V1 R&D Department

The R&D department is one of the only large, computer-aligned groups in the bunker that has essentially no HR department interference. This is considered a relic of the past, when the R&D department held the most power in the bunker (under the command of the overseer), but the R&D head is quick to defend his department from outside interference. Because of this, the R&D head and the division leaders each take on controlling roles similar to how the HR department's micromanagers act as coordinators for normal laborers. This, paired with their secluded home within level 1, makes the department one of the more insular groups in the entire bunker, with most laborers never actually meeting an R&D scientist in person.

Each division's dedicated team only tends to consist of 10-20 members, though they also fill in numbers with general (new) R&D scientists. All told, the R&D dept is smaller than the HR department and comparable to the IT department in numbers, though a bit smaller as IT members are stationed throughout the bunker.

The Genetics division is almost entirely transfurred people. Some of them are just depressed and feel that this is the only place they can stay now, others are stoked to be animal people now. They work mostly on modifying plants and a few animal-like beings for food, although they also work alongside agriculture team and biology team to create things that they request. It's speculated that genetics director transfurs his staff to ensure that other directors can't poach them.

The Apparel division is small, but close-knit. They have a bit less of a scientific role as they have a somewhat more artistic aspect to their work, but there are many cases where they overlap with the chemistry team for new clothing materials for specific uses and also work more frequently with the HR department, who are largely in charge of deciding what clothes are sent where and what is needed.

The Cybernetics division is the most heavily modified group, as well as one of the most funded. They take great pride in their work and enjoy their closeness to the IT department and the computer. They develop a lot of the new mechanical things in the bunker, meaning that they also work with the R&D head pretty often. Their work is almost entirely kept between the departments, unlike most other divisions.

The Weapons division mixes scientists who are deeply distressed with their work with people who love their work a little too much. [it occurs to me that we forgot to make a weapons guy]. They tend to produce new things less commonly than most departments, but improvements they make are implemented widely. The guards are big fans of them, though they keep their work hidden from most people, even in their own department (as they should).

The Agriculture division is easily the most outgoing group in the department, with members frequently going to farming levels to check in on progress and make tweaks. This, paired with their interest in improving worker lives, makes them a strong contender for the best-liked R&D division outside of level 1. Agriculture team members are generally noted for being positive and constructive, as well as lacking the elitism of many R&D members towards less educated laborers.

The Biology Division sometimes butts head with the genetics division, as there is frequent overlap between their fields. The Biology Division's work with the flesh leads to them often being fairly paranoid (more so than most R&D members), as they interact with possibly the most insidious infection in the bunker. This division has less delivered items than many other divisions, but their research is agreed to be vital for other divisions to build on and implement. They are privy to more classified information than many divisions for the sake of their work.

The Chemistry Division is one of the larger divisions in the department, as there is frequent demand for new compounds, materials, and chemicals both within the department and in the grander bunker. Chemists are sometimes poked fun at for frequently adopting their boss's language tics, like "groovy". They have the most common overlap with other divisions of any group in the department, as their work is relied on by many other scientists for their own projects, meaning that they are the most internally well-liked department members for their general reliability.

The Psychology division, somewhat ironically, has a reputation for depression. Overwhelming horror and dread is a risk for almost everyone in the bunker, so this division's main work is finding ways to keep stress for the bunker low and productivity high, whatever the cost. Division members are known to bemoan that their work often feels worthless and unhelpful to meaningfully combat the mental health problems of the bunker, with even their best plans often feeling ineffectual and insincere. There is also talk of more insidious, mind-control-like suppression systems developed by the team - strictly rumors, of course.

The Archeology Division is either regarded with absolute derision or rapt and full confidence by R&D members outside the team. They sometimes work alongside the psychology team to try to understand the root of the bunker's mysterious forgetfulness of surface life, but little has come of it. R&D members frequently see their work as more guessing than actual science or research, causing them to be looked down on. Their work rarely overlaps with other divisions.

The Architecture division is hard-working and industrious, venturing out of level 1 almost as much as the agriculture division. They struggle to find the middle ground between consistency and utility, as while there was at some point an expectation of rigid order to bunker design, after the fog incident that philosophy began to fall out of favor. While some members attempt to put artfulness into their designs, the primary mandate for their work is to focus on utility above all else, with any designs needing to be quick to build, easy to clean, and cheap to maintain deep underground. They have all long since given up on the notion of each level being the same.

The Sociology division is small and so heavily works with the HR department that they are often looked at as being outside of the R&D department entirely. Unfortunately, their position in the HR department means that their findings are not always taken to heart.

Outside of permanent divisions, skilled R&D members are often called on to form temporary teams to accomplish a notable project without having to split their focus or labor. Examples include project Titan (the elite guard project), which took prominent biologist and occasional geneticist Dr. Brennan and a dedicated team; project Chimera (project that produced orphan), which was spearheaded by R&D head with the help of the biology and genetics divisions; the generator project, as lead by Dr. Revon and his small team; and technically the Dimensional research director, whose group is not officially or publicly recognized as a division in order to maintain secrecy.