It's the End of the World

Chapter 30

Looking in a mirror is one thing. But seeing your own face, your own body, in front of you was something else entirely. Especially when what should have been your reflection has a different set of scars and clothing.

"You're... me. Sort of?"

I barely got the words out as I stared open-mouthed at the other version of me. She stood still, accepting my curious gaze. I circled around her, looking over all the differences. The most glaring difference was her left arm, which was a bare metal skeleton. It reminded me of Nick.

"I don't think I could tell you the number of times I've fantasiz-"

"Dee, not the time."

I shook my head, in no mood for his jokes. I had a lot to wrap my mind around. The other me smiled sympathetically.

"Maybe we should go somewhere a little quieter, so I can answer the questions I'm sure you have."

"Yes, please."

"This way."

She turned around and started walking down the hall. Deacon and I followed her to a smaller room. I looked over it, realizing this must have been her room. There was a small bed pushed into the corner, and a metal bat leaning against the wall. A shelf on the wall above the bed held small knick-knacks, no doubt scavenged from prewar ruins. Some of them reminded me of the things I had collected over the years exploring the Commonwealth. I pulled myself away and looked back at the other version of me.

"I don't even know where to begin. I have so many questions..."

She looked at me, and I knew she understood how I was feeling.

"It's a lot to take in. I'll start at the beginning. I woke up in a cryo chamber in Vault 111, like you did. From my understanding, we have quite a bit of experience in common. I also found out about the SSE, and it made me question everything. I was scared, so I ran. I couldn't take on the Institute, I never even considered it an option before I heard you did it. Then, I ended up here, in Acadia."

I nodded, listening closely.

"How did you learn about the experiment?"

I sat on the bed, looking up at the woman before me. Her brow furrowed as she recalled information to tell me.

"I knew something was wrong when I found a dead body near a Raider camp. It looked just like me, and was wearing a Vault 111 jumpsuit, and had a Pip-Boy. I thought it was strange, so I started digging for more information. I found someone to turn the Pip-Boy on again. It was stuck on the year 2247. What's more strange, was that I found it in 2267, only a few months after leaving the Vault."

"2247 to 2267? That's definitely weird. What else did you find out?"

I leaned forward, putting my head in my hands as I listened.

"With what I know now, it makes sense that the Institute was sending out a synth version of you every twenty years. And since that seems to be the case, Father is likely much older than we originally thought. He must have been using synth tech to keep himself from aging like normal so he could run the SSE."

"Why did he run the experiments? I mean, what was the point of making an army of moms to crash through the Commonwealth?"

"I am guessing, based on what has happened, that he was trying to find a path for his true mother to navigate that would lead her to him. And I'm also assuming that you really are his mother, since you were the only one of us who found him."

I furrowed my brow, looking up at the synth.

"What about you? You survived."

"Yes, but as soon as I found out it was nothing more than a game, I faked my death. I wasn't going to let someone else dictate my life as it suited them. So I removed myself from the data set. I made sure I wouldn't go into the Institute."

Before I could ask my next question, we had an uninvited guest barge through the door.

"We have a problem! Lookout spotted the Children of Atom, they're headed up the mountain!"

I exchanged looks with Deacon and my predecessor. Without hesitation, we jumped to action. Deacon and I rushed out with our guns already out. Synth Sole followed us, grabbing the bat from the wall.

"It's been a while since I've had to use this."

"We'll watch your back!"

I nodded to her as we rushed to the main room. When we got there, we found DiMa and his scientists huddled around the chair.

"What's the plan, DiMa?"

Deacon asked the old synth.

"Keep the people of Acadia safe."

I looked over at Deacon, and I knew we'd make it through this. Just like we've made it through everything else the wasteland threw at us.