» Fri May 27, 2011 9:05 am A radio plays in the corner, set on a scavenged table. A song by Louis Armstrong is playing, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On". A popular song before the war began. Two men are sitting at an old table; some bottles of "Nuka Cola" sit between them. The remains of a large city bus have been re-enforced to withstand the ravages of the nuclear wasteland. Tags wears a suit of leather armor over his well worn Vault suit, he has given up his real name and simply goes by his nickname. Jacob takes notes, it is not often that a Vault dweller turns up, and Jacob is something of a historian. A chance to interview a Vault dweller is something he cannot pass up. Tags takes a swig of his Nuka Cola and begins his story.
"We shuffled into Vault 80 that day in 2000, the massive door slid into place behind us as the bombs began to fall. My family reserved space inside the Vault-Tec facility, before the complex was even completed. A few years earlier the thought of war was the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Life was perfect, advancements in nuclear technology, and robotics made life a utopia. We had everything we could ever need, when the communists invaded Alaska however, the possibility began to sink in. The military was able to take Alaska back, but everything had changed. Our leaders thought, annexing Canada would solve our energy problems but things just got worse."
"On the day the bombs fell, we tried to make a new life within the Vault. The overseer told us one day we could leave the vault, but no one knew how long that would be. Rumors began to circulate that survivors had gathered outside the door, hoping to gain access. Supplies were strict however and we only had enough to support anyone who had reserved a spot and so the overseer turned a blind eye to the apparent suffering. I guess the survivors eventually gave up or died. "
"Life went on as usual, failures became common, and eventually residents had to enter cryogenic suspension so we could continue to supply food. "Volunteers" were selected at random by the overseer. As far as I know, no one was ever awakened. Asking questions was frowned upon, I heard some residents were insistent with their questions about family members, were in turn placed into suspension as well."
Tags sighs and runs a hand over his shaved scalp. Absentmindedly he reaches down and scratches Dogmeat behind the ears. Dogmeat found Tags and stuck by his side through thick and thin. "For years we had regular communications with the other Vaults, one by one signals were lost, the Overseer said our communications systems were wearing out. I don't know if that's true. I never did find out. I believe it was my 30th birthday when the Overseer told me I was going to be going into cryo sleep." Tags shrugged with a smirk. "I suppose I could have argued, but no one was waiting for me. And life in the Vault was too restrictive, so why argue? Next thing I remember is waking up, and finding myself surrounded by the remains of the Vault."
Tags takes another swig of his Nuka Cola and tosses the empty bottle aside. He reaches for another and pops a few Rad-X pills; he washes down with a fresh bottle. "Rad-X? Good thing they came up with this stuff before those damn bombs fell? Anyway where was I? Oh yea? waking up." Jacob continues to take notes, occasionally taking a sip of his own drink, he looks up and nods for Tags to continue. Tags sighs and goes on with his story. "I guess the system was set to automatically kick in, apparently I was asleep for about 150 years? I expected a welcoming committee at the very least, but all I found was dust. Oooh and a few Rad roaches, hate those damn bugs. I checked the rest of the tubes but I guess the reactors were running low; the rest of the tubes had failed. I still don't know why mine was still active, just lucky I guess if you can call this lucky."
"Sooo I went in search of someone, anyone? Everything was intact, all I found were more Rad roaches and dust though, until I came across the med lab that is. I'll never forget that, bodies were stacked everywhere; the morgue was full so I guess they started using the operating rooms. I figure there had to be at least four dozen bodies. Of course that only accounts for a small fraction of the population. As people died, it appears survivors decided to use empty apartments to store bodies. The doctor's notes were sketchy but from what I could make out, about fifty years before I woke up, some explorers were sent to the surface to determine if it was safe to leave the Vault. They must have brought a virus back with them, something the doctors had never seen, and that ravaged the Vault. I guess the Overseer refused to let anyone out after that.
The remains of the City liner was reinforced with sheets of scrap metal, sand bags lined the sides of the bus. Danger was everywhere in the wasteland, constant attention to detail and preparation was often the only thing standing between a wanderer and survival. Outside the bus the normal sounds of the wasteland continued, the drone of insects, the wind racing across the dry earth, but there was something else as well. Rad scorpions in search of prey, lone travelers were often at risk from Rad scorpion attacks, the giant insects tended to avoid large groups or settlements. Tags listened for a moment and continued with his story. "Supplies were always limited in the Vault; security was limited to 10mm pistols and batons. It wasn't much but then we never expected to need much more. So grabbed a few guns some ammo, and left the Vault. I sealed the Vault after I left. Call me crazy but seeing as the Vault had essentially become a tomb, it didn't feel right just letting anyone get in there. Besides, with all the support systems failing no one could live there." Tags stood up and walked to one of the fire slits where one of the windows used to be and looked out into the night. Sure enough a Rad scorpion was scuttling around in search of a meal. Tags fingered his 10mm for a moment, as the scorpion wondered off he stepped back from the slit and sat back down. "Hate Rad scorpions, damn pests. I still remember the first time I saw one, just beat it to death with a tree branch. Imagine waking up with one of those in yer boot."
Jacob chuckled and took a sip of his Nuka Cola. "Did you ever find any other former Vault dwellers, or any descendants of Vault dwellers?" Tags nodded. "There was a town out west built by Vault dwellers, as I recall they were doing pretty well for themselves. As for descendants, well that's hard to tell. I wouldn't be surprised if some Vaults are even still occupied though. Living in a hole is preferable to struggling out here, at least by most survivors' opinion."
"Anyway, once I left the Vault I came across a town called Megaton. For some reason settlers decided to build up a town around a live nuke. Dunno why it never went off, but it was still live. I ended up diffusing it for the sheriff. At time the time, Megaton was safest place I could find and living near a live bomb was pretty unsettling."
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