The Glow

"Radiation Storm"

The West Tek research facility or The Glow, Great Glow, or the Hot Spot after the Great War and referred to as the Ancient Order by some members of the Brotherhood of Steel, was established in 2055 as the primary biological research installation for West Tek.

Background
West-Tek was divided into two divisions, "Advanced Weapons" and "Biomedical Sciences Research." By 2069 it was the single biggest private contractor of the American government regarding the T-51b power armor project. It also worked on the Pan-Immunity Virion Project (PVP), later known as the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). The PVP project was transferred to FEV initiative and transferred to the Mariposa Military Base in 2077. Roger Maxson worked as security at the location before transferring to Mariposa.

The Glow
The West Tek research facility was destroyed during the Great War. A group from the Mariposa Military Base led by Sergeant Allen urged Captain Maxson to let them explore the ruins of the West Tek Research Facility, now called the Glow, for artifacts. Captain Maxson refused, so Allen and his group split away, taking some technology and weapons with them. Other members of the team included Soto, Jensen and Camarillo. They were killed by security robots and radiation. The Brotherhood of Steel uses the location to send unwanted applicants on a fool's errand.

The Glow is highly irradiated. A few moments' exposure is enough to give a lethal dose of rads, and Rad-X is required to traverse through the area. Ghoul survivors from Necropolis settled northwest of the Glow, and founded the town of Dayglow, whose inhabitants formed partnerships with scavenging companies from Adytum and the Hub.

Location
The Glow can be found eight squares east and twenty-four squares south of Vault 13.

Exterior
Little remains on the surface of the Glow, just a gaping crater where once the heart of the American research effort laid. Three charred corpses lie around the crater. The location is extremely irradiated; radiation levels shoot up when one is able to see the giant crater, and it only gets worse afterwards. A rope can be attached to the steel beam in order to enter the facility.

Level 1
This was where the offices and other administrative sections of the facility were, before the destruction of the building. The atomic bombing obliterated much of the level and scorched what survived. The body of Sergeant Allen lays in the conference room, encased in a defunct suit of T-51b power armor. On his person was a holodisk which the Vault Dweller uses to become an initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel.

Level 2
The second level of the facility has been affected by the nuclear blast also, yet more survived, such as the security bots of the facility. On a burned corpse in the northeast corner, a red pass key can be found, granting access to other levels.

Level 3
This level connects two different lifts providing transportation between the levels of the facility. Apart from that, it housed the facility's weapons research and development laboratories, indicated by the twin robot security checkpoints, secure labs and a stash of lockers with weapons and ammunition.

Level 4 (Biology-Physics Research Labs)
This level houses the mind of The Glow, ZAX. This supercomputer oversaw all research and development that took place in the base, in addition to performing the routine checks. The body of Charles Ringhold lies in one of the laser labs, carrying a blue pass key.

Level 5 (Secure Testing Labs)
The core of the facility, by far the most secure and least accessible, are the testing labs. The labs are sealed and protected by three robot checkpoints.

Level 6 (Barracks and Operations Center)
The deepest level housed the living quarters of the essential research personnel, along with the primary power generator for the base and the operations center. After the Great War, the power generator's fuses got stuck in the locked position, powering down the entire base. The body of one of Allen's comrades lies in one of the rooms.

Inhabitants

 * Floating eye bots
 * Robobrains
 * ZAX 1.2

Related quests

 * Become an initiate
 * Turn on power for the Glow
 * Disarm Traps for the Facility

Appearances
The West Tek Research Facility appears in Fallout and is mentioned in Fallout 2 and Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes
The name of the location in the Burrows design document was "FSEF."