Automation riots

The automation riots were the culmination of decades of disenfranchisement and labor violationsWartime Workers Act throughout the pre-War United States of America, resulting in region wide protests and violence from both the protesters and the government.
==Background==
As the Sino-American War dragged on, turning into a total war, the development of advanced robotic systems facilitated a massive wave of unemployment, with labor intensive jobs such as mining and factory work at the forefront, and large-scale environmental and societal disruption. Strategic contractors were given effectively free reign: Vault-Tec privatized Morgantown after taking over its community college and rebranding it as the Vault-Tec University. Grafton Steel turned the northern end of the Forest into the Toxic Valley. Hornwright Industrial Mining Company turned Mount Blair and its environs into the Ash Heap using the Rockhound from 2070 onwards, then set the abandoned mines on fire to extract trace amounts of minerals from the smoke using ash forges, repurposed air scrubbers given to the company by the Clear Skies Alliance and then transformed into ore aerosolizing/collection devices.Hornwright Industrial Headquarters terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Personal Entry 03 
However, the greatest changes came with mass automation, with Watoga, the "City of the Future" being the most extreme example: Almost every job was given over to robots, creating a purported "utopia.”Vault Dweller: "What is this place?"Maram Ayari: "Watoga - the city of the future! A fully automated utopia, with everything from hard labor to civil service in the hands of the bots. I wish I could have seen it before the War. Things have gotten a little dingy since then."(Maram Ayari's dialogue)Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 492: "28. WATOGAThis area was built at the site of an old ghost town. The titans of industry and robotics crafted this shining new center of commerce to be the jewel of southeast Appalachia—a fully autonomous city, where robots catered to your every whim. As the more cynical detractors pointed out at the time, there was likely to be a downside if these robots were to ever malfunction. Now Watoga is abandoned aside from a sizable mechanical population. Exercise extreme caution as you explore the rusting towers of the Cranberry Bog Capital; emotionless automatons and extremely long drops are just the start of the threats that abound in these parts!"(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) Headquartered in Watoga, the Atomic Mining Services initiated underground nuclear tests through the Cranberry Bog in order to create ultracite, an extremely potent source of energy. Although human miners were used initially, AMS planned to replace them entirely with Hornwright Auto-Miners as well. The complete replacement did not take place only because the company still needed someone to haul the ultracite out, but miners still received reduced pay, while techs maintaining the bots were paid up to ten times more.Incident record 5374Bad newsGlassed cavern terminal entries; foreman’s terminal, Hornwright Auto-Miners
As early as 2061, the region was rife with homelessness, with workers in the region struggling to make ends meet or provide for their families.Herald editorial on Allegheny Asylum Many of them lost their jobs to rapid automation implemented by companies. Many of the affected workers were miners. RobCo was considered a main perpetrator: Its wide range of robots were designed to replace human workers in jobs deemed too dangerous, but many people in Appalachia saw them as a threat to their jobs. Replacing miners,Auto-MinerBlackwater Mine terminal entries; Blackwater Bandits terminal, Report: 7-28-77 construction workers, policemen and soldiers.Strikebreaker variants of Protectrons and sentry bots as well as other military robots However, not everyone was fully opposed to automation, with the Pioneer Scouts utilizing a range of robots as scout leaders after their human counterparts were put out of commission by a few incidents.Middle Mountain Cabins terminal entries; Pioneer Scout terminal, Marshall's newsletters, Newsletter: Mar 2077Middle Mountain Cabins terminal entries; Pioneer Scout terminal, Marshall's Newsletters, Newsletter: Jul 2077
The wave of automation culminated with Ballot Measure 6, the Appalachian Prosperity Act backed by Governor Evans, whose economic policies resulted in rapid automation at any cost in Appalachia. Set for a vote in November, the measure would issue a $2.6 billion bond to begin the process of replacing all human workers in the Appalachian government with automated systems, with the goal of complete automation by 2087. For many in the region, it became a perfect example of the proxy war between local workers and the conglomerates such as the aforementioned Hornwright Industrial and Atomic Mining Services, driving the shift away from traditional labor. Among the many opponents of the measure, Senator Sam Blackwell rose to prominence, advocating against what he described as a "slow-moving disaster" that would leave the people with nothing but pink slips and empty bellies.Sam Blackwell: "NO" on Measure 6 Peaceful protests were staged at first, including pickets at AMS sites throughout the Cranberry Bog by miners displaced by Auto-Miners.Glassed cavern terminal entries; foreman’s terminal, Hornwright Auto-Miners
==Events==
===Welch===
The unrest peaked when AMS forced families out of the town of Welch in early October 2077.AMS: Corporate Bully The initial resistance was against the AMS' corporate agents sent to evict the families of Welch, which became corporate territory. The agents were ambushed and shot when they tried to force Kaminskis out, triggering the first confrontation in Appalachia.Eviction notice recording: The Kaminskis The disenfranchised workers of Appalachia organized themselves quickly, setting up roadblocks and shutting down roads and factories across the western reaches of West Virginia, coordinating their efforts out of Striker Row, a staging area in the remote areas of the southern Ash Heap.Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide, p. 389: "46. STRIKER ROWA small camp of striking miners seem to have had an altercation with the robots that helped replace them; though the Fissure site probably played a part in leaving this location mostly deserted of life. Check the lower tent camp, and the upper hut and tarp tent as well."(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia)
Despite initial successes, the miners were not equipped for dealing with the National Guard and corporate enforcers, especially when the Hornwright-funded fleet of Strikebreaker robots, customized by RobCo Industries, arrived in the Ash Heap, using lethal force to contain and eliminate the workers.Hornwright Industrial Headquarters terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Personal Entry 04
===Bramwell===
The home of the millionaires of Appalachia, Bramwell was home to some of the most disastrous riots, with some of the miners successfully bringing down an unfinished Mega Mansion with mining explosives and attacking executives leaving for work from their fortified mansions.Hornwright Industrial Headquarters terminal entries; reception terminal, Archived Message - 10.5.77
===Beckley===
One of the historical centers of industry in Appalachia, Beckley was turned into a fortress by the protesters and acted as a base from which to launch raids on corporate facilities along the southern edge of Mount Blair. The National Guard attempted to force the barricades by ramming armored personnel carriers into them and dispersing HalluciGen's riot gas, leading to bitter street fighting. The workers were smart enough to board up buildings and establish their base on the rooftops of the town, including an infirmary.Warning
===Charleston===
Despite the bloody fighting elsewhere, the rioting in Charleston was limited, due to a heavy presence of military bots, especially outside the headquarters of Hornwright Industrial Headquarters.
A separate facet of the riots took place at Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06, a coal power plant originally built in the 1970s to provide power for the western parts of Appalachia,Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06 terminal entries; receptionist's terminal, Visitor Questions refitted with ultracite leased from AMS.Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06 terminal entries; turbine hall terminal, Ultracite Retrofit The influence of these two companies and their close ties to the federal government resulted in intense controls and oversight.Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06 terminal entries; fuel storage room terminal, Government Inspection The switchover coincided with an increasingly hostile approach to workers at the plant, culminating in a walkout. The workers wanted a contract that gave them job security and were supported by the Associated Miner's Union. As per company policy, all workers who joined the picket outside the plant were fired on the spot.Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06 terminal entries; plant manager's terminal, Transcript: Manager's Recording 
As the plant was using ultracite, the plant security manager had no trouble convincing the executives that this was a national security issue.Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06 terminal entries; decontamination control terminal, Protest Security Plan The National Guard arrived with heavy tanks, APCs, and a full load of HalluciGen, Inc. patented riot control gas. The plan was to gas the picketing strikers, making them turn on each other, turning a strike into a deadly riot that could then be leveraged to further weaken organized labor. What they did not realize was that the gas would turn the peaceful protesters into a violent mob. Once the gas took effect, they rushed through the smoke, attacking the soldiers and tearing off their gas masks, turning the strike into a bloody disaster.Poseidon security director's recording
===Clarksburg===
Located in the northern part of the region, Clarksburg was a relatively low priority and the workers managed to secure it with relative ease. The National Guard planned to dislodge them using tanks and got as far as shutting down access roads into the valley, cutting off access to the town, but the Great War precluded any further crackdowns.Clarksburg still has the improvised barricades up, with military units located at the highways leading into the valley
===Mount Blair===
On Mount Blair, miners seized the Rockhound, a major symbol of automation. For eight days, the miners held out, striking and demanding a right to work, until the National Guard sent in specially-designed fleets of combat robots, Strikebreakers, commissioned by Hornwright in the wake of the mine protests, to eliminate the rioters. Resembling to some, the events of the battle of Mount Blair over 150 years earlier, the Strikebreakers took out the miners and returned control of the Rockhound to Hornwright.Hornwright Industrial Headquarters terminal entries; terminal, Jeffery Vaccarro, Archived Message - 10.12.77
===Pittsburgh===
Seeking to increase profits, or at least to keep up with other companies, an unnamed factory in Pittsburgh began to purchase Protectrons as labor and place them throughout the facility.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Regarding New Protectrons Despite the reassurances of management the workers were fearing for their livelihoods. The manager of the plant, Tom McMullin tried to delay their eventual terminationSupply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #1 by complaining to management about problems with the equipment, declaring that because of this, they would not be ready for the next shipment.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #2 Management went to the plant to review the machines, seeing firsthand how they were working fine, outcompeting their best employees by a factor of five. This was also when the employees began to vandalize the automatons,Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #3 two of who were caught by management and promptly fired.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Regarding Recent Employees 
Two new Protectrons immediately replaced them on the assembly line,Supply plant terminal entriess; terminal, Regarding New Shipment followed by the delayed shipment. The company chose to inform the termination of its employees via a loudspeaker, which announced that all employees had to leave by one o'clock p.m., stating that "due to budget cuts, this plant is shutting down." At once, everyone knew there were no cuts and their machine replacements were here and began to riot. The employees began to barricade the doors and take up arms. As a senior employee, Tom McMullin was blamed by the workers as helping replace them. Now in a panic, he grabbed his pistol and tried to make a break for the door, eventually having to run into a utility closet and lock the door behind him.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #4 The workers that cornered McMullin laughed at his pleas for them to vacate the premises, determined to assault him for not being truthful to them about their impending termination.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #5 This was when the Protectrons arrived. At first, they believed that they could handle a few Protectrons. Their laughter turned into cursing and screaming as the Protectrons fought back with their lasers, slaughtering the employees still on the premises.Supply plant terminal entries; terminal, Private Entry #6
==Appearances==
The automation riots are mentioned and .
==Behind the scenes==
The riots and open warfare between citizen and worker militias, and government and corporate forces around Mount Blair echoes the events of the Coal Wars in West Virginia, and the Battle of Blair Mountain, the single largest labor and domestic uprising since the end of the American Civil War.
==See also==
* Food riots
* Clay Riot
==References==
Non-game
Category:Appalachia
Category:Military conflicts
Category:Events
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