The Survivor’s Guide to the Wasteland

Taking a deep breath, I started thinking about the shitshow I found myself in. I'm in the Fallout universe, presumably somewhere in the Boston area. I'm surrounded by irradiated animals mutated to freakish sizes, hungry for my flesh. Feral ghouls resemble the zombies of 28 days later. Murderous raiders, unscrupulous slavers, blood-thirsty robots, ruthless mercenaries, mutated humans, the future sci-fi nuclear apocalypse equivalent of orcs, and much more. My chances aren't looking good, but I'm not hopeless.

I wasn't a cyborg like Kellogg, have a suit of power armor, or stand 7 feet tall and weigh 600 pounds of pure muscle, but I did have information. My game knowledge basically made me a god in this world. I could predict events before they happen and gain access to locations and loot before anybody knew it existed.

I knew that thinking like this was just a way to hide from the fact that I might never see my friends and family again, but I couldn't allow myself to fall into depression. It's escapism, sure, but there are enough things out in this world that could snap me like a twig, and being sad wouldn't do me any favors. Also, come on, this is the famous reincarnation trope. This could be wish fulfillment, but IRL. I could live like a king.

When I was excited at all the possibilities, a thought crossed my mind. 

"Oh shit, but when did I wake up? Is this before or after the game starts?"

All my knowledge would be useless if all the notable events had already transpired. Thinking this, I quickly got up and started frantically looking to see if I could find Nate or Nora. 

Trying to keep my mind calm, I further thought about my situation. I knew the other inhabitants were dead now. The vault kept the other dwellers alive until the Institute came and took Shaun away. Then Kellogg ordered his team to shut off all the life support but kept the sole survivor alive. Does being alive mean that I took the place of the sole survivor? That would make sense if the world was progressing as a cliche. However, the Pod opposite me was clearly not occupied by Nate or Nora.

I looked around and took in the sights. I was in a sterile environment, barely lit by the cold LEDs hanging from the ceiling. Inside the steel and concrete chamber I find myself in are 8 pods split between the left and right sides. Mine was currently the only one open.

Shifting cell to cell, I wiped down the glass to check for the familiar face of the two potential protagonists. After the 3rd try, I found a familiar man slumped over with a bullet in his chest. Quickly turning around, I saw a female figure identical to Nora's.

Immediately I rushed to the pod controls located to the right to release Nora, but I hesitated just before I could release her.

"Would it be a good idea to release her right now?"

I never liked the Institute and hated the philosophy that Shaun operated on. If I am forced to cross paths with Father, we will most likely attempt to kill each other. If I kill the Father and destroy the Institute, will Nora go berserk and come after me? The game allowed the protagonist to side with any faction, and it's never a good idea to underestimate a mother's love and dedication to her offspring. 

There's also a chance that Nora tries to kill me the second she is released since, from her point of view, her son being stolen and her husband being murdered was only a few seconds ago. Nora might mistake me for being a part of the Institute and get violent.

"Wait a second. Why wasn't Nora released? "

If I remember the original plot correctly, the protagonist was released from stasis because Father wanted to test if the parent would still look for their offspring. I also knew that the life support was only shut off because the Institute ordered Kellogg to turn off all life support except for Shaun's surviving parent. If this was true, why was I still alive, and how come I got released?

Trying to better grasp what had happened, I started looking around for the terminal controlling this cryogenic array. Eventually, I spotted the 70's sci-fi-like computer screen at the end of the hall. Shambling over, I accessed the system, and without missing a beat, the screen booted up and showed green text on a pitch-black background.

[Cryogenic Array]

[Life Support]

[Pod Occupant Status]

The first two options gave me the same message summarizing the current status of the arrays.

Cryogenic Array: Offline. Premature termination resulting in system failure. Isolated manual and remote overrides detected. Controls disabled.

Life Support: Offline. Premature termination resulting in system failure. Isolated manual and remote overrides detected. Controls disabled.

While going through the text, the floor started shaking, and an earthquake made the surroundings tremble. Swiveling my head around to ensure my surroundings were safe, I saw all the lights turning off and coming back online, and the PA system announced the familiar warning.

"CRITICAL FAILURE IN CRYOGENIC ARRAY. ALL VAULT RESIDENTS MUST VACATE IMMEDIATELY"

Once everything settled down, I noticed that all the lights on the pods flickered, followed by hissing noises and cold mist forming from behind the pods. The earthquake must have reset the electrical system, and the pods reset. This may be why I got released. But if I was released this way, why wasn't Nora released similarly?

I turned my head back to the terminal and selected the last option hoping to find some answers. Sure enough, the final choice: Pod Occupant Status, showed something unusual.

[P̴̠̅̅̃̽̊̈́͝ͅo̵̡̖̲̻͚͚̳̲̐͐̋͒͆͌͘͠d̶̨̫̙͓͙͔͙̙̗̖̞̘̬̦̙͛̚ ̶̖̺̤̾̽̂̎͒͘C̶̠̞̀͒̃̎̉͘͝1̶̡̦͈͎̱̞̮͍̺͓̫̩͔̹̾̔̿́͛̏:̵̛̼̗̝̔̾̑̔͊̐͂͂̎͝ ̵̨̘͍̰͎̤̼̩͕͐̏̎̍̈́̀̀͝B̷̛͙̎̑̀́á̴̰̰̲͖̙͓͈̥͒̍͑͜ͅs̷̢͖̳͔̮͎̪̮͎͙̣̆̍̔̆̽͐̋ị̶̡̢̡̹̮͔̿l̴̼̮̪̞̗̖͂́̈́͌̊̔̄̀̀͜]

[Pod C2: Mrs. Callahan]

[Pod C3: Mr. Callahan]

[Pod C4: Mr. Able]

[Pod C5: Mrs. Able]

[Pod C6: Nate and Shaun (infant)]

[Pod C7: Nora]

[Pod C8: Mr. Russel]

Well, that definitely wasn't in the game.