The further the group traveled into the tired old building, the less wear and tear they saw. Apart from layers of dust, some areas of the theatre were still pristine. The stage, for instance, had all of its original hardwood, and the huge velvet curtains remained untouched by moths or other bugs. Of course, they took their exploration slowly, for they had only a limited amount of power until they could look at the electricity and wiring of the building.

It was a task that Paul was made for.

He was a former military man, building new things at the will of his commander. He created a new way to use less power, and was going to become rich because of it… and then the war started. No longer were his skills needed to wire planes and buildings- they wanted him on the front line, dropping bombs on whatever target they asked. Russia, he had seen go up in flames. China, Argentina, the Franco-Spanish states. The Catholic nation, Italia or whatever it was called. The world's population shrunk to less than a million people, and all because of the missions he flew. Hell, he hadn't even known how to fly a plane before the last Great War, but they made sure he learned. It wasn't that hard, considering the mortality rate. He flew so many missions, lost so many friends…

And then it was over. Paul Fontenay returned to his home of New Orleans to find that less than a hundred people remained. Alex and Elizabeth, the grown children of the Mayor and formidable, indeed. Hope, Josef, and Marguerite, students in the musical college, touring the country together when the bombs hit. Jack, a street rat living in the basement of an old building, surviving but not knowing how he did it. Remy, the colored servant in the Mayor's household, taken with them into their shelter and hating them for it. And so many more besides…. So many lives lost.

And he had been a part of it.