Vault 112 inFallout 3is one of the few Vault-Tec facilities that are still active in the game’s post-apocalyptic wasteland. That said, its residents aren’t exactly “living” as they normally would. This is because of Vault-Tec’s intended experiments on the residents of Vault 112.
Vault 112 can be accessed through aFallout 3location labeled Smith Casey’s Garage. It’s found southeast of Little Lamplight and west of Evergreen Mills. Though the garage may seem normal at first, flipping a switch will reveal a staircase descending into the ground.
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Vault 112’s Virtual Reality Program
According to information fromFallout3,Vault-Tec began construction on Vault 112in 2068 and finished in 2074. It was built to house 85 occupants for an indefinite amount of time. Interestingly enough, only one administrator was assigned to the entire vault — Overseer Stanislaus Braun. A skilled scientist, Braun was known for single-handedly developing the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.). After which, he started dabbling in virtual reality programs.
Braun was also the Director of Vault-Tec’s Societal Preservation Program. Thus, he had free reign to design experiments for individual vaults, likely includingthe known vaults inFallout 3. It was his interest in virtual reality was ultimately what spurred the creation of Vault 112. The vault was outfitted with geothermal energy sources, caretaker robots, and special stasis pods. The pods would be able to sustain the residents of Vault 112 while also tracking their stress levels and vital signs.
Meanwhile, Braun worked on multiple simulations — virtual utopias where the vault residents could forever live in tranquility. Bythe time the Great War began, he had plenty to test. When the selected residents ofFallout 3’s Vault 112 headed into their new home, they probably had no idea that they’d be suspended in virtual reality for over 200 years.
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Dr. Stanislaus Braun’s God Complex in Fallout 3
At first, Braun followed what the experiment intended. He put up simulated worlds that gave the residents their perfect lives — ones far detached fromwhat players experienced inFallout 3. The pods and the overall system were built in such a way so that Braun had complete control over everything, so he could alter the simulation and make it the best possible world for Vault 112’s inhabitants.
However, this also meant they couldn’t leave, even if they wanted to, which players see inFallout 3. When Braun grew bored of the simulated utopias, he started killing off each of the vault residents. Of course, they weren’t actually “dead” in real life because Braun could simply resurrect them, while also wiping their memory to ensure thatnone of them remembered Braun’s villainous actions.
Because of this, many of the inhabitants had no idea that they were living in one simulation after another. Braun took advantage of their cluelessness, murdering the vault residents over and over again. In his personalterminal entries inFallout 3, he writes about simulations like “Toucan Lagoon,” where he sees vault residents being devoured by sharks. There’s also “Slalom Chalet,” an icy land similar to the Swiss Alps. In the entry, Braun eagerly accounts how a vault resident slipped off some icy stairs and impaled himself on a wrought-iron fence.
Eventually, Braun settled on the “Tranquility Lane” simulation, which is what the player finds themselves induring the events ofFallout 3. Though American in style, Braun found that the place reminded him of Kronach, his hometown. Plus, the vault residents naturally settled into the simulation, which made ruining things for them all the more satisfying for him. Though at this point, someone had caught on to what Braun was doing.
Old Lady Dithers is one of the vault residents trapped in Braun’s simulation. Sometime during the prolonged simulation, she somehow became aware of what Braun was doing. She may have tried to alert the other residents, but they likely only dismissed her as they still act as if they’re living normal lives inFallout 3. It’s also worth noting that the terminal tracking her current status lists that there’s an anomaly in her vitals and that her stress level is extremely high.
Activating the Failsafe and Escaping Tranquility Lane
When the player arrives in Vault 112 andenters the Matrix-esque simulationto find their father, they must first deal with Braun. The man has taken the form of a little girl named Betty and demands that the player commit heinous acts for him in order to have their questions answered. Doing what Braun says will result in multiple penalties to the player’s karma, though it will also get him to reveal where theFallout 3protagonist’s father is as well as a way out. He and the rest of the vault residents will remain in the simulation.
Alternatively, refusing to do what Braun asks and instead talking to Old Lady Dithers will open another option for the player. She’ll talk about afailsafe in the abandoned housebut express that no one’s brave enough to venture in it. Should the player go there, they’ll have to solve a puzzle, which will then reveal the hidden terminal containing the failsafe protocol. The puzzle simply involves repeating a tune that Brain whistles every now and then. Suffice to say, it’s a ludicrously easy way to access the secret terminal.
This is why it’s so easy to hijack Vault 112’s entire experiment. Anyone could have entered the simulation, found the failsafe, and initiated it. This effectively robs Braun of his test subjects and leaves the interloper to do what they please with the simulation — perhaps by rewiring the entire system from the outside. Braun wouldn’t be able to do anything as he’s trapped himself in the simulated world.
Even then, the interloper wouldn’t need to enter the simulation to foil Braun’s plans. They would simply have to find a way to cut off the facility’s power geothermal sources. Theonly reason whyFallout 3’s Lone Wandererdoesn’t do this is because they want to save their dad. Thus, Vault 112’s premise may be interesting, but it’s laughably easy to interfere with, even in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Fallout 3is available now on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
