At The Precipice Of Something New

Something Used

Greygarden
December the 26th, 2287
14:22

When they arrived at the settlement called Greygarden, they had expected to see a few people, some homes, and perhaps fortifications around a few crops.

What they had not expected to see was a settlement populated by nothing but robots, nothing but robots like their companion, Codsworth.

For his part, Preston Garvey took only a moment to let go of his expectations. Then, he smiled and greeted the many Mister Handy units who waved at or greeted him, Nora, Derek, and Codsworth. The settlement was not only something he never would have imagined but something he was in awe of. In seemingly as much awe, Codsworth was eager to take in as much as he could. After two centuries of solitude and fending off violent, terrifying people on my own, I was only a few hours away from a place with so many other beings just like me. Is this how they have coped without the people they had loved? It was a sombre thought, but seeing the smile on Nora's face when she spoke to Preston alleviated the melancholia he briefly felt return after two centuries of waves of it interspersed with a drive to carry on, be, and look for the hope and happiness he knew still existed in the world. Walking a few paces behind them was Derek, his shot gun holstered, bag over his shoulders, and hands clasped behind his back. The settlement was, in some ways, eerily reminiscent of some of what the Enclave had built up to sustain themselves, what they in the Brotherhood had seen around a decade prior when they, after years of struggle, defeated and put an end to the Enclave. Though it was in every other way nothing like what he and his Brothers and Sisters had seen then, the faint reminder of a place where sentient beings, regardless of their robotic bodies, had been forced to submit to and sustain the Enclave made him uneasy and sick.

"Ah, welcome to Greygarden, darlings!" A white Mister Handy unit with a uniquely feminine voice drawled when the group entered the greenhouse. "This is the Commonwealth's first and only hydroponics facility run entirely by robots!"

"That's pretty ingenious," Preston said with a polite tip of his hat. "Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen. We heard you were requesting aid?"

"Yes, indeed, we have come into some trouble of late," She said. "But permit me to introduce us first. I am Supervisor White. You see, there are two kinds of robots here. Greygarden is quite unique. We have a distinct social structure, a hierarchy, if you will."

"Is that how you've sustained yourselves for so long?" Nora said, curiosity irresistible. "This place seems familiar. I think I saw a bit about it on the news, back before the War."

"Yes, construction was completed mere days before the War," White said, a hum to her voice. "But you must be mistaken. The War was over two centuries ago."

"If I may," Codsworth politely interjected when he saw Nora flinch and her gaze fall to her feet. "Miss Nora and her family were put into cryogenic freeze in a Vault. It was only recently she re-entered the world."

"Oh my!" White exclaimed turning to Nora. "Forgive me, darling, I can see it must be a sensitive subject for you. Allow me to explain. Robotics and artificial intelligence were our creator's greatest passions, rivalled only by his love for the television."

"How fascinating!" Codsworth exclaimed. "To think all of this has existed for so long and self sustained."

"It is truly an impressive feat," Preston agreed. "You must be quite proud of your work."

"We are, thank you," White said. "But, to the point of our hierarchy which has sustained us, this love of our creator's is why myself and Supervisors Brown and Greene, have distinct voices. Edward Grey, our creator, rest his soul, differentiated us from the standard Mister Handys working alongside us, and, of course, their personalities, based upon characters from his favourite television programmes."