Post-Pandemic: A New World

Chapter Forty One: The Vault

September 22nd 2025

It had been a full day since the Coit Tower Conference and the Battle of Oakland General Hospital and the First Phoenix Alliance, American Tribe and Scientist Directorate had agreed to work together in order to stop the Unity Order's plans of global genocide before it was too late. Many of the settlements that were around the Richmond District had agreed to join the First Phoenix Alliance and the procedures to join the Alliance were being enacted under the supervision of Beta Phoenix Drake Franklin. The rest of the settlements were debating on what factions to join, but many surviving citizens in San Francisco expressed interest in joining the First Phoenix Alliance, as it was Them who exposed the existence of the Unity Order and had found the Antivirus to the St Peters Virus.

In the metallically silver and pristine basement at Oakland General Hospital was a vault taller than a person and had three combination dials around the five spoke handle in the centre on it. It was covered in brightly decorated patterns and had a signature written above the handle. But it was difficult for anyone to see as it was far from Them. The room the vault was at the end of had steel bars in the middle of it and a locked cage door that no one knew the combination to. True, the survivors could've simply cracked the combination on the padlock, but They had no time. So two Phoenix Militiamen were using a huge Buzzsaw to break open the steel bars. Assembled in the basement were several dozen people from all three organisations that were present in San Francisco. Those from the First Phoenix Alliance were Bridge Winters, Alpha Phoenix of the F.P.A, Anna Makarova, Bridge's advisor, Phineas Maze, Beta Phoenix of Development, Joe Mason, head of the Phoenix Militia and His son Sebastian. There was also Solomon, a former vault designer who could hopefully crack the combination to the Vault that the survivors knew just had to contain the Antivirus and then They could use it to end the Unity Order's plans of using the St Peters Virus to wipe out most of Humanity and then reclaim the world and shape it in Their twisted image of authoritarianism and autocracy.

Bridge stepped further away from the ear punching noise of the Buzzsaw and said to Anna "Ivan would be so proud of Us all". Anna agreed with a tear running down Her left eye "I know. My only regret is that He is not here to see this". That was when the Buzzsaw cut through the last steel pipe and the gate fell to the ground. The two militiamen pulled the gate away and Everyone quickly rushed over to the Vault and some started trying to pull it open. The ones trying to pull the Vault door open had been infected with the Virus and been saved by the Antidote Anna and Her father had released. But They now knew that the Virus could return and were desperate to get the Antivirus so that They could be cured. As a few Peacekeepers pulled the desperate people away from the Vault, Bridge said to Them "Be patient, there is enough of the Antivirus for literally Everyone". A voice from the stairs leading up to the Hospital above Them replied "So let Us all remain calm while Solomon gets the vault door open". Everyone looked to see Raymond Milton and His son Jonah walking into the basement with four bodyguards. Jonah walked up to Bridge and said while shaking His hand "Good to see You Bridge". Sebastian, who had brought a blowtorch in case the survivors had to force Their way in, looked at Raymond and asked "Why are You guys here?" Raymond walked over to the group and said "I wanted to be here when the Antivirus was secured from the Vault". That was when Everyone heard the voice of Navajo Jackson say "As did I, after all, the Antivirus is in the territory of the American Tribe". Navajo Jackson walked into the basement with five Tribal warriors along with His daughter Ada and His son and heir to the throne Wolf.

Wolf shook hands with Jonah and said "Good to see You old friend". As the two shook hands, a photographer for the Phoenix Weekly Paper took a photo of Them and Jonah asked "What was that for?" The photographer lowered Her camera and said "Alpha Phoenix Winters asked Me to record the events happening here". Navajo walked over to the Vault and said in an impressed tone "Whoever designed this Vault really put some effort into giving it a true cultural design". Ada, who was a popular artist in the American Tribe, agreed and said "Indeed, I wonder who designed it?" That was when Solomon saw the signature written above the handle and froze upon recognising the name. Bridge saw the signature and said "Looks like it was designed by-". Before Bridge could finish, Solomon stuttered "Otto Wagner". The group all looked at Solomon as He rubbed His eyes to confirm He wasn't hallucinating and said "This Vault was designed by Otto Wagner!" The faces of Everyone in the room turned to a dumbfounded expression and a confused silence filled the room for a moment before Sebastian asked "Who?"

Solomon was clearly annoyed as He said "Only the greatest locksmith in history!" Bridge stepped forward with His arms out and said "Whoa whoa whoa, calm down Solomon. Why don't You just tell Us who that is?" Solomon took a deep breath, walked over and stood in front of the Vault before explaining "Otto Wagner was a locksmith who lived in Germany during the Nineteenth Century, He grew up obsessed with puzzles and when He learnt that opening a vault was like a puzzle, He became a locksmith. He spent His entire adult life designing locks and vaults and built most of Them Himself, even though He had over one hundred employees!" Mummers of impressment and approval were heard throughout the room as Bridge complimented "Someone's devoted to Their work". Solomon agreed and said "Yes, He was". Solomon then explained "Otto also saw vaults as works of art, so He designed each of His vaults according to ancient mythology and covered the vault door of each with art depicting the mythology it was based on. The combinations to the locks were also based on the legends They surrounded and Otto's final vault, the "Lord's Birth" as He called it, was never found".

Oohs and ahs of amazement and wonder at the story of Otto Wagner echoed the vault room and stopped as Bridge said "Until now Everyone, I think that this might be Otto's last vault". Looks of confusion filled the vault room as Phinehas asked Bridge "Just why is that?" Bridge pointed at the various works of art that the metal was forged into across the vault door and said "Notice how the artwork on the vault door represents the story of Jesus Christ, I think that this is the "Lords Birth", as in the birth of Jesus Christ!" The group all looked at the vault door and realised that Bridge could be right. The artwork showed the Virgin Mary being told by an angel that She would give birth to the son of God and the journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born and finally, the birth of Jesus in the stable. Solomon's face lit up with amazement and wonder as He joyfully laughed and yelled "Yes! We've found it! The Lord's Birth!" Solomon's wife, Sarah, who had come along with Him as moral support, rolled Her eyes and said "My husband and His obsession with vaults". Sebastian looked confused as He asked "How did the Unity Order find it?" Bridge scratched His head and said "I guess some rich private collector had it somehow? Or maybe They found it on the Black Market?" Some laughter was heard as Solomon rubbed His hands together and said "Time to enact the safe crack of the century". Just as Solomon was about to begin, Bridge told Him "Start with the angel telling Mary about Jesus, then do the journey to Bethlehem and finally the birth of Jesus". Solomon had an excited grin as He said "Very well then" and started safe cracking.

He pressed His ear up against the vault door and carefully started moving the dial to get the code. As He did so, a Christian member of the American Tribe brought out His personal copy of the bible and checked through it for the events detailed on the vault door. He found the page and said aloud "One, twenty six, thirty eight". Solomon carefully inputted the code and the dial was unlocked. Solomon then started on the one that was surrounded with art depicting Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem and Bridge checked the bible with the man who brought it with Him. They went to the page involving the journey and Bridge said aloud "Two, one, seven". The code was inputted and the second dial was completed, now all that was left was the third dial. Solomon got to work on the third dial, carefully moving it about as Bridge checked for the page that actually contained the birth of Jesus and His eyes lit up as He said "Two, one, two!" Solomon inputted the code and the third dial made the satisfying click every safecracker hoped to hear when They cracked a safe. Many more clicks and sounds of gears moving were heard from the vault door and Everyone stared in amazement. Solomon backed away from the vault door, looked at Bridge and asked "You wanna do the honours?" Bridge slightly smiled and walked over to the vault. At long last the journey was nearing completion. After so many struggles and hardships, the Antivirus was about to be found and it was just a spin of a handle away. Bridge spun the golden handle around and the locks keeping the vault door in place were pulled in. Bridge then pulled the circular door open and the group all saw inside exactly what They had been searching for inside of a cylinder shaped container the size of a Human being: the Antivirus to the St Peters Virus.