 | The following is based on Van Buren design documents and is not canon. |
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Maniac was Los Alamos Nuclear Testing Facility's resident supercomputer in 2064.
Background[]
Maniac was never mentioned in the text of the Reservation design document; however a pre-War photograph of Dr. Clark and Dr. Sebastian included in the document cites MANIAC as one of their finest colleagues.[1]
Appearances[]
Maniac has not appeared nor is it mentioned in any published game. It may have appeared in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, but it is not certain as it is only included in a sample picture to help demonstrate two of the characters at the location. It is not certain if it will appear in any future Fallout game.
Behind the scenes[]
Several real life computers have been called MANIAC (an acronym for Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer or Mathematical Analyzer, Numerator, Integrator, and Computer), two of these were built for the Los Alamos Nuclear Testing Facility. The photograph used in the design doc as depicting Maniac, Sebastian, and Clark pre-War is a photograph of the real-life MANIAC I, with project leader Nicholas Metropolis (sitting) and chief engineer Jim Richardson (standing), from 1953.