The Man Out of Time

IV. The Great War

The Man Out of Time IV

The Great War

The first world war, beginning in 1914, was once considered the 'war to end all wars'. It was fought long and hard. Millions of fatalities in the span of a few years, and an entire generation of youth devastated in the horrors of war. It would later be known as 'The Great War', during the outbreak of yet another world war, when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. What followed were decades of war and conflict across the globe, fought for anything that could be acquired. A cold war that divided the world's powers provided the perfect opportunity for the nations of earth to develop their science; and as such, society blossomed with the introduction of luxuries such as fusion powered cars, and personal robots.

During the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired; only this time the spoils of war were also its weapons: petroleum and uranium. For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth dissolved into quarreling, bickering nation states, bent on controlling the last remaining resources on Earth. In the year 2077, after a millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire, and radiation. But it was not as some had predicted - the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to yet another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world... but war, war never changes.

In the early days, thousands were spared the horror of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. And from the ashes of nuclear devastation, a new civilization would struggle to arise, for those who were fortunate enough to reach the relative safety of the bomb shelters would live for generations without any knowledge of the outside world. When atomic fire consumed the earth, those who survived did so in these great, underground vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them. Despite the struggle and strife of post-war America, the inhabitants set out across the ruins of the old world, and built new societies, establishing villages, forming tribes. My family sought refuge in Vault 111, but I was not spared the horrors of the true Great War. Because war never changes... only the reason does.

October 23rd, 2077 - T minus 2 minutes since the beginning of the Great War

The vault door sealed shut as the elevator made its final descent down into the depths of the hill. I covered my family the best I could to protect them from the blast, and we were okay, but shaken nonetheless. Dust fell from above and we could feel the vibrations reverberating through the metal. Once we reached the bottom, we were greeted by Vault-Tec personnel who welcomed us to our new home, and assured us that we were safe. Realistically you could see it in everyone's faces that they had no idea what to do. The workers wore blue and yellow jumpsuits with a big '111' embroidered on the back, some even carrying portable computers on their wrists that they used for many technological purposes. Expensive pieces of equipment, I had wondered if they were in limited supply, but then I remembered that the world was just obliterated before my eyes... Of course they were. Personnel guided and directed us through the check in process, each new one with a fresh spiel and welcome greeting,

"Welcome to vault one-eleven, neighbors! Proceed through the line to receive your new garments and registration card. Then, you will continue into the medical center to be inoculated before entering the shelter." A young female worker explained, her jumpsuit worn very risque and provocative. At least I could reasonably assume uniformity was not a concern here.

Soon we were separated and I was taken to a men's only section to receive my jumpsuit; and as expected, it was the same ugly blue and yellow that I would just have to get used to seeing everyday for the rest of my life. Directly next to it was the entrance to the medical center, and I was instructed to strip from my normal clothes and sit down in the chair,