Factions
Factions who exert their power over the Wasteland.
Vault 83
Society
Uncommonly peaceful and harmonious compared to other Wasteland societies, Vault 83 wears its uniqueness on its sleeve- at their coming of age, inhabitants take the GOAT, are subjected to a brainscan, then their brains are removed, reprogrammed using CODE tech, then placed either within a robobrain, a cyberdog's cranium, or back within their skulls within a biogel-filled dome (with color or lighting elements added at the brain’s request.)
This conditioning does multiple things; it "corrects" extremes of temperament, it enables the brain to connect to computers and adapt to any body it is transplanted in, it decreases pain response and allows their brains to be stored without sensory stimulation for long periods of time without any discomfort- and advanced pattern recognition software is downloaded into their visual cortex, allowing them to tell each other apart even should they be transplanted into another body or be removed from a body entirely. As a side effect, they prefer to be addressed according to their body’s gender rather than their original gender- and refer to themselves as “brains” rather than “men” or “women”. In addition, the brains’ libidos remain untouched, but their identity’s disassociation from their bodies means that they think nothing of casual sex with or without multiple partners, even when married.
At other times, should a resident be judged fit, they are slated for cyberdog or robobrain conversion. Canine residents thus have their brains removed, cybernetic enhancements done to their bodies, and a neurochip containing a copy of their brain’s consciousness placed back in its skull. The new cyberdog will then receive a brain from another resident, specifically chosen to compliment the cyberdog’s personality and skillset. The leftover original brain then is either stored, or implanted into another Dweller’s body or robobrain.
Brains destined for robobrains receive increased conditioning. Their emotional centers are extensively reprogrammed, reducing the intensity of any emotional response and allowing them to operate without rest. It is considered a great honor for one’s brain to be encased within a Robobrain, even though even more of the personality is altered from its original. They are allowed to pursue their own interests, like the other Dwellers, but most have no hobbies beyond their assigned tasks, as they are content simply serving the Vault. They often customize their bodies to maintain their individuality, despite their intensive reprogramming.
Occasionally, should above-ground patrols be able to capture a deathclaw or yao guai alive, the scientists at the Vault will gleefully choose one of the many brains in storage (or one belonging to the security staff) and implant it inside the creature’s head. These newly intelligent apex predators then serve as members of Vault security in the outside area.
Finally, the fate of the rest of the population is scooping, reprogramming, then storage. Those whose brains are suitable but not worthy of a body are hooked up to the Vault’s internal systems (or in some cases, serve as the CPUs of terminals), while the fate of an undesirable brain is indefinite storage as their bodies are given to another Dweller’s brain. This may seem horrific, but they don’t mind, as after their reprogramming they see their removal from a body as a small price to pay for a nice biogel-filled jar or vat to spend eternity in.
Technology
Vault 83 is roughly at the level of Pre-War. They lack super-heavy weaponry like missile launchers or gatling guns, but they compensate with both high-quality precision-tooled firearms and upgraded versions of the common laser and plasma guns. They also have the ability to manufacture robots of almost all types, specializing in the Robobrain- but are unable to manufacture Sentry Bots and do not manufacture Assaultrons because the components needed to build them are necessary for the upkeep of their cyberdog population. Their good grasp of materials science allows them to manufacture sturdy combat armor and small quantities of ballistic fiber, and they are noted for the quality and radiation-free nature of their hydroponically grown produce. Finally, they are renowned for their medical care, particularly transplant surgery and neurosurgery. The wealthy can come here to have their brains removed, then transplanted into a robobrain or a donor body (usually sourced from a Vault citizen,) then given a quick reorganization of the data within their brains to maintain mental acuity.
History
Intended to test the effectiveness of CODE brain reprogramming technology for creating societal stability, this Vault was populated several days before the Great War. The cyberdogs and robobrains, in addition to the Overseer, called small groups of childless Dwellers, a few at a time, to the Vault, where their brains were promptly removed. And then finally, the Overseer’s brain was removed and hooked up to a computer system, where it would be able to exert direct control over almost all of the Vault’s subsystems.
Every brain was reprogrammed- except for the Overseer's- to completely change their very identities. They would no longer see themselves as male or female, identify as a specific species- after that one week, they viewed themselves as just brains. Brains occupying bodies, which could be swapped out or changed at their leisure. After their new programming, each brain was given a different body to fit their talent and temperament, within a clear, domed, biogel-filled enclosure. Nobody minded terribly, in fact they were unanimously glad that everyone received a body they could make the best use out of.
And for more than twenty years, the Vault was almost completely peaceful. Sure, fights still broke out, tempers flared, but they were almost always about work efficiency. The inhabitants otherwise were happy to toil their lives away, their minds unmarred with thoughts of rebellion or discontentment, even when their brains were slated to become mere computer cores and ripped from their heads. But all this changed, gradually, as the Overseer's brain became gradually more mad with power and the Vault Dwellers began to have children of their own.
The Overseer would issue ridiculous punishments for imaginary wrongdoings, changing the rules almost daily in order to have a fresh supply of wrongdoers to abuse. It started with public humiliation, but it soon proceeded to corporal punishment and forced brain removal. And soon, the Vault Dwellers' children became the target of this abuse- and here the Overseer overstepped his hand. Though the brainwashed Dwellers didn't mind stripping naked in front of everyone, getting whipped, or even volunteering to become a brain in a jar indefinitely, they were discontented at the idea of the next generation suffering. Productivity in the Vault dropped, and for the first time ever there were whisperings of rebellion.
In fact, some of the cyberdogs and robobrains began to come around to the idea of supporting the rebels. They, as the rest of the Vault, were aware of the Overseer's mental deterioration- and they concluded that for the sake of the experiment's success, the Overseer would need to be removed. And eventually, a coup was launched. The Overseer's brain was removed from its vat and smashed into pink goop on the ground.
But the Dwellers soon realized, to their horror, that they were without the guidance of a centralized authority. The nine ringleaders of the rebellion volunteered to have their brains extracted and hooked up to the computer systems, serving as the new Overmind- who would command and control the Vault. Some of the cyberdogs and robobrains accepted this wholeheartedly- after all, they didn’t care who they served as Overseer, just that there was one, and that the experiment would continue. The others were swiftly rounded up, their brains destroyed and replaced.
Soon after, the Vault opened to the world. Armed robobrains, accompanied by security personnel and cyberdogs, went into the cityscape and wasteland beyond and began to carve out a little outpost atop the Vault entrance- which became bigger and bigger as the years went by.
CYBER Collective
Society
The cyberdogs of the CYBER Collective are a secretive, isolated bunch who believe only in one thing: refining themselves into the perfect hybrid synthetic-organic lifeform. Under the ruins of a factory that used to produce cyborg parts, they dig deeper to expand, creating a maze of tunnels and atriums that would make any Vault Dweller jealous- while also setting new boundaries in biological and cybernetic research.
To the cyberdogs, any “unworthy” brain is only worth the time spent to acquire it, and the person whom that brain belongs to doesn’t matter. If it breaks down, refuses to function, or just fails to meet their standards, then it’s good for only one thing: sustenance for their organic tissues, or in other words, brain food.
They are ruled by the original members of the cyberdog conversion facility, who have given up what bodies they had centuries ago in favor of implantation into custom cyberdogs.
Technology
Pre-War, CYBER was at the cutting edge of wetware processing technology and cybernetic interfaces. Over the two hundred years they've operated, they have only increased in their skills. They produce weaponry, armor, and medicines of all types, most of which are clandestinely traded away for raw materials, some of which ends up in the hands of raiders in exchange for living captives with which to experiment on.
Their cybernetic implants are the best in the Wasteland, without hyperbole, and they range from cortical co-processors, bone marrow accelerators, and subcutaneous armor to full limb and organ replacements. Notably, they are the premier manufacturer of neurochips in the Wasteland, which can contain a copy of a living brain's consciousness- but the copy cannot function properly without being connected to an organic brain. Instead, they use cruder brain prostheses to reanimate the bodies that have been left mindless by their experiments, creating organic robots who obey the cyberdogs' every whim. With regards to robotics, they are known for constructing combat robots with which to capture their foes. Mesmetron-equipped Mr. Gutsies, robobrains, and assaultrons have all been sighted in CYBER war parties.
In addition, through extensive research they have developed the elusive art of teleportation. With this technology, it is child's play to both take in resources and expel any form of waste, experimental or otherwise. In fact, it's part of the reason the area has such a super mutant problem- after removing the brains of their captives, they often inject the leftover body with varying strains of FEV to see what happens- and after the experiment reaches its conclusion, they just teleport the new mutant out into the world to cause trouble.
History
Pre-War, CYBER was a company subcontracted out for the creation of cyberdogs for both domestic and military use. Thousands of dogs had their brains scooped out and limbs shorn off to become the perfect cyborg soldiers- their minds wiped and reprogrammed or discarded and replaced with more “loyal” brains. Inside their heads, connected to the brains pulsing beneath a biogel-filled dome, neurochips whirred, interpreting data from the brain to create a being with the precision of a computer and the mental capacity and creativity of an organic brain.
When the bombs fell, the scientists there were safe in some regards. The facility’s top-secret nature and the underground structure meant that they were safe from radiation. The cyberdogs that had not been shipped off into combat and those still in testing were used to scavenge the areas above for food and resources to grow food, ruthlessly pillaging and leaving no witnesses.
The scientists continued their research, using the victims of the cyberdogs as test subjects for their new technologies. Using knowledge of other classified facilities, they broke into a facility storing FEV at a military base miles away, attempting to use it to improve the conversion process and create an even STRONGER class of cyberdog- but were stymied by failure. Intrigued but disappointed, they took samples, while leaving behind several test subjects, none of whom they expected to survive long-term.
It was at this point where the researchers, limited by their natural lifespan, decided to have their brains extracted and placed into cyberdogs. Choosing the best specimens that Post-War had to offer, they were scooped one-by-one and transferred into new, youthful bodies, filled with the latest in cyborg technology. They had achieved immortality and were prepared to rule over the Wasteland, but there was one minor problem. The Brotherhood of Steel.
When the Brotherhood of Steel came to the area, the cyberdogs initially were overjoyed, as they thought the military would appreciate all the research they had completed- but as they listened into Brotherhood transmissions they became more and more terrified. They prepared several safehouses and avenues of escape, but it was ultimately unneeded, as the Brotherhood just marched on by.
But this was a big wake up call. The cyberdogs became more cautious of discovery- they began searching for some new technology that would let them operate undetected. Stealth Boys were promising but led to unacceptable levels of brain degeneration, forcing the cyberdogs who used them to undergo frequent brain replacements. Underground tunnels were considered, but ultimately rejected except as a way to increase living space. But soon they hit on two ideas: disguising cyberdogs as the unaugmented, and teleportation. This would have two benefits; they could now operate by stealth, and they could operate as far as they wanted, within range of the teleporter. For decades they worked on their technology... and at last, they succeeded.
Now they operate from the shadows, kidnapping people for the organ sitting within their heads, hunting for the perfect examples of technology, all to expand their knowledge.
Mutant Army
Most Super Mutants in the area have one thing in common: the tops of their heads are missing, exposing a squishy green brain. This is for one of two reasons: either those captured by the Master's Army have their brains removed for consumption or mutation, or those captured by the CYBER Collective have their brains removed for personal use.
The Master's mutants are created after a victim's brain is removed, with the empty body dipped in the FEV to rapidly mutate it. This results in rapid growth of a new brain to fill their cranial cavity within a few days at most, and the Master's telepathic influence makes it easy to impregnate their new minds with the knowledge necessary to fulfill their tasks. Mutants created by this process tend to be big and hulking, wielding military-grade heavy weapons and semi-professionally made armor, able to follow orders with ease.
But the brain itself is not discarded. It may be consumed by the Master, who adds the organ's mass to its own and gains its knowledge in the process. It may be dipped into the FEV on its own- and after weeks of mutating and growing, mind altered by the Master's telepathic presence, becomes a Floater. It may be grafted to a wasteland beast and dipped into the vats, and the resulting Centaur used as an intelligent guard animal.
The CYBER mutants, however, are created by injecting a brainless body with FEV. Over the course of about a week, they grow and mutate piecemeal, culminating in a
Children of the Brain
Society
It is a perfect classless society, based in the swamps of the southern part of the map. This cult grows Punga Fruit, an important commodity that both is nutritious and helps mitigate the effects of radiation- and the cult slowly grows its members through converts who seek to gain access.
The process to become a convert is simple: after being drugged, the convert is shipped to the medical facility hidden nearby, upon which one of two things happen: parts of their brains are outright removed to make the convert more susceptible to psychic control, or their brains are removed entirely, replaced with a telepathic receiver so they can be directly puppeted by the Brain itself. The removed brains are preserved, to be reconditioned into telepathic hubs or the processors of robobrains.
Of
Technology
History
Before the war, the person who would become the Brain at the heart of the Children's society was a member of the Enclave- a shadowy government conspiracy who plotted to create a new world order.
The Maze
Society: A city of traders and mechanics centered around an industrial park, assembling large quantities of raw materials and selling the assembled goods.