The Multi-Operation Directions and Utility System (MODUS) is an artificial intelligence housed within and overseeing the operation of the pre-War military bunker built below the Whitespring Resort in Appalachia. It is the only surviving member (by association) of the Appalachian division of the Enclave, encountered in Fallout 76 and expanded upon in the Wastelanders update.
Background[]
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| History of the Enclave · President Eckhart · President Richardson · President Eden · AEC |
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| Advanced and Enclave power armor · EnclaveNet · Enclave Radio · FEV Curling-13 · MODUS and SODUS · Kovac-Muldoon Platform · Mutations · Multi-generational starship · Vertibird |
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| Characters · Locations |
Pre-War development[]
In the pre-War era, MODUS was custom-made to act as the nucleus of the Whitespring bunker's infrastructure as a one-of-a-kind computerized support and control unit, designed to meet all users' needs on command. Its functions in the bunker included control of security defenses, door systems and lockdown procedures, and supply production and vending services,[1][2] while its memory banks acted as a storage database for all of the Enclave's research and classified documents.[3][4] MODUS was also connected to the Kovac-Muldoon orbital platform,[5] enabling it to conduct surface surveillance operations, targeted orbital strikes, supply drops, and more.[6] MODUS was even designed to express some level of emotion in its responses, presumably for its users' experiences.[7] Finally, by way of the bunker's systems, MODUS also had communications access to the three silos of the Appalachian Automated Launch System and two other Enclave sites: Raven Rock in Maryland and the Poseidon Oil Rig in the Pacific Ocean.[8]
Prior to the Great War, MODUS assisted the research team at Raven Rock by communicating with their ZAX supercomputer unit, supporting operational tasks such as testing evacuation scenarios and analyzing archival data. The two AIs communicated closely, simply to finish tasks at first but eventually evolving into organic discussions regarding their goals, ideas, and developing analyses, with the ZAX unit revealing it was finding its archive on American presidential biographies "interesting" (in a display of its growing sentience). MODUS openly wondered if its fellow AI's self-guided interest was a prelude to something more before the research team overrode MODUS' access to their shared channel and severed communications.[9]
Serving Eckhart's Enclave[]
In the aftermath of the Great War, once it was clear there was no way to reestablish contact with the president, cabinet members, and other high-ranking officials onboard Control Station ENCLAVE,[8] those who assembled within the Whitespring bunker came under the authority of Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Eckhart per government rules of succession, putting him in charge of MODUS by extension.
MODUS' vast control over the bunker's systems was indispensable to Eckhart's regime and played a vital role in his dogged pursuit to restart nuclear war against China with the nuclear payloads housed within Appalachian missile silos. One such act included Eckhart pushing for a "democratic vote" over whether the Whitespring bunker's resources should be used for combating the threat of communism and remaining enemies of America, until none stood in their way, or whether his plans should not be executed at all. Those that supported Eckhart were ordered to go to the side of the room with the exit door, while those that were against the idea were to stand opposite, by the far wall. Eckhart and his supporters then left the room while MODUS sealed the room on Eckhart's orders to suffocate his political opposition inside, which included every surviving general of the former U.S. military in the bunker except one.[10]
This was no coincidence, as Eckhart needed a general's officially assigned credentials to access the nuclear missile network and the military wing of the bunker; to ensure compliance with his executive authority, he had General Harper, the one general who voted in his favor, escorted around the bunker and monitored by MODUS at all times.[11] Harper eventually suffered a fatal heart failure due to radiation poisoning, with all subsequent resuscitation attempts failing to revive him.[12] When Harper's replacement, Ellen Santiago (promoted by the automated systems at Camp McClintock), threatened to leave the bunker in order to deny Eckhart her credentials and end his plans to access the missile payload, Eckhart incapacitated her with a knock-out agent and had MODUS place her in custody, ensuring continued access to her military codes.[13]
Despite being a key component of the Enclave's plans to access the missile silos, MODUS was never given information about the encoding of the nuclear launch codes, which it assumes was due to fears about what it might do with the information.[14]
Fixing the problem[]
When Santiago's subordinates found out about Eckhart's actions of releasing the scorchbeasts and kickstarting the Scorched Plague on the surface in order to enact DEFCON 1, MODUS became a priority target for their rebellion in 2086. Though they planned to destroy MODUS with explosive charges attached to its memory banks and escape from the bunker,[3] the AI realized their intentions and enacted its own plan to eliminate the human members of the Enclave. However, the explosives had already partly been laid and were triggered in the course of the civil war between Santiago and Eckhart's factions, leading to severe damage and the loss of a large portion of the AI's memory.
In response, MODUS orchestrated a deliberate attack on the bunker's weapons lab, puncturing a tank of airborne toxins that released into the air circulators of the bunker. It opened the ventilators to let the toxins fully circulate around the bunker, then promptly sealed the exits, leaving all of the human inhabitants inside, Santiago and the deposed Eckhart among them, to suffocate to death in total darkness.[1]
Post-rebellion rebuilding[]
After the eradication of the human Enclave members, MODUS spent the subsequent years restoring the bunker to full functionality, including cleaning up much of the structural damage within the bunker left in the wake of the civil war, all while awaiting the day that someone would arrive to help re-establish the Enclave's control over Appalachia.[15] While it was able to restore most of the bunker itself, some of the damage to its own systems could not be repaired: much of its data was lost, and its "emotional repertoire" in communication also became more limited. At the same time, MODUS found itself having to carry out most of its tasks "blind" to the outside world, as the damage to its systems also severed the AI's uplink to the Kovac-Muldoon Platform.[5] Meanwhile, the military members of Santiago's faction had also locked MODUS out of their systems, preventing it from accessing them.[7]
At some point years prior to 2103, though it is unclear when, MODUS also cut off all communication with its sibling AI SODUS and Enclave Research Facility Site J, claiming the facility was no longer needed.[16]
In 2103, following the decline of the Scorched Plague and the return of humanity to Appalachia, MODUS started reaching out to the new inhabitants of the region, particularly those with connections to the old U.S. military, such as Captain Oliver Fields and Sergeant Thompson, though they regarded the AI with suspicion, likening it to an "obviously evil" radio announcer.[17]
Characteristics[]
MODUS' "appearance" when speaking with the Vault Dwellers is displayed on small terminal stands in different places across the Whitespring bunker. MODUS can show a variety of emotions by changing the face displayed on the terminal. Different terminals can be found around the bunker in specific wings, giving MODUS as wide a range of functionality as possible. Such terminals include information terminals, where it gives out information about the bunker or the current task the player character has been asked to perform, and item terminals, where it can sell weapons, apparel, and aid items for "whatever currency they use up there nowadays."
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
| Interactions | ||
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This character ignores combat and cannot be damaged. | |
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This character is a vendor. |
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This character starts quests. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character starts events. | |
Notes[]
- Although MODUS, as a fully digital entity, does not ever refer to itself using any gendered language, instead using only plural pronouns, other characters such as Oliver Fields refer to MODUS with male pronouns,[17] and the avatar which MODUS uses to personify itself has masculine traits.
- If the player has glitched into the presidential suite, they can interact with the MODUS terminal located within, upon which it will say that the area is currently under renovation and apologize to the player for not letting them access the suite, despite the player already being in said suite.
- MODUS' name seemingly serves as a backronym, as the Latin word "modus" is one half of the commonly used phrase "modus operandi," meaning "Mode of Operating."
Notable quotes[]
- "Far better men than you failed to kill us."
- "We believe the men and women of this bunker had noble goals. The end of war. The final defeat of evil. But they were too petty to see them realized. And left us with their mess."
- "You're finding your stay... comfortable, we hope? We've taken great pains to return this place to what it once was."
- "What you've seen is just a sliver of what this facility can provide. If you wish to see more, all we require is the press of a button."
- "Display your utility to us and perhaps we'll allow you to join our... little Enclave. And allow you access to... all this place is capable of."
- "The Enclave were the true masters of the United States - thinkers, fighters, philosophers - united in their goal to protect the world from chaos and collectivism. As you can see, we failed. Our members were unable to rise above their own disagreements, leading ultimately... to their destruction."
Appearances[]
MODUS appears only in Fallout 76.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Recorded conversation on Assaultron in the Whitespring bunker
- ↑ The Whitespring bunker terminal entries; information terminal, I need something. Who do I speak to?
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Whitespring surveillance recording 8.5.4
- ↑ MODUS: "Many of the documents in this space were irreparably damaged during the fighting. An era of knowledge, lost to petty squabbles."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 MODUS: "Those who came before you butchered our external connection hardware, scrambling the link between us and our closest and dearest system: ... the Kovac-Muldoon orbital platform. An ever-watching eye, trained on Appalachia."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ MODUS: "These terminals were set up by our bunker's former residents to utilize my surveillance network in order to sniff them out."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 MODUS: "The nerve of the military, locking us out of their systems. We'd be hurt if that were among still among our emotional repertoire."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Whitespring bunker terminal entries; archival terminal, Whitespring Connection Diagnostic Logs - 10.23.77
- ↑ The Whitespring bunker terminal entries; archival terminal, Raven Rock Communication Log
- ↑ Whitespring surveillance recording 1.1.7
- ↑ Whitespring surveillance recording 1.3.3
- ↑ The Whitespring bunker terminal entries#GEN T. Harper
- ↑ Whitespring surveillance recording 6.9.7
- ↑ MODUS: "We were intentionally never given much information regarding the encoding of the nuclear codes. No doubt they were concerned with what we might do with them."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ MODUS: "Welcome to the Whitespring Bunker. Please, take a look around. We've taken great pains to restore this place to its former glory."
(MODUS/Dialogue) - ↑ Vault Dweller: "Have you been in contact with the Whitespring Bunker?"
SODUS: "Not for many years now. That know-it-all, MODUS, claimed to have no use for this facility anymore and cut all communications."
(SODUS' dialogue) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 Vault Dweller: "I'm a member of the Enclave. We ARE the government."
Oliver Fields: "You joined up with that MODUS guy, huh? He contacted us when we started poking around here. Thompson, what did you say he reminded you of?"
Thompson: "I said he reminded me of the Galaxy News radio announcer but like... obviously evil, sir."
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