Shatterer of Worlds

 

Story by Darkwingdave

Vivid hues of purple and blue blended into yellow and orange in a beautiful sunset for once, for once. As opposed to an ugly green or psychedelic hue born of a rad storm or nuke impact.

Ian studied his PipBoy thoughtfully and as he found a clod of dirt near the hinge, he carefully cleaned it and then pulled up the Library function as he looked for the book he remembered the line from. 

‘Neuromancer’.

A Sci-Fi novel where everyone was supposed to have cybernetic implants and corporations ruled the world. Well, they missed that one. Unless you considered Vault-Tec. There were some travelers who talked about blue skies and clean air in places they’d travelled to. 

And then there was this place. Atop the old monorail tracks. A passing scavenger said it was a good place to hole up if you wanted some peace and quiet. Not even the Floaters could or did come up that far. 

Ian kicked his legs contentedly over the side, many, many hundreds of feet up and enjoyed the unfettered view. It had taken some climbing for sure but he found the area where someone had put some logs across from the cliff and lined it with some boards.

He walked maybe a mile, pausing to enjoy the view, both from the ground and to the horizon. During the walk, his PipBoy beeped an audio warning about a nuke launch. Temporarily taken by panic, he frantically looked around for something to hide behind out of instinct. Seeing literally nothing, he pulled up the map and saw the area was nowhere near him. Ian laughed and turned 360 to take in the view. And stopped right in front of where the missile hit and nuclear fire blossomed below the mushroom cloud that almost seemed a way of life these days. He didn’t feel the rush of wind or the heat; his PipBoy didn’t even click to register radiation. 

Old timers said if you didn't know it was coming, you’d be lucky to only see the flash. All the Vault dwellers with PipBoys at least got some warning as they tapped into the old Civil Defense network that warned people. 

Ian didn’t feel fear, at least not now, just a fascination with the power that it represented. Why people, even today, felt the need to not only control those but use them against others. He remembered the Overseer’s holotape and her voice mixed with concern and disgust about the automated systems that were still producing and creating nuclear missiles.

What DO you do with that kind of power? Keep people safe against super mutants, scorched or raiders? Use it to keep people in line? 

He scrolled again on the PipBoy and found another quote, long before the war, when the missiles were just being created. 

“I am become death, the shatterer of worlds.” 

A rumble caught his attention, the shock wave was finishing up. Still too far away to be a threat but he’d have to make sure to go around. The number on his PipBoy showed no mutations. Some people lived for them. A few had a ‘gift’ for keeping them, others lost them as soon as they got a good dose of Radaway. That could be awkward if you though you could take a hit and keep standing and got a spear through your chest.

One more glance around and he started toward the log bridge. Now that he knew where it was, he’d make another trip to scout out the other end and see about making it a faster, safer way around.

Ian shouldered his pack and started on another journey.