Fallout Trogs Were Born From a Common Housecleaning Product

The Fallout universe is filled with all manner of irradiated creatures and individuals. But what you may not realize is that one of the deadliest creatures, the Trogs, were the product of a company that sold an iconic everyday cleaning item before the Great War.

What Are Trogs in Fallout?

Commonly found in The Pitt in Fallout 3 and Fallout 76, Trogs are what you might call a twisted mix of a zombie and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. They are individuals who suffer from the Troglodyte Degeneration Contagion (TDC), which is a mixture of ambient radiation exposure and industrial toxins. While it’s not contagious, those who are affected by TDC rarely get a chance to be cured.

Trogs hate the sunlight, and their bodies degenerate to the point of having long limbs and sagging skin. However, the Trogs’ real curse is that they have a taste for human flesh while still having a semblance of humanity left within. As you scour The Pitt, you may hear them talking in the distance, but when you kill them, you’ll also hear words like “peace.” This leads to the chilling realization that those infected with TDC are living in a personal Hell they can barely control.

Those living in The Pitt who have yet to become Trogs also deal with their own infection, getting lesions the longer they stay in the area. These humans could also go feral at any point, but honestly, the thing they’re known for best is consuming Trog meat that’s been cooked. This not only makes them irradiated but also cannibalistic by nature. But aside from the bombs, the real culprit of this awful existence is a company that was best known for making household cleaners: Abraxodyne Chemical.

The Evil Role Abraxodyne Chemical Played in Fallout

Abraxodyne Chemical was a popular company before the war best known for creating Abraxo laundry detergent. You might remember the product best in Fallout 4, where a box was in your laundry room in the prologue. However, like many organizations in the Fallout franchise, the company was far from perfect.

As Abraxo grew in popularity, the company began testing out new products in Pittsburgh. This included everything from glow-in-the-dark hairspray to prank cyanide caps. However, these products often had dangerous results for humans and left a huge amount of chemical waste. As those who transported the waste started getting sick, the local railroad denied any more transportation for the waste. This eventually led to the company holding the waste in their facility. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time a Fallout universe company put citizens in danger due to their products, either.

Abraxodyne Chemical failed to get the help needed to properly neutralize and store the chemicals, which began to leak from plastic containers. This, as it always does with nefarious companies, led to the eventual dumpage of the waste. By the Great War, the radiation and chemicals caused a whole area of the city to sink, now being dubbed The Trench. Though not officially confirmed, it’s believed that this same mixture was what led to the creation of TDC and the Trogs.

Is There a Cure for TDC?

As of now, there’s no official cure for TDC aside from a drug that can lessen the symptoms for some humans. However, there is a glimmer of hope in a small baby that was born in The Pitt and exhibited no signs of infection, possibly being the first human since the Great War with an inherent immunity. As of now, not much has been done to develop a cure from his blood, but in time, it could lead to the end of the Trog infestation and save The Pitt.

Time has not been kind to those dealing with TDC, and the Trogs that may attack you in Fallout 3 or Fallout 76 prove they are just as dangerous as a Feral Ghoul and even scarier. That said, there may still be hope in the Wasteland for at least one aspect of the post-nuclear nightmare to be over. But it’s hard not to acknowledge the fact that, while it may just be a Fallout theory, it’s clear none of it would’ve happened in the first place if a company like Abraxodyne Chemical had used honest business practices rather than doom generations to save a buck.

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