Adytum

The Adytum or New Adytum is a small settlement in the southern section of the Boneyard in 2161.

Background
Adytum was founded by the inhabitants of the demonstration Vault. The community was fairly self-sufficient, growing its own food and manufacturing ammunition from chemical components garnered on location, (from brahmin dung and cultivars of fungi for example), to exchange for necessary supplies. Aside from the inhabitants eking out an existence, the Adytum is home to several scavengers under the informal leadership of Sammael, who comb the city for long lost artifacts and information.

The town was well fortified, surrounded by a double chain-link fence and patrolled by armed Regulators. While it attempts to be self-sufficient, it became dependent on deliveries from the Hub when their hydroponic farms broke down, with the merchants abusing their position as the sole sustenance of the community, making a tidy profit on ammunition from Adytum. In addition, the town is a short walk from the library and Adytum residents occasionally visit to make use of the Followers' knowledge. Tine ran a shop in a bunker by the entrance, conducting all the trade for the town.

For about 10 years, since about 2251, the Gun Runners have been having to purchase raw materials from Adytum to manufacture weapons. Since about 2158 Jon Zimmerman hired the Regulators to protect the town from the deathclaw and the random raider attack. Since then, Caleb, the head of the Regulators, has been the real leader of the settlement, squeezing both the town and the Gun Runners to line their pockets.

Although they presented themselves as the police of Adytum these cold-hearted mercenaries have been running the settlement as their own personal fiefdom, with Calab as their tyrant. In keeping the illusion they promote Jon Zimmerman as mayor, though he is only a puppet. What made this particularly devious was that both Jon and his (late) son Jason are both allegedly dim-witted and had no idea what the Regulators are doing. Although The Regulators are as unforgiving as deathclaw Sammael attests that even the Blades are welcome if they agree to what the Regulators offer them. While the Regulators kept the townsfolk under strict rule, the town enjoyed both security and relative prosperity. After the hydroponic farm broke, the populace was especially busy and most of them accepted the Regulators' presence as an unwelcome but inevitable reality.

Josh and the Blades
Somehow Josh met and had a relationship with Razor, leader of the Blades. Through this, he learned that the Regulators were oppressing his home and using his father as a puppet. When the Regulators learned that Josh had found out about them, they warned him that if he ever returned to Adytum or ever tried to contact his father they would kill him. Laughing as they delivered the message, so sure that he couldn't get to his father. Late one night Josh did indeed try to sneak into Adytum to tell his father what the Regulators truly are. Sick of having to keep turning him away from the settlement, they were ordered by Caleb to kill him and make it look like the Blades doing. Ordered to cut out his tongue so that he wouldn't talk while they pretend to save him from the impaling on the guard posts. The entire transmission between the patrol and Caleb recorded by Razor.

Unable to contact Jon, or free Adytum from the Regulators, Razor gives the holodisk to the Vault Dweller. If the Vault Dweller gives Jon the holodisk, a Regulator will shoot Jon, killing him instantly, and all the Regulators will attack. If the Vault Dweller acquires weapons and armor for the Blades, they will help the Vault Dweller free Adytum by slaughtering the Regulators. The Vault Dweller: "{102}{}{Are you the leader of this gang?}" Razor: "{110}{}{Gang? We're hardly a gang. But I am the leader here.}" The Vault Dweller: "{167}{}{Zimmerman sent me.}" Razor: "{170}{}{(Looking a little nervous) What? Did he...}" The Vault Dweller: "{172}{}{To pay you back for killing his son.}" Razor: "{173}{}{WHAT!!! THOSE FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT BASTARDS! I"LL KILL THEM, I"LL SEND THEM ALL TO HELL!!}" The Vault Dweller: "{175}{}{Uh...who are you going to send to hell?}" Razor: "{176}{}{... the Regulators. They were the ones that killed Josh! I never would do any thing to hurt Josh. It's the Regulators who are running Adytum, not Zimmerman.}" The Vault Dweller: "{178}{}{Why would the Regulators kill Zimmerman's son?}" Razor: "{179}{}{Josh lived here with me... a... I...I mean us. He knew the truth behind what was going on. The Regulators told him if he ever tried to contact his father or return to Adytum that they would kill him. They laughed at him... they were so sure he couldn't get to his father....}" The Vault Dweller: "{180}{}{They killed him? What did he do?}" Razor: "{146}{}{Late one night he tried to sneak into town to tell his father what was really going on. I was monitoring the Regulators radio transmissions the night that .. they.. he got ...caught. [She looks down and shakes her head slowly.] Here, it's all on this holodisk.}" The Vault Dweller: "{147}{}{Why haven't you given this to Josh's Father?}" Razor: "{148}{}{It's not like any of us can even get close to Adytum. We'd be shot dead before we even reached the gates.}" The Vault Dweller: "{149}{}{Why don't I give him the disk?.}" Razor: "{184}{}{I'm not so sure it would help without the threat of violence to back it up. What we really need are some weapons from the Gun Runners.}" The Vault Dweller: "{185}{}{Well, where are these Gun Runners? Why don't you get some weapons from them?}" Razor: "{187}{}{They're a little to the east of here, but there's a Death Claw nest between us and them. We have never even spoken with any of the Gun Runners. }" The Vault Dweller: "{188}{}{Okay, give me the holodisk, and I'll go talk to the Gun Runners before I approach Zimmerman.}" (RAZOR.MSG)

Present
It is not known what is the canon outcome of the Vault Dweller's time in the Boneyard. The only available piece of information comes from the Vault Dweller's memoirs: "I found many enemies, and a few friends, in the Boneyard. I killed when necessary and learned more about the nature of my true foes." It is not known for certain, however, whether the Vault Dweller did uncover the assassination of Zimmerman's son, Josh, by the Regulators and their attempt at putting their blame on the Blades, and whether Adytum was freed from Regulator rule. It is also unknown if they killed the deathclaws.

Relations with the outside
The Boneyard is run by gangs and their wars are the norm. The people of Adytum are suspicious of strangers, and the Regulators only let people inside to trade or work. The Regulators work to convince all outsiders that they are holding the town together as its police force.

However, when the Vault Dweller that passed through town in 2162, Caleb freely admitted that the Blades were a pathetic group and mentions that the Gun Runners were isolated by the "Deathclaw playground." The town also acknowledged the presence of the Children of the Cathedral and recognized they were not exactly what they presented themselves to be, but mostly left them be. Boneyarders also considered the Followers of the Apocalypse as "loony peace-types," but this does not dissuade the Boneyard's inhabitants from making use of their extensive library.

Smitty fixed things for the Hub merchants and made basic tools: still it was the reloading of ammunition that made up the bulk of the towns exports, and Tine Taylor regularly traded ammunition for food. However, they could not make weapons as they lacked the machining tools.

Layout
Adytum has three underground sections, each with different roles.

Taylor's shop is near the entrance. This is the place where Adytum production is traded to merchants.
 * Taylor's shop

Zimmerman's hideout is under his room.
 * Zimmerman's hideout

Ladder to Adytum hydroponic farms is behind Miles. There is nothing valuable.
 * Hydroponic farms

Appearances
Adytum appears only in Fallout and is mentioned only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * The Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), a Qabalah religious organization, is based out of real-world Los Angeles. Particularly, one of their beliefs is the use of Tarot.
 * The mushrooms grown in Adytum may be a reference to the speculation that the "manna" eaten by the Israelites during their time in the desert was a psilocybin-containing mushroom. However, whilst the B.O.T.A. do explore higher states of consciousness, there is no direct connection to them about mushrooms, with the possible exception of this article.
 * The Latin word "adytum" means "sanctuary" or "shrine," adjusted from the Greek "adyton" the most inaccessible part of a temple.