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Wild Wasteland
Fallout’s wasteland is a harsh place to survive, a land of little hope, with an uncertain future. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s occupants press on and live by whatevers means possible, often banding together into communities, and attempting to reconstruct some semblance of civilization. They’ve all lost a lot, be it their family, their home or their health, and though some keep their humanity, and sanity, others become somewhat unhinged, driven mad, be it by radiation or just the shock brought on by a nuclear apocalypse.
These unfortunate individuals also band together to survive, but in perhaps a less orthodox fashion. Both Fallout 3 and New Vegas’ wastelands populated by a bevvy of bizarre cults, religions, clubs and organisations. From the bomb worshiping Children Of Atom, to the Elvis impersonating Kings, and, of course, poor old Harold and his Treeminders, the wasteland has no shortage of like-minded weirdos uniting under some deluded cause. So what extravagant freaks are we set to encounter in Fallout 4? Well, here are a few possibilities.
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Tribe of the Red Sox
Fallout 4 takes place in Boston, or rather The Commonwealth (as it’s known in the world of Fallout), and as seen in the debut trailer, the cities famous baseball stadium, Fenway Park, has been converted into a themed shanty town named Diamond City. It’s likely that America’s favourite pastime is still well known in the world of Fallout 4 due to this monument, but it’s also possible that, much like Fallout 3’s Sudden-Death Overtime, the gang that believed ice hockey to be a death sport, that what exactly baseball is, has too been misinterpreted.
Perhaps with baseball bats being commonly used as weapons, it may also be misremembered as a blood sport. Alternatively, with Fenway Park being converted into a city, the exiled Red Sox fans could consider themselves as a tribe, wronged and robbed of their sacred stadium. This tribe of native Red Sox would adorn themselves in the teams jersey, and armed with bats, gloves and maybe even a lethal foam finger or two, carry out regular assaults on the city in an attempt to reclaim Fenway Park from the viscous invaders. This ongoing conflict would add an interesting dynamic to what’s certain to be one of Fallout 4’s key settlements.
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Radioactive Roid Heads
The Super Mutants and Behemoths of the Fallout universe display exactly how mutation can twist the human body into a hulking, savage monstrosity. Most would see this terrible transformation as a thoroughly undesirable fate, but what about those who decide to harness the power of radioactivity? Sure, the risk of becoming a berserk, death hungry colossus would be ever present when messing with the highly volatile substance, but the temptation of such righteous power and bodacious muscle mass? well, that may be irresistible to some.
Having such strength would undoubtedly give one an advantage when it comes to survival, and this fantasy of wasteland dominance would surely breed a culture of body builders, obsessively working on their physique to overpower all competition. Modern day body builders, for example, the glistening walnut lords of Venice Beach, may use use protein shakes, power bars or even steroids to aide their performance. The body builders of the nuclear wastes would take the next logical step, and ingest, or perhaps inject, radioactive chemicals to boost themselves to obscene levels. I’d be equally entertained and horrified should I encounter a troupe of hulking mutant bros pumping iron on the glowing green beaches of the east coast during my adventures in Fallout 4. It would certainly showcase the peak of post-human “fitness”.
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Brotherhood of the Apple
Fallout’s post apocalyptic landscape is strewn with the technology of the world before, ancient machines from a desolate civilization. Many of Fallout’s weapons and robots are adaptions of these pre-nuclear developments, and some are even put in museums, heralded as historical relics. With Fallout’s apocalypse not taking place until 2077, much of it’s technology is greatly more advanced than that which we possess today.
One seemingly immortal corporation that will undoubtedly exist until the world’s end, and possibly beyond, is Apple. They dominate our modern world of smart phones and computers, and already have a cult-like following, their shining temples of glass are present in hundreds of locations worldwide. Fallout, of course, wouldn’t be allowed to feature the actually Apple corporation, but rather an satirical equivalent of the technology giant. Upon uncovering one of these tombs of technology, wanderers of the waste could very well think them to be churches, and the “geniuses” could well be mistaken for guardians, or great elders that held some wondrous ancient knowledge. These great glass structures could hold host to a religious sect, a group of scholars dedicated to unearthing this ancient knowledge and utilsing the mysterious technology, whilst worshiping a Steve Jobs-like figure as their God.
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Straight Edge Undead
Fallout’s ghouls are decrepit, zombie-like former humans who, due to prolonged radiation sickness, have turned into hideous messes of rotting flesh. Some are not too far gone into the ghoul process and still have their mind, speech and humanity, whereas others have been fully consumed by the illness, becoming feral and thus hostile to anyone they encounter. Ghouls face ridicule from humans and are often forced to seek refuge in ghoul-only sewer ghettos.
These segregated groups of deformed outsiders may form their own subculture, and perhaps adopt a way of coping with their rejection from mainstream society. A (literally) undergound group of punk rock ghouls with their own squater-like community and gnarly music scene would be an awesome thing to come across in Fallout 4. Much like the straight edge scene of the 1980’s, these ghouls would refrain from anything that may contain radiation, in fear that it would hasten their descent into becoming feral. Much like New Vegas’ The Kings, seeing wasteland survivors adopting an iconic culture, in their own odd way, could yield some fantastically bizarre results.
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Playbot
I think by now we’ve established that Fallout’s wasteland is full of weirdos, from The Capitol Waste, to New Vegas, and I’m sure The Commonwealth, every inch of post-apocalyptic America is covered in freaks and excentrics. Most survivors join together, after all, there’s strength in numbers, but some, like our own lone wanders, try to make it on their own. But even these loners need some companionship, whether it comes in the form of giant ants, puppets or robots.
The wasteland can be a lonely place, one often devoid of love or intimacy. Perhaps, stranded alone somewhere in the waste is a brilliant scientist and inventor, presiding in a vast mansion, and unsure whether he’s the last human on earth. Before all this, he was a Tony Stark-esque millionaire playboy, but now, in a world where bottle caps are currency, he seemingly had nothing. Longing for companionship and something occupy his time, he set to work on an android woman, and thrilled by the results, proceeded to assemble a whole team of sexy robot ladies. Stumbling into this Frankensteinian Hugh Hefner and his surreal playboy mansion of android women would be another unsettlingly hilarious moment in the world of Fallout.
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What bizzare cults and organisations, whether new or returning, would you like to see in Fallout 4? Let us know in the comments below!