The Institute



The Institute is an advanced scientific organization in the Commonwealth. It is known and feared for its ability to produce advanced synthetic humans (also known as synths) of high enough quality to pass as true humans.

Background
The Institute was born from the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, or CIT, a renowned university based in Boston, Massachusetts. Robert House attended it in his youth. During the Great War, a number of CIT personnel survived by taking refuge in the underground level of the campus. In 2110, the survivors and their descendants founded the Institute, an organization dedicated to furthering pre-War science.

In its early days, as the very first Generation 1 synths were being built, the Institute reached out to aid the people of the Commonwealth in rebuilding civilization, but mutual mistrust quickly doomed that enterprise. Soured on any further cooperation with the surface, the Institute withdrew into the shadows and adopted a new purpose: to annihilate every last trace of the pre-War culture they blamed for ending the world, and recreate the surface in their own image, based on their ideas of a utopian society.

The Institute's Advanced Systems department completed work on the Molecular Relay, a teleportation device, in the late 2180s. This allowed the Institute to completely seal itself off from the surface and begin expanding its facilities deeper underground. Whenever the Institute required materials that it could not produce itself, Generation 1 and 2 synths were teleported to the surface to scavenge, as well as to conduct experiments which would otherwise have required Institute personnel to leave the safety of the facility. These directives frequently led to conflict between the synths and the people of the surface, and instilled in the latter a lasting prejudice against synths and wariness of the secretive Institute.

By 2227, work on the third generation of synths, who would be indistinguishable from genuine humans, was well underway. The mercenary Conrad Kellogg was sent out to find Vault 111, where the Institute's scientists believed they could find a cryogenically-preserved pre-War human for their experiments. Kellogg returned with the infant Shaun, whose pristine DNA was used to finish the synths. The people of the surface first encountered a prototype Generation 3 synth in 2229, when it attacked the residents of Diamond City in what became known as the "Broken Mask" incident. Existing prejudices against synths were compounded into paranoia; the people of the surface realized that the Institute could secretly kidnap and replace them with synths. While some scoffed at such a notion, this paranoia was in fact justified, as the Institute did begin using synths to infiltrate and even sabotage surface communities to further their own goals.

By 2287, the Institute was actively opposed by the anti-slavery Railroad, as well as the Brotherhood of Steel, who viewed the Institute as a direct threat and the synths as technological abominations.

Structure
The Institute is divided into divisions, each with specific areas of expertise. All divisions answer to the Directorate, composed of the four division heads plus the Director, who lead the Institute. The Director is the nominal leader of the organization, whose main purpose is to ensure proper cooperation between the divisions so that the goals of the Institute are properly met. These divisions are:
 * The Synth Retention Bureau (often abbreviated to SRB), temporarily headed by Justin Ayo in absence of Zimmer: The Bureau employs completely obedient Generation 3 synths known as coursers. Responsible for tracking down and retrieving escaped synths, courser training, synth wiping and monitoring the Commonwealth. They wear black lab coats. A notable member was AR-13, also known as Harkness.
 * Robotics: Responsible for synth construction, development and maintenance. They wear red lab coats.
 * BioScience, headed by Clayton Holdren: Focuses on the study and creation of biomechanical life, and bridging the gap between organic life and robotic life. Responsible for genetic- and bio-engineering, medical care and pharmaceuticals. They wear green lab coats. Virgil was a member before fleeing due to his infection with FEV.
 * Advanced Systems, headed by Madison Li: In charge of advanced technological research and development including weapons. The Advanced Systems division designed the teleportation matrix the Institute uses on a daily basis. They wear blue lab coats.
 * Facilities, headed by Allie Filmore: The department that maintains the building and upkeep of the institute facilities and superstructure. Responsible for life support, security systems, power distribution, food and housing, mechanical engineering and maintenance. They wear yellow lab coats. As their work encompasses the whole of the Institute, they do not have specialized quarters.

Society
Despite the Institute's prowess, there are a limited amount of scientists at its disposal, with a small team working with each division, and several auxiliary scientists elsewhere. As a result, the Institute requires relatively little housing space, and has apartments to accommodate all scientists and their families.

Scientists interact regularly, and often spend time inside the cafeteria and main chamber. Despite its secrecy, the Institute maintains a friendly and welcoming demeanor to those introduced into its ranks, and allows access to almost every area inside the facility to newcomers.

There appear to be no strict work hours for most scientists, as they often take many hours off and come and go as they please from meals.

Military
While the Institute is primarily a scientific group, it has a powerful army at its disposal: the Synths.

Inside the main HQ of the Institute, the Robotics Department can produce very large numbers of synthetic organisms, which can be very efficient foot soldiers with enhanced strength and resilience. This, coupled with the advanced technology at their disposal, makes the Institute's Synths a serious threat to anyone who dares to oppose them.

Coursers are a particular type of Synth with higher military capability, used as special agents to pursue and recover lost Synths.

Technology
The Institute is home to the most advanced social structure and technology in the post-War wasteland, surpassing even the Brotherhood of Steel.

The main and most important technology of the Institute are the Synths. While the first and second generations of Synths are only very advanced machines, the third generation is completely indistinguishable from humans, making them perfect agents and soldiers.

Also, the Institute has many powerful energy weapons at its disposal, advanced AI, and other robotic technologies. Another powerful technology of the Institute is Teleportation, which scientists use to enter and exit the Institute, and can be used to relocate large numbers of troops and agent to almost any location instantly.

Interaction with the player character

 * The Institute, as one of the major factions of the game, offers multiple quests to the player, with the objective of guaranteeing their power and autonomy over the Commonwealth.
 * Upon gaining rank inside the Institute, the player is rewarded with a special signal grenade, which summons a Gen 1 synth to attack any hostiles nearby.
 * To complete the Institute quest line, the player must dispose of the Railroad, and ultimately destroy the Brotherhood of Steel by taking down The Prydwen, so obviously the relation with those factions must be hostile.
 * It's possible to follow the Institute quests and remain peaceful toward the Railroad until the quest End of the Line.
 * If the player sides with the Institute in the endgame, they become the new Director, and can receive various quests from the other members. In addition, around the Commonwealth groups of synths become a rather common view, and will assist the player if needed.

Appearances
The Institute is mentioned in Fallout 3 in the quest The Replicated Man, and in Fallout: New Vegas in Mr. House's obituary. In Fallout 4 the Institute makes a full appearance as one of the major factions in the game.

Behind the scenes
The Institute's logo is based on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawings and strongly resembles a Synth during production.