Shadow Moses Island

Shadow Moses is an island that is part of the Fox Archipelago lying south-west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea. A nuclear weapons disposal facility located on Shadow Moses secretly doubled as a massive weapons development complex.

History
Shadow Moses was formed by the eruption of the active volcano Old Moses on the island of Unimak, one of the Fox Islands at the eastern end of the Aleutian chain.

The nuclear weapons disposal facility on the island was built in 2002. Officially, it was made to temporarily store nuclear warheads so it wouldn't come into conflict with START-2, but in reality, it was owned and operated by an ArmsTech dummy corporation for the development of Metal Gear REX. Shadow Moses itself was too small to accommodate a runway, and was thus inaccessible by airplane. The island was furnished with its own power plant and foundry to make it self-sufficient.



In early 2005, Shadow Moses was the location of a top secret test launch of a new type of stealth nuclear warhead, conducted by ArmsTech and DARPA and overseen by FOXHOUND and the Next-Generation Special Forces. However, shortly thereafter, FOXHOUND rebelled against the U.S. Government, holding DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker hostage, and hijacking Metal Gear REX and its nuclear armament. In addition, security was heightened after an intruder managed to infiltrate the island and kill three of the Sons of Big Boss personnel while cloaked. Ex-FOXHOUND operative Solid Snake was sent in to deal with the terrorist threat and defuse the situation, although not without gradually discovering some secrets about the true nature of the base. The island facility was nearly destroyed by an aerial nuclear strike issued by Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman in order to keep the incident out of the public eye, but the orders were rescinded when Houseman was arrested at the last second. This became known as the Shadow Moses Incident.

Post-Shadow Moses
Following the incident, a journalist named Gary McGolden traveled to the island in order to verify Nastasha Romanenko's account of the Shadow Moses Incident, in her book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth. According to McGolden's article (The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Shadow Moses), the island had been placed under the control of the military, in order to conceal the events that took place there. He was captured by agents of the Patriots, but their attempts at interrogating him, regarding his sources, were foiled when he was rescued by an "invisible" savior. Afterwards, the island was completely abandoned and remained untouched for seven years, presumably due to the greater exposure given to Romanenko's book, following the publication of McGolden's article. In any case the island, along with the Fox Archipelago, was steadily being swamped by the the rising waters due to global warming, which acted as the primary reason for the U.S. Army removing the nuclear materials and its control over Shadow Moses Island.



In 2014, Solid Snake returned to Shadow Moses after discovering that Liquid Ocelot intended to steal the railgun from Metal Gear REX. This was because it was not under SOP control and could launch a stealth missile at a satellite in space which housed JD, the Patriots core AI. Once again infiltrating the base, Snake fought his way through numerous Gekko and Dwarf Gekko, and fought and defeated Crying Wolf (in the same Snowfield where he had fought Sniper Wolf nine years before). Snake made his way to the underground supply tunnel and found REX, but the railgun had already been removed. He then encountered Vamp, and managed to temporarily strip him of his immortality, giving Raiden a chance to kill him. REX's hangar became the final resting place for Vamp and Naomi Hunter, and with hordes of Suicide Gekkos pouring in, Snake and Raiden managed to escape in the re-powered Metal Gear REX. Snake and Liquid then ended up fighting at Shadow Moses' port area, with Snake operating REX and Metal Gear RAY being piloted by Liquid Ocelot.

Dock
A small port located within a cavern on the south of the island used for the transfer of cargo. An elevator to the north of the dock leads up to the island's heliport.

Heliport
A small airport suitable only for use by helicopters, the heliport contained a single helipad with limited facilities such as lighting from two searchlights. It contained an armory. It was also connected to a snowfield, although it was primarily sealed away.

Tank hangar
The tank hangar was built to hold the facility's two M1A1 Abrams tanks in protective storage, and to maintain them. The tank hangar's cargo door was also designed to act as an airlock that seals itself and releases poison gas if an intruder trips one of the infrared sensors. It was at least two stories high and contained two basement floors, although the second floor of the building was an observation balcony. It also contained two computer labs on the second floor, and one storage area on each floor. The second floor storage area was locked behind a large door, and contained various crates and presumably acted as a pantry, as it also contained various wine bottles and watermelons. The tank hangar also contains a diesel generator to produce electricity throughout the base, necessitating ventilation shafts for this as well as recirculating air, as well as a cargo elevator for travel between the hangar floor, the holding cells/medical room and the armory to deliver supplies and to transport personnel.

Canyon
A canyon providing passage between the tank hangar and the nuclear warhead storage building. It contains various cooling units

Nuclear warhead storage building
The primary storage location of dismantled warheads. It has a two basements and a first floor. It can be accessed by a hangar door, and is primarily dug into the canyon. It also is a stop for supply routes, and has a garage door in the back that leads to the snowfield for trucks to traverse the glaciers separating it from the snowfield.

Nuclear warhead storage building [1F]
The first floor of the nuke building was used to house the facility's dismantled warheads.Because of the volatile nature of the warheads and the risk of them rupturing leading to a biohazard, personnel were also advised to avoid using firearms on the main floor.

Western Labs [B2]
The area that most of the engineers for Metal Gear REX worked on developing various technologies or things related to REX. Seven office cubicles were installed in this lab, as well as various desks. It also contained various air cleaners in the walls to dust off tiny particles off of the personnel's bodies before entering the lab. It also contained an electric floor as well as a generator for the electric floor. It was connected to the main lab of Hal Emmerich by a hallway in the back to the right, facing the entrance to the labs.

Dr. Hal Emmerich's lab [B2]
Located in the northeast section of the 2nd floor basement, the laboratory of Dr. Hal Emmerich was outfitted with several supercomputers for the purpose of testing newly-developed weaponry in virtual environments. In addition, it contained shelves of magazines, at least one of which was a book detailing the art of Alaska, as well as various computer control panels, a small office, two lockers, and a whiteboard that contained various algebraic equations (presumably relating to the REX project).

Commander's room (B1)
Located on the 1st floor basement, this was the personal office of the base's commander. A bookcase in the room concealed a door leading to the underground passage to the communications towers. In addition, the office contained a diorama/hologram of the communication towers. To the south of the command room itself is the main lobby, which contained lavatories as well as a lab with various supplies within. The men's lavatories' mirrors were also shattered.

Cave
A small cave providing passage between the 1st floor basement of the nuclear warhead storage building and the underground passage leading to the communication towers. The cave was inhabited by wolf dogs.

Underground Passage
Passage leading from the cave to Communications Tower A. It was situated underground due to the presence of glaciers above. By 2014, the underground passage had mostly collapsed, with some remanents being exposed from the snow making out its outline.

Communications towers
The two communications towers were tall man-made structures, designed to support a large high-gain reflector dish antenna for data communications. They were both approximately 28 stories tall. In addition, there were two walkways between the two towers: One situated directly at the top of the structure near the dish antenna, and a walkway built about halfway up. The walkway located halfway up, however, is rarely used as the door to Tower A has a tendency to freeze from the outside, requiring the personnel to use C4 to remove the ice if traversing. Tower B has a large elevator, and has a weight limit of 650 pounds.

Snowfield
The Snowfield was a location between the communication towers and the Nuclear Storage Building. It was mainly separated from the two by glaciers, necessitating an underground passage between the Nuclear Storage Building and the Communications Tower to cross it. However, the presence of a M548/M1015 Full-Tracked Cargo Vehicle within the confines of the snowfield implies that trucks can traverse the glaciers to arrive at the snowfield. The snowfield itself was also walled in, which, other than the communication towers, also contained some armories/storage depots, as well as the entrance to the underground maintenance base. In addition, it contains evergreen trees, both inside the compound and outside.

Underground maintenance base
The underground base was a facility used for the construction of Metal Gear REX and various other weapons. It contained a blast furnace and a casting/rolling facility to make building materials, as well as two cargo elevators, a warehouse, as well as the main facility itself. It was five floors underground.

Blast furnace
Due to the difficulty of bringing supplies to the base, a blast furnace was built for the creation of building. . The pipes used for the boiler in the blast furnace were also outdated, releasing steam occasionally. To the northwest was a service elevator that led directly to the casting and rolling facilities.

Casting facility
The molten metal from the blast furnace was transported to the casting facility, where it would be poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part would then be ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process.

Cargo elevator
A series of cargo elevators were developed to transport vehicles and building materials to the underground maintenance base during its construction. It was originally intended that there be only one cargo elevator, but the designers changed plans and added a relay point between two elevators, due to the structural integrity of the bedrock.

Warehouse
The warehouse was located directly in the middle of the permafrost layer, and lacked a heater. It contained a lot of crates because the room in question was still under construction, since finishing Metal Gear's underground base remained the top priority. To the north of the warehouse is a waterway separating the Underground base from the warehouse, connected via a stairwell, which also contains a second set of stairs containing an alcove. The north warehouse also contained a large amount of gun cameras in order to ensure no one intruded into the underground base where REX was being developed.

Underground base
The location of Metal Gear REX's development and maintenance. A large elevator would carry REX between the underground base and the supply route above for deployment of the nuclear-armed bipedal tank. The drainage ditch around REX's elevator contained spent fuel/nuclear waste, namely due to the negligence of the personnel of disposing it.

Control room
The control room served as the operations centre where Metal Gear REX and its nuclear payload could be monitored and controlled. It is located on the third floor walkway of the underground base. There were three laptop computers connected to the control panel that acted as activation/deactivation keys to Metal Gear REX, depending on whether the activation codes were activated or not, as well as a map of the world in the back and various holographic charts near the window. The window itself was made of bulletproof glass as protection from threats outside the control room, and presumably as a means to further trap the intruder. It has nerve gas release valves in case an intruder managed to infiltrate the area. Security cameras were also installed to monitor the room for any intrusions.

Supply route
A large tunnel used to transport weapons, ammunition, equipment, and supplies. It was also split into two different routes. One was the actual supply route, and the other was an alternate, much smaller tunnel to the left of the main supply route, used to escape from the facility in case of an emergency. The latter tunnel also had a surveillance camera, as well as acted as a garage, and contained at least two checkpoints.

Supply port
A large coastal port for transporting cargo to and from the island via boat.

Vehicles (as of 2005)

 * M1A1 Abrams tanks (2)


 * Jeeps (2)


 * M548/M1015 Full Tracked Cargo Vehicles (3)


 * Metal Gear REX


 * Snowmobile (1)


 * Forklifts (1)


 * Tank wagon


 * Mil Mi-24 Hind D (1)

Security systems (as of 2005)

 * Surveillance cameras


 * Gun cameras


 * Infrared sensors


 * Nerve gas


 * Electrified floor

Wildlife

 * Caribou
 * Alaskan field mice : Alaskan field mice are rodents native to Alaska. Although they lack the necessary thickness of fat to normally survive the weather in Alaska, they compensate by digging tunnels underneath the snow to keep themselves warm. However, they are also somewhat cannibalistic, as the males sometimes kill and eat any offspring that aren't their own, which is also believed to be a way to ensure that the male field mice's own genes are passed on. They also can survive long periods underwater.
 * Wolfdogs
 * Northern Ravens (population increased in 2005 )

Behind the scenes
Shadow Moses Island is a fictional location that serves as the main setting of Metal Gear Solid, and one of the settings in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

In Metal Gear Solid, Otacon mentions that there is a mess hall in the island's disposal facility, though it is never seen in-game. Also, none of the other scientists that worked on the base are seen in-game either, although Snake mentions them while talking to Jim Houseman. The novelization reveals another building with smokestacks as being the location where most of the hostages were being detained. In addition, the novelization also establishes an alternate route between the tank hangar and the warhead storage building that was covered in snow, which Meryl used via a transport truck while disguised as a Genome Soldier. According to the article, The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Shadow Moses, bundled with Metal Gear Solid 2, there was also a weather station located on the island. An Integral Podcast revealed that during Metal Gear Solid 4 's development, there was originally supposed to be a frozen lake at the top of the path that led to the Canyon, and that it would have contained a frozen lake that two Gekko were searching on and the main entrance was also in the same snowfield that Snake was to start Act 1 in, but it was cut off, and thus left it blocked off in the final version, because the developers realized that this would take away fans expectations of wanting to reminisce about the Heliport area. In addition, the podcast also revealed there was also intended to be a secret base below the Warhead Storage Building, but it was cut from the final version.

When Snake returns to in Metal Gear Solid 4, many audio flashbacks will play when the player reaches a certain point; listening to these flashbacks will award the player with extra Drebin Points. On the way to Otacon's old lab, the blood of the soldiers that Gray Fox killed in Metal Gear Solid remain. When the player reaches Otacon's lab, he and Snake will reminisce about what happened, as well as the fact that it was the very same room where they first met. A dark marking on the floor can also be seen next to the locker, which is the spot where Otacon wet himself while being attacked by Gray Fox. In the same area, the Mario and Yoshi figures that were on Otacon's computer are gone (these items are references of The Twin Snakes).

3D environment changes
In terms of layout and environmental inclusions, Shadow Moses appears nearly identical to the versions in Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, but with some notable differences.

Certain areas of the island are inaccessible in Metal Gear Solid 4. These areas are the cargo dock, holding cells, armory, commander's room, cave, underground passage (remains of this area can still be seen in the snowfield), communication towers, cargo elevators and warehouse. In addition, two new areas have been added; the casting facilty, which serves as an alternate route to REX's hangar, and the port area, which is located through the large door in REX's hangar, and serves as the location for an epic battle leading to the climax of the chapter.

Metal Gear Solid 4 establishes that neither Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes are singularly canonical, since elements from both versions are present in this version, as are some that contradict one or even both. Examples include the audio flashbacks taken from The Twin Snakes, which used re-recorded voice acting, whereas Snake's image flashbacks are from Metal Gear Solid, including Snake's dream sequence. The reason for using the voice acting from The Twin Snakes, is because the dialogue from Metal Gear Solid was not recorded in a soundproof booth, unlike The Twin Snakes. Note that this is not the case in the Japanese release.

Dock

 * In both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, this area is available only in the begining of the game.
 * In Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, we can see three lockers which do not exist in the original version (Metal Gear Solid)
 * In Metal Gear Solid 4, this area is missing.

Heliport

 * Snake infiltrates the heliport area via a small passage through the rock wall in Metal Gear Solid 4. In Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes this passage doesn't exist but there is a large pieShadow_Moses_intel_2.jpg of the wall missing where it's supposed to be, indicating that it may actually be there.
 * The metal barricade that was previously attached to the western edge has gone entirely. Instead, there is another barricade blocking access to the elevator.
 * The small storage rooms west of the helipad now include ventilation ducts.
 * The ducts used to enter the Tank Hangar have a slightly different layout.
 * There are now step placements leading onto the helipad, whereas Metal Gear Solid had two large steps and The Twin Snakes had four steps.
 * The columns around the upper ventilation duct are different.
 * During the "nightmare" flashback, the SOCOM is not present in the back of the truck parked in front of the Tank Hangar.
 * The SOCOM in the back of the truck parked in front of the Tank Hangar returns (now called Mark 23) but is now found under the truck.

Tank Hangar

 * The front hangar door has been opened up. In Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes it was locked due to a blizzard.
 * In Metal Gear Solid 4, there are no surveillance cameras in the Tank Hangar and Dwarf Gekko are now attached to the walls where the cameras were.
 * The stairs in the tank hanger are now closer to the main doors and are a different albiet more realistic model.
 * The upper ventilation duct exit has been destroyed.
 * The M1 tank's cannon has been turned to the side.
 * Some of the small rooms that previously required a keycard are now permanently open.
 * The remaining M1 tank is now an M1A2 rather than the M1A1 shown in previous games.
 * The floor of the hangar lacks the large turntable directly in front of the door to the Canyon. The markings and panel lines on the floor are either altered or totally absent.

Snowfield

 * Snake enters this area through a large door connecting the nuclear warhead storage building to the snowfield. This door was locked previously. This entrance also allows access to the full Snowfield, as only part of it was accessible originally, during the second battle with Sniper Wolf; the rest of the area was enclosed by a series of solid metal fences topped with barbed wire. Most of these are still present, but there are now multiple gaps.
 * The underground passage where Snake fought Sniper Wolf for the first time (and where Meryl Silverburgh was shot) is now almost totally filled with snow, with the edges of the walls starting to crumble inwards and the catwalk and door to Tower A completely buried.
 * There is no cargo truck in the area North of Comm Tower B.
 * The door to the interior of Comm Tower B is locked.
 * As with other areas which formerly contained dead bodies, there is no trace of Sniper Wolf's body or her rifle in the snowfield.
 * Liquid Snake's parachute, which was previously visible on a tree to the East of the exit to Comm Tower B, is gone.
 * Liquid's Hind-D in Metal Gear Solid crashed directly in front of the East face of Comm Tower B, the POV shot as Liquid shouts "Snaaaake!" implying it landed tail-first. The wreck in Metal Gear Solid 4 is located Northeast of the tower behind the trees where Liquid's parachute was located, and is shown as having landed nose-down. There is now an electrical substation East of Tower B where the Hind would have landed.
 * The two Comm Towers now feature exterior access steps and ladders that allow them to be scaled for a considerable distance without being entered.
 * There is no sign of the wreckage of the bridge that connected the tops of the two Comm Towers or the large antenna dish mounted on it; the ground between Towers A and B is totally clear of debris.

Underground base and REX's hangar

 * The small hatch Snake crawls through from the casting facility is entirely absent in the original. In The Twin Snakes, there is a hatch but it is higher up on the wall.
 * The floor traps are open and serve as the spawning point for the Dwarf Gekko.
 * The majority of the gun cameras in the room before REX's hangar are completely missing; only their mounting brackets remain, though there are a large number of these. In The Twin Snakes, there are only 4, guarding the corridor to REX's hangar.
 * There are numerous bullet holes from automatic weapon fire around the damaged mounting brackets. In MGS1 it would have been impossible to do this.
 * The waterfall of drainage waste no longer runs.
 * The camera in the corridor just before entering REX's hangar (which captures Vamp and Naomi Hunter entering the hangar) was not present in Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes.
 * The elevator REX once stood on has been lowered back to hangar level at some point between the two games.
 * The door used to escape the supply route when piloting REX is seen in both Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes but is inaccessible (Snake refers to it as "the door in front?" when questioning his escape in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes). In Metal Gear Solid 4, it is revealed that it leads to the port area, which was not seen originally, though the ending cutscene in The Twin Snakes shows structures in the background similar to those seen in the port, it is likely that this is in fact the port as it would only be located a small distance down the same coast as the exit of the supply route.

Canyon

 * There is a small passage in the rocks to the right of the door into the tank hangar that doesn't appear in the other versions, leading to a dead end with some items.
 * In The Twin Snakes, there is a duct that runs across the ground which is not in Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Solid 4, though it is likely that this would now be snowed over, explaining its absence in Metal Gear Solid 4.
 * Raven's M1 tank is not there. It was presumably removed by the Genome Soldiers after Snake had destroyed it. In Metal Gear Solid, the tank is not present if Snake goes back through the area after retrieving the Nikita, while in The Twin Snakes, the wreakage remains there for the duration of the game.
 * Some kind of pump is on the right side of the entrance to the storage building.

Nuclear warhead storage building

 * The gun cameras that were on the front door in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes are no longer there.
 * The elevated platform now has supports below it. In Metal Gear Solid it is fixed to the wall with no supports at all, in The Twin Snakes it has a small support where it meets the floor.
 * Around the corner from the elevator there was a crate that is no longer there.
 * The steps to the upper level are different (the same steps model used in the tank hangar).
 * The western wall contains a window that shows rows of disarmed missile casings. Metal Gear Solid lacked a window showing this, although it was present in The Twin Snakes. According to the Kojima Podcast for Act 4, the reason why they weren't able to add in the window in the original version was due to graphical limitations.
 * There are no surveillance cameras in the missile hangar anymore.
 * Snake can now use all of his weapons on the first floor of the building. In an optional codec conversation with Otacon, he says that the warheads were removed from the missiles.
 * The elevator control panel now only allows selection of floors 1 and B2, leaving B1 completely inaccessible. In addition, the elevator can now be interacted with via gameplay while it is descending, unlike both Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes, where upon inputting the desired floor, it fades to a black screen listing the area you descended to. According to the podcast, the reason for the lack of interaction within the elevator when descending in previous games was because it was a disguised method of loading.

Dr. Hal Emmerich's lab [B2]

 * The glass separating the elevator and the control panel is smashed.
 * The air cleaners now have rectangular holes; originally they were circular.
 * There are no remains of the soldiers that Gray Fox killed 9 years before, though stains and bullet holes remain. The corpses were presumably recovered by a clean-up crew.
 * The large dent in the wall left from when Gray Fox kicked a soldier into it, is now on another section of the wall.
 * The supercomputers in Hal Emmerich's old office now have transparent covers and a green illumination.
 * The small control panel on the wall just before the electric floor (the one that deactivates after the main panel is hit by a missile) is not there.
 * The gun cameras that were in this area are gone.
 * Desks and equipment in the west office (where the Nikita missile went through) are now damaged and disorganized.
 * The PlayStation (or GameCube in The Twin Snakes) that was originally on one of the desks is gone.
 * A large hole in the ceiling in the hall with the electrified floor is present.

Caves

 * In Metal Gear Solid 4, this area is inaccessible. However, a small part of it can still be seen in the snowfield.

Underground Passageway

 * In Metal Gear Solid 4, this area is inaccessible. However, a small part of it can still be seen in the snowfield.

Blast Furnace

 * The wall directly right of the entrance is covered in mysterious bullet holes in MGS4.
 * There are no gun cameras in the entrance room and the crate can no longer be crawled under.
 * There is a large control unit on the deck of the blast furnace, which is not there in either Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes.
 * The railings in the area are a different, more realistic decaying model.
 * The furnace has been shut down and the pools of molten metal drained rather than being allowed to solidify.
 * There is an elevator in the west corner (this doesn't exist in Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes) which leads to a previously unseen area called the casting facility, used as an alternative route to REX's hangar. The mechanics and shafts of the cargo elevator's can be seen in this area.
 * The overall layout is similar but slightly different.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl


Shadow Moses Island, specifically the Helipad area, also appears in the Nintendo fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When fifteen battles have been fought on this stage, Solid Snake will challenge the winner of the previous battle. Upon his defeat, he will become a playable character.

During battle, a searchlight will hover over the walls of the battlefield; if it spots a character, a red "!" will appear over their heads, along with the trademark alert noise. The two searchlight towers, however, can be destroyed if attacked long enough, although they will restore themselves after a short period of time. Occasionally, Metal Gear REX, Metal Gear RAY, or two Gekko will appear in the background, though not affecting the fighters. Snake can also use his Codec on this stage to contact Colonel Campbell (or, in the case of Luigi, his Patriot doppelganger), Mei Ling, and Otacon (and on one occasion, Slippy Toad from the Star Fox series, if Snake is fighting Falco) and gain intel regarding his opponents. If he is knocked out, however, the person on the other frequency will treat the situation like a traditional Game Over in the Metal Gear Solid games.

Hideo Kojima worked on the development of Shadow Moses.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Shadow Moses Island, more specifically REX's hangar, also appears as a multiplayer map for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops 's online mode.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl