Vault 75

Vault 75 is one of the Vaults constructed by the Vault-Tec Corporation. It is located in Malden, Massachusetts, in the basement of Malden Middle School.

Mission
"WASHINGTON DC - In response to growing national concern for the safety of our children in the event of a nuclear attack, Vault-Tec officials have cooperated with local government in Malden, Massachusetts to provide subsidized enrollment fees for any families wishing to sign up for residency in Vault 75. The newly-opened Vault is attached directly to Malden's Elementary School, ensuring a swift evacuation should an attack come during class time."

- Official press release

In response to growing national concern for the safety of their children in the event of a nuclear attack, Vault-Tec officials cooperated with the local government of Malden, Massachusetts to provide subsidized enrollment fees for any families wishing to sign up for residency in Vault 75. The Vault was built directly beneath Malden Middle School, ensuring a swift evacuation should an attack come during class time.

The authorized special discounts and subsidies for qualifying families were only extended to families meeting the following requirements: One or more enrolled family members are children under the age of 15, enrolled children attend public school within the township of Malden, Mass. and it includes no more than two adults per qualifying child. Although they permitted the individual enrollment of children for families which couldn't afford to also enroll a parent or guardian. Of course this was just all a front for another grand, unethical experiment.

In reality, the Vault was commissioned by the United States military to experiment on children to breed battle-ready super-soldiers who would obey orders without a second thought. Built as a long term sealed environment, it was envisioned as a laboratory focusing on human genome improvement through a combination of selective breeding, hormonal treatments, genetic modification, and an accelerated generational cycle, under the command of an Overseer with a military background. Researchers and science staff were isolated from test subjects (88 dwellers in total), who were disposed of at 18 years of age unless used to replenish research staff or for breeding the next generation of Vault-dwellers.

Operations
Upon activation of the Vault on October 23, 2077, the future Vault dwellers were admitted to the Vault and underwent standard admission protocols: Verification, decontamination, and other necessary measures to ensure their general health. Per experimental guidelines, children under the age of 17 were taken to the atrium to meet the Overseer and undergo orientation, including introduction to caretaker robots and sleeping facilities. Other residents were taken to the holding area and executed by the security staff. The same fate awaited those children who refused to be separated from the parents and remained in the bulkhead area.

The project began a week after the Great War. With the parents and young adults culled, the Vault started with a sizable pool of residents and a capable, if morally bankrupt Vault-Tec staff. The two groups were intended to stay isolated from one another, particularly from physical contact, with one exception: The Overseer was required to participate directly in routine storytimes each evening to establish themselves as a paternal figure to the children and help them cope with distress in the early days of internment (in addition to the standard Vault-Tec Childcare consolation protocols). In order to achieve the mission outlined by the Army and Vault-Tec, the Overseer followed six directives:


 * 1) Residents aged 18 and older must be removed from the general population annually.
 * 2) Residents who have exhibited genetic promise are to be preserved for genome harvesting and reintegration.
 * 3) Residents of average genetic promise but high intelligence and docility may be recruited to the Research staff at Overseer discretion.
 * 4) All other Residents to be removed must be culled.
 * 5) Research staff is responsible for cultivating embryo replacements to maintain consitent resident population numbers.
 * 6) Vault 75 is to remain sealed until an all-clear order is issued by Vault-Tec.

In order to determine genetic promise, residents were subjected to an intense training regimen and carefully balanced diet in order to develop their physical traits and combat skills. Their aptitude was carefully determined using a battery of tests, including strenuous exercises, schooling in the art of war, and simulated combat in a specially constructed gun range. In order to maintain control over the test subjects, they were indoctrinated with fairy tales placing them as heroes-to-be, intended to save the surface world (Uptopland) and make it a happy and safe place for all. As can be seen in the directives, the reality was far cry from this ideal picture.

To begin with, testing would only cease in the effect of cardiac arrest or death. Residents over the age of 18 would be removed from the population by means of a "graduation" ritual, presented by the staff as a ceremonial rite of passage, sending them topside to aid the surface in reestablishing civilization. Outgoing subjects were removed one by one from the main living area and taken to the secure staff area, where their fate was determined by their rating. Ratings were an agreggate encompassing physical, intellectual and social prowess. Those with an Excellent or Superior score would be taken to the genomics lab for harvesting, euthanized by a fake vaccination. Their genetic material would be used in a new generation of test subjects, created by in vitro fertilization. Subjects with an Excellent or Superior rating in intelligence and high docility would be selected to replenish the ranks of the staff. Everyone else would be killed.

The replenishment of the science staff by relying on the resident pool was anticipated by the designers. Candidates meeting the criteria were selected at the discretion of the Overseer and the Chief Scientist. Those who did not agree were disposed along with inferior graduates. Those who did were separated from the general population in junior research positions, such as Observation deck or transcription duties, for a period of at least 15 years to prevent test subjects from recognizing them. They would undergo strict training in a variety of science disciplines, with many quickly developing a sense of maturity separating them from their peers. Of course, for security reasons, they were not informed of the precise nature of the experiments taking place in the Vault, with most still believing they were creating warriors to help protect the surface..

Collapse
The experiment continued for years, with new generations of soldiers being bred, tested, and harvested or disposed of. The children continued to believe they were being trained to become heroes, saving the people of the surface from monsters and bandits. They ran the combat simulation, learning firearms, shooting holographic targets, like lab rats in a giant maze. The scientists were slowly engineering their own demise. The last genetic harvest under Chief Scientist Gibson brought in exceptional genetic material. "Only" 74% of graduating test subjects were disqualified as inferior, with the remainder harvested and one recruited for the scientific staff. Many of vital organ initiatives paying dividends, meeting goals thought a decade off. The children were strong, fast, resistant to pain, with increasing resistance to cardiac arrest under duress, with the only problem highlighted by Gibson being aggression levels; The latest group of graduates suffered from a high incidence of psychological breakdown. The proposed solution included including stronger tranquilizers in the food supply, but it would be a cause of too little, too late.

Washington was the only science staff recruit from the graduation class, selected due to his good problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as his high susceptibility to suggestion. Although the Overseer viewed his attachment to the younger population as a problem, Gibson dismissed these concerns, assigning him to the observation deck and planning to keep him in the dark until he was ready to be accepted as a full researcher. For the time being, he would oversee aerobic tests and handle manual labor, like incinerating the remains of the inferior graduates. He did not notice the nature of the incinerated material. This negligence would also result in him failing to report the scheming of two of his fellow peers: James S. and Rohit L.

The two lab assistants were part of the test subject population, in charge of the gun range. Working on the range aroused their suspicions about the two started to prepare an insurrection. Washington's negligence allowed them to mess with the combat trial system allowed them to continue unhindered, slowly stockpiling ammunition from the range to create improvised explosives. Rohit's plan was to dispose of the Overseer and any helpers they might have. The discovery of laboratory notes lost by Supervisor Bissell only spurred them to intensify work on breaking out of the Vault. After recruiting the rest of the residents, they were almost ready for the attack, even if they had to face Superiors or robots on the way. Once they ensured the youngest kids were out of harm's way, coordinating with Alma L. to keep them occupied during the attack, they breached the secure door leading into the restricted section. The scientists could not fight back, with many killed at their work stations. The children were free, however, their fates are unknown.

Gunners
The fate of the Vault itself is, however. With the Gunners expanding their operations throughout the Commonwealth, Vault 75 became an obvious choice for a strongpoint once they located it. Renovating the systems and clearing much of the debris that remained in place, the garrison began to convert it into a proper military bunker. In 2287, they are in the process of clearing out the children's toys and other remnants of the experiment, while bringing in weapons and Gunner equipment to fortify the Vault.

Upper level
The entrance to the Vault does does not have an external control panel to open the Vault door from the outside, but it does not matter, as the Vault itself is locked open by the Gunners. The bulkhead area contains the standard processing room and a security station containing a terminal with the admissions procedure. The elevator connects to the lower level.

Lower level
The cluttered hallway outside of the elevator leads through the Screening area and security station to the atrium, with a door requiring the lab access card on the side. The atrium is occupied by the bulk of the Gunner garrison, with the lavatory, kitchen, locker room, and a dormitory on the ground floor. The upper level, accessible through a stairway on the opposite wall, contains two more dormitories and a large class room. The staff observation post on the side leads to the Overseer's office, but only with the access card. The reactor is a dead end, containing the Vault's primary power supply jury rigged in an excavation site that doubled as a playground.

Through the locker room lies the rest of the Vault, including the gun range and testing facilities. The Gunner commander in the firing range building holds the lab access card. The player can participate in the simulation, with the player character's name and time will be recorded on the combat simulation terminal.

With the lab access card, the player can open the doors leading to the secure section, containing the observation deck, laboratory, and staff facilities, as well as the overseer's office and the computer core. The office is occupied by a Gunner commander using the Overseer's quarters. The quarters contain the Vault's main steamer trunk.

Notable loot

 * The Vault 75 lab access card is found on a Gunner commander in the combat simulation facility.
 * The Vault 75 admin access card is found on a Gunner in the combat simulation facility observation deck.
 * The Science bobblehead is found on a desk at the end of a combat testing observation deck off the main atrium. The vault 75 lab access card is required to get through the door leading there.
 * An issue of Grognak the Barbarian is found on the bed within the Overseer's personal quarters, connected to their office.
 * A Vault-Tec lunchbox is beside the skeleton of a young member of security, on the lower level. Immediately after exiting the elevator left at the intersection behind the blue container.

Appearances
Vault 75 appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * There are three instances of wooden blocks arranged in the name "Gary." This is a reference to the Gary clones of Vault 108 in Fallout 3. The first is in the western residential room on the mezzanine floor. The second is under the open vault door behind some crates. The last is in a cabinet inside one of the children's dormitories.