Chapter 3, Secrets of Rapture Revealed.
I was woken up with a startle to the noise of the submarine hitting the side of something. I quickly got out of bed and made my way to the haul, opened the hatch, and got out of the submarine. The air was cool but ever so slightly musty, but not the same kind of musty that you would expect in the wasteland. This was more like the smell of moss drying out. Aside from that, it was completely pitch black and I couldn't see anything except faint letters and make out a few silhouettes. I quickly turned on my Pip Boy Light to illuminate the area from my wrist and was shocked by what I was seeing. To my left I saw this weird spherical object and to my front I saw a counter with words I couldn't fully understand and some sort of sealed door behind the counter. To my left was a dark hallway that just only added to the creepy atmosphere I was feeling. I looked down at my feet and saw a faded red carpet that led into the hallway further like it was inviting me to go down it.
I turned on my Radio as the silence of Rapture was only giving me anxiety that something was going to pop out at me. The radio station immediately started to play Jingle Jangle Jingle as I made my way down the hallway. I think the darkness was exaggerating how long this hallway was, but it still gave me the creeps of what could be lying in the shadows. I turned left up a staircase and was greeted by a giant machine in the center of the room and to my right were some pods that looked like they housed something in them. I examined the table that had a bunch of lab equipment as well as a terminal in the middle there. There were some containers that were air tight and sealed hooked up to a device and I could not open it at all.
I decided to go up to the machine in the center of the room to examine it further and it was nothing like I had ever seen. It looked like it had this place where you could stand in with light bulbs of some sort surrounding the top of it. I looked to my left and saw what looked like a kitchen that almost looked like it was still being used even if it was hundreds of years old. Strangely enough, the place did not look as faded or decrypted as I was thinking it would be given how long this place was standing. Maybe the water and how deep we were underwater prevented it from decaying as fast as something on the surface. I found a terminal in the center of the kitchen and upon opening it, it looked like there were some logs. I read the first one as Big Iron started to play from my radio.
Day 1 (Sep 30,77)
When we arrived at the city, most of it was flooded, so we decided to set our base of operation in that lab. Had to destroy the lower walls of the submarine bay in order to dock.
I can't believe that I'm actually walking through this place!
Day 3 (Oct 2,77)
Learned about the individual who ran this place and what he was working on. His name was Y. Suchong and he were working in this lab. We've looked through some documents and they cover lots of things that we don't understand. Imprinting, bouncers, vita-chamber, mind control etc. A lot of work ahead.
The lower levels of Artemis suites are flooded, the higher are inaccessible, the metro system is flooded as well.
We believe we have found the remains of that Suchong and his last recording. He was killed apparently when one of his experiments went wrong.
Went through the equipment in the lab that is still intact. Stored some of it, including the DNA sample which we believe is imprinting related.
Seems like we are alone at the moment though we recovered some bodies.
Must learn more soon. So much more to uncover!
Day 4 (Oct 3,77)
Equipment for working underwater has arrived. So, we are going to launch some "scout teams" to the flooded areas of the city.
We were able to launch the local reserve generator. Even after all these years it was operational. Unfortunately, most of the power lines are destroyed beyond recovery. We were able to bring some lights online though.
Well this is interesting. It at least explains how much technology from my time they were able to bring here and seeing the data attached to this terminal, they had uncovered quite the amount of information. I'll keep reading, see what else there is.
Day 5 (Oct4,77)
The Vita-Chamber appears to be a "Resurrection" device. We have no idea about the principles on which it works yet, but it seems to be able to "resurrect" a dead individual based on his DNA. (Was the sample we recovered intended to be used for resurrection testing?)
Vita-Chamber is in working condition, from what I can understand, however the requirements for power should be astronomical. I'm not even sure how they managed to maintain such projects without the modern level of nuclear power technologies.
Ordered an additional generator to be delivered. If it does what the documents claim it's an unbelievable tech that could change everything. We found some more of the chambers throughout the city but none of them could possibly be restored. The one in the lab appears to be a prototype.
Wait hold on what the fuck? How is that possible? Bringing someone back from the dead with their DNA? Who could this person be and if they did bring them back, are they among us right now? I gotta keep going to find out what else is here.
Day 6 (Oct 5, 77)
Learned about plasmids and ADAM. We've researched the recovered human remains. Or not so human. They were altered in very unnatural and weird ways.
It's beyond anything our biologist can imagine. Imagine what we could achieve if we could understand and use that kind of tech?
What happened to this place after all?
Day 8 (Oct 7, 77)
One of the scout teams found some strange device in a flooded "Housewares" building. We were also lucky enough to uncover some of the documentation regarding it. It has to be a teleport of some sort. What else will we find here?
Day 12 (Oct 11, 77)
We've recovered all parts of the device and we'll try to rebuild it in the hall. We will connect it to the reserve generator for now.
There are documents indicating that the device was used to establish a link into the past, year 1912 to be exact.
A TIME MACHINE? For real?
I'll say this again, What the fuck? What was in 1912? I mean is this place even older than I think? Are we talking close to 400 years? I mean if this time machine still works, maybe I could go back in time to prevent the bombs from being dropped or warn my dad of the Enclave showing up once we turned on the water purifier. I could save my dad from dying from radiation poisoning in that chamber. I shook my head to get a grip on myself. I need to keep reading to find out more about this.
Day 13 (Oct 12, 77)
Collected a strange creature from the sea bottom. We believe it is referred to as a "Sea slug" in Suchong's documents. Researching the biomass properties.
Day 15 (Oct 14, 77)
The rear parts of the lab collapsed today. This place is highly unstable. A. Leroy and B. Jenkins are dead. Locked the whole area down in case it gets flooded. Hope we have enough time to salvage some more data from here.
Day 17 (Oct 16, 77)
The nuclear generator finally arrived. Had to place it in the docking area in the proximity of water. It will provide enough power for any tests. We've paired it to the local generator so that it would start at the same time.
Day 18 (Oct 17, 77)
Still researching the ADAM samples and it could be VERY big. We are finally starting to get an idea about what was going on here and this idea is amazing.
Day 19 (Oct 18, 77)
The generator is installed. We believe we found a way to key a vita chamber to a DNA sample. Need to run more tests and simulations but looks like we are finally getting to making it work and, what's more important, understanding the principles of its work.
Still no progress with the teleportation device though, our simulations indicate that the device activation would cause a massive CO2 ejection. Looks like there was a part of the device responsible for absorbing CO2, however we weren't able to recover it. It would take some time to find a proper solution for this issue. This will be our priority right after the "Vita-Chamber" device test.
If only we had all the technical documentation.
Day 22 (Oct 21, 77)
The Vita-Chamber initial test is set to be held in three days. Everything is in place now. We're going to use the DNA sample we found earlier in the lab. This DNA is definitely human and bears no signs of artificial alteration. We should be extremely careful with the power calibrations though. One wrong step and the power loop will cause the total overload. We have the alarm system but still have to keep men monitoring the reactor readings all the time when we finally get to the test.
Day 24 (Oct 23, 77)
Just got an automated emergency message on an encrypted military channel. Says that we must leave everything and return to base immediately on a submarine. All normal communications are down, and no one responds, including our home base and the ship waiting for us at the surface.
What's going on?
I collected myself and sat back in the chair after reading everything. Holy fucking shit. Time travel devices and bringing people back to life. This is just incredible and something that my comics only talked about and would give me dreams as a kid of wanting to bring back people like my mother. Not only that, whatever these ADAM and Plasmids are, these could be the pre war weapons I could maybe add to my arsenal provided I find them. Sadly there is not much info on them, just on the Time Travel and this Vita Chamber. Makes sense. These would change the course of human history and our capabilities on what we could do. Sadly, I do not think I could bring my mother back as her remains, wherever they are, would not be well preserved. But whoever this is, their remains could be used to bring them. It looks like they never got the chance to act on it, but I could. I just need to find a way to turn the power back on.
I looked over the kitchen counter and could make out power lines going into a room right next to the lab equipment area I had examined earlier. I figured that was where the power room was so I made my way down the stairs and was met with a giant generator that once again aligned it from my time. So it should not be too difficult to fix up provided there are parts left over to fix it. I examined the generator and I think it just needs some scrap metal, some new conductors, some wonder glue, a new sensor module, and a fission battery. I thankfully had some parts left over from repairing the sub that I could use so I used them to fix up the generator. Once I wiped the grease off my hands, I turned on the generator and the entire place lit up very nicely. It did not feel as spooky as it did before with all the lights on so I decided to turn off the Pip Boy light and my radio off but had my 44 on standby just in case.
I made my way back up the stairs and figured I could open up that container I mentioned earlier since the fail safe was turned off with the power going back on. I opened the container and was met with a few things as a wisp of cool air hit me as well as I could hear it opening up, sounding like opening a large can of Nuka Cola. I noticed there was a tube with a wad of black hair in it that had the label "E. Comstock" on it. There was also a brain in a jar that had the same label on it. I also saw a note attached to an air bag sealed off what looked like some clothes and the only thing I could see was just a white shirt with a red ribbon around the collar and a pendant that had a bird on it in the middle. I started to read the note.
Though the subject's brain is partially damaged due to a form of blunt trauma, according to our research of the Vita Chamber, it appears it can easily repair the damage so long as the brain is kept in the best conditions. The hair sample can also help repair further damage and the clothes are a precaution in case the subject appears without any clothes.
The note wasn't signed but I could tell it must have been kept soon after the person died and must have been kept here in this container all this time. I'm not sure how it's possible but who knows what people had pre war. I also noticed in the box there was a large rolled up paper, and when I unraveled it, it revealed itself to be a larger version of the painting I had received earlier. I rolled up the painting again and put it back in my bag. I also gathered everything and I decided to take it to the Vita Chamber which according to the notes was behind the counter I had seen behind that sealed door. When I made my way back to the counter, the sealed door was open and I walked down it to be greeted by pipes along both sides of the wall. I could hear my boots echoing against the metal grate lining the hallway and as I entered the lab area, I noticed this weird robot thing on the floor. It had a tank on the back of it and its right hand had a drill for a hand. Not only that, it looked like a human could fit in this thing. Maybe it could have been power armor for people back then or something else entirely.
I made my way around the place and it looked like what you would expect from a science lab. Black and white checkered tiles on the floor to standard office chairs with more terminals from my time to counters and cabinets with empty flasks and vials. I noticed a light illuminating another one of those armor suits on a table which only showed to me that these scientists were studying these armor pieces and how it could be implemented for people today. However, I noticed a chalkboard that said " Imprinting solution NOT found in genetics!"
Ok, that is weird. I do not know what that could mean but regardless I looked to my right and saw the bright green, illuminated sign that said "Vita Chamber '' There it is, it's not as big or complex as I thought it was as I approached it. It was just sitting there in the middle of the room and it was just in the shape of a wide, brown tube that had some electoral components sticking out to maybe disperse the electricity. I looked to my left and saw a terminal as well as a chalk board above it that said "Vita -Chamber Project Ryan Industries" Maybe that was the name of the group of the scientists that came here.
I looked down and saw compartments that looked like they housed each of the pieces that were in the sealed container. There was a tub leading into the machine that looked like it fit the hair sample, so I opened the top of the hair and slid the tube into the part. There was another compartment that clearly could house the brain as not only was it in the shape of the brain, but it had a device that looked like it fit around the jar. So I took the top of the jar off and put that device around the jar. Finally, there was a slot skinny enough to take the clothes I had picked up earlier so I put that in as well. Once I put everything in, I examined the terminal and agreed to power it on. Then I noticed the green light on the processor next to the computer indicating it was waiting to be turned in.
"Well, here goes nothing. Please don't blow up," I said to myself and then pushed the button.
Immediately, the Vita Chamber began to kick and whirl with electricity and smoke coming out of it. Noise of electrical discharge started to fill the room and I covered my ears with how loud it was getting. When the Vita Chamber stopped spitting out electricity and the smoke cleared, I noticed a figure collapse out of the chamber. I tried to get a good look at who this was and I noticed that it was a woman that looked around my age and looked familiar. Then another realization hit me, it was the woman from the painting.