Reapers

The Cerberus Project was the codename of the Mountain Men project to create subservient soldiers, known as Reapers. The project was led by Cage Wallace, and was unknown to many in Mount Weather, aside from the Guard. The process involved the use of the highly addictive Red drug in a brutal ordeal to turn the strongest captives acquired from Harvest Project raids on the surface. Once turned, Reapers were employed as outside guard and raiders to defending Mount Weather and bring back more captives in exchange for the Red drug. The Mountain Men control the Reapers with a high frequency tone that they cannot stand. The Harvest Project started 56 years prior when the Mountain Men realized the Grounders had adapted to the outside radiation, making them immune to it. Mountain Men were not able to adapt to the outside as they had remained in the Mountain the entire time. They eventually realized they could use Grounders to filter their blood of the radiation that was poisoning the Mountain Men. The Grounders, however, were presumably not willing to volunteer for this task so the Mountain Men would take them by force. To make things easier, through the Cerberus Project, they turned the strongest Grounders into vicious monsters called Reapers in order to reap other Grounders into the Mount Weather Mines. The Mountain Men then inject the Red drug into the Reapers in exchange for Grounders. Once the Mountain Men had finished harvesting the Grounder blood, they would dispose of the dead and dying Grounders back into the mines for the Reapers to feast on. Once the Grounders had been sorted into either Cerberus or Harvest, they would then go through decontamination where they are blasted with boiling water and doused with something that “burns even worse,” according to Lincoln. They are given shots and pills as well as visually inspected before being placed into holding cages for later use.