Stealth Boy

The RobCo Industries Stealth Boy 3001 is a personal stealth device.
==History==
Existing as far back as 2075, the Stealth Boy was created by Robert Mayflower and produced by RobCo Industries.Museum of Technology placard: "This is the RobCo "Stealth Boy" Model 3001 Personal Stealth Device. Developed by Robert Mayflower, the Stealth Boy generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other making the bearer almost invisible to the untrained eye." Stealth Boys are one of the most advanced technologies developed before the Great War. The Stealth Boy 3001 is a wrist-mounted device that generates a modulating refraction field that transmits reflected light from one side of an object to the other (an effect sometimes called stealth radiationThe Courier: "I found a chewed up Stealth Boy in the Nightstalker lair."Henry: "Hmmm... there's still power, but the casing is cracked. I'm astonished that exposure to the stealth radiation could induce mutations so rapidly. More importantly, this explains why my research into this group of Nightstalkers hasn't come up with a cure for the Nightkin. There's only one avenue left for me - I need to run the Mark II test on Lily. It's the only way."(Henry's dialogue)). The end result is practical invisibility, which can range from translucency to near-perfect active camouflage.Fallout item description: "{5400}{}{Stealth Boy}""{5401}{}{A RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 personal stealth device. Generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other.}" Because of this, the device was considered strictly military hardware before the war,REPCONN test site terminal entries#RE: Workplace Misbehavior with many having never seen one in-use.REPCONN test site terminal entries; terminal, Re: Shipment Mistake?
The underlying science was never fully understood by American scientists, with American produced stealth technologies reliant on reverse engineering Chinese Hei Gui stealth armor,The Switchboard terminal entries; research terminal, > 2075 Dec 17 but these proved reliable enough for military purposes. In fact, it was enough to convince the military to have had these devices mass produced by RobCo. Even more, work started on a more advanced Stealth Boy mark II prototype.The Courier: "What are you working on?"Henry: "The Nightkin have varying degrees of mental instability due their addiction to Stealth Boy use. I've been trying to come up with a cure. I'm currently investigating the local Nightstalker population since they seem to have developed a natural stealth field. I've also gotten my hands on a working Stealth Boy Mark II prototype, but that experiment is riskier. I'd rather not pursue that research just yet."(Henry's dialogue After the Great War, developed by Enclave scientists in Appalachia, the Stealth Boy Mark III was an overall improvement of the Stealth Boy, coming at the cost of reverting back to a specialized canvas holder design rather than a wrist-mounted design.
There are drawbacks to the Stealth Boy however. Apart from limited battery life, particularly when used at full power to achieve total invisibility, the modulating field can cause permanent neurochemical changes,The Courier: "What makes you think that the Nightstalker mutation isn't natural?"Henry: "I've compared the brain chemistry of a Nightkin to one of the local Nightstalkers we killed. They both exhibit similar neurochemical changes. Now, I'm not claiming that Nightstalkers are running around wearing Stealth Boys, mind you. I just don't think it's all a coincidence."(Henry's dialogue) resulting in the development of mental conditions, such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and even schizophrenia.The Courier: "What's wrong with the Nightkin?"Marcus: "Nightkin suffer schizophrenia from the Stealth Boys they're always using. One of the reasons I settled Jacobstown was so they could be cured. While they're in town, the Nightkin aren't allowed to have Stealth Boys so their craziness doesn't get worse. Trouble is the Nightkin don't like being visible, either. They don't take being exposed too well."(Marcus' dialogue) This is by far most noticeable among the nightkin, former elite members of the Unity and their prolonged Stealth Boy use and apparent increased susceptibility of super mutant physiology to stealth radiation. Nightkin tend to suffer from delusions, anxiety attacks (particularly when deprived of their Stealth Boys), and heightened aggression (particularly when trying to acquire Stealth Boys to cope with their withdrawal symptoms). Treatment is difficult and usually focuses on symptoms, due to the inability to address the underlying cause (yet).JacobstownThe Courier: "Why does Keene want to leave?"Marcus: "Because of a promise. One I haven't been able to keep. The Nightkin all suffer from schizophrenia. It's the Stealth Boys they use, used to use. Nightkin have a hard time being seen like normal folks. Can't stand it. A few already left to try and find more Stealth Boys. Miserable situation. They either stay here and suffer, or dig up Stealth Boys and lose their minds. Not much of a choice."(Marcus' dialogue)Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Rulebook p.171: "One of the most interesting technologies developed before the War, the Stealth Boy 3001 is a compact device which generates a modulating refraction field which transmits light from one side of the field to the other. The result is near-perfect active camouflage, ranging from a sort of distorted transparency when moving to almost total invisibility when stationary.The Stealth Boy was reverse engineered from captured Chinese Stealth Armor during the War, and while the technology was never perfected—even the most advanced Stealth Boy consumes its battery in around 30 seconds—it was still seen to be reliable enough for service. Long-term use of Stealth Boy technology has been observed to cause permanent neurological changes, resulting in paranoid delusions, hallucinations, and other mental changes."
==Variants==
===Stealth Boy Mark I===
The Stealth Boy 3001 is the most common variant of active camouflage devices in the wastelands, manufactured in a variety of portable forms, including a wrist-mounted disc and an emitter in a canvas carrying pouch worn on the belt. Stealth Boys offer a number of power settings allowing anything from total invisibility to partial translucency. Tanya MacMillen speculated that the device was powered by small energy cells.One Woman's Path Through the Desert#Day 187
===Stealth Boy Mark II prototype===
The Stealth Boy Mark II prototype is an enhanced Stealth Boy, put through testing by the U.S. military shortly before the Great War. According to Doctor Henry, its purpose was to use less power and therefore last longer.The Courier: "Why is the Stealth Boy Mark II riskier?"Henry: "The stealth field has been modulated to use less power and thus last longer, but for some reason it has pronounced negative effects on the user. However, these pronounced effects will allow me to pinpoint exactly what parts of the brain they're affecting. Unfortunately, I'll need to run the test on a live subject, and Marcus has encouraged me to investigate the Nightstalker mutation first."(Henry's dialogue) After the war, Henry conducts research on the effects of the device, stating that although the prototype's purpose was to use less power,The Courier: "I found a chewed up Stealth Boy in the Nightstalker lair."Henry: "Hmmm... there's still power, but the casing is cracked. I'm astonished that exposure to the stealth radiation could induce mutations so rapidly. More importantly, this explains why my research into this group of Nightstalkers hasn't come up with a cure for the Nightkin. There's only one avenue left for me - I need to run the Mark II test on Lily. It's the only way."(Henry's dialogue), unintended negative effects of the device's modulating field include permanent neurochemical changes, such as schizophrenia, especially among Nightkin. A chewed variant can be found in the Mojave's Charleston Cave.
===Stealth Boy Mark III===
Developed by Enclave scientists in Appalachia with the help of Chinese schematics and MODUS,The Whitespring bunker terminals#RE: Chinese Stealth Tech the Stealth Boy Mark III was the total improvement of the Stealth Boy. While no longer wrist mounted (instead reverted back to a canvas box), the power consumption rate was drastically lowered from the Mark II Stealth Boys allowing for longer invisibility time until power was drained.
===Phantom Device===
 
A satchel model Stealth Boy modified by the Order of Mysteries with a cloud of HalluciGen gas that cloaks the user, frenzying nearby enemies.Cryptos terminal entries; The Order of Mysteries Handbook, The Regalia of Mystery
===Railroad Stealth Boy===
The secretive organization The Railroad gained access to a more powerful variant of the normal Stealth Boy. Their resident engineer Tinker Tom sells the devices to trusted agents.
==Behind the scenes==
* Although it is mentioned in Fallout 2 and its description is present in Fallout Tactics files, the item was absent from the games themselves. The device's backstory was not developed until Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, where it played a role in the backstory for the Maxson Bunker and its denizens: The Brotherhood of Steel experimented with those devices to gain an edge in the war against the New California Republic. However, when the deleterious side effects on the user's psyche were discovered, the devices were banned and the team disbanded. However, it was not known that the team had already begun to suffer the effects of the device, in the form of paranoid delusions. Thinking the disbanding of their team to be a conspiracy against them, the operators stole their Stealth Boys and formed their own order, the Circle of Steel.Maxson bunker design document/1
* Additionally, Van Buren spelled the device as "StealthBoy" in design documents. Subsequent games incorporated much of the backstory into the mainstream canon through Fallout: New Vegas.
* A device known as a Stealth Girl was planned for Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2.Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 design document - Page 19
==References==
Non-game
Non-canon
Category:Miscellaneous items
Category:Consumables
Category:RobCo Industries technology
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