The Peruvian Elgen Compound, located outside the town of Puerto Maldonado, is the main source of power for much of Peru, as well as the largest of the Elgen compounds. It is composed of 3 main buildings, the Bowl, the Reeducation, or Re-Ed center, and the Assembly Hall.
The Bowl[]
The bowl is both the largest and most important component of the compound, filled with nearly a million electric rats, all on top of a silver-coated copper grid (The largest mankind has ever made) It has many purposes:
- To charge and release electricity from the rats to the rest of Peru
- To remove excrement from the rats, which then are moved into a manure processing compound
- To take dead bodies of rats (They live 19 months on average) and convert them into Rabisk, or rat biscuits. These are then either fed to the rats either in the bowl or in containment, as well to the prisoners, for example, Sharon Vey.
Roughly 70 rats are released into the bowl every hour, and 20% are kept in confinement in case of a mass death or other factor.
It does exactly as the description says, keeps the electric rats fed with live food and contains them inside. It's mostly like a large cell, for thousands and thousands of tiny rodents.
They send live food such as bulls and humans down the shaft into the bowl for the rats to eat.
Re-education (Re-Page)[]
The Elgen Reeducation system is a way to teach (As said by Dr. Hatch) Elgen enemies the error of their thinking. This usually includes total psychological and mental breakdown. The steps of Re-Ed are as follows:
- Clothing change: The prisoners are first changed into bright pink clothing, complete with bow ties. This is done to humiliate the prisoner and make them seem & feel useless and weak.
- Name change: The prisoners are then stripped of their names, and instead given numbers. (For example, Dr. Hatch says to Sharon Vey that Michael is being Reeducated, so he would be given a number for a name instead of Michael.
- Phase one: The prisoners are shown a video or a rat feeding (When a living guard is fed to the Electric rats, causing death by shocks, burns, mutilation, and on can believe, heart attacks) and told that this will be their fate next morning. They are then sent, naked, into a 3x3 cell, where there is nothing but a white room, an overly harsh light, and their impending death. This is known as 'Think time', where prisoners realize how powerless they are against everything. This goes on for three days, despite the one day claim. On the beginning of the third day, they are brought 3 Rabisk biscuits and two cups of water, and are told that their fate is still being considered. This gives them a small piece of hope.
- Phase two: Another 72 hours pass with loud music and heavy beats. This is intended to increase the feeling of unease one experiences. This can be compared to the beep that Michael experiences in Cell 25, repeating every 30 seconds.
- Phase three: Once phase 2 is over, the music finally ends and is replaced by an audio loop known as The Scold. Before this, in a blissful few moments of silence, the prisoner is told that thanks to the mercy of the Elgen, and the hope that they may still be of use to the Elgen, their life is temporarily spared. Then the Scold begins. It is a continuous loop of people screaming at you, condemning you for your crimes against humanity. Another 3 days pass.
- The end: The prisoners are let out of their cells to talk to the Elgen captains, to ask forgiveness for their sins to humanity, both real and imagined. If they are rejected, the Re-Ed process restarts (which, in this instance, would possibly break them mentally) . If they pass, they are told that they have been forgiven, and to further benefit the Elgen by helping to reeducate others.
It is unknown what happens to the prisoners if they are forced to get sent through the process again. It is possible that they die or are emotionally unstable for the rest of their life.
The Assembly Hall[]
In the Hall, Elgen guards live, sleep, and take breaks. There is little else said about this area of the building, apart from the size, which can hold 2000 people. Meals are served there.
Destruction[]
While Michael was trapped there, the Electroclan came up with a plan to destroy the plant, involving destroying the cooling system. Just before Michael was fed to the rats, they managed, and successfully shut down the plant, and consequentially, most of Peru's electricity. This ended in arrest by the Peruvian Army, with Michael, Sharon Vey, Tanner, and Raúl escaping.
Peru is mentioned again in Hunt For Jade Dragon, as having re-gained most of their energy.