Vault 18 is a Vault-Tec Corporation vault, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in the former state of California. The location serves as the starting point in Fallout: New California.
Background[]
Vault 18 was commissioned in 2070 by California Senator Andrew Skolls, a U.S. politician with financial connections to the Enclave and West Tek. It was ostensibly created as the "control vault" to serve as the hub for intra-vault communications via a series of underground cables running across the continental United States to all Vault-Tec shelters.
In reality, the purpose of the vault's experiment was to monitor the reaction of a vault population with knowledge of the social experiments being conducted in the other vaults. Ironically, the vault experiment was never initiated, as Senator Skolls and his daughter died at the onset of the Great War and the vault was quickly seized by the resident military police security force, who detained the two resident Vault-Tec agents (who committed suicide rather than face retaliation) and executed the unfortunate overseer. The MPs, discovering the vault's nature, cut the connector cables to most other vaults, and established Vault 18 as a democratic society with an elected overseer.
Layout[]
Vault 18 was constructed as a huge, luxurious control vault, and as such is substantial in size, spreading outward from a central circular shaft containing the atrium. It is circular in its layout, unlike the rectangular design used in many other vaults.
The central hub of Vault 18, the atrium is a massive cavern with numerous hallways branching off to other sections of the vault. The core of the atrium contains a large recreational area centered around the vault's central server AI, Maria. The lower level has a large diner with a Vault-Tec Food Boy 3000 dispensing HYPERFOOD products in exchange for ration tickets.
The second level, once a large recreation area filled in many television monitors, designed to display the other vault experiments, has been converted into the computer lab. There is a large balcony on the perimeter.
Appearances[]
Vault 18 appears only in Fallout: New California.
Gallery[]
