vault 22) thus robbing you of having a second follower for the rest of the game. If you don't want to have to worry about this, just have him wait at the entrance or at your Lucky 38 suite. This can happen to Veronica too. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 When inside the Vault, the door has another texture problem. You can still see the 92 but it also shows a 101 and an overwrite sign from the doors (you need to use the console to see this).[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Many times while in Vault 22 your companions will sense enemies nearby, when in fact they are on another level of the Vault. This makes them run off to the corners of rooms, stairwells, etc. in search of their foe(s).[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If entering the Vault for the HEPA 20 cartridge filters and obtaining them after first talking to Keely in the cave she may not appear in her lab and the door to exit the Vault will need her key to unlock it. Exiting the game and restarting from that point seems to fix this problem, however, if the problem still persists she may be found stuck in a wall in Oxygen Recycling (identified by a non-hostile line on your radar). Use explosives on the wall where she is trapped; if she is damaged she will turn hostile and spawn again in the corridor. If you want to pursue the quest, as usual, go to a different floor and wait an hour. When you return to oxygen recycling, she will be found non-hostile in her correct place so the quest can be finished. To avoid this bug entirely, get the cartridges before you speak to her for the first time.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 It is possible to just get locked in the vault after speaking with Keely for the first time.[verification overdue]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes, the giant mantises outside the Vault do not spawn. They are likely to spawn when you exit, though, so be prepared for five or so mantises on top of you if this happens.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Leaving companions outside of Vault 22 and then entering the Vault will cause a glitch where your companions disappear. They are noted on your world map as being at Vault 22, but they are not there.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you complete the quest There Stands the Grass before unlocking the door that leads to where Keely is and then rescue her, she will still attempt to have you do her portion of the quest which includes her locking the front door. Since you've already dealt with the data, you cannot do anything else for her after activating the gas on the 5th floor and remain locked in. (To get the code to unlock the doors, either pickpocket or kill Keely after being asked to activate the gas. Once you have the password, use the terminal in the same room Keely is in to unlock doors.) Should you return to Williams, and did not kill Keely to get the password, she'll pay you, and you will also gain XP for saving Keely as well.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 ED-E appears upon entering level five via the elevator even though he is told to wait elsewhere, even if told to wait outside of Vault 22.[verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you have a companion while looking for the AER14 Prototype, the companion might pick the gun up (to get the gun from a companion just go into their inventory).[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you have ED-E as a companion, and try to fix the broken elevator inside the Vault, the game will freeze and the last auto-save will corrupt, therefore you will have to restart the console and load from another saved game.[verified]
  • PCPC Occasionally all of the spore carriers will be found lying on the ground near their plant patches rather than crouching within them. They will still jump up to attack when you approach, though, and their prone state often makes them harder to detect and eliminate in advance. Their animations may also glitch, allowing them to advance and attack invisibly while their body stays frozen on the floor, the frozen model still takes damage when shot rather than the invisible carrier attacking.[verified]
  • [platforms tag needed] If the Courier does not exhaust dialog with Keely about her findings, Farber may not have the corresponding dialog branch to turn in the food additive. [verification overdue]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Pre-War sign near the entrance of Vault 22: "Under the heart of the Mojave desert, Vault 22 provides a fertile laboratory for experimentation on staple crops to maximize their potential. Within the Vault, scientists and horticulturalists continue to innovate our understanding of agricultural possibilities in the fight against the global hunger crisis. The scientists who developed a miracle fertilizer within have made a profound impact on your ordinary life. So take a second to reflect on the hard work of Vault-Tec scientists in improving crop production in arid biomes like the Mojave, and for increasing crops' resistance to insects, drought, and disease."
  2. Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collectors Edition pp. 292-294: "[1.09] Vault 22
    Vault 22 was a "green" vault, filled with scientists dedicated to their experiment: keeping the entire population of the vault alive with plants grown with its confines. The experiment could be said to have exceeded all expectations, but with horrific side-effects. Many have attempted to locate the data the scientists left behind, but so far nobody has returned alive. The vault is open, but warning signs surround it from people lucky enough to survive their initial encounter with the vault's inhabitable. Don't forget to check the Hollowed-Out Rock on the right side of the gully, across from the "Keep Out!" sign."
    (Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland)
  3. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, species 3
  4. Old World Blues endings: "The Biological Research Station, obsessed with seeding everything in sight, requested a transfer to the X-22 Botanical Garden... so that it might, in its own words, "sensually fertilize the garden's smooooth contours." The Garden sent back a polite refusal, saying it had prior commitments with a Vault it had helped infect before the war."
    Note: This ending requires that the Courier installed the GS-2000 biological research station's artificial personality and discovered the X-22 Botanical Garden.
  5. Patient Zero
  6. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 162
  7. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 164 (group)
  8. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 162 update
  9. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 173 (group)
  10. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 162 update
  11. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, case 162 update
  12. The Courier: "How did you get this whole gas thing set up so quickly?"
    Keely: "That's a very good question! Actually, I didn't come up with it. The systems were already set up to pump the gas when I first arrived here. I believe the scientists were in the process of attempting to ignite the gas just as we're about to do. And by we, I mean you, of course."
    (Keely's dialogue)
  13. The Courier: "What happened to the scientists, then?"
    Keely: "Something prevented them from igniting the gas, obviously. I suppose it's possible that the gas triggered some kind of defensive reaction. Hordes of previously slumbering creatures may have awoken and entered a killing frenzy, ripping the hapless scientists into quivering, bloody chunks. You'll have to let me know when you get back from going downstairs."
    (Keely's dialogue)
  14. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, Vault 22 expedition, entry 6
  15. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, Vault 22 expedition, entry 8
  16. Vault 22 terminal entries; terminal, Vault 22 expedition, entry 9
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Stone Bones cave terminal entries; terminal, Year 2096 I.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Year: 2096
  19. Stone Bones cave terminal entries; terminal, Year 2096 II.
  20. Year: 2096 (II)
  21. 21.0 21.1 BEWARE - A VENGEFUL SPIRIT STALKS THESE CANYONS
  22. The Courier: "Where'd you get the Vault suit?"
    Ricky: "Where the fuck you think? Vault two-two! That's where I grew up!"
    The Courier: "You're lying. I've been to Vault 22. No one's lived there in 150 years."
    Ricky: "You been to Vault two-two, huh? I may have been exaggerating a little. Truth is, I got this suit and the Pit-Boy off a dead prospector who came out from Zion. Guy was dead when I found him, okay? Had a ton of shit on him. That's how I know there's good loot in Zion, see?"
    (Ricky's dialogue)
  23. Old World Blues endings, Biological Research Station: "The Biological Research Station, obsessed with seeding everything in sight, requested a transfer to the X-22 Botanical Garden... so that it might, in its own words, 'sensually fertilize the garden's smooooth contours.' The Garden sent back a polite refusal, saying it had prior commitments with a Vault it had helped infect before the war."

Non-game

  1. PCGamer Interview with JE Sawyer: "[...]Vault 22 was based on some of the old ideas of the Diana Vault that we have in the Van Buren design doc's, but yeah it was pretty much a brand new story, it's just, every once and awhile, we were all like, "Ah, you know what?- we did design something cool before, let's see if we can bring it back in this title."
Vault 22
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