Their time in Goodneighbor was going extremely well. While none of the women were interested in having companionship with them, they were quite popular among the locals. Cressen had tried to flirt with the singer Magnolia, only to be utterly put down in his efforts. Being many years too old for her certainly hasn't helped with that. Yandel was only twenty-six years old, a Maester of six years, and he could know that he was not that type. But that was not what Yandel had come to find out.
As knowledgeable outsiders, they had been treated as esteemed guests there, particularly by Whitechapel Charlie's clique. He had even sent the guards to clean out a building full of trigger men. Studying their guns had truly been fascinating. Working out how the leavers worked, this gunpowder, which they compared to a lesser version of wildfire, and the concoctions of the various drinks being served. Not one of them had dared visit the memory booth though. So far. Tonight was another night of 'testing the drinks' and their properties. Yandel was definitely not thinking straight.
"Get me another one, Charlie!" He asked to the robot at the bar. He didn't seem happy from his reply.
"Haven't you had enough? Mixing drinks is never a good idea. Someone could mug you while you're unconscious, and we'd have to launch another manhunt. Which wouldn't be good in my book."
Yandel grabbed another martini off the counter. He had exchanged his stags for bottlecaps now, so he had plenty of drinking money to go with. He had sent multiple Ravens over to the Citadel, including details on Qyburn's perversions, but only one had come back earlier, which he hadn't read. He could fuss about that at a later point. His head was already fuzzy and his vision felt like the core of reality was shaking. But he craved this drink to an extent he had never known in a drink. He took a shot of it all in one and and moaned. He tried talking to Charlie and to some settlers, but they continued in their mundane conversations he could not hear. He took one step to the side off his seat and collapsed. He thought he could see another Maester heading towards him, but it was hard to tell at this point. He passed.
Once he woke up, he saw himself in a chair of some kind. His hands and feet were roped to it, and the chair itself was metal. Something certainly wasn't right. Then the pain came.
This was easily one of the worst feelings he had ever felt in his head. He could not remember the night before, not at all. Only that he was here, and that the building he was in wasn't a normal one. It must have been one of the top stories of the buildings in Goodneighbour. Or at least that was what he reasoned. Perhaps the Triggermen had got to him! He wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
He he found a shard of glass on the floor and edged towards it in his chair. He could cut the ropes and free himself before the hostile ones came and took him away for whatever horrible fate they had in mind. He edged closer by shaking the chair towards it.
He heard a door open somewhere distantly.
Now he needed to be quick! He started to reach towards the shard with his restrained hands. He began to rock the chair to make sure he could reach it easier. It was only marginally working.
If if only they'd taught me the skills to do this at the Citadel!, he thought as he worked his fingers out. He could hear footsteps coming up stairs. Quick!
The chairs rocking soon became more and more intense as he put more and more effort into it. It seemed to be working, at least. But then he fell. Now he was more frantic than ever. As he edged towards the piece of glass, the figure had come up the stairs and was staring back at him.
"Yandel! I see you've awoke!" It was Coleman this time. The fool!
"Why did you lock me up in this dreaded building? We seem to be far away from Goodneighbour now thanks to you! How could you do this, when I was...so vulnerable?" His head was aching even more now, and the anger wasn't helping. Or the splinters in his cheek from the chipped wood. Coleman was still smiling.
"Calm down! We just played a bit of a joke on you. It's not like we have to study all of the time here! The citadel aren't watching us 24/7, so we can afford to have some fun now, as you clearly have already."
"Alright, help me back up and out of these restraints, they're pulling in my skin!" Coleman got there and undid his restrains. Yandel could now get up and shake the dust off his clothes and feet. "Do we have a reason for being here?"
"Yes, we've bought a flat here. Or were given one by Farenheit after our information exchanges. Either way, it's pretty spacious. We only tied you up to prevent you from hurting yourself, but it appears that didn't work." He turned and smirked. "Please forgive us, brother, we've got work to do here as well. Can't just have you drinking our money away." The two started walking down the stairs. They were creaky, despite being made of concrete, and the wooden walls didn't feel exactly secure.
"Did we ever find out what happened to Cressen?" Yandel asked.
"There's been the occasional bit of signal coming through over some days, but overall not much as come. It could be that he's been killed and someone else has taken it. Or something. Or it could be he just hasn't had the chance to contact us. We'll find out soon." They went down the third flight of stairs after this.
Yandel asked "how big is this building? It seems a bit big for four Maesters and a guard, especially if rooms are shared."
Coleman laughed. "Don't worry, youth. We each have our own floor. The man in the hotel called it an 'en suite' which means we each have our own showers, baths, toilet and such. We have better accommodation then we ever had there. We should at least use it."
"Shower, toilet? What is the former and how is the latter replacement for a privy?"
"The former sends us water from above and allows us to wash ourselves far quicker than a bath, the latter is a like a privy but we don't have to throw it out a window or into a river. They all lead down connected pipes and is filtered safely to make new drinkable water. Isn't it incredible!" He seemed genuinely happy to talk about the technological investments that were being made in Goodneighbor, which wasn't even the largest settlement in the region. "Better than renting out that Triggermen's hotel, surely?" They seemed to be on the ground floor now.
"Indeed." Yandel said. He wondered how all these sewer systems could properly work after an apocalypse of sorts. Perhaps this 'Great War' was like the Long Night, only even worse. He dreaded to think what such a Great War would do to Westeros. And yet it was possible that with new lands, many new ways to die also came. He would have to do his best to avoid these while he could.
The door was creaky, but it came out and was quickly locked by Coleman. Yandel checked the coast was clear to make sure no more of those fowl Triggermen came to cause any trouble. Their boss was not a nice man from what he heard, so it would be necessary to take many precautions here. Truth be told, no town in Westeros remotely resembles the situation in Goodneighbour, where the common people take what they want and keep others in line. It was more like the Dothraki than a civilised part of the world! And yet here it was.
"What do you think will happen to Goodneighbor once the Crown extends authority? Or the wasteland as a whole?" Yandel secretly hoped that they wouldn't kill off all of the different creatures, robots and races, for they would teach so much to the people of Westeros. "The only reason Boston hadn't overrun the continent by now is because of how chaotic and divided they are. Imagine what Westeros could've like if it had the technological advantage! No need to ask Braavos or the Free Cities for money, they'd be asking us!" The possibilities were endless, or at least he thought that.
"From what I can tell, the major, John Hancock is a friend of the Crown and hopes to align Goodneighbour with them once they come in. Which won't be for a while. House Lannister is very angry about some matter that happened in Winterfell, and has gone down south for it. I see the North and Riverlands are harassed by the difficulties that the Wasteland offers but wish to protect it as their territory. There are all sorts of rumours. That's just the affairs in Westeros. I'm sure some of the more devious Wastelanders such as the Institute will also have something up their sleeves, and bloodshed seems inevitable at this point. But enough about politics, let's find the others.
A a group of settlers were gathered around a fire cooking some stew of sorts like beggars, but they seemed substantially better off. Being in these conditions must have been quite poor for those who had known the Old World and it's supposed luxuries and the 'American Dream.' To go from such a utopia to this must have been dreadful for those Ghoul's who had lived through it all.
They sat down next to them to wait for their comrades, who were at an unknown part of the town. Yandel asked the supplier what type of soup he was providing, with them replying it was a mix of tomato, mole rat meat and garlic. He handed Yandel and Coleman a free bowl each for a test. The taste was peculiar but surprisingly appealing, and he could see why the people here depended on such dishes in a desperate environment.
They began talking about their stories and about how they got there. It was interesting to see the majority of them were women and yet we're just as experienced, survivalist and knowledgable as the men. Back at the Citadel, it was exclusively a male phenomenon, with women thought of in subservient roles or not involved in politics. For him to see women in an equal grounding to men and with similar positions was definitely something Tandel and other Maesters were surprised about, especially as Yandel had never known any life outside the Citadel's indoctrination. Perhaps Kings Landinf had more women in power than he gave credit for.
He began to reflect on his time here as he used a piece of leavened, somewhat stale bread to mop up the first batch of soup, before he humbly asked for more. This time the man charged a cap per boal, but was still eager to serve.
They had spent days here, but they couldn't be here forever. There was so much more wasteland to explore and catalogue. They hadn't been to Diamond City a city inside a former arena of death, the Air Force base where the flying ships would fuel and energise, Concord, the source of the Minutemen, and this 'Glowing Sea.' Who knows what could be lurking under there. There was much to explore and e loved it. There weren't many places he thought they could go further. Until Jonathor came up with Theomore.
"We need to go the Memory Den. I know you're all terrified of it for some reason, you cravens. But if you want to find Maester Cressen, we have useful information."
"And how would that be?" Maester Coleman asked with intrigue.
Jonathor dropped a bag. Inside it was a man's dissected head. With metallic parts. Yandel and Coleman both shuddered.
"By the gods, what are you doing? Who was that?" Yandel had seen enough dead bodies, but for his guard to bring back a corpse was despicable.
"It was a tech raider. Not one of Qyburn's pieces, don't worry. He said he knew where Cressen was. Me and a Wastelander killed him and the Wastelander told me to go to the Memory Den to find things about what was in his head. Looks like that's what we'll do." Even more despicable than the first commandment!
"You mean we should engage with necromancy and exploring the memories of dead men? These men are hellbound, clearly. Throwing ourselves into their deprived minds can never end well, even with good intentions!"
Yandel was not wishing to specialise in Valyrian chains and the dark magic, but hoped to one day be a great author like those before him. He would publish they finished works of 'A World of Ice and Fire' about the known world in general, 'Fire and Blood' about the Targaryen dynasty, and his own completely novel idea.
This one would be entitled 'A Guide to the Wasteland'. This was only a working title, admittedly, but when finished, it would serve as an expansion to World of Ice and Fire, for this would be a second world joining our own. It would inform Westerosi, both noble and smallfolk, rich and poor, close and remote, the dangers and benefits of new things and technologies. Perhaps the rich and poor divide would be broken, and this 'American Dream' could be realised in his world. He did not want to jeopardise his chances by involving in blatant necromancy!
"This isn't necromancy, Yandel, this is technology. These people know how minds and brains work. They can extract memories and give us exact information like nothing we've known. No more secrets, no more lies, no more reading people's outward appearances. We can know the intentions of the dead! And no magic involved at all! I say we go for it!" Jonathor had a morbid fascination with this, but the other Maesters agreed.
"We need to find Cressen to figure out what's going on!" Coleman said. "Let us just use this chance to find if he's dead or alive and deal appropriately with it! No more procrastination or loss. We've already lost one of ours to death, we don't need more to die for our own hesitance!" He had a point, that was sure.
"Very well, we'll go!" Yandel couldn't believe he was being coerced into this travesty of nature, but d it was true, then possibilities would be staggering. Technology of this kind could treat so many problems of the mind, such as madness, loss of memory, melancholy, extracting the truth and finding out information. It was certainly a shame the party involved would have to be dead at this point. But he vowed in his head that he would find a way. They put down their half-eaten stew, thanked the cooks and went on their way to the Memory Den.
The door opened and it was a peculiar look. The bricks here were a form of red and brown, with red curtains and lights for further compliment it. Posters of various media were around as well, though Yandel couldn't tell what these could represent. Perhaps they were books or plays? Or were they something else. In such a world, it was hard to say either way. The waiting hall had some benched and such to sit on, but it seemed Noone was occupying them at this point. That meant they could go straight in.
The area they entered was peculiar indeed. A seductive woman sat in a chair like some lady, or even a queen. Around her were strange pods filled with people or empty. A couple were queuing, but not many at all. He would wish to know what this involved. They approached the woman to see what she had to say.
"Hello, my lady. We would like to have access to these memory loss that you have available here. We need information on this to find our lost friend." Coleman said.
"Well, sugar, I gotta say it's not often I get called a lady around here. The name's Irma, and I'm in charge here. I'm afraid you'll need to talk to Doctor Amari about that kind of thing, km not used to it you see. If you want to relive pleasurable memories, either your own or one from our many databases, we have that to offer too. Are you those strangers from the new lands out Commonwealth, by the way? Your accents certainly seem alien to me."
"Indeed we are. And where is this 'Doctor' you speak of? We are unfamiliar with this post." It was true that a doctor position was unheard of in Westeros. Physicians were available only for the nobility and emergencies at the Citadel, but even they had a very hit and miss performance with their works. Yandel had seen stimpaks and sterilisation equipment in action, perhaps these doctors knew more about them and how to use them than the average layman.
"You might wanna see her downstairs. She'll know. Have a good time, boys!" It was clear she was just showing courtesy. Only Yandel was particularly youthful, and he was not an attractive man, so he didn't bother trying to court this lady. The doctor was needed to see what was inside that raider's brain.
They found her downstairs, working on some sort of machine-based chair. She fans them an odd look as they appeared in full Maester gear. Similarly, they seemed puzzled by her white and clean looking clothes, with an appearance of purity and disdain from filth, or at least that's what Yandel thought. Some not so clean thoughts also went thrown his head.
Coleman began. "Greetings, 'doctor' Amari, I...no, we wish to consult you about the exploration of memories here. We also wish to find out about your profession of doctor, as it is not something we Westerosi are familiar with at all. We would be grateful for all of these things, of course."
"I can't say I've met people with quite the same requests as you overall, especially explaining what a doctor is, but I have recently done a similar thing regarding memory explorations. Where is the sample you have of a hippocampus?" Jonathor got out the back and showed her the disembodied head. She shuddered back. "What the hell! Can you seperate the brain from the head? I'm not operating on that as it is!"
"Very well. Here or in there?" As he pointed to the operating theatre and got out his knife.
"In there of course." The woman replied, clearly disgusted by such a gesture of blunt violent content. Jonathor was never really the smartest though. He went in and did the deed while the others waited. It was quite bloody still, and so still with disgust, the doctor washed the blood off with water and sanitizer and put it on one of the computer monitors.
"Alright, unlike my precious sample, this brain is entirely intact, not just the hippocampus, so an intact range of memories are available to you directly fortunately. Hopefully you can make do with all of these new things. Who wishes to volunteer for this?" They all looked around at each other at the hearing of this.
"Volunteer for what?" Jonathor asked.
"To be the subject of the neural transmission. Basically, using this device, you'll be able to enter the brain of this raider and find out where they came from and what relevant information they have. What kind of information are you after anyway?"
"First of all, the location of our missing friend. Secondly, the j ow how of dealing with robots, and perhaps thirdly, the discovery of how the raider gangs operate as to find a way to deal with them." Yandel was very methodical and proud of it when it came to his descriptions.
"Would you be the volunteer for this?" The others looked at him and prompted with nods.
"Very well, yes. I'll volunteer for this. Though I must warn you I've never done anything close to this before." He hesitated as he got into the chair.
"Neither have most." She said as she slipped the neural device into his head. "This may take a few seconds, I'll update any progress to you." Soon, the physical, real world began to blur out and after twenty seconds of pitch black, another began to take its place.
It it was a dark purple network like some kind of spiders web, like nothing he had ever seen. Perhaps this is what the neural network is truly like, he thought. Any concept of the soul and its life essence must be dramatically changed if this is true! The others must know when I'm out!
"Alright, 'maester', your first memory for this guy is up on your left. Go." He went.
This one showed a youth being taken from seemingly loving parents by a group of savage raiders. It must have been that they had kidnapped him and indoctrinated him in their ways. The poor thing. He heard a voice. It must have been the raider. "The name's Spike. Here I am being taken away from my parents by by adoptive parents. I didn't know what was happening, but this would be my new life. I always wondered what happened to them, you know. But now it's too late to say." He wanted more time here, but it wasn't relevant.
The next had a boy of ten being savagely beaten by his superiors. Spike had a spiked hair as well as a piece of shrapnel coming out of his arm following the beating. "These guys were fucking savages to me, beat me, starved me, did some unspeakable things to me. But I survived. And grew." He used this piece to cut the throat of the man beating him, which earned him the respect of the older raiders. "From then on, my gang began to grow and grow, but it wouldn't last." Then the memory faded to black. Yandel now had to go on to the next one. He tried desperately to my fall of the purple flowing network. He could see minor memories at each side, mere flashbacks and such. He heard Amari's voice again.
"Alright, got some more relevant memories coming up soon. This may help you in your objectives! Also, you don't have to stay entirely on the neural network, it's not that you'll fall off. Got that?" He looked up and gave her voice a thumbs up.
The next step showed him as a recruit for the Rust Devils- the group of robotically involved raiders, dismantling his first robot at the age of seventeen. His crew were also joining this group and watching at his side. "My gang was only so large, and in the Rust Devils, we saw something others didn't have. Good technology and the knowledge of how to use it. With that insane mechanist sending robots out to harass and kill people, it was the right time to exploit this technology and build something great with it. We still had to kill and exploit people of course, but robots were so much more useful than human manpower. We became a gang of equals-mostly at least." The process was fascinating in watching the codes and wires of the machine be figured. Yandel could feel this information being 'downloaded' into his brain, giving him everything this raider had in terms of technical knowledge. Another was the different names and catalogues of different robots available and different combinations they could appear in. Yandel could surely teach the Citadel how to use robots after this!
The next along these strange purple webs was what looked like some kind of negotiation. The other raider had blood and claimed to work for a person called 'The Judge'. The coordinates to his hideout were downloaded into Yandel's mind. The bloody minion grinned at the transaction . Spike was somewhat more reluctant in this particular exchange.
"I thought this captive would be very useful in finding out about this outer world and the opportunities it held. It was a shame to sell him, but we needed the caps." In his chained hand, he had Cressen! That bastard had taken a maester of the Citadel and sold him as a slave to some bloody lunatics! The raider went back with Cressen in chains, with their shadows going wide. But there was something suspicious. Spike started talking again.
"I noticed something was wrong in the shadows. There was mine, naturally, Maester Cressen's and the guards. But there was also another one, that seemed to be steaming, burning even. I couldn't know what caused it, but I had a feeling this new world bought more than populace to us." Yandel hesitated to comprehend what this shadow could mean. It could have just been an illusion, but it could also have been a sign of another presence there, one unfamiliar to Wastelanders. Magic! But magic didn't exist in the Wastelanders, so it must have come from the outside. But who would provide such a thing to raiders? He moved to the final vision.
The last figure was of Spike the Rust Devil meeting Jonathor, fighting for his life against the skilled swordsman aimed only with a defensive baseball bat. He managed to land a few hits on the guard, but it was soon knocked out of his hands. He tried to grab his pistol, but he was soon stabbed by Jonathor and finally being cut down. Spike ended with- "and now I can finally rest. I hope you found what you wanted, and I'm sorry it had to come to this." Now the visions were over. Yandel started to return to the world of the normal.
It it took a few seconds to return to the normal world, but he was here. His fellow Maesters gathered around him and started asking questions. Theomore asked "how did you feel when you were inside? Was it as a spirit or soul entering the domain of another soul?" While Jonathor asked "what was it like having a second mind to share with?" Only Cressen spoke sense. "What did you see?"
Yandel prepared to answer. He coughed and started. First of all, I know how to build robots. All of them. Secondly, I know who has taken Cressen and where. I say we go and rescue him?"
"And how exactly to a group of Maesters with no combat training go after a camp of armed and trained raiders?" Amari asked. Jonathor nodded. "She has a point, you know."
Yandel grinned. "We learn the skills to make robots and fight fire with fire of course!"