[Krylo]

How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and Love ScienceMy head's pounding...



Where am I?



"A group of wanderers found you passed out in the wastes. You're just lucky they were the nice type. Hauled all the way to Megaton, they did."

I raise a hand to my head, trying to stop the pain. It doesn't work.

The 'Sheriff' is looking at me expectantly, like he's waiting for me to talk, but I don't say anything. Just... don't feel up to it.

"...Quiet type, eh? Well, I just hope you ain't one of those psycho quiet types..."

"Yeah... me too," I respond without thinking, memories of the vault and the people who couldn't have been there flooding through my head.

"What's that? You bein' smart?"

I shake my head, eliciting a sharp pain through my skull. I must be coming down from whatever drug was pumped through that vault. Once I stop wincing I speak, "Uh... no, sorry, Sheriff, I just... I'm still a bit groggy I guess..."


He looks at me carefully for a minute and then smiles, "Yeah, sorry about that. Lots of problems around here, but I like you, girl! Don't know why, but I do. Just don't go causing any trouble and making me rethink that initial response, alright? We're good folk here, and we don't need any more trouble than what the wastes already provide..." I just nod dumbly as he continues talking, "And for all that my gut says you're a good sort... you had quite the arsenal when they brought you in here... so I'm still a little uneasy, you understand?"

I nod again, "Yeah... I... was wandering the wastes, and a girl needs some protection is all."

He seems satisfied with that. "Alright then, Welcome to Megaton. If you're looking for anything Moira's got a shop up that way," he points, through the walls of the building, "And Moriarty's is the place to go if you're looking for information... but he's a paranoid lying dog, so watch yourself around him, alright?"

Again I nod, and Lucas Simms nods in return, waving before turning and walking away.

I gather up my things and follow him, only to be accosted by the doctor.



"Back on yer feet, eh? Any idea what happened to you out there? We couldn't find any signs of physical trauma, but waking you up was pretty much impossible too--and you didn't seem irradiated..."

"I... well I stumbled onto an old vault... there was something in the air... I don't remember much past that." Half-truths have served me well in the past, and I don't want to explain having gone temporarily insane. At least I hope it was temporary.

The doctor nods though, "Yeah... I'll ask the wastelanders about where they found you and tell the Sheriff to warn people to stay away from there, then... well you seem to be doing fine now so you can be on your way. I've got a whole lotta other people to take care of out here and I don't have time for someone who can recover just fine on their own."

He points to the door and I nod. I was leaving, anyway.



Jesus Christ! These people live around a goddamn atomic bomb!? What the fuck is wrong with them?

I stumble back a bit at the sight my back coming up against the door to the clinic, but quickly overcome the shock, stepping down and taking a wide berth around the destructive thing.



This town is a shit hole, made out of rusted metal and dirt. Leaks are springing up from their water lines, around town, and I can't imagine it'd take much more than a strong wind to blow the whole thing apart.



Well I guess I could use a drink.




My eyes go wide as I see the... the... thing behind the counter, like something from one of the old zombie reels they'd sometimes play at the vault. I can smell the sickly sweet scent of rotting flesh from here... but everyone else just seems to ignore it and so I take a breath calming myself, but I think it already noticed my initial reaction, though it doesn't say anything.

He reaches out and smacks the radio, "Gah, goddamn thing. It's always the same thing."

The girl next to him pulls the cigarette out of her mouth long enough to respond, "I told you, Gob, it ain't the radio, the enclave station comes in just fine! There's somethin' wrong with Three-Dog's signal, that's all."




I start making my way toward the other room when I see a man waving me over. He looks... normal, so I head in, though I keep a hand on my pistol.




There's... something about his voice... something... off. Like it's dripping with oil, his words unnaturally lubricated. I don't like him.



"Valuable?" I ask, a bit worried about his response. The way he's been looking at me, it reminds me of that woman from the station. The one who liked to eat people... though his eyes are slightly less predatory. He's hungry... but... not for that.

I barely repress a shudder when he begins to speak again.

"Oh yes... Valuable indeed." His eyes move over me like a butcher inspecting a piece of meat, but he seems to catch himself, and remember what he's really here for, "You're a free agent. You have no... connections to this place. Megaton means nothing to you! I represent certain... interests," the oil returns to his voice, "Who see Megaton as nothing more than a blight on a burdgeoning urban landscape..."

Urban landscape? This? It's now laughter I'm repressing.

"If this settlement were to... go away... well who would really care? Not you or I, certainly..."

Suddenly I don't find it so funny, anymore. "You're planning to do what, exactly?"

"Me? I'm not planning on doing anything. I'm merely a recruiter... it is you who would get to have all the fun. The atomic bomb after which this town is named is still very much alive... I have in my possesion a fusion pulse charge. Once rigged to the bomb, you may detonate it from a safe location, and for you there's five hundred caps."

I should probably just kill him now, but he did say he was merely working for someone else. If I kill him, it probably won't solve the real problem... so I play along.

"...Alright. Megaton will burn."




"When you're done, meet me at Tenpenny Tower, it's far South West of here, well out of harms way. You can't miss it. Questions?"

I stop and think for a moment before responding. "These are a lot of innocent lives, Burke. Can I warn th..."

He cuts me off, angry now, at the very thought, "ABSOLUTELY NOT! The people of this town are just as much a disease as the city itself. They must all be purged. If you do not have the stomach, then it seems I have gravely mis..."

I hold up a hand silencing him, "I was just checking. Don't worry, I'll set up the bomb."

"Don't let me keep you."




So great, now what do I do with this thing? ...All I wanted was a drink.

Fuck it. I slip the device into my pocket and head out the door. I still need supplies.



Looks promising.



Quiet place, no one around. I guess there aren't many people to come shopping every day.

As I walk in the proprietier greets me with a strong accent. Minnesotan or Canadian, I guess, from the old reels.



Her voice is cheery, happy. Happier than anything I've heard since I left the vault. It sets me at ease a bit.

"Saaay, I'm working on a book about the wasteland, and if you're not from here that means you must be a wanderer. You'd be a huge help. Maybe you could start by helping with the forward? Just a quick little quote on the wasteland would be great. What do you think about it?"

I stop and think for a minute before answering, "Almost everything's dead, and most of the things that aren't want to make me dead. It's hell, but I guess it ain't so bad if you can scratch out your own little corner." I'm thinking of the station and this city when I mention my own little corner. The people here seem to have it ok... and my home's nice and peaceful, now, if a little lonely.

"That's terrible! But it's great for a forward, so in that sense, it's great! Here, why don't you take this armored suit," she bends down behind the counter and pulls out a Vault 101 jumpsuit with some steel armor pieces worked onto it. I'm a bit confused as to how she got it, but she just keeps on talking, "It'll help you stay alive out there while you're looking for food and supplies--and keep you from becoming something else's food! That'll be good for the book. In faaaact, want to help me with the research? I can pay you, and it'll be fuuun!"

The way she said it doesn't sound very fun at all. Oh sure, SHE was cheery, but in the way that Tom Sawyer must have been when he convinced all the kids to whitewash his fence. "...What kind of work?"

She puts a hand to her chin as though deep in thought, "Well... let's see... dealing with radiation..." I do that every damn day anyway, "Testing an experimental device," ...doesn't sound so bad, "And, I won't lie, it MAY include some reading. That sort of stuff, you know? But for all that, I can pay you with caps, meds, chems, and maybe even a few of those unique inventions, if you do a good job!"


"Alright, doesn't sound so bad... what do you need me to do?"



"For that, I need an assistant to test my theories. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt because of a mistake! Nobody's ever happy when THAT happens... No... then they just yell a lot. At me! With mean, mean words..."

I'm beginning to doubt her sanity, and my own for agreeing to help, but I could use the meds. I don't have a whole lot left back home, and the caps to buy whatever I need from nearby towns.

"Alright. I'll help."

"All right, then! Now I think for the first chapter will be about day-to-day life and dangers in the wasteland! Things like where it is and isn't safe to find food, the dangers of radiation, and how to avoid, and even profit from, dangerous landmines! Oooh, sounds like fun, doesn't it. Let's see... let's start with the landmines!"

"Uh... ok."

"Well landmines are one of the few dangers out there that you can profit from. Disarm one before it blows, and you can sell it for plenty of caps! I've heard stories about a ghost town way up north that's just FULL of mines. Traders just call the place 'Minefield.'Sounds like the place for some fieldwork! Get in there, get back, and tell me all about it! And could you bring back a mine for my studies?"

I just stare at her for a minute before speaking, "And... what kind of pay will I be getting for risking my limbs by walking into a minefield?"



"And if you bring me back something to study, maybe I can make some modifications for you. Nothing like tinkering with a live mine, riiight?!" She says it with a smile and an entirely too cheery attitude. She's definitely insane.

She's definitely insane, but I could definitely use a few more frag grenades.

"Alright. Wish me luck."

"Oh don't worry, no one ever goes there because they say it's a ghost town! And seeming as ghosts don't exist, you can concentrate on the landmines!"

"Yeah... that's... that's a great comfort. Hey, could I get some supplies before I leave?"

She stops for a minute blinking, "Oh! Right! Sorry! How rude of me, you came in here to shop and I just rambled on and on! Sure, help yourself! ...But, um, remember to pay!"

I grab the supplies I came in for trade some barter for them. Some stuff I apparently picked up while I was in that vault, though I didn't remember taking any of it.

She says the barter's worth more than what I wanted and gives me some bottle caps. Seems a bit strange, but I don't mention anything.



Walking down I notice a food stand. Couple of people are trading bottle caps for dinner.

. . . Guess old bottle caps are what pass for money around here.

Well, whatever, back out into the wastes.