Vault 69/Meeting/End

"Alright then," you say, "now that we've dealt with everything else, let's wrap things up by discussing how we're moving forward with the cultural deviations that Doctor Charbonneau mentioned. Let's start with . . . how did you phrase it?" you ask, looking at Doctor Charbonneau, "'the transition away from a purely democratic system and the limitation of certain liberties for the survival of the vault'?"

"Parfait," she says with a gasp, "you must have an eidetic memory like me, no? This is exactly what I said."

"Good . . . and I'm not sure about the eidetic memory part. I forget things all the time."

"Oh, an eidetic memory doesn't mean that you remember everything perfectly forever," says Doctor Romero. "That is a misunderstanding that is perpetuated by popular culture. It just means that your short term memory is much more accurate than most peoples; and you can form short term memory with less exposure to stimuli . . . but that is neither here nor there. Please continue."

"Very well," you say, trying to sound like a serious adult, "so we are talking about the legislation of the vault . . . our government. Thoughts?"

"I see no reason that we can't still have a democratic society," says your mom. "Just because we're stuck in a hole in the ground is no reason to resort to a dictatorship. Sure, certain rights have to be mitigated . . . and the powers of law enforcement expanded a bit; but that's no reason to throw democracy out the window."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you there," says Chief Killian of all people. "People in this level of proximity, with this kind of isolation . . . it just can't support a democracy. We need something more like a military command. Call it a dictatorship if you will; by the young Overseer here is our commander. There is no arguing it. If he commanded the assaultrons to kill one of us; they would not hesitate to execute his order with extreme prejudiced."

"That doesn't mean we just have to cave in to Vault-Tec's madness," says Doctor Whitney. "If he has absolute control; he can also delegate some of the responsibilities as well. We can have something in between. Sure it won't be a democracy like we remember it; but we can have something less restrictive than a totalitarian dictatorship."

The ladies begin to argue the merits of those three choices for the most part for the better part of five minutes before you come to a decision.

"Ladies please," you say. Having simply sat and listened to the discussion for so long, the sound of your voice instantly silences the room. "I've come to a decision . . ."

That decision is?

• You will run the vault like the old world, as a democracy.
• You will run the vault like a military command with complete authority.
• You will run the vault as a form of constitutional monarchy, with you at the head and a council elected by the vault residents.