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First Annual Pod Day
WHERE: Vault 66
WHEN: ???? - Day 1
WHAT: The first pods open
WARNINGS:TBD
You awake laying on your back in an, admittedly comfortable, pod. You can't move anything but your eyes, can't even feel your body yet. How you got here or why is a blank. You may have been in the middle of your day, asleep, or even- for what you remember- should be dead. Then a screen directly in front of your face flickers to life and in crisp, black and white displays: DON'T PANIC. The following video then plays:
The screen flickers again and reads: CONGRATULATIONS ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE! WELCOME TO VAULT LIFE, CITIZEN. WELCOME TO YEAR: [ERROR]. YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE LOCATED IN [FILE CORRUPTED. SEE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]. ENJOY YOUR STAY AND THANK YOU FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT VAULT-TEC.
The pod then unseals and you are able to, unstably at first, climb out of the pod. Your body may feel foreign for a moment- perhaps entirely foreign if you suddenly find yourself a human, ghoul, or super mutant for the first time. But whatever your form, you have two items on: a bright blue jumpsuit with the number 66 in yellow on the back, and a mechanical device known as a Pip-boy sealed onto your arm. If you click on the buttons it takes you to an instruction screen.
You look around to find yourself in a room of other pods. Some are just opening, other people looking as confused as you climbing out. Others remain closed with the status of 'STASIS' on the screens attached to the pods. The rest of the room is less than impressive. Computer systems that seem out of place compared to the technology level of the pods are scattered across the room, apparently running the chambers. Trying to access them, even for the most talented hacker, will simply result in SEE OVERSEER being displayed. There is large metal door leading to the rest of the vault, a lever on the wall next to it that will cause it to open.
Welcome, dweller, to vault 66.
Outside of the pod room, the rest of the vault is limping along on an emergency power supply. The air is stale from lackluster recycling and deep shadows occupy the corners of rooms and edges of hallways as only the pale maintenance lighting flickers from the ceiling. The pip-boy flashlight helps, but can still only light up a small area, casting anything outside of it into even darker shadows.
In those shadows there is skittering. The noise isn't too noticeable when there are groups of people, but get down to one or two and it's impossible to ignore. Venture into an empty room and you’ll spot a small number, maybe even just one, loitering in what, until today, had more or less been their sole domain: radroaches. Giant, mutated cockroaches that have a hunger for fresh food (like say, new vault dwellers) when it’s available.
The majority of roaches, however, seem to have a destination in mind, mostly ignoring characters unless blocked or directly bothered. This hoard, gathering from all over the vault, all move through the shadows and vents to the kitchen. If a character is unthreatening enough, they can follow the trail unmolested by the creatures.
In the kitchen itself is a whole different matter. Even from down the hall, characters can hear a masculine, slightly French-accented voice exclaim:
“Mais! Get out, out you nasty things!”
After a moment, a burst of flame can be seen through the door, followed by the new yet distinctive sound of mandibles ripping at metal. Those that decide to enter will see over a dozen roaches trying to take down a lone, floating robot. Despite the robot occasionally hitting them with a blast of fire from a small flame-throwing on one of its arms, the roaches appear to be winning.
The source of the fight can be seen behind the robot: a counter full of various kinds of packaged foods, some of them newly opened. One roach has managed to make it to the prize, ripping into a things of what seems to be apples with its mandibles.
OOC NOTES
To talk to a specific NPC one-on-one, leave a comment on their thread below. Note an exception is Louis in Radroach Riot, he will pop up on his own in threads related to him.
Looking for loot in a specific area? Looking for a specific item/kinds of item in general? Ask here and we’ll let you know.
If you have any OOC questions, please leave a comment here!
no subject
[Is that even the right word? Jiro had lived in the outskirts by a forest until about a month and a half ago. High tech things weren't really his forte. With the next piece of debris he moves, a roach skitters out from behind it and hurries down the hallway. There's probably more where that came from. He ignores it and continues the conversation.]
I never even saw any at the port, but the factories probably had some? That's part of why this place is so disturbing; the robots are some future tech and then the kitchen appliances and whatever are so old.
[He still had a landline phone in 2017, but that's beside the point.]
no subject
I've seen machine production and sentient ones that couldn't speak. They were created from living beings into something with the sole purpose of protection. These have personality and words but they are solely focused on one purpose.
[It's completely different. She is familiar with a mix of future and past technology for a different reason. Much of her world was built through ideas taken from tears in between universes.]
What year were you from? [She's attempting to find more constants and variables. A radroach skitters out. She drops the rock on its head.]
no subject
[That's something right out of a dystopian sci-fi novel for him. He flinches when the roach gets a rock to the head. Poor little guy.]
2017. You?
no subject
She picks up the rock again.
2017. Surprise is evident on her features.]
In my original world, it was 1912.
no subject
1912!? You made robots from people in fucking 1912!?
[Confirmed different universes.]
no subject
[It was created by the man who kidnapped her from an alternate universe from that alternate version of himself.]
The world was full of tears. They were like little windows other universes. Smart people in Colombia took what they found through the tears and made their own technology from it.
[She doesn't mention her existence created the tears. It's not like she always had control over how it popped up all over the city. It's not like she knew it was even happening while she was locked away.]
no subject
[There's probably a lot of city Colombias too, but he doesn't think of them first. The tears are interesting, and that, he can somewhat relate to. At least the concept.]
There wasn't... tears exactly, but portals? I had portals to other realms, not alternate universes, but places where demons lived. The portals opened in gates.
[Torii. He'd just left a demon realm and then ended up here somehow.]
That could be the connection. If everyone else has some sort of gateway... system?
[He's never had to think this much.]
no subject
[He wanted to rule. He wanted his cult to follow him to the ends of the earth. He wanted his lamb to carry on his ideal and legacies. There are worlds where she did exactly that because of him. The Prophet. It's what he called himself like he was a God. They followed him. If he can put a city in the sky, it may be reason enough for some to follow someone else's teachings without fail or question. She nods.]
We'd have to check with the others. The tears in my world weren't used by very many to travel through. It wasn't well known but it did exist.
[There's something more concerning in his words. Her expression shifts. She has seen the worst parts of humanity but demons?]
Demons? There were portals to demons in your world?
no subject
Yeah, demons. Mononoke, they're called. I found out about them when I saved an injured cat that turned out to be a demon.
[He doesn't elaborate, because the existence of demons is enough at this point. His possession is whole other topic.]
The portals don't exist all the time; the demons make them. There was one in the forest and one appeared over the ocean. That kind of thing. They lived among humans too, disguised as us or animals. Most people don't know about them, but the government does.
no subject
[It doesn't seem like finding out an injured cat is a demon would be a good time for anyone. She can't say she's surprised the government is keeping such vital, dangerous information from citizens.]
Because the government can use that information how they see fit?
[She is used to those in positions of power keeping information, using their power for wrong.]
no subject
[That's probably an optimistic view of government overreach and secrecy, though. Another roach skitters out from the pile of debris, and there's a creak as something far in the tunnel shifts.]
no subject
I'm going to see if I can convince Louis to help. We may have reached as far as we can for today.
[They've made progress at least.]
no subject
[He steps away from the debris pile cautiously, just in case.]