The Brotherhood makes a point of protecting mankind from itself. The only thing tying them together is that idea. Loyalty, blood, they're not enough.
In a little place called Hidden Valley, the Brotherhood is dying.
Sure, they've gathered up pulse guns and holograms and even the ARCHIMEDES project, but it's cold comfort to the dwindling number of scribes and paladins.
The bunker is a tomb of odds and ends, circuit boards and targeting chips litter the hall and most of the turrets have fallen to disrepair. There are still secrets hanging in the air, shimmering like heat, but there aren't enough people left to reach for them.
The year is 2296, and Elder Veronica disbands the chapter, scatters her family on the wind, and sits at her desk one last time. The silence cushions her senses, wraps her up in peace and comfort, time flowing like tar.
Her fingers run along the bottom of the desk, and she really should feel more surprised when she hits a switch. A section of the desk slides back, reveals a holotape and an envelope of thick paper. She shoves the tape into her terminal with clumsy fingers. One more secret then, even if there's no more Brotherhood. The audio shatters her quiet world.
"This is Senior Scribe Michaelson. It is October 29th, 2097. Recording this record on an isolated terminal, to be destroyed on the Head Scribe's orders once the tape is finished.
Enclosed within this package is an item designated Artifact 267. It appears to be a casino chip made for the Lucky 38 Casino. Scans reveal that it is actually an advanced piece of software. We have been unable to determine the object's intended purpose, only that is is generations ahead of the tech currently found in the Mojave area.
The fate of Artifact 267 is left to the Elder, though we are hesitant to destroy it.
I must... Our work must continue after me. Our mission must continue after me.
Artifact 267 is left to the Brotherhood in the hope that-"
She stops the holotape.
In another world, or even just ten years earlier, Veronica has bright eyes and the desire to know everything. There, she rips open the envelope and sets off for the Strip. You can't protect what you don't understand, she will justify, so she must understand this!
For the Brotherhood!
Here, she doesn't.
In this world, she simply drops the small package to the floor with a muffled clink. In this world she has old eyes and has saved her family or damned them, has made a choice with an uncertain end. She does not know if her family will survive.
There is no Brotherhood here.
Elder Veronica pulls on her powerfist and swipes three keycards in her terminal. By the time she hears the explosion she's already fifty feet from the bunker and still moving. In her heart, in the depths of her soul, she somehow still believes in protecting mankind.
Steel warps, shatters. Rock falls, wasteland filling up what used to be a home.
Flames roar and Platinum wilts, withers into nothing.
The chip is with the Brotherhood. There is no Brotherhood.
"... always known that. If we don't change course, we're going to fall apart... or fade..."