OLD WORLD REDUX: A FALLOUT STORY
1 - Vegas, Interrupted
It was a dream, obviously.
Admittedly, it was rare for Robert House to need to hibernate. The neural subsystems had been designed to minimize the need for sleep. But once every few years it was necessary, and now he found himself in a remarkably vivid simulacrum of his life before the war. He quickly glanced at the calendar in his penthouse, and saw that it said October 2070. Sunday the 26th, by the looks of it.
He smiled. He would enjoy this experience.
He walked over to the window and was delighted to see Vegas and the surrounding area entirely intact. The Old World was an impressive sight, doomed though it was. He pinched himself, more to amuse than anything else.
And was shocked when he felt pain.
He slapped himself across his face.
Pain, again.
-owr-
It was real.
All of it.
Which meant…
"Which means I have a chance to do it over," he said out loud to the empty penthouse room.
-owr-
LUCKY 38 CASINO TO CLOSE! EXPERTS BAFFLED AT ABRUPT CLOSURE OF PROFITABLE CASINO BY BUSINESS MAGNATE HOUSE IN 30 DAYS; HOUSE CITES CORPORATE SECRECY CLAUSES AND DECLINES COMMENT
-owr-
The world could not be saved.
Even with over a century of experience, his projections still said the same thing they had five (two hundred plus?) years ago: the Great War was inevitable.
His actions could postpone or hasten it; it was difficult to say. The butterly effect meant that nobody born after this time would be again - he knew the closure of the Lucky 38 was already going to prevent numerous conceptions.
That was good. He was never very good at sharing power, as he suspected this Courier had wanted to. Better to take care of the situation himself.
2 - So Capacious, So Very Very Dear
July 2074…
"Delivery for Robert Edwin House?"
"Thanks, pardner! I'll take that up to him right quick."
And so the change had been made, and his plans would be fulfilled. So many variables with this new outcome…
…but none changing the overall calculus of the coming War.
-owr-
February 2076…
COMMIES CRUSHED! ALASKA LIBERATED!
-owr-
Preparations had been completely in place for well over a year when the Americans won the war in Alaska ahead of schedule.
Of course, that had been his doing. Bribing and making subtle (or unsubtle) threats in order to ensure a victory was fairly simple - easier than he'd expected it to be, certainly.
After all, everyone was going to die anyways, so he might as well have fun experimenting.
-owr-
Doomsday came on 4th of July, 2076. The symbolism of such a day being clear to even the most idiotic, as was choice of nighttime to strike.
It was interesting to see how the casualty count was higher despite the attacks not taking place in the morning in this timeline, most likely due to the Great War coinciding with the tercentennial almost perfectly. More would die. The radiation might be slightly worse.
But thanks to the upgrades provided by the Mk II OS, Vegas was saved from all warheads. There would be no stray missiles this time. And that meant that the citizens were alive.
For now.
Before bedlam had set in.
-owr-
5 years later…
"History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes."
Mr. House felt Mark Twain truly was a prophet.
The Kings were the last gang left standing, and they were already adopting the trappings of the Impersonator's School as a tribal identity. He could work with this.
It was time to open the Vaults.
3 - The Vaults Are Opened
Overseer Natalia Wong stared at the message on the terminal screen.
To the Overseers of Vault 3 and Vault 21,
I have successfully prevented the destruction of the majority of Las Vegas via the use of advanced computer software. On behalf of the Free City Of New Vegas, I hereby invite Vault 3 and Vault 21 to join our growing new nation.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that you can experience the luxury of the Old World in the comfort and splendor of the Strip, which contains the three best casinos that the Free City has to offer.
IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE that we are currently working on construction of an Outer Wall which will completely protect the Free City from the scourges of the Mojave Wasteland.
We will expect a response within ninety days.
Cordially,
Robert Edwin House
Chief Executive of the Free City of New Vegas
-owr-
RESULTS OF THE VAULT 3-NEW VEGAS INCORPORATION REFERENDUM
FOR: 52.4%
AGAINST: 47.6%
REFERENDUM PASSES. VAULT 3 INHABITANTS WILL RESETTLE IN NEW VEGAS AND CONVERT VAULT 3 INTO A SECURE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FACILITY. SECURITRONS WILL PROVIDE PROTECTION.
-owr-
Meanwhile, in another Vault whose fate was Control rather than Experimental, the inhabitants concluded the most consequential game of Texas Hold' Em in Vegas history.
"Four of a Kind!" The anti-House player proudly proclaimed…
…only to see his grin immediately vanish when the pro-House player laid down his hand.
"Royal Flush."
One faction cheered wildly and another sulked, but the latter would get over it soon enough. It turned out that running the casinos suited the inhabitants of Vault 21 very well. And as in another world - one that would never be due to the supernatural gift Robert House had been given - Vault 21 became a hotel.
4 - The Inner and Outer Walls
Luxury requires appearance. The original Strip Wall had been a slapdash creation, one made just in time to welcome the NCR. In this world it seemed the city of Barstow, not far from Vegas, had been spared any nukes by an absurd stroke of luck. And so they would likely come to Vegas soon when they saw the skyline of the Lucky 38 on the Horizon, contrasted brightly with the desolation of the nuclear night.
Two hundred years to the day that he was to be thrown back in time in another world, in the year 2081, the former inhabitants of Vault 21 officially opened the Ultra-Luxe, Tops, and Gomorrah for business on behalf of Robert Edwin House. And this time they would be surrounded by a protector worthy of being called the Inner Wall.
-owr-
The errant thoughts, the ones that would divert Mr. House, first came to him then.
For what was the purpose of Vegas, after all? To be an oasis in the desert, one that would lead humanity back to honor and glory. But he did not need to leave it for that to occur, nor overextend his securitrons. Perhaps it would be possible to manipulate the newly-proclaimed Union of Barstow into a technologically beneficial path…
He would never share power over New Vegas, however. This was HIS city.
Nobody else's.
-owr-
2 years later…
The walls were enormous towers of steel, repurposed from the surrounding land. The inhabitants of both Vault 3 and Vault 21 had been fairly cooperative in volunteering labor. They seemed grateful to be above ground again.
And he had been happy to watch over them with his securitron army, and even happier when they built the Outer Wall with little dissent. Both took their governing systems fairly seriously, which was impressive given that they had only been underground for five years.
More people, and more territory, lay ahead.
5 - Annexing the Mojave
2133…
Vault 34 was a chaotic place.
Chaotic by design, of course, but also out of a refusal of its inhabitants to change its traditions. Gun ownership was the culture, and with that came an ethos that strongly emphasized individual freedom above EVERYTHING else (except when the Overseer decided to lock the armory, of course).
And with that Mr. House thought they would be the perfectcandidates for the McCarran and Nellis Revival Project.
He would ultimately let them keep the Vault on the condition that they allow outsiders in. He suspected a generation, two at the most would be sufficient to realize his loyalty plans.
-owr-
So it went throughout the wasteland.
What would have been Mojave Outpost was built into a proper international boundary, one that would eventually be established by treaty.
The REPCONN test site was recaptured, with long-term plans to use it as a springboard for mankind's journey to the stars.
The inhabitants of the remaining Vaults were either freed from their Experimental curses or painlessly disposed of.
And throughout it all Robert Edwin House was watching, planning, and turning the Free City of New Vegas into a perfect replica of the world he knew.
For nothing could ever quite match the splendor of Vegas.
6 - Different Customers, Same Business
2144…
Some things never change. In what was Ambassador Crocker's office in another timeline, Barstow Union Ambassador Maria Lopez sat instead. The same desk, but a smaller, newer, and different nation.
One that was currently in the middle of the most difficult negotiations of its young life.
"I'm sure you see the importance of agreeing to the treaty," Mr. House said, his tone maintaining that same annoying mix of condescension and self-assuredness. "The Free City of New Vegas has no intention of interfering with the sovereignty of the Union of Barstow, and your people greatly enjoy visiting our casinos."
"So what are you long-term plans?" She asked.
"What do you think? The stars, of course! The desolation and ruin of our homeworld will be left behind, and we will find a new planet untainted by the sins of the former United States."
Her eyes widened. "That's…quite ambitious, Mr. House."
"Don't be coy, Ambassador. We both known the Union is going to expand. I simply want to ensure the expansion stops at Mojave Outpost."
"And in return?"
"In return? In return, you'll receive a ready-made economic powerhouse, eager to trade resources and people with a fledgling young Republic. So what do you say?"
Her eyes narrowed. She didn't get this far in politics by being naive.
But she also had a good sixth sense, and she didn't think House was lying here. Diversity bred strength.
Warily, she picked up the pen on her task and signed the Barstow-New Vegas Treaty, and the former United States saw governance once more.
Epilogue: The Perfect Snowglobe
2281…
"LIFTOFF!"
Mr. House simulated a smile as the Union of Barstow's colony ship made its way to Mars.
This day had been a long time coming. Centuries of careful planning had finally come to fruition. Though truthfully, he cared less about things now that the ships were on their way. Barstow could take care of that.
No, he was preoccupied with maintaining the Free City of New Vegas. A shining beacon of pre-War glory, a perfect Snowglobe.
Snowglobes. There was a luxuries industry again, and he had filled the Lucky 38 with them. Replicas of Vegas, mainly, but also of Barstow City and many other places. As his Vegas was, they were perfectly preserved works of art.
Mankind could have the stars. Robert House had Vegas, his beloved Snowglobe, and that was all he needed.