Fallout RP - Chapter 1: Dinner with Vault Boy

Emily made her way to the dinning hall, looking uncharacteristically furious. She tried to calm herself down but so she was failing to do so. Abe was insane, he must be... Forcing everyone to leave the vault was sheer madness. Emily was glad that she had refused to help in that evil plan, that would be worse than killing someone face to face because numerous vault dwellers would die outside the vault.

Emily did not know who to vote for, nor really cared for it. She never really listened to their politics, so long as she was allowed to fix stuff she was happy. The Overseer's speech was sure to be a long, dull boring affair, usually was. It might make a nice change if something interesting was spoken about, rather than the same dull speech. This whole thing was a waste of valuable time, no Overseer really did anything besides just keep the vault secured, locked and sealed. Safe from whatever lurked outside... Whatever it was it sure had to be better than being stuck in here.

Ike looked around at everything and everyone, his view pretty much unaltered. He was slightly taller then everyone which made him stick out pretty easily. Funnily enough neither of his parents were tall so why he was like this was unknown to him. As he stood there he began to recognize a few people. All of whom he didn't talk to very often, nearly dying on a daily basis and all that. Jake "Gibby" Gibson, Jessica Byrns, Emily Davidson and Ryan Lancaster. All of them fellow mechanics, repairmen and engineers. Gibby was a bit chubby but he was closest thing to Ike's best friend. Didn't bother him really. Jessica he only talked once to but he got the impression she was a total bitch. . Ryan was a decent guy though he seemed self absorbed. Wouldn't take any advice at all, believing himself to be all knowing. And Emily helped him find parts for his weapon a few times. She seemed nice enough though he never saw her work.

Which sparked his curiosity. She had just arrived and had a different demeanor then her usual happy one. If Ike wasn't mistaken she looked pissed. Like someone offered her a Fancy Lads then ate it in front of her. He thought about going to see if she was fine but decided against it after awhile. Then he re-decided that was a bad idea and he should just talk to her. So he did just that. He made his way to her and asked straight up (since he wasn't the best socializer) "Is everything alright? You seem upset."

-SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEETCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-


"OHGODDAMMIT" Nick yelled in fury BECAUSE AS HE WAS SITTING AT HIS DESK THE OVERCOM THING DECIDED TO BELCH UP A SOUND! Oh, wait, "WHO THE FUCK IS TALKING RIGHT NOW?" After some ear pilfering static and screech from the speaker Nick finally heard parts of some message that was undoubtedly being reported by the Overseer. He really should have fixed the speaker in his office. That would have really been a good idea. Really. He wouldn't be half-deaf, irritated, and ripe for yelling at people for no reason if he had fixed it. Nor would he have completely and utterly forgotten that he had an appointment with someone. Who was knocking on his door.

Hiding in the dark wasn't a good solution to avoid people. Especially if they've gotten used to your antics. Goddammit. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO EXIST, OTHER PEOPLE?! Grumbling, the Doctor returns the office to it's working state. With the click of a button. On his RobCo Terminal. IT CAN ONLY BE ONE. ONLY ONE CAN BE. THERE'S A THOUGHT IN THE THINKING ORIFICE OF THE HEAD! TESLA'S FUN BOOK OF COLORS! SCIENCE!

Where was he going with this? He couldn't remember. The door opened up and a young man came through. "YOU'RE LATE! LATE! WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF PUNCTUALITY! except that I'm always late but that doesn't matter." The doctor coughed. The patient finally spoke up, "Uh, Doc, I, uh," - "WHAT." The doctor interrupted. "I, uh, I need," - "Just spit it out already!" - "I don't know what's going on!" The doctor stared at the young man. Intently. With intent. With thought behind his eyes. WITH SCIENTIFICALLY INQUIRED THOUGHT.

"Oh." The doctor said cooly. With cool. Like ice, not like social popularity. "You're probably going through PUBERTY. Don't worry it's natural, everyone goes through it. Basically you're body is producing hormones that will mature your body so that you can be an active sexual member of society and pass on your offspring. These hormones will also effect your brain. you'll find yourself emotionally confused and you'll notice 'feeling' that are associated in regions when you look at people. You might also experience urges. Like the need to dry-hump your bed until you feel better. Or hurt yourself. I would recommend using oil and your own hand. Less likely to hurt yourself. And you should probably be more cognizant of where your eyes wander. EYE CONTACT IS IMPORTANT. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPEL FAIL AT MAKING EYE CONTACT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO THEM? IT'S LIKE THEY BECOME UNCOMFORTABLE OR SOMETHING. AND WHY DO THEY BECOME UNCOMFORTABLE? WELL WHO KNOWS. THAT'S THERE OWN PROBLEM. "

The doctor stops and stares at his patient, "Well?" The young man pales and looks speechless. In fact, he looked violated. Like he had just dropped the soap in the shower. Or whatever the reference means. In those books that the doctor reads but keeps ultra-secret because reasons. Such gratifying reasons. "Don't just stand there! SAY SOMETHING."

The kid left without a word. To go tell the overseer he failed in telling the doctor that he should vote. Utterly failed. So failed that now he was going to go cry in his room for the mental barrage of images the doctor just placed into his head about growing up.

The Overseer turned around, shutting off his private comms for a second. His associates began to speak, describing the process that would be needed in the vote. Each person would very simply raise their hand to indicate who they were voting for. It was... well, it was kinda simplistic, but that was the majesty of the system. Or, that was how the Overseer saw it.

His pale brown eyes scanned the four officials before him. Each equally unlikely to win, yet each with the same chance. He knew what the people wanted. People like Jacob Cowell, Samuel Manus, and Abe Wolfe had made sure he knew. Consistently, each day, another person became interested in what was beyond the Vault door. More people wanted it opened. Each day, the numbers grew and grew, until now. Now was when it would need to stop.

"I'm sorry you've all taken this role. I'm sorry this has been thrust on you so suddenly without even a warning. But this has to happen now. You're each intelligent. Or at least aware of what the Vault needs. It does not need to open. That is what they want, the people. They want it to be opened. I hope none of you will promise them that... Because they do not deserve such a horrid life."

The Overseer looked on the screens of the terminals up on his wall, and sighed as he sat down at his desk and pulled out four sheets of paper.

"These are transcripts of contacts we have received from the outside. Groups claiming to represent the American government... contacting us from Vaults that our records do not acknowledge as official. Simply Vaults like our... Out there, Vaults are seen as troves of mystery, and simplicity. If we open, we will never have the chance to open."

The Overseer was romanticising his words, but in a sense, he was speaking the truth. All scouts that had ever been sent out came back horrified, radiated, and begging for safety within the Vault. It was all so terrible out there, it couldn't be worth leaving the safety of this place.

"Okay... somber note aside, we must continue. Miss Anderson, you're first to pitch to the people."

The Overseer turned the mic back on, and turned it around to her. It was hard for people to not notice how twitchy he was. His hands were shaking, he was sweating, and he wasn't even looking at them. He was constantly eying the terminals. Something was definitely, definitely worrying him.

---

Abe looked up at Angus, frowning and muttering to himself. He was being escorted to the God damned dining hall, to vote. As he was pushed through the door, he looked around. The crowds watched the Overseers screen, listened over the speakers, and spoke between themselves. Abe looked up behind him, and saw the same screen that was used for the G.O.A.T, now used to broadcast the Overseers office. How they'd managed that, he couldn't understand - technology wasn't his forte.

It sounded like Maribella was speaking.

"I know what many of you are thinking - we need to branch out. Mister Grant wants us to expand into the Vault, and I respect that. But before we do anything, we must properly mature as people. We cannot do anything until we are capable of surviving and getting by within the safety of this Vault. Gangs run rampant, people fight over weapons, and more. We need to unit as a people, before we can expand as a nation."

Crowd response was... mixed. People clapped, some cheered, but mostly it was the same as always. Rolled eyes, tired applause, and then return to talking and murmuring. Abe shook his head and began to look around the room as he silently joined the crowds. It seemed like the others had been brought in too. Joseph, Daniel, Tony and Paul were all separated within the crowd, looking equally as glum as Abe.

And he saw Emily, not far off. He decided it was probably best not to annoy her right now, and decided to just remain where he was. He needed to wait for the 'election' to come to an end after all.

"No... Yeah I am fine... Just irritated with someone" She answered half honestly. Irritated was not the word for it, shocked and appalled came to mind more. To think that Emily had started to like Abe only for him to suggest such a terrible idea... She had no words to describe it.
Emily's mind was no longer on the election, not that she ever really focused on it in the first place. Politics had never been her strong point, she lacked the interest and could not promise something than fail to deliver.

She listened quietly to the disheartening repeats of the same dull versions of speeches that all seemed terribly similar. There was little different that could be done in the vault due to limited space and resources. Leaving or opening the vault happened to be their only real option left, yet it was a choice few where prepared to make... Especially if it all back fired and something deadly managed to get into the vault.

"And, uhm, this is why I think that the Vault should have some stuff done to uhm... see what the outside is like... n-not opened, but, uhm, explored."

Abe shook his head, as Beck finished her speech. The poor girl didn't even want to do this, but at least she had the courage to try. And honestly, it wasn't a bad idea she was proposing. Open the Vault once a week, send a group of volunteers out to see what the world is like, and then they come back. The only problem was it was the same kind of offer as every other - a lie.

Andrews offer has been fucking useless. Explore the Vault to find more guns and equipment. The doors sealed off had been sealed off long before any of them were born, and for good reason. From what Abe had been told be a few of the mechanics, there were radiation problems in most of the sealed off sections, and extremely unstable explosives in many of the others.
Abe looked around and sighed, as the final candidate stepped up to the plate. He didn't know much about Nadine's policies, so perhaps this would be good.

"Okay, sorry to bug you. I er- uh, know we don't really know each other but uh, if you need an extra hand or something..." Ike was trying to cheer her up though.
he wasn't sure it was working. Considering he's offering to help someone who prefers to work alone.


He was glad the voting was almost over. Ike, like pretty much everyone else in the vault, had better things to do. Picking between five copies of the same person was rather annoying. They all do the same thing so they might as well be. When he's forced to leave this will certainly not be missed.

"Thanks I appreciate it Ike" She smiled at him reassuringly. "It is very nice for you to offer" Emily was growing frustrated with the election, she was half tempted to storm out. Mostly because the election was a pile of nonsense... Emily took a deep breath, she wanted to get out perhaps it was because she believed they where lying, the previous Overseers could not be trusted...Their promises where empty, because they too where trying to take the position.

The ways out of the vault offered to Emily were both equally unfavourable. She could either bear a child that she would never see, or she could join with Abe and his band of rebels and kill many innocents. She would be responsible for their deaths as surely as if she shot them herself. Both where highly unfavourable, Emily wished that she could just leave the vault, leave... Leave and be free with no forced responsibilities or duties.
The duty to the vault was nonsense and it would be one that she would refuse completely to carry out. She had done enough for the vault, she kept it running surely that allowed her the right, no she would demand that right not to bear a child. There was no way she would let herself carry a child, especially one she lacked the right to raise and care for personally.

Ping. Message received. It was late, probably something to do with the ungodly sound emitted from the speaker. Nevermind that though. The message he was waiting for had been received! A list of people who haven't had chidlren yet! And Children! Whatever Chidlren are. Oh, that's a mistake. NONSENSE, THE GREAT DOCTOR DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES. But here was a list of people not properly impregnated as per the law of the Vault. Or taken with child, or conceived children.

It is time for the standard indoctrination protocol! To be initiated after the Doctor leaves the vault, of course. Wouldn't want to have to be forced into having children. Such a thing is so... beneath him.No, he would have other people be forced into having kids by the time they're 19. So that they can have time to harvest the milk needed to sustain the baby without having to give them formula. Saves resources that way. Though in retrospect, that would be treating the women somewhat like the cows he read about in books. All hooked up to pumping machines and the like. People treated like animals. But that's for the best of the Vault! And it's only a short time. Perhaps allowing them to breastfeed would be optimal. That would require the parent to stay in the vault longer though, past the 20 year limit. That's not acceptable.

Well, it is acceptable, just no one in the vault would accept it. which means by virtue of societal values that it would be unacceptable. What was the doctor doing again? Oh right yes, the list of people who need to have kids. That nonsense. Or, perfect sense. Whatever. The doctor scanned the list with his big blue eyes. Pouring over every name, and going over all of their medical records as he did so. He had them all in his brain. Memory. Every injury, every accident, every... ugh, personality.

He thought of them in terms of compatibility. Then he began writing code into the robco computer, creating a match-maker algorithm. Then he set it up so that male and female would be paired. Then he hit enter, and watched as lists of compatibility percentages were totaled and paired. Numbers. Numbers everywhere. Some people had high percentages with more than one person, others had the highest percent chance of 13%. Very low, very, very low. Also unacceptable. Then he realized that the only one that had a 13% was him. And 13% was the lowest possible percentage.

He made some edits to the code he wrote, and then he realized that his highest percentage was in fact, 1%. 0% wasn't an option because parts of personalities were always compatible with someone. For a laugh, he allowed the pairs to made same-sex. And then quickly undid that when he saw new percentages. Unacceptable by all standards. Absolute.

He began arranging things based on these lists, the ones with hetero-sex percentages, to make a sort of dating simulator, to predict who would get with who. Some people had it happen quickly, others, it took convincing. The greatest piece of code was the manipulator code, manipulating people into sexual relations. Though unethical, it would work phenomenally. It would also only work on a select few people, these few people were ones that required such manipulation, otherwise they would not have children.

People like Emily Davidson. Which, subsequently, brought up an opportunity. Not a great opportunity, but still an opportunity, if people like her truly did not wish to have kids, they could just get irradiated by some freak accident in the radiator room. That would invalidate them in the child-bearing department. It also might kill them. But hey, everything for the Vault, and all for the Overseer. He finished writing his indoctrination protocol, and sent that to the Overseers terminal. All hail the Overseer. Whomever they may be.

Almost as soon as he sent it, he received a message from the Overseer, telling him to go vote in the elections. He had never voted in the elections. 999 votes was fine by him. But, this would be the last time he had the chance to vote. So he might as well do it now. Or go hide in the sealed off parts of the Vault. Either or.

Nadine approached the microphone, and went through what she planned to say, which was, to put it simply, to open the vault. While not so simply as to open it in one go, of course, that would be explained later, but for now, the people of the Vault would have to be pleased with the notion of opening the Vault - however, she was worried about how the current overseer would react, he did not seem so pleased with the demands of the citizens. She understood him, really. The Vault was fine, no need to ever leave, but if the people demanded it, then it would have to happen.

"For many, many, many years now the Vault has remained closed, shut off from the world, and we, its citizens have remained safe under its protection. Yet, our home, to many, has become a prison. A place where they believe their freedom has become restricted. This is not acceptable. We, as a nation, as America, were built upon the notions of freedom, and to restrict that, well, it is simply incorrect. We, as a Vault, must be opened to the world outside, no matter what lies out there, be it for better or for worse, this Vault shall be opened, and we must stand strong to withstand whatever may be waiting for us."

Ike smiled and nodded before listening to the next contestant. Nadine Sanford was her name. Her speech brought many cheers and votes. It seemed to Ike that she was offering what many people wanted with their next overseer. He wasn't sure what he wanted, he never thought about it. Maybe it was time to. He was nearing the age to leave and never come back... Unless the next overseer left the Vault open. Now that would be nice when he's suffering from a missing limb out there. He voted for her but with himself at mind rather then the Vault itself.

Emily voted for Nadine, more by chance then actual choice, she just ticked a box at random and left. She still had plenty of things to do today, all of which was far more important than voting. Especially on the rather pointless and meaningless matters that the vault election discussed. Which Overseer to vote for who like his or her predecessors would do nothing at all.
She left quickly, decided that she would need to have a chat with the vault's resident genius who happened to appear at times to be quiet insane. Though Emily could not talk on such matters of sanity, she preferred the company of machines and technology to the company of her conspecifics. Odd really, considering how well she got on with the majority of the vault.
Emily was chancing everything on being able to convince the good doctor to agree to her plan, it would if successful get the Overseer off of her back, convince the guys padding round after her in their failing quests to woo her to leave her alone and more importantly allow her to continue on with what she did like to do.

Abe shook his head in disbelief as people eventually just gave up and signed the small ballots, submitted them, and headed out. More people than the last election left, but Abe was glad to see a fair amount left. Judging by the wave of chatter, people were very pleased by Nadine's speech, though many of the older dwellers hadn't been - hence their departures. Abe felt as if Nadine actually had a chance of doing something, only because he knew just how devout Gallagher was to keeping the Vault sealed off. He'd have something very specific to say to Nadine after this, Abe was sure of it.

The speakers turned off for a while as the crowd began to speak. Many began to sign their documents, before the speakers returned to working order, and the screen flickered back to life, displaying the Overseer in all his 'glory'. He smiled and nodded, and began to speak, in the same demeaning town as always.

"Residents. People. Individuals. I thank you for taking part in this election. All results must be in by the end of the day, and by tomorrow, the new Overseer will be announced. I hope you all give careful consideration, and remember that the Vault, this Vault, is your home. Anything that happens here, effects everyone. At any rate, I am certain you will, as always, make the right decision."

And with that, the election was over. Abe hadn't even heard the last half of the speech, as he quickly blended into the crowds and began to manoeuvre his way back to the blocks. Angus was already hounding down on him, pushing through the crowds. He'd been given orders to not let Abe or Joseph leave the main hall, and by the looks of it, he was gonna make sure neither of them did.

---

"I didn't realise you were going to... violate the laws of the Vault like that. Do you realise that when you win, the entire Vault will turn on you? Do you? You wont be able to open the Vault, Nadine."

Grant, Beck, and Maribella had all left long ago at this point. After all, it wasn't like they were going to win, when put up against a promise of the Vault opening. Grant had a noble goal, but not one that was cared about, and Beck didn't have the influence or charisma to pull any sort of political presence off. It was a joke.

"Nadine, this Vault is meant to be opened in two hundred years. I know the people want us to open up, but we cannot disobey the project, the rules, of this Vault. VaultTec gave us these orders when the door first closed. We're already pushing things by having yearly elections! If the VaultTec systems notice the door open, the entire Vault could shut down. We don't know what kind of counter measures were put in place for an event like that. We cannot risk it. Now, I wont deny your success when the polls come in. You've won, there's no denying this. But I cannot let you open this Vault."

"The citizens of this Vault believe it should be opened, and that is what shall happen. You would prefer to force the people to dwell in here for another two hundred years, simply for fear of VaultTec? If, perchance, the Vault does shut down, then the citizens get what they want - freedom. If VaultTec decides to visit and purge the Vault of all life, then so be it, the people chose this path. They have chosen their fate, I shall simply allow it to happen."

"Never the less, I fail to see what ability you have to prevent me from opening the Vault, once I become Overseer, that is. You will, as all the others have, become a distant memory of a man who failed to do what the people desired."

People are everywhere. They aren't looking at Nicholas, but they still surround him. How vexing! Why must the vault have such spaces with PEOPLE in them. Can't there be some computer generated voting process where no one has to see anyone else. But then there would be the problem of multiple votes for the same person. UNLESS they did it through the Pip-Boy, that would be a sure-fire way to ensure no one cheated. Thinking of that now, why hadn't anyone else thought of that? Perhaps that's because that's because everyone is too young to think! Not like Old Nick, oh no no no. Not like Old Nick at all. With his books and his isolation and being forced to be a doctor and be SOCIAL! THE NERVE OF THE G.O.A.T! He should've told the teacher he wanted to do something else. that would've saved him a lot of trouble. He could've been a repairmen who disappeared into the lower levels, or even a full-time scientist so the only person he had to realistically deal with was the Overseer.

That's all in the past though. Now he was voting. For a new Overseer. He cared not for the applicants. They were all meat-bags of similar appearance, at that androgynous age, Puberty was just hitting them! Or passing them by! He had just given one of them a medical look-over last week! Had to shove a few needles into him to fix some things and keep him healthy! Some unforeseen genetic problem. A mutation that was easily fixed with anti-mutagens. Good thing he caught it early! What was he doing now? Oh, right, voting. He picked a candidate at random and tossed his vote in. It just happened to be Nadine, lucky for her.

After he voted, he scuttled away, trying to avoid all the dirty vaultians around him. Yes, VAULTIANS, like MARTIANS! Except they aren't from Mars, they're from a VAULT. GET IT?! YOU'RE LAUGHING AT HIM! I CAN SENSE IT! You silly readers and your predispositions! He scuttled and then frolicked back to the safety of his office and lab. Like a Doe running from the sound of Chryslus engine. Expect no one in the vault would know what that looked like. It's not like they needed to DRIVE a nuclear-powered car inside a vault. Although those new models looked pretty nice. So did those motorcycles, can't imagine what the car accidents would be like though. All that nuclear power running around in metal caskets, colliding with each other. At least they died painlessly. Or, radioactively painlessly, if there is such a thing.

Sneaking around corners and moving as furtively as one can in a fully lit vault corridor avoiding people was not as easy as it sounds, after all he would sometimes stumble into a ROBO-BRAIN! Those creepy machines with a brain in them. Though, why the brain was so exposed seemed like a engineering flaw. Perhaps the gel the brain is encased in needs light? It would be easy to smash open that glass and damage the brain. Or rewire the brain, in a manner of speaking. Prolonged exposure to the gel the brain sits in does erode the brain tissue, though, realistically, the brain would have to be replaced every 300 years. Though they did have a nearly unlimited lifespan. Not that they could do anything with it other than what the program matrices tell them to do. Silly Robo-Brains and their software dictation and their pre-programed pacifism.

By the time the doctor got to his office lab full of people who weren't really there, he had bumped into one too many robo-brains. His tolerance for people was especially low at the moment. Good thing he was a hard person to get along with, otherwise he might actually offend someone. If he cared about such a thing. "I offended you," he would say, "Well too bad I'm an asshole, bugger off!" He would say unamericanlyish. That got people to like him real well. Real unwell.

"Don't insult me, Nadine. I'm still the Overseer. The security of this Vault still reports to me. If I want I can have you thrown out and forgotten about. Or Hell, just give Beck the win. People will be shocked, confused, but no one is smart enough or bold enough to put it together. So, Nadine, don't insult me."

Gallagher rubbed his head softly, and looked the woman over before standing and crossing his arms, looking out the window into the halls below. A few stragglers made their way back to their homes, while another gave him a thumbs up, the grenade launcher in his hand enough for Gallagher to understand.

"Nadine... You can open the Vault. You will open the Vault, I know your type. But when you do, I hope you are able to handle the events that follow. I hope you're able to understand everything you've done wrong. I hope you can handle that. Now get out of my sight."

The guards at the door walked over, picked Nadine up, and walked her out before she could even get a word in. Gallagher rubbed his head and sat back down, spun his seat, and began to type out on his terminal.

"I fear for the Vault. I fear for humanity."

---

Abe felt the cold steel slam against him, or rather, felt himself slam into the cold steel, before he was thrown to the ground, feeling the rubber and metal slamming into his head as the baton came down hard on him. He was dizzy for a moment before he rolled, pushing Angus off, wiping some blood of his cheek and taking a harsh breath, before readying himself.

"Oh, big man wants to fight? You couldn't handle me back then and you can't handle me now. And now that you've misplaced that precious gun of yours, you're just prey, nothing more. So sit the fuck down and just accept what's about to happen."

Abe looked over at Joseph, his bruised eye and busted lip more than enough - Joseph had no ability in combat, and Abe was barely able to handle Angus right now, let alone the whole gang. He sighed, nodded, and sat down, rubbing his head again.

"If you're lucky, maybe Gallagher will just put a bullet between your eyes, hahah."

It took little more than a minute before Commanding Officer Swanson arrived, with a glum look on his face, one that gave every member of the Rat Pack turn their stomachs. They could all tell what had happened - the contingency they most hated, and had feared.

"There's no way anyone but Nadine is winning. The Vaults gonna be opening even if we shove this fucker out of the Vault door right now. The Overseer says he should be let back to his cell."

Angus looked back at Abe, snarling, furious. He'd wanted to see Abe walk out into the butter wastes almost more than anyone. And now, it was all for naught. Joseph stood, with Abe's help, and the two made their way out of the prison quarter in silence.

It was along walk, back to the room. Abe sat Joseph down and sighed, handing over a Stimpak to give him a bit of a boost. Abe lay down and rubbed his neck, feeling the choking from Angus even now. No one had even noticed them walking back, most people were in bed or even celebrating. This was one of the few times a year that everyones schedules locked into place. Which meant tomorrow was gonna be busy.

"Fuck... You're an asshole Abe."

Joseph spat some blood down on the floor, and sighed, feeling his body react to the Stim, shaking for a moment as he felt his cells begin to regenerate.

"Shut up, Joseph. I'm not in the mood. My guns gone, Angus busted my fucking head, and the Overseer wants me dead. I just need some sleep."

In silence, the two fell into their sleep, anger and fear subsiding into dreams.

Emily lost faith in her scheme before she could implement it, after all the good doctor was a highly logical person... Her refusal was likely to mess up his mathematics, something she believed he would not approve of or accept. Besides he was close to the current Overseer, he could easily spill the pork and beans to him, thus ruining her scheme or plot. Perhaps she should just return to her quarters and try to think things over, maybe even come up with a better plan of action.

She hovered near the entrance to his lab, seemingly lost her attention clearly focused on her thoughts. Emily. She shook her in defeat, Emily wondered what it would take to convince the others, all of them that she did not wish to have a child before she left the vault, if at all. Of course there was her secret but... That was purely between her and the good doctor. At least as far she knew. However she believed that he would not tell others that, hopefully not even the Overseer knew that fact. Some secrets needed to be buried and buried deep.

The Lab, the office, was empty. No "living" person to be found! Except for the Doctor. At all hours of the Day he could probably be found in the lab or the office. Probably the only doctor in the vault who was as anti-social, strange, and... well, him. He could yell at everyone in the vault for doing something stupid, and then still trust them with doing it right the second time. Or third. Or until they get it right. As long as it's not in his Lab. The Vault doesn't have infinite resources after all! Here's looking at you, ERIC!

The doctor ran around his lab, checking up on experiments he had running. He had little expectations for them, if they revealed nothing, then science has learned, if they revealed something, then science has learned. Results did not matter, so long as they weren't erroneous. However, the technological experiments, namely the LDMB, the Long Distance Monitoring Bugs, a one way monitoring system that could be connected to a pip-boy, and used to monitor vital signs or other data about whatever was bugged. For example, connection to a pip-boy would reveal the location and health of the person wearing it, if connected to a computer-terminal, it could monitor messages the terminal received, and if connected well enough, it could monitor entire systems, such as the entire Vault. He'd be able to monitor power usage, radiation, population, food-storage, and much more. The best part, was that it could be on an encoded frequency, and no one would be the wiser. A spies wet dream. Or Government. Same thing really.

He'd built 4 of the LDMB's, and had plans to build more. The bugs were small, and could be safely hidden in a pip-boy, regardless of generation, to monitor feeds. He knew it worked, he'd put one in his own terminal to test it. He could view messages received, go through files, and anyone on the terminal would be none the wiser. Probably one of the most useful little things he's built. Other than some variations of drugs. Or improving the quantity of food they could make in the vault. Or have plans written up to improve the amount of oxygen in the Vault. Or plans to streamline robots to be more efficient so that they could use less of them, and thus be less hurt when one of the broke down.

Code:

=(^.^)=

Was someone at the door?

Emily took a deep breath and forced herself to open the door to the lab. "Hey I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute please doctor? In private" She added. Emily wondered if she could somehow appeal to the Doctor using her charisma and certain charm, but she doubted that would have much of an affect on his rather crazy but intelligent mind. Yet she did not really have much choice, she had to talk to him, more importantly Emily needed him to agree with her.

Ike barely got ahead of the rush when the voting ended. But that didn't mean the lightbulbs didn't try to explode and land live wires on him. Or one of the protectrons concluded that he was an outlaw and opened fire on him. Thankfully he was able to get behind cover as the guard shut it off. And only one door tried to close on him this time. Seems that his luck was being easy on him today, if you forget his arm. So he was able to retreat to his cell without harm. He quickly found his bed and fell into it, tired from the day. Next thing he knew everything was black.

After being rather forcefully exited from the Overseers office, which would seen be her office, she began to make her way towards her humble abode, it had been an exciting day to say the least. It was beginning to get late, the halls of the Vault emptying. Tomorrow, it appeared, would be an even more exciting day, if everything went according to plan. Perhaps insulting the Overseer was too far, but it worked out, in some form.

Natasha wasn't back at the apartment yet, not unusual for her sister, she'd get back eventually, or she wouldn't, it was nothing unusual. She got into bed, although she failed to fall asleep instantly, she'd never been able to do that, but soon she fell into sleep's rather comfortable embrace.

The doctor stopped running about his lab, and frowned. He looks around the lab, in which he was alone. Then he looks back at Emily. "Yes, Private, that's a certainty, it's relatively late, and most people are asleep I think it's safe to say that privacy is assured. It's not like people here come to me for socialization. So, what [Do you want]?" The doctor stood in his place, lab coat, boots, and jumpsuit, and all. Among the Vaultians he was perhaps one of the oddest. Put in a position of social context that did not fit, a man for the health of the people who was anti-social. Yet confronted by people he was loud, not boisterous, but was almost always a hairsbreadth away from shouting volume.

No one picked on him. For with eccentricity came safety. Safety in isolation, and avoidance. In that he was fortunate, for his scientific endeavors could be done mostly without interruption. Rarely was his medical expertise required to it's fullest extent - except in the deliverance of babies. Though he was not the only doctor, he had people to replace him for when he turned 20, but he was the most efficient and sure-handed when it came to baby extraction. His care was always the lightest touch, the least intrusive, rarely would he ever have to have the auto-doc do any of the work, especially for C-sections. None of the women of whom were patients of his had fear of infection, or complications in birth, for in all of his analysis's he was thorough and timed with excruciating care.

He had an understanding of the human body, its wants, its needs. He knew that not everyone wanted to have children, only see them whisked away. Some people clung to the old ideals of raising their own young. for that very reason, some people went through lengths to not bear children within the vault. For some even, there was a fear of childbearing, and for these fears, these thoughts, these complications, the population of the vault was in decline. Change would be inevitable at some point. The social climate of things, the fear, the mistrust, the, ugh, youthful rebellion, would tip the scale eventually. Any fear of Vault-Tec, however misplaced, would be over-ruled by ideals.

They would have to recognize that Vault-Tec has no security measures to ensure the Vault holds to it's experiment, or "true-purpose". Such a social experiment, on a grand scale. the scientists behind Vault-Tec must have been something else. Words like "evil" or "unethical" don't quite seem to fit. Bah, but that's that. There's no chance that they can be spoken to now, their voices were likely silenced hundreds of years ago.

Now, wasn't there someone here? Oh, yes, Emily Davidson.

Emily swallowed her throat suddenly dry. "As you may know doctor that I do not wish to reproduce in the vault or indeed at all..." She began before shaking her head and getting right to the point. "You know that I have been sterile since I was fifteen I would like you to ensure that I under go no measures to correct that because I do not wish to reproduce"
There, that was her demands on the table. Emily doubted that she would have been able to win him over with a speech. The Genius Doctor did not seem the type to have his emotions plucked by clever words or the wink of an eye, no harsh facts had to be the way to the result she desired.

The Nicholas stared at her with unbidden staring-ness. Yes. Unbidden Staring-ness. Staring-ness is a word now. The very fact that Emily Davidson stood here before him, HIM, of all people, spoke volumes. Volumes written with tiny fonts! Minuscule little letters! Letters that formed words! Comprehensible words no less! And those words were strung together to form sentences, COHERENT sentences! Small little letters and words and sentences that made up pages and pages within the paper-bound book that was the Volume she was speaking with just her presence! In that presence that was a volume filled with tiny letters revealed desperation! For she had to turn to HIM for help! HIM! He who was so strange, so eccentric, so not a people person! Well, at least not amongst people, amongst people he was not a people person but without people he was a people person. If the people-ing of persons was personificated, yes that's a word now too, it would take the shape of an owl flying in a forest while it's head spun full circle to better grasp it's woody surrounding in search of prey beneath the night of the moon. Or light of the moon. Personification of the owl would then be considered to be that of a avian variety particularly in the strigiforme order. They wouldn't be owls others but rather NON- OWLS, we would call them nonowls. Everyone in the scientific community would undertand that these nonowls were not in the strigiformes order.

Nobody would underestimate the powerful wings of the not-strigiforme nonowls. With their flappy wings and beaks, and their head that spun round and round like a record, and those enormous eyes they used for seeing and interpreting the world around them, sending little electrical signals to their grey and white matter that made up the occipital part of their brain. They would be the top of the food chain, hunting all the little preyful mice and small rodent creatures.

The Nicholas got a little sidetracked in his thoughts. He was talking to a person. A person. That's right, he was talking to Emily Davidson, the repairman, repairwoman? The other Vaultian in the room who did things in the vault. But not people. She didn't do people. Not that many people do people, except humans, and that Tina Roh, she did people. She did people too much. In fact, she was in here just last week complaining of soreness in her nether-regions. The entirety of her appointment consisted of Nicholas laughing. He knew exactly why she was feeling overly sore in that area. He ran a few tests anyway just to say he made an effort to question the fact he already knew. The best part was the the tests proved to be in conjunction with his pre-existing factual knowledge. She was having sex too much and needed to rest lest there be, GASP, chaffing! Oh no! the world was over for Tina Roh! She all but stormed out of the office. But no, he told her to either use more lubrication so that the two moving parts don't grind on each other to the point that they begin to wear down, or rest for a few weeks and when activity picks up again keep it at moderation and not excess. And then he told her that she was pregnant, because she was, and that the father was Tony Malroy. Malry? Maloy? Moy? one of those was his name. Then he sent her off, with the usual pregnancy speech and Vault imperative speech about sustaining life and all that jazz.

Speaking of Jazz, he could almost hear the sound of one of the songs playing on the speaker system. The speaker was more or less, less, broken in his office, and he may or may not, not, have tried to fix it. He never opened a Fixi-it ticket to have it repaired. It was annoying anyway, and he had a Pip-Boy, so there was no point. If people REALLY wanted to get his attention, all they had to do was show up. And not be naked. Just because he's a doctor doesn't mean he wants to see people running about the halls naked while some malfunctioning Robo-Brain is following you for a medical check-up. Such events are slightly vexing and not attention getting. Unless the Robo-brain nearly ruins one of his experiments. Then it gets disabled, fixed, and set after that vault resident again.

slight digression. Here, Emily Resident, oh, Emily Davidson doesn't want to have children. She wants to go against the Vault Prerogative. Against the OVERSEER. The Man or Woman in charge of the Vault and it's residents! The one who protects and is right in governance at all times! But not really, because the doctor never listened to that sort of indoctrination stuff anyway. So that was all silly juvenile shenanigans. Shenanigans, such a useful word. It should be used in scientific reports, "The Fungus was responding with shenanigans today" which would sound totally unscientific but at the same time garner the attention of whatever scientific enquirer was inquiring about the paper using such plebeian terminology in a professional report. Oh, but Emily Laurence, wait, Emily Davidson didn't want to have any of the procedures that restored fertility. Which was weird, the last time he checked there was nothing in the reports about that. Not that it really mattered.

She didn't want to have kids. So, that was that. It's not like you can forcibly impregnate anyone using any of the machines using collected Semen from residents who had similar thoughts on the matter. No no no. Except yes, those did exist, but for some reason no one talks about them. Probably because you have to go through some radiated areas to get to them, and the cause of that radiation hasn't been found in a long time, but still, they're there. Some of them are in working order as well. Which is scary when you stumble across them. And they try to stick things where they don't belong. Not the most pleasant of experiences. Though now he understands why they're hidden away. More digression. Oh but, there was Emily Davidson requesting not to have kids. Was he thinking about that earlier? Hadn't he already responded? Oh no, he hasn't, he's been distracting himself with thoughts of the scientific and experiential variety.

The Nicholas, or, the Doctor, The Doctor Nicholas? The Doctor The Nicholas? The Nicholas The Doctor? Doc Nick? Doc N? DN? Do not? Donuts? Sugar sounds pretty good about now. Despite it being poison. the greatest poison ever conceived by man that could poison people for centuries without them ever knowing. And... wait... he's digressing again.

Nicholas, the doctor, continued staring at Emily Dacidsons, Emile Davodsin, Emily Davidson, until he actually concentrated on the words that came out of her mother, of her mouth, HER MOUTH. his thoughts were clearly everywhere but in his own head. Or even the vault. Or perhaps this earth. Or even this dimensional reality of supposed facts and fictions. Or Tacts and Tictions. Tics and Tactions? Dacts and Dictions? Duoble entrendres? Mutable Mulitple Mipple Mapple Apples? Sui numeris? Wait no, so she didn't want kids. why?

"Alrighty, Why?" Simple enough question, especially after all those digressed thoughts from some other worldly place that had no concept of political niceness or sociological ploy in communication amongst people who more or less lived in the same space for nearly 20 years. Camaraderie with Emily? No, He felt no sense of camaraderie with any of the vaultians in this vault of vaultiness. Vault Vault Vault. V-v-v-v-vault. He'd rather Control Alternative Delete these things. These nightly distractions of thoughts without proper alignment to logical sense making devices like the brain and the brainstem or even the spinal cord that reached far into his sacrum and circumnavigated the entirety of his physical being.

"Why?" Emily did admit during the long wait for a response, why was not exactly the question she had anticipated. Maybe a speech about why she should reproduce but not the question why. She pursed her lips together, thinking about how to explain it to him, in a way that the Doctor would appreciate and understand.

"Why? Because if I where to reproduce it would negatively effect my ability to work and therefore my ability to repair the vault the loss of one resident's child will not effect the vault population especially if others have more than one child... Or twins" She explained to him. "I do not wish to have a child, I do not wish to have a child to have it taken away from me, the vault does not need a child of mine who may have the same feeling as me on this matter"

As if a child she would never even meet would follow the same path as the mother they would never even know. "I do not wish to drop in productivity especially considering how vital my work is here in the vault like your work it too is vital"

Strange. Her reasons for not wanting to bear children were oddly comforting. What an odd feeling, comfort. She doesn't want to bear children in the vault because she'll never see them after they're born, never be able to raise them. See them grow. Why, that almost brings emotions up. He could definitely sympathize with her reasons. Though it was strange that she mentioned other people not wanting her to have children. Those people must not be very bright. Unless they're jealous. No, they'd still not be very bright. They would be un-bright, childish, jealous people. Hah, childish.

He agreed with her sentiment, he would manufacture a way for the Overseer to be entirely unable to force her to have children. A most clever plan that involved injections. Lots of injections. Technological injections. Medical injections. VERBAL INJECTIONS. Or were those interjections? Intersections. Bah, Shenanigans the lot of it. She would simply be added to the list of "non-childbearers" that doesn't not exist yet in the fabric of technological computing software program inputs. The "Document" or "List" is really in a list that says "these people bore children in the past, and these people didn't". Wait, no, he deleted that document in favor of some other thing. Now what was that thing? It must've been something to do with the child bearing thing. Maybe the pregnancy list? Was that it? The biological profile list so that they could track parentage and prevent excessive interbreeding? Speaking of, he needed to tell Jaclyn and Kevin that they couldn't procreate because they were too close in the gene-pool and their offspring would have genetic mishaps. That would be completely unacceptable in the longevity of the vault.

Though he appreciated her want to work and not be impaired, she would easily be replaced by any of those young kids who have taken the G.O.A.T recently. They might not be as effective as Emily, but they would also be guided by another resident of the same job. Peanut butter was far inferior to Jam. Wait, where did that thought come from? "Only 7.3% of the births within the past 10 years have been twins." He said quietly. Still thinking of her answer. His mind rattled through her answer like a knuckle dragging across skin over a ribcage. Which, despite this analogy, is quite painful. So perhaps that's not the best way to think of it. The skin covering the rib cage has a lot of nerves in it and is quite sensitive to stimuli. Like pain. Why, just last week he bumped into a robot and hit his ribs, it really hurt. He then dismantled and rebuilt that robot out of sheer frustration.

There was also that time about a year or so ago that he treated a vault resident named Billy Madison for a rib injury. He had come in with his shirt off, showing to the world his well built physique and chiseled abs. He had a large purple and black bruise on the left side of his chest, he had broken a rib and it stuck out, making an ugly disfigurement. The rib poked outwards and the skin was stretched around it. Quite fascinating to poke and watch Billy squirm and yelp in pain. He had a fun time setting the rib again. Especially since he didn't use any painkillers. He could still hear the yelps of pain as the rib was set and splinted with metal splints. He had been restrained and couldn't move, as he cut into that pale flesh. Soiling it with crimson. That was one of the many operations he did alone too. Without the other physicians looking or "observing" him. Great fun.

Then there was Emily, whom his thoughts keep straying from. "Come back in that morning, we'll talk more about this then." Was his response. He had already decided to go along with her wishes. But he wouldn't tell her till the morning. After everything was done. Now he had work to do, to make sure everything went according to plan.

Emily sighed quietly, guessing that she had lost the debate with him. "Okay I'll come back then and we will successfully conclude this" She smiled at him and said. "Have a great night Doctor" Before leaving the lab and making her way back to her quarters in the vault. She locked her door behind her, before slipping out of her jumpsuit and collapsing on her bed, a moment later she disappeared under the covers. At first Emily thought that she would never get to sleep but within moments, the blackness of peaceful sleep claimed her and Emily went to dreamland.

The morning did not start like any other. The people of the Vault did not pleasantly stir from their slumbers, and gaily make their way to the Dining Hall, to enjoy a hearty American breakfast of bacon, eggs, and InstaMash. No. Instead, it started with a siren, and a pre-recorded announcement, reserved for a situation that most Vaults would never even come close to experiencing.

“Dear Vault citizens, we regret to inform that Level Five and Level Four have both been flooded. As such, all doors to these sections have been sealed off remotely.”

The people of the Vault were roused from their beds, one by one, as guards and officers slammed on their doors, forced them open, and called them out. By the time the guards reached Abe’s room, he was already awake, though barely. The door hissed open, and a hard gloved hand met his shoulder.

“ Citizen! You need to head to the entrance hall immediately! Go!”

And like that, Abe was thrown out of his room, followed by Joseph, as they were pushed and shoved out of the sleeping block. Abe barely had time to rub his eyes before he was forced into the living quarter, which was packed to the brim.

“What the fuck…”

He looked around, and saw people flooding in and out through the entrances, as guards waded through the crowd. Abe moved to the side and grabbed the nearest one, groaning and rubbing his eyes again as the guard stopped to look at him.

“Hey, officer, what’s going on?”

The officer shrugged Abe off and turned for a moment, to answer his question. It was only fair, considering he’d just been forcefully evacuated from his own home, along with everyone else apparently.

“The water cooler malfunctioned. We sent some guys down to fix it and then they tampered with the water filter and the water pipes burst or something. The lower levels are flooding, we need to get out of here before it’s too late.”

Abe looked confused, rubbing his head again as he thought. If the Vault levels were flooding, you could just lock it off. No big deal, just some valuables lost. And some lives. This seemed very odd.
But the officer could tell. He wasn’t the first person to be confused by this.

“The flooding, it’s hit the generator level. We can’t get down their, and all we know is they’re not reacting well. We need to move, now!”

Emily heard the wail of a siren and immediately dressed into her utility jumpsuit before picking up her pistol. Not that she ever used such a thing but she had grown fond of it and could not willingly abandon the weapon. The door opened into her room and a guard entered. "Citizen you must head to the entrance hall immediately!" As if anticipating Emily's objection the guard swept on saying. "There is nothing you can do get to the entrance hall as fast as you can"
Confused and rather caught off guard by the situation Emily she found herself escorted by the guard to the living quarter which was filled with more people than Emily had seen in the vault. The situation must have been dire if there was need for this level of evacuation.

Why is it that the vault residents always break something. Always something mildly important to the existence of man in this vault. ALWAYS something. Never some peace and quiet. Honestly. These people were so irresponsible, it's a miracle they haven't destroyed the reactor yet and set everyone afire in a nuclear blaze. God knows how bad that would be. Then we would have to leave the Vault, because the amount of radiation would seep into EVERYTHING. They would all died from radiation poisoning. There's not enough Rad-away or Rad-X in the world that could sustain everyone in the vault. Not to mention that people would die from taking so much of those substances into their body.

However, these sirens aren't supposed to go off if there's a minor generator failure. Or even just a water leakage. They only come on if there is something life-threatening to the entire vault. Case and point a malfunctioning reactor. Which, if tampered, would make for the perfect plan to get the vault to be opened. The overseer would have no say in this, for the protection of the vault citizens they would have to leave the vault. The number of chain reactions that could happen if the reactor exploded, would be catastrophic, the explosion alone could destroy the entirety of the vault. Which would be bad. He needed to save the robots as well. especially the robo-brains, radiation could damage the brain tissue and cause them to malfunction. The sirens were too loud it was getting hard to think. They needed to stop so that he could think. Did he need to leave his lab? No, he was not on the affected level. He was not near the danger zone.

However, it was better to be safe than sorry. He looked around his lab, and thought of all the things he would need in case they need to leave the vault. He grabbed his duffle bag and looked around. He basically lived in the office, refusing to go to his allotted room in the residential part of the vault. He didn't like the idea of sleeping near other people. He quickly wrote out a list of things he might need out their in the wilderlands. Stim-packs would be a must, Rad-X, Rad-away, Med-X, medical braces, medical tapes and bandages, sanitation, things for injuries. But what about things they might possible encounter that were alien to the vault? Like poison? he would have to find an antidote based on the plants from around the land, and what if there were no plants to use? He'd have to find a way using the fauna, or perhaps someone who now lived up there, at this very moment would know? Such a thing shouldn't be worried about now. He'll have to cross that bridge when it's required. For now, he had to access the robo-brain communication system.

He went to his terminal, in which had many notes and projects and holo-tapes and so much data that needed to be saved. He downloaded research onto his pip-boy, it would be frightening if it were lost, a true bane to science. He went to access the communication system, and while it loaded up, he went back to packing his duffle-bag. He went about the lab gathering items of importance relative to survival. then he came upon an experimental laser pistol. Something he had been working on with another scientist. They had separate ideas about what to do with it, and eventually used two pistols, one fired a red laser, and one fired a purple laser. Purple was higher up on the energy scale, it was more powerful than it's red counterpart, but it used more energy cells. the red laser had a focusing lens, that made i t more powerful than a standard laser pistol, since it used a lens to increase its power, it used the standard number of energy cells. Also, with bother laser pistols, they tried modifying the amount of energy put into the laser, and were not successful, they discovered that modifying the output of power reduced the range and power of the laser to the point where it was simply impractical. Unless you want to give someone a small and somewhat annoying burn. They also, with the help of a repairman who knew his way around an energy weapon, and made a stock so that it could be held like a rifle, but without the bulkiness of a rifle. They did a full examination of the pistols and tried to be "artistic" with its design. The goal of this artistry was to reduce the weight of the pistol while trying to improve its durability. They had mixed results. The purple laser, which had the ability of cutting through up to 7 inches of metal with one shot, which was almost fatal for someone outside the lab, it was a good thing they weren't paying attention otherwise they might not have been able to continue the experiment, since it cut through the wall between lab and commons.

It was one of the moments where both scientists looked at the hole in the wall and then back to each other in utter disbelief. It was quite comical. They set up metal sheets between the lasers and wherever they were pointing to not have that happen again. Originally, these laser were going to be for medical purposes, but they eventually became almost pet projects, something to tinker with, and almost a competition between scientists. Almost, except each discovered something new when they dialed new settings on the pistol. They made some very interesting discoveries. Though in terms of combat initiative, the red laser was a better design, though that purple laser could go more damage at greater range, it needed to be reloaded after every shot. Fun times.

Now was not the time to remember fun pastimes. He grabbed the red laser pistol. With the words "Medical Precision" inscribed on it. And left the purple laser with the inscription "Reaching Consequences". Some people might be able to guess who made what.

Ike had dreamed of wonderful things, wonderful things to him at least. He didn't need to worry about dying anymore and he had friends that asked him for things. That's what he thought friends did anyway. There was sudden banging and loud shouting. As much as he tried to ignore it he eventually rose from bed. He rubbed his eyes as he made way for the door. "This is an emergency! Something something... something... get out something!" He couldn't really tell what he was yelling about so he said something generic and started working on the door. As always it wouldn't open until he fixed it. For some reason the wires didn't feel like staying together....

"What do you want?" The guard sighed, he probably repeated himself lots of times before now. "Due to level four and five being flooded everyone needs to get to the entrance hall. Pronto." He didn't bother to wait for Ike's response. Which was one of confusion and a bit of fear. The thought of drowning in a steel box deep underground wasn't the most pleasant. Thankfully he remembered to grab his gun before making his way up.

Abe felt a few more bodies pile in around him, as he was pushed into the entrance level. This place was cramped. The crates and any moveable object had been removed to give people space, while guards ensured no one came close to the controls to the Vault door. Abe had to look at it in awe, as he always had. Slowly he began to push through the crowd, wading by one person after another, before he reached near the front, getting pushed back by a guard.

"We can't do this, if we open up, then it's all over. Surely there's s-"

It was clear the Overseer wasn't having it, as he pushed his councillor back and ran his hands through his dishevelled hair. Abe thought he must've had a hand in it, but... it seems like he was wrong.

"No. We open up. We do... we do the one thing I... We have to, to keep people alive. If we don't, and those reactors blow, this whole place is going to shutdown. We'll be trapped in a gigantic metal grave."

The Overseer grabbed a bullhorn off one of the nearby guards, and pressed the button, letting it silent for a moment before yelling, loudly, into it, silencing the ever moving, bustling group.

"People of the Vault! People! We have a crisis on our hands! Someone has sabotaged the water pipes on Level 4, as well as the reactors in the maintenance level... We are in extreme danger. We can't stop the flooding, and we cannot repair the reactor. We've sealed off the doors to both levels, but if the reactor goes off, it won't matter. As such, I have decided to... that we are to open the Vault now. If we have any chance of surviving, it is not great enough to keep us locked up. I would ask that Nadine Sanford, my would-be successor, please come forward, and support my decision.

This was not met with happy silence. People were yelling, screaming, terrified. What if the reactor went off now? Or now? What if demons waited outside, or mutants, or monsters, or worse? What if this was the final breath any of them took? Abe had to knee a few people nearby as they tried to pull him apart. This crowd was far from pleased. He looked around, reaching for his gun in case anyone came too close.

"... What the fuck... no, no, what the fuck... Oh my fuck, no please... Emily!"

It was only now that Abe realised Emily still had his gun. He wouldn't go outside with out, never. He didn't know how he'd not noticed it before now.

Emily was more than squashed by the crowd, her small size meant that she was easily swallowed up by the tide of vault dwellers. The constant voices all blurred into one ever growing buzz, like a air filter when it is in need of repair. It was hard to distinguish any individual words. Emily struggled to move through the crowd, her arms pressed against her sides, unable to move or force her way through anything.

The crowd jostled and shoved one another, Emily staggered crashing into Abe. She struggled to regain her composure, pressed uncomfortably close against Abe, her hands on his chest. "Fancy bumping into you" She commented, Emily still had not forgiven Abe for his suggestion earlier. She prayed that what had happened in the vault, he had no hand in it.

Abe looked down, admittedly pleased the person he bumped into was someone he knew, even if only barely. Could've been any random asshole, and it would've been really awkward. Instead it was Emily, making it very awkward.

"Hey, I didn't know you stayed in this Vault. What a shock."

He looked around, a little embarrassed before realising that no one would really notice, nor care what was going on. He'd never liked physical contact in this sorta way, it was just a little bizarre to him. Didn't matter right now, though.

"Oh! My Gun! You have my gun!"

He looked down at her wide eyed, amazed at just how lucky he was.

Nadine shuffled through the crowd of terrified Vault Dwellers, having been called by the Overseer. She herself shared in the nervous nature of the crowd, perhaps not in the way they did, fearing for their lives and the like, but more in the way as too how she would deal with the situation. Opening the Vault had been one of her promises to the people of the Vault, in fact, her only real promise in any detail. But not like this. Not with everyone being forced out in one go, it would've been a more... Gradual progress, still ensuring that Vault life continued. Now it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

She eventually reached the front of the crowd, and in turn, the Overseer.

"The Overseer is correct in his decision. While the situation may seem dire, as it is, we can, as a people, survive this. The Vault must be opened."

"Hi" Emily responded trying to disentangle herself from being in such a close contact with Abe. She felt her cheeks redden slowly. She could not move away from him, not because she didn't wish to but more because she physical couldn't.
"Oh your gun?" Emily stated trying to reach her pockets, but she could not. "Erm... It is on my person but..." This was embarrassing. "I... I cannot reach it at the present" If he wanted his gun back he would either have to wait until the crowd moved, or reach it himself. The latter option failed to appeal to Emily, so she did not give voice to it.

Abe blushed and looked up, feeling her try to push away, and as she spoke, he could tell what she meant - the gun was in a less than public area, and for him to reach down and grope for it... It was appealing, but perhaps not a good idea right now. Abe opened his mouth to speak, before the voice of the Overseer took over the room again, after Nadine had graciously supported his idea.

"People! Please calm down! Both your current and new Overseer have, in union, made this decision! We will open the Vault! There is no debating it! We will leave this place behind, and do what it is we are meant to - begin to exist as a species outside of the Vault!"

Gallagher was far from pleased, as he handed a small keycard to Nadine. On it was also the code to open the Vault. It would need to be swiped, and then the number entered. He looked to her, nodded, and then back to the crowd.

"If you wish to remain here... you may. We will not force you out of the only home you know. But those who wish to leave, will leave."

Abe looked over at them both, through the guards, frowning. He wasn't sure he liked what was going on. Something inside him turned. And when he saw the Overseer look directly at him, he knew why.

"This is gonna be one of those days."

Having received the card, Nadine shuffled towards the Vault controls. No going back. She swiped the card. The control panel lit up. 4-0-1-5-9. That was the code. She entered it, and stumbled back slightly, awaiting whatever came next.

A screeching noise. Horrible. The Vault door, sealed shut for countless years, was opening. It's immense weight being dragged across by some Vault-Tec machinery, whether the crowd made a noise or not, she could not hear. Nadine focused solely on that screeching, the rumble of the most important event to have happened in her lifetime. The fear of mutants, creatures of immense terror, whatever lay outside came to her. The door was pushed to the side, and what it revealed, the secret it had hidden for generations...

A cave.

"Well on the plus side I can get out of the vault..." Emily whispered however she began to have doubts on whether or not she should leave. After all the vault may need her to stay a while longer in order to see if the situation truly could not be salvaged. But. If she stayed there was no saying that she would not have to bring a child into the world.
Would she want that child to be born into a vault on the verge of total collapse? No, never. There was only one thing for it she would have to leave, come what may she would leave the vault.

The geiger counter in his pip-boy started to tick. He looked at it briefly, and in the second it took him to look, it stopped ticking. Barely any radiation. He scoffed. Radiation. Would have been better to call it Yssonition. Or something not radiation. Such poor nomenclature in Physical (in regards to physics) nomenclature. Such a name, after. Except it was also the smart decision, since it came from radiare, the latin word meaning to "emit rays". Bah, surely there was a better latin word for it. Or even better, what if radiation had been named after something it naturally occurred in? Like BANANAS! Wouldn't that be more exciting, "The BANANATION is leaking into our vault!" Versus "The RADIATION is leaking into our vault!". Doesn't that sound better? Or even Potatoes, Kidney Beans, Nuts, Sunflower seeds, and Brazil nuts. Those all have natural ⁴⁰K in them which is a radioactive isotope of Potassium! It's NORM! Get it? NORM? Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material?

Anyway. Amidst the grabbing of supplies in the lab, and ignoring everything else, he found... nothing. He'd already thrown everything he thought he himself would need in the duffle-bag. Except for food, he would need to go to either a snack area or the kitchen for that. But that would have to wait! This incredible screech permeated his ears! The Vault Door was Opening! He would not be left behind in this! Trapped in the Metal Sarcophagus, slaved to death by radiation or his own pursuits in re-opening the door in case it's welded shut! He would run to the Vault door! as fast as his small frame would carry him! Which was fairly fast, considering he used to go running in the deep layers of the Vault after they were closed for the Vault's "Safety". Now he soared through the empty halls to the entrance level. Running up stairs and through open doors.

Then he saw it, the crowd of people. The dirty, dirty people, with their sweat, and their tears and their, ugh, screaming. He watched in revulsion as they pushed themselves through the vault door as it opened. For all the wonderful things in the world, this was not one of them. He was watching a bunch of animals be let out of a kennel for the first time in their life. A kennel they never knew existed until the door was opened. The smell of all these people in one area, the heat, it was sickening. It reminded Nick of that time some illness had spread through the vault and literally effected everyone but him. Some people simply endured through it, taking what the disease had and surviving, others required medicine for weeks. Nick himself never had it, he saw the symptoms, he saw how it was spread, he fixed the issue behind the scenes. Vaccinations hidden in doctoral check-ups, adding a secret compound to the food to prevent the spread and growth of the bacteria that had gotten into the food supply and the water. A bacteria that he, likely because of some genetic anomaly, had been immune to.

After that disease had been taken care of, and everything sterilized, he ran genetic tests on himself. He found mutation in his genes. Something neither of his parents had, for he had their genetic profiles open and reviewed them in detail. 3 months it took him. 3 months to find one sequence of DNA that differed, in its entirety, from his parents. Chromosome number 13 and chromosome number 22. Held the key to the immunity of that one bacteria, some years ago. But what else did it hold? He would never know, he never had time to go back and continue his research into his own DNA, or do any tests on himself. Or Doctor Coctor Who left the year before the illness broke out. Actually, it broke out the day after he left. For some reason that doesn't seem like a coincidence. But now, Coctor could very well be dead. And now, the Vault was opening it's door for the first time, permanently. For all of the residents. For those still pregnant, and awaiting to give birth, to those who were 1 years old.

In fact, all of the little children were kept at the back. So that as Nicholas waited for the denizens to finally fucking find their feet and leave he had to forcibly sit and wait with the children. Ranging from a few months old to 14 years old, the children were annoying. Vexing. Some of them in the company of the Vault Caregivers. People who spent their life giving care to children whose parents were forcibly evicted from the vault. Now they were joining them. Only, without them. With some quick calculations he calculated that at least 100% of the those under 7 would die outside of the vault. No, he wasn't being vindictive in his calculations. It wasn't because one such child was holding on to the hem of scientists' lab coat. And dirtying it with it's dirty little hands. It wasn't his child, why should he care for it? With it's big brown eyes, and tiny little smile, with soft round facial features that made it look pudgy. Like a teddy bear that ate, shat, and cried. "You don't like children" he had to remind himself. Lie to himself. Instead of dealing with these unprecedented emotions he moved forward into the crowd, keeping the duffle-bag safe in his arms, and just pushed through the crowd.

He pushed through until, finally, he was ahead of everyone else.

Ike was in an uncomfortable position, people crunched up against him like an overstuffed hot pocket. Thankfully his head poked out and he could breathe without getting someone's hair in his mouth. He wanted to fix it, he believed he could fix it. But if he stayed to try with his luck? He'd walk in the reactor room and it would explode. Or the Vault door would close and he couldn't get back out. Or the flooding would get worse and he would drown. That's just off the top of his head. More could happen. Maybe he couldn't get the door closed once they left and irradiated monsters find their way in. Or people who weren't fond of the vault find it open and look for anyone inside. Or possibly all of the above.

He would wait until the majority of the Vault left. That way he could observe what everyone did. Then decide what to do. But whatever it was he did... he needed Nicholas. If he was going to survive out here he was going to need a doctor. A good doctor at that. Even if he was a bit inhospitable, Nicholas fit the bill. Plus he was the only one Ike knew. Speaking of Doctors, he was really hoping his arm wouldn't get infected in the days to come. That's of course if he lives through it.

Gallagher coughed, covering his mouth, as dust and dirt and smoke slowly crept into the Vaults entrance, spreading out and fading. He waved his hand, looking through and swallowing hard. He'd been out here a few times already, but even so, it frightened him. He wasn't used to it. It just seemed... it seemed like death had made a tunnel out of his own soul. Just pure darkness.

"Those who wish to leave... step forward now."

Abe didn't wait for a second chance. He looked down at Emily, smiled, and reached down, grabbing his gun from her, as the crowd slowly declined in stature, all to scared to even stand near the opened Vault. Slowly, he pushed Emily away, as he made his way finally out into the open. As he looked down the line of residents, he could see a few others had come forward, but far from as willing as he. Most were shaking, checking behind them, hoping to return to the crowd.

The Overseer looked at Abe, and nodded. As Abe stepped forward, Gallagher began to speak again, looking at Nadine for a moment as he spoke.

"Remember, you may stay as long as you wish within the Vault. The reactor may never need repairing. The flooding may never go any higher than it already has. But if it does, and you are within the Vault... There is no one in here fast enough to escape. I can assure you of that."

Abe stood by the Overseer, who stepped aside, pulling Nadine with him. A few others lined up behind Abe, including Angus, and Joseph behind a few others. Slowly, he took a deep, long breath, as he stepped outside of the Vault. It was not the first time... but it was still something he did not relish in seeing.

The young Vault dweller held his gun loosely, his mind racing, yet blank, his eyes darting, yet blind. He recognized it all. The same footsteps remained, a track carved by the lives of those who had made the worst choice imaginable. And now, every member of the Vault would make the same journey, sooner than they were rightfully supposed to. Their home was behind them… The Vault was behind him. He didn’t dare look back at those watching.

Abe looked down, shuddering, taking a long deep breath. His feet were still on the small metal platform before the door, a welcome mat covered in steel and iron. A hand lay nearby, on the side of the metal. A skeletal, fleshless, bone hand. The skeleton of one of the many people denied access to the Vault, before the bombs fell. And now, here he was, here all the residents were, walking into the world that killed all who pleaded entry.
There were five of them. One near him, on the rock near the door, where he must’ve starved to death. Two were further back, one with their skull fractured, the other with an old, worn butchers knife stuck in the ribcage. Another was further back, crumpled on the floor. They must’ve taken the tunnel as refuge, with whatever hope they had left. And at the foot of the walkway, on the small metal step, was the curled up skeleton of a baby. Even now, after so many had made the walk out of the Vault… none could bare to move it.

Abe knelt down, picking it up in his hands and placing it to the side. Best the people not see this, as their first sight, when leaving their home.
Slowly, but surely, he moved forward down the long corridor of rock and dirt. Light seeped in through the wooden door up ahead, the planks rotten, and… shot. Hacked at. As he reached it, past the foul stench of death, he looked down at a nearby rock, and nodded. The key, right where he’d been told it would be.
Picking it up, Abe slowly twisted the lock. And took a long, deep, painful breath.  

It opened.

Abe gazed out into the world beyond, covering his eyes from the glaring sunlight as he adjusted. It was… warm. It was warmer than anywhere in the Vault. Even when he’d been near the reactor, it was nothing like this. His body felt so much warmer, so much more… alive. And yet, as his eyes adjusted, he didn’t see the world he’d expected. It was neither a flat landscape, nor a beautiful rebuilt utopia. It was a city, like the ones in books and videos and comics, a vast city of towers… all ruined. Towers had collapsed upon each other, windows were broken and shattered, streets were cracked and broken… and the sky was grey and green, with clouds constantly flowing around, barely even letting the sun in.

This was not the world he’d expected. But it was just as bad.
Abe looked down around him. Dead grass and dirt scattered the area. He checked his Pip-Boy… a park. Grant Park. So, the Vault had been built on a park then. Abe went to make his way out of the slight overhang of the hill, only to hear a crunch, and feel something flatten under his feet like a bag of crisps. He didn’t even risk looking down. He took another step, glad to hear a softer sound this time. He looked around him, and saw… more of it… just towers… ruins… death… As he looked behind the hill of the Vault, he could see water, green and still. He looked back down at his Pip-Boy, as he heard people coming out behind him in silence.

He turned, and looked at them, his face somber and plain.
“Chicago.”

She watched as the line of people approaching the now open wooden door, leading out into the outside world. A foreign place. An unknown country, essentially. She knew not what was out there, perhaps she'd never have to find out. Maybe she could just stay in the Vault - but that was a silly idea. The Vault was a time bomb, she had to leave, leave with her people. But for now, she had to listen to Gallagher, for he, despite her earlier words, was still very much in charge.

"What now?" She asked, facing the Overseer.

Emily let Abe push her away, she would have moved away anyway. What with the crowd retreating out of fear of the entrance, not of the entrance itself but the unknown world that lurked beyond it. For Emily, the choice was no longer as easy as she first thought it would have been. Stay in her home, help the vault community survive just like she always had. Stay where it was reasonably safe... Or she could grasp a straw of freedom, determine her own fate and make her own destiny. The vault was not the place for her any more.

Taking a deep breath she willed herself to move, making her towards the entrance and down the long tunnel that led to the outside world. What would it be like? Would there be other vault dwellers out there? Mutants? Aliens? Mutant Aliens? Her mind raced wondering at all the terrifying possibilities. Terrifying enough to perhaps even warrant the use of violence. The natural light that shined into the tunnel through the open door that Abe had unlocked, caused her to squint. Emily increased her pace to a fast walk, eager to see for herself what was on the other side. The world was out there, the vault was just the vault.

She stopped suddenly a few feet away from the door. Emily had forgotten to do something, she turned and waved at the other vault dwellers. Most of them knew her, quite a few of them where her friends. A few waved back at her but most just watched her. Perhaps they felt betrayed by her willingness to leave them? Emily didn't know, maybe fear or terror filled their minds and they weren't able to move? Waving with a warm encouraging smile, she stepped backwards through the doorway before turning around to face the new world.

Immediately the brightness struck her and she brought a hand up to shade her eyes, after giving her eyes time to adjust she lowered her hand, taking in the world around her. The environment certainly was different to the vault she had known all her life. It both thrilled her and terrified her with equal measure. Everything she saw made Emily see only a painful destroyed beauty. The pre-war world must have been so much different, it made her heart heavy with grief. Though it would be hard to share the grief over lost things, things that she would probably never encounter.
Emily kept a brave face on it, still smiling. It was a good deception, she tried to hide the fear that she felt, bury it. She may have been afraid, but she was free.

"So it is" She replied to Abe, glancing at the other members of the vault who had made the choice to leave their home beyond Emily asked. "What now?" Sure she could go where ever she want, yet Emily strongly believed that going off by herself was a sure way to get herself killed by the unknown dangers that filled the world. Best stay together with a group, if possible.

A few strides out of Vault 32 and Nicholas felt the atmosphere change. It was palpable the air felt heavy, unclean. He turned and looked back to the dwellers of Vault 32, and for a moment, he felt sorry. That moment quickly dissipated as the anticipation sunk in. His legs shook from anticipation, he took quick unsteady steps towards the door at the end of the hallway. All but ignoring the skeletons along the way. Their bones, however, he made not of. They could be made into primitive tools if need be. Even primitive armor. He held no qualms about utilizing the dead.

By the time he reached the door, his arms were shaking, it was all he could do to steady himself to push through to the other side. His body immediately began to sweat, and react to the increase in temperature. The only temperature regulator there would be out here, would be clothes and water. There is no switch to be flipped or altered, no control here. As the door opened, and natural light hit him, he was stunned temporarily. As his eyes adjusted he took a few uncertain steps. The light was bright, but not much different than the light of the vault. They were, after all, tuned to be as real as possible. However, they could not replicate the real thing. This natural light, all encompassing light, was greater. His eyes squinted and he looked up, at the sky, the clouds.

He felt as light as a feather. Like the weight of living underground was lifted off of him. As if he were a bird in a cage, now free and able to spread its wings for the first time, and perhaps the final time. His eyes darted about the landscape, from towers, the city, to the water, to dead trees and barren rock, and to greenery. Honest to goodness green. Real green. Plant green. Life Green. The kind of green that gangrene looked on some pale individuals. A good green. His eyes wandered still, never on one thing for long. Broken windows, broken towers, a broken city. His heart was racing.

He smiled a wide, toothy grin as he walked some small distance a way. He looked around, lifted his hands to the sky, mania in his eyes, and said softly to himself, "Home." This was a place where the social system of a vault could not force him to do what he did not wish to do. He did not have to do anything. This was a feeling like none other he had ever felt. This sense of freedom. This sense of responsibility, the change, sudden and irrevocable change. It was a feeling that filled him with dread, with fear, and he smiled. His eyes wide, taking in everything. He almost didn't want to look at his pip-boy, he might not even need it. He could learn everything over again.

He looked at the world new, like a newborn babe fresh from the bloody folds of his mothers womb. Only he now came from the coldness of a metal womb, to the warmth of broken world, he was born anew. More of an un-birth, actually, since a human baby goes from a warm nurturing place to a colder and less nurturing place. Now he was going from a cold nurturing place to a warm not so nurturing place. Unless you consider the movement of a nurturing zone to a non-nurturing zone to be birth, then he was birthed into this new land. But if you consider birth to be going from a warm place to a cold place then this was an un-birth. Although, the same thing could probably be applied to the caged bird analogy used earlier. Was the bird being freed from a cage, or let into a bigger cage? Or maybe... hey look a crow.

The doctor looks up at a bird as it flies through the air. Black feathered, pointed beak. Utterly distracted by a simple natural phenomenon that was flight of a small hollow-boned avian creature. With one lung that had air go in and out at the same time. he followed the birds path until Abe rested in his vision. When he looked at Abe he said, with a rather cryptic wide and toothy smile, "Welcome home,  Abimelech."

Ike stood with all the others who hadn't moved. Fear had him frozen in place. His head was going at 100mph, he couldn't finish even half his thoughts. He had to make a choice, one he never wanted to make in the first place. Stay here with a nuclear bomb or go out into the unknown to be killed by some abomination. It was a double sided coin in death's favor. Not very hope inducing. However seeing Emily turn back around and wave... well it restored a little faith in Ike. Somehow, through this dreadful situation, she remained cheerful and encouraging. It boggled his mind. But he couldn't dwell on it for long, he had a choice to make. After some careful thought he choose to follow. If he were to die he would at least see more then the Vault this way. Maybe make a few friends along the way.

Nevertheless, he was seeing the dead before he even left the Vault. It killed the moment for him. He tried to shake it off the best he could. He would have to learn quickly to ignore sights such as this. A moment's hesitation could have him possibly mauled, stung, shot, crushed, electrocuted, set ablaze, blown up or otherwise. None sounded good to him. But neither did swallowing his humanity. Choices choices. If only he had some Mentats....

Cautiously Ike opened the door, afraid he might set off a landslide or something. Luck favored him however as nothing happened. The sun was a whole 'nother story. It was bright to the Vault Dweller, even if the sky was covered in clouds. Soon the effect died down and he could finally stop covering his eyes. The sight that followed after was nothing he had seen before. Large, empty towers still stood as if monuments to the Old World. Ruined automobiles and piles of rubble lay around. Plantlife was in every view. Ike took a step back in awe.

Abe looked behind him again, as people slowly came out of the darkness of the tunnel. Some were just civilians, their jumpsuits a little worn but nothing standout, just like them. Unique in their own ways, some holding their weapons close, others wishing they'd not left them behind. In smaller numbers, mechanics and repairmen came, worn and surprised by what they saw. Most stayed back, in hope of fixing the doomed Vault.

But in the largest numbers, rivalled only by the civilians, were the guards. As Abe looked around him, it seemed like almost every single guard in the Vault had come out. And of course, they all had their rifles, their machine guns, everything. He cleared his throat and looked back out into the dead skeletons of the Old World.

Emily had come out not long after him. Joseph was nearby, and Angus was standing with his brother. Most were frozen in awe, fear, dread, whatever it was, they were frozen in it. Those that weren't... They were perhaps just better at hiding it. As the weird-ass doctor Nicholas spoke, it all finally came to hit him, about just where they were. Just what it was that was happening right now.

A clicking sound broke the silence, and Abe looked back, along with most people. The Overseer stood there, the wooden door closed behind him. He scanned the crowd, and let out a low sigh.

"So... this is everyone then. Not even half of the Vault... hardly even a quarter..."

They where free of the vault, it wasn't a freedom won or a freedom given... But a freedom that had been sprung forth of a disaster. Many people had chosen to stay within the safety of the vault, was it safe? Or was it a ticking time bomb in which they would have no escape from if the bomb chose to detonate. Yet there was no guarantee of safety outside of the vault. Emily looked around a smile still on her face, seeing a rather large amount of vault security guards. Their armour, their weapons encouraged her somewhat. At least with their fire power and training there would be a decent amount of protection from the dangers of the land that she now stood in.

The Overseer had closed the door, the vault was now officially behind them. For better or for worse there would be no going back. She itched to explore the world that now stood in front of her as far as her eyes could see. Did the Overseer still have command outside of the vault? Or would the former vault dwellers choose a new leader among them? Would they all split up and make their own way in the world? Emily was still free, free of the destiny set forth by the vault she felt a wild exultation build within her. It was surely wrong to feel such a raw joy born of a disaster such as the one that had befallen the vault, her home. Yet... She could not help it. After so long the pressure had been lifted from her, the burden of being forced to have a child yet not raise it. That pressure was gone. It made her smile widen, her eyes glimmering from joy. Emily would feel guilty later however for now the guilt was washed away by a flood of delight, happiness and freedom. From now on Emily would be her own master and no one would dictate her future for her.

Nadine looked over the crowd of people, the people once of the Vault. All here were lost, confused, scared. Doubts now lay in her mind. Perhaps she should have stayed within the Vault, and carried on as Overseer, for out here, well, the people could now decide who they should follow - or decide again. Perhaps they would retain their previous decision, an idea she liked, or they might all split up and wander off, or even elect a new Overseer - a new leader.

For now however, she waited, for Gallagher still retained power, for however long that might be.

Gallagher walked to the front of the group, past Abe, and looked out at the city. He'd seen it before. He'd had to come out here before to ensure the Vault really wasn't worth opening. He felt a shiver run up his spine, before he turned, looking back to some familiar faces. He didn't have time to make some big grand decision right now. He just needed to think.

"We need to set up a home. We cannot wander off into this world and just hope against hope that we run across civilisation. If we do... I'm certain we'll all die."