Project SEMELE

SEMELE was an unfinished (though reportedly failed) plasma rifle project, developed by Poseidon Energy.

Background
SEMELE was the original project designed to replace the original Winchester P94 plasma caster. Although it was stolen by REPCONN Aerospace, the technology and design specification used in SEMELE, specifically the Heisenberg compensation field when dealing with matter conversion, was later used to develop RobCo Industries' own model of the plasma rifle. This iteration proved to be successful enough for deployment in the Enclave Armed Forces.

The first functional prototype from this project was the Q-35 matter modulator (out of 34 previous attempts). While the Q-35 was the proof of concept the SEMELE needed, the Q-35 was unfit for actual combat use due to the durability of the material it was constructed of. By 2281, the Q-35 is still being held at REPCONN headquarters in stasis.

Appearances
SEMELE is mentioned only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes
In Greek mythology, Semele (Σεμέλη) was the mortal mother of Dionysus, according to one story of the latter's origin. In most versions of the myth, she asked her lover, the god Zeus, to reveal his true form to her, the sight of which resulted in her immediate incineration.