Looks like the Luddites want us to know we’re on their turf now… anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah, I think I was going to tell you about the talking molerat who had a fondness for
cheese-flavored snacks.
Come on Storyteller. That's the second time you've tried to convince me that molerats
can talk.
He tried to get me to believe he knew a guy with a tree growing out of his head.
Ah yes, Harold, he was in Gecko at the same time as the talking molerat. And it was just
a little stick growing out of his head back then.
Stick? Did he ever throw the stick? I will chase the stick.
*beep*
ED-NA would like to point out that you don’t have legs.
ED-NA’s a bitch.
*angry beep*
Wait. A week ago you told me that Harold lived in The Den, back when The Vault Dweller went
there looking for a water chip.
People move around. Harold more than most. Long life due to mutation usually means you
meet a lot of people, and Harold is very very old.
I am told I will live for a long time as well. Sigh. I will miss you all when you are gone.
Woah, that’s a pretty dark thought girl.
*pew* *satisfied beep*
*clapping*
I am a disembodied brain with an onboard AI programmed to kill. “Dark thoughts” are
kind of what I do. For instance, judging by Junior’s old age and high-risk lifestyle,
I estimate that he will expire in approximately 5.7 years.
Hey! I ain’t that old.
Okay, I’m pretty old…
I am detecting other nearby life forms that could possibly outlive me,
but I stand the best chance at long-term survival. I am a gun, and people do not kill guns-
-guns kill people… Damn. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but can we talk more
about Harold?
Hehe. What’s a matter Ranger? All this talk about dying one day bummin’ ya out?
So back to Harold. He and many of the ghouls from Necropolis moved North after the Masters'
army attacked Necropolis. By the late 2230s, many of them had settled in a place called
Gecko. Right in the middle of town, there was a pre-war nuclear reactor that had been
built by Poseidon Energy back when uranium was easy to come by, and atom mills were the
wave of the future.
Mining uranium and running a reactor were a bit more difficult after civilization collapsed.
In 2241, Gecko's power plant generated enough power to keep the lights on, but it was leaking
coolant - contaminating the water sources in Vault City. The leaders of Vault City actually
had the means to fix Gecko's reactor, but they hated mutants, and would sooner shoot
the ghouls than help them.
Harold was sort of the mayor of Gecko at the time. Or more of an administrator. He wasn't
quite a ghoul himself, but the people of Gecko were accepting of all sorts of oddballs. He
had enough experience in his hundred and seventy years to know that any little town in the
wasteland can cease to exist overnight, and his main concern was keeping Vault City from
attacking. When the Chosen One came to Gecko to-
-to do Vault City's dirty work.
Regardless of why The Chosen One was there, Harold asked them to help get the reactor
running in a more ecologically-friendly fashion, hoping it would keep Vault City off their
backs. The Chosen One also caught the eye of Harold's assistant Lenny. Lenny had been
in Necropolis eighty years earlier, when The Vault Dweller was there. He had wanted to
join The Vault Dweller's quest-
-but after a moment's hesitation, his opportunity was gone.
Lenny had to wait eighty years for another chance to walk at a hero's side. But the opportunity
did come eventually. When The Chosen One appeared in Gecko, it seemed like destiny had called
twice.
Marcus, was downright happy to have a fellow mutant on the team, and the other companions
were tolerant, if not overjoyed at having a smelly ghoul with them.
When I was tracking The Chosen One, years ago, I went to Gecko. Some of the ghouls there
said he murdered a fella just to get the part he needed to fix this car.
The Chosen One ran all over the state trying to find the right parts for this car. Might
have done some - questionable things to get the last of the Highwaymen up and running
again. Back then, it would have been a magnet for the dwindling auto market. In fact, when
The Chosen One drove it into New Reno-
Let me guess, the second The Chosen One turned her back, those lawless reprobates in Reno
stole it to sell for Jet money.
Pretty much, the town "Greeter" tipped off a local chop shop, and while The Chosen One
was enjoying New Reno's nightlife, the Highwayman was hauled off to be sold to a local crime
boss.
"Enjoying the nightlife." Reno was a blight on an already wasted land. The center of a
network of murder, slavery, and drug dealing that plagued the North for miles around. A
backstabbin' cutthroat, adulterer like The Chosen One found more than "recreation" there.
Plenty of work for someone willing to get their hands dirty.
Crime families bickering, jet junkies staggering around town.
Even the local temperance union was run by a drunkard. The whole economy was a triangle,
of gambling, whore-mongering, and jet fumes.
You say your Chosen One was a hero. There's no reason why a decent person would ever set foot in that town
willingly.
Shame your Republic didn't roll in there and raze the place to the ground.
I gotta agree with you there, Junior. New Reno's been a boil on the NCR’s backside
ever since they emerged. And instead of lancing it, we let them join up...
Many of The Chosen One's adventures were documented in a popular "erotic" holovid that was produced
in New Reno around the time they were in Reno. Some cinemaphiles claim that the movie used
actual footage of The Chosen One.
Uh huh. And you know this how?
I- acquired a copy as part of my research into the history of the wasteland.
Nice work if you can get it.
Uh huh. And I’m sure you read Cat's Paw for the articles.
Actually one issue of Cat's Paw does have an in-depth article on the use of energy-based
weapons – Anyway, the Chosen One couldn't dally indefinitely on their erotic journey
from Modoc to Mariposa. The Village of Arroyo was in need of the Garden Of Eden Creation
Kit, and the best way to find one was way down South in a vault, not far from a little
village that had once been called Shady Sands. But that is a story for-
Me! I grew up in Shady Sands Storyteller, so I'll take it from here.
*clears throat*
Here's a story about a girl and her robot dog...