Big MT

	This page is about the location as it appears in the Old World Blues add-on. For the location that would have appeared in Van Buren, see Tibbets Prison. For the similarly named pre-War company, see Big MT (company).

The Big MT Research Facility,^{[2][Non-game 1]} formally known as Big Mountain Research and Development Center,^{[Non-game 2]} and alternatively known as Big MT or the Big Empty, is a pre-War defense contractor, industrial site and research center in the former American Southwest.^[3] It serves as the setting for the the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues and is mentioned in the Fallout TV series.

Background[]

Origins[]

A privately owned facility, the Big MT Research and Development Center was originally built inside a cave system running underneath a large mountain peak, the source of its same.^[4] The goal of the facility was to build the future of mankind and create the technology of tomorrow without restraint, moral or technical. It welcomed some of the most gifted pre-War scientists, who plumbed the depths of many experimental technological fields.^[5] The research conducted within was as groundbreaking as it was unethical, with many experiments conducted in part on living humans (both American volunteers and Chinese-American detainees suspected as Communist spies). Big MT even included a concentration camp of its very own, safeguarded by lucrative contracts with the US Army.^[6] However, due to budget cuts in the later years of its operation, Big MT had to improvise alternate means of funding and research. The executives began to strike deals with third parties, exchanging experimental technology for money and other privileges. It got to the point that they even began secretly assassinating non-military targets (Project Hare) and exhuming buried US citizens (Project Burke) to procure research subjects.^[7]

Due to a failed experiment conducted sometime prior to the Great War by the future Doctor Klein in the Y-0 research center, the "Big Mountain" above the center was completely vaporized, leaving behind a giant crater and exposing the facility to the open air.^[8] Despite this catastrophe, the researchers were not fazed and the efforts in pushing the boundaries of science continued unabated. Advantages were seen in the facility's exposure, as the land revealed by the explosion was adapted for scientific purposes: new facilities were established, both above- and below-ground, including an artillery battery and a test town for experimenting with live ordinance.

In its heyday, the facility was under the guidance of the six-member executive team, the future 0, 8, Borous, Dala, Mobius, headed by the administrator, Klein (their original human names are unknown^[9]) known together as the Think Tank. Under their direction, the facility gave birth to new technologies, such as the Saturnite alloy, next-generation hazmat suits, new models of cyberdogs, advanced stealth suits, holograms, and many more. At the same time, many new horrors were also born in the laboratories of Big MT: cazadores, night stalkers, mutagenic plants, ambulatory corpses, toxins of unnatural lethality, and other fearsome creations. Both types of output were sold to private parties in exchange for certain favors: Frederick Sinclair obtained various experimental technologies (including prototype matter conversion machines^[10]) in return for allowing the scientists to use the Sierra Madre and its inhabitants as proving grounds for their experiments,^[11] a decision that backfired catastrophically when the experimental technologies turned on the casino inhabitants, dooming them and leading to the Madre's post-War reputation as a poisonous deathtrap. Such an event was not unprecedented either, as the town of Hopeville was wiped off the map by a disastrous meteorological experiment in another such exchange.

Despite their lofty goals of spearheading humanity's future prospects, the scientists' cooperation wasn't entirely frictionless. During one particularly heated dispute with Doctor Mobius, Doctor Klein removed and threw the Sink's personality chips off the dome's balcony as an insult to Mobius' work on them. In the aftermath, the Big MT staff retrieved the various holotape chips and stored them in existing facilities, with the holotape for the SCIU itself ending up back in the future Klein's hands.

Post-War[]

Though the nuclear fires of the Great War figuratively wiped the slate clean for most of America, it did not stop the research efforts at Big MT; it merely put them on a different rail. According to his colleagues, Mobius himself had carried out predictive studies on post-holocaust economic systems and had accurately estimated the bottle cap's future value as currency.^[12] As the years passed, however, a new project was also started, with the purpose of preserving the Big MT "Think Tank" executives and their unmatched geniuses by transforming them into a special type of robot named after their group, allowing them to continue their work at Big MT indefinitely. With no more government regulations or societally enforced morals to stand in the way, their research continued, becoming more sinister and debauched with time.

Eventually, the remaining human staff dispersed into the surrounding wasteland or were killed off by increasingly out-of-control experiments; such was the results when the facility's populations of cazadores and night stalkers escaped and began spreading out and procreating in the wasteland, becoming hostile threats to the inhabitants. Only the six executives remained in the crater of Big MT. But even they had their breaking points.

Mobius' betrayal[]

Eventually, Doctor Mobius, tired of the Think Tank's endless and horrible experimentation and deciding that that "the world isn't ready for that kind of too-far-thing-taking," or believing his fellow scientists had finally lost what remained of their humanity, worked with Borous to erect a series of pylons emanating radar-guided repulsion fields around the perimeter of Big MT to prevent the disembodied brains from escaping into the wasteland, and destroying what little remained of humanity with his colleagues' planned experimentation on a new "fertile testing ground," while giving the other think tanks the cover story that it was instead meant to protect them from the dangers of the world outside.^[13][14]

After another severe dispute with Klein, Mobius took drastic steps and hacked his colleagues' robotic shells, scrambling much of their memories and causing them to forget large portions of their personalities along with substituting their names with a new one, serving to reinforce the recursion loop already programmed into the think tank shells. But that was not enough to stop them completely, so Mobius went further in reprogramming their chronometers, geometers and cartography programs, essentially erasing their sense of time and history and knowledge of a world outside of Big MT. He also forged several facts to focus the Think Tank's attention on himself: that his robo-scorpions consume intelligence from brains (creating the fear to go outside the central Big MT's dome), that he was exiled for crimes too heinous to remain in recorded memory, and a belief that Big MT is all that remains of the world, that nothing exists outside. In the end, his tampering created mangled, disjointed versions of his former colleagues. Disgusted by his actions against his friends, however for the greater good they were, Mobius erased some parts of his own memory to ease his conscience (though not permanently, as certain phrases could reawaken the memories) though this unwittingly included the knowledge of his pre-War creation, the robo-scorpion.^[15]

Soon after, Mobius removed himself to the X-42 robo-warfare facility (renamed the "Forbidden Zone"), where he began to "re-create" the robo-scorpion, previously based on common emperor scorpions, now inspired by the mutated radscorpions wandering into Big MT. His new creation retained all features of the pre-War model: a tail-mounted energy bolt blaster, eyes systems allowing him to see through them, remote control and public address systems allowing him to monitor the Big MT. Fearing that the radar fence would not be sufficient to hold the mad scientists inside the crater, he set up a looping, threatening message (the result of taking Psycho^[16]) to be broadcasted to the Think Tank in the Dome with the aim of instilling fear and prompting them to focus on retrieving technologies that would allow them to depose Mobius. When Big MT finally fell silent, it became the arena of an increasingly demented, insane struggle between Doctor Mobius and the Think Tank. The latter remained inside the dome, ever fearful of their self-appointed warden and his brain-draining scorpions.^[17][18]

Big MT it has had few visitors since the nuclear apocalypse, with the sheer size of the crater serving as its best camouflage; most wastelanders assume the ragged edges to be remnants of a massive nuclear explosion and avoided it altogether. The unfortunate few who wandered in disappeared forever, apprehended by robots and lobotomized by the Think Tank to act as organic automata, maintaining the decaying facility or protecting it against scavengers.

Over the years, it became known in the wasteland as the "Big Empty," a place where nothing exists. Its size and aura of mystery blocked the establishment of trade routes and reliable supply caravans between the Boneyard and New Vegas, a fact that ultimately proved crucial to the survival of Caesar's Legion immediately following their loss to the New California Republic at the First Battle of Hoover Dam as the NCR was unable to reinforce its army quickly enough.^[19]

The Visitors[]

Even though the facility's security was almost perfect, by 2281, three people have been able to elude the think tanks and survive the horrors intended for them in Big MT: Father Elijah, Ulysses and Christine Royce.

Elijah came to the Big Empty in search of weapons that would help him take revenge on the NCR after their devastating offensive against the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Scouring the facility for technologies that would be of use to him in his endeavor, it was in the Big Empty that Elijah met Ulysses who told him about the Sierra Madre and the Old-World riches it contained. With a new goal in mind, Elijah started gathering equipment that would allow him to crack the casino. The most important and sinister of these were the detainment collars used on prisoners at Little Yangtze, with which he used on the ghoulified prisoners for test subjects during his stay.^[20] His time in Big MT also led to him creating the first prototype of the holorifle,^[21] which he later perfected using the hologram technology at the Sierra Madre.^[22]

Ulysses on the other hand came to Big MT by accident, having been tracking the unusual weather patterns around the crater that he recognized as being man-made, similar to the violent storms of the Divide.^[23] Christine herself only entered the Big Empty to pursue Elijah as the Circle of Steel wanted him eliminated for his crimes against the Brotherhood.

Of the three, Christine was the only one who did not escape Big MT unscathed. After a failed attempt to assassinate Elijah at Little Yangtze, during which she was caught off-guard by the living-bomb prisoners sent against her, Christine was captured by robots and brought to the Y-17 medical facility where she was subjected to experiments by the Mister Orderly and Y-17 trauma override harnesses and including a Mark IX Auto-Doc. These experiments (including electroshock therapy) permanently damaged her brain, destroying her ability to read and write fluently (though she retained her higher faculties and the ability to do complex math).^[24] Sometime after her capture, she was liberated from her cell in the medical facility by Ulysses, who destroyed most of the robots and nursed her back to health in his camp. During her recovery, the two discussed their philosophies and Ulysses shared his desire to go into the Dome and speak with the Think Tank who lord over Big MT.

At some point after his encounter with Ulysses, Elijah himself entered the Dome and spoke with the Think Tank. His probing questions began influencing the Think Tank doctors to question their ideas regarding the world outside of the crater, doubts arising that their world wasn't as small as they had perceived and bringing new ideas to their minds. When they attempted to capture Elijah, he used his expert technical skills to repel them and escape to Little Yangtze. Later, when attempting to access their mainframe, Elijah attacked the robots directly, in particular dealing severe damage to Doctor 8's voicebox (leaving him stuck speaking through RobCo termilink broadcasts) and using Doctor 0's processing power to take control of the train systems to make his escape from Big MT and begin his search for the Sierra Madre.^[25][26]

Ulysses later came to the Dome too and spoke with the scientists, particularly Dr. Klein, who remembered him as "a melancholy fellow who asked a lot about history" and had "an interesting name.". When he wasn't getting the answers he sought, Ulysses asked them the question "Who are you, that do not know your history?" The combination of his question and the symbol of the Old-World flag on his jacket allowed the Think Tank to eventually remember their past, the former nation of America and the world beyond Big MT, a world with ideas and possibilities for experimentation. Despite the implications, Doctor Klein regarded the question as too dangerous and, whether by his own directive or the influence of Mobius, the Think Tank's memory of the question was erased. However, this had the side effect of preventing them from mind-wiping Ulysses, who retained the knowledge they had given him and returned to his camp to bid farewell to Christine, telling her about Elijah's hunt for the Sierra Madre before departing himself.^[27][28]

Sometime after the three visitors escaped the crater one by one, the Think Tank took measures to prevent an incursion like it again and installed a pacification field in the Think Tank central area, preventing anyone without a brain to have hostile impulses.^[29] Afterward, to see if there really was something outside of Big MT, they sent a satellite prototype with a unique charge of teleportation outside of Big MT which crashed in the Mojave Drive-in in the Mojave Wasteland. It emitted a signal in the form of a jazz theme named mysterious broadcast that led to it, ultimately catching the attention of the Courier who followed its signal and was brought to Big MT in 2281.^[30]

Layout[]

Big MT's landscape is primarily dominated by the central dome named the Think Tank, which is connected to outlying facilities by numerous walkways, pipes, and conduits.

To the north lies the rail line that passes into Big MT via the Big MT north tunnel before splitting into two lines that run toward the east and west tunnels. Near the north tunnel is the X-42 robo-warfare facility, an important facility even with a dome; later known as the "Forbidden Zone," the lair of Dr. Mobius. Other notable facilities include the Signal Hills transmitter, the Saturnite alloy research facility, the X-22 botanical garden, and the X-17 meteorological station. Just north of the western train tunnel is the Little Yangtze concentration camp and the construction site.

To the east, along the eastern rail spur, lie several notable facilities, including the X-8 research center, the X-7b "Boom Town" target zone, the Securitron de-construction plant, the hazmat testing ground, and the waste disintegration platform.

The western portion of the crater is dominated by the X-66 Hexcrete archipelago, a collection of hexagonal concrete structures that vary in size from small platforms to towering monoliths. Among the hexcrete structures are several facilities, including the X-13 testing facility, the Z-43 innovative toxins plant, the Z-38 lightwave dynamics research building, and the X-7a "Left Field" artillery launch.

In the southern portion of the crater is Higgs Village, which contains the former homes of the Think Tank within a large, hangar-like structure. It is flanked by the X-12 research center and Y-17 medical facility.

This is not an exhaustive list of locations within Big MT, but notes some prominent facilities visible from the balcony of the Sink, Dr. Mobius's former apartment, located atop the central dome. For a complete list of locations, see Locations in Old World Blues.

Force field restricted locations[]

Below are locations that are initially inaccessible to the player character until they acquire the upgraded sonic emitter from the X-8 research center during X-8: High School Horror!:

• Big MT north tunnel
• Hazmat testing ground
• Saturnite alloy research facility
• X-8 research center
• X-12 research center
• X-13 research facility
• Y-17 medical facility

Inhabitants[]

• Cazadores - hybrid insect creations of Dr. Borous that broke out of the facility.
• Night stalkers - rattlesnake/coyote hybrid creatures, also created by Dr. Borous, that broke out of the facility and developed the ability to reproduce, despite their creator's assurances of sterility.
• Spore carriers - human victims infected and reanimated by fungal growth, the same that infected Vault 22.
• Lobotomites - countless lobotomized victims of Big MT's experiments.
• Y-17 trauma override harnesses - robotic suits encasing long-dead bodies they were designed to save.
• Robo-scorpions - Robotic guardians inspired by scorpions, created by Dr. Mobius.
• Think tanks - the artificial robotic shells housing the brains of the pre-War scientists that make up the Think Tank.

Notes[]

• Doctor Borous' claim of creating the cazador spcies in 2003 is not a reliable source due to Mobius' corruption of his chronometer, among other things.
• Though many of the pipes crisscrossing the Big Empty can be used to traverse the area by walking on top of them to avoid some enemy attacks, some parts are also booby-trapped with frag mines.
• Unlike in the Mojave Wasteland and Zion Valley, all enemy creatures and characters in Big MT are part of the same faction and will not attack each other. The only exception to this is robo-scorpions, which upon losing sight of the player character (hidden) will fight with all other Big MT creatures and lobotomites until only the scorpions or the creatures/lobotomites remain.
• Venturing beyond the perimeter of Big MT will result in a warning. Staying beyond the perimeter will result in being automatically teleported back to the Sink balcony. This happens even when over-encumbered with no penalty incurred and no health damage and doing so twice will complete the Outer Space challenge.
• Both Joshua Graham and Ulysses, in their respective add-on appearances, state that Big MT is located somewhere near the Divide, west of the Mojave Desert. Based on what Graham says, its approximate location is somewhere near California State Route 127, across the Nevada border.
  • Terminal entries in the Y-0 research center further confirm that Big MT is situated south of Hopeville.
• The only three radio stations picked up by the Pip-Boy in Big MT are the mysterious broadcast, the Happy Trails Expedition Broadcast, and the Sierra Madre Broadcast; all others are blacked out.

Appearances[]

Big MT appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues. It is mentioned in the add-ons Dead Money, Honest Hearts, and Lonesome Road, and is mentioned in the Fallout TV series episode "The Beginning."

Behind the scenes[]

• Big MT and what's shown of the surrounding area in the add-on intro resembles the real-world locations of Dome Mountain and National Criticality Experiments Research Center, closest to Area 30 and Area 6 of the Nevada National Security Site near Death Valley in Nye County, Nevada.
• The location's design is largely taken from the development dedicated to Boulder Dome from Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, but in later development was merged with the Leavenworth Prison into the Tibbets Prison facility.^{[Non-game 1]} Tibbets would occasionally still be referred to as the Big Empty by developers in design documents.^{[Non-canon 1][Non-canon 2][Non-canon 3][Non-canon 4][Non-canon 5]}

Gallery[]

Big MT map

Big MT chain of rocks

Big MT map

Big MT schematic

Big MT concept art

Concept art

Big MT "Think Tank" executives - Dala, 0, Borous, Klein, 8, Mobius^{[Non-game 3]}

References[]

Non-canon

Non-game