The Fallout universe is a desolate wasteland and humanity clings to survival in the Vaults, massive underground shelters built by the ominous Vault-Tec Corporation. Intended to serve as safe havens for humanity’s select few, these vaults, built deep underground of irradiated America are instead societal petri dishes. Among many of the Fallout vaults, Vault 112 stands out. This is not for its brutality but for its exploration of psychological manipulation through virtual reality.

Fallout’s Vault 112

Vault 112 is introduced in the Fallout 3 video game. According to the lore it was constructed between 2068 and 2074, finished just two years before the bombs. Intended for only 85 inhabitants, is a stark contrast to hundreds of people in other Vaults.

However, there is more to this particular vault. The entrance to Vault 112 is well hidden, beneath an ordinary garage in the expansive Capital Wasteland, making players question what is happening behind the closed doors.

Dr. Stanislaus Braun

The overseeing duties for this Fallout vault were given to Dr. Stanislaus Braun. Unlike other overseers focused on resource management and maintaining order, Dr. Braun was fixated on dreamscapes of virtual reality.

He designed and brought to life the revolutionary Garden of Eden Creation Kit, a tool for building virtual worlds. This made Vault 112 a grand experiment.

Tranquility Loungers In Main Chamber

Each of the 85 survivors was plunged into virtual paradises via specialized Tranquility Loungers found in the main chamber.

Braun was in complete control over the simulated reality, manipulating their idyllic worlds. Eventually, he got tired of the peaceful paradise and his god complex spiraled down into madness.

He would manipulate their virtual realities into nightmarish horrors ultimately killing them while in their virtual reality. Each time after killing them, Dr. Braun would wipe their memory clean and resurrect them within the program.

Fallout Series And The Vaults

The Fallout TV series has introduced us to a handful of Vaults, each hinting at disturbing Vault-Tec experiments. Vault 31 served as a corporate headquarters, while Vault 32 and Vault 33 functioned as a bizarre codependent society with forced marriages and resource exchange.

While Fallout excels at body horror,  as we saw a number of monsters and gun fights, Vault 112’s social experiment with psychological manipulation would be a groundbreaking addition to the show.

It would take away the viewers from the usual wasteland brutality and introduce them to a different kind of terror.

Descent Into Madness

The exploration of Dr. Braun’s descent into madness would be a fantastic episode in an already fantastic show. He will be a true antagonist, as opposed to the overseers whose main goal is preserving the vault.

The twisted ingenuity of Vault-Tec can be seen across 122 known vaults in the Fallout universe. Instead of being a post-apocalyptic utopia, these are remnants of the darkest corners of the human mind thriving after nuclear war.

Some other notable vault experiments include Vault 11 in which one inhabitant was sacrificed each year or else the Vault computer would kill everyone.

Adding More Horror To The Series

The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to Fallout vaults, but Dr. Braun, his morally problematic experiment, and his motives have great story potential to become an episode of Fallout, adding psychological horror to the series.