It's been a week since Afton had killed Patient Zero and oh boy has he been busy. From creating the hardware of his AI with Mobius to exploring the X-22 underground lab, and eventually filling out a bucket list of potential projects he wants to start.

The bucket list itself was just a computerised whiteboard that sat in the Think Tank and was linked with another that was in the Forbidden Dome, so any changes made on either side would happen to the other. This was needed as none of the Think Tank dared to directly communicate with Mobius... Afton hadn't told them about their memory wipes nor the recursion look they'd been stuck in, so they were still under the assumption that Mobius was still evil, but barely under the control of Afton. ​​

Still, they worked together marvellously through the whiteboard, one half had been claimed by Mobius while the other belonged to the Think Tank. Afton himself stole a corner for himself and created a list of projects he wished to see completed, or at least, attempted.

The list currently consisted of :

Miniaturize forcefield technology.

Find a way to mass-produce/consistently produce Saturnite.

Create cloning technology. (TEST ON ANIMALS FIRST!)

Repair and expand the Holodeck in X-13.

Figure out a way to inhibit future hexagonal towers from sprouting.

Modify Proton weaponry.

Expand Hologram technology.

Expand outer defences (One tesla fence and an army of Cyberdogs/Robo-Scorpions will not stop the NCR or Legion! Let alone the Brotherhood with their Verti-birds.)

Modify and upgrade Power armour.

Deconstruct and analyse Y-17 trauma override harness.

Create a more advanced communication device.

Repair Big Mt!

The last one had many circles and lines written around it to emphasize how important it was. Most of the projects were ones that he wanted to be started, or at least considered. Obviously, he knew that many of them would likely take months or years to complete, but it was good to set goals, especially for scientists who had been bored out of their minds for centuries.

Most of the things on the list were only because Afton thought they'd be directly beneficial to himself, but the cloning facility was more for the scientists than anything. He'd found Higgs Village, an old settlement inside Big Mt where the scientists used to live when they were human.

Inside he found many samples that he'd be able to gather genetic information from (Hair, ancient faeces, etc). So one the cloning facility was complete, he'd be able to clone their actual bodies and put their brains into them.

Of course, he knew that Zero or some of the other scientists may be... Unsatisfied with their former bodies. So it wouldn't be surprising if they added a few ways to 'tweak' their clones. Afton smirks to himself when imagines Zero suddenly walking into the Think Tank with a penis so large that he can barely stand up straight.

As for miniaturizing forcefield technology? He wanted to somehow incorporate it into Power armour or something similar, perhaps wrist bands? If it could be done then he and anyone else he outfitted them with would be almost unkillable.

Speaking of which, he'd also discovered the 'joys' of Saturnite Alloy. He wasn't sure what it was made out of, or how it even functioned, but the positives of it made him want to find out... Essentially, it's a Ceramic Alloy that is incredibly strong, stronger than even steel, was able to retain heat for prolonged periods of time, and was able to hold an edge unnaturally well.

Afton even thought that Mono-molecular blades might be possible with the material. Though he'd have to test it further to see if that was really possible. The end game for him would be to create a suit of Power armour with Saturnite... Perhaps only outer plating though? Its ability to retain heat would enable someone to melt the user from the inside out with a flamethrower...

Indeed, he also wanted to incorporate Proton weaponry into power our... Wrist blades immediately sprung to mind, though he supposed you can have wolverine claws or a Proton dagger? It all hinged on whether or not you could alter the circuitry and power flow enough to allow such a thing.

As for the outer defences? Afton had finally discovered just where Big Mt was located. The jamming technology that refused to all his Pipboy access to the world map had been found and temporarily deactivated. Once he was able to see the bigger picture, he realised just how close to NCR territory it was.

The crater was located under someplace called Hopeville in the divide, the now uninhabitable pass that the NCR intended to use to gain access to the Mojave. He knew that if the NCR discovered this place they'd send an army to try and take it... He wouldn't put it past them to pull out of the Mojave completely just to try and gain control of it.

He knew there were likely mentions of Big Mt in other government facilities, so the NCR probably knew of its existence, but hadn't yet found it... Perhaps it being called 'Big Mt' had them looking in the wrong direction? No, that'd be stupid.

But the NCR wasn't even the people he feared the most... It was, funnily enough, the Brotherhood of Steel he feared finding this place. Their dogmatic doctrines would literally force them to pull all their forces in an attempt to claim or destroy Big Mt, the technology it held was simply too advanced and too valuable to be left alone.

Big Mt already had an Artillery testing range which held massive cannons, so it wouldn't be all that had to modify them into some Anti-Air weapons. The only real problem was the berserk 'Ultimo-Bot' that resided there. It was essentially a super version of the regular sentry bots, having Saturnite plating, advanced heavy weaponry, and prototype locking tech... Afton didn't want to try fight and risk destroying it, as if they could replicate it they'd have an incredibly strong fighting force.

No, instead, he'd create his AI and have it manufacture a virus to gain subsume it... It was a shame he'd set a two-month time limit for himself, if he had known what he might find he would have said 'Give me a year' to Anja before leaving. "hehe" he chuckles at the thought.