What little of her strength remained allowed herself to pull from out of the capsule and stand. Unable to take the sudden pressure her legs quickly gave way, causing a sharp crash to the floor. Although the numbness in her legs persisted and her head felt foggy, the presence of pain was a relief. It meant she was regaining the feeling in her body again.
12B hissed quietly to herself as she tried once again to stand, despite the screaming protest of her stiff legs. With each repetition, she tried more slowly and carefully, using the capsule for support. She looked down briefly and noticed several wires connected to pads on her body from the pod itself. She thought about removing them but decided to concentrate on her leg strength.
10 minutes later she was finally able to stand, albeit a little unsteadily. With that problem seemingly solved she examined the room even further. Aside from the capsule in the middle of it, there were several pieces of machinery all linked to the capsule and several computer terminals. Only one however was actually working, it's dark monitor displaying bright green text. Pads still attached, she took several steps and examined it closely.
===CRYO-CAPSULE STATUS===
Subject Name: 00012B
Subject Status: Normal
Biological Age: 20
Status of Health: Exceptional
Time in Stasis: 197 years, 2 months, 5 weeks, 2 days, seven hours
By grabbing the table she stopped herself from collapsing again, this time out of shock. Reading the text again she felt a surge of panic and confusion eat away at her.
197 years? How can that be?
She sighed and decided to read on further. Somehow in her mind lay the information needed to operate the terminal, though she didn't know how she'd learned it. Another question of many she wanted to ask.
Note: Emergency Power Losses Detected, Re-routing non-critical systems
Biogel Formula Integration: 100% Successful
Chances of Rapid Biological Dissolution (aka Post-Cryogenic Syndrome) Occurance: 0.4%
Health Concerns: None
Biogel? Is that what's kept me alive, whatever it is? It can't be...why can't I remember anything?
Biogel, or Biological Medical Gel going by it's full name was an ingenius Pre-War invention manufactured mostly for the United States Army. Capable of advanced tissue healing and preservation it was often used in Robobrains to preserve the organic material inside for impossibly long periods of time. Before the Great War, some who knew about the gel believed it had been reversed engineered from alien technology, one of many popular conspiracy theories.
No matter how hard she thought, she could not make any sort of sense of it all and grew frustrated. She turned around and noticed a table on the other side of the capsule, on it lay several holo-disks each labelled from 1 to 6. Without knowing how she knew, she realised she would need to use the computer device she had seen before in the glass container next to the door in order to play them. On route she delicately pulled off the pads attached and reached forwards for the container's opening switch when she heard resounding sounds of footsteps.
Instinctively she dove under another table to the left of the room's door just under a window and froze in place, not daring to make a sound as the footsteps gradually became louder and louder. Just as they began passing the first window they stopped, followed by a confused male voice.
"G..gary?"
Though she couldn't see him and he couldn't see her, nonetheless she felt threatened. The presence of another human being should have been wonderful to her. Instead she was scared, scared he was dangerous somehow.
"Gary?" the man repeated to no avail. He peered in, noticing the capsule had broken but nothing else. His attention turned to the small power box that typically resided next to Vault doors and attempted to turn the switch to the "ON" position, which refused to budge. Growing frustrated, the man began violently hitting the switch with his fist, then with a piece of lead pipe.
"Gary! Gary!" angrily cried the man, trying to say something else with great difficulty before he finished with a final and indignant "Gary!" The footsteps began again, becoming fainter until disappearing entirely.
The hallway remained eerily silent for the next 10 minutes, and with the feeling no one was coming back anytime soon she gathered enough courage to stand up from her hiding place. Tapping in a small code she'd found on a piece of paper nearby the container hissed open, revealed what she read was a "Pip-boy 3000".
Her mind filled with curiousity, she slid her left arm into the device and the glove. It suddenly sprang to life, a green display lighting up accompanied by a small voice.
Congratulations Vault Citizen on receving your first ever Pip-boy 3000! You are privilaged in being this device's first ever user! said the voice in an upbeat and still somewhat bland voice. This device will not only allow you to keep track of time and tasks, but will also help protect you in your days as a Vault Dweller, with it's built-in Geiger Counter letting you know if any of that nasty radiation is around. For further information on how to use the Pip-Boy 3000, consult your Pip-Boy 3000 User Manual, located on Holodisk 4 of the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Holodisk Selection.
After a little tinkering, changing the display from green to white and reading information already included onto it (such as the Vault's layout and it's number, 108) she inserted the several holodisks lying around and began to play them. The first 4 tapes were standard Vault-Tec tapes, explaining what the Vault was and how life would be living in it. During the 4th tape, which talked about how residents were assigned work, she quickly noticed something out of place and listened...
No sound at all. No activity, no machinery, nothing indicating anything of the busy Vault life the tapes described. There was no sign of any human presence except for the strange man, who definitely did not seem stable after his aggression on the door lock and lack of vocabulary. And of course, her own unexplained mystery. How had she been in that capsule for nearly 200 years? Why was she in that capsule? Why was she locked away?
There was no point in dwelling on it though, not for the moment. Another minute passed as the tape droned on before finishing. She placed the 5th tape in and to her surprise an older male began to speak.
"Log update 27, our work into cloning is proving to be a significant challenge. We're able to clone on a small scale, but an entire human being? Aside from an ethical standpoint, it's medically very difficult. But...it's our objective, one that the rest of the Vault doesn't know anything about. They think we just clone organs, *sighs* I only wish we could do more. My wife spends each day in agony, each day that vile cancer spreads and I stand powerless, repeating pathetic and hollow promises of a cure...sometimes I think we'd have been better off outside when the bombs fell. At least then we'd both be up there, together and free."
Subject 12B stood in silence as the words filled the room. That voice, it sounded familiar somehow to her, but she still couldn't figure it out. Hearing about the doctor's wife saddened her a little bit, even though she never knew her or the doctor. Removing the tape she placed the next one in.
"Log update 46, progress at last. Dr Medale has managed what I had considered a few months ago to be impossible, cloning an entire human. Not sure yet on who volunteered for that one, but must be someone reasonably intelligent. As I theorized though, the clone itself is not that intelligent, and is aggressive. Dr Medale suspects that the subtle thought implantation method would need to be implemented longer, and during the clone's growth from early development in order to have acceptable intelligence. I myself agree with this statement, but I think whoever was cloned is a poor template."
She finished listening to the tape, then tried opening the door to exit the room. The door refused to respond, but unlike the man who tried opening it earlier, 12B realised the ON/OFF switch had been locked, and would need a key to unlock it. She searched around the room for a key but found nothing save for some bobby pins.
Another thought popped into her mind. She picked up the pins and began looking for something else, a torch wrench. While she didn't find one, a nearby screwdriver proved useful enough and inserted both the screwdriver and a bobby pin into the keyhole on the ON/OFF switch. She grunted in frustration at first, she knew how to pick the lock somehow but lacked any experience. Her perseverance triumphed though after several minutes and bobbypins the lock clicked. She turned the dial to the ON position then opened the door, which groaned from the lack of use.
12B could feel the cold atmosphere of the Vault blow into the room as the door opened. She shivered a little and wondered if any of the Vault jumpsuits one of the tapes had mentioned were still around. The lack of any activity coupled with the ruined look of the Vault sent chills through her alongside the literal ones. Rationally she knew that there had to be clothing somewhere around, judging from the Pip-Boy's map she was located outside an unmarked room in the Female Dormatories. A few corridors away was another room, marked Armory.
Her mouth and throat felt extremely dry, so her need to quench her thirst took priority over arming herself. The solution was just a few feet away down the hallway. A rusted water fountain, splattered with a stain made long ago, a stain of dark red.
Cautiously, 12B took several steps towards the next room from hers, which lay between her room and the fountain. She quickly peeked into the room, some kind of storage area and seeing nothing of particular interest she moved on to the fountain itself, which didn't appear to work. A press on the tap followed by a lack of water confirmed her theory.
"Goddamn it," she cursed, then immediately blushed. She knew somehow it was a profanity she had uttered, which her thoughts told her was frowned apon in society. Or at least used to be. Her attention turned to the door that lay just ahead of her, or rather what had been written onto it.
Head for the Armory
12B sensed the message must have been left specifically for her, for no other rooms aside from the one she'd seen were in the corridor she was currently in. Ignoring the cold of the steel and concrete floor she continued through the doorway and past some dorm rooms. Most of them were locked, others were left open with furniture overturned and possessions scattered. The worst thing about them however was the fact many of the open rooms contained their long dead occupants. Nothing but the bones and scrap of cloth were left of the former dwellers, the signs of fatal wounds noticable on many of them.
Be brave, I can't stay exposed like this, 12B thought wearily. She was able to brave going into one room, carefully avoiding treading barefoot on anyone and searched some lockers, which only contained miscellaneous items such as cigarettes and even meretricious objects such as a Vault-Tec Figurine. 12B felt a small urge to take it with her but knew she didn't really need it. Finally after searching some drawers she found an intact Vault Suit. Emblazoned on the back was a large yellow 108. For a jumpsuit it was surprisingly comfortable and even held a few pockets. The boots, though slightly high heeled were stable and easy to walk in. She had also found a small backpack as well, she stuffed some extra Vault suits inside just in case.
Making her way out again she passed more rooms until finally reaching the Armory. The door was left unlocked.
The majority of the gun racks were missing their contents and part of the room had caved in. Luckily though a few weapons had been left intact; a 10mm pistol, a security baton and some Stimpaks. She stashed the Stimpaks and some 10mm magazines into the backpack she picked up from the previous room and used her belt as a makeshift holster. Alongside the baton she discovered yet another holotape.
"Log update 52...my wife passed away this morning, succumbing to the cancer. I, with nothing left now have decided that her template, engineered so harmful elements are removed, would be perfect for growing a clone. Unlike with the repeated failures of the Gary Neeson clones though, I have decided to take a radical change from procedure. I'll use one of the incubation chambers in the Female Dorm area and a mixture of bio medical gel and subtle thought implantation. My hopes are, that I'll be able to produce a physically healthy being, with a mind of her own...a daughter we could never have before. Forgive me Jane, I know you never liked the work we do, but I promise we'll have a daughter one way or another."
She felt an overwelming sense of joy as the words filled her ears. She had just heard the familiar voice talk about growing a clone, a female clone. If that was indeed true, then the voice was the father. Her father.
"Dad..." she whispered softly. She blinked as her mind registered something else the voice had mentioned.
...the repeated failures of the Gary Neeson clones...
So that was who that man was, she thought back to the violent man from before and felt nervous. If he was still around, then so could more of them. Her grip on the baton tightened and she turned to leave only to run into a familiar face.
"Gary!" cried the angry voice as a lead pipe almost smashed into her face. She quickly dove out of the way as her attacker swung maniacally again. It was the same man as before, he had obviously heard her moving around and snuck up on her, his face contorted with pure savage rage.
"GARY!" he yelled again, this time he anticipated her movements and blocked her from escaping.
"Please, stop!" she begged, dodging yet another swing. The clone showed no intention of doing such a thing and attacked again. This time however 12B wasn't fast enough and screamed in agony as the pipe smashed into her left shoulder and broke her momentum, sending her crashing to the floor. With little time to think she kicked her leg as hard and as fast as she could into her attacker's groin, throwing him down as well in a heap.
"Urgh!" grunted the clone clutching himself. 12B rapidly got to her feet and seized the nearest weapon she could get. The lead pipe the clone had been using had been flung from his hands. With her good arm she gripped the weapon as tight as she could and without thinking brought the blunt instrument down on the clone's head with all the strength she could muster.
"No!" was the last word the clone managed before his head seemingly exploded under the impact. His body spasmed a few seconds before finally becoming still. She panted heavily as her own anger began to subside, the realisation she killed another human being dawning on her.
"Oh my God, what have I..." said 12B looking at the dead man with a creeping taste of bile in her mouth. Dead, by her own hands.
Her suit and face had been splattered with some of his blood, on the sight of it she could take it no longer. Her nausea peaked and she threw up a grey, foul smelling liquid. Her throat burning, she fought with herself to suppress the urge to vomit again.
"I had no choice..." she said to herself, "He would have killed me, he would have..."
She looked at anything but the corpse and shakily injected a Stimpak into her damaged shoulder. Within a few moments the pain subsided and replaced with a dull ache. Her throat continued to burn and her thirst
She couldn't hear anyone else but remained cautious as she left the Armoury, after all just one of them managed to take her by surprise. A quick look at her Pip-Boy showed she was close to leaving the Female Dormatories. 12B didn't hesitate, wanting to get as far away from her first kill as possible. Apon arriving at the dorm's entrance she saw a rough blockade had been constructed out of desks and lockers, sealing off her section from the rest of the Vault.
Opposite from her position were two dumpsters, no doubt once used by the Vault's residents for temporary disposal. Currently though another Gary clone was rummaging through one of them and completely unaware of her presence. 12B observed in silence for a moment, her mind running fast.
If he doesn't turn around, I could sneak past him...but if he turns... she thought, trying not to think about the other clone she had just killed. She then quickly remembered she had a security baton in her possession.
Non-lethal
Putting together a quick plan in her head she clambered quietly over the makeshift blockade and began stepping forward as softly as a cat, whatever that was. Extending the baton just as subtle, she raised it high above her head, the clone still unaware of her presence.
"Ah, Gary," the clone hissed, agitated. He held up the dumpster's lid with one arm and blindly fumbled around inside with the other as if unwilling to look inside, a look of disgust on his face. An odd thing considering the state of the Vault and it's former occupants. He stood in silence, clearly thinking of ways to solve his own dilemma when he noticed quick movement in the corner of his eye.
12B slammed the top of the baton hard into the back of his head, knocking him out and forwards into the dumpster. She grabbed his legs and swung the rest of his body into it. She checked her Pip-Boy again and sighed.
Still a long way to go, she thought.
Well it's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories, and probably the longest chapter written by me. I actually accidently rediscovered this fanfic by looking through Fallout fictional works and realised my original idea really appealed to me and I didn't want to see it die. So hopefully, if anyone still likes this story I'll get another chapter up soon. And for those of you who don't know what Post-Cryogenic Syndrome is, it's when someone who has been stored in biogel for a long time suddenly dissolves, which happens at the Sierra Military Base in Fallout 2.