War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage. In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead. The apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world - but war, war never changes. In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them - all except those in Vault 101. For on the fateful day, when fire rained from the sky, the giant steel door of vault 101 slid closed… and never opened. It was here, Maximus Rider was born. It is here he will die. Because in vault 101: no one ever enters, and no one ever leaves.

"Lets see, are you a boy or a girl?" Amungst a newborn baby's cries a new father craddles the child, and searches for the signs of gender. "It's a boy… a boy! We've got a son Cathren, a beautiful healthy baby boy." he says with obvios delight and joy, looking at his wife with love. After she gathers her strenth she says "H-Heh… Oh James… we did it! A son… a beautiful son." She trails off weakly. James takes over and says to his son "You have a bright future ahead of you son. I'm sure of it! Look at you! Look at you.. Hey there little guy, im youyr daddy… daddy. Your gonna need a name. Me and your mother have been talking.. What do think about Maximus? That's a good name, don't you think? Fits you perfectly." The man, James, looks over at a small screen and says with glee. "Your gonna look a lot like your dad!. See that Cathren?" She laughs weakly and gushes at her son. "What kind of person will you be? You ju-" "james…. James?"

"Cathren? Cathren?! She's in cardiac arrest… get the baby out of here!" as baby Maximus is taken away his father furiosly presses on his wives chest. "One onethousend two onethoudsend, three onethousend… come on…" then a heavy steel door slams shut and the room max is in now darkens to black.