Grease and Guile - Chapter 7: Normal

  • I couldn’t care less about caps. Of course it is nice to be able to buy parts I need for my inventions rather than scrounging the Wasteland for them. But what good is collecting currency here? I don’t see any banks opening up. No one is thinking - where can I get a good interest rate on these bottle caps?

    200 years after entering the Vault, so much has changed. And yet, so much of the old world tries to trundle on. Shops, barbers, farms. Sometimes, if I squint I can almost imagine this irradiated society as normal. Functional. 

    But, more often than not calamity lies just steps from normality. Human resiliency is constantly tested here. Recently I was out scavenging northwest of Bunker Hill. There was an old Wattz Consumer Electronic I wanted to check out. You never know what good electronic components have been overlooked by less savvy looters.

    I never even made it to the store. On approach the sound of a massive robotic battle caught my attention and I moved in to see what was going on. Since I was traveling in my upgraded T-45 Power Armor, it wasn’t long before a few of the hostile bots noticed my and redirected their weaponry.

    Soaking up a mix of incoming laser and nail gun damage I managed to clear out the hostiles with the help of a unique new mechanical companion. Ada, as she calls herself lost her whole party to these roving bots. Based on the holotape I looted from one, it seems we have a new enemy in the Commonwealth. The Mechanist seems to be re-programming robots into weapons of human destruction. After exchanging some information, we hesitantly agreed to help each other out for a while.

    Back at the Red Rocket I’ve made a few adjustments to Ada’s servos and upgraded her weaponry to include a long-range laser rifle, which is a better fit with my battle tactics. I also increased her load carrying capacity by tweaking her armor setup. She’ll be able to haul a ton and watch my back now, which is of vital importance to my long-term health out here. 

    Halfway down the road to our first stop at the General Atomics Factory it dawned on me that my sole companion in this world was now a robot. It wouldn’t be there first time I place my faith in a machine over man. And given the immense destruction everywhere I look, I can’t say I’ve made a poor choice.

    Humanity’s obsession with tribal warfare is equaled only by our paradoxical will to survive. Most of my life I’ve favored the quiet companionship of metal, finding personal interactions more draining than beneficial. But now, we’re on a mission to find out why some of these machines have taken to emulating the blood thirst of their creators. 

    On the way, I decided to barter and rest in Diamond City. The center of commerce in the Commonwealth, this place is as normal as it gets around here. Stores, water, walls and even a mayor. Outside of the local private eye and a bartender, there aren’t a lot of machines to be seen. Rumor has it the city’s distrust of robots can be traced back to a rogue Synth that went on a killing spree a while back.

    Needless to say, Ada’s presence by my side raised a few eyebrows as we settled into a room at the Dugout Inn. But I’m used to people not understanding me. And frankly, I don’t give a damn. Especially not here.

    They think they’re achieving some sort of normality by drinking at a bar and pretending they have something figured out. I haven’t been thawed out that long, but one thing I do know…normal in the Wasteland is an illusion. 

        

Comments

2 Comments   |   Sotek likes this.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  February 11, 2017
    Great work Motty. I love the  addition of Ada.
    A couple of your links were missing so i gave then a quick fix. 
    • Mottyskills
      Mottyskills
      Sotek
      Sotek
      Sotek
      Great work Motty. I love the  addition of Ada.
      A couple of your links were missing so i gave then a quick fix. 
        ·  February 11, 2017
      thanks! yeah I thought Ada was an interesting addition to this story for a lot of reasons that will play out as our Gearhead eventually finds the institute...