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SnowStorm
Ghost from the past
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2020
So a big craving I have now that I've scratched my Shadowrun itch involves the wasteland but I want to start by saying it doesn't have to be a cannon wasteland.
The Fallout Idea:
Dr. Heather Willcott was an institute scientist who was a little awkward and very lonely. She had faced a number of issues when it came to moving up within the hirearchy but none of those issues were her talents as an engineer. Feeling isolated, stressed, and wanting company, one day she visited the archives. It was an area where the Institute kept prototypes and one offs that didn't work out and were kept. She found one of the mostly complete prototypes for the original coursers and got an idea. The prootypes had realistic everything, but there was no attempt to make it LOOK realistic. That didn't bother her. So she found parts and secretly at night worked to cobble together a friend.
Alpha came online with courser programming and no memories. Dr. Willcott had added some programming to make him a more interesting friend. Smuggling him to her quarters, she enjoyed coming back from work to someone who she could talk to, open up to without fear of judgement. They would play chess, do puzzles, sometimes they wouldn't even talk they would just be in the same room while both of them read different books. It was wonderful for her and Alpha started to develop a caring, nurturing personality.
At night, they would cuddle. Dr. Willcott often wanted to just be held while she slept, feeling so much comfort from the contact without feeling any pressure to do anything more. Her stress levels began to drop, she was happier, and was able to work more efficiently. Things were going good for her career wise as well and she was starting to be recognized as a scientist with a great deal of potential.
Then the Minutemen attacked the Institute.
In a panic, Dr. Willcott wasn't sure what to do. She had developed a lot of feeling for Alpha and absolutely did not want him to be destroyed by the invaders. She gave Alpha very specific orders on how to escape, knowing that his courser programming would make him stealthy and quick. She had no idea if she would even be able to escape but she wanted to make sure that he was able to carry on.
The last time Alpha got to see her, she was crying and saying goodbye. Alpha's emotions were still developing but he couldn't help but feel a tremendous sense of loss as he walked away from her, ready to carry out her instructions.
His first days in the wasteland by himself were tough. It was not a friendly place for synths, especially ones that looked like him. Alpha was attacked again and again and he found himself simply trying to get away from the humans who feared him. Eventually he learned that if he covered himself and people couldn't see what he looked like that he was treated very differently. Alpha assembled a suit of armor that completely hid his body and face and found work providing security for caravans and anyone who wanted to travel safely.
An idea I have is that your character is a beautiful young woman whose family has paid for her to travel from one part of the wasteland to another and has paid for Alpha to act as security and a guide. There are a number of threats that they could face together, falling for each other and overcoming his fear of revealing himself.
Not Fallout/Original Setting:
So I feel like this idea could easily be adapted to an original setting. He could be a relic from the "before times" or could have been built by some organization who is technologically superior to the rest of the wasteland. But regardless of his orgins, he is a synthetic human being, wondering the wasteland, hiding what he is.The appearance an personality would remain the same but we can easily adjust him to fit any kind of setting we want to adapt him to.
I had an idea for an original setting, a world that is somewhat post apocalyptic but not all of it is dirt and grime. Instead there are cities that are quite futuristic that pepper the wasteland. Some that are medieval, others Victorian, etc. The idea is that holes in time and space have plucked people and places from a variety of worlds, timelines, etc and plopped them down into this world. It's a strange mixture of beings, creatures, cultures, and so on.
Alpha is just another oddity in this setting who is still very secretive about who and what he is.
I'm really excited to talk ideas with any interested parties. I can be pretty flexible so come say hi and let's get something started!