[network] @ADMIN; Arrival [open]

[snowblindmods]

Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫ E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̨̢͎͎̗̦͈͎̘R̨̘̦̙̖̳͈͟R̢̞̺͖̩̟̻͙͕̩͜O̢̢̼͉͔̟̯̝͇̙͜͠R̴̛̗̝͕̣̘͙̪͖̀͟:̢̢͉̙̥̝͖͉̯̟͇̖̱̖͓̲̳ ͏̴͉͈͈̦̝̦͉͖̖͉̪̝̠̭I͡҉̣̼̜̩̻̜͓̻̳̼̥̭̯̭̫͉̭ͅL̶͖͖̯̝̥̬̖̤̥̹͎̟̬̻̦̜̝̻̗͟͞Ļ̸̸̸̥̺̝̜̭̘̞͈͎͚͉E̶͍͍͈̬̕͜͟G̳̬͉̙̥̩̼̭̦͔͘͜͡À̴͟҉̤͔͇̩̳͝ͅL̟͉̯̥̝̀͢͝ ͏҉͈͎͇̞̪̬͓͎̖̥̜̦̖̜O̺̹̺̜͉̠͉̠͇̭̣͔͡͞P̢͘͜҉̺̝̥͎̜Ḙ̢͔͇̰͇̯̺͇͓̜Ŗ̦̝̫̯̻̰͍͙̼̮͎̕ͅA̸̬̯͉͓̥̕͢͞ͅT̷̡͎̻̳̥Ḭ̵̡̥̭̥̀͞O̴͈̤͚͇̜͘͘͞N̢̬͕̙̫̦̳̫̭͖͙̤.̧͢͜҉̩̼̬̞̟̻͇̭͖ ̳̝̺̯̣̠̣̲͎̝̞̣̭̫͘͠S̡̧̼͈̱̳̰̰̳̻̺̫̝͈͖͎ͅH̦̖̣̦̱͓͙͓̣́͜͠͠Ù̸͎̹̼̱͈͇̼̼̕ͅͅṰ̤̝̦̞͍̮̦̞̼̪͕̹̬͈͝T͞͏̟͖͔̯̼̫̞̥̣̘͉̫̟ͅI̢͖̪̮̺̰̟͎͈͇̻͈͔͉̱̯͓̻͞N̢̨̮̱͕̣͟Ģ̸̝̟͚̩͙͖ͅ ҉̴̝̭̩̯̫̤̼̬͇͡ͅD̨͏̺͎̝̟͔͉͕̲̮͎̦͓̥͕̹͓̮̖̘̀͠Ǫ̵͍͇̝̱̖̳̦͖͡W̸̧̩͕̹̹̬̰̻̣̣͓̞̼̮̦̺͟͞͡N̡̛̫͙̠͚̠̲̙̟̤͔̦͙ͅ.҉̢̻̝̦͓̀̕͠

Comments

A (video) | ID: thelonewanderer

[vaultexile]

Where are you from that had working phones?

[Hope looks impressed.]

My pip-boy seems to have lost half its functions overnight somehow. I've never seen that before and it's been through a lot back home.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton answers the video response as he's sitting down at the dining room table. He was previously searching through the kitchen, which, even if it was successful, he would have dropped everything he was doing regardless to get back to her. The meager fruits of his labor--a single coffee mug with "#1 MOM" stenciled on the side--is set down on the tabletop at the camera's peripheral.]

Uh...Illinois? [The cup disappears as Clayton uses it to prop up the back of the tablet. Now Hope can clearly see his very confused expression.] Run that by me again. What kind of thing's a "pip-boy?"

[vaultexile]

They have phones working in Illinois again? That's amazing. We just got our main water source clean in the Capital Wasteland.

[Wait question right. She holds up her left arm with this thing on it. The screen is blurry because of the light coming from it but it's greenish.]

I grew up in one of the vaults, we all got them. Normally it does a lot more and I can even get maps on it, but it does almost nothing now. At least the geiger counter still works. Nothing but static from the radio though.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton leans forward slightly and squints, as if this might improve the resolution somehow. He gets the distinct impression that they're operating on some level of disconnect.]

"Vault." [Like...one of those apocalypse shelters people build in their backyards sometimes? No wonder she doesn't know phones work, if she's been kept in one of those! It's weird, but it's hardly Clayton's place to judge. Instead, he drops the implied question and leans back in his chair with a broad smile.] Neat! I'll bet that's nifty, having all that on your arm all the time where you can get to it easy. 'Stead, we got these little things.

[Clayton reaches under the table, shuffles around in his pockets and procures a small, thin smartphone with a sleek black casing. New 2019 model. It always confused him how they came up with the next year's series a few months before it started. He holds it up in front of the tablet and clicks the screen on and off a few times.]

Here's what we got. See? Drop this sucker and it shatters like grandma's vase on a feather duster. Pain in the rear, if you ask me.

[vaultexile]

Oh wow. That's not very durable. This things been through explosions, fire fights and more then a few impromptu swimming trips. It doesn't have a phone in it but we didn't even have those in the vault.

You know the ones Vault-tec set up? They must have had some in Illonois. That was in the Great Midwest Commonwealth pre-war I think.

[Wow she hasn't had history class in like forever.]

[dr_unconscious]

[He would be glad to wave away all recognition of this mysterious "Vault-tec" and weird misunderstandings involving politics in Illinois, if not for one very alarming thing. The words make him squint again and mouth part in immediate skepticism.]

Fire-fights? [Clayton quirks an eyebrow.] Wouldn't 've pegged you as a military type, little lady. Color me surprised!

[vaultexile]

I'm in the Brotherhood of Steel now but you can get into firefights by just walking in the wasteland and wandering into a group of raiders.

[Okay this is giving her a headache.]

Okay either Illinois is some paradise that no one else has heard of or something is very wrong here.

[dr_unconscious]

[Attempts at trying to rationalize all the weird shit Hope is telling him are starting to wear a bit thin, yes. Clayton purses his lips in a befuddled frown.]

Ain't that the truth. Where're you from, again? A Vault? Where at? [Certainly can't be anywhere that's part of the global political alliance. Some remote corner of the world, forgotten by civilization...Clayton can't even imagine it. He's seen some weird stuff in his life, but raiders? This ought to be interesting.]

[vaultexile]

Washington D.C. It's called the Capital Wasteland for a reason.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton's frown slowly twists into a wry smile.]

You're pullin' my leg.

[vaultexile]

Sorry no. It's not something I'd joke about.

[dr_unconscious]

[The frown returns and is quickly covered up by Clayton's hand as he leans his chin heavily into his palm. He simply stares into the camera for a few long moments.]

[She doesn't look or sound like she's lying. It's an awfully elaborate fib to construct, in any case, and Clayton can't really think of a reason for why she would lie to him in the first place. But there are all sorts of people out in the world, especially on the web. It would be completely reasonable to stay skeptical about this.]

[He isn't, though. Clayton knows next to nothing about Hope; it'd be incredibly unfair to judge her like that. He sighs, deeply, and leans back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table.]

...Alright. One of us is either real misinformed or we're both missin' somethin' important. There ain't been no war for...more'n a hundred years, least. Certainly no wanderin' raiders. [Clayton pensively scratches his chin.] If you don't mind, sweetheart, can you tell me again 'bout that Vault? Be as precise as you can.

[vaultexile]

[It takes all her effort not to roll her eyes, though that's at being called sweetheart more then anything.]

The Great War was about two hundred years ago but it was a nuclear war.

Anyway I'm from Vault 101. It's a few miles from the capital and I spent most of my life there. They were set up by a company called Vault-Tec before the war to house people in America. I don't know about the rest of the world, hell I don't even know much about the rest of the country we're all isolated in small communities on the surface now.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton returns to pensive staring. "Great War," huh? He can almost rationalize that as the World War, but they didn't have nuclear weapons back then. There's never been a "nuclear war." There's absolutely never been a war that segmented the entire country into little surviving pockets. Definitely America, though...]

...That can't be right. [Clayton gives a huff of nervous laughter and shakes his head.] Sounds like someone's 'pocalypse movie.

[Suddenly, he has a thought.]

--Ain't got a time nowhere. What year d'ya think it is?

[vaultexile]

I know it's 2277. What year do you think it is?

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton can't help it--he lets out a hoarse bark of a laugh. It's almost hysterical.]

2018! It's...naw. [There's another compulsive giggle, which he quickly stifles by turning away from the tablet and shoving his knuckles over his mouth. He's in complete and utter disbelief. There's no way. He should just call bullshit and end the call now.]

[Clayton does not end the call.]

[He gives himself a few more seconds to recompose himself with long, noisy sighs.] ...They ain't never gonna believe me. [One more short laugh escapes, then Clayton clears his throat, shakes his head, and turns back to face the tablet with a wide grin.] Alright! Time travel. Ain't got nothin' else to work with. The police show up and ask me what the sam hell is goin' on here, I'm callin' you up, ya hear?

[vaultexile]

[Hope just looks at him. Apparently she's got a crazy person on the line here. Might as well run with it.]

Sure. I'd be happy to answer their questions. What's your name?

voice invasion; id: starspangledhero

[fifty]

What?! [Sorry. But not really, because what.]

oh god sorry America

[vaultexile]

What?

It was the pre-war Capital of the United States, the Capital Wasteland is as good a name as any.

it was bound to happen

[fifty]

No, no, I was just there! I mean, not a wasteland, but--I was in DC, and it was fine!

[He's broadcasting a pretty high level of distress here. He's even forgotten how cold he is for the moment.]

[vaultexile]

[Oh wow this guys seems pretty freaked out. But ...well yeah there's no way around it. Her tone is calm but sure.]

DC hasn't been fine since the bombs dropped....hell probably before that given the resource wars. But it's been a nuclear wasteland since 2077 and that was over 200 years ago.

[fifty]

It's 2015. [That's his automatic retort, but then he starts thinking about time machines and resource issues and he ends up even more upset.]

There's no way that could happen! What kind of bombs?!

[He knows what kind of bombs.]

[vaultexile]

Nuclear bombs.

[She doesn't even make it sound like it's obvious because this person is freaking out and she's not cruel. She does have some experience with discovering the world is a ruin, its just that she was from the other extreme of thinking it was totally uninhabited.]

No one knows who started it, but everyone joined in until the world was almost destroyed.

[fifty]

That can't just--that can't just happen in the future! [In this horrible time travel scenario he's invented for himself where this person has come back to tell him about all this as if it's obvious.] I was at the White House just yesterday.

[vaultexile]

[She is getting a headache from all these conversations with people who have no idea what she's talking about. Kidnapping was bad enough but this is just making it worse. At least in the simulation they all acted like everything was totally fine.]

I don't know what to tell you. I wasn't there so what I know only comes from the history books in the vault. If you want local recent history of the area that's more my field of expertise.