» Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:14 pm I posted these stories to reddit over the past few months and was recommended to post them here. They're just some stuff I came up with to fit in with the DC Wasteland. Sorry about the weird formatting
Little Lamplight Theory
So I've been thinking about Little Lamplight and how it makes no [censored] sense and came up with this idea. I apologize for the length but once I got started I couldn't stop.
After the class is trapped in the Caverns Carrie Delaney takes charge after the other advlts foolishly wander off into the irradiated wasteland (because that seems like a wonderful idea). Ignored by Vault 87 after brief contact with Peter Stevens she spends her days teaching the children and recording what knowledge she has for the future. Together her and the children cultivate the fungus found in the caverns and manage the cave fish and insects found in parts of the cave. They manage to survive for a time until Carrie develops cancer due to exposure to radiation seeping into the cave from rain fall. Realizing she will quickly become a drain on the scarce resources of the now grown children she walks into the irradiated wasteland, quickly succumbing to the radiation.
It's now approximately 10 years after the bombs fell. Population is now 84 people due to 2 pregnancies.
After her departure the organization of residents of Little Lamplight falls apart. Quality of life plummets with life expectancy dropping to a low of 16 years. Waves of starvation rattle the survivors. This persists for 6 years. At this time two of the women are pregnant after some illicit teen fumblings. Without Carrie to help regulate their reproductive urges several more of the women become pregnant. Several factions vie for control of the survivors. A crude arrangement is struck with power shifting among factions every 6 months. At this point tensions are high with the breaking point not far off.
2 years pass. Population is now 127 people.
Violence tears through Little Lamplight as one faction refuses to give up control of the cavern. The remaining factions fall into alliances struggling for control of the vital food sources. Beatings and even murder become more common. Starvation sweeps whichever faction does not have access to food at that time.
Anarchy reigns for 6 years. Population reaches a new low of 53 people. Radiation in the farthest recesses of the caverns causes the fungus to mutate. This new mutation allows it to scrub radiation from the body.
Finally one faction seizes manages to hold all the food supplies. Starving the other factions fall apart their leaders pushed into the wasteland to fend for themselves. Most die quickly, however some find shelter with various groups that are forming at this time.
26 years pass with little incident. Population stabilizes at an average 94 people.
At this time computer failure leads to the loss of most of the knowledge Carrie recorded. Accidental pregnancies become more common counter for the most part by increased deaths and shorter life expectancy, which plummets from 24 years to 18. Still this isn’t enough to completely stop the now growing population.
Another 50 years pass. Population is now 157 people.
Mutations in the cave fungus and skillful management of other nutrient sources have lead to a surplus of people. Knowing starvation is imminent the leaders send teams out into the wastes to scavenge. Predictably few return. The population breaches 175 people in the next 3 years. The strain on food and poor yields in fungus cause mass starvation.
In the next 10 years dozens die. The population plummets to 24 people as disease and starvation take their toll.
While the population stabilizes and even begins to rebound the survivors realize something must be done to prevent a recurrence of their situation, which they know could potentially lead to Little Lamplight ceasing to exist. The elder of the group, who is now an ancient 33, suggests the following:
Once the population reaches its original 82 people anyone over 16 will be banished into the wasteland.
Knowing it’s their only hope the survivors agree. 13 years later the population has reached 83 people. The first one to be banished is the elder who walks into the wasteland with his head held high never looking back. Some days the survivors awake to find gifts of holotapes, weapons, ammo, and food waiting at the entrance to the cave. Many of the banished travel as groups for safety. Some eventually found the settlement of Big Town passing word to Little Lamplight through the tradition of leaving helpful gifts for those still in the caverns. Others integrate into various societies. Rumors spread of a hidden underground society of children safe from the horrors of the wasteland. Mothers occasionally leave children with those they know to be descendants of Little Lamplight in the hope they will be taken there.
In the years that pass intercourse between those in Little Lamplight slowly becomes taboo. Raiders attack Little Lamplight killing some before being wiped out. Survivors fortify the entrance to the caverns. In 2271 Bumble is born on the day before the 16th birthday of her mother. Torn from her baby her mother is thrown into the wasteland where lacking any will to live she is taken by super mutants to be dipped in FEV. She is later killed fighting the Lone Wanderer at the Jefferson Memorial. The only memory of her mother Bumble is left with is a Teddy Bear.
Bumble is raised by the other children. Being the only one born in the cavern she is viewed a specially by many. 6 years later in 2277 the Lone Wanderer first sets foot in Little Lamplight, the first advlt to do so in almost 80 years.
EDIT: Shortly after the fortification of the entrance to the caverns a Super Mutant stumble from the tunnel now referred to as Murder Pass. Blinded by the lights in the cavern it fires blindly into a group of Little Lamplighters playing tag wounding several before being put down. After this incident Murder Pass is heavily fortified with a guard posted at all times, considered a post only for the most skilled fighters. After quite sometime without incident this duty becomes a way to marginalize the influence of those who seek to challenge the Mayor at that time.
Old Olney
After writing an alternate history of Little Lamplight I had a request to make a story for Old Olney. Here it is.
In the years before the bombs fell Old Olney was a politician's wet dream of the ideal America. Located in the middle of prime farmland it avoided much of the urban sprawl and subsequent crime that plagued areas like Silver Spring or Grayditch. Never growing very large it came to be noticed by Vault-Tec. It's privacy and distance from Washington made it an ideal location for one of their fabled Vaults. Due to it being located close to Site-R it was decided to use the Vault, now known as Vault 92, as part of the military's secret super soldier program. At the same time the first case of New Plague reaches Old Olney. Ruthlessly quarantined it is quickly stamped out.
As situation in the outside world grew drastically more dire Old Olney remained almost untouched by these troubles. Many citizens were sent to fight the Chinese causing a 45% drop in the male population. At the same time 60% of the females between the ages 16 and 30 became pregnant. It's at this time that Vault 92 is finished. The sudden influx of those destined to be locked away under the ground causes drastic changes in the town. Many businesses expand to cater to the demands of the new locals. At the same time food grows more and more scarce with much of it being taken by the government to feed the military. Frustrated the true local lash out at the residents of Vault 92. A pair of musicians out on a date are attacked by a mob. Severely beaten the man nearly manages to escape but is run down and hung. The woman is not so lucky. In response to this incident a curfew is placed for both Vault Residents and citizens of Old Olney. Vault-Tec moves a security team under the pretense to protect those in Vault 92. In reality they were selected to monitor the experiments being run.
In the meantime food riots cause severe damage to the densely populated outskirts of D.C. Fearing they might spread the White House orders a unit of experimental deathclaws to be deployed to defend strategic locations. On the morning of Oct. 23 2077 the convoy carrying the deathclaws is beginning to leave the town of York, PA. Rt 108 is jammed due to an accident blocking traffic into D.C. Carl Wallace begins his finally delivery of Nuka Cola destined to never arrive. And the town of Old Olney wakes to another day of rationed food and draftees leaving for Alaska.
Air raid sirens scream. To the south comes one flash then another and another. Many walk outside wondering what could possibly be happening. Only a few realize that at that moment the city of Washington and much of the surrounding area has ceased to exist. Seconds later a black speck appears in the sky. Many stare at it first curious then horrified. It will be the last thing they see.
The blast flattens much of the town. Immediate casualties are 90% killed. In the days that follow many succumb to severe radiation poisoning. Of the town only 3 are left by the day of the third day. They flee north in one of the few operable cars left.
Old Olney stands abandoned for many years too dangerous to live in. It's few remaining building stand empty a reminder of what was lost in those few moment so many years before. Eventually the radiation subsides. It's location and layout make it an ideal place to fortify. Many factions vie for control of this strategic location. It's streets, once a charming example of Americana, now run with the blood of those seeking refuge from the horrors of the wastes.
Finally one faction whose name has been lost to time manages to fortify the nucleus of the town. Old Olney now serves as their castle sheltering them from the roaming raider bands and creatures that kill others not fortunate enough to have a home. Their control of Old Olney lasts nearly 70 years and in this time they create one of the greatest fortresses in the D.C. Wasteland.
But this is the Wasteland, safety is never a guarantee.
On the day the bombs fell the convoy carrying troops and deathclaws to counter the riots that were consuming D.C. had stopped for the night in York. At one point in time York was a major manufacturing center providing the military with many goods. But it had fallen victim to the brutal economy. Little more than a slum it had no strategic value. When the bombs fell York was not destroyed due to it's importance but simply the inefficiency of the Chinese in updating target lists for their ICBMs.
While the city was burnt to the ground many of the deathclaws escaped into the surrounding wilderness where they formed several colonies. Over time their ravenous appetites devoured any life capable of sustaining them. Faced with starvation the colonies split up each following its mother and alpha. The majority went north seeking the Canadian wilderness, others chose to go west in the hope the Great Plains might be able to support them. One colony marched south.
For the survivors residing in the ruins of Old Olney the appearance of the first deathclaw was a traumatic experience. Taken by surprise it killed and maimed several it caught outside the walls before succumbing to a hail of gunfire. Those that survived the attack quickly took defensive positions. There they waited until nightfall. It was then, after the survivors had exhausted themselves, that the remaining deathclaws struck. Tearing down fortification they swarmed the streets killing all that stood in their way. Taken by surprise the survivors, unable to escape, were scattered into several buildings where they were hunted down, one after another. Old Olney had claimed yet another group that sought refugee in her.
By the time the Lone Wanderer reached the walls of Old Olney, some 30 years later, the only residents were the deathclaws and some foolish ghouls fleeing the violence in D.C. Deathclaws plagued the wasteland their ferocity and capacity to slaughter unmatched by any other creature.
The White House and Post Nuclear Cleanup
So I decided to attempt to tackle the surprising lack of radiation in D.C. when compared to Vault 87.
Construction started on the White House Oct. 13, 1792. In the almost 500 years since it has undergone several major renovations and restorations. Note able ones include reconstruction after the War of 1812, construction of the West Wing, and major modernization efforts starting February 14, 2018. The White House has stood as a testament to American ingenuity and perseverance.
In the years prior to the Great War several plans for the protection of the White House and other strategic government and military installations were drawn up. One after another they were shot down due to cost, feasibility, and frequently political gridlock.
Finally in January 2054 the nuclear exchange in the Middle East scares America into action. A two part plan is enacted to safeguard the future of America:
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Construction would begin immediately on a series of underground Vaults. Headed by Vault-Tec this aspect of the project would be most successful.
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The Army Corps of Engineers would begin construction of defenses to be placed around strategic location. Never fully completed the measures taken helped shape the world for centuries to come.
The A.C.o.E. plan was made up of three stages. The first was deployment of missile defense systems capable of interdicting many ICBMs and inbound bombers. Knowing this was far from a perfect solution the A.C.o.E. created a secret contract with Robco for two series of robots. The first series would be larger, programmed to enter irradiated zones and scrub as much of the radiation away as possible. Designed using the Sentry Bot chassis these would removed the large areas of radiation. The next wave of smaller robots would follow the Sentry Bots cleaning up the smaller more intense pockets of radiation. Based of the Mr. Gutsy chassis these had the ability to pinpoint smaller pockets of radiation as well as the mobility to react areas inaccessible to Sentry Bots.
The goal of this plan was to reduce the damage dealt by nuclear war and then clean up and rebuild civilization as fast as possible. Unfortunately reality and political scheming soon interfered.
When it went to purchase the large number of laser weapons necessary to the defense of America the A.C.o.E. found that not only was production of these systems incredibly slow many of the existing systems had already been purchased by a mysterious stranger. Many of the laser systems went to the defense of military and research installations, like Site-R the Oil Rig and Big Mountain Research Facility, following the logic that in the event of a nuclear exchange political figures could be evacuated to these areas before the bombs fell.
Unfortunately due to a clerical error deliberately enacted to please Congress notification of these deployments never reached those in charge of the production and deployment of the robotic systems.
Production of the needed robots proceeded painstakingly slowly. The erratic development patterns of the scientists in the Big Empty meant that the first shipment of radiation cleaning robots was not received until Spring of 2069. Secretly place in preconstructed positions these robots would be the first things to awaken in the event of nuclear holocaust.
On Oct. 23, 2077 the bombs fell wiping out the majority of life on planet earth. At this time only a few facility had missile defense systems online, none of which were capable of defending D.C. and many other civilian targets. Only five facilities had access to the robotic systems needed for clean up: D.C., Area 51, Cape Canaveral, and Guantanamo Bay Naval Installation with the fifth remaining a secret to this day.
A testament to government incompetence these systems did little to defend against the hail of nuclear warheads. The human population of North America was almost completely exterminated.
Five months after the bombs fell, when the fires finally died down, the D.C. Robotic Facility opened releasing it's wave of Sentry Bots into the city. For the next three years they struggled to decontaminate a city that had been irradiated to an extent far beyond their programming. Flaws in their logic lead to the creation of huge walls of radioactive material blocking much movement through the city.
Three years later the D.C. facility opened up once more to release it's Mr. Gutsies to reinforce the Sentry Bot force. Unknown to the computers that controlled the robots the actions had destabilized the building the facility was built under. As the great titanium blast doors opened the vibrations they created caused the building to collapse crushing the waiting Mr. Gutsies.
Their task complete the few remaining Sentry Bots wandered out into the wasteland to carry out their mission of decontamination. Even during the time of the Lone Wanderer a few of these valiant robots continued their mission wandering America, ignoring the dangers that plagued the wastes.
Post Fallout 3 DC
With the defeat of the Enclave at Adams Air force Base many in the D.C. wasteland hoped it would be the beginning of a new peace. But the quiet was short lived.
Already short handed the fight with the Enclave left the Brotherhood of Steel severely out manned.Troop and equipment shortages already plaguing their efforts to protect the citizens of the wastes were only made worse. Forced to cancel patrols in the D.C. ruins they took up defensive positions around the Citadel and Purifier.
With the Brotherhood of Steel no longer keeping them in check the Supermutants spread unchecked through the streets of D.C. Always a roaming threat, half a year after the destruction of the mobile crawler Supermutants had set up permanent settlements across the wasteland. Greyditch and the surrounding area were the first to fall to this renewed assault. By the end of the year many of the raider tribes had been replaced by Supermutants.
Refugees from D.C. fled to fortified settlements like Megaton, and Tenpenny Tower. A brave few even attempted to join the slavers at Paradise Falls. Only those brutal enough to pass the slavers initiations were able to keep their lives and if they were lucky, freedom.
Bolstered by refugees Megaton expanded to include the town of Springvale. Eventually they shut their doors to all new comers. Resulting tensions between the newcomers and long time residents explode into violence. Between fighting off Supermutants and fighting each other food supplies reach critical levels. The Church of Atom steps in to broker an uneasy truce.
Those turned away by Megaton, who survive the wasteland, continue west reaching Tenpenny Tower. Mr. Tenpenny flat out refuses any refuge quoting high rent prices and general unwashed state of the refugees. Several assaults on the tower are easily beaten back until the refugees find the underground entrance from the metro. Deciding it's worth the risk they blast the door open with the last of their explosives. The residents are slaughtered with none spared.
In an attempt to buy time the Brotherhood of Steel and residents of Rivet City broker a deal with the Talon Company. In exchange for reaching quota's of Supermutants killed Talon Company will have a free reign in the territory they clear. Talon Company begins the brutal task of retaking D.C. street by street, casualties are high with many teams wiped out entirely. Deciding it's not worth re-entering D.C. they seize areas west of the Potomac declaring them clear. Murder, theft, and [censored] become the norm among residents of these areas.
The situation worsens as time goes by with no end in sight.
Fort Detrick
So a few of you might remember I occasionally write stories based upon the Fallout universe mostly taking place in the DC Wasteland. Today I've decided we will take a little road trip to the western side of Maryland.
Founded in 1931 Fort Detrick housed the United State biological weapons and defense programs. The walls of this Level 4 facility, one of only 7 known to exist, housed some of the deadliest diseases known to man. As well as several created for the sole purpose of the destruction of mankind.
In the late 1970s public opinion shifted away from biological weapons and with it went much of the funding for research. Critically underfunded the doctors at Fort Detrick were forced to sit helplessly as a new airborne strain of Ebola rampaged through the midwest in 2038 killing several million. As a result of this the US government expanded it's weapons and defensive biological programs as well as strengthened it's ties with the private sector.
In 2041 United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command exchanged genetic information as well as tissue samples from a recently discovered and highly aggressive form of cancer for a prototype form of smallpox believed to ignore previous vaccinations. West-Tek, USAMRMC's partner in the exchange, would later use these samples in its FEV experiments.
In 2042 the US Army conducted it's first tests on human subjects since the 1900s. Covert agents released a small amount of weaponized Ebola in a refugee camp following the Mexico City earthquake. The ensuing epidemic killed 12,653 people, 90% of those infected.
March 5, 2052. Chinese agents accidentally release Limit 115 also referred to as New Plague. West-Tek, the creators of the virus, approached Fort Detrick hoping for aid. The Army responding by creating and implementing a national quarantine in order to prevent the plague from reaching pandemic levels. As a result the death toll was in thousands and not millions.
The Resource Wars created a new source of test subjects for Army scientists. Refugees were offered entrance in exchange for volunteering for Experimental Testing and Prototype Programs. Some tested the early power armors with frequently horrific results. Others tested new nuclear powered vehicles. The unlucky ones disappeared into Fort Detrick's testing labs. Here they were used to test the effectiveness of new bio-weapons and vaccines. Those who survived the tests were subsequently liquidated and buried on base.
The US's war against China saw little change for the doctors working at Fort Detrick. Little did they know their work had been replaced by the increasingly successful FEV program. In June 2077 the first samples of FEV were received by Fort Detrick. An unusual strain, dubed FEV X2-F4, this batch combined readily with other viruses and was shown to be able to pull genetic material from bacteria and fungi. It failed to produce any desirable effects on human test subjects however and was deemed a failure by West-Tek.
October 23, 2077. The the day the bombs fell. Targeted by no less than 7 ICBMs Fort Detrick was spared utter annihilation when a computer error caused the warheads to explode far over head of the facility. However the resulting EMP blast caused the automated security systems running the Biological Weapon Facility to short out. Manual systems engaged sealing the facility with 134 researchers and 24 test subjects still inside. 3 weeks later back up generators running the air and refrigeration systems failed.
With the failure of the systems several viruses were released into air. Every person in the facility was infected, first by smallpox then airborne Ebola and finally FEV X2-F4. Once in the blood stream X2-F4's ability to manipulate genetic information took off. Infected began to see increases in aggression, and energy followed by decreases in caloric intake as well as neurological function.
Fortunately the infected personnel were contained by the Biological Weapon Facility's lock down.
October 26, 2277. A prospector looking for salvage dynamites a hole in the south wall of the Biological Weapon Facility.
