Vault 69/Nexus-Intro/Go
"Umm, okay," you say sheepishly.
The assaultron leads you through the vault without pausing for you to take in the sights. People seem to be wandering around, getting their bearings for the most part. Everyone is in vault suits, but some of them have lab coats, some of them have armor, and some of them have toolbelts. It's all very surreal, compounded by the fact that they are all women. The assaultron takes you to the elevator, and waits for you inside. You enter and the elevator begins to ascend without either of you touching the controls. The assaultron must have remote access to the elevator systems. That would be handy for security purposes.
The assaultron gets out on the first floor. This is the very top of the vault which contains the decontamination and orientation rooms you were in yesterday as well as the vault door and Auxiliary Command and Control. It is to the latter that the assaultron leads you. She opens the door to reveal a small reception room with a secretary at the desk. You recognize her immediately. It's your Aunt Evelyn!
"Aunt Evelyn," you say, "what's going on?"
"I don't really know," she says, "these machines rounded up a bunch of us and brought us up here. I knew I was being assigned as an assistant, but apparently this is my desk, and Auxiliary Command is going to be the new Overseer's office since the one in the Nexus was destroyed. I guess I'm the Overseer's personal assistant."
"That's great," you say, "but what is going on?"
"They have everyone in the conference room. They have-"
"Enough social banter," says the assaultron. "This way, Mister Willis."
You shrug at your aunt as you are guided toward the conference room. Opening the door, you see the back of another assaultron. It steps out of the way to allow your entrance, then steps in front of the door again.
"-tired of waiting for this damn Overseer," continues your mom before she registers your presence. "Why can't they just wake her - Oh Tay, what are you doing here?"
"Silence," says the new assaultron, "duty 001 to commence. Mister Willis, by the authority of Vault-Tec, it is my duty to inform you that you will be taking the office of Overseer effective immediately." Then a small fanfare plays from its speaker.
The room is dead silent as everyone tries to comprehend what is going on. You take a look around. There are placards at each chair. The far chair is empty, and has a placard with the name Mr. Willis - Overseer on it. It was probably for your father, but somehow . . . To the right of that seat (left as you face it) is the placard Chief Willis - Security, where your mom is seated, of course. To the left of the chair (right as you face it) is the placard Dr. Charbonneau - Psychiatry. Alternating right to left thereafter is: Chief Killian - Engineering, Dr. Romero - Medical, Dr. Whitney - Hydroponics, and Chief Runningdeer - Animal Husbandry.
"There must be some kind of mistake," says your mother. You could have guessed that she would be the first to speak. "This is my son. My husband . . . my husband is trapped in Vault 68."
"Directive 001 is to instill Mister Willis as Overseer. Is this Taylor Lynn Willis?"
"Yes, but yesterday you thought he was a girl!"
"I umm," says Doctor Romero, "I corrected his records last night."
"Well that's just peachy!" exclaims your mom.
"I was doing my job. Maybe you can do yours and get someone from Cyber Security to fix this damn machine!"
"I have not met my staff! Who would I call? Also, from what I've read about security's authority over assaultrons, it stops short of Overseer Directives and Vault-Tec Directives. No one, even the Overseer can override Vault-Tec Directives . . . in their infinite wisdom."
"Well," says Doctor Romero as she sizes you up, "maybe it isn't a bad thing. He might be able to be Overseer."
"Do you hear what you're saying? He's ten years old."
"I was ten years old when I went to university," says Doctor Charbonneau in her lovely French accent. "But I agree, he is not yet mature enough for this position."
"A vote of confidence can be convened by the council to depose an acting Overseer," says the assaultron. "In the event of a unanimous vote of the council members present, the Overseer can be terminated."
"Well, there we go then," says your mom. "We can vote him out and he can go back to being a child."
"One moment," says Doctor Charbonneau, "you say terminated? This has two meanings in English, oui? Which do you refer?"
"Overseer is a lifetime appointment. To assign a new Overseer, the current Overseer must be terminated."
Your mother turns white as a ghost. "Who made these damn rules?"
"Vault-Tec created these rules with your safety in mind," replies the assaultron. "Your statement is a minor violation of the Faith and Security clause and is being reported to security." At which point her Pip-Boy immediately chimes.
Looking at the device your mother shakes her head. "The robot just reported me . . . to myself."
"Well, there is no other way it seems," says Doctor Charbonneau, "Taylor is our Overseer for good or ill. It is up to us to help him make good decisions, no?"
"This is all well and good," says the Native American Chief Rancher, "but can we address this racist placard?" She holds up the placard that reads Chief Runningdeer - Animal Husbandry. "Just because I'm Native American doesn't make me a chief!" Her easy smile quickly brings tension-relieving laughter to the room.
"Well then Overseer," says Doctor Charbonneau as she holds your seat for you, "What business shall we attend to first?"
What business shall we attend to first?