GECK

The G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) is a terraforming device created by Future-Tec, a division of Vault-Tec Corporation, to ease the process of harnessing the post-nuclear wasteland for Vault dwellers.

Background
Developed by Stanislaus Braun, the kit contains the basic amenities needed to establish a post-nuclear settlement. Although advertised as a miracle solution for a land ravaged by nuclear warfare, the G.E.C.K. was based on a variety of assumptions about the post-nuclear world, as its creators had no real way to determine what challenges the survivors of the nuclear war would face.Fallout Bible 6: "1b. What may be suitable for planting in the present may not be suitable in 20 yrs. This is esp true I would think in the FO universe with its rather unstable ecosystem. I mean if one really wanted to be certain that what one was panting would grow the best thing to do would be to collect the seeds, spores etc from already growing food sources - these have a guaranteed fertilization rate. After all those corn seeds that were put in the GECK 50 yrs ago now have not sufficiently mutated to endure the new Wasteland (even in a 'normal' ecosystem, the only strains of plant that survive are those that mutate).

''You're absolutely right. The GECK builders had no idea what the post-nuclear world would be like, and they had no real way to anticipate it, despite their 'thorough tests' (it's doubtful they gave it much thought, to be honest, considering how badly organized the Safehouse project alone was, not to mention the experimental nature of the Vaults) - still, it seems as if the seeds present in the GECK were viable for Vault 8.''

Evolutionarily speaking using old seeds would be like reintroducing a species that may have gone extinct or at the very least one that is not as cutting edge in its evolution.''You bet. And that's dangerous on so many levels! Wheee!''Also, as far as How-to books, schematics, sand crete etc.. this seems a bit user heavy. That is a GECK is going to be utterly useless to those who cannot read, or don't have the raw materials to construct a force field, sand crete polymers etc.''The GECK designers assumed that the Vault Dwellers would know how to read and how to operate various technologies present in the Vault - they didn't plan for tribals or other contingencies. They also didn't plan on the FEV getting released, or the fact the Vault Dwellers might be attacked by giant mutated scorpions or rats, either. On one hand, you could say they weren't too bright, and on the other hand, you could say they weren't prepared for the future of the human race to become an extended Post-Atomic Horror movie. Silly rabbits!''

1a. Wouldn't this [the seeds and soil supplements] date itself rather quickly?

''Sure, but the government subcommittees sponsoring the research and the GECK contractors (Future-Tec) weren't really concerned about that. They were 'relatively certain' the seeds would be viable in a post-nuclear environment. They had done 'thorough tests,' and 'all conclusions point to this as being the best option.' The GECKs are a miracle... a miracle that they work."'' 

Characteristics
Packed into a large, silvered briefcase with the kit's abbreviation, the G.E.C.K. was intended to be standard equipment for all Vaults, as a fully self-contained terraforming module capable of creating and sustaining life in a post-War environment. Vault-Tec proudly declared that, "even in the event of total global annihilation, a properly functioning G.E.C.K. will create an earthly paradise." It's possible it could even fertilize pre-conditioned areas on the Moon.

In reality, it was a more modest tool. The kit included seed and soil supplements, a fusion power generator (referred to as cold fusion in briefing materials), matter-energy replicators, atmospheric chemical stabilizers and water purifiers. The replicators were advertised as capable of creating food and basic items needed for building new environments.

Reading material and information was included with the kit, including selections from the Library of Congress, a complete set of encyclopedias, and other information that would benefit those trying to survive. These included additional codes for the Vault's systems to allow for the manufacture of additional jumpsuit varieties, weatherproof gear, schematics for force fields, and instructions on creating adobe buildings from raw materials, manufacture chemicals to make sandcrete, and even disassemble parts of the Vault to utilize in the process of rebuilding civilization. The Kit itself was designed to be disassembled in the process of rebuilding, as a source of spare parts and energy (thanks to its fusion generator).

If chosen to receive a G.E.C.K., a Vault would be issued two standard G.E.C.K.s as part of the standard inventory package. Some Vaults lacked the two issued G.E.C.K.s, such as Vault 8, of which the extra G.E.C.K. was swapped with Vault 13's surplus water chips.

Vault 87 received an unique G.E.C.K., which was capable of collapsing matter within a given radius and recombining it to form "a living, breathing, fertile virgin landscape to begin anew."

New California


The denizens of Arroyo passed down stories of the "Holy GECK" which they came to believe was a sacred, magical item which could change the wasteland into a paradise. Both Shady Sands and Vault City were built using a G.E.C.K. Arroyo was later reestablished with a G.E.C.K. after the destruction of the Enclave Oil Rig.

Capital Wasteland


In Vault 112, the Lone Wanderer learns that in order to make Project Purity work properly, a G.E.C.K. is required. With the kit, one will be able to assist in the purification of water in the Potomac River.

Appalachia


A part of the experimental Vault 94, the G.E.C.K. in Appalachia was guarded by the vault dwellers until they were overrun and murdered by outsiders. The same individuals that killed the dwellers attempted to destroy the kit. The resulting explosion caused a subsequent mutation and environment that was from then on referred to as the Mire.

Appearances
The G.E.C.K. appears in Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout 76 and is mentioned in the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide manual for Fallout.

Behind the scenes
An irradiated G.E.C.K would have appeared in the canceled Fallout Tactics 2, and a modified prototype G.E.C.K. would have appeared in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2.