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Bio med gel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A jar of bio gel used in the biomedical field.
”— Fallout 2 descriptionBio med gel, or biogel, was designed to enhance the regeneration processes of organic tissue, and was used in the biomedical field as a healing agent before the Great War.
Background[]
Many varieties of cyborganic life in the Fallout world utilize organic brains that act as organic CPUs, in order to achieve sentience, such as seen within Robobrains, humanoid brain bots, think tanks, and even within cyberdogs. Entities that utilize this form of organic intelligence, generally use bio med gel as part of their internal repair and maintenance systems. The brains are held inside a container located where the skull or head should be, and are suspended in pressurized bio med gel. Since organic brains are biological organisms and cannot be repaired mechanically, these special gel-filled reservoirs are used in order to repair tissue damage, as well as being used for maintaining mental functionality for long periods of time. Bio med gel can come in many colors, such as seen in yellow, blue, violet, green, white, red, and cyan,[1] although it is not known whether this affects anything in terms of functionality, or if the colors are purely aesthetic. Before the war it was evidently quite expensive, costing approximately $1000 per pint[2], although it's unclear how much of the price was due to inflation.
Bio med gel has alternative medical capabilities outside of its use for transplanted organic brains, as bio gel can also be used to regenerate injuries to damaged limbs and organs, as well as preserve them for an unknown amount of time. This was seen with General Clifton's eye, which had been regenerated perfectly, and was able to bypass a retinal scanner. One hundred and sixty four years after it's removal for treatment. An even better example of the bio med gel's longevity was on Private First Class Dobbs. Killed in battle he was taken to Sierra Army Depot VI and submerged in this gel in order to experiment with its regeneration effects on humans. Not only did it fully heal his injuries, it brought him back to life, then the gel acted as a form of cryonic stasis. However, exposure to bio med gel for too long a period, can cause an adverse effect known as post-cryonic syndrome. Which causes patients to completely dissolve once removed from their stasis. Therefore it is safe to postulate that bio med gel is possible of keeping patients alive indefinitely. A final miracle of the bio med gel is that, with proper manipulation of the composition of the gel, one can effectively project mental images and thoughts to other minds within limited range, and could be applied to battlefield and criminal interrogation operations, though the manipulation and suspension caused psychological abnormalities within those the gel was used upon.[3]
However, despite the miraculous preservation affects of bio med gel, it can only keep tissue preserved for so long before degradation of some sort occurs.[4] This can be observed with many Robobrains that have gone haywire without having their brain CPUs replaced. This is also directly observable in Nothing But a Hound Dog, where Rex's, a cyberdog companion, brain has begun to degenerate and needs help finding a replacement. If a brain replacement is not found in time for a brain-assisted robot, the brain eventually dies ceasing the function of the machine.[5]
Characteristics[]
In Fallout 2, bio med gel comes in sealed jars, filled three-quarters the way, with a label printed on the side indicating its contents.
Locations[]
Sierra Army Depot: Found in the infirmary on the entrance level, and next to the unfinished robobrain chassis.
Behind the scenes[]
Bio med gel was first mentioned in Fallout 2 but has been seen in every game since Fallout 1, keeping brain bots and other similar entities that use organic parts from dying.
References
- ↑ Think tank
- ↑ RB-2851 terminals#Div03-BE-0112, "Too bad we can't share with the other departments, but the bio-gel costs like a thousand bucks a pint, and I don't think Ciroletti would appreciate us drinking down some of her budget."
- ↑ St. Aubin Medical Facility terminals#Core Research Progress Notes
- ↑ The Courier: "Something's wrong with my cyber-dog. I was told to come to you."
Henry: "It's neural degradation. Bio med gel can only preserve a living brain for so long, so you'll need to find a replacement. I haven't left Jacobstown in years, but there was one woman in Novac... Gibson? I remember her living with a pack of hounds. Aside from her, I know that the Fiends and Caesar's Legion fight alongside dogs. There could be viable specimens among them, if you can get to them."
(Henry's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout: New Vegas endings#Slide 19: Rex, Ending 2: "Having never received a replacement brain, Rex finally succumbed to old age, abruptly shutting down forever one quiet morning. After two centuries of life and decades of service to humanity, Rex collapses and dies."