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The Beverageer Division was a research & development division for the Nuka-Cola Corporation at Nuka-World.

Background[]

The Beverageer Division was a team of organic chemists employed by the Nuka-Cola Corporation in order to develop new soft drink flavors and recipes.[1] The team consisted of a core group of Beverageers (four at the time of the Great War) and a larger number of Junior Beverageers handling lower priority or less complex tasks. Their top-tier expertise garnered the interest of the U.S. military, which sought to have the Beverageers put to work developing weaponry for the war effort against China.[2] As a result, General Braxton of the Army Research Laboratory's Weapons and Materials Division went to negotiate with John-Caleb Bradberton. In the ensuing negotiation, Bradberton agreed to let the military use the Beverageers in exchange for access to a top secret life-extending technology developed by the U.S. government.[3][4]

Project Cobalt[]

The benefit of military sponsorship for the Beverageers was an immediate increase in prestige. Bradberton built a special laboratory for the team underneath the Nuka-Cola bottling plant in Nuka-World, equipped with a dedicated reactor and living quarters, at the expense of other park operations.[1] Dr. Rex Meacham, the lead Beverageer, took the opportunity to "play with the big boys" and immediately put his entire team to work on Project Cobalt. For Drs. Kevin Bennell and Edmund Medford, this was not a problem. However, Dr. Ruth Leavitt saw the project as a betrayal of the team's core values and refused to help, threatening to quit.[5][6]

Without Leavitt, the team developed an isotope based on strontium-90, codenamed "Quantum" after its ID code,[7] that could act as a high-energy explosive.[8] The Quantum X-01 power armor and the prototype Nuka-nuke launcher acted as proofs of concept. Meanwhile, Meacham discovered that by modifying the isotope, he could turn it into a harmless food additive to create a new soda flavor with a bright blue glow. He went on to assign the "Quantum" additive project to Leavitt so as to stop her from quitting. With additional testing by the researchers at the Washington, D.C. Nuka-Cola bottling facility and Bradberton's approval, the side project soon became a new prototype flavor of Nuka-Cola, dubbed "Nuka-Cola Quantum." It would potentially be the most profitable product for the corporation in years.[9][10][11]

Despite this success, the team's internal affairs continued to sour. By October 2077, Leavitt's refusal to aid Project Cobalt had Bradberton dangerously close to firing her. She openly argued with the other Beverageers, who all tried to convince her to fall in line: Meacham with threats and the others with flattery. All four were inside the beverageer lab arguing when the Great War struck, and so were spared from the bombs. However, they were trapped, locked in the lab by Bradberton's emergency safety systems.[12]

Post-War[]

With no way to observe or contact the outside world, Meacham ordered the Beverageers to continue work on Project Cobalt in the hopes of aiding any U.S. forces that might still have been fighting outside the lab. However, this did not last as the stress of isolation took its toll. Weeks after the war, Medford committed suicide by hanging himself in his room. Meacham and Bennell retreated into their work, while Leavitt only became even more defiant. Eventually, she attempted to break open the lab door and leave. Confronted by Meacham, he ended up shooting her to death.[13] In his guilt, Meacham fell further into his delusion, fully devoting himself to Project Cobalt as the salvation for the United States.[14][15]

Meacham and Bennell continued work on Project Cobalt for an entire year before the team finally fell apart for good. In October 2078, Bennell put a long-planned escape into motion, using the lab's reactor overflow tunnel to flee. Seeing these actions as traitorous, Meacham shot at Bennell as he fled, wounding him and letting the radiation finish him off. Meacham stayed in the lab to try and finish the project alone, all the while weakening from radiation exposure during his pursuit of Bennell. He finished Project Cobalt and died alone while waiting for a non-existent military pickup. With his death, the Beverageers came to an end.[16][17]

Employees[]

Notes[]

In Fallout 3, a terminal entry indicates that Nuka-Cola Quantum had been in development for three years prior to its test release.[18] This contradicts terminal entries in the Fallout 4 add-on Nuka-World which state that Project Cobalt started in March 2076, with the drink itself being created in October 2076, with thus less than a year between its creation and test release.[19]

Appearances[]

The Beverageer Division is mentioned only in the Fallout 4 add-on Nuka-World.

Behind the scenes[]

The term Beverageer is a reference to the "Imagineers" of the Walt Disney Company, a portmanteau of "Imagination" and "Engineer." Their division of the corporation was tasked with building the rides and attractions of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, two locations very similar to Nuka-World.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Nuka-Cola bottling plant terminals; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987004
  2. General Braxton's visit
  3. The Sole Survivor: "Who was General Braxton?"
    John-Caleb Bradberton: "He was one of the top men in the Army Research Laboratory's Weapons and Materials division. He'd taken a keen interest in my quantum mechanics research, and offered me a trade. In exchange for my assistance on a top-secret weapons project, he gave me access to an experimental process tthat In-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar would artificially extend my life. Like a fool, I leapt before I looked. I've certainly paid the price for my short-sightedness."
    (John-Caleb Bradberton's dialogue)
  4. General Braxton's visit
  5. Meacham recording AB27
  6. Meacham recording AB30
  7. Nuka-Cola bottling plant terminals; Beverageer's terminal, Compound Q4N7-UM - 0.245
  8. World of Refreshment terminal entries; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987115
  9. World of Refreshment terminal entries; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987115
  10. World of Refreshment terminal entries; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987120
  11. World of Refreshment terminal entries; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987129
  12. Meacham recording AB35
  13. Meacham recording AB42
  14. Nuka-Cola bottling plant terminals; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987133
  15. World of Refreshment terminal entries; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987138
  16. Nuka-Cola bottling plant terminals; Beverageer's terminal, Meacham RMNC-0987145
  17. Project Cobalt complete
  18. Nuka-Cola plant terminal entries; research terminal, Company Announcement
  19. Bradberton's office terminal entries; Bradberton's project terminal, Project Cobalt
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