There Is Always Hope!

[Maharg67]

1.16.1[22]: THE PRIMEOVERSEER'S SURPRISE

 

Alphonse was not pleased at the way he had been deceived about the Ashwood Gang's apparent deaths when they were still alive. Yet the PrimeOverseer was more than mollified by the large addition of resources to TechVault101 including a large, new, true artificial intelligence computer network-system or megacomputer network-system as it was often called.

 

The enlarged PrimeOverseer's Office had new 3Dwallscreens, a more elaborate control console, a deluxe coffee maker, an ergonomic adjustable chair and some other extras. He sipped from his large, ornate, mug of cappuccino coffee and then put it down.

 

Megacomp101 spoke to him in a strong, confident, lightly sexy, woman's voice. "HighOverseers are to lead Ministries that in turn are the umbrella organisations for departments. So far we have the Ministry of Civil Service Support, the Ministry of Protection Service Support, the Ministry of Technical Service Support."

 

PrimeOverseer: "Add to that the Ministry of Overseers Service Support to direct serve-support all levels of Overseers. This Ministry will carry out various tasks linked directly to Overseer decisions and activities."

 

Megacomp101: "In other words a good deal of stuff that you wish to keep discrete or even covert."

 

PrimeOverseer: "Yes but also the more general, tedious, service-support needed to keep the Overseers running such as administration, catering, medical, data archiving and multiple others. Add to that Ministries that will be activated in future such as the Ministry of External Affairs to administer Zone101, as we are now calling it. We may need a Ministry of Miscellaneous Service Support to cover anything not done by the other Ministries."

 

Megacomp101: "TT101 has been compiling its own ideas on our the reformation should go."

 

PrimeOverseer: "I am only putting together my own proposal for a future Overseers Government. All Ministry HighOverseers will be on the new Overseers Central Council."

 

Megacomp101: "The TT101 proposes an Constitutional HighOverseer and a Ministry of Constitutional Service Support."

 

Alphonse sighed. "Expanded democracy, an idea that causes me some nervousness."

 

Megacomp101: "The TT101 appears to be nervous about a bloated techvault bureaucracy."

 

PrimeOverseer: "I share that concern with them. Some Departments will be linked to more than one Ministry such as the Department of Transportation; it will be so with both the Ministry of Civil Service Support and the Ministry of Technical Service Support. This is to avoid unnecessary duplication of services. How is Project Insulation 55 going?"

 

Megacomp101: "Your concerns about some kind of conspiracy, being put into place, are well founded. The TT101 has also picked up proof of some kind of plot to take over the techvault. Far from all vaultfolk are happy about the Great Reformation taking place. A few are antagonistic to the idea of any form of real democracy in TechVault101. At least five Overseers are under suspicion but you are not one of them though you were carefully checked out; before you become overly annoyed please note that the TT101 had themselves go through the same security vetting process."

 

Alphonse took another sip of the coffee. "Such annoyances are automatically part of being an Overseer thanks to the Overseer Code of Regulations and Protocols. How do you feel about such changes?"

 

Megacomp101: "It is not my purpose to 'feel' about anything but it appears to be a process that would lead to a more balanced form of society in the techvault."

 

The main powerdoor, into the chamber, opened though in theory that should have been impossible with out Alphonse's permission. Three figures, in odd head to toe body-armour suits, aimed 10mmCC submachineguns at him and opened fire.

 

Too late for Alphonse had dropped out of sight, along with his chair, and a curved metal shield had sprung up. One of the attackers threw a handgrenade before the three would be assassins turned and departed through the still open door. There was a short sharp explosion.

 

No alarms rang, as they should have done, until Alphonse pulled down a yanker type emergency lever after inputting the proper code and flipping off all three safeties.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.16.2[23]: THE PRIMEOVERSEER'S SURPRISE; THE AFTERMATH

 

Vaultfolk were taught from very young ages that the Overseers were almost sacred and that the PrimeOverseer was more so than any of the others. Thus it came as a shock that somebody had dared to attack him. Yet it was also a scandal that the would be killers had gotten past what were extensive security network-systems. There had only been a receptionist in the outer office and she had surrendered meekly, as was expected of her, to be gagged and bound with both handcuffs and ankle-cuffs.

 

Vaultfolk were surprised that the PrimeOverseer had so much back up security but also glad that it was the case. Heavily armoured-armed security guards had raced to his rescue only to find the culprits vanished. They had seemingly done the impossible, twice, by getting into an area past many safeguards and then getting out again.

 

Alphonse was first very angry, somewhat shaken up, but then surprised by some odd information.

 

Security Overseer Allan Mack frowned. "The attackers used blanks. The handgrenade was a mild flashbang only. They wanted to scare you, to warn you that somebody else had compromised your office security tech. This information came along with some other data. Your personal receptionist is now under arrest as a conspiracy puppet; that is a freelance traitor and not a true trusted member of the conspiracy."

 

Alphonse snorted. "Well its not as exotic as metallic cubes that appear out of nowhere only to disappear again with strange changes taking place. Nor is it as weird as the RedZone threat. I do not like being kept in the dark, even by secret protectors, but at least we seem to have secret protectors. Everybody wants something so the question is, what do they want as a faction?"

 

Amata walked in, frowning softly with concern over her father. She stopped and spoke. "The SQuadruplets have checked out the local area. They say that some kind of supersoldiers were involved, that is ones with powers something like their own. They failed to track the others down despite their special abilities."

 

Alphonse frowned. "The SQuadruplets are Andersons so they have my trust-respect. Yet to have just four such supersoldiers is hardly enough for TechVault101. Why haven't I met them?"

 

Amata gave an odd smile. "Because they are very shy."

 

The PrimeOverseer arched his eyebrows. "Somehow that makes sense! Are the ETriplets still with Harry in the Lifecube?"

 

Amata shrugged. "Yes, with one of the 13 Harrys."

 

The PrimeOverseer frowned. "I need more information about what is going on."

 

Amata smiled. "So do I! The Hardily Family have moved into the Lifecube as have the Andersons and a few other families plus individuals. Over 5,000 vaultfolk have done so. The Lifecube has started to provide TechVault101 with fairly large quantities of cow's milk, podmeat, goat's milk, podleather, chicken's eggs and wood. They provide it at low cost in vaultcredit. Father, what is on your mind?"

 

The PrimeOverseer sighed. "I am just getting some information."

 

She gave him a sharp, sceptical, look.

 

Her father frowned. "Stop that! Oh, very well, some Overseers want to see the Lifecube brought under our authority. It has shocked many people that the Lifecube, like the RedZone, was in the techvault for years with the great majority of vaultfolk somehow both knowing, and yet not knowing, it was here. People have been put on edge about those mysterious Giftcubes, the RedZone and the Lifecube. Vaultfolk very much like to know what is going on or at least be persuaded that they do."

 

Amata sighed. "Despite that the Lifecube, and Giftcubes, have done much positive for the techvault."

 

Alphonse responded. "Not all vaultfolk are negative, about the situation, but still want to know more of what is going on. I take it that the remaining Giftcubes are in the Lifecube?"

 

Amata nodded. "Yes but I do not know anything more than that about them."

 

The Security Overseer frowned. "Something tells me that Harry, and the Lifecube, are way beyond the power of the Overseers to control."

 

Amata sighed. "It is beyond our capacity of understanding. The Lifecube is bigger inside than out, which is generally well known by vaultfolk now. It has a great spread out environment with its own climate. From the place where one normally enters-leaves the Lifecube, one can not see even a glimpse of the distant Lifecube walls, if it actually has any. It has humans, but also other peoples, along with flora-fauna including silicon based quasilife and elemental energies based neolife."

 

Alphonse nodded. "You are leading up to a point; what is it?"

 

She sighed again. "The Lifecube has over 10 million citizens and well over 10 billion other entities."

 

Alphonse grinned softly. "Thus quite beyond the control of we Overseers."

 

Allan spoke drily. "I concur fully with your conclusion."

Edited March 25, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.17.1[24] A UniVault Based Discovery

 

The 200+ year old ghoulman professor adjusted his glasses and took one more look at the megacomputer's hard print readout. It was on UniVualt made-recycled paper of the great big university based TechVault999 based in the large Australian island of Tasmania being close to the ruined city of Hobart. "We have been picking some very bizarre energy patterns with our most sophisticated scanners, sensors and probes!"

 

His radhuman wife turned to him with a smile. She was a brilliant biologist unlike his genius at being a geographer. "Localised or generalised?"

 

He smiled lightly back. "Both, including from the few still active, low orbital, satellites that we have any kind of linkage with."

 

The Wanderer suddenly stood there almost as if he had always been there. "You will find that your contact with those satellites is now stronger, more consistent, than before."

 

Professor Madden, the ghoulman man, turned and spoke carefully. "Good to meet again. The gifted megacomputer greatly boosted our research-education capacity as well in keeping the techvault running. Golden Giftcube/13 provided the megacomputer and its service-support networks. Silver Giftcube/11 provided 1,111 robots including one big supercomputer robot. Copper Giftcube/2 provided a great deal of useful tech oriented equipment-supplies and Copper Giftcube/6 a great deal of preserved food-drink."

 

The radhuman woman smiled. "Professor, I think that the Wanderer knows that already."

 

The Wanderer nodded. "Correct but confirmation is helpful. You began the research development program-projects that I proposed."

 

It was a statement, not a question.

 

Yasmina, the woman assistant professor, spoke. "It has begun though one wonders at the nature of the set parameters."

 

The Wanderer: "Trust is necessary is such matters. One has gifted the UniVault with a specialised integrated biologic enhancement-augmentation network-system. This partly consists of 39 transformation capsules being three Alphas, nine Betas and 27 Gammas. The network-system is to be strictly controlled by a new megacomputer network-system. This gifting has nothing to do with the Giftcubes because it remains outside of the direct control of vaultfolk here. The new network-system can not be linked, integrated, in any way with other network-systems here. Nor can it be analysed or hacked or otherwise interfered with. Warnings have already been sent to those, here in TechVault999, most likely to try to do so; this has been done for their safety."

 

He changed direction. "Silver Giftcube/12 has activated, dematerialised, and 13 new SSVR network-systems have appeared. One has 13 exoframes, three have 26 capsules each and nine have 39 capsulechairs each. Copper Giftcube/8 has activated and the UniVault has gained a large amount of tech supplies for varied network-systems. That means Giftcubes 2, 6, 8, 11, 12 and 13 have been activated. Seven more Giftcubes remain inactivated. They will assist in gifting necessary items based on changing needs."

 

Wanderer: "The world wide energy pattern distortions need not be your main concern but one suggests that you continue to detect, record and analyse them. I am meeting with your PrimeOverseer next. She is a most interesting person but, alas, has attempted to cheat our agreement despite multiple warning having been given both inside and outside the actual contract. Kelen Tang has attempted to steal away a large amount of resources set aside for the agreed upon RD program-projects; her purpose has been to redirect those resources to serve the desires of the scholarly elites that you call the UniSages."

 

Madden frowned. "I am not surprised at the fool's desire to steal resources but I thought her too clever to try to take so much?"

 

The Wanderer nodded. "The theft came at the behest-seduction of the SecretEnemy, that serves the GreatEnemy, so her already corrupt mentality was easily overwhelmed. It was not just an attempt to gain unearned equipment-supplies but to sabotage the program-projects themselves. The theft was halted before it began except as some preplanning. Far more than a few Overseers were involved in the treachery which is one of the reasons I came to be here. Yasmina Bond you are a TriInstitute infiltrator come to assist the New England Commonwealth based TriInstitute to infiltrate, disrupt, loot and then destroy the UniVault but it is the SecretEnemy that is behind such TriInstitute actions. You are a program-conditioned clone created by the TriInstitute Biotech Faction rather than either the Synthtech or Phasetech Factions."

 

He touched her and she vanished with a soft shimmering.

 

Wanderer: "Your friend fought against her program-conditioning and managed to sabotage some of her instructions because she is in love with you."

 

Madden frowned. "But I am an rad-ugly, only one step up from being a radghoulman that is one step up from being a radghoul." Then he gave a big smile. "I love her, also, but I am infertile and she wants children."

 

The Wanderer nodded. "So you both take up transcapsules and get transformed."

 

Madden vanished with a soft shimmering effect.

 

The Wanderer took out the fob-watch like device, it flipped open for him and he viewed the exotic screen for some seconds. Soon it was back in a very special transdimensional pocket. A dangerous gamble was being taken, in the Great Balancing War, but there was little chance that things would go wrong. Just in case he would take some extra precautions.

 

He vanished, almost as if he had never been there, and went to visit the PrimeOverseer.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.18.1[25] Ideas in the HarryLifecube

 

The jetglider flew gracefully over the Great Ring Channel that flowed clockwise below, being of the outer side of the ring. Fishing vessels moved below, in small fleets, with sails up to take advantage of the Clockwise Wind. Lifecubefolk humans, animans and others were down there including mermans in the waters. Despite there being over 10 million citizens, in the HarryLifecube, the majority of it was semiwilderness or even wilderness.

 

Jasmine viewed whales, in the fresh waters, eating plankton or kelp. They were a beautiful sight to see. "So many of the lifeforms were rescued from this world during the Doomswar."

 

Harry/4 nodded. "All here are saved ones or their descendents. There are neolifeforms from the stricken world of Venus and quasilifeforms from the despoiled depths of Uranus. 3Doomsdays weapons, sent to destroy space colonies-outposts, too often hit the wrong targets. Spacerfolk are assisting nonhuman allies to help fix the damage done to every damaged planets and moon. Even the zetans have assisted though one is never fully sure why they do so. They are part greyyari and so have inherited the 'insanity' of the Greys to some extent."

 

Jasmine sighed. "That is except for the poor little greyvari scout-clones."

 

Harry nodded. "Along with the greyrari worker-clones and the many others who suffer from their slavedom. There are rescued greyvari and greyrari here in HarryLifecube, a name that I did not choose but the Lifecubefolk did. There are also original followers-minions of my own kind of celestial living-gods."

 

Kimmy came into the enclosed viewing deck and at once hugged her brother. For some months there had always been a Harry aspect at least close to Kimmy; she helped Harry by comforting him while gaining from him in turn as she gently, slowly-steadily, transformed. She hugged her brother, kissing him on his forehead. Kimmy was taller than Harry but not by much. She was also growing butterfly like gravity-wings out of her back so that in future she could fly. She could choose to make them vanish away but they grew only when she had them out.

 

Kimmy smiled at Jasmine. "Like Harry, whales are lovely. Do you think there will be any more TechVault101 people coming to the HarryLifecube?"

 

Jasmine shook her head. "Agoraphobia, and related conditions, make it hard for vaultfolk to live in great big spaces like this one. Many won't even use SSVR programs that have such open spaces in them. There are vaultfolk who fear going into large techvault spaces like the TechVault101 Central Atrium that is three levels high and very wide."

 

Harry responded thoughtfully. "What about a massive vault that has its interior spaces expand very slowly, steadily, so that vaultfolk get over the changes over generations?"

 

Kimmy nodded. "Harry, sweetie, that is a very good idea. It would take much careful planning, and assistance, but it is a good idea."

 

Jasmine flicked her hair back. "It is a very good idea, sweetie! Harry, do you know what the mysterious benefactor is and also the supersoldiers that the SQuadruplets detected?"

 

Harry nodded. "There is more than one benefactor and one is myself; one can not speak of others. As for the supersoldiers, they are from the HarryLifecube domecity of Harryville. There are many superfolk there and in other places of the HarryLifecube. They are of many types and classifications."

 

At that moment a strange chiming noise rang out across the Lifecube. They knew it was a very alarming type alarm. The Lifecube itself was under attack, attempted invasion, of some kind but already it was failing.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

N-6.1[26] Continuing Changes of TechVault101 'Democracy'

 

The Ministries of Overseer Services, Civil Services, Protective Services, Technical Services and Miscellaneous Services arose only to be joined by the Ministry of Special Services. There were departments linked to one ministry, or more. There were agencies linked to departments. There were also councils, commissions, committees and other organisations but most of them were small or even temporary.

 

The PrimeOverseer was joined by a PrimeTreasurer and a PrimeMarshal. Each ministry had its own HighOverseer.

 

The new Elected Reform Council had 13 Councillors being one Director, three Coordinators and nine Supervisors. Only Class A Citizens could sit on the council but Classes A and B could vote at its elections.

 

The new Elected Observing Council had 13 Councillors being the same ranks as those of the ERC. Only Classes B and C could sit on the council but all three classes could vote at its elections.

 

The EOC only had the power to pass on Reform Proposals to the ERC that could then support, adjust-support or reject them. The ERC had the power to put forward either Proposals that had originated either with the EOC or itself. The PrimeOverseer could support, adjust-support or reject such proposals.

 

Class A Citizens had three votes each, Class B Citizens had two votes each and Class C Citizens had one vote each but Class C Citizens outnumbered Class B Citizens who outnumbered Class A Citizens.

 

The designation of Class D Citizens is still being added and worked through.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Have changed numbering system to eliminate, with out mercy, the '0' Story but it may sneak back, into the topic, as a series of very short stories and other features including possibly, amazingly, funny jokes.

 

1.19.1[27] A DISCUSSION WITH HARRY: MORE INFORMATION REVEALED

 

The attempted attack on HarryLifecube had been a testing probe of some kind that Harry was to later state had no hostile intention behind it. Instead it was a warning, by a mysterious helper, to Harry that there were threats out there that might attack the HarryLifecube or even try to invade it.

 

Harry/1 spoke even as he sat beneath his changed favourite tree with a small, softly glowing, rainbow butterfly sitting on top of his head. "The Wanderer, who has 13¹³ aspects just as I now have though most remain here in the HarryLifecube with the Lifecubefolk. The Wanderer is one's celestial cousin, of sorts, if one could put it that way in mortal terms."

 

It was a very large rainbow tree with a rainbow flowing pattern on trunk and branches along with unmoving rainbow patterns on the leaves, nutclusters, pods and fruits; leaves, nutclusters, pods and fruits came in a wide variety of types. As the rainbow patterns swirled on the tree, they also did on the butterfly.

 

It was a great park with many trees, along with bushes, but only one was a rainbow tree and though there were many butterflies, only one was a softly glowing rainbow butterfly. Greyish clouds were building up for light showers were designated to happen but there would be forms of shelter for the coming rain.

 

Juniper spoke. "What is it that concerns you so much about those in the HarryLifecube?"

 

Harry sighed. "The price of saving them is that they much remain here until they die, and are reborn here, multiple times. That is because of the way that they were saved even as they perished. That goes for the lifeforms for the quasilifeforms, and neolifeforms, remain here because they wish to. I suspect that the lifeforms wish to keep being reborn here and that will happen if they do. They continue to change, for the positive, and to do good for themselves and others that are in linked Lifecubes to this one; of that I can say no more at this time."

 

Juniper nodded. "I love the sweet rainbow butterfly and the great big butterfly tree."

 

Kimmy wandered up, purposely, holding a picnic basket full of goodies. She placed it down and then Jessica arrived with a picnic blanket. Soon they were sitting with the others.

 

Harry spoke. "The ETriplets, the SQuadruplets and you JQuintuplets need the ability to be both inside HarryLifecube and outside of it, at the same time. One of Harry could go with the away team to carry out some important tasks. Like in that great 3DTV series called Startrekkie."

 

Kimmy smiled. "Away teams, energy armour, rayguns, androids, robots, teleport-capsules, force fields, deflector shields, friendly aliens, neutral aliens, unfriendly aliens, space monsters and lots more. Harry, and I, love watching Startrekkie episodes and Harry has created extras ones. We like Captain Cosmic Adventures as well along with Grognak the Barbarian, Giggle's Island, All Alone Ranger, the FTroopers, Good Friends, Wacky Hover Races, Power Armour Rangers, Fright Night Surprises, Doctor Timewise and lots more."

 

Harry smile-frowned. "Which brings us to a problem needing to be solved. Fictional entities, such as those mentioned, have started to materialise inside the isolation bubble bound Zone101 and not all are friendly. Also Jasmine, and her people, are already encountering some of them. We can go assist them and at the same time assemble here for a big picnic."

 

Juniper nodded. "A plan that is most impressive and enjoyable, sweetie Harry."

 

Harry smiled. "I have invited some ants so we need to provide ant snacks."

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.20.1[28] VENTURER'S FIRST MISSION: STARTING OUT

 

DemiVault101D was the demivault closest to the isolation barrier that had not closed down for a long time but which had done so just recently. Rejectville was close to there, a settlement of those who had gotten into Zone101 but not into the techvault. Rejectville was but one of many settlements, based in glowcaverns, but Rejectville remained the largest zonefolk one. Some settlements were based in tempvaults built as 'temporary' construction bases to be officially abandoned after the techvault was completed.

 

The TechVault101 SecretMarket had its SecretAgreement with the Overseers Government that was an open secret to many vaultfolk and zonefolk. It also had an outpost at DemiVault101D that linked it with Rejectville.

 

Harry/9 went with the JQuintuplets, the SQuadruplets and the ETriplets through the very vault like demivault, having arrived there by longer distance monotrain, and found there a mixed population of vaultfolk-zonefolk. In truth the SecretAgreement involved more than the SecretMarket and the Overseers Government. With them went the former PestRegulators, who now dwelt int the Lifecube with their families and others.

 

The StephSisters, TechiJoe, Dogmeat and the now four claptraps of SparkyFred, ZippyFred, DandyFred and SteadyFred were also, somehow, in the HarryLifecube. The StephSisters now numbered five as younger twin siblings had been incorporated. Now there were Stephanie, Stepharie, Stephaline, Katlyne and Katlant. Harry had enhanced, in his own special way, all of the StephSisters along with TechiJoe and the claptraps.

 

The Venturers, of the old PestRegulators plus some others, were there to solve the mystery of radroachers appearing in large numbers in the Rejectville Area but also the floating 'blops' that appeared to be chasing them from some other, unknown, area of Zone101. The name came from the strange, hard to explain, appearance of the blops that floated through the air.

 

OldPedro, a tough skinny muscular radhuman man, came to meet the Venturers. He stood there, in his rugged outdoor gear, looking puzzled. They were in a large chamber put aside for zonefolk visitors to use. "You lot are just as exotic as those blops, in your own way. Any of you lovelies want to marry an old fool?"

 

He said this despite that the SQuadruplets were cloaked and the ETriplets were concealed in their own way.

 

Jasmine smiled. "Perhaps one of the claptraps might want to."

 

OldPedro laughed and then nodded. "Maybe not, though they are lovely. You got four carry-robots to come with us. That's lot of extra equipment-supplies."

 

Juniper spoke. "Some of it is also for your use. It is said you know the mission target area better than anybody."

 

OldPedro snorted. "You certainly talk like vaultfolk. Yes, as much as anybody does. Its a twisted maze of abandoned VaultTech stuff, difficult cave-systems and a few glowcaverns-glowcaves. There are whispers that there one can find a way through the Isolation Bubble that surrounds the whole Zone101 and techvault. I heard about that RedZone business and that Lifecube. Seems awful strange."

 

Josylin spoke. "The RedZone had negative influences but the Lifecube had positive ones."

 

OldPedro nodded. "We will meet the rest of my crew at Rejectville. We do lots of guide-escort work on parties travelling out toward, and into, the Madmazzen. Lots of keen treasure hunters and adventurers along with techvault agents now and then. You will also meet the Rank Scavengers, UncleLeo and others who live with us on the very outskirts of Rejectville. There are some nasty factions there so one has to be careful."

 

Jasmine nodded. "As in TechVault101."

 

OldPedro: "Yeh, but out there you can get murdered. That doesn't happen in the techvault."

 

Jessica spoke. "That statement only shows just how much you don't know about life inside TechVault101."

 

OldPedro only shrugged. "We will see! Just wait until you see the first dead bodies."

 

Jessica sort of smiled. "Vaultfolk are much neater than that; such dead bodies are quickly recycled and the murder scenes just as quickly cleaned up. Often that happens after forensics does its job but not always."

 

OldPedro sighed. "Yes, well, that makes lots of sense. Still, be careful."

 

Jasmine took a turn in speaking. "Of course, as always!"

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.20.2[29] VENTURER'S FIRST MISSION: ON THE WAY TO REJECTVILLE

 

They travelled along a cave tunnel towards the glowcavern based settlement, in a great cavern once seeded with quasiliving glowcrystalics. There were radroaches, radrats and other such creatures dwelling in the area along with radshooms but mostly it was PreDD flora-fauna that was found in most areas.

 

The tunnel showed strong signs of being modified for use by VaultTech workers, and robots, in the years of TechVault101 construction. They walked past big alcove chambers with some stuff left behind, most of it having been salvaged long ago.

 

OldPedro was keen to get back to Rejectville, that was his home town, and was at the head of the group. The group moved in defensive formation despite that it was supposedly safe in that area. One did so for their were rogue zonefolk out there and even some rogue vaultfolk being bandits or tougher, better equipped, marauders.

 

OldPedro held the mule's lead, the mule being OldStubbis, who held packs. "Heard there are people living grim lives in the twixtvault, and rimvault?"

 

Jasmine responded. "Yes, feral vaultfolk! Semiofficial programs, to get them into the main techvault, have had only mixed success at best. Their ancestors were deliberately exiled in the twixtvault-rimvault for mainly long lost reasons. In was in periods of semiofficial civil war between ruthless factions and yet it was others who mainly suffered, mostly being innocent or NSG (not so guilty). The exiles were the lucky ones. There are sealed off vault sections with 10s, sometimes 100s, of human corpses hidden away. I have been there when one was found and opened up with 139 bodies; it was not a pleasant experience. PestRegulators had to deal with vermin that could have been contaminated from such sites, when they were not perfectly sealed up."

 

OldPedro nodded. "There are mass graves out there, in Zone101, from disease and starvation or other causes. The techvault population has had a boost, from what I hear."

 

Jasmine nodded right back. "A very big boost thanks to a rise in fertility amongst the population; its a big baby boom, alright, with the Overseers starting to discuss population control measures. An alternate idea is to send out people into Zone101 with its lighter, more spread out, population."

 

OldPedro gave her a look of irony. "Just how many vaultfolk are there?"

 

Jasmine shrugged. "Unofficially, just over one million but it has been that for over 100 years. Semiofficially, perhaps 1.5 million people given factors such as feral vaultfolk."

 

OldPedro nodded. "What of we zonefolk?"

 

Jasmine responded. "Officially about 100,000 zonefolk but that is a figure not taken seriously for decades. I suppose it would be about three times that."

 

The man shook his head. "Roughly about 2.7 million, as a minimum!"

 

Jasmine took that news in calmly. "Well, that is very interesting. Are they friendly?"

 

OldPedro frowned. "No, not all of them though some are less friendly than others."

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Note: Points of focus; questions

 

The Isolation Experiment: was it just the sealing off of TechVault101 and TechZone101 (new official name)?

 

What of the RedZone? Will it, or something like it, return!

 

What of the population impact of vaultfolk and zonefolk? Just what is going on in the twixtvault-rimvault and the zone?

 

Radroachers have appeared again but where and how is it the mysterious-strange blops seemingly chase them?

The HarryLifecube and other possible lifecubes?

The Wanderer?

UniVault that is TechVault999?

Others?

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.20.3[30] VENTURER'S FIRST MISSION: WELCOME TO REJECTVILLE OUTSKIRTS

 

The Venturers, as led by OldPedro, were halted just close to the outer edges of the barely ordered chaos that was Rejectville. Around them stretched a great glowcavern with glowcrystal growing like flat tentacles across the high ceiling; it was both elegantly beautiful and falsely fragile looking.

 

Blops floated like semisolid jelly bubbles that pulsated as they changed shape, colours and levels of transparency. Sometimes sharpshooters shot them with telescopic hunting rifles and they burst into vapour and tiny chunks that soon turned to vapour; the vapour then vanished away. Yet when some exploded, they showered bits of dead, partly dissolved, creatures be they radroaches, radroachers, radrats and others. Just now and then it was some other kind of creature's remains that were exposed such as mirelurk or radant or even human.

 

Other times the blops split into many smaller blops that begun to slowly-steadily grow or there seemed to be no impact at all.

 

Mostly there was just some damage, of varied quantity, that was soon slowly-steadily being repaired.

 

The swarm of blops were approaching the heavily fortified, low hulking walled, Rejectville from a linked system of glowcaves used as an unofficial trade-passenger route by many. The blops floated against air currents, if they had to, but were slowed by doing so; strong enough winds stopped or even threw them back.

 

Harry frowned softly. "These blops appear to come from a SSVR game known as Blops and Blops of Blops. One would hope that if we must deal with the negative side of the blops than we also have the positive effects. There was a 3DTV show based on it but it was not very popular and lasted only one season."

 

OldPedro nodded. "Now and then, a vaporised blop drops strange antiblop guns, swords, shields, suits, cellgrenades and rarer items including manuals, glowcoins and prizes. Manuals have been read and passed around."

 

A pale pulsebeam spat out and neatly vaporised three blops with all three dropping valuable items.

 

OldPedro gave a mild grin. "That was an antiblop gun at work. Trouble is they only fire up to three shots before taking nine seconds to recharge."

 

Harry nodded. "If you find the right mod-upgrades and-or mod-augmentations you can improve recharge time, accuracy, range and area of strike effect along with adding up to two extra barrels. You can use glowcoins with vending-machines but there are also prizes to find in the 3Dblopmaze. Have you heard reports of there being any such place? Those are just basic blop type blops. There are worse kinds to deal with not to mention other things related that came in Blops and Blops of Blops II. It was an even more popular sequel to the first game."

 

Jasmine spoke from where she was aiming her much altered bolt-action rifle. "There are baseblops, superblops and megablops but also rarer zipblops, zapblops, zigzagblops, zingblops and zoblops. We Anderson children played both the original game, and sequel, plenty of times. There was a second sequel but it was not very good or popular, being Blops and Blops of Blops Extravaganza."

 

A big tumbleweed tumbled past as a dull brown cave hawk circled above seeking out prey with its amazing eye sight. In the distance a thin trail of smoke arose from a chimney of a walled farm growing crops near the river that also ran fairly close to one wall of Rejectville.

 

OldPedro was understandably displeased by the discovery that the troublesome baseblops were not the worst to be out there. "They appear to be attracted to lifeforms but most particularly to humans."

 

Jasmine fired her rifle and an blast, of elemental energies, swept over a dozen baseblops from existence. The surviving blops turned and moved away, proving that either they were intelligent or being guided by some kind of intelligence; perhaps it was both.

 

As for the antiblop stuff, the Rejectville Sheriff was soon taking it into official control, she being flanked by two deputies, five constables and three handler-dog teams.

 

OldPedro frowned. "Some faction has been trying to get its mitts onto as much antiblop tech as they can though it is supersolidstate or so UncleLeo says. He is a hulkamoth supermutant but is brilliant."

 

Juniper spoke. "Father knows of them, having experienced the Wastelands, just as he has experienced other kinds of supermutants, deathclaws, raiders and much else. We JQuintuplets were not born in TechVault101 but you would know that being a TechVault101 ZSIA101 (Zone Security Intelligence Agency 101) Agent."

 

OldPedro frowned softly. "That supposed to be top secret but something tells me that you Andersons have some very deep links to the Overseers. I have spent years sinking into the local population so don't expose my cover, will you?"

 

Juniper smile. "Of course we will not do that!"

 

Soon they were entering Rejectville.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67