Office of Science and Industry

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“Suffice to say, we are the leading edge of the NCR. Our work focuses on practical matters. Medicine, engineering, biology.”— Thomas Hildern

The Office of Science and Industry, or OSI, is a branch of the New California Republic government in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[edit]

Founded in 2275,^{[Pub 1]} the OSI is a research and development agency within NCR. Formed after splitting away from the Followers of the Apocalypse, OSI focuses on finding practical applications for knowledge.^[1]^[2] The group contributes to Republic-funded projects such as the NCR Sharecropper Farms and hires contractors to assist with projects.^[3]^[4]^[5] OSI has its own financial accounts, separate from the Republic.^[6]

They research and develop practical sciences, such as medicine, engineering, and biology.^[7] Branched off of the central entity, the east branch is focusing on optimizing the power output of Hoover Dam and other local energy production facilities.^[8] They are also tackling the problem of a potential food shortage.^[9]^[10]

Appearances[edit]

The Office of Science and Industry appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the Scenes[edit]

In the NCR Faction Profile, the Office of Science and Industry is founded in 2252 after official support for the Followers of the Apocalypse is withdrawn.^{[Doc 1]}

References[edit]

↑ Courier: "Doesn't sound like a good place for a person of ambition."
Thomas Hildern: "[SUCCEEDED] Exactly right. Imagine what the Followers could have accomplished if they were properly motivated... if they had a unified purpose! Those of us who founded the OSI... we wanted to put our knowledge to work. And we have, to some degree. But the execs at OSI Central... they're still bound to the old ideas. Society of equals, and all that. There's still too little direction. If I can make real breakthroughs here... show the President what can be done when junior researchers are kept in line... kept focused on task... Who knows. Maybe I'll be sitting in OSI Central, in a few years time. And there'll be no more coddling of "free spirits" like our friend, Williams."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "No problem. I can wait."
Thomas Hildern: "I think... Williams' decryption algorithms seem to be working... Yes... here it is! The data is mostly uncorrupted. This will make the board of directors finally sit up and take notice... Here, then... as promised. An agreeable sum, payable upon delivery of the data. You've more than done your part."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "What other responsibilities does this office have?"
Thomas Hildern: "We aid some programs the Republic has sponsored involving sharecropper farms in the area, but those haven't panned out too well from what I hear. There've been complaints about the amount of water we're supplying, but those are just excuses for lack of diligence, I'm sure."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "I'll think about it, and maybe I'll be back."
Thomas Hildern: "I assure you, the OSI places considerable value upon our contractors. We will take good care of you, should you decide to accept our offer."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "What do you think of Dr. Hildern?"
Angela Williams: "The Director? He's... very well-spoken. And... knowledgeable."
Courier: "Hildern mentioned the Followers of the Apocalypse..."
Angela Williams: "My father used say good things about them, but that was years ago... back when they'd teach farmers and ranchers about crop rotation and the like. Nowadays... they've changed. They're doing what they can to discredit the NCR, give us a bad name with the locals. Dr. Hildern trained with them, years ago. Not me, though. I'm an OSI girl."
(Angela Williams' dialogue)
↑ Courier: "All right. I'll do it."
Thomas Hildern: "Good. No need to check in with the NCR authorities, I can authorize your payment from OSI accounts. Vaults typically contain a server room on a lower level, where they would have backed up their research data. A computer room, you understand? Download all the information on the central server to your Pip-Boy. And you'll be certain to bring me any notes or samples that you find, won't you?"
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "Tell me more about the OSI."
Thomas Hildern: "The Office of Science and Industry. That's a rather expansive topic. I could talk for hours, but I'm sure I'd bore you. Suffice to say, we are the leading edge of the NCR. Our work focuses on practical matters. Medicine, engineering, biology. The Dam, for instance. OSI routes its energy supply to our cities in the west. That's only one responsibility of this office."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "Are you a scientist?"
Angela Williams: "I know I don't sound the part. Get raised by brahmin ranchers, and you never lose the twang. Drives Hildern crazy. But I know every inch of the power grid from Hoover Dam to Shady Sands. That's what we do here - try to optimize the power output from the Dam. Some of the others are working on an agricultural project, but... truth be told, they aren't making much progress. Not yet, anyway."
(Angela Williams' dialogue)
↑ Courier: "You said you were the Director of OSI?"
Thomas Hildern: "Director of the entire OSI? Me? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to plant seditious ideas in my head. Ha ha ha. No, I direct our eastern operations. I've been responsible for squeezing unprecedented levels of power from the Dam. I'm also confronting the problem of food production, in what little spare time I have. But I've found some promising leads."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)
↑ Courier: "NCR has a food shortage?"
Thomas Hildern: "Not yet. But our government understands the value of proactive thought. Our studies project an imbalance between production and consumption. Or, for a layman such as yourself - not enough food, too many mouths to feed. Mass starvation. In a decade or so."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

Publications

↑ Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 458: "Important Dates
2275 Camp McCarran is established as NCR Headquarters in the Mojave. Sporadic fighting begins with the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel. The NCR government withdraws official support from the Followers of the Apocalypse and founds The Office of Science and Industry."

Design Documents

↑ Media:FNV Faction Profile NCR 3.png

Fallout: New Vegas Factions

Major factions		Caesar's Legion • New California Republic • Free Economic Zone of New Vegas (Mr. House • Yes Man)

Secondary Factions		Boomers • Enclave Remnants • Followers of the Apocalypse • Great Khans • Mojave Brotherhood of Steel • Three Families (Chairmen • Omertas • White Glove Society)

Tertiary Factions		Aliens • Alpha Squad • Bravo Company • Bright Brotherhood • Cassidy Caravans • Crimson Caravan • Davison's nightkin • Fiends • First Recon • Greasers • Gun Runners • Jackals • Kings • Maud's Muggers • Mojave Express • New California Republic Army • New California Republic Rangers • NCR Military Police • Office of Science and Industry • Powder Gangers • Rad Pack Revue • Scorpions • State of Utobitha • The Misfits • Van Graffs • Vipers • Westside Cooperative • Westside Militia •

Add-on Factions		Dead Horses • Happy Trails Caravan Company • New Canaanites • Sorrows • White Legs • Think Tank

[2] Courier: "Doesn't sound like a good place for a person of ambition."
Thomas Hildern: "[SUCCEEDED] Exactly right. Imagine what the Followers could have accomplished if they were properly motivated... if they had a unified purpose! Those of us who founded the OSI... we wanted to put our knowledge to work. And we have, to some degree. But the execs at OSI Central... they're still bound to the old ideas. Society of equals, and all that. There's still too little direction. If I can make real breakthroughs here... show the President what can be done when junior researchers are kept in line... kept focused on task... Who knows. Maybe I'll be sitting in OSI Central, in a few years time. And there'll be no more coddling of "free spirits" like our friend, Williams."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[3] Courier: "No problem. I can wait."
Thomas Hildern: "I think... Williams' decryption algorithms seem to be working... Yes... here it is! The data is mostly uncorrupted. This will make the board of directors finally sit up and take notice... Here, then... as promised. An agreeable sum, payable upon delivery of the data. You've more than done your part."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[4] Courier: "What other responsibilities does this office have?"
Thomas Hildern: "We aid some programs the Republic has sponsored involving sharecropper farms in the area, but those haven't panned out too well from what I hear. There've been complaints about the amount of water we're supplying, but those are just excuses for lack of diligence, I'm sure."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[5] Courier: "I'll think about it, and maybe I'll be back."
Thomas Hildern: "I assure you, the OSI places considerable value upon our contractors. We will take good care of you, should you decide to accept our offer."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[6] Courier: "What do you think of Dr. Hildern?"
Angela Williams: "The Director? He's... very well-spoken. And... knowledgeable."
Courier: "Hildern mentioned the Followers of the Apocalypse..."
Angela Williams: "My father used say good things about them, but that was years ago... back when they'd teach farmers and ranchers about crop rotation and the like. Nowadays... they've changed. They're doing what they can to discredit the NCR, give us a bad name with the locals. Dr. Hildern trained with them, years ago. Not me, though. I'm an OSI girl."
(Angela Williams' dialogue)

[7] Courier: "All right. I'll do it."
Thomas Hildern: "Good. No need to check in with the NCR authorities, I can authorize your payment from OSI accounts. Vaults typically contain a server room on a lower level, where they would have backed up their research data. A computer room, you understand? Download all the information on the central server to your Pip-Boy. And you'll be certain to bring me any notes or samples that you find, won't you?"
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[8] Courier: "Tell me more about the OSI."
Thomas Hildern: "The Office of Science and Industry. That's a rather expansive topic. I could talk for hours, but I'm sure I'd bore you. Suffice to say, we are the leading edge of the NCR. Our work focuses on practical matters. Medicine, engineering, biology. The Dam, for instance. OSI routes its energy supply to our cities in the west. That's only one responsibility of this office."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[9] Courier: "Are you a scientist?"
Angela Williams: "I know I don't sound the part. Get raised by brahmin ranchers, and you never lose the twang. Drives Hildern crazy. But I know every inch of the power grid from Hoover Dam to Shady Sands. That's what we do here - try to optimize the power output from the Dam. Some of the others are working on an agricultural project, but... truth be told, they aren't making much progress. Not yet, anyway."
(Angela Williams' dialogue)

[10] Courier: "You said you were the Director of OSI?"
Thomas Hildern: "Director of the entire OSI? Me? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to plant seditious ideas in my head. Ha ha ha. No, I direct our eastern operations. I've been responsible for squeezing unprecedented levels of power from the Dam. I'm also confronting the problem of food production, in what little spare time I have. But I've found some promising leads."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[foodshortage-11] Courier: "NCR has a food shortage?"
Thomas Hildern: "Not yet. But our government understands the value of proactive thought. Our studies project an imbalance between production and consumption. Or, for a layman such as yourself - not enough food, too many mouths to feed. Mass starvation. In a decade or so."
(Thomas Hildern/Dialogue)

[1] Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 458: "Important Dates
2275 Camp McCarran is established as NCR Headquarters in the Mojave. Sporadic fighting begins with the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel. The NCR government withdraws official support from the Followers of the Apocalypse and founds The Office of Science and Industry."

[12] Media:FNV Faction Profile NCR 3.png

[Pub 1]