Big MT (company)

Big MT was a think tank and one of the defense contractors in the employ of the United States during the Sino-American War. Its headquarters was the Big Mountain Research and Development Center in the Southwest Commonwealth.

Background
Big MT was responsible for the most breathtaking research endeavors back before the War. Endeavors that, at the same time, often violated basic human rights or were sometimes sold to the highest bidder for cold hard cash. As unethical as their operations could be, their achievements were nevertheless groundbreaking. Despite that fact, they never reached widespread deployment due to issues with cost, efficiency or simply greater influence of certain parties such as the other defense contractors West Tek, RobCo Industries and General Atomics International.

As a think tank, delving into the theoretical was as natural as breathing. Usually this resulted in mere hypotheses becoming reality. One example of which was Doctor Mobius' analytical hypothesis of post-holocaust economic systems. This extensive work was completely accurate in predicting that the humble bottle cap would become a currency. Such brilliance and madness would come back to haunt the facility, as exemplified by Gabe, Little Yangtze, the trauma harnesses, their bioengineering projects, their total pacification collars and the lobotomites. However, this research led into fields that could only truly be described as "Super Science."

Big MT's true purpose was, the caring for and keeping of scientific discovery, leaving its discoveries safe until they were needed to help others. Its laboratories and science intended as a place to build the future of all mankind.

Their attempt into the heavy construction industry, however, was not a success. Hexcrete (named for its shape) was supposed to be a more simplified mass-production method for large uniform special-blend concrete blocks. The remains of this production method is called the X-66 Hexcrete archipelago, which has since been dominating the southwestern corner of Big MT.

When customers would come to the think tank for their services, they would create specialized technology for them. However, if their town or city was just right, they would use it as a controlled experiment. Only on occasion, Big MT had to get permission in order to secure financial assistance for the technology they were developing. Alternatively, the company used detained communists to populate their own mock cities. However, it was not enough: they needed even more laboratory space and tested their experiments on unsuspecting Americans and letting them progress in isolated small towns while Big MT observed. Their partnership with Vault-Tec Industries is in the context of outsourcing laboratory space. Big MT needed "test cities" to test in real time their products in (relatively) controlled environments. Knowing the Vault-Tec was better at it than them, they together conducted experiments with Vault 22, sending the botanists the Beauveria mordicana fungus, among other supplies.

Despite fantastic funding, Big MT was forced to adapt due to budget cuts. In the case of Project: Burke, grave robbing became institutionalized and commonplace in order to acquire human bodies upon which to test their experiments, although it was rumored that the staff used the bodies for other purposes. Another project, Project: Hare was only described as liquidation operations against non-military targets to procure research subjects, another desperate move from budget cuts. They denied the latter completely, finding the insinuation insulting to the point of not responding.

Incident: PLAYTIME was when staff accidentally interrupted the cyberdog programming. Due to its name, it implies that it involved playing with combat hounds, and its settlements further strained their budget.

Facilities
Originally, the center was named for the mountain above the research center. The construction of their headquarters was designed for the utmost secrecy, being built completely underneath Big Mountain in the Southwest Commonwealth. Each facility was specifically constructed for their various fields of science. Supplied by rail, via the original entrances to the facility. The rail lines of facility only ran from north to east and north to west (and visa versa), with their only stop inside the facility being the loading station. However, due to a failed experiment conducted in the Y-0 research center, the mountain above the center was vaporized, leaving behind a giant crater and the exposed facility. This catastrophe did little to phase the researchers, and the efforts in pushing the boundaries of science continued unabated. Despite the original mountain of the facility lost, Big MT was still expanding, with a new facility under construction. A radar fence was also constructed for security purposes.

The lack of official test environments lead to them winding up their experiments and letting them loose on an isolated population who neither knew what they were nor what was happening, resulting in the experiments eventually killing all involved and destroying the settlements. Some test cities used were the Sierra Madre and Hopeville, testing the Cloud and the experimental hazmat suit in the former, and the weather control in the latter, with the Y-17 Mark IX Auto-Doc as a constant between the two locations.

Arms industry
Developing weaponry appeared to be a sizable portion of their business model. While they delved into new territory with conventional weapons designs, e.g. the K9000 and FIDO models of cyborganic weaponry, Big MT also developed new designs for energy weapons, such as laser-assisted electrical rifles and proton axes. The company even made weapons by mistake, namely a sonic emitter that was originally intended for therapeutic use that turned out to be capable of destroying robots and power armor, with varying effects based on the sonic module inserted (from knocking back the target, to paralysis, to dismemberment, to explosion and incendiary depending on the load-out).

Not only did Big MT focus on infantry weapons, Saturnite was also forged in the company's facilities. While cosmic knives were an adequate use for Saturnite, artillery shells were eventually made out this incredibly durable metal to obliterate even the strongest fortifications. Poison and corrosive gas, namely what would come to be known as "The Cloud" was also produced by Big MT at the Z-43 innovative toxins plant, and tested at the Hazmat testing ground, where they also conducted experiments for their prototype hazmat suit and matching cowl.

Not satisfied at producing only weapons, they decided to improve upon the stealth technology already employed by the worlds militaries. Based off of the Chinese stealth armor, Big MT developed a wholly American version, the stealth suit Mk I which eventually became more complex. The Mk II including advanced software was not just able to automatically fit to the user, it would enhance the users movement in virtually every way possible. This of course is not all it could do, as its on-board personality would remind the operator of events around them to automatically injecting Med-X and stimpaks. Numerous advances were made in offensive robotics as well; for these, see the section below.

Biochemistry
Advances were made in animal sciences, but for what purpose other than curiosity, no one is sure. Cazadores were developed from tarantula hawk wasps, and nightstalkers were even made on a dare, using the genetic material of coyotes and rattlesnakes.

Bioengineering
Big MT teams at the X-8 research center were successful in melding animal and machine and created cyberdogs for use by police and military forces. They also had improved upon the designs of General Atomics International's robobrains and created their own series of robobrains. Bioengineers took it even further by creating think tanks, robots similar to robobrains in that they use a biological brain for their processor, but think tanks retain the personality of their brain and are truly intelligent, rather than artificially.

The X-13 research facility also created the psychoanalytic cardiac-dampening stealth suit that interacts and supplements the wearer's own abilities, improving their reactions, manual dexterity and speed which sneaking.

Another innovation was the development of the Implant Y-7, which had been proven to increase performance while reducing weight in lab animals. Although it had never been ran through any human test trials, its inventor Doctor Calis, decided to give it to Technician Slough to address their productivity, which had taken a dive coincided with a marked weight gain over the previous few months.

Cryoscience
Delving into cryoscience, Big MT developed chambers to preserve human life in a state of inactivity, characterized by decreased body temperature, breathing and heart rate, and metabolic rate. None, however, make an appearance in the add-on Old World Blues.

Cybernetics
Big MT was in the field of cybernetics, creating the improvements in the Cyberhound models, custom implants and cyborgs. With their specialized versions being developed for both the military and police departments. Their research into this field included the dogs being able to "sniff out" communism. Although they weren't going to tell the subjects about the dogs that were involved in the testing, they created the Residential Cyberdog Test to test cyberdogs with untrained human interaction. However, this was not all that their cybernetics endeavors achieved. One of their creations was a weapon using a dog brain to track targets, literally sniffing out friendly and foe alike.

Holography
Big MT's reached groundbreaking achievements in the field of holography. After perfecting the stationary hologram projectors, like the interface of matter replicators, they moved on to even more impressive holograms. Not just mere projections, these solid energy masses spearheaded into human-machine interaction, not least the medical industry. An entire laboratory was dedicated to researching the dynamics of light waves and creating lifelike interfaces, vendors and sentries. Even more astonishing than tangible light were the experiments to hone in on if light waves could accelerate natural healing processes. They were successful and it resulted in valence radii-accentuators and atomic-valence tri-radii-oscillators, bands of light that suspend themselves over one's head.

Medical industry
Dedicating an entire facility to the medical industry, Y-17 was where Big MT made their upgrades to the Auto-Doc family, specifically the Mark IX. The Mark IX was not the only Auto-Doc developed at Big MT, and another was specially created to house a artificial personality. Not content to only improve upon the Auto-Doc side of the autonomous medical industry, they also created the entire line of Mister Orderly robots, a niche model in the Mister Handy market.

Creating medical devices did not end as intended, however. For example, the sonic emitter was designed to be a therapeutic vertebral desensitizer, but was far more useful as a multplatform weapon. The Y-17 trauma override harness was also produced: this suit was designed to autonomously carry wounded (or dead) soldiers to a field medical center. However, if the suit was left without a designated home base it would continue to wander in an endless random state. Furthermore, its artificial muscle and fibers would take on the function of their housed occupant, namely combat.

All this pales to compare with the advances in light technology. Valence radii-accentuators and tri-radii oscillators for example, are capable of boosting the body's metabolism, increasing its regeneration rate and endurance. Another example was using certain wavelengths of light to enhance cognitive processes and mood.

Metallurgy
Saturnite is a space age, metallic-ceramic alloy developed for use in a variety of fields, from construction, to cookware, to the arms industry (superior power fists and knives to armor plating ), from their in house research facility.

Meteorology
Big MT even went as far as actively manipulating weather. Small scale tests were conducted within their in-house controlled environment at the X-17 meteorological station; tests were eventually scaled up and used Hopeville as a test town, regardless of its residents. Whatever happened there ended in a disaster, spawning the horrible dust storms for which the Divide is infamous.

Robotics
Delving into the field of robotics, Big MT created entire lines of improved versions of the common mass produced models, namely the Protectron, Robobrain, Mister Gutsy and sentry bot. One model they attempted to improve upon but could not were RobCo Industries Securitrons, even dedicating an entire facility to their de-construction and reverse engineering. Their only success on the design was a tiny janitor bot that could only collect and clean dishes.

They did not stop at improving proven models of robots and created the robo-scorpion, development upon a pre-War military project, recreated and improved by Doctor Mobius from the X-42 robo-warfare facility. While the prototypical walking eye robots are a less impressive feat, the spider-like robot remained useful for surveillance and espionage.

Software industry
Most of Big MT's achievements would have been nothing withing advanced programs and networks. A poignant example is their line of Mister Orderlies: without advanced medical programs in virtually every field of medicine, the robots are nothing more than repainted Mister Handies. Big MT also endeavored to create artificial personalities of all sorts, with Dr. Mobius dedicating an entire lab (within his living space, no less) to provide each appliance in the lab their very own personality. Furthermore, even their prototype stealth suit has its own personality.

Almost no field of research that Big MT dove into went without advanced software they had created themselves, regardless if it was their vast array of specialized robotic upgrades, or original robot platforms like the robo-scorpion, or the miniature robots that stock the Sink's store. Their most outlandish and criminal projects, like their vending machine, their weather dominator, and their total pacification collar (or its big brother, the "pacification field") especially needed unique software.

Virtual reality
The company also delved into virtual reality simulations, although the simulator eventually was destroyed by an employee down due to the simulations leading to the death of countless researchers.

Big MT "Think Tank" executives

 * Dr. Klein - Administrator and chief head of logistical operations and idealogy
 * 0|Dr. 0 - Head of robotics and stealth technology
 * 8|Dr. 8 - Head of soundwaves technology
 * Dr. Borous - Head of animalogy, beastology and DNA-scrambling technology
 * Dr. Dala - Head of mineralogy and medicinal sciences
 * Dr. Mobius - Director of the Big Mountain Science Complex

Military

 * General Wellesley - chief liaison officer
 * Specialist Akers

X-8 research center

 * Dr. Gail Richardson
 * Dr. Adam Figgis
 * Assistant Skippy

Security

 * Cpt. Hamm

Appearances
While the parent company is mentioned in the Fallout: New Vegas add-ons Dead Money, the company and its research and development center appear in Old World Blues.