| David Packard's Big Red Button | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
David Packard |
|
Type |
Red Button |
|
Effects |
Unknown, presumed to be able to EMP the entire country |
|
Downsides |
Effects |
|
Activation |
Pressing |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 13 Agents |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
993-4340-4400 |
|
Shelf |
9348-45430435 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
David Packard (1912 – 1996) was an electrical engineer and co-founder, with William Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard, serving as president, CEO and Chairman of the Board (1939 – 1993). He served as US Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1971 during the Nixon administration. During that time he took leave as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. While serving in the Department of Defense, he brought concepts of resource management used in his business to the military. During his time in the DoD he pushed through several reforms and eliminate others such as the Total Package Procurement.
Near the end of his time with the DoD he wrote the “Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances.” The Act he wrote would limit the powers of the federal government to use the US military for law enforcement. Packard made sure that he thought out every path that might happen including a fail safe button; however, it was never pressed and was removed without knowing the full effects.
Effects[]
Unknown, presumed to be able to EMP the entire country. Theorized to possibly affect government installations, office buildings and corporate campuses most heavily due to his involvement in those areas. However, agents are unwilling to discover how specific and widescale the chaos it can wreak.
Collection[]
Agents discovered that even though the red button is separated from a council, still inside a plastic case, it appeared to be active. The use of a detection gadget proved that it was active and an artifact so they collected it and brought it back.
There is three keys needed to open the box. Artie has one and two random Regents have the others.