» Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:38 pm
Vault 1017
The Slavery Vault.
Four hundred people entered an uncompleted vault in 2076, with sufficient building materials to complete it within a year. One hundred of the people had a lower class background, two hundred of them had a middle class background, and the remaining hundred had an upper class background. The Overseer was instructed to create a segregated system, based on any reason he chooses. Soon, a hierarchy was established in which the upper class were pampered and had their every whim catered to by other vault members - and as a result, had to do no building work.
The middle class population were next, and they were to oversee the building work on the vault, and got a substantial food ration. Some were also employed as servants for the higher-ups.
The lower class members, however, were treated like dirt - they were slaves to the higher up members, and had to do most of the building work. They weren't to address any members of the vault above them, and were sometimes employed as part-time servants for middle class. They had hardly enough food to feed themselves and their families.
Because of insufficient motivation, the enslaved builders did a shoddy job, and the walls were not nearly strong enough to withstand warfare. As a result, they crumbled during the great war, causing deaths and large amounts of radiation to flood some areas of the vault - including the upper class areas, resulting in ghouls. Many middle class people weren't happy about being led by "mutated freaks," and the seat of power became contested. The slaves took this chance to topple the Overseer, and set in their new laws - the ghouls were now to be slaves, to get a taste of their own medicine. They were tasked with fixing the walls of the vault, which they did within six months.
By 2081, the vault was without a power struggle, and laws were slightly relaxed. Slaves were given slightly more freedom, but more power was also given to owners as well.
It was in 2119 when the middle class decided they wanted more, and attempted to boycott the Overseer, but ultimately failed as there were many ghouls used as body guards. However, the attempt to seize power stirred a hate within the slaves within the vault, and they attacked. Killing most of the inhabitants, they retook the vault for themselves, and forced the previous power to live in abysmal living conditions after (what was, in their minds) the betrayal.
In 2154, a middle class citizen named Luther Martins began talking about a unified vault, without unnecessary boundaries and segregation. The lower classes of the vault agreed with him, and, in fear of another power struggle, Luther Martins was executed. However, his death sparked more violence, however, the current power system remained.
The vault soon fell into disrepair, and many of the rooms became unserviceable. In 2175 many of the lower class citizens were lumped in with the middle class citizens - causing mass unrest among the population, as diseases spread more due to the cramped conditions. However, their unrest didn't matter to the ghouls, who were still in relative luxury - medical supplies also became scarce, and many began to doubt the current hierarchy.
The next year, however, marked the one hundredth year of the vault's occupation - and the door then opened. The opening of the vault was a controversial matter - many of the ghouls didn't want to leave the vault, as they had most of the things they needed. A scouting party was sent out, however, few returned, which resulted in the vault's permanent closure.
In 2210 a group of rebels attempted to reopen the door, to escape the cramped conditions and shortage of food and medicine. They escaped, which resulted in a mass exodus - or at least it would have, if the ghouls hadn't caught most of them. That year, food dispensers stopped working, which resulted in cannibalism.
The vault then lost contact with the rest of the world for many years, and was almost forgotten. Very few know it's location, somewhere deep in the Mojave Wasteland. But the few who intrude rarely ever return, and those who do never speak of what they see there.
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That took me too long to right... it's midnight here, so it's not brilliant, but I'm too tired to care.