The Brain Scorcher is a former military installation that was seized by the Group and became the first major application of mind control technology in the Zone.
History
While at first it seems to be a massive radar installation, the Scorcher was, from the beginning, created as a massive mind-altering antenna, designed to suppress aggression (codenamed Rainbow). Its design was created in the X8 lab, in Pripyat[1].
After the Soviet Union's dissolution, the Group continued the research started in X8 and adapted the installation at the Scorcher, most importantly, the X19 lab located in an old bunker underneath the facility.
When the Zone was created, the Scorcher was activated by the C-Consciousness in order to obstruct the way into the center of the Zone. The psi-emissions generated by the installation were effective at mind controlling trespassers and subjecting them to the will of the collective, creating mindless zombified stalkers out of some and raw recruits for the Monolith faction.
While the majority of Stalkers who came too close to the Brain Scorcher became zombies, a group of Stalkers, also known as Strelok's Group were able to slip past the Brain Scorcher, most likely with the help of Guide and reach the center of the Zone. The Path to the Scorcher and the installation itself was heavily guarded by the fanatical Monolith.
In mid 2012, Strelok, using the psi-protection helmet given to him by Professor Sakharov, shut the Scorcher down. After the Brain Scorcher was deactivated, word spread quickly and many Stalkers of different factions, started to move to the center of the Zone, under the presumptions that there was a Wish-Granter or a treasure trove of artifacts waiting there.
Layout
The controls to the Brain Scorcher were installed deep within Lab X-19, an old Soviet bunker filled with many generators and other machinery.
Trivia
The giant antenna structure for the Brain Scorcher was inspired by the Russian Woodpecker, a former Soviet military over-the-horizon radar system designated Duga-3 (NATO reporting name 'Steel Yard'). The facility was part of the Soviet ABM early-warning network and consisted of a gigantic radar array as well as a large nuclear bunker reaching several levels below ground.
In addition to the rumor, caused by the secrecy around the facility, that the facility was the real cause of the Chernobyl disaster. The documentary The Mysterious Mr. Tesla speculated that the Duga-3 installation could in fact be a Soviet mind-control transmitter, imposing on people's ability to think rationally and stay calm.
In-game
Gallery
References
- ↑ S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat: A model of the Scorcher, marked Подавитель Агрессии "Радуга" – "Rainbow" Aggression Suppressor along with is documentation is present in the X8 lab
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