Lost

The Lost are creatures found in the Skyline Valley region of Appalachia .
==Background==
The Lost were created in 2095 as the result of the first activation of the Vault 63 weather machine. Because Vault 63 was not fully complete when the Great War struck, its inhabitants were exposed to radiation, with those that survived becoming ghouls. Over time, the ghoul inhabitants began to go feral and sought to reverse the process with experimental science. By pure chance, the Vault researchers discovered that the weather machine in the meteorology sector was able to temporarily alleviate, if not reverse, the effects of feralization.Vault Dweller: "What kind of 'hope' did you see?"Hugo Stolz: "By chance we discovered that time spent near the weather control device had side effects. Positive ones: they seem to quell the symptoms of feralization. It was the only path forward. The only research that bore fruit."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue)
When Hugo Stolz heard of this, he took drastic action. Hugo's wife Cassidy was going feral; desperate to save her, and seeing no other way, Hugo tricked the meteorology sector researchers into reporting to the atrium, then used the opportunity to take himself and Cassidy to the machine. He then activated it and pushed it to its very limit, causing a mutation by charging them both with enough electricity to rival a lightning strike.Vault Dweller: "I'm really sorry you lost her, Hugo."Hugo Stolz: "No, no, no, you misunderstand. When the feral mind began to take her... I feared losing her forever. That spark between us lost it's charge, she slipped further and further away. I made a choice. To follow the only path that had provided us any hope. I reignited that spark. I brought her to the device, I pushed it to its limit. I allowed it to impart on us that power greater than the burning surface of the sun."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue) The effects spread out from Hugo somehow, affecting many other Vault dwellers, though not everyoneSecurity guard's final goodbye (and it appears that the dwellers in the atrium, the only fully completed part of the Vault, were not affected). The mutation on the other dwellers was incomplete;Vault Dweller: "So you caused the accident. Created the Lost."Hugo Stolz: "An accident implies a lack of intent. No, it was a choice. The creation of the Lost was no mistake. It's failure to reach completion, is, however. A half-step that left them deserted in a reality all their own. But we need to bring them back. All of them-- not just my Cassie. We need to bridge the divide. That is what I'm trying to fix here. That is where I need your help."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue) it altered and/or removed their senses, leaving them cut off from the world, "terrified, enraged... [and] lost," as observed by James Oberlin.Vault 63 atrium terminal entries; Oberlin's personal terminal, Security Report - 5 days since the accident The newly-created Lost were hostile to anyone around them who was not also Lost, even their former family, friends, and neighbors. The sole exceptions were Hugo and Cassidy Stolz, the former of whom received the full magnitude of the mutation due to being the one who activated the machine.Vault Dweller: "What really happened here? The Lost, the storm?"Audrey Stolz: "I don't blame you for trying to wrap your head around things. With all that happened along the way, it's been hard to remember how it all connected. It all started with 'going Feral,' though. That was the root of all our worries after the bombs. The only real threat we faced. By pure chance, we learned that exposure to the weather machine had a reversing effect on the symptoms... but only for a brief time. My father... decided that he saw enough. That the machine would be the solution. He took it into his own hands, and doomed us all. While we were called away to a phony meeting in the Atrium, he snuck my ailing mother to the machine, and introduced the Lost to the world. A few decades later, after our research once again showed early signs of progress... he did it again. This time, going further than before. Thus, the storm, the shattered grounds, the Vault opening and freeing the Lost to roam the surface. Time and time again, that lunatics obsession to control the uncontrollable endangered all of us. His impatience always putting us at risk. You put that to rest... but we're still dealing with the remnants of his actions... Seems like nothing can stop the Lost or the storm now."(Audrey Stolz's dialogue)
To protect themselves, the survivors were forced to seal themselves in the atrium and keep the Lost contained in other sectors of the Vault, also preventing them from reaching the surface and killing others (or getting themselves killed). They began conducting research on how to restore the Lost, or at least keep them contained so as not to be a threat to anyone. Despite the situation, they seemed to be making some progress up until 2105, when the situation worsened. Hugo's first attempt did not seem to have helped Cassidy as much as he had hoped, and so he took her to the weather machine and activated it for the second time. This time, Hugo discovered his mutation gave him the ability to control the other Lost, allowing him to calm Cassidy and seemingly restore her mind,Vault Dweller: "You being behind the second accident is the least surprising thing I've ever heard."Hugo Stolz: "I'm nothing if not consistent. I made great progress in my second attempt. I was able to calm my Cassidy. Suddenly, she responded to my will. She followed my footsteps. She looked me in the eyes again. In that moment of bliss, we fled away back to the atrium. Hand in hand... Like school children we ran while this devilish machine spun on, sowing destruction. I learned something important about the power I hold. I'm the gravitational force they need. I am a vessel for this storm. I can move them. Save them."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue) but causing her to soon become comatose (possibly a result of Hugo's influence).Vault Dweller: "What's wrong with her?"Hugo Stolz: "Nothing. She's perfect. Always has been. Always will be. The same incident that has put me into my condition, well it made her... quiet. Tired. She'll be right in no time. All the more reason for you to get a move on with those weather machine blueprints, no?"(Hugo Stolz's dialogue) The cost was enormous: the second activation of the weather machine led to the manifestation of a heavy thunderstorm in Skyline Valley,Vault Dweller: "How is this possible? The machine hasn't activated yet."Hugo Stolz: "Ah, but it has! Before we ever met, even. Months ago, before we ever crossed paths, I stood here with Cassidy, just as we had a decade ago. I ran this machine again. Hoping, begging for a solution. And at worst, a release from this solitary life. The results were unexpected, more severe than my first attempt. The storm you see? The shattering of the land around here? A result of that brave step."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue) as well as severe earthquakes which destroyed the land around Dark Hollow Manor, caved in the tram tunnels between Vault 63's sectors, and exposed many of its entrances to the surface. This allowed the Lost to escape to the surface and spread throughout Shenandoah National Park, threatening all those who were living aboveground.Vault Dweller: "Did the Earthquake cause a lot of damage?"Oberlin: "Yes. Significant damage to the tram tunnels that once connected the various research sectors of this Vault. Additionally, damage to the manor grounds directly above have caused some structural integrity issues with the Atrium. Perhaps, most concerning, though, is the various exposed entrances to the Vault spread throughout the region. This has led to an increase in the number of Lost now on the surface, which isn't good for anyone involved."(James Oberlin's dialogue)
Since then, Hugo's goal has been to find a way to isolate and replicate the "signal" inside him that allows him to control the Lost, pushing his niece Hilda to try to stabilize and/or cure the Lost and his daughter Audrey to repair the broken weather machine. With these pieces in hand, he intends to "teach [the] machine to dance to [his] song," so as to spread his influence over all of the Lost throughout Skyline Valley... for better or for worse.Vault Dweller: "You aren't helping them, you're just controlling them."Hugo Stolz: "For now, perhaps, but that's why we must finish this. For months, I've pushed Hilda and Audrey toward the solution. I knew it was in me, the signal to shepherd them. I just needed them to isolate it, decode it... replicate it. To teach our machine to dance to my song, to forge a true bridge between me and our lost children. But, truly, the last missing piece was you, mein Freund. Without your drive... we'd have been stuck. So before we end this for good. I do want to thank you again, for being a catalyst for change. Now, let's finish this, shall we? I have business to attend to."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue)
==Characteristics==
The Lost are ghouls who discharge electricity and show signs of severe psychosis. They are invariably hostile but are still sane enough to use weaponry such as shock batons or guns, while many Lost have also turned feral. Vault 63 dwellers have observed that they also seem to be able to harness electricity from the storm. This seems to bring them great pain, as they can be heard saying that injuries in combat do not compare to the torment of the storm.
The Lost's mutation has altered, if not removed, several of their senses. Lost can be heard saying that they cannot see, smell, or taste. Hugo, who was born blind, instead states that he was able to regain a form of vision from becoming Lost, which he describes as seeing the world through electrical pulses and wavelengths, "a universe of violent synaptic connections carving out and outlining every object and person." This functions to the degree that he is able to navigate locations normally and even detect people entering areas he does not wish them to (though he still cannot read written text). He speculates that the other Lost are also afflicted with this condition, and that it may be partially responsible for their psychosis due to the distorted worldview and mental stress.Vault Dweller: "How did you find me? I thought you were blind."Hugo Stolz: "Apologies for the confusion. I often forget just how unusual my situation has become. I was born blind, and lived that way even after becoming a 'Ghoul', as you put it. However, as I've mentioned, an accident at this facility altered me. Not unlike the "Lost" that wander the surface. I see the world in pulses, wavelengths -- a universe of violent synaptic connections carving out and outlining every object and person. Navigation is trivial for me now. I was able to spot you in these sacred grounds even from my office. To the 'Lost', I imagine this vision is a curse, a terrifying cataractous cloud that distorts their world. To me, it is a new life. Needless to say, I don't find myself bumping into things while getting around the Vault anymore."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue)Vault Dweller: "It's a fascinating subject, but why bring this up now?"Hugo Stolz: "Ah, of course, we've only just met. I apologize, you have the spirit of an old friend about you. I've forgotten there's much new ground to tread between us. I may have failed to mention this before, but I am, or was, blind. Born that way. After the incident that left me in... this... state, I became able to truly 'see' the world. Well, perhaps it's more accurate to say, I 'feel' the world. Pulses of electricity. Waves bending and refracting. Gentle hums of life- vibrating shapes into being. This world I see... I share it with the Lost. I live as they do, yet I remain myself... Perhaps more myself than I was before. But others... were lost to it, and to us. Friends, colleagues, loved ones... When they witness this world, their mind, it... Well, I suppose I cannot explain what their mind perceives. Just as one could never explain sight to me before. We have been trying to learn why this connection was permanently severed between us. Desperately so."(Hugo Stolz's dialogue)
Lost are highly vulnerable to pulse grenades.
==Variants==
===Lost dweller===
===Lost builder===
===Lost welder===
===Lost engineer===
===Lost heavy engineer===
===Lost robot master===
===Lost champion===
===Lost exalted===
===Lost exalted champion===
===Feral Lost===
==Locations==
* Found throughout the Skyline Valley region.
* Lost appear as the main enemy horde during the event Dangerous Pastimes. They also appear as generic enemies in the event Neurological Warfare.
==Appearances==
The Lost appear only .
==Gallery==
FO76SV PTS Clear weather Losts.jpg
FO76SV Fighting a Lost.png
==References==
Category:Skyline Valley creatures