To all Fallout story experts...

Radiation

Some factual data on radiation:
Radiation CAN create actual mutation in living tissue. How does it work? Simple. Radiation can easily penetrate the cell barriers in one's body. When exposed to the invasion of radiation, cells are damaged. In some cases, critical cells die, which leads to the death of the host. In some rare cases, however, the damage to a cell may be minor enough to allow the cell to live. In some of those cases, the dna strand in the cell may be damaged, but manages to survive. Sound exciting? Don't go running out to get irradiated just yet! What really happens when the cells mutate? Effectively, they start to reproduce cells that do not actually serve their original function... Usually to the detriment of the host. Such mutation is called "cancer."

In extremely rare cases, mutations are adaptive. For example, how much sense does skin color make? Nature takes its toll and some of these genetic modifications survive and even flourish. This would take millenia to unfold though. Hence, the sci-fi is needed.

On the other hand, violent, stupid mutations that can't reproduce on their own would probably die off pretty quickly. Hence, super-mutant populations would probably quickly dwindle and die off unless there are more people getting dipped in FEV...

Marcus in FO2 would be an exception to this rule. He's smart, nice, and if you got the special Marcus ending for FO2... well, nuff said on that.

Now what else was there... Oh, yeah. The vaults ARE an experiment by the government. It makes perfect sense. Ever see the movie Dr. Strangelove? The heir Toctor seems to cover the whole rationale for the vaults quite nicely. Seems to be the basis for the idea... And he talks as if vaults are already built... makes me wonder why there aren't more fascists running around the Fallout world... Isn't that right Heir Fuerer? - I mean, Mr. President!
... Also note the music at the end of the movie as compared to the opening credits of FO1&2.

I certainly wouldn't be the only game based on an earlier sci-fi concept. "Starcraft" aliens were based on the novel Starship Troopers. "X-com" seemed to start off based on a number of preceding concepts including "War of the Worlds." Not a bad basis for a game - you have to have ideas from somewhere.

Sorry. Getting off topic.

Harold was a guy that left his vault early and became a merchant. Richard Grey, a doctor, led the expedition that got them both mutated. I don't remember any reference to them being "military" per se except that they were concerned that mutants kept attacking...

Nuff said...
 
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