A small debate took place last week when discussing the information found in FO2. The debate involved why did the Enclave wait so long to retake the mainland? Was there commutations with the Vaults, at least initially? Also was Poseidon Oil(PoseidonNet) used in this communication? My argument was as follows:
Mainland
Curling states it was 2 decades ago when they put plans into effect to take back the mainland, which coincides with the development of advanced power armor, with a rad resistance of 60. They both, especially Richardson, speak of concerns about the background radiation, Richardson calling the mainland a radiated hellhole. Is he wrong, yes but that is not the way they see it. To the PC and the other "mutants" on the mainland, it's not a problem but to them it is. I work in the medical field. I'm around x-rays and CT scans all day. Do I go home and take a Rad-x or KI, no I don't. It isn't a problem but to Richardson and Curling it is.
Richardson's State of the Nation speech:"Fellow Americans, I have been honored to be the steward that will take the American people back to the mainland to reclaim the United States for its own citizens. We will be the first generation free of the mutant threat in over one hundred years." Wiki defines this "mutant threat" as "mutations and their causes", ie radiation....go figure. Then there is the "Enclave Mutation Policy" which states that people of the mainland exposed to this ambient radiation are considered mutants. Curling states exposure to the this "radiation", generation after generation, has caused people of the mainland to be mutants. So its been over a long period of time.. thus generation after generation. This ambient radiation, which isnt seen as a problem to the people on the mainland, is seen as a problem(at least until recently) and has kept them from retaking it.
The Shi working on radiation consuming plants
Communication(Monitoring)
Any and all communications with the Oil Rig is via PoseidonNet. The Vaults(Vault-Tec) conducted experiments. Is it wrong to assume that data was at least planned to be collected? Is it wrong to assume at some point the Enclave wanted to retrieve this data and since they retreat to the Oil Rig(and other "hot-spots") which has PosidenNet communications, this is how data was initially planed to be collected? And yes they may have had plans for these vaults and the data they produced when they retook the mainland but that never happens,the Oil Rig was destroyed. So in a way, it doesn't matter.