Chapter 648 - Culture Shock

Half a week after apprehending Macka, Afton is in the Sink discussing ways to fertilise the Mojave with the Austin, better known as the Biological research station. He wanted to see if it was possible to transform the barren desert of the Mojave into something else, be it forest, fields, or even simple things like making growing crops easier.

"The primary problem isn't radiation or even the harsh sunlight... It's the lack of water in some areas. Maybe if we can-*Crack!*" Afton starts but is interrupted as someone arrives via teleportation. Strangely, no one had been scheduled at this time, though, he vaguely remembered a message from Tamia saying she'd probably be late to the party.

She probably meant the Battle of Hoover Dam, which she had indeed missed by quite a lot. He pulls up a holographic screen which displays two people stepping outside of the teleportation area. One was obviously Tamia, her dirty and heavily damaged Power armour easily recognisable for him... The other however, Afton didn't know.

The man wore a gas mask that covered the lower half of his face, and had long matted hair covering his head that almost resembled dreadlocks. He wore a long black sleeveless leather trench coat, that had an old American flag printed on the back.

Weapon-wise, he had many revolvers holstered on his waist, and an Anti-Material rifle strapped to his back. The man almost reminded Afton of himself back when he first started exploring the Mojave.

"Permission to vaporized the unauthorized intruder?" Glados voice abruptly asks.

Afton forces himself not to chuckle and somehow manages to frown in the direction of the nearest camera, "He came in with Tamia, so he's temporarily authorized... I told you this before, didn't I?" he questions.

"You did. But I thought it best to double-check... The defence systems might be getting rusty, shall I test them on our temporarily authorized guest?"

...

"They're made from saturnite, which doesn't rust..." he mutters in confusion.

"I meant 'rusty' in the figurative sense... My offer to vaporize our guest was, however, literal." she states. "Also, we have not yet tested the new devices around the designated teleportation arrival area."

He blinks a couple times, "What devices around the teleportation area?" he questions.

"I had them installed two weeks ago. Free electricity dispensers, free cooking facilities, liberal lead dispensers, and radiation confirmation services." she lists off.

...

"Free electricity dispensers...? Free cooking facilities?..." he pauses, "Say, Glados, what specifically are these devices you just described called?"

...

Glados is silent for a moment before she begins to speak, "I see no need to go into specifics, rest assured that they are fully functional and ready to be used."

"Glados." he repeats, his voice sterner this time.

"Tesla emitters. Flame throwers. Machine guns. Radiation projectors." she reluctantly admits.

...

"Free electricity and cooking facilities being Tesla emitters and flame throwers, I get... But why did you call radiation projectors, 'radiation confirmation services'?" he wonders aloud, not surprised at the incredibly lethal array of weaponry she'd just listed off.

"The radiation projectors will irradiate the target, thus rendering whatever result they would have otherwise had, positive... Father, think of the small, innocent children within Big Mountain. This 'guest' could be a threat, thus, elimination is the only logical cours-"

Afton just shakes his head and waves her off, "My answer is still no." he says as he walks into the 'living room' of the sink, "Can you invite the two of them up here please? I'd like to have a chat with Tamia and our guest."

"Affirmative." Glados says, her voice somehow sounding grumpy...

Elsewhere :

Tamia and Ulysses step off of the teleportation platform and onto the bustling road. Ulysses looks around with curious eyes, his tense demeanour relaxing significantly as he spots the peaceful-looking inhabitants...

"This place has changed." he mutters aloud. He wasn't wrong either, the Big Mt he knew of was a barren place filled with monsters of every kind. The crater used to be filled to the brim with dangerous creatures, and the occasional facility that'd likely had a hand in the monster's creation.

Here though? The barren dirt had been replaced with farming facilities, water liberally sprayed the luscious-looking plants as people and robots alike tended to them. There were now high tech-looking buildings that accommodated the people living here, compared to the rest of the wasteland, they could be called nothing but utter luxury... Even the New Vegas strip would be akin to a slum compared to most things in this place.

There were stores dotted around the road as well, though, from what he could tell most were providing more creative services, ones that robots couldn't necessarily provide.

He and Tamia walk past some kind of Supermarket? He steps into it and looks around in wonder at the huge amounts of food stacked on shelves... There were labels next to them... A nice-looking sandwich cost... 10 caps!? Even small bottles of purified water cost at least 20 caps, and that was if you were lucky!

The labels also had a blank space next to them, Tamia spotted him glaring at it and decided to illuminate it for him. "Ah, Afton said something about eventually creating his own currency. He's already made preparations for it I guess." she shrugs, "You hungry?" she offers, picking up the BLT sandwich he'd been glaring at.

Ulysses just slowly nods in response, his jaw not working the way he wanted due to how many surprises this place was giving him. When Tamia had said Afton could lead the way forward, he hadn't completely believed her... But... Just looking at the facilities available, along with the low cost of such luxury goods... He wondered if she was right after all...

The duo step outside the Supermarket, each with a BLT in hand. Tamia is about to give Ulysses a tour of the place when a familiar-looking drone stops them. Its orange glowing eye glaring at them both as if they'd just destroyed its cabbage cart. "You are expected, follow me." it states.