Camp Liberty communists

Camp Liberty communists (referred to in files as summer camp Communists) are a revolutionary group of communists borne out of a pre-War DIA psychological operation to create communist sleeper agents and demonstrate the need for increased funding from the government. The plan backfired, as the conditioning remained after the Great War, leading to the emergence of a radical faction in Appalachia's Skyline Valley.

Background[]

The communists were originally innocent American children, chosen by the DIA to demonstrate the plausibility of China creating sleeper agents out of underage Americans in a bid to counteract such an operation (and gain additional funding). Codenamed Operation Sleeping Giant, the program used children from the greater Washington D.C. area and conditioning them at the remote Camp Liberty, by a combination of augmented films to render them open to suggestion and then properly instructed by staff (a combination of government actors and genuine communist-leaning youth from Appalachia). The Scouts were conditioned to present a cover story before leaving the Camp, to keep their parents and general population unaware of what the DIA was doing. The phrase "The Sleeping Giant Awakes to find an unhappy world" accompanied by two bleeps^[1] could be used to reactivate the Scouts, turning them into hardline communists - made more resilient by programming them to ignore contradictory information and any evidence they may have been brainwashed. The 2076-2077 program would include deprogramming them, but only if additional funding was provided by the DIA.^[2]

This backfired after the Great War erupted, stranding a camping trip of Pioneer Scouts at the camp on October 23. The survival skills training course was likely a cover-up presented to parents, as DIA agents and camp counselors were present on location.^[3] The Scouts witnessed the nuclear exchange on the way in, occurring in the distance. The DIA agents and camp staff met them at the gates, with the former promptly leaving after they lost radio contact with the agency. The counselors were left in charge and followed procedure: They played the subliminal messaging tape to the new arrivals, who joined the ranks of other campers who were at the camp for several weeks.^[4]

The situation resulted in the emergence of a genuine commune. The Scouts quickly realized learned from the DIA agents' notes and other leftover materials that they were victims of a DIA psy-op.^[2] Learning the activation phrase proved to be the key to their survival, as they set up a radio tower and attempted to broadcast it across the region, in a bid to reactivate Scouts and bring them into Camp Liberty as comrades, to rejoin the Cause. While they have repeated the attempt numerous times - in 2082, 2087, 2090, 2093, 2100 - it failed, as the Scorched Plague swept over Appalachia. Their isolation allowed the Camp Liberty communists to escape its ravages, launching an expansion campaign once humans started to return after its containment in 2103. The complete broadcast bolstered their numbers, to the point that further broadcasts were scheduled down the line in 2110, 2120, and 2127.^[5]

To further bolster their numbers, the council of Camp Liberty has decided to start capturing "capitalist Americans" and subject them to the same procedure the DIA exposed them to. Any receptive ones would join the ranks as brothers and sisters, others would be terminated.^[6] This yielded new opportunities,^[7] though most have been wiped out by the storm unleashed by Hugo Stolz. It wrought havoc on the camp, destroying much of its fortifications and severely damaging its bunkhouse and other buildings. As a result, the council decided to establish a temporary housing area in the wild camping zone, while suspending other operations while they rebuilt the camp, improved its resilience, and monitored the storm's developments.^[8]

One of these plans included an attack on the nearby lookout tower, to eliminate a group of super mutants, which was approved by the council before the Storm.^[9] The attack ultimately failed, as despite being launched at night and dealing heavy losses to the super mutants, the attacking force was unable to overwhelm the enemy and was either killed or captured and eaten.^[10][11] The other was a scouting expedition to the Brown House at Rapidan Camp, in search of intel and tech.^[12]

Organization[]

Camp Liberty communists operate under the principles of communism, led by a council, which makes collective decisions as to the operations undertaken by the group or strategic objectives.^[6] Soldiers are organized into Patrol Group units, which may be provided with collective goals to achieve, such as "recruitment drives": Capturing and bringing three to five recruits back to camp per week.^[13] Council members may pitch potential operations to the council, which are then voted on and approved or denies.^[9]

They may also be assigned to assault operations, though the council also leaves room for additional volunteers to bolster their fighting ability and increase chances of success. Volunteers are not coerced, simply asked to come to the mess hall converted into a command center.^[14]

Outside of expansions, Camp Liberty communists participate in writing essays to gain Proletariat badges (replacing the Pioneer Scout badges),^[15] and have regular pamphlet reading sessions after guard duty.^[16]

Ideology[]

After over a quarter of a century, all of the original Scouts are grown adults, who follow the communist Cause with a single-minded dedication, believing in an imminent popular revolution.^[17][18] Their original upbringing is seen as full of lies,^[19] supposed to turn them into obedient slaves deprived of free will.^[20] Capitalists - anyone outside their ranks - are seen as an ever-present threat,^[21] demanding constant vigilance.^[22][23][24]

The original DIA programming instilling a hatred of capitalism^[25] has been bolstered by their own painful experiences: The disenfranchisement wrought by automation, which culminated in the automation riots, the greed and jingoism of the US government that led to the Sino-American War and eventually the Great War that consumed their families, all for the enrichment of a capitalist elite that rode out the destruction in the safety and comfort of Vaults. The promise of building a communist utopia out of the ashes of the devastation drove them on, enduring 12-hour shifts^[7] ready to die for the Cause.^[26]

As such, the communists are willing to imprison, torture, and kill anyone who could threaten this project.^[7] Anyone showing particular resistance could expect a transfer to "the Island" to be eaten by the bear trapped there or "the Range" for target practice.^[27] The Island in particular is considered an unpleasant destination.^[28][29][30]

Outside relations[]

Due to their programming and years of experience, the communists are generally hostile to other factions. This also makes them equal opportunity predators of the south-eastern Skyline Valley, as they capture raiders, settlers, Blue Ridge caravaneers, and generic wastelanders without regard for their origin.^[31] Their original plans of expansion first assumed taking Skyline Valley,^[32][33] with further goals set across West Virginia: Lewisburg as a priority, followed by The Whitespring Resort and the National Isolated Radio Array. Targets of opportunity included the Rockhound, Kanawha Nuka-Cola plant, Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06, Camp Adams, Camp McClintock, and Foundation, with tentative plans to explore Morgantown.^[34]

Technology[]

The communists have established a self-sustaining commune, including agriculture and robust fortifications. While they do use standard communist militant uniforms, their weapons are a motley mix of conventional firearms and handmade rifles, and there's little to no standardization in terms of headwear or armor, though all are customized with the traditional red and gold and Chinese slogans. Of note is the fact that at least one suit of power armor was recovered, for use by their commander.^[35]

The communists have also experimented with reprogramming captured Liberator bots.^[36]

Interactions with the player character[]

Although a substantial amount of backstory exists, Camp Liberty communists remain purely combat encounters centralized in the southeastern Skyline Valley.

Behind the scenes[]

• The communists went through several iterations, as evidenced by the differences in the PTS terminal entries and ones that were released live.

• Operation Sleeping Giant bears similarity to CIA's long-running, illegal MKUltra human experiments, as well as numerous fictional portrayals of brainwashing, such as the 1959 The Manchurian Candidate. Despite the popularity of the plot device, including within the Fallout series itself, brainwashing remains a theoretical concept; MKUltra and other projects produced no operational subjects, and the only successes of brainwashing remain confined to fiction.
• Even within the context of Sleeping Giant, it's difficult to separate conditioning from independent conclusions. Ben's diary entries include an entry in 2103 that describe his belief in communism not using terms stereotypically associated with the ideology, but by describing real, material problems with the pre-War United States, its foreign policy and ultimately the Great War.

Appearances[]

Camp Liberty communists appear in Fallout 76.

References[]