The Whitespring Bunker

Whitespring Congressional Bunker is a location in Fallout 76. Intended as a late game location, it is located near the Whitespring resort, as the name suggests. At first, the player has to access it through the bunker entrance on the world map. Once they are a member of the enclave, they can enter the bunker through either the resort, via a secret entrance in the south eastern waiting near the governors hall, or by using the Whitespring service entrance. Both of these entrance route deposit them directly inside the bunker, in the military and production wings respectively.

Background
The Whitespring Congressional Bunker was built to house the members of Congress, the President, and their Cabinet in the case of a hostile nuclear strike. In order to ensure its habitability even without any human workers, it was designed to be a fully automated, machine-managed refuge from nuclear war, providing the perfect blend of security and comfort. The AI in charge, MODUS, was a custom-built system designed to oversee the habitat and up to 200 dwellers. The facility was connected to Enclave hubs across the United States - Raven Rock, the Presidential Rig, and others, with the intention of using it as a nucleus of all Enclave operations. For support, the Bunker was provided with the Kovac-Muldoon, a secret satellite in geostationary orbit above Appalachia, capable of spying on every mile of its soil, delivering orbital missile strikes, and even conferring automated promotions in case the chain of command fell apart.

The bunker was activated when the early warning came and the government officials - what government remained after March 2077 and the flight to reinforced locations that month - rushed to shelter. Secretary of Agriculture Eckhart, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury, and a select few other members of the enclave made it to safety, together with a number of high ranking officers. The rest was left to fend for themselves.

All non-Enclave personnel who arrived at the Whitespring Congressional Bunker were rounded up and shot, including members of Congress who foolishly thought that a Congressional Bunker would save their lives. The survivors were horrified to learn that connections to Raven Rock and the oil rig were lost, leaving them isolated. However, it played right into Eckhart's plans, allowing him to seize the opportunity and lead the fight against communism. After gathering the survivors in the conference room, Eckhart informed them of the isolation and the death of the Secretary of the Treasury due to "radiation sickness", then announced himself as the new leader of their little enclave, as per pre-War rules of succession.

Then he offered them a choice: Using the Whitespring to continue the war against communism and the enemies of America, until no enemies stand against them, or opposing his plans. Those who opposed using the facility and Appalachian resources were eliminated once they revealed themselves. Although the purges entrenched Eckhart's control, he only had 48 people left to "save" democracy with. He wasted no time in briefing the survivors on his plan: The complete eradication of communism using any means necessary, with no moral or ethical constraints. It was total war and no option was off-limits, even a repeat of the nuclear nightmare.

The bunker's extensive scientific, medical, and production facilities were essential to the project, sustaining the Enclave for the next several years. In 2082, the Bunker's ranks grew tremendously with the inclusion of survivors from Col. Ellen Santiago's unit, who arrived there after leaving the smoldering ruins of D.C. behind them. With an influx of veterans, the work towards the eradication of communism advanced at a rapid pace. The experiments with mutations continued in parallel with work on accessing the nuclear arsenal, resulting in many working serums... And the first scorchbeasts, accidentally created when Enclave scientists exposed irradiated bats to biochemical experiments the previous year. Eckhart ordered further study of the creatures in controlled habitats at the abandoned AMS mining complexes, while keeping the officer corps in the dark.

However, as Eckhart's attempts to bypass the DEFCON system escalated, the Enclave started to split apart. The system prevented launching nuclear strikes from the region's automated nuclear silos unless DEFCON 1 was reached and in the years since the Great War, DEFCON dropped to low levels. Eckhart planned to fool the system by unleashing ever more horrifying dangers on Appalachia, up to, and including scorchbeasts. Disgusted by these machinations, Santiago threatened to quit in 2084. Now a general, she held the keys to the nuclear arsenal, and Eckhart could not go ahead without her. Realizing that, the self-made President knocked her out and had her kept under lock and key in the bunker's brig.

Without anyone to stand in his way, Eckhart proceeded with the plan and unleashed his scorchbeasts on the region. As the DEFCON system plunged to 1, the organization split apart into two factions: Eckhart's hardliners and Santiago's loyalists. Disgusted with the way Eckhart was throwing the remnants of America onto the bonfire, just for revenge, they openly rebelled in mid-2086. Led by Captain Jackson and Major Ragnarsdottir, the rebels fought the hardliners throughout the bunker. Although they successfully managed to revive General Santiago and restore her command, they failed to account for MODUS' interference or the ferocious fighting across the science wing.

In order to save Appalachia, Santiago ordered all landline connections severed and MODUS destroyed. The plan backfired when the AI turned on all human members of the Enclave. After an explosion tore out a large part of MODUS' memory, the damaged AI retaliated with an explosion in the weapons lab that killed General Santiago and ruptured a toxin tank that leaked into the air circulation system. MODUS promptly sealed the bunker, dooming all within - including President Thomas Eckhart - to an ignoble death, choking to death in darkness. The following exchange is obtained after fixing the Assaultron at the bunker entrance:

Assaultron: Initiating ... final ... playback ...

Assaultron: Engag---

Ragnarsdottir: That's the last of them. Entrance is clear, general. MODUS. Have the rest of these things stand down. The general's placed Eckhart under arrest. It's over.

MODUS: General ... Santiago is dead, Major.

Ragnarsdottir: What? What the hell was that?

MODUS: There's been a ... detonation in the weapons lab. It appears the agent has ... broken containment and is filtering into the air system.

Ragnarsdottir: MODUS, what are you doing?! Open the god-damned door!

MODUS: This facility is now ... quarantined.

Ragnarsdottir MODUS! Open the fucking door! You're going to kill us all!

MODUS: To the contrary, Major. We're fixing ... the problem.

MODUS immediately set out to restore the facility to its former glory, although the damage caused by the fighting - and its effective lobotomization in the ill-fated destruction attempt by Santiago - made progress slow. Sanitizing and decontaminating the bunker of the biotoxin was among the biggest challenges, especially if the blinded and deafened MODUS was to have any chance of regaining a connection to the outside.

By 2102, much of the Bunker was restored to its earlier splendor, arranged with robotic precision. However, sections of the facility were still sealed away by cave-ins and structural failures. Above all, MODUS was aching to regain even a small bit of its senses, trapped beneath the ground... Until Vault 76 opened and its dwellers became potential members - restorers - of the Enclave...

Points of interest

 * The bunker cannot be accessed without the proper authorization. An access keycard can be obtained from Sam Blackwell's bunker as part of Bunker Buster. See the article for details. Without the access card, the player can only enter the outermost room.
 * With the keycard in hand, however, the player can enter the bunker. The accessway, stacked to the brim with shipping boxes and other containers, leads to a massive chamber with the entrance to the Congressional Bunker, built by Vault-Tec. MODUS will greet the player and open the bunker for them, inviting them in as a potential human agent. On subsequent visits, the door must be opened manually.
 * Upper levels
 * Inside, the bunker is essentially a particularly high quality Vault, with the concrete replaced with wood paneling, a fully automated staff, and an incredible level of opulence. Before heading deeper into the bunker, following MODUS' lure, the player might want to examine the storage pit underneath the catwalk that leads into the entrance area. Among Vault-Tec containers lies a destroyed Assaultron, which can be repaired with Intelligence 7+, revealing the fate of Major Ragnarsdottir and other human denizens of the bunker.
 * The road to MODUS is essentially linear, as the elevators leading to the lower levels are not unlocked until orientation is completed. Down the right hand side lies the locker room where those with access to the bunker disrobed. Down a decontamination arch is the processing station, where MODUS will require a photo of the player's character (its comment depends on the current Charisma score) and reward them with a Forest Operative Underarmor from the dispenser.
 * Moving down, the player will be encouraged to collect refreshments from the stations near the billiards table (the right-hand corridor is buried under rubble, hinting at what transpired), and then they are permitted to meet MODUS in person, which explains who it is, what the Enclave was (or is), and encourage the player to join. To do so, they need to complete orientation. Down the corridor left from the terminal lies the orientation area, where the player is asked to complete a questionnaire (which prompts a variety of responses from MODUS, none of which actually affect the player's opportunities). To access the facility beyond this point, the player needs to finish One of Us.

Notable loot

 * Holotapes and Notes
 * The Sam Blackwell Interview: The note is on the desk inside the front office of the loading bay.
 * System Access Tape: The holotape is acquired from a dispenser during the mission One of Us.
 * Missile Silo State Holotape: The holotape can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Mutated Flora: Flux (Cobalt): The note is on the red console Archival Terminal closest to the MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Mutated Flora: Flux (Crimson): The note is on the red Vault-Tec storage crate next to the Player Stash Box in the Armory.
 * Mutated Flora: Flux (Fluorescent): The note is on a red tape console next to an Archival Terminal in the northwest corner of the Armory.
 * Mutated Flora: Flux (Violet): The note is on top of a blue Vault-Tec storage crate next to the Power Armor Stations in the Armory.
 * Mutated Flora: Flux (Yellowcake): The note is on the floor in front of the northern MODUS Armory Terminal.
 * Plans and Recipes:
 * Plan: X-01 Power Armor: The plans for the X-01 Power Armor can be learned from any one of the three Archival Terminals in the Armory.
 * Plan: Gatling Laser: The plan for the Gatling Laser weapon can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Plan: Gatling Plasma: The plan for the Gatling Plasma weapon can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Plan: Gauss Rifle: The plan for the Gauss Rifle weapon can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Other Loot
 * Forest Operative Underarmor or Urban Operative Underarmor: One of these underarmors is automatically-received after letting MODUS take the player character's picture during the mission One of Us.
 * Prototype X-01 power armor: Schematics, downloaded from the archival terminal in the command center.
 * Uplink Module: The item is obtained during the mission One of Us.
 * Nuka-Cola Quantum: A bottle of Nuka-Cola Quantum can be found on one of the sideboards of a large mainframe console in the Communications Wing.
 * Enclave Officer Hat: The outfit can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.
 * Enclave Officer Uniform: The hat can be purchased from any one of the three MODUS Armory Terminals.

Gallery

 * Plans

Appearances
Whitespring Congressional Bunker appears in Fallout 76.