Highland Park

Highland Park is a dilapidated industrial zone near Detroit. In 2027, during the events of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, it serves as a front for a FEMA internment camp and as a temporary base of operations for both Belltower Spec-ops soldiers and the Tyrants.

Background[]

Designated MICH.355.sos.7, the Highland Park facility is a concealed FEMA concentration camp, built beneath an old, dilapidated textile mill bought up by the government. Originally relatively independent, it was placed under the authority of the military Northern Command (NorthCom). in the wake of the 2027 Lansing security breach, alongside other Michigan and Pennsylvania locations, the facility was in the final stages of completion in 2027, and slated for full activation in the third quarter of 2028. Some parts of the facility were falling behind schedule (including Barracks 7 and Cell Block 22), raising concerns from Edward Fillion, director of Phase II construction for the state of Michigan.^[1]

The establishment of Highland Park and other such facilities by the Federal Emergency Management Agency was necessary to provide a detention camp for victims of the government program to round up members of seditionist factions. Designated REX-84 CHARLIE, code named "Night Train" and later "Operation Terror Trail" (courtesy of Catherine Cromartie, Senior Communications Administrator), it targeted primarily individuals participating in separatist terrorist cells in the western states of Utah, Texas, and California. Its unfinished state also permitted its use by mercenaries aligned with the capitalist masters of the United States government. FEMA personnel could be and were ordered to evacuate on orders from Joseph Manderley, to provide the Tyrants with a base of operations for the attacks on Sarif Industries' tower and the abduction of the company's top scientists.^[1]

The facility was provided with the latest and greatest in technology, including, but not limited to 80-X Boxguard in vast quantities, electronic countermeasures, autonomous defenses, and surveillance equipment. All detainees would also be implanted with tracking chips for security and held in laser shackles until their allocation in cell blocks.^[1]

Layout[]

The ground floor of the facility appears to be a regular warehouse complex, primarily housing inactive 80-X Boxguard bots. The facility shows a distinct lack of maintenance and general dilapidation due to several years of abandonment, which serves as a perfect cover for the internment camp located on the lower levels.

In contrast to the ground floor's decaying state, the lower levels of the facility appear to be well-maintained and in good condition. These areas appear to be large and warehouse-like, with open spaces, catwalks and walled-off detention areas. One such area leads further into interrogation rooms - several office-sized rooms with no roofs and catwalk system above them. Further inside the facility are the locker rooms and a break room.

Points of interest[]

Three members of the Motor City Bangers gang can be found in the parking lot where Malik lands. One of them can provide Adam Jensen with information about the place and sell him some ammo, a Target-Leading System, and grenades (EMP and gas).

On Level 5, Adam Jensen encounters Lawrence Barrett, Jaron Namir, and Yelena Fedorova. The latter two leave, while Barrett remains behind to deal with Jensen, but is killed in the end following a battle.

If you are going for the Doctorate achievement, be sure to grab the eBook Blurring the Boundaries Between Man and Machine Volume 1. It is on 4F in a Security Level 2 room on the table. The room is towards the bottom of the 3D map between two bathrooms and right by a cafeteria.

Clues found in the facility may be references to the earlier-released but chronologically subsequent Deus Ex. Such clues include descriptions of REX-84, a government plan implemented in the Majestic 12 coup attempt, and of a central anti-terrorist coalition, which may be a foreshadowing of UNATCO.