[Last Hope] 13 – Synth Retention Bureau

The Synth Retention Bureau, otherwise known as the SRB, was the Division in charge of all the surface operations, the use of Coursers, and the effective military and military intelligence of the Institute. They were in charge of obtaining resources the Institute sorely needed, infiltrating communities, information gathering, the retrieval of rogue synths, and more.

It was led by forty-nine-year-old Dr. Zimmer. Dr. Zimmer has led the SRB for nearly two decades, and despite his growing age, he was one of the most in-shape men in the Institute. He was only shadowed by Father and had some experience in combat—not much, but more than everyone else in the Institute.

This led to him being one of the most bullheaded and stubborn individuals in the Institute. He saw himself as better than any wastelander could ever be and that anyone who was not living in the Institute was mutant, unintelligent, and literal living garbage. I have half a mind to think that he was a significant reason why most surface operations of the Institute led to such destruction and death. However, I did think Kellog was also partly to blame for the Institute's actions on the surface. Kellog is a cyborg and mercenary for the Institute. He was a cruel and ruthless bastard who would kill a mother or father and steal their baby from their arms, and so much more. With the help of some Synths, he would be responsible for wiping out entire settlements in the Commonwealth. The only one I knew about was University Point, a settlement that lay in the ruins of Massachusetts Bay University.

I don't remember much about the settlement, but I did remember that a girl there found a holotape with some scientists' research regarding increased reactor efficiency. The Institute wanted it, and everyone in the settlement was killed just to get it. I doubt it has happened yet, but I wanted to prevent it if I could.

That's partially why I wanted to become an 'Intern' for the SRB. The other reasons were simple: I wanted to know what I was dealing with and what to expect. For all I knew, the Wasteland could be vastly different from the one I knew. The signs could be seen in my everyday life; the Institute was much larger than depicted in the game. The Concourse was multiple times larger, and the Insitute had thousands living here. Compared to the dozens, if that, that wandered the Concourse in the game? It was a vast difference. For all I knew, Diamond City, the 'Great Green Jewel' of the Commonwealth, could have thousands living within the pre-war baseball stadium.

Making my way into the SRB, I stepped through a surprisingly heavily defended corridor. I could see multiple panels that hid turrets, a deactivated laser grid throughout the hall, and bulletproof glass on both sides of the hallway, where I could see people working on the other side on various terminals and with dozens of screens lining the walls.

I was stopped by a man in a black jumpsuit with the SRB's logo stitched into it.

"ID, please," The man spoke, holding a clipboard.

"I'm afraid I don't have one. I was told to report here for my Internship?" I informed the man honestly.

"Ah. Yes. Sarah?" The man asked, getting a nod, "I am afraid Dr. Zimmer is far too busy, but he has assigned you a handler to walk you through your duties in the SRB. Please, follow me," the man gestured to follow, immediately turning around and walking.

As he led me through a few corridors, I noticed quite a few synths and what I even thought to be Coursers, with their signature black coats.

He led me to an office, stopping before it.

"Inside is your handler. Have a good day," the man calmly wished me before walking away without saying any further words.

Just shaking my head at the lack of social skills most of the people down here had, I turned back to the room I was faced with.

Beside the door was a simple plaque with a number.

[19]

Stepping inside, I met a young man with messy blond hair and deep bags under his eyes.

Around him were literal piles and piles of paperwork.

"Uh..." I spoke out in horror of what was before me.

"Huh? You the...Intern? Good. Come, come. We've got a few thousand papers to go through before the day ends," The man spoke with exhaustion and a tone that showed his sheer, uncaring attitude towards the work he was doing.

"Uh...what...exactly am I doing?" I asked, confused.

"You'll be helping me sort through all of this paperwork. Our office and a few others are responsible for ensuring that this paperwork is adequately sorted and sent to the right people. We get these from each of the other Divisions, and it's mostly requisition requests, reports, project data, and other paperwork that can be as simple as memos or guides," The more the man spoke, the more I realized that I would hate my Internship with the SRB.

...

As it turns out, the SRB was in charge of much more than what was depicted in the game. It was a central hub of intelligence, with it housing the most analysts, pencil pushers, and desk jockeys. The sheer amount of paperwork I had to do under my 'handler,' who still had not given me his name, left my hands sore and my neck stiff, but as much as I despised the experience, I gained valuable information. I got a close look into requisition forms, project reports, and so much more. Of course, quite a bit of it was redacted, but I could still glean some useful information from what I saw.

First, the Institute was in a dire state. It was expanding too fast. The number of people born each year was slowly outpacing the food the Institute could produce and the space it had available. Sure, there were mining crews manned by Synths that were actively expanding the Institute and the Concourse, but it was a slow process with the ancient excavators and thick rock that surrounded the Institute.

Not to mention the little power the Insitute had, forcing them to ration out power to the Divisions. Sure, for now, it wouldn't be noticeable, but if the Institute kept growing, eventually, it would start facing blackouts as the Insitute would need more power than it could produce and gather.

No wonder the Institute was so haphazard in its attempt to make the Fusion reactor in the game; it would solve their power needs, which would allow them to take care of everything else. However, the way they went about it was the reason for their extermination by the people of the Commonwealth. 

Of the endings, only one ended with the survival of the Institute; every other faction ended with them being destroyed. Whether that be the Brotherhood of Steel, the Railroad, or the Minutment, the Institute would lose. That is if that Player didn't side with them. The Insitute had so much potential, but they were weak. They had such advanced technology, and look where that got them. A Nuke to eradicate everything that they once were and those that remained to be hunted down.

The Institute had so much potential...I would need to work extra hard to ensure that it reached its potential.