Vault 112 is one of the vault series of fallout shelters developed by Vault-Tec. It's located in the southwest part of the Capital Wasteland, underneath Smith Casey's garage, west of Evergreen Mills and south of the Charnel House.
Background
Vault 112 was one of the last to be constructed. The construction started in November 2068, and finished in June 2074. It was intended for only 85 occupants, suspended in a virtual reality world for the indefinite duration of the vault's experiment. The vault was built to house and tend to the needs of its overseer, Dr. Stanislaus Braun, creator of the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. Within it, Braun installed a virtual reality simulator and cryogenics system, initially containing several simulated utopias, the last of which being the Tranquility Lane simulation. The system should have permitted a select few to live a 'perfect life' virtually, if not practically, forever.
What Vault 112's occupants didn't know was that once they entered the virtual reality pods, Braun would exercise complete control over the simulation; they had no means of leaving on their own. They became his playthings, completely at his mercy. Dr. Braun, after becoming bored of various simulated worlds, would proceed to virtually "kill" each one of them. Each time after killing them he would wipe their memory and resurrect them within the program.
Location
The entrance to Vault 112 is inside Smith Casey's garage, it has some mole rats and radroaches but nothing that can't be dealt with. After proceeding past the counter into the workshop there is a large hatch in the ground just to the left which can be opened by activating a switch on the wall beside it. Below is a short passage which leads up to the Vault 112 door. More mole rats are found down here.
Layout
Vault 112 houses an entrance area similar to all other vaults, which serves as the airlock and the only connection to the outside world. A single passage in the entryway leads down to the main hall. In it are twelve Tranquility loungers arranged around a big pillar, each connected to a terminal which monitors the respective conditions of the "subjects" inside the loungers. There is also another Tranquility lounger, found in the Overseer's office, located south of the main hall. The only medical unit of the vault is accessed east of the main hall (where the loungers are).
Since it can't be maintained by the human inhabitants as they're all in the Tranquility loungers, Vault 112 is instead maintained by a group of special caretaker robobrains. The robobrains are non-hostile (even if you attack them), and also lack combat inhibitors. When the player enters the vault, he or she is told that their arrival is "202.3 years behind schedule". Due to the indefinite duration of the Vault 112 experiment, the vault, quite sensibly, uses geothermal power exclusively. This is provided by a Sure Power geothermal unit and backed up by an X-Tra Sure Power geothermal unit. The geothermal turbine level cannot be accessed. A Think Machine 3600r mainframe is housed in the main hall. As well as performing the functions of a normal vault computer system, it functions as the simulation control computer, running the main simulation program and synchronizing all the different Tranquility loungers. It appears linked to several smaller computers, one handling each lounger's graphics processing and its occupant's medical status.
Because of it being maintained by robobrains, and being better hidden than many others, 112 is the only intact vault other than 101 in the Capital Wasteland. The outcome of this particular experiment is ambiguous. If Braun intended the simulator merely to satisfy his sadistic urges when he designed it, then it fulfilled its purpose completely. If, on the other hand, he sincerely intended to create a virtual haven for the residents to live eternally, the fact that his godlike position subsequently drove him insane and made the other residents' existence an eternal hell would mean that the experiment was a failure. By the latter standard, it is arguably one of the ghastliest, abject failures of all the vaults.
Notable loot
- Overseer's room password in the equipment room.
Notes
- Vault 112 is the only vault in Fallout 3 which is completely unaffected by radiation or hostile mutated creatures.
- Vault 112 is the only vault in Fallout 3 that has robobrains.
- Vault 112 jumpsuits can only be obtained via the robobrain that you will encounter and by picking them (two outfits) up in a room accessible from the catwalk above the main floor (activate the small globe to turn the light on to see them), although this is pointless because the player can drop their Vault 112 jumpsuit and talk to the robobrain again to get another Vault 112 jumpsuit, an unlimited number of times.
- It is easily possible to stumble on Smith Casey's Garage and subsequently find Vault 112 long before the game has indicated to go there as part of Scientific Pursuits; in fact, the player can find it as early as just after finishing Escape!, subsequently skipping Following in His Footsteps and Galaxy News Radio entirely, similar to the possibilities in previous games. If the player walks completely into the vault and triggers the initial dialogue with the robobrain about how they are 202.3 years late for their entrance into the vault, the game will automatically begin Scientific Pursuits whether the player wants to or not. Dialogue from this point forward will reflect the new position in the plot.
- It is possible to lock oneself inside Dr. Braun's office.
- Only ten of the thirteen Tranquility loungers in the main hall are actually in use by official inhabitants. One is broken down, while another is used by the Lone Wanderer to enter the simulation. The final Tranquility lounger is used by the Lone Wanderer's dad, assumed to be an extra Tranquility lounger when the vault was constructed, to enter the simulation.
- The lounger monitors in the main hall can be activated. Some of them give information on the subjects, e.g. Old Lady Dithers shows "inconsistent readings" and "anomalies". In fact she is the only vault resident who has somehow managed to retain, despite Braun's constant killing and mind wipes, the knowledge that she's really in a simulation.
- Attacking the robobrains will not make them hostile, however you will lose Karma if you kill them. Killing one will cause the other two to become unconscious.
- Due to the vault's one time use, it can be used as extra storage space, or another home, to the Lone Wanderer. Safety of items stored here has been confirmed.
- The map in the Citadel which shows all DC area vaults (and is based on Vault-Tec's own records) doesn't show Vault 112. Likewise, the vault listing in Vault-Tec's own mainframe at the Vault-Tec headquarters does not mark it on your map. This could happen because Vault 112 was sealed two years early due to Braun's sadistic desires or also because the Vault could not accommodate any other dwellers.
- In one of Doctor Pinkerton's journals in his terminal it says that he stole a memory chip from this vault.
- Though the robobrains insist they will only allow someone to sit in the Tranquility lounger if they are wearing a Vault 112 jumpsuit, when your father comes to speak to you in Vault 112, he is still wearing his own Vault 101 suit.
- After completing the quest, and when your father has left, the monitor in front of the Tranquility lounger he occupied still displays his information.
- If you run through the fail safe quickly, you can catch Dogmeat still in the vault hallways before he goes back to Vault 101, if you told him to wait there for you.
- Followers are sometimes in a dark corner over by James' lounger and they will need to be told to stop waiting.
- This is one of the Vaults which are still active.
- Jericho is prone to glitch in this Vault; he will stay in exactly the same location no matter how many times you tell him to follow and will only follow you after you reload a save.
- Only James and Dr. Braun are animated with small head movements to simulate breathing. All others found in Tranquility Loungers are static as, shaved adult generic mannequins, only distinguished by gender.
- James is the only one among all others found in a Tranquility lounger with his eyes open and/or blinking.
- It is stated that this vault can house 85 occupants; however there are only 13 loungers, three of which were not occupied before James' arrival.
- This vault is one of the few known that is still inhabited by its original occupants. Other vaults include Vault 101, Vault 3 before it was taken over by the Fiends in Fallout: New Vegas, and Vault 21.
- In Fallout: New Vegas, Tranquility loungers can be seen at Hidden Valley and Nellis Air Force Base.
Appearances
Vault 112 appears only in Fallout 3.
Bugs
Before entering the Vault it is recommended to instruct your followers to wait inside Smith Casey's Garage and save the game, because it's possible that one (or more) of the followers (e.g. Charon) may disappear after leaving Vault 112 or the Tranquility Lane simulation. If the companions enter the Vault with the Lone Wanderer, they may need to be re-hired at their re-hire location but will always return to where they go when you fire them, for example Charon will go back to Underworld where you hired him, RL-3 will go to Canterbury Commons instead of the RobCo facility. It may take a long time for them to reappear. Going to The Pitt will make Charon automatically appear at the Ninth Circle. [verified]- When walking through Vault 112, screens may become monochrome purple. Upon loading a saved game in this state, the purple coloring will remain. [verified]
Gallery
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