Fallout 4’s Vault 81 is the only one in the Commonwealth that still has functional systems and living vault dwellers. When the player first finds it, they can either pass a speech check, or agree to provide three Fusion Cores, to gain entrance. Once inside, they’ll find a small, welcoming community (save for a few wary of outsiders) with residents who are happy to trade and converse with the Sole Survivor.
That said, this seemingly normal vault was actually the venue for what would have been unethical health experiments. After undertaking Fallout 4’s “Hole in the Wall” quest, the player will be directed to a hidden wing within Vault 81. The layout of that hidden area, as well as the terminal entries, reveal what Vault-Tec was planning for the vault’s inhabitants.
Vault-Tec’s Primary Goal for Vault 81
Vault 81 was built with two main sections — both sealed away from each other. One section was the living space, wherein its residents would live after the bombs fell. The other section, which is the hidden wing that the player eventually explores, is a research area. It contains state-of-the-art medical research apparatuses, enough biological and chemical supplies for generations of scientists, as well as the Contagions Vulnerability Robotic Infirmary Engineer bot, AKA Curie. It also had observation decks, which had one-way windows into certain areas of the living space, allowing scientists to observe the vault residents.
Vault-Tec’s plan was to hire scientists to conduct human experimentation on its vault residents. The scientists would make use of the vault’s research area and oversee experiments centered around human diseases and the development of antibodies. While initial tests would be done on petri dish samples and mole rats, the final stage would have diseases administered directly on the vault dwellers. According to the terminal entry containing Vault 81’s Mission Statement, the primary goal was to create a disease-resistant group of humans — a project that would entail generations of trial and error. What Vault-Tec intended to gain from such a project is unclear.
The residents of Vault 81 were unaware of Vault Tec’s intentions and simply believed the vault to be a safe shelter from the post-apocalyptic world. They would inhabit the living space of Vault 81 and know nothing about the adjacent research area. The only exception to this would be the Overseer, who was tasked by Vault-Tec to keep up communication with the scientists to ensure that their experimentation was going smoothly. However, the Overseer during the time of the experimentation wasn’t happy with the deception going on.
Overseer Olivette and the Scientists Next-Door
Overseer Olivette was appointed head of Vault 81 after Vault-Tec’s previous candidate fell ill. In her terminal entries, she details how she knew of Vault-Tec’s shady practices and resolved to blow the whistle should Vault 81’s experiments be unethical. When she was fully briefed on Vault 81’s mission, she was completely against what was to take place in the vault but realized that she couldn’t get help from the outside as the project had plenty of backers in the federal government.
Even so, Olivette was determined to stop her bosses from going through with unethical experimentation, so she resorted to other means to prevent this from happening. First, she sabotaged the vault’s phone list, removing the names of all the scientists who were to be sealed in the vault’s research facility. This prevented the bulk of the research staff from showing up on the day the vault was to be closed — except for three: Dr. Collins, Dr. Flint, and an assistant named Burrow.
Not wanting to blow her cover, Olivette pretended to know nothing about the lack of scientists in the research area and communicated with Collins as his team went through the phases of testing. Their petri dish and mole rat experiments reportedly went well, and despite the team’s small size, the project progressed fairly quickly. Olivette tried her best to delay things as much as possible, but ultimately had to find another way to stop the human experimentation.
Since the scientists had access to the nozzles that would spread the disease across the living space of Vault 81, Olivette had no choice but to sabotage all of them. Burrow noticed this immediately. When he messaged Olivette about it, she lied that she would have it checked then cut off communication between herself and the scientists. Unable to reach Olivette and with the nozzles busted, Collins and his team could no longer complete the project.
Each of the scientists later died, presumably of old age since the vault had more than enough food for them. All the while, Curie, the modified Miss Nanny robot, continued working on the research project, fully committed to finding out more about human diseases and their cure. It is revealed that Collins tinkered with her personality protocols and allowed Curie to develop her identity. This is why the Miss Nanny robot has a distinct accent and is eager to do things for the sake of science.
Vault 81 in Fallout 4
When the player enters Vault 81, the place is relatively normal. It seems the human experimentation phases were never carried out, and the Overseers following Olivette were never made aware of the secret research area. However, in “Hole in the Wall,” one of the vault residents is bitten by a mole rat that’s escaped from the hidden facility, and the player must explore the area in search of a cure. This is when they first meet Curie.
After clearing the place of mole rats (that can infect the player, resulting in a debuff) and discovering the secrets behind Vault 81, the player will come across makeshift coffins for the three scientists that were Curie’s companions and the modified Miss Nanny, herself. She then presents the player with the cure that the vault resident needs. After this, the player must decide between giving the cure away or keeping it for themself. Regardless of their decision, Curie will become available as a follower.
Vault-Tec is notorious for undertaking morally questionable experiments in its vaults, and Vault 81 is just one example of this. Still, it makes for an interesting questline and gives Curie some fascinating backstory.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
