ARCHIMEDES

ARCHIMEDES is an energy weapon created by Poseidon Energy, appearing at HELIOS One in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
Established before the Great War as a next generation solar power plant, hailed as the Dawn of a Golden Age, HELIOS One was more than just a renewable source of energy. It doubled as a research and development facility for the U.S. Army's top secret energy weapons, including ARCHIMEDES and ARCHIMEDES II. The military side of affairs was handled by Brig. Gen. Scott Lowe, who oversaw the testing of the weapon on site.

During testing, several minor systems were overloaded despite all precautions taken, and the entire plant shut down for two and a half minutes. Nearby facilities also experienced system-frying power fluctuations at the time of the test, including the Black Mountain communications array and the military bunkers at Hidden Valley.

When the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel occupied HELIOS One, Elder Elijah attempted to reactivate ARCHIMEDES and use it to defend the facility from the NCR forces during Operation: Sunburst. However, he was unsuccessful, only getting as far as reactivating the security systems to prevent the Republic from continuing his work before disappearing entirely. Using microwave radiation to transfer energy from the solar plant to a remote receiver and convert it back into a usable form.

Warnings
Reflector warning Warning 1 Warning 2 Countdown warning Countdown concluded

Behind the scenes
Archimedes is a reference to the real world Archimedes, a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer in Ancient Greece. He devised the "Archimedes heat ray" which used mirrors to focus sunlight onto approaching enemy ships, causing them to catch fire.