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October 24th, 3:26 a.m. The Mojave
Yes Man processed the Courier's desired response to the Frumentarii's movements and with a final quip about mounting Caesar's head over a fireplace, withdrew his consciousness to the Lucky 38's network. Half of a moment was all the time it took him to issue the commands to the relevant systems, meaning he once again found himself severely lacking acceptable stimuli.
Shifting lazily through the multitudes of robots and cameras uploading their recordings to the Lucky 38 mainframe, he latched onto an Eyebot overseeing the NCR's withdrawal and assumed direct control. The relatively low definition stream blurred for a moment before snapping back into clearer focus. Thousands of soldiers lay below him and as he shifted his attention, the Eyebot's camera followed suit. Most of the soldiers appeared to be sleeping, but some were gathered around small fireplaces talking amongst themselves.
Deciding against sending the Eyebot down to listen in on the conversations, Yes Man shifted his focus to the edges of the camp. The soldiers on watch appeared upright and alert, which was probably due to the ever-moving Securitron army that surrounded them. With preset precision the robots weaved past one another in a mechanized dance of glowing screens and near-silent wheels.
Movement attracted his attention at the side of the camp that rested against a small rocky outcropping. A pair of NCR soldiers were climbing their way out of the camp – either deserting or under orders to have a look around. Yes Man issued a command and a group of Securitrons raced over to hide themselves on the other side of the natural barrier.
Taking much longer than Yes Man would have preferred, the soldiers finally made it to the other side of the outcropping. As they began to slink out into the open of the wasteland, the Securitron's spotlights erupted out of the darkness and the machines bellowed out an order of identification.
One soldier raised his hands in the air while the other promptly fell over. Filled with mischievous satisfaction, Yes Man took control of one of the Securitrons to get a better look at the two men. The first's face made the AI glad he was a machine, as it was an expression he wanted to remember forever, and the second lay with his arms and legs held stiffly against his body. Ordering the fallen soldier onto his feet, Yes Man escorted the two men back to the NCR camp at a rather embarrassing trot.
Shifting back to the Eyebot, Yes Man gave the area one last scan before returning to the Lucky 38. Changing his focus to the city below the tower, he observed the celebration of the victory at Hoover Dam. The lights of the New Vegas Strip and its three Casinos shone towards the sky, doing their best to match the cloudless night and its countless pinpoints of brilliance. The Gomorrah's blazing crimson effigies enticed visitors to relent to their poorly contained vices, the Tops' speakers roared with raucous music that turned the streets into a rolling crowd of joyous dancers, and the Ultra Lux provided a safe haven to those too tired, too intoxicated, or too reserved to take part in the revelry.
Yes Man gaily observed the whirling menagerie of humanity, particularly enjoying a young family playing in the fountain outside of the Follower's casino. A small boy shrieked happily as his father chased him around the water while a young girl braided her mother's hair at the side of the pool.
A patrolling Securitron took note of the family, and began to move to intercept and relay to them the regulations of the man-made spring. Yes Man dissuaded it, instead having it record the interaction at a higher definition than the default stream sent to the Lucky 38.
On a whim, the AI began to repeat the process around the city. Sweating dancers, happy drunks, and everybody in between passed by his awareness. Shifting his consciousness to an Eyebot above the city, he found a scene just as interesting, if not as morally recordable. A room in the Gomorrah had its shades open and pair of exuberant individuals were doing their best to turn their duo into a trio. That was the biological reason for what they were doing, at least. More likely they were engaged in the current activity for their own pleasure, which why they didn't pursue that goal on their own was a question Yes Man hadn't found the answer to yet.
A few windows down, another pair appeared engaged in a similar ritual in regards to purpose, but the execution was drastically different. One was strung up by a set of tightly wound leather straps, and the other periodically snapped a hardened paddle against the first's rear. The paddled appeared to deriving the most enjoyment from the activity, while the paddler looked bored and disinterested.
"Hey, Tin Man, are you there?"
Yes Man snapped out of his observation and responded to the call, finding himself at a terminal within the Lucky 38. Veronica sat before him, lips pursed as she tapped away at the computer.
"Well hi there! I was wondering why it was so quiet around here… can't sleep?" Yes Man asked happily, popping his smiling face up in a window at the corner of the screen.
"Oh shut up," Veronica replied, closing the new window. Yes Man opened another one, this time at the bottom of the screen so only his eyes were shown.
"It looks like you're trying to get into the Lucky 38's database. Would you like some help with that?"
"Yes, actually. I wish Denn didn't change the passwords all the time."
"That's actually my doing, sorry! I have a program that runs a brute-force attack on the system and every time it breaks through I change things up."
"Seriously? Seems pretty excessive…"
"I have a lot of time on my hands!"
"Well fine... what's the password now?"
A small window of text appeared on the computer and Veronica studied it for a moment. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Yes Man's eyes at the bottom of the screen.
"yesMANistheBEST123?"
"Isn't it easy to remember?!"
"Bullshit. This is not the password."
"Hey now, would I lie to you?"
"Don't make me close you again."
"Fine. Hey, I actually have a quick question… if you've got the time."
"Oh… really? Sure, what is it?"
"Why would a grown man want to be tied up and hit with a paddle?"
"… Oh boy…"
A few minutes later Yes Man's consciousness returned to the Lucky 38's network, once again feeling mischievously satisfied with himself. His line of questioning had eventually caused Veronica to refuse to comment, even making her resort to plugging her ears at one point. What an enjoyable group of people, Yes Man mused as he previewed his collection of recordings from the celebration below. Hit with a sudden thought, Yes Man decided to take an Eyebot on a tour of the NCR to see if the humans there were just as pleasant as the ones in the Mojave.
He was briefly interrupted as Denn asked him what he was doing with the Eyebot, but Yes Man was able to convince the Courier that getting a look at the NCR cities was a tactically sound idea.
.
.
The Courier's AI had almost discovered him when the Securitron he was hacking into moved to confront a group of humans. Luckily, the AI had simply issued an easily followed command and not tried to assume control directly. To be discovered so soon into the game would have been disastrous.
He finally finished uploading the Securitron's recording of the revelry and immediately cut off the robot from the rest of the network. A few seconds later, he finished bypassing the machine's relatively simplistic security and wiped out its natural programming. Now completely in control, he carefully weaved his way through the bustling swarm.
A pair of humans fell into his path, and he resisted the urge to run them both over. With detached annoyance he waited for the throng of bodies to shift enough for him to move on. One of the fallen drunks looked up to him and blinked at his display screen with confusion.
"Hey… what's with the hat?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, partner."
Finally finding a path through the mob, he pushed through and moved into a covered alleyway. Soon, he would be free of the city and could make his way to safety. His probing of the Lucky 38's systems had confirmed his suspicions; while he could connect through the network to other Securitrons or Eyebots, the tower itself was too well protected. The usurper's grasp of House's technology was impressive, which would make his eventual failure all the sweeter.
Rolling off in a straight line, the compromised Securitron faded into the bowels of New Vegas, the smiling cowboy on its display screen fading to black.
.
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4:03
The Lucky 38
Motor-Runner screamed himself awake, something cold and smooth covering his eyes and forehead. Vainly, he struggled against the restraints that dug into his arms, legs, and chest. After a moment of desperation, he felt a needle press against the back of his neck and heard the dry hiss of a machine as something was pumped into his spine. Fighting the drug as it pulled him down to unconsciousness, his screams turned into quiet whimpers. The final sensation he felt before darkness enveloped him was a pair of needles pressing themselves against his temples.
'Test trial 001: Projections indicate the modified lobotomization process will result in the desired outcome, so I am proceeding with the operation. Subject shows substantial resistance to sedatives; dangerous dosage needed to maintain an unconscious state. Seek alternatives for other subjects who partook in constant drug usage. Cranial structure more developed than expected; suggest drills for future operations.' Denn looked up from the terminal towards the unconscious raider leader. "Maybe it's better to just kill them," he said to himself quietly.
Death is a waste, a cold voice responded. You can't allow him or others like him to act as they wish, and holding them as prisoners is too costly. These are not the raiders who only stole and killed because they had to, these are the people who chose to, and did so because they enjoyed it.
So they deserve this?
Life is a mercy. They will live, happy and content, with no memory of their lives before or of the procedure.
If the procedure works.
Yes, if the procedure works.
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Short chapters for a while. We'll be getting into the meat of the Mojave Relations in the next chapter, in regards to the outlying communities as well as the remaining family. The poll is still up, and the results so far have been split 50/50. I know where my personal bias is leaning, but still appreciate your input! Also cleaned up the chapters and their names!
Thank you for reading!