The Institute

The Institute is an advanced scientific organization based in the Commonwealth. It is feared for its ability to kidnap individuals and replace them with advanced synthetic humans, also known as synths. Its presence is a major cause of paranoia for the people of the Commonwealth. The enemies of the Institute include the Brotherhood of Steel, who are ideologically opposed to their activities and The Railroad who seek to disrupt their operations and free the synths.

Background
The Institute was built upon what was once known as the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, or C.I.T. While the college itself laid in ruins for more than two centuries, at the time of the Great War, those present took refuge underground. The Institute was formally founded by the children of the survivors, who dug into the earth and built increasingly sophisticated residential facilities and laboratories, starting an ongoing process of infrastructure expansion.

The scientists continued their work, initially peaceful with the outside world, trying to help create a stabilized Commonwealth government. Mistrust on both sides ended in fighting and violence, where the synth representative murdered everyone else at the meeting. The group became even more hated and feared when a defective synth infiltrated, malfunctioned, and killed several citizens of Diamond City in what became known as the Broken Mask incident.

The Molecular Relay
The Institute developed the Molecular Relay, a teleportation device, which resulted in sealing itself off from the surface. The scientific initiatives now take place beyond the research of those on the surface, sending synths out to acquire anything necessary.

Research
In 2178, Doctor Frederick led research into the Forced Evolutionary Virus. When Brian Virgil succeeded Dr. Syverson as head of the project in April 2286, he stated that FEV experimentation had run its course and served no useful purpose, not with the availability of synths. The Institute's experiments with the Forced Evolutionary Virus, ended when Doctor Virgil went rogue and fled into the Commonwealth.

The Institute sent Conrad Kellogg to kidnap an infant, Shaun, who was cryogenically frozen in Vault-Tec's Vault 111. The infant Shaun became "Father" to a whole family of engineered synthetic beings.

The Institute has also researched cybernetics and prolongation of the human lifespan. Its only test subject was Conrad Kellogg until Father terminated the project as he believed that the Institute was about preserving humanity, not an amalgamation of biology and technology.

Energy is a constant need, and Advanced Systems works on furthering research into solutions for generating more energy. The Molecular Relay requires significant energy, alongside expansion, and energy from surface sources have to be used to fill the demand. The technology used is pre-War, and facilities engineers describe it as a "juggling act" to avoid blackouts. The Institute's current goal is to activate a nuclear reactor once used by C.I.T. to bridge the gap for necessary energy.

Characteristics
The Institute allows humans to live in a clean and safe environment deep underground, free from environmental hazards present on the surface. The Institute is very secretive of the projects occurring within its organization. The Institute's SRB operates a network of informants in the entire Commonwealth, monitoring developments to ensure they cannot threaten the Institute.

The leadership over the Institute is in the hands of the Directorate, made up of the individual heads of each division, and one director. The director is appointed to set policy, resolve disputes, encourage communication, and otherwise act as an intermediary.

Their primary achievement is the ability to field an army of synthetic entities, with the latest third generation models being not only indistinguishable from humans, but also immune to disease, able to subsist on minimal energy intake without loss of performance, or requiring sleep. It uses genetically modified crops to provide sustenance for its researchers. Food synthesizers provide food in addition to bottled water and food packets.

Locations
Category:Institute locations, 3

Interactions

 * The Lone Wanderer can either help or hinder Dr. Zimmer in his search for A3-21 during the quest The Replicated Man
 * The Institute, as one of the major factions of the game, offers multiple quests to the Sole Survivor. Their objective is to secure power and autonomy within the Commonwealth.
 * During Institutionalized, Dr. Madison Li installs a chip in the Sole Survivor's Pip-Boy which grants them unrestricted access to the teleporter, allowing them to enter or leave the institute at will (provided they do nothing to be banished). According to Li, this is a unique privilege granted the Sole Survivor by Father.
 * Upon gaining rank inside the Institute, the Sole Survivor is rewarded with a special signal grenade, which summons a Gen 1 synth to attack any hostiles nearby. These grenades can also be found on the corpses of synth coursers or purchased from the synth vendors within the Institute's headquarters.
 * To complete the Institute questline, the Sole Survivor must clear out the Railroad's headquarters under the Old North Church and eject the Brotherhood of Steel from the Commonwealth by destroying the Prydwen.
 * The Institute's questline will not cause the Railroad to become hostile towards the Sole Survivor until they begin End of the Line.
 * If the Sole Survivor completes the Institute's questline, they become the new director and can undertake quests for other members of the faction. Groups of synths will begin to patrol the Commonwealth and will assist the player character in combat.

Members
Category:Institute characters, 3

Synths
Category:Synth characters, 3

Appearances
The Institute appears

Behind the scenes
The Art of Fallout 4 shares that the Institute was inspired by "a Logan's Run-like utopian future society" far removed from anything else in the world.