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.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.