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ARCHIMEDES is an energy weapon created by Poseidon Energy, appearing at HELIOS One in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[]

Established before the Great War as a next generation solar power plant, hailed as the Dawn of a Golden Age, HELIOS One was more than just a renewable source of energy. It doubled as a research and development facility for the U.S. Army's top secret energy weapons, including ARCHIMEDES and ARCHIMEDES II. The military side of affairs was handled by Brig. Gen. Scott Lowe, who oversaw the testing of the weapon on site.[1]

During testing, several minor systems were overloaded despite all precautions taken, and the entire plant shut down for two and a half minutes. Nearby facilities also experienced system-frying power fluctuations at the time of the test, including the Black Mountain communications array and the military bunkers at Hidden Valley.[2][3]

When the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel occupied HELIOS One, Elder Elijah attempted to reactivate ARCHIMEDES and use it to defend the facility from the NCR forces during Operation: Sunburst. However, he was unsuccessful, only getting as far as reactivating the security systems to prevent the Republic from continuing his work before disappearing entirely. Using microwave radiation to transfer energy from the solar plant to a remote receiver and convert it back into a usable form.[4]

Notes[]

  • The player character can activate the ARCHIMEDES plant defense system from HELIOS One's observation deck at any time upon accessing the solar collection tower. The test fire will wipe out NCR forces outside, resulting in a severe reputation drop with the Republic (though no Karma loss).
  • If Arcade Gannon is present, he will immediately leave one's party and attack, in a desperate attempt to deactivate the system. If the system is activated during That Lucky Old Sun, the Legion will subsequently occupy the plant.
  • Sending power across the Mojave Wasteland at emergency power levels will disable the plant defense system.

Warnings[]

Reflector warning
Warning 1
Warning 2
Countdown warning
Countdown concluded

Notes[]

  • ARCHIMEDES can be activated after selecting any of the first four power options from the HELIOS One mainframe terminal (any of them but the "Full Region, Emergency Power Level" option).
  • ARCHIMEDES can be activated (once) at any time after HELIOS One comes back online unless as mentioned above the player character has selected "Full Region, Emergency Power Level".
    • If activated after the quest has been completed, Caesar's Legion will not take over HELIOS One even if all NCR soldiers are dead.
    • This will not activate Euclid's C-Finder, which requires diverting power to ARCHIMEDES II during That Lucky Old Sun.

Behind the scenes[]

Archimedes is a reference to the real world Archimedes, a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer in Ancient Greece. He devised the "Archimedes heat ray" which used mirrors to focus sunlight onto approaching enemy ships, causing them to catch fire.

References[]

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