“It was never just a ghost. It was a system—an intelligence—made to kill.” —Dr. Rudolf Wernicke
Murkoff is a company that values wealth over health.
They bought out Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane and began collecting people to experiment on (such as Chris Walker, a former veteran-turned-security guard-turned-murderer). They specifically searched for people who were charismatic, strong or agile, willing to kill, and possibly a bit insane (see: Red Barrel Outlast comics).
Their main project - and goal - was Project Walrider, something that was imagined by Dr. Wernicke, a former Nazi scientist brought to the USA under Operation Paperclip. The project was formerly a part of MKUltra - a CIA operation around human experimentation. It is based around nanites - microscopic devices designed to perform specific tasks at the nanoscale - and Wernicke believed that intensive dream therapy conducted on traumatized patients could connect swarms of nanites into a single malevolent being.
The idea behind Project Walrider was that nanites could heal people, and essentially turn them into something superhuman - but the nanoswarm had to be controlled. The way they thought they could do this was through the Morphogenic Engine, which helped put people into a state of lucid dreaming. This is a state where Murkoff believed the Walrider (the nanites as one entity) could be controlled.
However, these people also had to be severely traumatised and on the verge of madness in order for it to work, which is why they looked towards the criminally insane in order to do this. Or they would push people to the brink of madness. Billy Hope, whom Miles kills at the end of the game as a way of mercy, is the only one who is known to have successfully controlled the Walrider until Miles becomes its new host.
( note: in the comics, it's explained that billy and miles both control parts of the walrider as billy seemingly "gave half" of the nanoswarm to miles. however, billy's half is supposedly destroyed by murkoff when he visits his mother - but the nanites transfer to ants to destroy murkoff technology, such as a tower in arizona that was driving people insane. it's not explained how billy survived miles turning off what was essentially his "life support" whilst in mount massive - it's assumed the walrider kept him alive.
after finding that his bank account had been emptied, murkoff employees do try and search for miles but they're unable to find him outside of a neighbour saying that he had visited his house in washington d.c the night before. they search his computer and find an email attachment that has walrider nanites in it, which crawl out of the email and all over them / miles's house until they burn their clothes and the building.
i tend not to use the splitting of the walrider as canon - his main canonpoint will be "he leaves, empties his bank, is on the run from murkoff". )
WHAT IS PROJECT WALRIDER?
—Dr. Rudolf Wernicke
Murkoff is a company that values wealth over health.
They bought out Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane and began collecting people to experiment on (such as Chris Walker, a former veteran-turned-security guard-turned-murderer). They specifically searched for people who were charismatic, strong or agile, willing to kill, and possibly a bit insane (see: Red Barrel Outlast comics).
Their main project - and goal - was Project Walrider, something that was imagined by Dr. Wernicke, a former Nazi scientist brought to the USA under Operation Paperclip. The project was formerly a part of MKUltra - a CIA operation around human experimentation. It is based around nanites - microscopic devices designed to perform specific tasks at the nanoscale - and Wernicke believed that intensive dream therapy conducted on traumatized patients could connect swarms of nanites into a single malevolent being.
The idea behind Project Walrider was that nanites could heal people, and essentially turn them into something superhuman - but the nanoswarm had to be controlled. The way they thought they could do this was through the Morphogenic Engine, which helped put people into a state of lucid dreaming. This is a state where Murkoff believed the Walrider (the nanites as one entity) could be controlled.
However, these people also had to be severely traumatised and on the verge of madness in order for it to work, which is why they looked towards the criminally insane in order to do this. Or they would push people to the brink of madness. Billy Hope, whom Miles kills at the end of the game as a way of mercy, is the only one who is known to have successfully controlled the Walrider until Miles becomes its new host.
( note: in the comics, it's explained that billy and miles both control parts of the walrider as billy seemingly "gave half" of the nanoswarm to miles. however, billy's half is supposedly destroyed by murkoff when he visits his mother - but the nanites transfer to ants to destroy murkoff technology, such as a tower in arizona that was driving people insane. it's not explained how billy survived miles turning off what was essentially his "life support" whilst in mount massive - it's assumed the walrider kept him alive.
after finding that his bank account had been emptied, murkoff employees do try and search for miles but they're unable to find him outside of a neighbour saying that he had visited his house in washington d.c the night before. they search his computer and find an email attachment that has walrider nanites in it, which crawl out of the email and all over them / miles's house until they burn their clothes and the building.
i tend not to use the splitting of the walrider as canon - his main canonpoint will be "he leaves, empties his bank, is on the run from murkoff". )