Is the Cloud in Dead money chemical or biological?

One thought is that is its some prewar coolant or some other chemical. But the Cloud "grows". A property more in common with a organism (fungus, bacteria, or some other germ) than with a chemical. And the sample in the abandoned brotherhood bunker regenerates.

Or does it really even matter?

I just think that it's simply very nasty air conditioning residue. It grows since the Villa's ventilation continues to run.

Likely an industrial by-product. As it corrodes even metal (the enviro-suit helmet clamps and seals) it would likely be a caustic gas or dust of some sort. Sulphuric or hydrochloric acid or something similar. If it tastes of "old world gold"... who knows.

So why does the sample in the Abandoned Brotherhood Bunker regenerate?

Extremophiles just sound a little more plausible than a prewar chemical.



Gold is tasteless and not very reactive. God was probably speaking metaphorically.

I have a feeling it has something to do with Gold. Acid or some other chemical eating away large amounts of gold.

Personally I think it smells of bad writing...

Maybe 'old world gold' means oil or petrol.

Perhaps it is a mutated fungus based petrolium monster.

Really? Dead Money does not smell like Fallout 3 to me

Sorry but that's just double standards, if Bethseda made this you'd be all 'Beth can't write... love vagueness too much" etc. The Cloud is just there, no real explanation, no attempt to explain it, just like Fallout 3.

Its not really that important to me. I know its Toxic and I know it has something to do with pre-war stuff. Its not a key thing for me. It does not really need a back story. Pretty much everything in Fallout 3 has no back story or what they do explain makes no sense at all.

Almost every building in F3 has it's own interesting story Styles.

In NV the buildings were just there. I would like to now how the Cpoud is made like how you would like to now how the Enclave replenished it's numbers.

Yeah, and why is Fallout Tactics devoid of most plant-life? At least Cali was mostly desert before the bombs dropped.

It had more plant life then Fallout 3. Midwestern United States would become a desert. Most of America would become a desert. It became a desert in the 1930s. Google dust bowl and you get http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl. Great plains are pretty much desert already. Getting something like 30 centimeters of precipitation a year. Which is why there arn't many trees.

I did not meant to make this into thread about Fallout 3. I should not have taken that shot at Fallout 3.