The House Never Dies - (Fallout x Xover, RobertHouse!SI)
It takes a moment to twist fate into a most amusing and fallible entity. It also takes a sprinkle of common sense to know better than plotting a long-termed world-conquest without knowing how bad things were to get 'After' the climax of 'Step One' was achieved.
But alas, 'Step One' is a long plan already by itself. And one that I personally nurtured from the very moment I was reborn in 2020... in a different Earth.
In a world where the many oil crises has led to the Atom becoming a valuable replacement for the energy industry, the rise of many ambitious folks within what felt to be known as the Modern Belle Epoque was nigh-impossible to prevent.
Such is the fate of yours truly.
My name is Robert Edwin House and I was... orphaned at the age of 2. I would love to say that I had a brother (half-brother, actually), but I would be too kind towards an individual whose mindset was too scarred by the death of our parents, seeing me not as family but as a hindrance to his father's legacy.
So, when I was growing up within the tender childhood presented by many loyal butlers and maids of the manor in Las Vegas, I was keen to avoid poor foolish Anthony and I focused on learning the world surrounding me.
Vault-Tec already existed and had started to seed the minds of many that a Nuclear Bunker would become essential in the eventuality of a Great War.
The feud between America and China was worsened by the overall lack of a 'Cultural Revolution'. Instead of opening, China had instead grown more warhawkish and that had led, in a rather amusing twist of events, to a Soviet-US Alliance to put the growing superpower under check.
A terrible idea, but I was a kid. And I loved to read books about robots.
Some magazines already suggest some attempts in creating the Mr. Handy and how some competitors had rallied by General Atomics International to try and produce the first ever viable robotic assistant that could truly be mass-produced.
The news stirs in me a deep sense of affection towards the topic, and, exploiting my expected genius-level understanding of science, I use my extra brain power to cram more knowledge while I ace through school. I get moved up several grades along the years. And, by the time I am 15, I am given the chance to get to a big university.
I win a scholarship for the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, and I am quickly pushed into a specific bunch of 'gifted students' that are tasked in developing highly-important stuff. It's mostly all over atomic research and potential efforts to 'defuse' bombs mid-air.
The military had the brains to see how the nukes were a problem, sadly for them the sophisticated Anti-Nuke Array that is developed in 2037 is meant to be located in Anchorage and other areas that were at the edges of the country - it failed to account the rats of Vault-Tec deciding to make their investments foolproof.
By 18, I was out of CIT with a PhD in Atomic Research, Robotics and Computing Engineering. I sustained all exams with unholy devotion to the books and my own contribution for the military helped mellow some skepticism from some teachers.
Also, I get a letter from a lawyer. My half-brother wants full custody of our father's company, H&H Tools Company. I shrug and accept the settlements. I had no means to fight back the army of lawyers the cunt had gotten for himself, and I had no interest to play legal battles when I was working on a tight schedule.
With the money I get from the settlement, I manage to convince some of my 'buddies' from CIT that are stuck with what company to sell their souls to by having them become associates. RobCo Industries is founded thus in 2039, 3 years before the canon timeline and, while to some this may seem like a speedrunning trick, I am actually sweating bullets because 3 years is not much to get shit done for my bigger plans.
Step One is getting roughly thirty to forty years to get accomplished masterfully, but even with the positive events leading up to early adulthood, I am not playing it dumb. RobCo Industries open up as a three-branched company, two public sectors and a secret one.
The first two are about Computing and Robotics, with advances forwarded with the plan of developing AI and, through some careful planning, introduce a more 'user friendly' Operative System. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs do not exist, so PCs are extremely outdated by my original timeline's standards.
Through my knowledge and what I could remember of my previous life, I establish 'Project Windows Prime' and, by 2042, RobCo proceeds to revolutionize the Computing world by creating advanced devices for the US Government and major corpos. Plans for mass-produced devices are initiated the very moment cash is flooding in.
Instead of foolishly bask in the glory and forget my roots, I keep on being the ultimate form of a IT nerd - I couldn't afford to take any dumb steps and let others create me issues. Meritocracy is observed, traitors and spies are removed 'as silently as possible', and I keep myself away from most scandals. Except one.
The very moment Nuka-Cola entered the market, I safely bought 50% of the company's stocks with a lot of personal money. I had the chance to meet with its creator, John-Caleb Bradberton, and I established a cordial relation with the guy as I milked the Nuka-Cola's income as much as possible.
I could safely say by 2045 that my luck was turning up and... it was about to go down. It's around 2048 that bad news come up: some of my FBI spies are able to take note of the 'New Plague' that was being developed by the government.
I was familiar with the plans of the government to have a 'solution' in the eventuality of leftist sedition within any potential crisis, and I focus on safely securing some of the labs' strand of the Plague within a safe and distant facility in the Mojave.
Other old friends of mine that have experience in virology are quickly hired to look into the matter and they are horrified this was being cooked deep in the bowels of the 'Deep State'. While the term was something of a joke in my previous life, it was a perfect fit with the darkness within the US government, especially since the Deep State was going to cause the end of America.
I would love to say there is a 'chance' to go around what is about to come, but the truth is that Vault-Tec is too deeply rooted and there were too many faces, interests that could be handled without going for an open war. And one that could seriously see all my efforts ruined.
The Great War would come, the end of the US Civilization was inevitable, but I was going to be prepared to give new life to the old world. Within time, within patience.
For now, I had to endure the troubles of the Pre-War Era. Starting with the loose end that was my brother.
Anthony has been leading H&H disgracefully. I hardly gave him shit and the bastard thought I was out for blood from the very day I was born. I would say I wasn't, but I intended to make use of the old family business to get RobCo a tool-producing sector.
Arranging an accident was easy, especially with how many workers of his hated his guts. And while some of his older staff tried to claim the business, I had a bigger wallet and a bigger army of lawyers to be bothered. H&H was claimed and absorbed by 2050 and, by 2053, the first big bump came along.
Well, the first bump came in 2051 when Mexico was invaded due to 'pollution and instability', but the truth was that the US was already struggling with its oil industry. One would think that the old Oil Barons would see that they were speeding into a deadend, but their jolly warmongering was shining through but I was a little fucker as I proceeded to stab them back.
While Mexico was getting annexed, RobCo introduced to the military the first safe Nuclear Battery that could be used to sustain tanks. And it comes clutch as 2052 sees the beginning of the Energy Crisis and the 'Resource Wars'.
With various energy-based companies trying to uphold their oil traditions by betting it all and claiming more land for 'Freedom', I keep on developing ways to replace the oil-based economy. I can't do it on a nationwide spread, but I start to lobby politicians that can accept my 'charity'.
Vegas is the first city to ditch the electric bill as the energy output of the new clean nuclear batteries allow for an endless power supply in 2053. I get 'slapped' with a legal attack from Poseidon Energy, their excuse being that I forced the unlawful interruption of a contract the company had with Vegas.
They try to bribe the judge, but they are sloppy in their blackmail game as my Private Investigators find enough shit on the man and other people tied to him to force a 'fair sentence' as the evidence presented by Poseidon Energy is deemed circumstantial and they end up discovering that they fucked with the wrong guy when I start a hostile takeover.
Not even a year into it, and I am able to claim the bastards and reorganize them into a 'gas-providing company'.
By 2053 the New Plague starts to expand rapidly and claim lives, the US government quickly calling for the closure of the borders and the implementation of a nation-wide quarantine. I could feel my bones rattled by the idea of Covid, but actually far more ruthless.
Luckily for myself and most Americans, I had a plan to counter this indecent option to counter potential communist uprisings: I called Nuka Cola, got the founder to join me for a walk, told him the truth, helped him vent out the anger at this revelation, and I told him a plan I had to solve it all. A nasty plan... for the government.
While Bradberton was far from convinced, he decided to let me put the 'anti-plague serum' in the batch of Cola meant for those areas near Vegas that got hit by the plague. All those that drunk the beverage survived and recovered. By 2054, the 'New Plague' had suffered a severe setback and my spies confirmed that the government tried to rekindle the flame by releasing a new stronger strand.
Sadly for them, the serum was self-adaptive. With Nanomachine technology being something that we had been working on since 2050, the medical advances hidden away from the world in our labs have allowed us to counter all sorts of viral warfare the military had in mind to employ.
I could still 'care' for them by paying for their new fortifications in Anchorage and other areas which they deemed in need of anti-Chinese installations. With Europe and the Middle East killing each other because of the high oil price, I had to shift part of the innovation panel into a self-improving system as Securitron were adapted to act more than just 'protection'.
With the economy becoming extremely troubled by the shakes of the collapse of Europe in 2060, I push for more nuclear energy to be employed in my sphere of influence to counter the need for energy to sustain a fleet of robots to add more manpower to the list and keep the wages well-regulated.
Despite that, taxes are increased and I start to get a bit tired with the complex bureaucracy nagging at the efforts to keep things afloat. I admit to feeling 'cranky' due to some personal experimentation around nanomachines.
I wasn't going to become a monster like Senator Armstrong, but all I needed early on was to get my immortality cocktail going rather than digitalize my existence. The technology I use is very advanced and yet quite experimental. Luckily for me, I manage to erase all potential bugs with the nanomachines within two years.
The last lap for Step One begins.
I have just a decade and a half to get everything else I need done to be... done. And I start my efforts to quietly building a modern cryogenic vault under Vegas. The systems have been copied by Vault-Tec's designs and improved by my own scientists. I gave the improvements a look and mortality rate has been lessened to less than one point percentile.
It is in 2066, and China launches the invasion of Alaska. While the US had started to recover from the energy crisis, Beijing had been struggling due to Soviet reluctance and American unwillingness to export oil to them. The worsening of conditions in the Communist State leads to the collapse of negotiations and the attack on Alaska.
I felt the shivers as I knew I had to time this right or this could blow up on my face.
With limited warfare unfolding in Alaska, I receive an invitation from Valt-Tec. All big shots are involved in discussing a potential investment over new bunkers. I check it, but I do so to deliver my usual refusal as-
"Nothing guarantees us that you will not rig the game. With that being said, RobCo has no need for some inferior cans of sardines you call 'quality bunkers'."
It goes without a saying that I pretty much render my fief immune to the promise of Vault-Tec to 'make the investment worthwhile' as I do not relent the codes of the nuclear silos within Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Instead, I begin the creation of 'Lucky Bunkers' below the major cities in those states.
There's not enough money to get these done everywhere and keep potential noisy bastards quiet, but I managed to get things patched up for 2070.
From 2070 to 2073, the quiet before the storm unfolds. The US tries to bring the war to the Chinese mainland, but the logistic system is flawed and the invasion is repelled. The war starts to get 'felt' by the common American from 2074 onward as I have to pacify some strikes myself despite my best effort to appease the rising troubles. The government is just raising the quotas of resources to excessive levels, and I know that I had to get myself ready for the worst as 2076 rolls in.
2076 is the worst year by far. I had seen some crazy shit, but 2076 created a form of hysteria as rationing for both food and energy starts to put a dent on people's sanity. Luckily for me, everything was ready to go and I didn't need to rely on a fucking missing platinum chip to get everything done right.
The Securitrons are ready, the EM barrier I had set up around a perimeter over Vegas and other major cities would allow radiation to be handled at a faster pace once the bombs dropped and several US Military's anti-air devices had been taken over and readied up with the most advanced pieces from RobCo to act as intende: intercept nukes and let them detonates the furthest possible from my fief.
2077 cometh. Month after month I finally felt it coming. The end. And I would survive.
Months turns into days, then hours and... I get the 'day-long drill' test of the bunkers to unfold twelve hours before the expected 'End'. It's October 22nd, close to midnight. The police is given the radical order of forcing people out of their houses to comply with the order. Everyone is confused, annoyed, and worried.
I had already made public my concerns that things would get bad before the end of the year, and as the citizens of Vegas could attest personally as I was there for them, and those others from various cities under my protection could also through the TVs connected to the main bunker, I had some grim news.
"I was told through some trusted sources that the Chinese Reds will soon use nukes to devastate America. As we stand here right now, the government is on the verge of collapse as the war is killing us all. I understand some of you are distrusting of any conspiracy unless you can properly see the truth unfold but... I can assure you all, tomorrow at 12... the world ends. And you all shall live through this horrible event thanks to RobCo and the many men and women that have worked tirelessly to provide you all with a chance to survive. Stay put, wait and see... and let us get ready to bring new hope to the new world that will come."
There was a panic. A limited one, but still one that kept me nervous for hours to come. The security kept the worst under control, but people had also questions which I tried to answer. It was a tsunami of worries and concerns, but I managed to stand tall through those twelve long hours of non-sleeping and...
Soon the screens picked up the rockets. There were some of the cameras pointed at major cities, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and so on. Soon all those screens flared up as bombs slammed onto the core of those cities.
All but Vegas and those other cities under my control. The bombs fell far, but the sight horrified the many locals. They were allowed to spend a day to recoil at what occurred, we had a month of supplies for the high numbers of people there, but the plan was not to let them live in a tiny hole in the ground - they would sleep.
Some were reluctant to take part to this, but I personally spoke to them and convinced them that the system had been tested for many years now and that they would all live. It took two days to get everyone hooked on the devices.
Everyone but me.
In an ironic twist of fate, I was the only one not sleeping as others did. Someone worthy of absolute trust had to stay 'awake' and keep the robots going as intended. And prepare for what was to come. Boredom was not going to be an issue with the endless peace and quiet but also technological resources at my disposal.
I had plans to learn to draw and animate things- maybe I could pull a fancy Walt Disney if I played things right but...
For now, it is just best to sit down and take a sip of my Nuka Cola Quantum as things were about to get interesting in the next fifty years or so...
AN
The House never sleeps... for Vegas shall be Queen.