THE WANDERER: CHAPTER 7

- Overseer Almodovar -

As he so often did, Alphonse Almodovar sat at his desk contemplating his greatest failure. He had once had the most valuable minds of the scientific community under his command. Vault 101 was specifically designated for the premier pre-War thinkers. Geniuses from all fields of study were placed in the vault as a single point of continued research and development for the government.

Their work for the Enclave had made the Almodovar family the most revered name among Overseers. Although unknown to vault commoners, the Almodovars had supplied the Enclave with every technological advancement the Vault 101 scientific community had dreamt up over the last century. Research in mechanical and electrical engineering had led to better armor and weaponry for the Enclave. Research in computer sciences, robotics and aerospace led to regaining lost technologies such as satellite communication and Vertibird production. Even studies in the medical fields such as bioengineering and genetics had led to discoveries like the deathclaws. The list went on and on, but it was the Prescott's discoveries that had both excited and worried the Enclave the most.

James Prescott was head of the bioengineering lab. As the leading authority on genetic research, he had been attempting to develop a "vaccine for radiation". The goal was to prevent cellular mutation when the vault denizens finally returned to the surface to rebuild society. At first, his experiments with altering DNA in such a way that its dual helical structure transformed into a quadruple helical structure seemed like a solution to a subject's vulnerability to radiation damage. Those experiments, however, inadvertently resulted in something far more sinister.

His modified versions of that vaccine, when tested on lab animals, didn't prevent cellular mutation, but accelerated the activity. The test animals began to grow dramatically larger in size and muscular structure, even exhibiting increased brain activity.

The results, however, were extremely unpredictable. The animals would grow into hideously mutated versions of their former selves within twenty four hours of injection. Within forty eight to ninety six hours, however, the abominations would die.

Instead of a vaccine, James considered his discovery a virus. He referred to it as the Forced Evolutionary Virus and seemed almost ashamed to discuss it. Viewing it as a failure, he worked tirelessly in an attempt to modify it into a useful mutation prohibitor.

The Enclave, on the other hand, didn't consider it a failure at all. To an organization bent on developing the world's greatest military, the Enclave saw these unexpected results as a major military potential. Alphonse could still remember the rare look of pleasure on Nyhils' face when he had learned of the "failure" in the lab. Overseer Almodovar soon discovered all the dark designs the Enclave had for the FEV. An airborne version, for example, could be deployed as a chemical weapon and destroy entire populations without damaging the underlying infrastructure. A version that didn't kill the infected could be used to create an army of mutants – next generation soldiers. The possibilities seemed endless to the Enclave, and Alphonse enjoyed the prestige that came with being the gatekeeper of the Enclave's technological information.

But James was not the only scientist the Enclave had their eye on. His wife, Catherine, was a genius in her own right. She was unparalleled in the field of computer science. Together the two of them created a modification to the Pip-Boy known as VATS. The system combined computing and biology to actually "assist" the human mind. The Enclave seemed highly interested in this field of study as well. Alphonse couldn't recall the amount of times Nyhils pestered him for the latest data coming from Catherine's laboratory. Apparently the Enclave wanted her technology to develop some form of mind control over their deathclaws. They had visions of expanding it to control enemies as well, maybe even human enemies.

It was a very exciting period in the Overseer's reign until the day that Catherine developed a virus of her own. While working on a network vulnerability project she created a "worm" that allowed her access and control over every computerized system in the vault. The project had startling implications – especially if someone wanted to sabotage a vital vault utility such as the water purification system or the reactor plant. She even had access to the vault robots that were wirelessly linked to the system. It was such a danger to vault safety and security that she shut the project down immediately. Unfortunately for Overseer Almodovar, she didn't shut it down before she learned of all the information he had been sending to the Enclave over the past forty years.

She had kept that a secret from Alphonse for nearly a month as she and her husband prepared to destroy the biomedical lab and leave the vault. It was only by sheer happenstance that one of his informants in the science labs caught wind of the escape plan and notified the Overseer at the eleventh hour.

With the sabotage already in progress, he had ordered the lab flooded with radiation diverted from the reactor core in an attempt to preserve any research materials yet undestroyed. The countermeasure had somewhat worked, but there were two major exceptions.

The first was Catherine. Alphonse had assumed that both of the Prescotts were in the lab when he ordered it sealed and flooded with the radiation – but they weren't. Catherine had been in her own lab gathering up the last of her research.

Realizing her husband was trapped, Catherine continued on with the second phase of their plan. While the Overseer and his security team were descending on the Bio Lab, Catherine was sneaking out of the vault with all the research – using the Overseer's very own tunnel for the escape! That was something Nyhils never let Alphonse forget.

The second major wrinkle in the Overseer's counter attack was the fact that James Prescott didn't die. Luckily the geneticist had made a horrific show of thrashing around the lab before he finally fell to the floor and out of the security camera's field of view. It had been easy enough to doctor that footage to make it appear like the man had died a horrible death. Alphonse claimed that both of the Prescotts had died during the sabotage attempt. He had shown the ghastly "death" scene footage several times in the posthumous trial that resulted in the conviction of treason for the two scientists.

Yet, in actuality, neither scientist had died that day. James Prescott transformed into a genetically mutated abomination that Alphonse had found both horrifying and fascinating. The transformation had taken its toll on the scientist, rendering him unconscious for several days. It had given the Overseer plenty of time to remove him, decontaminate him, and smuggle him down into the depths of the vault where Alphonse kept an occasional prisoner he thought might become valuable in the future. And when it came time for the Overseer to recount these unfortunate events to the Enclave, James turned out to be an extremely valuable prisoner.

Nyhils was unhappy with the Overseer's report of the loss of the lab and much of its research. He was furious about the loss of Catherine. But the thought of a real, live mutant had almost made up for the incident – almost.

There was one small problem with the new development. Creating a living mutant was a huge scientific step toward the mutant army of the Enclave's dreams. Recreating the event, however, proved to be nearly impossible. The scientific anomaly was no good to the Enclave if it couldn't be reproduced in the laboratory. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the only one who really understood how it had occurred was the mutant himself.

Overseer Almodovar had vowed to make the mutant talk. And to keep that promise, he had employed just about every interrogation technique he had at his disposal short of killing the creature. Alphonse had told the beast that his wife was alive and being tortured because of his refusal to cooperate. He had told the beast that his wife was dead. He had threatened to bring the beast's son down into the bowels of the vault and dismember him piece by piece in front of the mutant until he revealed the secrets of his work. None of it, however, proved to be very successful.

The mutated scientist refused to tell his interrogators where his wife had gone. He refused to tell them what she had done with the research. He tried to refuse to discuss his discoveries, but at least in that department, the Overseer had made some small amount of progress.

A new laboratory was built right there in the bowels of the vault. The Overseer hand selected the construction crew, the security team, and even the scientists that would operate the covert research center. He would leave nothing to chance this time.

He had interrogators working around the clock to torture information out of the beast. He had scientists conducting experiments on the creature and reconstructing Prescott's lost research from every scrap of material that had been salvaged from the genetics lab and every ounce of information that had been beaten out of the abomination.

Despite this monumental effort, the secret laboratory still hadn't produced a mutant that could function at the same levels as the mutated scientist.

Alphonse was so frustrated that he had finally proposed making good on his threat to torture Prescott's son, but Nyhils had refused that tactic.

The Enclave was convinced that Catherine Prescott would eventually come back for the boy, and for some reason Nyhils seemed to want that woman just as much as he wanted the secrets of mutation – maybe even more…

And now, apparently, she had done just what the Enclave had suspected she would. After fifteen years of stubborn resistance, the Overseer finally had some new leverage to use on his mutated prisoner. What Alphonse needed now, however, was a new interrogator. He needed someone big and ruthless to get the job done, and he thought he knew just the man.


- Officer Beef O'Brian -

Beef sat outside the Overseer's office. He really needed a fix, but he didn't dare risk it. Instead, he sat fidgeting on the couch, his leg nervously bouncing as he waited for an appointment that the Overseer had personally requested.

It had been several days since that hot-shot punk Stevie Mack had been killed by the traitor's boy. Security Chief Hannon had told the department the sad news the day after the Super Series. Losing one of their own had come as quite a shock to the security officers – not so much to Beef. He hadn't known exactly why the Overseer's manipulative daughter made him tamper with Mack's weapon, but he was pretty sure it wasn't going to end well for the kid. Once you got on the wrong side of that Almodovar bitch, you're days were numbered.

The thought made him wonder about his own future, and that thought made his leg twitch even faster. Hot damn he really needed a snort of Jet. He couldn't help thinking that she had double-crossed him somehow. Maybe she had turned him in to get in good with the old man. If that were the case, he would bury the bitch. If he was going down for Mack's murder, he wasn't going down alone.

But that didn't entirely make sense to him. She knew he could implicate her. Sure it would be her word against his, but he didn't think she really wanted all those implications and seeds of doubt planted in the minds of the masses. She was their princess. Mother to the orphans. Heiress to the Almodovar Empire. Why would she want aspersions cast on her character – even from a junkie cop like Beef?

Besides, he was one of her best informants. He had always been loyal to her, and as much as he hated to admit it, he always would be. She had taken care of it when he had gone a little too far with some perps. That damn Buffmania was a real tricky deal sometimes. She had smoothed it over for him and he didn't really think she would sell him out. Not to mention, if they did suspect him, Chief Hannon would have had him cuffed and stuffed already. The Chief didn't mess around when it came to his department.

Still, he couldn't imagine why the Overseer would specially request a meeting with him. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing. Maybe now that Mack was out of the picture, O'Brian was getting some kind of promotion. This line of thought was definitely more comforting – but he still needed that snort...

Either way, he was about to find out. He could see that drunken idiot DeLoria making her way over toward him. She actually wasn't half bad to look at with her hair all done up and wearing her office attire. He considered making a play on her, but now wasn't the time. He was too preoccupied and too sober.

"The Overseer is ready for you Officer O'Brian." She informed him in a breathy voice that was a mixture of anxiety and efficiency.

"Thanks, darlin'," he replied, flashing her his best smile as he raised his muscular body up off the sofa, "but please, call me Beef."

He thought he saw her blush as she returned to her desk, but then again, it could just be the vodka. Either way, he made a mental note to remember to get her number after his meeting. First he had to deal with business – later, maybe, there would be time for pleasure.


- Vice President Listner -

Nyhils strode through the corridors of Raven Rock with a rare sense of exhilaration. All the toils and tribulations he had endured as the Enclave's Vice President for the last half century were finally coming to fruition.

The cadence of his black boots echoed off the concrete walls as his long, leather coat whipped about his ankles. Dressed all in black leather, the thin man looked like a shadow as he drifted through the passageway.

The man's mind raced with a plethora of possibilities. There was little he liked more than information and statistical analysis. He especially enjoyed running data through a host of algorithms and mental models he had developed as a form of predicting his best alternatives. Currently, by his calculations, the future was looking very bright.

Today his good mood was a factor of several events. For one, the Brotherhood prisoner was due to arrive in the afternoon. Nyhils was eager to begin the man's interrogation. The Knights of the Brotherhood of Steel had been a thorn in the Vice President's side ever since their arrival in the Wasteland over a decade ago, and it was a rare occasion indeed when the Enclave captured one of them alive.

Nyhils was also excited to be conducting one of his periodic inspections of Raven Rock's research facilities this morning. He especially enjoyed touring the various labs at the Rock. The labs burgeoned with information and potential, and Nyhils absorbed it all like a sponge, especially when he was in an analytical mood like he was today.

Doctor Oswald Avory was waiting for Nyhils outside the Cryogenics Laboratory entry way. He was a tall man, even taller than the Vice President himself. He was thin too, though not as thin as Nyhils. With Dr. Avory's thin frame encased in the white, airtight environmental suit common to the Enclave Labs, the two men looked like chess pieces facing each other from across the board – one all black, the other all white.

"Mr. Vice President," The head of Enclave Research and Development said in greeting as his white gloved hand reached out to shake the hand of the VP. His orange Plexiglas visor was flipped up, and he studied Nyhils through big eyes magnified by his extremely thick glasses.

"Dr. Oz," Nyhils said in greeting, using the man's nickname as a sign of familiarity. The man was a brilliant geneticist and an efficient manager, which made him a rare find indeed for Nyhils and essential to his R&D initiatives.

"Shall we get started, sir?" Avory asked, his magnified eyes sparkling with intelligence and enthusiasm. The doctor was obviously as excited about the R&D initiatives as Nyhils.

The Vice President nodded in reply, admiring the good doctor's efficiency.

The Cryo Lab contained several of the nastiest creatures in the Capital Wasteland. Various cryo chambers held such abominable beasts as deathclaws, yao guai, and mirelurks in suspended animation. Teams of busy scientist scurried about obtaining samples and conducting experiments. State of the art equipment blinked and buzzed as it processed the multitude of data being gathered by the researchers.

The entourage stopped at the cryo chamber containing the deathclaw. Even in suspended animation, the beast looked menacing. These hunchbacked, reptilian humanoids were an abomination developed by the government using a combination of mixed animal stock and genetic manipulation. Their thick leathery hide was stretched over a powerful, muscular frame that stood nearly ten feet tall. Horns like a Brahmin bull protruded from their heads and three large spikes jutted from their massive upper backs. The lethal, razor-sharp claws that gave the beasts their name were almost a foot long and could kill many Wasteland creatures with a single swipe. The deathclaws' carnivorous nature combined with their incredible speed and strength made them a deadly threat to every living thing in the Capital Waste.

"This one looks fresh, doctor." Nyhils said as he studied the hideous creature through the safety of the cryo chamber.

"Yes, we just received another batch from the sanctuary." Dr. Oz replied.

"Are we still damaging our specimens in the Bio Lab?" Nyhils inquired. Research in deathclaw domestication had been painfully slow and particularly fatal to the deathclaws. There seemed to be an endless supply at a nearby cave network known as the Deathclaw Sanctuary, but rounding up specimens was a dangerous and costly endeavor, and Nyhils wasn't certain how many deathclaws and Enclave wranglers the program could afford to expend.

Yet, the President had a strong desire to domesticate these creatures in order to use them as biological weapons to augment Enclave patrols and outposts. Augmenting his Enclave forces had been one of President Eden's primary goals for decades. Battling Wasteland beasts, locals, raiders, and especially the Brotherhood Knights had left the President's forces stretched extremely thin, which made the Augmentation Program a top priority for Enclave scientific research and development teams.

"We have seen some progress with the Domestication Units, but the devices still haven't proven reliable. I think we are very close, however, and we have a demonstration set up for you in the Bio Lab."

"Very well, doctor," Nyhils replied, "lead on."

The next lab on the tour was the Technical Laboratory. The Tech Lab was heavily involved in the Augmentation Program as well. Recently President Eden had ordered an increase in the production of eyebots. The floating orbs served the dual purpose of spreading Eden's message to all Capital Wastelanders while simultaneously providing the capability to monitor large swaths of the capital region.

Nyhils walked past several of the ugly reconnaissance and surveillance drones in various stages of repair. While useful, these robots were not very rugged and they were constantly being damaged or destroyed.

"How is the eyebot enhancement progressing?" Nyhils asked Doctor Avory.

"Very exciting news from Adams Air Force Base!" Avory exclaimed, visibly pleased with his report. "Doctor Whitley is working on a prototype "duraframe" model he calls ED-E. He has boosted the signal gain and enlarged the overflow buffer system." The doctor explained, "That should ensure 100 percent connectivity and control."

"Sounds promising," Nyhils agreed, "what about our other production lines?"

The use of robobrains and sentry bots showed much greater signs of success than the eyebot program. The biggest problem with these options, however, was with their production lines. Even with a steady stream of slave labor from Paradise Falls, acquiring the massive amount of raw materials required for the robot production lines had been a major challenge for Nyhils over the last fifty years.

"Production has seen a twelve percent increase," Dr. Oz said proudly. "Our network of scavengers and suppliers from Canterbury Commons and all across the Wasteland have finally started to provide a reasonable amount of material."

"That is encouraging," Nyhils agreed.

"But let me show you our deathclaw display," Avory pressed, eager to move on to the next lab.

Nyhils was eager as well. The Bio Lab was the place where the Augmentation Program was being implemented in earnest and the Vice President was anxious to witness the demonstration Avory had in store for him. In fact, several Enclave scientists were fitting a deathclaw with a Domestication Unit just as the entourage entered the lab.

The development of the DUs had been slow and difficult. The objective had been to control the beasts' minds in order to use them as auxiliary soldiers. Deathclaws would make very formidable weapons if they could be domesticated, which made the development of a controlling device the crucial component to the program's success.

The DU research was based on a Pip-Boy enhancement the Prescott's had invented known as the Vault Assisted Targeting System. The scientists' utilization of mechanical, electrical, and biological engineering to control synapse firings and neuroreceptors in the brain was ground-breaking. Enclave scientists had spent more than two decades reverse engineering VATS technology to create a head-mounted domestication unit for deathclaws.

The work had proven difficult and delicate. The brain of an oversized, mutated Jackson's Chameleon was quite different than that of a human. This meant that the deathclaw physiology had to be completely diagnosed and understood. Early problems with signal strength and power management had resulted in "overload" conditions which caused deathclaw heads to explode. More recent versions were showing signs of marked improvement.

The DU was an elaborate device to install. Fasteners on the creature's horns held the bulk of the headpiece over the deathclaw's tiny brain pan. "Blinders" jutted out from either side of the beast's eyes, limiting peripheral vision and controlling input to the brain. The blinders acted as a feedback loop to continually monitor a deathclaw's brain activity.

Dr. Oz approached the abomination, beckoning Nyhils to come in for a closer look. Even though the monster was completely immobilized in the bio chamber, Nyhils didn't like being this close to one. It's face was roughly triangular, culminating in a hideous protruding jaw packed with yellow, razor-sharp teeth as big as a man's hand. Despite the paralysis, the creature's clear, white pupils tracked the men as they approached, burning with a hatred that Nyhils could sense from what he hoped was a safe distance.

"He looks like a wild one," Dr. Oz stated proudly. "Let's see if we can tame him." The doctor nodded to a technician who activated the DU transmitter. A faint glow appeared on the inside of the blinders as the burning hatred faded from the creature's eyes.

"Mobilize upper chamber." The doctor ordered another technician at the chamber control panel. The swirling haze of energy that surrounded the creature receded to its shoulders, giving it limited freedom to move its head.

Subconsciously Nyhils took a step back as the beast craned its neck to look around the room. To the Vice President it appeared as if the animal were attempting to determine who to attack first, but there was no hostility in its demeanor.

Astonishingly, the doctor reached out and touched the creature's massive jawline as a mother might do to sooth a frightened child. The beast turned its monstrous head toward the doctor, but made no attempt to harm him.

Nyhils was already making calculations in his mental models. The implications of domesticated deathclaws were stunning. Deathclaws were abundant in the Wasteland. If the Enclave could truly augment their force strength with these beasts they could once again establish outposts throughout the Capital Waste. The Brotherhood would think twice before attacking a patrol or encampment armed with Enclave Deathclaws, and President Eden would be extremely pleased indeed.

"You've done it, doctor!" Nyhils exclaimed in a whisper.

"Well…Not quite yet." The doctor replied, fidgeting with his thick glasses. "The domestication isn't completely stable."

Nyhils didn't understand the statement, but he was certain he wasn't going to like the explanation. "Explain, doctor."

"I think a demonstration would be best," the doctor suggested. He waved at another scientist, who approached carrying a large rabbit by the scruff of the neck.

The deathclaw's eyes immediately locked onto the rabbit as the scientist drew near. Trails of saliva slithered from the corners of the beast's mouth as it struggled to reach its prey. The bio chamber monitors showed signs of elevated heart rate and a spike in brain activity.

The scientist held the rabbit just out of the deathclaw's reach. The monster thrashed its head in a ferocious attempt to get at the animal, the blazing hatred returning to its yellow-white eyes and reflecting off the scientist's orange Plexiglas face shield. An alarm sounded on the DU transmitter panel as a thin line of blood drizzled from the deathclaw's nostrils.

The transmitter operator punched the emergency override button killing the feed to the unit while the bio chamber operator returned the creature to complete paralysis. As the scientist returned the rabbit to its cage the vital signs on the bio chamber display finally indicated that the deathclaw was settling down.

"What happened?" Nyhils asked after a brief moment of silence in the laboratory.

"Chemistry inside the creature changes when it prepares to attack. New hormones are secreted. Adrenaline floods the system. Even its brain activity exhibits an alternate pattern. These alterations seem to override the DU transmissions."

"Well, a domesticated deathclaw won't do us any good if it can't engage in battle." Nyhils stated – all his visions of a battalion of Enclave Deathclaws evaporating in the wake of one measly rabbit.

"Precisely, Mr. Vice President," the doctor nodded, still maintaining his enthusiasm in spite of the failed demonstration. "But what we have proven is that the unit works ninety percent of the time. Once we understand the physiological changes that occur during the creature's elevated emotional state, we can make the necessary adjustments to the Domestication Units."

Nyhils had to admire the man's optimism, and he also had to admit that the demonstration had proven that the R&D team was getting very close to a viable weapon. Despite his disappointment, he felt the hope of a deathclaw battalion might not be that far in the future after all.

"Quite impressive, Doctor Avory," Nyhils said, patting the doctor on his thin back. "Quite impressive indeed."

There was one stop left on the tour, and it was the one Nyhils always saved for last. His greatest hope for a next generation soldier, even greater than the deathclaw, was the bio chamber that held the Super Mutant.

Nyhils stared into the chamber containing the hulking greenish-yellow monstrosity. He could never look at one of these beasts without thinking of James Prescott. The Vault 101 scientist was, after all, the predecessor to every Super Mutant in the Capital Wasteland.

Of all the projects being researched for the Augmentation Program, the study of James Prescott and his research was at the top of the president's priority list. The Enclave had learned much from all the years of testing done on the mutated scientist, and their discoveries indicated that the production of a super soldier seemed possible.

James had experienced an exponential growth in skeletal structure and muscle mass. His body grew to nearly ten feet tall and packed on a remarkable 800 pounds of mass. His skin thickened to the consistency of leather and showed increased regenerative abilities. Though his mind seemed to survive the transformation, it was difficult to determine the effect it had on his cognitive functions. Much of that was a result of the creature's stubborn refusal to cooperate with his captors. Even so, the interrogators in Vault 101 had painstakingly extracted most of his research from him within the first three or four years of his captivity.

In the years that followed, Nyhils had considered relocating the mutated scientist to the Rock. The Enclave VP certainly had the best interrogators in the Capital Wasteland and was convinced that if there were any secrets left in the mutant's brain, his inquisitors could retrieve them. Yet, though he hated to admit it, Vault 101 still had the best scientists and equipment at their disposal. If the beast wouldn't talk then his secrets would have to be discovered through physical examination and experimentation. Besides, there was always the possibility that the mutant's wife would make contact again, and the vault might need to use her husband and son as leverage. It had been a long, long wait, but it appeared as if that bet had finally paid off.

"Ah, the Mutant Program," Dr. Oz stated as he stepped up beside Nyhils to gaze upon the gargantuan beast in the bio chamber.

"Any progress with the lab rats?" Nyhils asked.

"Very little," the doctor admitted, "mutated rodents still exhibit a substantial reduction in maze navigation as well as elevated signs of hostility."

Nyhils nodded absently, still staring at the monstrosity. The biggest disappointment with the Mutant Program had been the apparent loss of intelligence during the transformation. Many of the lab animals seemed to experience extreme pain during the mutation, leaving most of them feral and aggressive.

Originally the Enclave scientists had hoped the process would affect humans differently. Almost five years after the Vault 101 incident, the Enclave began experimenting on human subjects. A small settlement in the ruins of Germantown was given an "inoculation" by government medical representatives with the idea of training the civilians to become the first squad of super soldiers. The conversion, however, proved little better than the lab rats. The mutants of Germantown displayed the same decrease in intelligence, sterility, and loss of humanity. Although they were capable of following simple orders and performing simple tasks, coordinated team efforts and battlefield tactics were beyond their basic capabilities.

Enclave scientists blamed this in part on the subjects' exposure to radiation. James Prescott had been a pure strain human who'd spent his life in the protection of the vault. The Germantown residents had the tainted DNA of the Wastelanders.

Based on this philosophy, the next group the Enclave exposed was the residents of Vault 87. These experiments showed more promise. Though the mutants still experienced a slight reduction in intelligence, they were able to function at a higher level than their Germantown counterparts. The Enclave thought perhaps a combination of Wasteland mutants led by Vault 87 mutant leaders and a couple Enclave officers would provide the augmented forces they were looking for.

These squads were ordered to begin rounding up Wastelanders for conversion in Vault 87, and to their credit, the mutants conformed to a loose hierarchical structure and followed orders fairly well. Whether from a desire to obey or the instinct to propagate their species, the mutants took to the task with fervor, and it began to look like the Enclave would finally be able to assemble a sizeable army of super mutant soldiers.

For half a decade, the mutants gathered up Wasteland inhabitants and dragged them off to the vault for conversion. The arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel, however, added a wrinkle to the Enclave's plans. The neo-knightly order came from the west to investigate the "mutant plague" that was running rampant throughout the Capital Waste. Their paladin warriors immediately began attacking not only the mutants, but Enclave encampments as well.

Unable to combat this foe in the field, Nyhils had Colonel Augustus pull all their troops back inside the safety of Raven Rock and Adams Air Force Base. These relentless Brotherhood attacks were the reason President Eden had established the Augmentation Program, and they were the reason that creating a smarter Super Mutant like James Prescott was a top priority.

"Perhaps we'll have a breakthrough soon, doctor," Nyhils mused. He was thinking about all the recent developments in Vault 101. Even now, Overseer Almodovar was starting another round of interrogation on the prisoner. And the Brotherhood knight from the south was due to arrive at Raven Rock this very day. Nyhils had a round or two of interrogations planned for that unfortunate man as well.

"Perhaps we will, Mr. Vice President," the doctor agreed, "perhaps we will…"