Part 21: A Message From Above
Down at the main floor of the Casino, things we’re finishing up. Gamblers packed their things and stopped gambling, the staff left to get their pay and rest, and the lights above started to turn off.
Surprisingly, seems nobody had noticed what I did; no guards stood waiting to
shoot me, but they’d find out eventually. I went to the Vault to get my trusty rifle, and left the casino.
Just outside the Tops, a robot came barrelling towards me on its monowheel. It was Victor!
“Well howdy partner, good to see you again!” it repeated like before.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you.” I said “How’re things going?”
“Oh you know. Glad to be back with the Boss. Speaking of which, The boss wanted to see you.” He informed me
“…What?” surprised that Mr. House wanted to see me. Nobody had come out of the Lucky 38 alive for years. “What does he want?” I asked.
“Sounds like he’s after that Platinum chip. Said to come meet you, since he thought you might still have it.
“Well, I lost it, but got it back when I went in there.” I told him.
“Great! Boss sure will want to talk to you. Follow me” he said, and escorted me to the Lucky 38’s Towering steel door.
“Woah, hold it there partner.” He said, peering over my shoulder to see Arcane following me. “Boss only wants to see you, sorry but you’ll have to keep your friend in the lobby.”
“Fine, Stay here Arcane.” I replied, and entered the enormous structure. Inside, it appeared as any other casino, with roulette and blackjack tables, and slot machines; but the place was desolate. The atmosphere
was silent, with only a slight drone coming from Victor’s engine. He wheeled
forward and opened the Elevator. “Alright, off to the penthouse floor with
you.” He said, as I stepped into the elevator and waved off Arcane.
As the door opened, I looked forward over a railing and saw a huge part of the Mojave, this
was easily the tallest building for miles around. Victor escorted me off to a
large monitor, with a rats nest of wires poking up into the ceiling, and two
speakers either side of it. After a moment of admiring the technology, a small
noise of feedback came from the speakers, and with a zap of light, an image
depicting Mr. House appeared onscreen.
“So, glad to finally meet you.” Came a low tone from the speakers.
“Well, Err hello there.” I said slowly, unsure how to talk to a computer.
“Indeed greetings, but we have business to attend to. I believe you are currently in possession of the platinum chip?” he asked
“Yeah, but it wasn’t to you. I was supposed to leave it in some old building.” I replied.
“Correct. I made sure the delivery was to somewhere desolate. If I had asked for it to be delivered to the Strip, specifically the Lucky 38, people would realise the importance of it.”
“Well, what’s so important about it? It’s just a chip” I asked.
It sounded as if I could hear him muttering in frustration. “How can I put this, the chip is a computer drive shaped like a chip for numerous reasons, it’s inconspicuous, it’s technologically advanced, but we’re losing the focus; give it to me.”
“Why should I give you the chip?” I questioned.
“Do you not remember the original freighting fee? One thousand credits was the agreed upon price.” He said, tempting me with the thousand caps that made me take the job
“Hmm, I could just keep this.” I suggested
“Give me one thing you’d use it for. For Christ’s sake, you didn’t even know what it was. Trust me, yes it is valuable which is why I paid a hefty sum for its delivery, but who else do you
know will pay you more for a tiny, seemingly insignificant chip?” he reminded
me that nobody else would understand it.
“Could keep it as a collectable.” I said, to which an overwhelming large sigh came through the speakers.
“I can see why a tiny chip that’s easy to lose and useless, is certainly better than a small fortune of a thousand caps, which you can spend on whatever you want.” He said cynically.
“You want this chip that bad, well…..I’ll hear you out a little more.” To which a fairly long silence came from the speakers, like he was in shock at my decision to keep the chip.
“Delivery of the platinum chip is non-negotiable. Look around you, you’ll see many of the strip’s own security bots. If you’ve had the unfortunate chance to witness them in a firefight, you’ll know they always win. They don’t die to headshots or bleed, and the only way to kill them is to either destroy the motherboard, buried deep under four feet of steel in the chest, or sever the limbs from it; again, through thick steel. One shot of the robot’s lasers will singe flesh and cause major bleeding, making you drop your weapon and fall in tremendous pain. Reminding me, robots don’t feel pain and are considerably tougher.
“That’s….not a bad argument” I mumbled. Not wanting to see how pathetic my gun fares against steel.
“But one question; why do you need the Chip so badly?”
“Simple. It contains data relevant to upgrading the Lucky 38’s advanced defence system, as well as the Mark two operating system. The bots you see on the street are all running on the mark
one operating system, which limits their effectiveness if combat, even if they
are already immensely powerful. They have onboard auto repair systems, as well
as grenade and rocket launching weapons that unfortunately they cannot use. The
chip has the relevant drivers needed to grant them access, which would make them
virtually undefeatable.
"Alright, I understand that, but what about the Lucky 38’s Advanced Defence system?” I asked.
“Ah yes, about that. You’ve probably noticed that the Strip is considerably better preserved than its surroundings. Installed on the top of this building are high intensity lasers that allow me
to shoot down any incoming projectiles. On the day of the Great War, seventy seven
nuclear missiles were directed towards Nevada and of course, to here. I was
forced to make do with buggy software, as I had ordered the chip to be
delivered early on the morning of the war.
Without the upgrade to my lasers, and with missiles incoming, I managed
to take out seventy of the nuclear warheads, leaving the Mojave as it is today,
in a much better state than it would have been if they all were to have hit. If
that chip was delivered just twenty hours earlier, I would have been able to
destroy all the warheads.”
“Oh man. You ordered that chip almost two hundred years ago? Wait, doesn’t that mean you’re over two hundred years old?”
“Good to see you can pay attention. Indeed, I am not a computer program but a human still alive, thanks to my cryogenically sealed container, deep within the confines of this building. I realised that
the Great War was about to arrive, and sealed myself into cryostatis so that I
could live for all these years, since it would be almost thirty years before I
ever saw anyone outside in the radioactive wasteland.
“Well why can’t I come and see you?” I asked.
“Because, if you did, you’d find my withering husk of a body. Two hundred years doesn’t leave me in a state to pop out of my machine and have a chat with you, no the machine is the only
thing keeping my alive. For over two hundred years, nothing has entered or left
this cryostatis container. If I was to open it, I’d within seconds be exposed
to hundreds of toxins and pollutants in the air that you’ve been exposed to for
many years. I’d also be unable to support my own weight. Therefore, I’m not leaving.” He explained
“Well, that's a......very interesting explanation” I murmered, and finally pushed the chip into the slot in front of me. Mr House sounded very happy, and I was unsure what he was doing. But quite soon, he came back to me.
“I have just sent the upgrade to all the Securitons within range of my emitters, and of course upgraded this buildings defence system. Vegas should now be nearly impenetrable against any incoming attacks,
and I guarantee nobody will crack Vegas without signifigant firepower. I’m certain you’ll want to know exactly
how the upgrade will affect the future, so please take the elevator to the basement.” He said,
and flashed off, leaving the screen blank. I returned to the elevator and took
it to the basement to see what how the upgrade changed the robots.
Notice: The Content in this story (Characters, Locations and Objects) are copyright of Bethsada Softworks, Obsidian Entertainment, or their respective owners. This is just a fan story, with no copyright intented. So please Bethsada, don't sue me, I love your games :D
