SESSION 71: LET'S TALK ABOUT EFFING ZION
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 70: GROUND AND POUND
Next Session: SESSION 72: IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORY
Players: The Fellowship of the Doing the Things, Arminius, Linda, Morag
September 6th, 2317
(Adventure Day 136)
The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel weaponsmith did a final adjustment on Beau's Recon Scope and then brought the RifleBuddy to the bench of the armory.
Beau zipped his new sensor around, looking about the room. He announced, "Well have Butcher's at this. I can move me Mince. Wait, was Lind-er always so big?"
The party assured him that she was very large, ever since she had been blessed by the deity of the Children of Atom in the Scary Place. Paladin Hector explained that with this new recon scope, Beau would be able to highlight what he was looking at with a laser beam highlight. He could control the intensity of this highlight and even its frequency. Beau could highlight something in infrared, so that only the party could see the spot through the eyepieces of their modular helmet.
As was stated in the last session, Paladin Hector brought the party to his Aerial Dirigible Vehicle. The coal-driven airship had been under construction for decades, but it was only Lex’s insights and Professor Gritch’s textiles which made the vehicle fly. The first ADV’s were just now coming off the line at Whiteman Air Force Base. Hector gave Linda a big hug and wished the adventurers luck in their mission. He said that they could buy each other drinks at the victory parade when it was all over.
Arminius, now deciding to go by the name Scipio again, told the paladin to be careful. Hector was headed to Minot Air Force Base, where the Scepter of the North was kept. Scipio warned that his old peer Obscisus Ursus was working with Great Leader, collecting those Thirteen Scepters. The paladin needed to be on his toes when dealing with such dangerous people. Paladin Hector assured them that he would take the mission seriously, and that he would compel the generals in Chicago to take a more active role.
The paladin left and the party entered the airship, which they dubbed the ADV Ms. Man, after Mister Man the robot. They were greeted by the airship’s staff: Master Scribe Okonkwo, Lancer Lieutenant Wieck and Lancer Petty Officer Gorog.
Master Scribe Umar Okonkwo was the ship’s engineer, a middle-aged human man who had been part of the ADV project for years. He had been working on the Ms. Man for years now and had a personal relationship with the engine. He was capable of piloting the ship and operating the weapons systems, but he preferred to keep his focus on the engine system and generator. He promised that the ship was capable of three days of continuous flight at 25 miles per hour, giving a total range of two thousand miles. But he could push the engine if they wished, bringing up their speed to 50 miles per hour, but it required that the engines be constantly monitored.
Lancer Wieck was less friendly. She explained that she was the ship’s Quarter-mistress, managing the ship’s inventory and kitchen. Wieck stated brusquely that she made precisely one hot meal every day at 17:00 hours. If they were hungry at other times, there were always cold meals prepared. She insisted that the airship was her workplace, and that she had a very clear job description. Anything that did not relate to the ship’s inventory was not her job and she had no interest in helping. Linda asked if they had hot Nuka-cola. Lancer Wieck explained that the ship didn’t have it, and the expensive beverage was outside of their budget. But if they gave her additional caps, she was always happy to buy supplies at the local market.
Gorog was a large super mutant in a flannel vest and cut-off jean shorts. They looked to Master Scribe Okonkwo when it was their turn to talk.
The enormous super mutant announced, “Gorag shovels shit,” getting his own name wrong.
Okonkwo explained to Gorog that they had gotten a promotion: they shoveled coal now. Gorog was the ship’s porter, they kept the coal fire, could lift and haul things, and defended the ship. There was an old mattress in the coal store where Gorog slept.
The party found bunks and looked over the facilities. Noticing that the flare and chaff anti-missile countermeasures were operated from the deck, Scipio asked Okonkwo if there was some way to rig those systems to the bridge or engine room. The engineer explained that the Midwest Brotherhood team had been working on these airships for decades, and they had never gotten the aerostats (balloons) working. They had lost hope to some degree and begun focusing on the ship’s systems. When the new textiles came in and the aerostats started working, they found themselves tearing out parts of the main ship to drop weight. The ship probably needed a whole design overhaul, but the generals in Chicago wanted the vehicles ready as soon as possible. They could technically drill holes through the deck and run wires to the flares and chaff, but it was a very bad idea to mess with the hull’s integrity. Scipio agreed, noting that they should keep someone up on the deck at all times in case Surface-to-Air missiles were launched at them.
They were looking to travel to Wally Wabash World, a pre-war amusement park. Betsy the Triumphant and her Enclave deathclaws had a system for contact there. Heading northeast, they looked at the map in the ship’s navigation display. A place called Effing Cross seemed interesting, and close enough to be a good demonstration of the airship’s systems. The flight went smoothly, and they opted not to push the engine.
The Effing Cross was 200 feet tall and over 100 feet wide, some pre-war icon to a long-lost people. Two great billboards hung from the cross’s arms, though the advertisements had been bleached away centuries before.
The cross stood by old Interstate 70. The raised freeway had once run from Baltimore all the way to Los Angeles. Its reconstruction had been a dream for a reunited America. A dream which was shattered when St. Louis was destroyed in atomic fire (see: SESSION 02: THE ST. LOUIS SUMMIT.) But the tall freeway was a natural shelter, one that travelers often used to camp.
Linda and Morag searched the area for caches and hiding spots. They scoured the area for an hour and found nothing of value. It had been picked-over a million times. The only thing left was the enormous cross itself, 200 vertical feet with nothing but a centuries-old ladder for access. Linda tried climbing, but the narrow ladder and rusty handholds were difficult. Morag wasn’t as strong as Linda but was more agile. She ascended the cross, which required great care. At the top, she found a sniper’s roost. From up there, caravans coming down the freeway could be easily picked off. There was an old lawn chair set up and beside it a strange weapon scope.
Meanwhile, Scipio went to see Master Scribe Okonkwo. When the Legionary entered the engine room, Okonkwo was startled. The engineer grabbed an object off of a lever and stuffed it into his pocket, hiding it. Scipio was just perceptive enough to notice that it was a pair of baby shoes. The two men got to talking. Umar Okonkwo explained that he hadn’t been born in the Midwest, he had travelled there specifically to join the Midwest Brotherhood. In his homeland, he had heard that the Brotherhood had good technology, and he had always had a facility with machines. That had been twenty-five years ago, and he had been serving ever since. He trained in Chicago, where he met his wife and the couple had been assigned to Whiteman AFB and the dirigible project. Okonkwo had three daughters, the oldest of which had just received her commission as a Knight-Lieutenant in the Midwest Brotherhood; the next time he saw her, he would have to call her ‘ma’am.’
As he was stationed in Missouri and came from elsewhere, he didn’t know much about Southern Illinois or various locations marked on their Brotherhood map.
Scipio asked Okonkwo about the other two staff members: Lancer Wieck and Gorog. The engineer explained that those two had only been assigned to the ship after it left Whiteman and was given over to Paladin Hector. He had read their personnel files, but there wasn’t much to see. Jenna Wieck was from Gamma Town. She had volunteered at an early age and spent the last eight years working in supply and logistics. Gorog was a very old super mutant and a veteran of the Calculator War. They had stayed in the service after the war had ended. But with limited mental capacities, Gorog had never advanced above the rank of petty officer and had spent 100 years doing menial labour.
Morag came down and they examined the weapon Mod she found, an Adjustable Zoom Scope. The object seemed to have a life of its own. The strange polymer lenses flexed and arched with the light entering the scope, automatically zooming, and focusing on whatever object it was pointed at. The lenses were neither biological nor computerized, but employed some pre-War cleverness that allowed it to react to light. With this weapon, Scipio could aim his normally long-range Entanglement Impeller close up or far away with the same ease. When Morag gave Scipio the scope, Beau was momentarily offended. He was a gun, and he hadn’t even been consulted about whether he should have the Mod. But Morag explained that he couldn’t use the object.
Linda saw a big radiation symbol on the ship’s navigation map and insisted they check it out. Okonkwo knew vaguely the site was a pre-War nuclear plant known as Mount Zion. The radioactive ground was holy to the Children of Atom. Inquisitors protected that ground, only allowing pilgrims to enter the facility.
Those pilgrims routinely bathed in the heavy water deep inside the facility. They often died from the exposure. Morag and Scipio were hesitant, but Linda insisted. It was vaguely in the right directions, so they decided to fly there.
The team touched down and then asked Okonkwo to take off again so the ship could hover at a safe height. They reconnoitered the area, noticing an Inquisitor encampment at the front door of the derelict plant. But there was no movement within that Inquisitor guard station. Scipio was worried about radiation from the plant, so he called back the airship. He changed into a full hazmat suit and took a dose of Rad-X from Dr. Patch, though he didn’t take it right away. Morag ate a serving of Baked Bloatfly for its radiation protection.
The blimp went back up while Linda, Morag and Scipio crept into the Inquisitor guard station. There were signs of a permanent settlement here, which the Inquisitors had maintained for decades, but there were no signs of life. A closer look at the tents revealed that they had been cut many times with a dull edge and there were splashes of blood here and there. Morag investigated carefully and found deathclaw tracks all over the area, full, adult-sized deathclaw tracks. It was clear that a human figure had run into an old truck in the parking lot for defence. The derelict pre-War truck’s door had been torn off its hinges and thrown aside.
Morag and Scipio were frightened, but Linda felt conflicted. There was danger, but this was also the sacred ground of Atom, being sullied by unfaithful deathclaws. Linda looked inside herself and tried to commune with Atom. She felt a deep need to rid this nuclear plant of the deathclaws and marched into the underground facility. The other two were shocked by Linda’s brash action but would not let her descend into the danger alone.
The elaborate station was still powered, having been maintained by the Inquisitors. Warning lights flashed here and there.
Five adult deathclaws noticed Linda’s approach and leapt to action. The enormous lizards began to cross the vast chamber near the entryway. Linda drew Harmony, the energy weapon Professor Gritch had made for Lex, and called upon her Atomic Storm berserker state. She doused one of the deathclaws in energetic plasma, hurting but not killing it. Morag’s eyes widened as she saw five of the great beasts barreling toward them. Back in the Hatchie Forest, even one of these things was a great threat. Morag downed her Deadshot Daquiri, sharpening her shooting abilities. She put two well-placed rifle bullets into a second deathclaw. Scipio wanted to try his fancy new scope but knew that two laser pistols would do more damage. He fired away as best he could.
The deathclaws charged forward, enraged by the attacks. The party downed three of the great beasts and injured a fourth before they closed the distance. But eventually, two lizards were upon them. A deathclaw raked Morag with a vicious slash. Morag’s biological systems were overwhelmed by a huge dose of poison, and she collapsed in a heap. Scipio and Linda continued to fight as Morag faded away.
Time seemed to slow and then Morag found herself standing in a humble house that she somehow knew had been a home in Boston. Keziah, her previous Synth personality, had lived here for some time. There were many paintings on the wall, red paintings, but they didn’t bring Morag the waves of sadness that she had felt before. On the floor, there was a strange shadow, a blank space in the shape of a lying man. And beside the shadow, there knelt a woman who looked just like Morag. But this woman was dressed in plain villager’s clothes and carried herself differently. Her one blue eye and one green eye glowed.
“You’re in the Synth Component’s cache now,” the figure explained. “Double-O is in control of the body now.”
Morag felt pity for the personality that she had replaced. She told Keziah that she was sorry that her body had been stolen, that she had been replaced with the Morag program. She promised that she would try to find Keziah a new body of her own.
The program in cache explained that she wasn’t really Keziah. The Railroad had torn Keziah out of the body, and she was just the bits of programming and sensation that they had missed. She had some of Keziah’s memories, but she was mostly her own program, living down here in the subconscious mind with Double-O. Y-00 was the Institute’s default programming for their model, not quite a full personality, but capable of operating the body on its own. Apparently, it wasn’t much for conversation but was good at playing games.
The Keziah remnant told Morag that she liked to keep the cache looking like a house in Boston because that was a clear memory of Keziah, but they could change it if they wished. Morag asked what had happened here. The remnant explained that Keziah and Richard had shared this home. Richard was an artist who kept Keziah company, and she kept him safe. Until one day, Nate DiNovo, the one they called the Sole Survivor came to their home. Keziah had been out hanging laundry and Nate had walked right past her into their house. Richard and Nate began to argue loudly and there were gunshots. Keziah ran home, only to find that Richard had been murdered and they had been robbed. Keziah had felt overwhelming sadness and spent the next week lying around despondently. And then The Railroad had sent out her Synth Radio Command Control Signal and called her into their workshop. That’s where Keziah was removed, and the Morag program had been written in.
The remnant explained that she was able to read the sensation data from their senses. Even now, she could hear that Morag’s friends had defeated the deathclaws and were trying to revive the body. Morag could feel nothing from inside the cache. Double-O and the remnant had been watching Morag for 28 years. They were fascinated by Beau but knew nothing of his nature. The remnant was sorry about Morag’s mentor Saskia. Morag’s digital-reality eyes went wide. She had no memory of what had happened to Sassy. The remnant relayed that an important part of the Morag program is staying in Tennessee; every memory and though which would cause her to leave was slowly erased by her own program. Saskia and Morag had talked about Morag being a Synth many times, but Morag kept forgetting. Sassy packed up and left for Boston, looking for a way to help Morag. She hadn’t returned, and Morag forgot all about the situation. Whether or not Sassy had reached Boston, or if she was okay, was anyone’s guess.
Morag was a bit stunned and fumbled with a million questions to ask. But the remnant looked around and said, “Your friends have revived the body. Double-O is going to give you back control now.”
The Gen 3 Synth awoke with a gasp. Morag found herself lying in the Mount Zion nuclear plant’s entryway, with Linda and Scipio standing over her. Her vital systems had been repaired, but there was still a massive dose of poison in her veins. The group of five deathclaws were all dead, but they could hear more within…
Next Session: SESSION 72: IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORY
Next Session: SESSION 72: IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORY
Players: The Fellowship of the Doing the Things, Arminius, Linda, Morag
September 6th, 2317
(Adventure Day 136)
The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel weaponsmith did a final adjustment on Beau's Recon Scope and then brought the RifleBuddy to the bench of the armory.
Beau zipped his new sensor around, looking about the room. He announced, "Well have Butcher's at this. I can move me Mince. Wait, was Lind-er always so big?"
The party assured him that she was very large, ever since she had been blessed by the deity of the Children of Atom in the Scary Place. Paladin Hector explained that with this new recon scope, Beau would be able to highlight what he was looking at with a laser beam highlight. He could control the intensity of this highlight and even its frequency. Beau could highlight something in infrared, so that only the party could see the spot through the eyepieces of their modular helmet.
As was stated in the last session, Paladin Hector brought the party to his Aerial Dirigible Vehicle. The coal-driven airship had been under construction for decades, but it was only Lex’s insights and Professor Gritch’s textiles which made the vehicle fly. The first ADV’s were just now coming off the line at Whiteman Air Force Base. Hector gave Linda a big hug and wished the adventurers luck in their mission. He said that they could buy each other drinks at the victory parade when it was all over.
Arminius, now deciding to go by the name Scipio again, told the paladin to be careful. Hector was headed to Minot Air Force Base, where the Scepter of the North was kept. Scipio warned that his old peer Obscisus Ursus was working with Great Leader, collecting those Thirteen Scepters. The paladin needed to be on his toes when dealing with such dangerous people. Paladin Hector assured them that he would take the mission seriously, and that he would compel the generals in Chicago to take a more active role.
The paladin left and the party entered the airship, which they dubbed the ADV Ms. Man, after Mister Man the robot. They were greeted by the airship’s staff: Master Scribe Okonkwo, Lancer Lieutenant Wieck and Lancer Petty Officer Gorog.
Master Scribe Umar Okonkwo was the ship’s engineer, a middle-aged human man who had been part of the ADV project for years. He had been working on the Ms. Man for years now and had a personal relationship with the engine. He was capable of piloting the ship and operating the weapons systems, but he preferred to keep his focus on the engine system and generator. He promised that the ship was capable of three days of continuous flight at 25 miles per hour, giving a total range of two thousand miles. But he could push the engine if they wished, bringing up their speed to 50 miles per hour, but it required that the engines be constantly monitored.
Lancer Wieck was less friendly. She explained that she was the ship’s Quarter-mistress, managing the ship’s inventory and kitchen. Wieck stated brusquely that she made precisely one hot meal every day at 17:00 hours. If they were hungry at other times, there were always cold meals prepared. She insisted that the airship was her workplace, and that she had a very clear job description. Anything that did not relate to the ship’s inventory was not her job and she had no interest in helping. Linda asked if they had hot Nuka-cola. Lancer Wieck explained that the ship didn’t have it, and the expensive beverage was outside of their budget. But if they gave her additional caps, she was always happy to buy supplies at the local market.
Gorog was a large super mutant in a flannel vest and cut-off jean shorts. They looked to Master Scribe Okonkwo when it was their turn to talk.
The enormous super mutant announced, “Gorag shovels shit,” getting his own name wrong.
Okonkwo explained to Gorog that they had gotten a promotion: they shoveled coal now. Gorog was the ship’s porter, they kept the coal fire, could lift and haul things, and defended the ship. There was an old mattress in the coal store where Gorog slept.
The party found bunks and looked over the facilities. Noticing that the flare and chaff anti-missile countermeasures were operated from the deck, Scipio asked Okonkwo if there was some way to rig those systems to the bridge or engine room. The engineer explained that the Midwest Brotherhood team had been working on these airships for decades, and they had never gotten the aerostats (balloons) working. They had lost hope to some degree and begun focusing on the ship’s systems. When the new textiles came in and the aerostats started working, they found themselves tearing out parts of the main ship to drop weight. The ship probably needed a whole design overhaul, but the generals in Chicago wanted the vehicles ready as soon as possible. They could technically drill holes through the deck and run wires to the flares and chaff, but it was a very bad idea to mess with the hull’s integrity. Scipio agreed, noting that they should keep someone up on the deck at all times in case Surface-to-Air missiles were launched at them.
They were looking to travel to Wally Wabash World, a pre-war amusement park. Betsy the Triumphant and her Enclave deathclaws had a system for contact there. Heading northeast, they looked at the map in the ship’s navigation display. A place called Effing Cross seemed interesting, and close enough to be a good demonstration of the airship’s systems. The flight went smoothly, and they opted not to push the engine.
The Effing Cross was 200 feet tall and over 100 feet wide, some pre-war icon to a long-lost people. Two great billboards hung from the cross’s arms, though the advertisements had been bleached away centuries before.
The cross stood by old Interstate 70. The raised freeway had once run from Baltimore all the way to Los Angeles. Its reconstruction had been a dream for a reunited America. A dream which was shattered when St. Louis was destroyed in atomic fire (see: SESSION 02: THE ST. LOUIS SUMMIT.) But the tall freeway was a natural shelter, one that travelers often used to camp.
Linda and Morag searched the area for caches and hiding spots. They scoured the area for an hour and found nothing of value. It had been picked-over a million times. The only thing left was the enormous cross itself, 200 vertical feet with nothing but a centuries-old ladder for access. Linda tried climbing, but the narrow ladder and rusty handholds were difficult. Morag wasn’t as strong as Linda but was more agile. She ascended the cross, which required great care. At the top, she found a sniper’s roost. From up there, caravans coming down the freeway could be easily picked off. There was an old lawn chair set up and beside it a strange weapon scope.
Meanwhile, Scipio went to see Master Scribe Okonkwo. When the Legionary entered the engine room, Okonkwo was startled. The engineer grabbed an object off of a lever and stuffed it into his pocket, hiding it. Scipio was just perceptive enough to notice that it was a pair of baby shoes. The two men got to talking. Umar Okonkwo explained that he hadn’t been born in the Midwest, he had travelled there specifically to join the Midwest Brotherhood. In his homeland, he had heard that the Brotherhood had good technology, and he had always had a facility with machines. That had been twenty-five years ago, and he had been serving ever since. He trained in Chicago, where he met his wife and the couple had been assigned to Whiteman AFB and the dirigible project. Okonkwo had three daughters, the oldest of which had just received her commission as a Knight-Lieutenant in the Midwest Brotherhood; the next time he saw her, he would have to call her ‘ma’am.’
As he was stationed in Missouri and came from elsewhere, he didn’t know much about Southern Illinois or various locations marked on their Brotherhood map.
Scipio asked Okonkwo about the other two staff members: Lancer Wieck and Gorog. The engineer explained that those two had only been assigned to the ship after it left Whiteman and was given over to Paladin Hector. He had read their personnel files, but there wasn’t much to see. Jenna Wieck was from Gamma Town. She had volunteered at an early age and spent the last eight years working in supply and logistics. Gorog was a very old super mutant and a veteran of the Calculator War. They had stayed in the service after the war had ended. But with limited mental capacities, Gorog had never advanced above the rank of petty officer and had spent 100 years doing menial labour.
Morag came down and they examined the weapon Mod she found, an Adjustable Zoom Scope. The object seemed to have a life of its own. The strange polymer lenses flexed and arched with the light entering the scope, automatically zooming, and focusing on whatever object it was pointed at. The lenses were neither biological nor computerized, but employed some pre-War cleverness that allowed it to react to light. With this weapon, Scipio could aim his normally long-range Entanglement Impeller close up or far away with the same ease. When Morag gave Scipio the scope, Beau was momentarily offended. He was a gun, and he hadn’t even been consulted about whether he should have the Mod. But Morag explained that he couldn’t use the object.
Linda saw a big radiation symbol on the ship’s navigation map and insisted they check it out. Okonkwo knew vaguely the site was a pre-War nuclear plant known as Mount Zion. The radioactive ground was holy to the Children of Atom. Inquisitors protected that ground, only allowing pilgrims to enter the facility.
Those pilgrims routinely bathed in the heavy water deep inside the facility. They often died from the exposure. Morag and Scipio were hesitant, but Linda insisted. It was vaguely in the right directions, so they decided to fly there.
The team touched down and then asked Okonkwo to take off again so the ship could hover at a safe height. They reconnoitered the area, noticing an Inquisitor encampment at the front door of the derelict plant. But there was no movement within that Inquisitor guard station. Scipio was worried about radiation from the plant, so he called back the airship. He changed into a full hazmat suit and took a dose of Rad-X from Dr. Patch, though he didn’t take it right away. Morag ate a serving of Baked Bloatfly for its radiation protection.
The blimp went back up while Linda, Morag and Scipio crept into the Inquisitor guard station. There were signs of a permanent settlement here, which the Inquisitors had maintained for decades, but there were no signs of life. A closer look at the tents revealed that they had been cut many times with a dull edge and there were splashes of blood here and there. Morag investigated carefully and found deathclaw tracks all over the area, full, adult-sized deathclaw tracks. It was clear that a human figure had run into an old truck in the parking lot for defence. The derelict pre-War truck’s door had been torn off its hinges and thrown aside.
Morag and Scipio were frightened, but Linda felt conflicted. There was danger, but this was also the sacred ground of Atom, being sullied by unfaithful deathclaws. Linda looked inside herself and tried to commune with Atom. She felt a deep need to rid this nuclear plant of the deathclaws and marched into the underground facility. The other two were shocked by Linda’s brash action but would not let her descend into the danger alone.
The elaborate station was still powered, having been maintained by the Inquisitors. Warning lights flashed here and there.
Five adult deathclaws noticed Linda’s approach and leapt to action. The enormous lizards began to cross the vast chamber near the entryway. Linda drew Harmony, the energy weapon Professor Gritch had made for Lex, and called upon her Atomic Storm berserker state. She doused one of the deathclaws in energetic plasma, hurting but not killing it. Morag’s eyes widened as she saw five of the great beasts barreling toward them. Back in the Hatchie Forest, even one of these things was a great threat. Morag downed her Deadshot Daquiri, sharpening her shooting abilities. She put two well-placed rifle bullets into a second deathclaw. Scipio wanted to try his fancy new scope but knew that two laser pistols would do more damage. He fired away as best he could.
The deathclaws charged forward, enraged by the attacks. The party downed three of the great beasts and injured a fourth before they closed the distance. But eventually, two lizards were upon them. A deathclaw raked Morag with a vicious slash. Morag’s biological systems were overwhelmed by a huge dose of poison, and she collapsed in a heap. Scipio and Linda continued to fight as Morag faded away.
Time seemed to slow and then Morag found herself standing in a humble house that she somehow knew had been a home in Boston. Keziah, her previous Synth personality, had lived here for some time. There were many paintings on the wall, red paintings, but they didn’t bring Morag the waves of sadness that she had felt before. On the floor, there was a strange shadow, a blank space in the shape of a lying man. And beside the shadow, there knelt a woman who looked just like Morag. But this woman was dressed in plain villager’s clothes and carried herself differently. Her one blue eye and one green eye glowed.
“You’re in the Synth Component’s cache now,” the figure explained. “Double-O is in control of the body now.”
Morag felt pity for the personality that she had replaced. She told Keziah that she was sorry that her body had been stolen, that she had been replaced with the Morag program. She promised that she would try to find Keziah a new body of her own.
The program in cache explained that she wasn’t really Keziah. The Railroad had torn Keziah out of the body, and she was just the bits of programming and sensation that they had missed. She had some of Keziah’s memories, but she was mostly her own program, living down here in the subconscious mind with Double-O. Y-00 was the Institute’s default programming for their model, not quite a full personality, but capable of operating the body on its own. Apparently, it wasn’t much for conversation but was good at playing games.
The Keziah remnant told Morag that she liked to keep the cache looking like a house in Boston because that was a clear memory of Keziah, but they could change it if they wished. Morag asked what had happened here. The remnant explained that Keziah and Richard had shared this home. Richard was an artist who kept Keziah company, and she kept him safe. Until one day, Nate DiNovo, the one they called the Sole Survivor came to their home. Keziah had been out hanging laundry and Nate had walked right past her into their house. Richard and Nate began to argue loudly and there were gunshots. Keziah ran home, only to find that Richard had been murdered and they had been robbed. Keziah had felt overwhelming sadness and spent the next week lying around despondently. And then The Railroad had sent out her Synth Radio Command Control Signal and called her into their workshop. That’s where Keziah was removed, and the Morag program had been written in.
The remnant explained that she was able to read the sensation data from their senses. Even now, she could hear that Morag’s friends had defeated the deathclaws and were trying to revive the body. Morag could feel nothing from inside the cache. Double-O and the remnant had been watching Morag for 28 years. They were fascinated by Beau but knew nothing of his nature. The remnant was sorry about Morag’s mentor Saskia. Morag’s digital-reality eyes went wide. She had no memory of what had happened to Sassy. The remnant relayed that an important part of the Morag program is staying in Tennessee; every memory and though which would cause her to leave was slowly erased by her own program. Saskia and Morag had talked about Morag being a Synth many times, but Morag kept forgetting. Sassy packed up and left for Boston, looking for a way to help Morag. She hadn’t returned, and Morag forgot all about the situation. Whether or not Sassy had reached Boston, or if she was okay, was anyone’s guess.
Morag was a bit stunned and fumbled with a million questions to ask. But the remnant looked around and said, “Your friends have revived the body. Double-O is going to give you back control now.”
The Gen 3 Synth awoke with a gasp. Morag found herself lying in the Mount Zion nuclear plant’s entryway, with Linda and Scipio standing over her. Her vital systems had been repaired, but there was still a massive dose of poison in her veins. The group of five deathclaws were all dead, but they could hear more within…
Next Session: SESSION 72: IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORY
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
13 May 2023
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