POV Rio
I had called all my friends and trusted allies to Vault 111 for an important meeting. As I was thinking this, I heard the Vault main door opening.
"Glad everyone could make it," I commented as everyone had found their seats.
"Sure, but it seems like you called practically everyone," Preston comments.
"I only called those I trust not to panic and/or those who can think calmly," I reply.
I had called Preston, Cait, Curie, Athena, Deacon, Hancock, MacCready, Nick, Piper, Guto, Pharynx, and the rest of Delta Squad.
"I called you here because I have discovered something... bad. Very bad," I say with a very troubled expression.
"How bad?" Preston asks.
"Strategus, projection!" I call out to the improved Tactical Droid I made. It was designed based on P.A.M., but wth the ridiculous amount of data I had from the Prewar databases, my own knowledge, and the old Spy Satellite, I was able to make a vastly superior version one that also didn't have any loyalty issues. His prime directive was to ensure the safety of myself and those closest to me, followed by the allies/faction.
"Yes, sir," Strategus replied in a menacing voice. (Basically General Kalani's Voice from Star Wars)
A projection is shown. At first, nobody gets what is being shown, but as the images change, some start to realise something isn't right.
"Where are these meant to be showing?" Nick asks with some hesitation.
"What you are seeing is what I found in Europe. And possibly everywhere outside of North and Central America," I reply calmly.
"Bu-But where is everythin'?" Cait asks nervously.
"Gone," I reply.
"What do you mean, gone? Where did they go?" Piepr asks.
"According to Zetan records starting in 2277, they lost their ability to observe Earth. It only lasted 3 years. And yet once they reestablished control over Earth's orbit, they found that over half the world was devoid of all life. And I mean ALL life. There were no humans, ghouls, mutants, animals, or even trees. There is nothing, as far as the scanners and eyes can see are the skeletal remains of many humans. Even cities were raised to the ground," I say with a deathly serious tone.
"Bu-but how?" Curie asks.
"I have no idea. Neither do the Zetans. There were some signs of fighting I could find, but they were small and hard to determine the age. But there was no radiation or signs of another Nuclear exchange. Just silence. And fields of bones. The only signs I could sense were vague feelings of magic, but they were too faded before I could investigate," I say with a sigh.
"You said it was like this everywhere other than North and Central America. What about South America?" Nick asks.
I have the photos swapped to show similar situations.
"It's the same. I couldn't confirm myself if everywhere else is like this, but it is highly likely," I comment.
"Wh-what do we do?" Athena asks.
"We try to fight. But if that fails, I plan on abandoning Earth," I say seriously.
"Where would we go?" Cait asks.
"Hoth," I reply.
"What?! That frozen hellscape? Why?" Preston asks.
"I have been doing extensive exploration of Hoth and have found plentiful resources. It has nearly everything we could want in quantities that would make a capitalist drool. Silver, Gold, Copper, Iron, Bauxite, and many more. The only resources that seem rare are the radioactive elements, Lead, Coal, and Oil. But I have also found several deposits of magical ores. And while the world is cold, I believe we can create a safe place to live for the short term. The alternative is space exploration, but that would take time. Time we may not have. We would have to find a habitable planet first, then assess for dangers, then what resources it has, then send a colony ship, then slowly build the colony. Hoth only requires the last step," I explain.
"What about the cold?" Preston asks.
"I don't know if you noticed, but members of our faction don't have to worry about heat or cold. Unless it is extreme, they can live through it with almost no problems. Combined with my technology, I think it is feasible. Not to mention the magic concentration on Hoth is far superior to Earth. And it's possible Hoth is only in an Ice Age right now, as I have recently found ruins," I reply.
"Ruins?" Guto asked.
"Yes, I haven't been able to get a clear visual due to some sort of interference in the region, but I confirmed that ruins exist on Hoth," I reply.
I look around and see almost everyone is in thought.
"Of course, Hoth would only be chosen if we can't hold Earth. Though that may be the case as due to the mass extinction of all those plants, Earth may become uninhabitable. I can't say for certain. And worse than all that, we also have to worry about the Zetans," I say with a sad sigh.
"What do you mean?" MacCready asks.
"That time when Zetans couldn't observe Earth was because a Zetan Mothership was hijacked and kept destroying all Zetan ships that came to Earth. I need everyone to understand some background on Zetans as a species. They have been observing and experimenting on humans for over 1000 years. Not one Zetan ever had issues with this. They see us as inferior creatures that are fit only for being dissected. But this is because Zetans operate under a psychic Hive Mind," I say.
"A Hive Mind? What's that?" Cait asks.
"A Hive Mind is when a group or species is controlled by a single mind, and all other bodies are usually just extensions of that one mind. I will clarify that the Zetans aren't under a true Hive Mind, but close. They are ruled by a single powerful mind, but below that, numerous powerful minds rule over the lower class, which are basically drones of a sort. Zetan culture is truly alien to us. They don't have individuality. That is seen as something foreign. They don't even get names; they get numbers when they are born. There's no religion, democracy, or even privacy. They get assigned a job based on what they determine the specific drone is best suited for. And they don't even have families; they are often born from nutrient tubes," I say.
"Numbers? Like robots?" Curie asks.
"Yes, somewhat. Now, because Zetan society is as it is, they are in many ways a technocracy. They are ruled by logic and science. Which meant the loss of so many ships to retake Earth was deemed too heavy a cost to continue experiments. Save one last experiment. They have a weapon that is meant to wipe out all... sentient life on a planet. I don't have the info on how it works, but the Zetan ship we captured made it clear that they were only meant to observe humanity and prevent them from escaping before the cleansing is complete. Which might come in a few years. I am not sure, as the ships didn't have specific dates, only mission parameters. And an estimate on when the cleanser would be complete," I say.
"What?! Why would they wipe us all out?!" Preston says with a shocked tone.
"I think it's a combination of factors. For one, humans have cost them a lot during their long observation. Second, they have likely obtained all they wanted from humanity. Third, we are pushing ever closer to extinction. Fourth, they get to test this new weapon. Fifth, they are scared of another group interfering. Sixth, it opens this world for exploitation and colonization. And seventh, we are too costly to invade traditionally," I count off the reasons I think of.
"So that's it then? We are doomed if we stay?" Athena asks.
"No, I have a plan to deal with the Zetans. It also completes my objective of cleaning up Earth. I will take all the radioactive materials I can get on Earth and possibly beyond and create a weapon of true mass destruction. Then I would take this weapon and either teleport onto their world or sneak it in using a captured spaceship. The good thing is that the Zetans only live on their homeworld due to a previous war with another space-faring civilization. The other good news is that their lack of privacy means that almost everything is just readily available to anyone connected to their network. The bad news is that they haven't discovered FTL Communications, so they rely on physical couriers. The other bad news is that their homeworld is heavily fortified, meaning a traditional war is impossible to win with our almost non-existent human population," I say.
"I have a few questions. First, how many humans are left on Earth, and second, what is this other civilization you keep mentioning? And can they be trusted to ally with us?" Piper asks.
"Great questions. To answer your first question, the Zetans' last scan indicated 3 million people were left, but that was nearly 6 years ago, so it is likely even lower. To answer your second question, the other civilizations are called something that doesn't have a direct translation from Zetan but means something like Crystal Authority, or Carbon Command, Gem Leadership, or something like that. But they cannot be trusted as if what the Zetans recorded is right, which I think it likely is; they didn't start the war. Their first colony was invaded. The enemy is like a crystalline parasitic lifeform. They invade a world, seed it, then drain the planet of energy, birth more of their kind, then strip it of all value, and then repeat the process. They also might be unkillable, as the Zetans said that they kept fighting the same enemies over and over again, but I am not sure if that might be because the parasites look identical or if it is literal and they kept coming back after dying," I reply.
"Jesus Christ. How bad is this universe?" Cait asks.
"Pretty awful since there is apparently a hell with Demons and Devils and the Eldritch. Oh, and there was that time where an entire Continent turned into a massive swirling mass of evil and fled Earth. Honestly, I can't fully blame the Zetans for wanting to erase Earth and all its strange anomalies," I reply with a shrug of my shoulders.
Everyone tries to find an argument against that, but they start realizing how truly weird and strange our world is. I mean, they are literally talking to a talking horse that shoots laser beams from its horn and can fly. I can also make Tsunamis, Blizzards, and I can suddenly grow in size and Strength when I get mad.
"Why? Why is our world like this?" Curie asks innocently.
"I can't say for certain, but some say it was all Todd Howard's fault. Or his cousin Hodd Toward. But honestly, this place isn't too bad. I mean, I know of some truly horrible worlds to live in. Like worlds where even dying doesn't end your torment. Or where just existing can cause you to be turned into a corrupted creature of violence and pain. Or heaven forbid you get sent to that world..." I say with shiver.
"Gulp. What kind of world?" Cait asks nervously.
"A world where everything is a sick amalgamation of machine drawings, pregnant foot surgeries, bleeding and dying animals, Spidermen spanking each other, and peeing on themselves. A place where you will run out of eye bleach, and you will go crazy from the horrible music sung by robots that are trying to pretend they are human. You see and experience horrors beyond your wildest imagination," I say with distant, dead eyes.
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Author's Note:
I am curious if anyone can guess what Rio is talking about. People who have been around the internet a while might remember this major event related to these kinds of things being shown to kids. I am specifically talking about the last paragraph. But Fallout is already pretty weird and a bit scary, but I think it still could be far worse.
Now, as for half the world being dead, I would assume many are possibly connecting the dots. I have done a lot of foreshadowing. Will Rio stop it, or will he fail and have to flee? Tough to say.
As for the Zetan's, I took them in a different way, as there isn't much lore on who the Zetan's are other than aliens. We know they have been watching and abducting humans since around the 16th century. We know they have advanced technology and likely FTL travel. We know they seem to see Humans as nothing more than subjects for study. We know they have psychic powers in their most powerful versions, specifically the Inquisitors. And they get strong enough to even take over hive-minded creatures like Scorchbeasts. They seem to have a structured military. They seem to lack individuality and focus on function over form. They have death rays on their ships. So I took all those details and some I made up and made my vision of what Zetans would be like. But let me know if you have a different view or headcannon, as I would love to hear about it.