Old Conductor, Possessed Anew
Chapter 4
It took me a couple moments for that realization to settle in. It was kind of surprising actually, I was an AI and yet my thinking speed hadn't been propelled that far ahead. Not to say there wasn't any mental improvements- thinking speed and reaction speed had gotten a boost, and from what I could tell my ability to Multitask was far above that of any biological being, even if it wasn't to it's fully potential yet due to not having enough hardware and my mind still adapting.
Then again, considering the level that some Fallout tech was at, it made me wonder if I would lack some of the capabilities and feats that other Artificial Intelligences had; like Cortana's ability to split into multiple copies of herself to use an example.
Getting back to the task at hand, I looked over the map again. This was the only one around, and it was both damaged and not all that detailed besides rail routes and stations, but thankfully enough of it remained that I was able to identify my location- the Thropp Switch Station just west of Ellensburg in the southern part of the state of Washington. Apparently this place was built in the late 2020's, so it might not have even been around back at home. The place apparently served to split off freight trains into two lines, the normal one heading east to Ellensburg and west towards Thropp itself, while the second one goes northeast to link up with another west-east rail line near Wenatchee.
I have the robot physically store away the map as I look it over, the image and data already saved to my databanks, which were surprisingly good.
Besides the train car storing my main hardware and the connection terminal, the two cars behind me were both loaded up with active servers and hardware that kept my programs functioning well and allowed for storage of plenty of data, along with processing power for some of my functions and programs. It was all in surprisingly great condition too; the two server cars completely untouched and damaged within their sealed holds, while only a bit of damage was inflicted on my main car.
Even then, it all mostly came from a bit of jarring movement from the crash and the brief reactions of the personnel inside before they died, and a bullet that had managed to somehow go through a small previously existing bullet hole and shred a couple components. They lasted long enough, and my backups for the functions those pieces performed were unharmed and still running, but whatever it was it eventually resulted in the process for the lockdown on Standby Mode being lifted when they failed.
I take a moment to watch the footage of the fight that resulted in that, noting with some dismay that it looked like the poor people had been fleeing from raiders. A shame, but at least they were a key part in freeing me. I send over a couple bots over to their vehicle to gather the skeleton remains- chewed up and broken as they were, for a quick burial. I had the time, and it was the least I could do.
Night soon falls, although that hinders me little as my robots continue working. The burial is completed, and a brief check over their belongings provides me with a weathered notebook that I use to find their names; Cap and Laura. I inscribe them on the basic crosses I fashion- using wood boards from the station and cutting them to an appropriate size. Cutting their names into the board, I look at them for one last moment before leaving.
I turn my attention back towards other endeavors, such as my location. The place quite frankly wouldn't serve as much of a base of operations even in the short term. The station building itself was badly damaged, with what wasn't torn away from the crash worn and eroded away by the elements, radioactive waste, and damage from the occasional fight with some unlucky bastard. The crates themselves wouldn't provide protection forever- the one I'm mainly housed in had some patched up damage as is. I was just lucky the car crates housing my servers and munitions/fuel were a reinforced military type that would be very useful, one that for some reason I didn't have for my main hardware. Just another oddity, up there with why I was in an active setup.
Moving on from that, I considered my other option- relocation. It would be tricky and stressing, but doable barring the track ahead being much worse off than first thought. The train engine of the train I was on was clearly a wreck- the entire thing warped, shredded, and burned from the nuclear engine going off. The car full of heavy machinery it had crashed into was likewise little more then radioactive scrap metal- the crash, radiation, and elements all breaking that cargo down. Thankfully, from what my Mister Gutsys could see the engine of the second train was in better condition, if neglected. If I got my hands on some proper Mister Handys, or at least some other robots with mechanical programs, I could likely get in working enough to bring the cars to the nearest location to settle down in.
There was the issue of power in that engine, but that's where the Station's Mark IV fusion generator came into play.
Initially I had thought the thing to be trashed and, at best, good only for parts. However a closer second look revealed many things that I had misjudged. The leaking radiation was quickly dealt with even with the limited mechanical help on hand, and while it wasn't exactly worthy of being put on the sale floor, it was quite satisfactory enough as it worked at 75% efficiency. I was already working on figuring out what was needed to safely disconnect it, with plans on soon moving it onboard flitting throughout my mind.
It would be primarily useful for getting the train engine running, although afterwards using it to power my systems in place of the old duel miniature fusion-core powered generators was a primary objective. Granted the things were still going, but they had been in near-constant use for a long time, and that was nothing to add onto the fact that I was reliant on them to remain online. No, I needed to make sure my power was going strong, although even afterwards they'd probably stay as backups. Of course nuclear wasn't the only option, as I recall having seen wind farms before when driving through central Washington, so some of those might possibly still be around and usable.
The only reasons why I wasn't removing the fusion generator now was that I wanted to make sure that the process would go right; that and the fact that the still operable crane and station hardware could be helpful in getting the train aligned properly in the right direction.
On that front, I prepared several eyebots to start scouting. Three would go northwest towards Thropp, another three towards Ellensburg to the southeast, and two more would each fan out northeast and southwest to scout around my immediate area. With luck, the little guys will report back on my surroundings and the two pre-war settlements that I planned on checking for a location to base myself at.
I send them away on their missions, the little bots beeping merily as they floated along. As I turn my main focus back to work though, I pause as I note something curious.
Each of the eyebots had communications equipment in them, that I knew. With my limited setup here it wasn't enough to keep a long-range connection with them, and I suspected that long-ranged communications would be spotty too. That I already knew.
What I didn't realize until now was that they could piggyback off each other a bit for me to maintain my connection. Noting it when an eyebot stopped to scan the bridge to my west, I noted that as the other two continued on out of my range, when the third eyebot raced to catch up, I was briefly able to connect back with the other two.
Having the third eyebot pause at the edge of my range, I let the other two continue on towards Thrupp, the network connection still being maintained until the eyebots saw a Red Rocket station and a nearby produce store; a road heading straight north from the highway up to Thrupp itself. Once that happened, I allowed the third eyebot to fly ahead to meet the other two before going to scout the small town, letting them go out of range as I sit back and think.
While that wasn't the solution to my range problem, it would help extend. I couldn't trust in a long relay chain of eyebots though.
Although, a part of the digital resources given to me was several programs and interfaces for constructing and modifying blueprints in my database. It was a part of my original purpose, I would have several depots or FOBs construct and assemble on-site gear, equipment, and weaponry close to the frontline. Among these were robots, and while most of my stored database was either gone or not included to begin with, robotic units and some modifications and loadouts were amongst what I had, along with the few bits of gear salvaged from the nearby wrecks that I could scan and save.
Among the potential options was to refit an eyebot to be better suited for communications, with things such as the more advanced scanners and related computing components being replaced by those better suited for communications.
The design certainly held merit, but like many other things would need to wait for me to set up a proper assembly to get started on.
As the next few hours pass, I get to work on finishing what repairs are needed for the crane and switch equipment before getting to work. My first goal of moving the wrecked engine off the tracks took a lot of time and careful work, and a couple times I had to pause to make minor corrections or fix something in the crane. In the end though, with the combined effort of many of my robotic units and the crane, I was able to get the large train engine off the track and onto the nearby ground.
With that done, I next get to work on positioning the second train engine. This was comparatively easy, as after using the crane and bots to push to the side a few stuck and wrecked train cars, I was able to slowly guide the train engine back towards the Station- thankfully the engine itself was on the main west-east line so I wouldn't need to spend time getting it off the splitting-off line.
As I get started on moving the damaged or useless cars off the track, I mentally glance up from my work as I feel the first eyebots returning. Time to see what was around me.