G
Guest
Guest
[!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"]
HTML:
[HEAD]
[META HTTP-EQUIV=Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html;CHARSET=iso-8859-1]
[TITLE]untitled[/TITLE]
[LINK REL=stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="untitled%202.css]
[/HEAD]
[BODY TEXT=#006600" BGCOLOR="black]
[CENTER]
[TABLE BORDER=0" WIDTH="80%" BGCOLOR="white]
[TR]
[TD WIDTH=100%]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Bluepencil's THRTSLY(Trying Really Hard to Sound Like Yamu) FAQ[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Disclaimer: [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]This is not meant to be a historical-like document (i.e, Yamu-like), I just did it to get a [i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]feel[/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier] of what I'm writing on..and I'm just posting it so you can understand the world I operate in. ;)[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Sorry. I apologize for how this thing sucketh in advance. Arrgh..it's just so damn hard(!) to keep a subjective view...[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]~just the the faq's, mam.~[/P] [/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE ALIGN=CENTER]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]~what the faq~[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]~shut yer faq before I stuff it in~[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]When all else fails..BLAME WILLIAM!! He's the guy that told me of the Illluminati conspiracy..Oh..and FRAG ME!! PLEASE. :P[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier][/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier][/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE ALIGN=CENTER]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]A Probable Study of the Wastelands[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]_______________________________[/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier][/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Overview and Expansion:[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
The problem of survival for the post-apocalyptic man forced him to adapt to the utmost of his abilities to what was initially a strange and totally hostile environment. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
So many things had changed since the day the sun was outshone, and all the glory of what had been Human Civilization was extinguished. Nevertheless...through the sheer pluck and improvisation, we had forged a new existence.
However, for the most part in the early years, we had existed through scavenging. It wasn't until later, when we began to domesticate the two-headed brahmin, and farm on a wider scale, used raw metal instead of old rusted scraps, and reinvented a means of trade, that we succeeded in recreating a meager civilization.
Life was hard, but we soon came to recognize patterns, ways of reacting to the challenges of the charred world. We rediscovered technology from before the war, and thru the use of our improved sense of production, we began to make surplus material, more than we needed, which formed the backbone of trade, of our new and better world. The implications of widespread trade cannot be overemphasized. Certain areas and communities specialized in different things..which they then sold for materials and products they cannot produce on their own. (ref: The Hub)[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The mass of surplus material and wealth allowed the support of non-direct labor force...second-string producers.
These assumed the needed functions in society which revolved on producing other material needs and wants, the safeguarding of the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the people, and the continuous discovery and rediscovery of knowledge, and its applications in daily life.
Economic progress came as a matter of rote. Some towns progressed because they were the producers of a basic commodity([i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Shady Sands[/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]), because they had much-needed things that simply cannot be found anywhere else([i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Necropolis[/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]), and also because simply because the area had policies that attracted trade([i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The Den[/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]). Economic Progress also led to progress in fields of human endeavor. It also led to a greater degree of specialization and social stratification. Political and social institutions appeared as means of organizing and administering the work and relations among the widening populace. Religion-philosophical systems arose out of the need to explain human phenomena.
Occasionally, it also served to subvert the easily deluded masses. (ref: Cathedral, Hubology.) Still, it is significant to note that without the urging of these bodies, a few advances in science and humanitarian arts could not have been possible. At the very least, they stopped the post-apocalyptic man from turning savage.
Dissent:
Savagery in the Wasteland is a relative term. Savages are usually applied to tribals, people who turned back to animistic rites and living off the land. However, closer studies show that these..."tribals"..evidenced a social system better evolved than ours. They had true democracy, a ruling of people voted on with little disagreement between parties.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Raiders, brigands who kill for profit, are better suited for the term. However, they are considered civilized since they wear the proper clothes, can use guns, and said colorful colloquial terms like "Suck my ass, dickhead. See your prick in hell!!"
The inter-relations of the early settlers are therefore evident as straightforward, in this phase of the growth from the Southeastern front.
--------------
Before the era of Northern expansion, the people in the Wasteland may be divided into three groups of thinking, which would evolve later into the ruling forces of today.
The first was the agricultural-sociological manner of thinking that was endorsed by Aradesh of Shady Sands. His belief that it was possible to recreate utopia by hard work and gentle perseverance was attractive to farmers and other simple folk. And banded together, they formed an influential group in the Wasteland since they controlled the most precious of all treasures. Food and water.
The second was the technological-theological view that was most apparent from the honored Brotherhood of Steel. A worship of technology, a view of man's continued existence lay on the hands of science...this carried out into the later years, and no thought pattern changed the Wasteland more than this. From the Brotherhood to the Master to the Enclave, it decided the future of us all.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The Shi, though the most philosophical of societies, tends to regard tech highly, as evidence their "Emperor", a super-computer.
The third formed a large part of the total population of the Wasteland, even today. The atheistic-profiteering mode of thinking is practical and the accepted point of view, if one is to survive in the rough world. Trade, industry and all else, this was fostered by the followers of this view, and to them we owe almost all of our progress. New Reno is the foremost upholder of this manner now.
There may be a fourth view of thinking...as evidenced by the towns of Tabernacle City and New Zion, of pure religious thought. However, they didn't hold much sway, and most of the population came to regard them later as those of the third variety, as trade was the only thing that kept towns like this alive.
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE ALIGN=CENTER]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]_______________[/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Politics and Territory[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
A hegemony of societies began to form in the early 2100's, with little towns banding with Aradesh and his philosophy, protecting themselves commonly. This was the rise of a republican mode of thinking.
Government systems from before the War was remembered in the annals of history. Democracy was revived, and with the partnership of Aradesh and Killian Darkwater of Junktown, the New California Republic was born.
Politically, the Wasteland was divided into three regions, from which emerged a plethora of cultures and towns.
1. One part of the Wasteland was the hilly, forested areas to the North, along the edge of the Eastern seaboard, and on to the Arroyo Highlands and the northwestern countryside.
This area, being the lushest of all regions, could progress very easily, with but little to start on. Klamath, a major city, was founded entirely on the premise of trapping the plentiful amount of giant Gecko lizards that evolved.
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Life was prolific here, and it was a very easy place to live, a land of plenty.
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]That is..if it weren't for the people.
This was New Arroyo Republic territory, and the common term used to describe them was...how shall I put it...war freaks.
The legend of the Vault Dweller and his descendant, the Chosen One, these were factual legends, and New Arroyo could not take greater pride in knowing that they had produced these men. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
The Vault Dweller, after defeating the Master and saving us all from the super-mutant menace, he was exiled to the north, where he founded Arroyo. (also see: A Biography of a Near-God by Scribemaster Yamu)
Arroyo, in turn, became a tribal village, but from them came another great man, the Chosen One, who saved them all from a great destruction (ref:FEV) and single-handily destroyed the most powerful of military factions. (ref:
Enclave)
Vault City was composed of people from a Vault, that underground shelter built to protect people from the dangers of nuclear war and radiation. They had lived in a closed system for years, and their knowledge of pre-war science and medicine is unmatched. Their social system is brusque, but effective. Together with New Arroyo, they control the North, a partnership nigh impossible to beat.
2. At the other end was the flatland and deserts of the South and Southwest, of the New California Republic. It is the largest collection of towns and people, tied together udder the rein of Democracy. It was a good way of managing such a big collective, under somewhat strict rules, crime rate is almost zero and progress is high. NCR is perhaps, the most attractive of the three regions, in spite of the hard country.
Through grit and hard work, irrigation and widespread revitalization of industry made NCR the largest, the richest, the best-armed of the states.
It is, however, stagnant. It has absorbed the entire southern wastes, and looks to the North for further expansion, for new towns for its growing populace.
~Best armed, theoretically, since the famed Brotherhood of Steel was based in their area... and since the destruction of the Enclave, no force on Earth can stop the Brotherhood.
~Still, it is yet to be seen if the Brotherhood will drop their policy of non-interference in case of war. So far, their help was invaluable in making NCR what it is, sharing a bit of their unbelievable tech to save what could have been a dying idea.
3. Vault 13, though it is directly to the East of NCR, is not a part of their territory. It is part of the Heartlands, the pick-shaped area of territory that encompasses the entire Eastern seaboard, and plunges deep into the center of the post-American soil.
San Francisco, New Reno, these are the biggest cities here, but they have no direct control over the area.
~There is no actual ruling body in the Heartlands since:
a. There is no feasible way to keep and maintain a real army here, since the resources are far too meager, restricted by the two great republics at either side. Tech to tech, San Francisco may be able to hold out a shot, since most of the Enclave survivors had landed and lived here. The Shi'nese scientist had even figured out to replicate the famed Brotherhood of Steel Power Armor! Though they can't produce it in mass quantities, it is enough to keep New Arroyo from trying to invade.
b. The towns are simply too far apart to maintain a regular garrison. This, by itself, is not much of a problem since the major cities have their own secluded garrisons or protecting legions. San Francisco and New Reno have shared together their forces, the result of which is that families can keep together a small band of private armies.
The other towns rely on scavenged materials from the many ruined military installations in the area, the result of which is that each town is a fortress unto itself.
c. The people are disinterested in outright war or policies. The only thing they care about is money.
It may be significant to note that in this anarchistic scene a new form of religion has sprung. The worship of three fates, or divinities aspects ...Arta(Righteousness), Veracia(Truth) and Husia(Justice)...several societies have formed around these beliefs. The foremost is the Embrace of Veracia, the sisterhood of Psi-sensitives, people evolved by the radiation(?) into showing advanced metal faculties...i.e, rudimentary telepathy, telekinesis, and fore-intuition.
The Dominion, which is based entirely on the city of Harmony, is said to be followers of Arta. Not much else is known.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
Husria <also known as Husia(in San F) and Hustria(in NCR)>...is not explicitly deified. Although most people in the Heartlands refer to bad events as "Husria kick ya in the behind!", or karma. Husia is also the patron of history, and I write this for the Husian Society Archives.
Old religious orders, like Mormonism and Judaism also play an widening influence. On two cities, Tabernacle City and New Zion, this theological thinking is so integrated into life that it is impossible to do anything without a religious connotation.
(see also the subsection Religion and Culture)
Digression:
It has come to my attention that I have focused more on the Heartlands. I may be biased, but it is true that it is in the Heartlands that most of the fate of the Wasteland hangs. They separate NCR and NAR from each other...and keeps peace and profit reigning.
--------------------------
The pioneers of the American rebirth was Shady Sands, and later, NCR. This, of course, led to greater expansion as those dissatisfied with its system left for other areas. New Reno is perhaps, the best example.
To the north, Arroyo, founded by the Vault Dweller, succumbed to the Enclave. However, rescued by the Chosen One and helped by refugees from Vault 13, they started to founded a grander society on the fertile Northlands. Vault City is still a separate entity from NAR, as their policies on slavery contradict, but their other ideologies meet.
The towns in the Heartlands mostly popped up after the Enclave fell, the winds of Change driving most people out of their established homes in search of a better life. For others, like the Super-mutants in Broken Hills, simply had no choice but to settle down,where they won't be disturbed.
The post-apocalyptic man has imposed rigid rules on their behavior, as well as on nature. A Wasteland town was a tightly interlocked structure that reaches out to other nearby towns, a web of common sufficiency. While there as no real economic barrier, except in dangerous things like drugs and guns, the basis of the organization was a territorial unit with specific boundaries. Most of the decisions hinged on assignee person, an [i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]il tutti capo[/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier], a big man, as New Renoans had put it.
It's like kingship...only less sumptuous.
Oligarchy was the means to ascend, this was evidenced in New Reno, at New Arroyo, and even in the "democratic" NCR. Only in the smaller towns was the means of electing a Mayor was practiced. Otherwise, a council of powerful people would just elect an easily-controlled leader, or would take it on himself.
[/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE ALIGN=CENTER]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]-----------------------------------
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Trade and Progress[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
Since the time immediately after the bomb was dropped, the Wasteland was dotted with small agricultural towns and villages, as survival hinged on being able to produce and stock up food, enough to last through raids. But with the rise of NCR, the roles of the farmer became more important than ever.
Corn formed the staple of the pre-apocalyptic man's food. Wheat was unable to grow on the irradiated soil. Ground crops thrived better on the rather alkaline ground, and cabbages, cucumbers, and even watermelons(sic) grew in abundance. Potatoes, an old favorite, never fared well, but the new strain of xander roots grew. Trees, cultivated with care, growing in the Northern wilds, or artificially produced using GECK technology, once a dream, now a reality.
And so, agriculture revolved around four things....
Corn, from which comes the staple for food, paper, and much of the other fiber products, including clothes.
Trees, which produces fruits and much-demanded lumber.
Xander roots, the lifeblood of the Wasteland. Its antibacterial and leukocyte stimulant properties, formed into
Stimpacks, has been saving countless lives since it was discovered in the Canadian forests.
And other plants, mostly flowers and luxury crops. Watermelons, the rarest of all crops, is worth half its weight
in gold.
And so, the masses now supported, other industries emerged. The first to appear was textiles, as clothing was one of the basic needs of society. But the greatest focus and profit mostly went on the trade of water in the early years, when it was scarce in the Southern deserts. Soon however, with the help of water pumping stations set up with the help from the Brotherhood of Steel, trade flourished in other areas as well.
The most popular, and even now, the most prolific trade...is gunrunning. There is can be no argument axing, the Wasteland is a hostile place, and it is always a good idea to own a gun. Some people prefer melee weapons, or even fighting hand to hand. No worries, weapons and armaments are available for every customer's need.
(see the subsection War and Science)
Of all trade resources, the most significant is technology, and those who control it are likely to be rich as well.
Witness Necropolis. The ghouls are few and of not much bare capital stock. However, their city is the most advanced in the area, and the occupants are renowned as the best technicians anywhere. As such, these mutated men can even hire their own guards to protect their feeble selves. The ruins of Necropolis is the backbone of NCR.
Vault City doctors are the best in the Wasteland, and New Arroyo is the sole bulk supplier of medical products....harvested from their Xander farms and turned into supplies by Vault City. They, in a nutshell, control life or death in the Wasteland.
So far, we have seen the two main economic tools in the Wasteland. The first is food. The next is technology.
And the third...is ore. And by ore, it encompasses all rock-derived materials brought up from the earth. Uranium is the most important of all ores, as it fuels the Poseidon Power Plants that light the Wasteland. Mined in Broken Hills and Blacktown, minute traces of it can also be found all over the heartlands.
Another is iron. There is only so much you can salvage from pre-war machinery, after all... It is mined only in Harmony and the near areas.
The third is gold. In a rare measure of cooperation, NAR and NCR agreed on one gold standard, and minted coins of a single make, accepted as legal tender of the Wastelands. Redding is the biggest gold mine in the Wastelands.
Found mostly in the Heartland's rugged soil, ore is a major economic lever, and it's what drives the two great republics to try and control the Heartlands.
Economy in the post-apocalyptic world is inherently simple. Most people try to deal with it on a day-to-day basis. There are very few banks, most of them are in the major cities. Most people spend their money as soon as they earn it, making the flow of money and opportunity in the Wastes very fluid.
It is impossible, then, to be truly poor in the world.
-----------------------------
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Race and Functions
[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
Before the war, we recognized only one sentient being. Ourselves. Homo Sapien Sapiens, ruler of the world, destroyer of same.
Now however, we are forced to contend with varying degrees of what we can consider to be an intelligent being.
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Ghouls are human, in spite of all evidence to the contrary.
They were normal people, exposed to radiation that changed them. It gave them incredibly long lives, a natural resistance(tendency) to radiation, and also gave them increased brain capacity. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]It also turned them into walking corpses. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Ghouls are weak and pathetic. Heavy work is not for them, although they can farm with a great degree of efficiency. Their forte is tech, their nimble fingers and even nimbler minds capable of repairing and maintaining even the most complex of pre-war services. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Ghouls work all the power stations and other jobs that requires a high degree of expertise and radiation. They are not respected, the ghouls, but they are appreciated.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
The Super-mutants are a strange breed. They are the result of a long-ago experiment to make man immortal. The super-mutants you see now, it is very likely that they were around for long, and remember the Master. They have relative immortality, the oldest Super-mutant surviving is named Gir, he is two hundred years old and still works the mines.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Super-mutants, under the leadership of the Master, came very close to destroying everything in the Wasteland. The plan was to turn all of humanity into super-mutants, twarthed only by the Vault Dweller.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Since then, Super-mutants have been regarded as inferior to humans, in spite of their greater streangth, bulk and toughness. The Forced Evolution Virus (ref) ,the biochemical viral strain that changed them, also reduced their brain capacities, rendering most mutants of inferior intelligence.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]There are exceptions, however. But there is no likelihood of the super-mutants ever going up to arms again. These intelligent super-mutants form a sensible voice...somehow, they have been purged of the most basic of driving human emotions. The cerebral cortex they have does not enable them to feel hatred, or fear, or prejudice, or greed.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Now, super mutants work in the dangerous fields viewed as too dangerous to normal people . Mines, mostly..as the risk of a cave-in was too great, and there was always the presence of harmful underground gases . Super mutants, however, can shrug these off. Therefore, these beings who were once our enemies, are now invaluable friends.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
The third nonhuman race in the wasteland is the most disturbing. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Intelligent Deathclaws..the thought brings dread to all. The deathclaw, the stuff of nightmares, coupled with a keen sense of intelligence, the threat is all to apparent. Were they to decide to take over, I'm afraid there is only so much we can do. Their claws, of hard bone, can cut through metal like paper. Their hides are tough, and is resistant to even Gauss fire.
Fortunately, the Deathclaws have evidenced no desire to do so, and have been in partnership with the Brotherhood of Steel. The threat, therefore, is contained.
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Dissent:
~In very rare instances, some people evidenced keen development of sensibilities, being psionics. This meaning that they can control their brain wave patterns to such a degree that they can perform rudimentary telepathy, telekinesis(!), and even fore intuition. and prescience!
We do not know if this is a result of mutation, or the appearance of the new breed of humans. However, the Embrace of Veracia, the society of psionics, claim that it lies in all of us, the potential for such power. It just requires a.....unique viewpoint...
In any case, they are far too few to be of any significance.
((The archivist notes: FAMOUS LAST WORDS!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!))
[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]_________________________[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Religions and Culture[/b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
There are many changes in the world, far too sudden and far-reaching. Ever, the best way for man to cope with disasters is to believe that there is a greater being, who has a better plan for all of this. To think that almost 90% of all the world destroyed just because of an accident, a folly of man...it is too shaking a concept to accept, to accept that there is no solid rock in the universe to hang on to, that all is temporal and changing.
Religions played an important part during the Early Years.It was priests and religious leaders who calmed down the survivors of the apocalypse and set them to the task of rebuilding their lives.
Later, however, they were discredited..with most people actively refusing to believe in a higher being. Still, when given with direct evidence to the contrary...
The Master made use of religion to foster and prepare the Wasteland for his Great Cleansing.
Now, religion is widespread, with many churches and differences of faith in the Wastes. Sometimes, fights will even break out due to religious differences. Who was it that said...the more things change....??
The biggest religion is Christianity. With it being the state religion before the war, and the world's most prevalent Faith, it is not unreasonable to assume that it would survive. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]However, there has been a trend to veer towards the older version of the Bible. Jesus preached, "Forgive your enemy." God said, "And eye for and eye, a tooth for a tooth."
A more practical viewpoint, is it not?
There are variants to the main order of Christianity. Mormonism and Judaism are having a revival, fostered in Tabernacle City and New Zion. However, since the worship of God the Father is a common element, the differing sects are lumped together.
The next religious order is of the three Fates. However...there is trouble here, as most other major religions denounce it as lacking in basis and real sacredness. The followers of Arta reply that they don't worship Arta per se, that they hold sacred an ideal, and serve to emulate themselves towards that means.
It is a strange thing....the concept of a God that was created by the minds of man...
The Three have a legion of Followers, based mostly on San Francisco, some parts of NCR, and Harmony.
The Shi have offered a counterbalance to the prefects of the Three. They hold it to be the Way..a means of achieving perfection in life, by being an religious atheist. The Embrace of Veracia supports them. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Confusing.
The last and least numerous is animistic tribalism. Fewer now, since there are far less tribals. It is nevertheless remembered since New Arroyo, before, had worshipped the Vault Dweller, a man, and Vaults. Too easy it seems, to corrupt the inherently good and naive beliefs of tribals.
Religions and beliefs play an important part in our world. A journey of self-discovery, a rigid rule of morals..these are sorely needed. A high sense of morals is a necessity for any real advance in social thinking.
And plus, a man who believes he is on a holy crusade often fights fiercer than one out for money or state. As is witness the rallied forces of New Zion and Tabernacle City, who had fought New Arroyo to a standstill, and the Dominion, who had done the same to NCR.
Digression:
The Dominion is a mystery, as they seem more like the Brotherhood, atheistic and aloof at times, but they claim to follow and guard the Path to Righteousness. They are radical fighters...so mayhaps they are fighting for a "divine"cause. Less of a cult and more of a specialized group, perhaps.
The Shi are like the Dominion in many ways, though their beliefs are better presented. They advocate a version of atheism that not only makes sense, but is downright attractive.
Their policy of focusing on the present, of always doing one's best..it is a very good way to live by... They do not fear death. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Another good thing about this is that is another one of the ties that bind different cultures together. Ever since the Shi started to open up to trading, and the spread of the Three....various traditional beliefs have blurred. It is now as common to hear "Xiexie!", instead of "Thank you!", and even the most hardened man finds that he unconsciously bows when apologizing.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]______________________[/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]War and Science[/b][/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The science of warfare is the heart of all tech in the Wasteland. First used by the Brotherhood of Steel, mass weapons of destruction is a valuable tool for either peace or conquest. Too often, the only thing that stops outright war from happening is fear that the Brotherhood will support the other side.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]There is no greater example of holistic technology than the Brotherhood's Power Armor. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Crafted from metal of mysterious design, these Suits of Power render the wearer nigh invulnerable. It is the stuff of legends...the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, while indeed Great Men...they would have been DEAD great men had they tried to take on their respective foes without these magnificent suit of arms. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The Enclave had usurped briefly the Brotherhood's lead in tech, but it will never happen again..the Brotherhood has made sure that they are the sole purveyors of the ultimate technology.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]I fear a relapse back into the days of tech-worship. But even so, the Brotherhood will still be the champions that they are.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Technology. Firepower. The key words to the Wasteland. It is impossible to amass large quantities of these, and therefore trying to create an unstoppable army, since the Brotherhood keeps a close eye on all things. They have bases in almost all cities, and military research is closely regulated.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]All it takes is a polite question from a Brother, and all the assembly lines stop. For under that gentle demeanor is a sword in hand and the world's most powerful army behind his back.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Strangely, the only city that does not have a Brotherhood outpost is Harmony. The Dominion, the cult based here, also has a mysteriously high degree of tech supremacy. But the Brotherhood has not put levies...exceedingly strange.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]And so, without access to overly destructive weapons, most research turned to sedate fields, benefiting most everyone. The Shi of San Francisco, though allowed to concoct Power Armor research, has stopped work, and focused instead on the human physiology, leading to important advances in medical implants.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Vault City, the bastion of medicine, reigns supreme over all doctorate fields. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Psionic research goes on. Perfectly normal people suddenly have found themselves a part of a new elite, an emphatic society.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]NCR has made rapid progress in cheap fuel and is now laying magnetic railways to San Francisco.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Laser, once confined to destructive weapons, are now used in peaceful endeavors like machinery casting, precise measuring, and even..this new thing called...digital lightwire communication. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Plasma energy, the life of the burning sun, powers Highwaymen now.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Metallurgy has never been so popular. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Apparently, the thinking now is to stay alive, instead of killing. Good things are happening.[/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier][/b][/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]______________________________[/b][/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Basis for Consideration[/b][/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]We have gone far since that day,so long ago, when the air trembled, and spears of nuclear fire rained from the heavens. We have seen the far sky turn from harsh azure to the gentle blueness we see today. We have seen the earth bloom, covering charred black ashes. We have looked into the eyes of despair and came out fair and unscathed.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]We can truly say that we are wiser in many ways from the old ones.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
But the earth still bears horrid scars...and war is forever on the horizon. Is this our essence, the capacity to destroy? [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Even as I write this, New Arroyo is gearing up, Vault City becomes more arrogant. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]In the Heartlands, the petty quarrels continue, and the spoils are up for grabs.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]NCR is restless.[/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]The Brotherhood of Steel is fading once again into the background, inscrutable and reclusive. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
The Gods are looking down upon us. Our fate, our destiny, it comes by our own making. Our hands shape the tides of time, not theirs. [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Where shall we go from here? [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Let those who read this be aware, that history repeats itself ...if we are careless. Let this not be so! Must we burn our homes a second time to learn our abject lesson?! [/P]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Arm yourselves for war, my friends. A war of hope and reason!
Fenris Bluhart,
Academian
[/P]
[b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]Related Resources:
[/b][i][b][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]A Comparative Study of The Heartlands
The Threefold Path: A Study of the New Religion
Dominion: Under the Mask
Taon Shi: The Way to Inner Perfection
War between the Republics
Psionics: Fact or Fallacy?
The Deathclaw Society
Brutal Destruction: Weaponry and Armor vol. 7[/b][/i][FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier][/P]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[BLOCKQUOTE ALIGN=CENTER]
[FONT COLOR=#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++[/P]
[WIDTH=99" HEIGHT="77" ALIGN="LEFT" BORDER="0 ]][i][FONT COLOR="#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]This document is copyright 2186, Husia Historical Archives, New Seattle[/i][/P]
[b][FONT SIZE=4" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Courier New, Courier]DECLASSIFIED SUBVERSIVE MATERIAL[/b]
[/BLOCKQUOTE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/CENTER]
[/BODY]
