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Founded in 1955, A.R.D.A. (Advanced Resonance Development Authority) was a branch of the United States government primarily focused on the development and utilization of LIM technology within the borders of the Olympic Peninsula, studying the strange goings-on within, and finding new implementations for LIM technology. It was disbanded in 1987.
History
Sometime in 1955, Lawrence Koch, President of the United States of America, announced the existence of LIM technology and Dr. Ophelia Turner's achievement in the creation of said technology in a country-wide broadcast. In that same year prior to the broadcast, A.R.D.A. was established with Dr. Ophelia "Oppy" Turner as the head of the administration, disbanding her previous group the S.R.R. (Society of Radio Reconstruction).
A.R.D.A.'s domain - the Olympic Exclusion Zone (also known as the Zone) - was initially established in the northern-most tip of the Olympic Peninsula. From 1955 to 1967, the U.S. government expanded the Zone's borders - once in 1961, and again in 1967. Each time the domain was expanded, they erected 500-meter walls to keep out the increasingly curious public. A No Fly zone was also established in 1962 after the downing of multiple passenger planes.
As they set up the borders of the Zone, they slowly cleared out civilians within their vicinity under the pretense of national security. In reality, this was done to prevent nearby residents from being affected by experiments and anomalies that may leak out of the Zone. However, this did not stop rumors from spreading as first-hand accounts of strange occurrences were beginning to surface.
As the civilians were cleared out, scientists, officials, support staff, and their families made the Olympic Exclusion Zone their home, ranging anywhere from 300 to 1,000 people at its peak.
Between 1967 and 1981, A.R.D.A. ran multiple experiments on LIM technology in an attempt to potentially weaponize it and the anomalies that were being created. However, Ophelia began to have doubts and attempted to halt or reverse the effects of creating such anomalies and LIM technology and the effects they had on the environment. She tried to run the Harmonic Disruption Research Branch, but it ultimately failed as A.R.D.A. created more Anomalies in the pursuit of progress.
During that time, Dr. Cay and Dr. Allen Turner were running an experiment in the Well which inadvertently caused the Mass Hallucination event. This event triggered a mass hallucination on everyone within the Zone, hence the name, although Dr. Ophelia lied about not having experienced it. Additionally, this event was also the birth of Remnants, including the station wagon the Driver uses. However, as a result of an accident on September 14, 1961, according to Dr. Cay, Dr. Allen Turner attempted to initiate an energy suppression protocol. As a result of this action, the Well was able to stabilize, but Allen received a lethal dose of radiation and soon died. Also, as a result of this accident, all objects within a 10 mile radius that had the appropriate characteristics became Remnants. After the accident, Dr. Cay also received large amounts of radiation, but was locked in a further laboratory to try to continue his research. Two years later he was released.
According to Francis Cooke, ARDA lost its funding. The organization then fired all of its staff, thus ordering the evacuation and sealment of the Exclusion Zone in 1987.
Departments
Research and Development
The Research and Development (R&D) department serves many functions within the Zone. Initially, they were tasked with utilizing LIM technology in new and extraordinary ways that might help the United States triumph over the Soviet Union. However, after the end of the Cold War, their primary focus became studying the implications of LIM technology, as well as the resulting Anomalies and instability. (source: Chiaki Saruhashi, Frequency File #2, Part 2 and Frequency File #4, Part 2)
Members
- Dr. Ophelia "Oppy" Turner, Head of the Department
Maintenance
The Maintenance department is primarily responsible for maintaining and repairing vital equipment around the Zone, but were also initially in charge of performing general Zone clean-up and repair task, such as filling in potholes in the roads. (source: Pothole)