Chapter 8: Revival

T'Preea and I stepped out of the research facility and back into the open air of the Glowing Sea. I felt the warmth of the radiation infusing the air once again. Adam and Meirune were pleased to see us emerge from the building.

Adam stepped forward and smiled, "High Priestess, I'm so happy the two of you are alright."

Meirune rubbed his stubby muzzle against our cheeks to express his happiness.

"We're fine," I assured them both. "Better than fine, in fact. Atom has blessed us and we are no more prepared to conquer the Wasteland than ever before."

"What shall we do next?" Adam asked.

"Let's gather the congregation," I replied. "Then we'll head for the crater where other Children of Atom have set up a small settlement. We'll spent some time there so that I can teach everyone on the word of Atom, then we can begin to plan our takeover of the Commonwealth."

"Of course," Adam nodded.

We let the research facility behind. I summoned a stone sign which marked it as a holy sight of Atom. Once the congregation was gathered together again, we made out way to the crater. The crater was the epicenter of destruction in the Commonwealth. It was where the nuclear bomb had landed and caused the ruin that followed moments later. When we breached the rim of the crater and began to make our way down to the settlement, the Children of Atom who had made their home there began to organize. They rushed around quickly, both out of curiosity and urgency. A large group of well armed people were walking into their home unannounced and they were preparing to defend it.

I had the others wait at the edge of the crater's floor while I walked on alone. I approached the defenders with a smile and open hands.

A woman with short black hair and tattered orange robes stepped forward from the crowd of people, "You approach Atom's holy ground. Why? State your purpose or be divided in his sight."

"Be not afraid," I called out with a gentle voice. I summoned my radiation wings and spread them wide. "My name is Merida Orodum, daughter of Atom, grand daughter of Mars, and High Priestess of the Church of Atom. I have been sent by Atom to give you his word."

The woman gasped, completely lost for words as my wings appeared.

I closed the distance between us and took her hands in mine. I smiled gently up at her, "Mother Isolde. Blessed are you by Atom. I can feel the respite that resonates around you. You truly embody Atom's truth, even if you don't realize it."

Isolde stared down at me in awe, "How do you know my name?"

"I've known you since before you were born," I smiled. "Even before I was sent to this Earth to spread Atom's word for him. Will you please allow my congregation to enter your settlement? They are tired from their journey and only wish to rest and listen to my teachings alongside your acolytes."

Isolde seemed captivated by me and nodded, "I don't know why, but I feel Atom's grace with you. Of course you and your congregation are welcome."

The congregation was welcomed into the settlement. To begin asserting myself as the daughter of Atom, I summoned new stone buildings from the ground so that my people would have places to stay. It was a minor thing to me now, and nothing compared to the great cathedral I had created on the island, but to the Children of Atom in the crater, it was a miracle. I let the congregation get settled in and rest for a few hours. We'd been walking on and off for the entire day, after all. They could use the break.

While everyone else rested, T'Preea began cooking. I created several stone ovens and used heat from my nuclear powers to heat them. She made enough roasted meat and cooked vegetables for everyone. There were a variety of dishes and while she was cooking, Adam and I helped where we could; stirring, chopping, dicing, or simply fetching ingredients. After a few hours we called everyone together. I had created several long tables with long benches. Once everyone was seated, the food was served.

Everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship for a few hours before I moved to a podium that I had created and called for their attention.

Once everyone's eyes were me I smiled, "I hope you all enjoyed the food. My good friend T'Preea is an extremely talented cook and I believe we all owe her a round of applause."

Everyone applauded and cheered T'Preea's efforts and she stood to take a bow.

"Now," I continued, "I would like to speak the word of Atom to you all. My congregation is familiar with much of what I am about to say, but it always bares repeating. To those of you unfamiliar with the truth, open your minds and remain patient, for much of what you believe you know will be challenged."

There were smiles from my congregation and a mixture of wariness and confusion from the acolytes of the crater.

"Much of what the Church of Atom teaches has been misinterpreted," I began. "This is understandable, because those who had to translate Atom's will were human. They could not properly contain the message that they needed to relay. Know that Atom does not begrudge this, and understands that man is fallible. That is why he has sent me. I am here to speak the truth."

"What is the truth?" one of the acolytes cried out.

"The truth is that the Great War was a punishment, not a blessing," I responded confidently. "Mankind had learned to control and channel Atom's might for all the energy we needed, but in greed and in our hubris, it was not enough. We fought over resources we didn't need to rely on, resources that were superfluous to Atom's grace that we could have shared. And so Atom punished us. He bent the will of men and scorched the Earth with his fury."

"But… what of his Light?" Mother Isolde asked, opening her arms to encompass the radiation all around us.

"Lingering remnants of his punishment," I explained. "Atom wants man to harness his Light responsibly. He does not wish to see the world he gave us continue to suffer. It is the responsibility of the Church of Atom to cleanse the world and be the ones to harness his power properly."

"Then, we should not spread radiation?" another voice asked.

I shook my head, "No. Quite the opposite. Our purpose is to cleanse the Wasteland, to make it safe for our fellow man, and to do good works while showing how Atom's power is to be used. An acolyte of Atom should be a welcome sight to everyone, even if they do not share our faith. When we arrive, people should know that they can come to us for food, shelter, treatment, or support."

I looked across the faces of the acolytes, "Ours is a great and terrible responsibility. We are the shepherds of the world. We must care for the flock, and when necessary we must defend it by wielding Atom's Might without mercy. We strive for a peaceful world. A world cleansed of Atom's Fury."

Mother Isolde stood up, "You say our duty is to cleanse the world and protect it but there are creatures that thrive in the radiation. What of them?"

I looked at Isolde, gleaning the meaning of her words, "You speak of the ghouls."

She nodded, "I do. The church's teachings are that ghouls are most blessed by Atom for they are closer to him than any of us."

"Let me ask you this," I said. "Let me ask you all this. What is the greatest blessing of Atom?"

"Division!" they all answered in unison.

I smiled and rapped my knuckles on the podium, "Just so. Division; our bodies becoming millions of new worlds upon our death. But ghouls do not age. They linger. Their lives are prolonged thanks to the curse of Atom's Wrath. These individuals are not to be admired, but pitied. They are cursed to eventually lose their minds and their humanity. Their Atom-blessed human form is twisted by the misuse and careless interaction with his Light, and their minds are eventually scraped away to nothing."

I shook my head, "Those ghouls that still have their minds are to be pitied. Those who have lost their minds are an affront to Atom because they defy his creation of the natural order; birth, life, and death. While the sentient ghouls are to be treated with the same kindness as any of our fellow man, ferals ghouls are to be put down quickly, so as to mercifully usher them to Division as Atom intended."

I let them take some time to digest that information before continuing, "Now, we have to speak about the future. The Church of Atom will become the centerpiece of the new world. Our will be the responsibility of learning and renewing the responsible use of Atom's Light. Where others learn to govern, to repair and improve the infrastructure, to forge, and farm, the Church of Atom will provide the power through Atom's Glory."

I motioned over to members of my original congregation, "My friends and acolytes from the island have dedicated themselves to reading, memorizing, and copying instructions from one nuclear facility already. We must continue doing the same. Our first step will be finding the right people who can rebuild the facilities. And I'll tell you this… they're nearby and right beneath our feet!"

I grinned and looked at T'Preea who was grinning back at me.

"The Institute has technology equal to, if not superior to the technology we had at the time of the Great War," I smiled. "With their help, we will begin restoring power to the Commonwealth, and eventually to the rest of the Country."

"What about the raiders and beasts? Surely there will be people who don't want our help," someone in the crowd pressed.

I chuckled, "There will be more factions joining us over time. But they will not be able to stand against us. To assure of this I will demonstrate why you will know me as the Daughter of Atom, and how you can be assured that none can stand against us."

I raised a hand and pointed to the far rim of the crater. I created a small nuclear explosion that sent debris flying everywhere. As soon as they began to recover from the sudden nuclear strike, I began to absorb the radiation. My time with the entity had expanded my capabilities and now all the radiation from Glowing Sea, the surrounding ground and creatures was packed into a glowing sphere. Out of the hole I'd created in the ground came all of the creatures from the island that I'd been keeping underground. The creatures, great and small, calmly made their way around the crater and stood patiently waiting for my next command.

I held the glowing sphere in front of me, "As Atom's daughter, His Light, as well as all of the creatures of the Wasteland, is mine to command. As we expand and make our way across the Wasteland, I will cleanse free of his Light and the beasts of this world will bow to my will! You will learn to harness His Light. Some of you will learn to master the beasts. Together we will bring glory to Atom and peace to our fellow man!"

The acolytes cheered with excitement.

"Now I want you all to take this to heart," I leaned forward and stared intensely at the congregation. "The information we have is only one facility's worth of information. Every member of the Church of Atom must memorize these manuals. When the Institute joins us, they will have more manuals and more information. This too you must all memorize. The form, the function, the maintenance, and the care of nuclear facilities which harness Atom's Light shall be under the sole guardianship of the Church of Atom! And every acolyte should be able to speak the words of every facility as if it were holy text. The Church of Atom will be synonymous with civilization! For where there is no power there is no civilization; only warring tribes of scavengers and raiders."

Eager heads nodded as I spoke.

"We have many roles that need to be filled," I continue. "While every member of the Church is expected to memorize the facility texts, not all are required to utilize them. In fact, most will not have the opportunity until we solidify our hold on the Commonwealth and have rebuilt its infrastructure. But what we will need is cooks, farmers, doctors, hunters, laborers, and so on."

I absorbed the glowing sphere into myself and then smiled at members of the original congregation, "I have a number of experts in those fields with me. When I am finished, they will make themselves known. I want those new to our numbers to seek out the expert whose field you believe yourself best situated with. Regardless of which field you choose, you will be given the manuals you need to memorize. Are there any questions?"

No one spoke.

"Then I will ask my experts to set up their stations," I said. "Those who are not experts, please prepare to hand out manuals. And for those of you from the crater, please give the experts a few minutes to set up before making your way to their stations. Mother Isolde, please join me immediately. Go now, everyone. Let us begin our great work."

As everyone began to sort themselves, Mother Isolde came to me. Over the next few weeks we stayed in the crater. The newly welcomed acolytes took their learning in a way only true fanatics could. I worked closely with Mother Isolde in order to teach her about the more nuanced details of the faith's new stances. As our numbers expanded, I would need faith leaders who would ensure that things were run the way I wanted them to be run. By the time we were ready to confront the Institute, the congregation had come together and was working together wonderfully.