The West Tek Corporation, commonly referred to as West Tek and also known as West-Tek or West Tech, was a major United States defense contractor and research corporation, involved in strategic defense projects of the Department of Defense, such as power armor and FEV research.[1]
Background[]
West Tek was founded in 2002, consisting of two divisions: Advanced Weapons and Biomedical Sciences Research.[2] Its early projects included the X277 magnetic rail cannon. Although powerful, the cost of fielding such a weapon on a mass scale were considered too extreme and the project was shelved in 2044.[3] In 2055, following the emergence of the New Plague, the company focused its biomedical research efforts on developing a cure for the contagion. Although unsuccessful, it would lead to West Tek being chosen to develop a general immunity virion nearly twenty years later.[Non-game 1]
In 2065,[Non-game 1] West Tek joined the power armor research initiative. Although the early prototypes proved to be unworkable in the field, they paved the way for breakthroughs in other fields, military and civilian. The key achievement of the project was the creation of the first portable fusion cell in 2066.[Non-game 1] Bolstered by this discovery, West Tek immediately began work on the ambitious T-51 power armor project. However, the invasion of Alaska by Chinese forces a few months later forced the military and participating companies to improvise and speed up their schedule. West Tek was the first to beat its competitors to the punch by developing the power armor frame[4] and the first practical series of power armor, the T-45 model D.[5] The first mechanized infantry units equipped with T-45d power armor were deployed to the Alaskan front less than a year later. Although lacking in mobility, they were effective in stemming the Chinese onslaught, thanks to their ability to carry heavy ordinance into battle with ease.[6] West Tek also developed portable, military-grade laser weapons, paving the way for industrial giants like Wattz Electronics.[Non-game 1]
By 2069, it was the single largest defense contractor for the United States government. Its largest contract was the T-51 power armor,[2] which would not be completed for another seven years.[Non-game 1]
In 2073, West Tek was contracted to develop a general immunization agent against the New Plague and biochemical weapons used by China. Their viral research efforts from 2055 onwards played a major role in the selection process.[Non-game 1] This generalized immunity virion was designated the Pan-Immunity Virion Project and formed on September 15.[7] Early experiments with the virion resulted in effective immunity to genetic damage or disruption of protein synthesis, thanks to the new quad-helix structure created by the PVP in affected cells. However, the side effects (increase in muscle mass and induction of replication even in normally non-replicating or slow replicating cells) attracted the attention of West Tek's military liaison, Major Barnett, who immediately ordered further experiments in that direction in March, 2075. Subsequent successful experimentation on flatworms and small mammals confirmed the viability of PVP as an evolutionary mutagen, now designated the Forced Evolutionary Virus.[8]
The last attempt to continue the PVP line of experimentation was the Greenhouse Initiative, which attempted to use the mutagenic potential of PVP to create edible plants and vegetation that could greatly increase food production and combat the shortages that led to the food riots rocking the country.[9] The town of Huntersville was selected as the test site, resulting in an economic boom.[10] Although the company would purchase test rights from local farmers as late as December 2075, the project was at an end.[11]
On January 6, 2076, the military secured West Tek research sites in the name of national security. Among others, a military detachment under the command of Colonel Robert Spindel was deployed to The Glow, bringing it under military control. West Tek was effectively nationalized,[12] and the development of FEV continued apace, with support from the military's own advisory teams. New genetic sequences were spliced into FEV, gradually turning it into a shifting-absorptive virus that had little in common with the original Pan-Immunity Virion. It did, however, result in increased intelligence, dexterity, muscle mass, and resiliency to pathogens and cancer.[7] The Greenhouse Initiative was scrapped and the researchers reassigned to other projects[13] as West Tek decided to use its Appalachian branch to focus on experimenting with FEV to determine its practical limits, with Huntersville as proving grounds for low-level FEV exposure experiments and source of test subjects.[14]
The Advanced Weapons and Laser Development divisions completed their own projects by the end of the year, resulting in the T-51 power armor being put into production after testing and further iteration by the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Strong in mid-2076.[15] West Tek continued iterating on the design, developing the next generation T-60 power armor, quietly tested in the following months and entering service after the Battle of Anchorage.[Non-game 2] In January 2077, the defense contract was renewed by the government once again, heralding the value of power armor in all theaters of the war.[Non-game 3]
Apart from the power armor, the FEV project was nearing completion. All Californian FEV research assets to the newly constructed Mariposa Military Base, including a significant portion of West Tek's research staff, ignoring recommendations against human testing from the personnel.[7] In Appalachia, where human testing was already ongoing, advanced mutation experiments continued around the clock for the duration of 2077. While the Mariposa team perfected an operational strain, Appalachian researchers focused on experimental ones that would test the limits of the virus. Apart from numerous nightmare-inducting results, the experiments created stable mutations that would become known as the snallygaster[16] and the Grafton monster,[17] after Thomas Eckhart unleashed them and the super mutants on Appalachia as part of his sinister plans.[18][19]
The Californian branch fared less well. While the Appalachian facility was abandoned and the FEV neutralized, by October 23, most of West Tek's personnel in California were dead, either executed by the mutinous soldiers during the Mariposa Rebellion or killed in the nuclear strike on the research facility north of San Diego.[20][Non-game 1]
Research projects and products[]
West Tek was instrumental in the creation of multiple projects that redefined the battlefield and biomedical science as we know it.
Advanced weapons research[]
Laser weapons were developed under the Head of Laser Development, Charles Ringhold.
- X277 magnetic rail cannon (canceled 2044): An abortive Gauss rifle project, canceled after cost overruns and the realization that fielding it would be prohibitively expensive. The public and museum authorities exhibiting the remaining prototypes would incorrectly designate it as a railgun or rail cannon.[3]
- Laser weapon technology.[Non-game 1]
- Power armor frame and T-45 power armor (completed 2067): The first practical variant of power armor, combining a universal chassis with plating and combat systems utilizing current generation technologies. Although intended as a stop-gap solution until the deployment of T-51 power armor, it became the workhorse of the U.S. military, serving with distinction across the frontlines of the Sino-American War for over ten years.[21]
- T-51 power armor (completed 2076): The pinnacle of released power armor development before the Great War, providing a balance of mobility, survivability, and firepower. The ten year development cycle was not spent in vain, as the T-51 was able to decisively shift the odds in favor of the U.S., limited only by supply problems overseas.[22]
- T-60 power armor (completed 2077).[Non-game 2]
- EXC-17 power armor (completed 2077): In collaboration with the Garrahan Mining Company. A subsequent "Ore Sniffing" technology was also developed for exclusive use with the armor.[1]
NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) division[]
Headed by Nick Davis, with Leon Von Felden leading the FEV project.
- Pan-Immunity Virion (renamed 2075) and the Forced Evolution Virus (completed 2077): The most important mutagen in the history of the wasteland was crafted in West Tek laboratories under government oversight.[Non-game 1][7][8]
Known employees[]
West coast[]
East coast[]
Locations[]
- West Tek research center in Appalachia
- West Tek Research Facility in California. Destroyed in the Great War, becoming a giant, glowing radioactive crater known simply as The Glow.
Appearances[]
West Tek's facilities appear in Fallout and Fallout 76, while the parent company is also mentioned in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.[4]
Behind the scenes[]
The name of the company is derived from the pre-War name of The Glow. Originally mentioned only in the very first game as the largest defense contractor in the US, West Tek was only expanded upon in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. The history of the Glow's name is actually fairly convoluted:
- The Glow was unnamed in the early GURPS timeline draft by Scott Campbell and Brian Freyermuth. However, the idea of FEV-1 stored there leaking into the atmosphere and contaminating lifeforms across the wasteland was already present. FEV-1 would actually multiply in the irradiated jetstreams, thriving and making its way into every non-sealed water supply across the world, triggering extreme mutations.[Non-canon 1]
- The facility was named FSEF early on, with the only mention of the name remaining in Scott Campbell's design documentation for the Burrows.[Non-canon 2]
- Ultimately, the facility was named West Tech or West Tek. It's unclear which name was intended: West Tek Research Facility is used only once, in the Ancient Brotherhood disk, while West Tech Research Facility is used a total of 14 times, in West Tech records and dialogue with ZAX. However, since the Fallout Bible and later Fallout 3, the company has been consistently spelled as West Tek (the exception is Operation Anchorage, where it's spelled as West-Tek,[23] with a dash). All references on the wiki have been updated to match to reflect this.
References[]
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Non-game
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Non-canon
- ↑ Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure timeline
- ↑ Burrows design document: "The Burrows is a community made up of the mutant animals that escaped the FSEF facility 60 years ago. It is made up of small, raccoon like animals. These animals speak fluent English, and are highly intelligent. They have set up their own little community that is a link between Nature and Man."
