Vault 101

Vault 101 is a Vault-Tec Vault located north-west of Washington, D.C. in the Capital Wasteland. The ruins of Springvale lie to the south of this Vault. The nearest settlement is Megaton.

Vault Experiment
The purpose of Vault 101 in the Vault Experiment was not only to test the results of indefinite isolation (designed never to reopen), but to also test the role of the Overseer. This Vault was sealed before the bombs ever even hit, and the residents were kept in the dark as to the true nature of the aftermath, receiving fake radio transmissions which painted a far bleaker picture than even the Wasteland offered. It was the Overseer's job to keep this secret and make sure the Vault stayed sealed, and the first Overseer was actually a trained Vault-Tec official. The second Overseer decided to let a select few of the adults in on the secret to help keep it from the children, and over the years each subsequent generation had more and more residents who knew the truth about the Vault. In addition, the Overseer was able to communicate with, and even visit, the outside world by using the secret tunnel in the Overseer's office. However, for all other intents and purposes, the vault's residents were sealed in: "It is here you were born, it is here you will die." With the escape of the Lone Wanderer, the experiment enters a new phase.

History
Due to the degraded state of the file for this Vault in the Citadel terminal, the early history of this Vault is not well recorded. An analysis of the other Vault files suggests that Vault 101 was constructed in the 2060s.

For many decades, the Vault was largely sealed from contact with the outside world. Under the first Overseer, there was brief contact with the outside world when representatives from RobCo Industries updated the Unified Operating System. It wouldn't be until the mid-23rd century that the Vault contacted the outside world again.

In the mid-23rd century, a new Overseer assumed the leadership of the Vault. He was a proponent of contact with the outside world. In 2241, this Overseer sent a scouting party under the leadership of Anne Palmer into the Capital Wasteland. This expedition revealed the perilous nature of the Wasteland and contacted the citizens of the settlement Megaton. Unfortunately, the Overseer disappeared on a trek into the Wasteland sometime in the mid-2250s. His successor, Alphonse Almodovar, ascended to leadership of the Vault. Under his rule, the Vault changed into a police state with a strict isolationist policy.

In 2258, James entered the vault with the infant Lone Wanderer. James ensured that his child was kept ignorant of their origins and convinced that he/she was born in the Vault. Overseer Almodovar hired James as the new Vault Physician. Nineteen years later, after James suddenly disappeared from the Vault, the Lone Wanderer was forced to flee and seek his/her father in the outside world for answers when the overseer's security forces were ordered to detain him/her for interrogation.

Upon meeting with Colin Moriarty in Megaton, the Lone Wanderer learned of his/her origins. He/she had been born in the Capital Wasteland and was brought to Vault 101 by James after his wife died in childbirth. Overseer Almodovar, impressed by the medical skills of James, hired him as doctor and gave his family quarters in the Vault. Though a few knew the truth, like Old Lady Palmer, they were encouraged by the doctor and/or impressed by the Overseer into not revealing the truth to the Lone Wanderer.

Further investigation by the Lone Wanderer revealed that more than just the father of the Lone Wanderer had left the Vault in the past. Numerous characters in Megaton recall people who had come from the Vault. Moira Brown recalls a girl who escaped "10 or 12 years ago", while Colin Moriarty recalls someone escaping 5 years ago, who told him of the brainwashing that occurred in the vault. Though the people in Megaton might think these people were escaping, considering the state of the Vault society, there is a stronger probability that these two people were banished by the Overseer from Vault 101.

The town of Megaton was founded by people who were trying to get into this Vault, and some of the skeletons of the people who tried to get in are still outside of the Vault door.

It should be noted that in the quest Trouble on the Homefront, it is hinted that most, if not all adult residents in Vault 101 were in on the experiment. Therefore James's sudden arrival in the Vault with the infant Lone Wanderer would not have caused too much concern among the residents, beyond the natural question of why the Overseer would allow the two newcomers into the vault when no outsiders were previously allowed.

Inhabitants
Vault 101 is populated by humans. These humans are descended from the original settlers. Over the centuries, due to the small number of humans, the families are tied by blood. Occasionally, this facility is invaded by Radroaches. Vault Security is tasked with killing these insects.

Families
Almodovar family:
 * Alphonse Almodovar - the Overseer
 * Amata Almodovar - daughter of Alphonse

DeLoria family:
 * Butch DeLoria - Leader of the Tunnel Snakes
 * Ellen DeLoria - mother to Butch

Mack family:
 * Allen Mack - father to Wally and Steve
 * Gloria Mack - mother to Wally and Steve (Stanley's daughter)
 * Wally Mack and Steve Mack, brothers
 * Susie Mack daughter of Allen and Gloria
 * Grandpa Mack

Hannon family:
 * Paul Hannon Sr., security chief
 * Vikki Hannon, his wife
 * Paul Hannon Jr., his son

Gomez family:
 * Herman Gomez, Security officer, father of Freddie, and friend of James.
 * Pepper Gomez, his wife
 * Freddie Gomez, his son

Kendall family:
 * John Kendall, Security guard, father of Christine and Monica
 * Mary Kendall, his wife (Stanley's daughter also)
 * Christine Kendall, classmate to the Lone Wanderer
 * Monica Kendall, younger sister to Christine. Never seen, only mentioned during Trouble on the Homefront

Holden family:
 * Tom Holden, vault dweller, killed by security during Escape!.
 * Mary Holden, his wife, killed immediately after him.

Palmer family:
 * Jonas Palmer, Scientist, friend to James, and son of Anne Palmer
 * Anne Palmer, Never seen. Leader of a scouting party that left the vault.
 * Lucy Palmer, mother to Anne and grandmother to Jonas.
 * Joe Palmer, deceased, Jukebox Technician

Armstrong family:
 * Stanley Armstrong - Engineer, friend to James. Father of Gloria Mack, Mary Kendall and Beatrice Armstrong.
 * Beatrice Armstrong - Slightly odd woman, poet and tarot reader.

Taylor family:
 * Officer Taylor - Older security guard, husband to "Grandma" Taylor.
 * Grandma Taylor - his wife.
 * Chip Taylor- Grandson to Officer Taylor and Grandma Taylor.

Other

 * James - the Lone Wanderer's father
 * Andy - a Mr. Handy type robot, reassigned (with horrific results) to doctor duties after Escape!
 * Edwin Brotch - Vault teacher and friend to the Vault Dweller.
 * Floyd Lewis - Engineer found dead in Escape!
 * Officer O'Brian - Security officer responsible for killing Tom and Mary Holden
 * Officer Richards - Security officer responsible for killing Tom and Mary Holden
 * Officer Wolfe - Security officer
 * Officer Park - Security officer
 * Officer Wilkins- hostile security officer during Trouble on the Homefront
 * Officer Armstrong- if Officer Gomez died during Escape!, he will greet you instead
 * Lone Wanderer
 * George (Vault 101 Technician)
 * Agnes
 * Lewis
 * Unnamed Overseer

Found dead during Trouble on the Homefront

 * Beatrice Armstrong
 * Jim Wilkins
 * Steve Armstrong
 * Chip Taylor
 * Paul Hannon Jr.
 * Janice Wilkins

Layout
Vault 101 has three divisions, named levels by the residents, which are the Upper Level/Atrium (with Admin as a sub-division), the Lower Level, and the Reactor Level. The levels were connected by stairways. In each floor of the complex, hydraulic hatches were employed to control the flow of traffic or to block access to stairways, corridors, or rooms. Levels and rooms are identified by signs. Entrance to the outside world is provided by two paths: a direct path from the Atrium and a hidden tunnel named the Overseer's Tunnel.

It is important to note that the levels are not directly stacked upon each other. They are staggered with each level moving progressively more westward the deeper Vault burrows into the earth.

Main Entrance
The Main Entrance leads to the massive Vault Door, which in turn leads to the Capital Wasteland.

Overseer's Tunnel
Was used by the Overseers of Vault 101 to see and communicate with the outside world of the Capital Wasteland. During the quest Escape! the player will access the tunnel to get out of the vault. This tunnel's entrance can only be opened by a command from the Overseer's Terminal.

Overseer's Office (Admin Section)
This is the private office of the Overseer. The room is equipped with security monitors, a systems map, and an Overseer's Terminal. This terminal contains the private thoughts of the Overseer along with historical files. The office is located above the Overseer's Tunnel.

Overseer's Apartment (Admin Section)
This is the quarters of the Overseer and his family. This apartment is separated from the Overseer's Office by a reception room.

Operations (Admin Section)
Operations is located in an alcove off the reception room. The Overseer directs the actions of Vault Security from here.

Computer Room
This is the location of the Vault's mainframe.

Security Office and Holding Cell
Vault Security is headquartered in this office. A security terminal remotely controls the holding cell door. Security personnel stow their equipment in lockers. Residents are interrogated in this room. In 2277, Amata was interrogated by her father and Steve Mack in this room. ("Escape1")

Systems Room
This room monitors the health of the Vault's electro-mechanical systems. This information is transmitted to a systems map in the Overseer's Office. The Maintenance Department is responsible for this room. Floyd Lewis can be found here dead during Escape!.

Atrium (Floor A & B)
Vault residents use the atrium for games. A tunnel connects this room with the Main Entrance. This is a two-floor room.

Luxury Apartments
These apartments are reserved for the friends of the Overseer. Allen Mack and his family live in one of these apartments. These apartments were located near the Atrium.

Utility
This room is used for the storage of cleaning equipment. The door to this room is located in the Atrium.

Equipment
This room is used for storing telecommunications equipment. The Vault 101 PA System is controlled from this room. There is an emergency beacon located in this room for broadcasting a signal into the Capital Wasteland. The door to this room is located in the Atrium.

Clinic
The Lone Wanderer was supposed to have been born here but was actually born in the Jefferson Memorial. This is where you find Amata in the "Trouble on the Homefront" quest. The diagnosis and treatment of Vault residents is performed here.

Physician's Office
Connected to the clinic, this room is the private office of the physician. In this room, the physician records and archives his notes on patients and experiments in a medical terminal. A physician confers with his assistant in this room.

Classroom
This area is significant because it represents one of only three active educational facilities or schools in the entire Capital Wasteland. The other "schools" are in the Republic of Dave and Little Lamplight. The Lone Wanderer completes the G.O.A.T. in this room in 2274 ("Future Imperfect").

Cafeteria
This room, also known as the Diner, is used by residents for birthday parties and for meeting friends over a meal. The cafeteria can be accessed from the Upper or Lower Levels. The Lone Wanderer's birthday is celebrated here in 2268 ('Growing Up Fast'). Six years later, Freddie Gomez asks Susie Mack if she will meet him for lunch in this room after the G.O.A.T. ("Future Imperfect"). Three years later, Grandma Taylor is found dead in this room ("Escape!").

Apartments
The apartments are the living quarters of a family or an individual in the Vault. With the exception of the Overseer's apartment, the apartments are divided into a bedroom and a dining/living room. The Overseer's apartment is divided into two bedrooms and a dining/living room.

Restrooms
The restrooms are segregated with one room each for the sexes. The toilets and sinks are supplied with water from the Filter Room, and as such are radiation-free.

Cigar Room
This room is used by residents for smoking cigarettes.

Common Room
This room is used by the residents for communal activities.

Store Room
Used for the storage of non-cleaning supplies. The store room can be accessed from the Upper or Lower Levels. Wally Mack offered to show Amata Almodovar a 'good time' in this room ("Future Imperfect").

Filter Room
Filter Room houses the water purification systems, and the Water Chip.

Reactor Level Storeroom
Or BB Gun Practice Range. This room is used by residents for the storage of engineering equipment. The Lone Wanderer kills for the first time in this room, and has a family portrait photographed in this room. ("Future Imperfect")

Reactor Room
The Vault's geo-thermal reactor is located in this room.

Bobblehead
The Bobblehead - Medicine is on a desk in the Physician's Office. You only have three chances to obtain this bobblehead. When you're about to take the G.O.A.T., when you escape the vault you'll come through his office, or when you return in the "Trouble on the Homefront" quest.

Framed Quote
On a wall of the Physician's Office, a framed Quote of Revelation 21:6 can be found. When activated, the player will need to pick the 'average' lock. Inside can be found Rock-It Launcher schematics, 300 caps and a Holodisk called 'Home Sweet Home'. When accessed in Notes, 'Home Sweet Home' depicts James' voice lamenting over the death of his wife Catherine, discussing his new responsibilities as a father and the Overseer, whom he describes as an 'overbearing bully'. You need to pick the lock, which requires lockpick skill of 50 or greater.

Other Loot

 * First Aid Box in the Lone Wanderer's apartment
 * Grognak the Barbarian (Future Imperfect)

Appearances
Vault 101 appeared in Fallout 3 as the Vault where the main character was raised by his/her father until the age of 19. The quest Trouble on the Homefront allows you to re-enter Vault 101 after leaving.

Trivia

 * During the intro video, you can clearly see two security cameras on each side of the Vault door. However, when you escape the Vault, they aren't there. Instead, there is a single camera placed centrally over the door.
 * Upon return to Vault 101, during "Trouble on the Homefront", one speech option in response to The Overseer is "no wonder I wasn't allowed to research my family tree".
 * When you are being born you can see Doctor Li delivering you

Related quests

 * Baby Steps
 * Growing Up Fast
 * Future Imperfect
 * Escape!
 * Trouble on the Homefront

Random Encounters
At higher levels, four or five Deathclaws will sometimes spawn down the hill from Vault 101. Jump up on the rocks in front of the Vault entrance and they cannot reach you. Pick them off at your leisure. Unfortunately, if Dogmeat is waiting for you there, attacking the Deathclaws will mean certain death for the canine. If this happens, sneak, tell Dogmeat to follow you and back away from the Deathclaws.

Trivia

 * The designation of Vault 101 could be related to the fact that the player learns the basics of gameplay in the vault. In the United States, introductory college courses often begin with 101, such as Astronomy 101 where you learn the basics of astronomy.


 * Andy the Robot had taken over as the vault's doctor, although after his last "surgery" it seems he has been fired. He amputated Beatrice Armstrong's right leg, up to the knee, because she had sprained her left big toe. Unfortunately, Beatrice did not survive the amputation.


 * At the Vault-Tec Headquarters in the D.C Ruins, a replica of the Vault 101 Door is hanging over the lobby area with spot lights illuminating it.


 * In your 10th birthday there could be a reference to vault 13 in a Bingo poster. The bingo symbol shows number 13.


 * Vault 101 is one of two fully functional vaults (the other being Vault 112) in the Capital Wasteland. All the other vaults have either failed due to projects that have failed or simple natural death.
 * The number 101 also could be related to George Orwell's fiction novel "1984", in which there is the "Room 101", supposedly to be the worst place in the world. It is place where the prisoner is subjected to his or her own worst nightmare or phobia.

Inconsistencies
While taking the G.O.A.T., the PC is joined by many other students. Since the G.O.A.T. is only taken after one's sixteenth birthday, it can be assumed that all of the fellow students are 16 (or 17, if it's only given once every two years, etc.). Statistically, it is very unlikely that all children in Vault 101 are of roughly the same age, especially in such a great quantity.

Vault 8 from Fallout 2, which was one of the few control vaults reproduced on a schedule for population control purposes. Its more then a matter of not having to many people of a certain age group.

One explanation could be that the Overseer strictly schedules births (which fits with the overall theme of the vault), but this would not explain the PC being the same age as his/her peers (as the PC was not born in the Vault), unless the PC's age is a coincidence. Being able to jump at the age of one shows that it is possible that your age is not actually 19, but that your age was shifted by a year or two. Vault residents are encouraged to procreate indicating that the Vault's population is declining, which would make it counter-productive to schedule births.

Another possible explanation could be that all members of the Vault celebrate their birth on the same day, regardless of their true date of birth, while still taking into account the year they where born, i.e. being 1, 2, 3, and so on. As individuality and self-reliance are possibly detrimental to the Vaults purpose, removing them by creating an illusion of uniformity between Vault residents.

It is also a possibility that the player is only exposed to a limited portion of the vaults full population, restricted due to programming constraints. Though this possibly conflicts with the conversation had with the overseer saying that the vault only has three more viable generations, which could suggest that the observed population is the true population.

It is worth noting that there seems to be a few different age groups in the vault. You have the ones at the vault dwellers 'age', and there is a group in their 30s (who mainly comprise the vault's security guards), and you have the elderly group, who consist of Old Lady Palmer, Stanley and the Overseer.

Bugs

 * During the PC's tenth birthday, if the map is not fully loaded or your computer is lagging under stress, you can possibly open one of the doors when it should display a message for you to talk to people at your birthday. This will teleport you to the part where Stanley and Andy the robot are attacking Radroaches. You will remain in your 10 year old form (versus your real age at that time, presumably 19), leaving you unable to attack as you had not done the tutorial with Jonas and your father, as well as not being able to go outside because the tunnel in the secret passage is inoperable by children. Also, none of the NPCs will be there other than Stanley and Andy the Robot. You can go through the corridors of the Vault as if there was no storyline. The only way to get out of this is to restart your game. (unconfirmed)


 * On the PC's tenth birthday, just after his/her party they will be prompt to leave to go and see Jonas, he will tell you to wait for your dad. When he finally arrives he gives you a BB Gun, if you attempt to shoot either your dad or Jonas the gun will do little damage, however if you continuously shoot Jonas (preferably in the head) he will be rendered unconscious, after that comes the shooting of the targets and the radroach. Jonas will eventually regain consciousness but will not take the picture of you and your dad(he just stands wherever you shot him). You can still interact with him, however, him not taking the picture means you cannot progress any further. On some PS3 versions, however, after Jonas regains consciousness, he won't take the picture. All you have to do is to stand next to your dad and your BB gun will automatically be holstered by the game and the screen will turn white as if he took the picture. (unconfirmed)

This framerate drop appears to only occur close to the vault entrance. (Confirmed PS3)
 * Fast traveling to the vault will on some cases result in a massive framerate drop once you have arrived. Fast traveling to Springvale and then moving on to the vault will result in framerate drop, however not as severe.


 * While you're a baby, unlocking locked door with the console on the PC version will allow you to leave the vault as a baby. You can't use anything or run as a baby. Also, you will be able to zoom out and see what the baby looks like (which is a miniature version of the 10 year old PC). (unconfirmed)


 * After the vault door closes in escape, if you didn't kill both guards and go back to the closed door you will eventually get a message saying Amata is unconscious. (unconfirmed)


 * After returning to the Vault the door will sometimes start opened and continue to close before you may reach it. It is possible that nobody likes the Lone Wanderer. (unconfirmed)