Chapter 672 - Culture Rock

...

"About that..." Afton walks over and grabs his father's cuffs, easily warping the metal and allowing them to drop to the ground. "I'll show you around, as long as you promise not to freak out." he states.

Zach looks down and glares long and hard at the remnants of his restraints. "I'll agree if you tell me how you did that. I know that wasn't ordinary steel." he states.

...

Afton walks to the airlock and opens the door, "I was infected by an incredibly dangerous species of fungus, there was no cure. I knew I'd be dead soon so I left to find some hail mary lead that probably wouldn't amount to anything. By the time I reached my destination, I was half-dead, and on my last legs. But luckily, I'd arrived to the one place that had the tech to save my life." he explains, leading his father through the hallways underneath the Think Tank.

"What does that have to do with your ability to bend steel?" Zach continues pressing.

Afton shrugs, "Well, while the operation I underwent did save my life, it didn't completely remove all of the fungus." he says, taking his gloves off and revealing his plant arms. "The neutralised fungus improved my body, making me resistant to diseases and poison, enhanced my strength and healing... Even grew back my arms when I was dismembered." he flexes his hand.

Zachary eyes the limb, the brown bark-like material covering the top, half, while the bottom was a sickly green, looking like incredibly rough, discoloured skin. It was confirmed, his son was a mutant... But, it sounded like the circumstances leading to it weren't up to him at all... Unfortunately, the Codex doesn't make exceptions...

The fact he himself would also be considered a mutant wasn't lost on him, which is why he was struggling so much with his core tenets. By all rights, he should drop to his knees and smash his head against the floor until he perished, to ensure the prolonged existence of the human race.

He was honestly still considering it, rejoining his wife wherever she was didn't sound all that bad. But that would also mean leaving his son, again. "How did the Brotherhood react? If you were even still in contact with them?"

Afton grimaces slightly, "Well, I was kind of banished for stopping them from killing a Ghoul companion of mine. I don't know if any of them noticed my mutations."

"...Banished..." Zachary rubs his face, having expected something like this when Afton said he'd left the bunker.

Afton continues leading his father through the maze-like laboratories until they reach the Think Tank doors. He pushes them open, revealing the steadily growing city within the massive crater that composed Big Mt. Plants and flora were abundant, with many farms and high-tech buildings scattered around the place.

To most people's eyes, it'd look like a utopia, especially when compared against everything else in the wasteland. But for Zachary, he saw a complete and utter misuse of dangerous technologies, he instantly put two and two together, realising that this place wasn't affiliated with the Brotherhood at all.

This was concerning as only the Brotherhood, Enclave, and some parts of the NCR should possess holographic tech like had been shown in his cell. Before he's able to say anything though, Afton begins his introduction.

"Welcome to Bulwark, my answer to the weaknesses and corruption of the Brotherhood." he grins, "I've built this place with my blood, sweat, and tears, now finally it's starting to look how I envisioned."

Zach eyes the people walking around, their comfortable-yet protective clothing, the guards with high-tech armour and weaponry, the robots both rolling along the ground and flying above their heads... Even those Cyberdogs that seemed to eye him warily. "

He chews his lip and glances at Afton, "Are we still in the Mojave? Is the Chapter still around?" he tentatively asks, knowing that the Chapter wouldn't stand and let this place be built if they had a choice in the matter.

Afton shrugs and waves at the landscape, "You're looking at what's left. Hardin kinda went crazy and started making drastic actions, seemingly ignoring the mounting NCR threat on their doorstep... They only lasted so long because the NCR was afraid of my retaliation. In the end, I was forced to intervene." he states.

"Intervene?" Zach tensely parrots.

Afton nods, "An NCR army was about to lay waste to them, so I invaded the Brotherhood base that Hardin had set up above ground and gave them an ultimatum. Join Bulwark, or leave. For those that didn't want to join, I sent them all to Mexico, where the NCR wouldn't be able to follow. Everyone else was integrated into my forces." he explains.

...

"But, what about the Codex? Did I teach you nothing? This. place... It's like spitting in the face of everything the Codex dictates! This, irresponsible use of technology, it can only lead to disaster!" Zachary lectures with slight indignation, grabbing Afton's arm to make sure he was listening.

Afton shakes his head, "What disaster!? The shit the Codex peddles was just the fears of paranoid larping ideologues! They just echoed what each other said, slowly getting more extreme in their practices and prejudices... Look around you, dad, do you think the Brotherhood could have created any of this? Or would they have squandered the technology they unabashedly tore from their owners, in the name of preventing more 'atrocities'?"

Zach growls, reminiscent of what Mr X had sounded like before, "The Brotherhood isn't perfect, I never said it was. But it was the best way we had to protect the wasteland! Can you imagine if the Enclave was in our place? If they had this kind of technology?.... How long will it take until this, Bulwark, becomes corrupt as well? Or how long until another country seizes this place for its own ends!?"