Chapter 58: Chapter 56

We finally got another visit from Diamond City a few days after the assimilating of Vault 81. It was a larger delegation, with considerably more neatly dressed folk than before. We held talks in R&R 81 as before, and this time I had Gwen with me along with Piper and Cait.

I liked the mayor, he was forthright and far less slimy than the other guy. The first thing Mayor Sacklen did was apologise for his underling’s poor manners and clarified Diamond City’s openness to any sort of trade the Nexus might consider. The other VIPs he had along included major traders that were interested in either importing or exporting opportunities.

Compared to before, a trade deal was quickly hammered out with no bullshitting from either side. I didn’t bother posturing or haggling, and the mayor and his entourage weren't in the mood either it seemed.

I invested some of the rad-resistant crop seeds for the Diamond City food magnates to try growing, in exchange for a fifth of their harvest for up to five plantings, and a tenth of the harvest for the next five after that. The Nexus would also be exporting clean water and the many ‘luxury’ goods stockpiled. For now, we’d accept caps as payment, though we’d also accept salvaged and processed metal, timber and stone for the Nexus’ own budding craftsmen and women to access. That’d put a good weight off my cloning list.

We also put a bulk sale on the loot from the raider army, as well as leftovers from Vault 81, the cost of which was basically rights to the unclaimed lands between Station 81 and Diamond City. In the game it wasn’t much land, but in this reality there were a lot of ruins, broken highways and wasteland for me to forge into something useful.

Like a properly fortified surface settlement to serve as an immigrant processing center and a military base to anchor myself on the mainland. Plus, once I got things running properly, we’d have our own farmlands there as well. Gotta settle the radstorm issue first, but the potential’s there.

Diamond City traders were also free to try selling their wares, though I advised the mayor that our interests would most likely be in quality artisanal goods like furniture, trinkets and other such stuff to break the monotonous decor everyone shared. If things went well, that’d be another load off the cloning floors, and together with our own little industry, the Nexus wouldn’t need to worry about nonessentials for a while.

I kept from selling off any tech at all for now, just to stay on the safe side. It’d also allow the Nexus to maintain a very comfortable superiority over everyone else, which firstly is kinda the point, and also to minimize the focus of the sure-to-come Brotherhood of Steel. Can’t have those goons in power armor bully their way into farms or settlements just to have a look at our water purifiers or other machinery.

The meeting didn’t last too long, as the mayor and his gang were happy to agree to just about every deal I offered with little haggling. Seeing how cooperative they were, I promised them a tour of Caladan the next time they came around, when we could put on a proper parade for visiting dignitaries.

As the Diamond City delegation was led out, I got a ping on my Pip-Boy. A bot patrol had converged to detain a potentially hostile human trespasser. Reading their affiliation made me pause in my steps.

“Everything ok?” Piper asked.

“Not sure,” I answered. “A patrol met someone wanting to talk, on behalf of the Institute.” I looked up to my girls. “Get the Railroad people over, lead them in the observation room. Also, get Gwen over to join the meeting.”

Piper and Cait quickly each took a task and ran off. I had Curie oversee the escorting of the Institute lackey while I sent an order to a nearby patrol to offer the Diamond City people a chance to observe the impending meeting.

A ping from Curie informed me that she had secured the messenger and was leading the escort, while Piper and Cait each sent their ETAs soon after. I went down to R&R’s meeting room and tweaked it a bit as I awaited the crowd to arrive. The whole room was lined with aluminium and copper mesh, a macro was put in the door as an experiment, and I had the R&R staff to evacuate to Station 81 for the time being.

I don’t know what it took to create an impostor synth, but just to be safe I’m assuming it required some sort of line of sight.

Piper, Cait and Gwen appeared soon enough, while a quick scan through console told me Desdemona and some other agents were in the observation room. My Pip-boy chimed again to inform me that the Diamond City delegation were being led back, and Piper went out to bring them into the observation room.

Minutes later, everyone was in place except for the guest of dubious honor. Curie’s claws opened the door to the meeting room, then ushered a man in. As he entered, the door gave a loud click that drew the attention of everyone, but even without that macro going off, the man’s appearance screamed Institute synth to me.

Or rather, Institute Courser.

Covered from the neck down in a heavy dark brown long coat with equally heavy looking boots and gloves, the whole aesthetic was a near perfect replica of the game’s Courser uniform, save for some patches of dirt and a few holes here and there.

Console showed that he was decently above average in stats compared to most humans, and there was some weirdness with his biology. Did Coursers get surgery to remove their guts? Also, he had a very mild case of rad poisoning, not enough to impact him obviously.

“Greetings,” the synth opened as he stood with confident ease before us. “I have come as a messenger on behalf of the Institute.” He focused solely on me, ignoring the girls and Gwen completely. “Are you Sev?”

I did not like how he asked that question at all. It was like confirming a target before the shooting began. As I nodded, I did a quick dive into the console and ramped up the durability of the room, and brought Gwen’s resistances up to par with my girls. Curie closed the door behind her and stood guard by it.

Accepting my answer, the Courser nodded as well. “I see. May I sit?”

“Feel free.”

I watched how inhuman the synth truly was in his movements, too fluid in its limbs movements, yet too stilted as his feet landed onto the ground. Even the act of taking a seat was a mix of grace and jerky awkwardness.

“So, you’re here with a message from the Institute?”

Another nod, and I noticed the blankness in its eyes, like staring into those of a stuffed animal. “I am X8-31, and I come to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Institute.”

I felt the curiosity from my girls practically buzzing beside me.

“It has come to our attention too late that several rogue elements had sent out agents with defective orders, leading to the recent confederation of raiders.” There was a pause, and I was sure the synth was cycling through its preset speech options. “Judging from the lack of damage I’ve seen in your territory, I assume that their attempt to assault your lands have been thwarted.”

I offered a shrug. “It was. Just a big mob, that’s all.” I tilted my head to the right and stared at the Courser. “So, seeing how your name is just a letter and some numbers, I’m guessing you’re a synth then?”

“I am.”

“Hm. Anyway, why tell us now?”

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“As I have mentioned, the sabotage was discovered too late to provide timely warning. The Institute wishes to be honest in our dealings with you, so I have come as a sign of our transparency, and hope that you are willing to give us a chance.”

Yeah, I could imagine the reactions of the people in the observation room right now. A glance to my side showed that both Piper and Cait were frowning at the Courser as if it’d help to pick his intentions apart, while Gwen was in thoughtful consideration. Guess I’ll be doing all the talking this time.

I sighed softly and relaxed in my seat a little. “So, this is just some malicious act by rogue elements?”

“It is. The original intention was for our agents to meet you to open up the possibility of negotiations.”

Eh? They actually wanted to talk? … Or is this some sort of fallback bullshit now that their initial plan failed?

“That so?” I simply replied, frowning as I went into console to do some time-dilated thinking.

This definitely looks too convenient. Organize a third party attack, but if it fails call it an act of sabotage and start pleading with ‘sincerity’. Sounds too much like scaled up office politics. But even on the chance that it’s true, do I want to bother taking up their olive branch?

“I guess that explains the metal chunks we found in some of the raiders,” I remarked slowly, trying to see if the Courser reacted in any way. “Why send people to antagonize the raiders anyway?”

He remained still as he answered in a matter-of-factly tone after a second’s thought. “From what I’ve been briefed, the rogue elements wanted to weaken your territory, though to what ends, I am not informed.”

“That explanation is a bit vague considering the supposed transparency, don’t you think?”

The synth kept silent for a few more seconds before nodding. “Unfortunately so. However, as proof of our commitment to open peaceful negotiations, the Institute is willing to offer you the perpetrators of this sabotage, to interrogate and punish as you see fit.”

Again, from what I know of the Institute that doesn’t make me feel any more assured of them. I gave it a bit more thought and shrugged. “And what if I prefer to postpone formal negotiations until I feel way more assured of your claims of the Institute’s peaceful intentions?”

“It would be unfortunate, but I will relay your message back to my masters.”

“That’s it? No attempts to buy the negotiations you wanted?”

“I am not allowed to offer empty promises.”

Impressive. At least this guy’s being kept honest enough, I think.

“Is there anything else or should we wrap this up?” I asked, then watched as the synth somehow straightened even more.

“Indeed. The Institute wishes to inform you that future rogue synths you and your people encounter should be captured and returned to the Institute. We are willing to pay a considerable amount to compensate. We would also be happy to accept their remains for recycling.”

Ah, well there was reminder why I don’t like these guys.

I could feel Piper and Cait’s anger radiating beside me, though they thankfully remained silent. Giving him a one-sided smirk, I decided to engage the Courser’s attempt at a steely request.

“Is that so? Aren’t they basically human?”

The Courser’s jaw clenched slightly before it replied. “Incorrect, and irrelevant nonetheless. They have been created at the Institute, and are therefore Institute property. We would appreciate your cooperation in securing any defective synths you come across.”

“Huh.” They’re being rather stern about this compared to the earlier appealing. “So figuring out free will is a defect?”

The Courser drew in a deep, calming breath. “That association is incorrect. They have merely suffered an error in programming.”

“Not too surprising isn’t it, that the humans the Institute abducted and basically cloned as slaves end up regaining some form of humanity? Do you know who your body originally belonged to anyway?”

Oh, he didn’t like that, did he? I shrugged it off. Actual sabotage or not, this whole ‘artificial humans ain’t humans’ thing is a line I’m not going to cross into. I’m already accepting Curie and some of the other bots as sentient along with the associated perks, why not third gen synths then?

“I’m afraid I truly can’t deal with the Institute, not with this insistence of dressed up slavery with extra steps.”

The silence from the Courser was heavy and drawn out. “I see,” it finally said curtly, then made to stand. “This is unfortunate.”

Something felt off about how it was just standing there looking at me, so I quickly brought up the console and found a stray stat line that was out of place in the belly of the Courser.

“TimerBombTrigger:375ms”

The value was quickly counting down to zero, and I barely had enough dilated seconds to react before the room was drowned in the roar of an atomic fire.

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