Project SOMNUS or the Somnus Initiative refers to a United States Navy project that started in August 2077 at Sugar Grove. The project focused on turning abducted Americans into sleeper agents for use in operations on domestic soil.[1]
Background[]
On average, an abductee would take three days to process at Sugar Grove. The length of time was a constant concern for the project director, as it forced them to use individuals with no immediate family. Attempts to reduce the average and the suspicion generated by the sudden absence were unsuccessful.[2] Targets were chosen due to a variety of factors, such as the ability to move around without suspicion. For example, Sugar Grove might abduct a Park Ranger due to the natural cover story the job provides,[3] or people known for habitual drinking due to their low profile and ease of creating cover stories.[4]
The analysts working at Sugar Grove were told that the victims of the Initiative were external contractors, and ordered to avoid all contact (they were only supposed to contact the facility's command staff and handlers) and report them immediately to Sugar Grove Marine detachment if they ever see them without an escort.[5]
Effectiveness[]
However, there were problems with the Initiative and the programming. The aforementioned Park Ranger had to be decommissioned due to concerns about his hearing problems, compounded by an injury he sustained in the line of duty,[3] while substance abuse tended to increase the resilience to programming.[4] Despite expectations, individuals with lower mental aptitude were actually worse for the program than more intelligent individuals. Smarter people were better able to carry out orders without error and can improvise to occlude their purpose if they were caught. Factors other than intelligence seemed to influence malleability.[2]
The project director decided against using underage subjects in the Initiative, as while the programming took hold with ease, the developing mind was essentially broken: in the case of Martin Aarsen, the abducted orphan showed little ability or desire to do anything but follow explicit orders, eliminating all basic self-preservation instincts.[6] That's not to say adult subjects fared better if care was not taken: In one notable instance, a subject came back, bleeding, covered in lacerations, and missing an arm after an apparent bear attack, blissfully unaware that anything was wrong. Operatives had to scrub the blood trail but inspired exploration of Somnus' capabilities for use on the battlefield. Both cases also highlighted the need for developing a reliable deprogramming process, although none seemed to be created before the Great War.[7]
Results[]
The exploration of Somnus as a battlefield conditioning tool led to an experiment where an avid hiker was programmed with a wide range of combat tactics, mostly revolving around martial arts. She showed promise in accepting these techniques, completely unaware of her subconscious self, and promptly foiled a bank robbery in subsequent weeks using hand-to-hand combat, with no recollection of the incident. The official newsprint story attributed it to a sudden instinctual rush of adrenaline triggered by the stress of the situation.[8]
Appearances[]
The Somnus Initiative is mentioned only in Fallout 76.
Behind the scenes[]
- The Somnus Initiative parallels MKUltra, a program of criminal human experimentation conducted by the CIA between 1953 and 1973. Both are secret government programs which attempted to program humans as intelligence agents using various methods of mind control, including hypnosis and experimental mind-altering substances.
- At nearby Huntersville, government agents released FEV into the water supply. This parallels the activities of Operation Midnight Climax, an MKUltra program in which civilians were dosed with hallucinogens without their knowledge. The incident also evokes Operation Sea Spray, a 1950 biological warfare experiment in which the Navy released experimental bacteria over San Francisco.
- Although MKUltra is a historical fact, the shadowy program is infamous for being attached to many "gonzo" conspiracy theories, due to its scope and unusual nature. In the January issue of Cryptid Hunter Monthly, editor Julia H. Park speculates that the government "may be working with the Mothman to hypnotize doctors."[9] Her theory is presented as outrageous and comically contrived, satirizing real-world attempts by fringe conspiracy theorists to connect the legend of the Mothman to MKUltra.
- A large Sugar Grove insignia is found within the Mothman Museum, suggesting pre-War cryptid enthusiasts postulated a direct connection between the legend of the Mothman and the activities of Sugar Grove. Jeff Lane was an employee of the Museum, and a copy of C.H. Monthly, January can be found in his apartment.
- Somnus is Latin for sleep, and is also the Roman god of sleep.
References[]
- ↑ Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, General Notes
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, Somnus Agent DMS736
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, Somnus Agent HGR242
- ↑ Sugar Grove terminal entries; SigInt system terminal, 8-19-77: External Contractors
- ↑ Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, Somnus Agent AJM1068
- ↑ Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, Somnus Agent EFB825
- ↑ Sugar Grove terminal entries; director's terminal, Somnus Agent SEL1249
- ↑ "Of course, local governments in Appalachia have been covering up the Sheepsquatch for years. We think they may even be working with the Mothman to hypnotize doctors that treat Sheepsquatch urine patients (more on that in our March issue.)" (C.H. Monthly, January)