User Guide

8
PROPERTY OF VAULT-TEC
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The Vaults
Like all of the original
members of the Tribe, I
came from the Vaults.
Before the War, the
government of the United
States, which numbered
in the thousands of
villages, and had many,
many tribesman per
village, paid to have
these huge holes dug in
mountains and huts of
metal and stone built
underground. There were
many Vaults. Some were
close to cities, and
some far away. These Vaults were to be used as
safe places in case of atomic war. As you may
guess, when the War came your ancestors made it to
a Vault. Vault-13 to be specific.
For several generations, your ancestors and mine
lived within the Vault. As best as they could
figure, it was too dangerous to try and leave the
Vault. They grew their own food, recycled their
waste, read, worked, slept, had families, and even
purified the necessary water within the Vault. I
was born in the creche, and was raised by the
community (and a robot). It was a good life, but
all good things come to an end. About three
generations after the War, the water-purification
chip the Vault relied on to create the fresh water
broke down. All the spare parts were missing or
busted, and without the water-chip the Vault was
doomed. Something had to be done.
The Overseer gathered the healthy of us between
a certain age and made us draw straws. Guess what?
I drew the short one. Wouldn’t be much of story if
I didn’t, would it?
I left the Vault the next day.
The War
I know little about the
War, but it doesn’t
really matter. A lot
of people died when a
lot of atomic bombs went
off and nearly destroyed
the world. If you
don’t know what an
atomic bomb was, then
imagine the worst thing
possible. Atomic bombs
were worse than that.
NOTES