Evolution (27 page)

Oasis:
Oasis is a settlement located in the Wasteland, about halfway between Los Angeles and Raider Bluff. It has a population of one thousand, and is built around the banks of the oasis for which it is named. The oasis did not exist Pre-Ragnarok, but was formed by tapping an underground aquifer. Elder Ohlan rules Oasis with a strong hand. He is the brother of Dark Raine, and it is whispered that he might have had a hand in his death.

Odin
:
Odin
is an S-Class Cruiser Spaceship built by the U.S. during the Dark Decade. It is one of four, the other being
Gilgamesh
, the capital ship, and the other two being
Perseus
and
Orion
, cruisers with the same specs as
Odin
. Though
Odin’s
capabilities are not as impressive as
Gilgamesh’s
,
Odin
is still very functional. It contains berths for eight crew, nine counting the captain. It has a cockpit, armory, kitchen, galley, two dorms, one lavatory, and the fusion drive in the back. A cargo bay can be reached from either outside the ship or within the galley. Unlike
Gilgamesh
, it is not spacious enough to store a Recon. It contains a single machine gun turret that can open up from the ship’s bottom.
Odin
, in addition to being faster than
Gilgamesh
, also gets better fuel efficiency. It can go months without ever needing to refuel.

Praetorians, The:
The Praetorians are the most elite of the Empire’s soldiers. There are one hundred total, and they are the personal bodyguard of Emperor Augustus. They carry a long spear, tower shield, and gladius. The wear a long, purple cape, steel armor, and a white, jaguar headdress, complete with purple plume.

Raider Bluff:
Raider Bluff is the only known settlement of the raiders. It is built northeast of what used to be Needles, California, on top of a three-tiered mesa. Though the raiders are mobile group, even they need a place to rest during the harsh, Wasteland winter. Merchants, women, and servants followed the raider men, setting up shop on the mesa, giving birth to Raider Bluff sometime in the early 2040’s. From the top of the Bluff rules the Alpha, the strongest recognized leader of the raiders. A new Alpha rises only when he is able to wrest control from the old one.

Ragnarok:
Ragnarok was the given name of the meteor the crashed into Earth on December 3, 2030. It was about three miles long, and two miles wide. It was discovered by astronomer Neil Weinstein, in 2019. It is not known
what
caused Ragnarok to come hurtling toward Earth, or how it eluded detection for so long – but that answer was revealed when the Black Files came to light. Ragnarok was the first phase of the invasion planned by the Xenos, the race of aliens attempting to conquer Earth. Implanted within Ragnarok was the xenovirus – the seed for all alien genetic life that was to destroy, acquire, and replace Earth life. The day the Xenos arrive, according to the Black Files, is called “Xenofall.” The time of their eventual arrival is completely unknown.

Recon:
A Recon is an all-terrain rover that is powered by hydrogen. It is designed for speedy recon missions across the Wastes, and was developed by the United States military during the Dark Decade. It is composed of a cab, in front, and a large cargo bay in the back. Mounted on top of the cargo bay is a turret with 360 degree rotation, accessible by a ladder and a porthole. The turret can be manned and fired while the Recon is on the go.

Voice, The:
The Voice is the name given to the collective consciousness of all xenolife. It exists in Ragnarok Crater – whether or not it has a corporeal form is unknown. However, it is agreed by Dr. Ashton and Samuel that the Voice controls xenolife using sound waves and vibrations within xenofungus. It gives the entire Xeno invasion sentience, and is a piece of evidence pointing to an advanced, alien race that is trying to conquer Earth.

Wastelanders:
Wastelanders are surface dwellers, specifically ones that live in the southwestern United States. The term is broad – it can be as specific as to only mean someone who is forced to wander, scavenge, or raid for sustenance, or Wastelander can mean anyone who lives on the surface Post-Ragnarok, regardless of location or circumstances. Wastelanders are feared by Bunker dwellers, as they have been the number one reason for Bunkers failing.

Wasteland, The:
The Wasteland is a large tract of land comprising of Southern California and the Western United States. It extends from the San Bernardino Mountains in the west, to the Rockies in the east (and in later years, the Great Blight), and from the northern border of Nova Roma to the south, to the Ice Lands to the north (which is about the same latitude as Sacramento, California). The Wasteland is characterized by a cold, extremely dry climate. Rainfall each year is little to none, two to four inches being about average. Little can survive the Wasteland, meaning that all life has clung to limited water supplies. Major population centers include Raider Bluff, along the Colorado River, Oasis, supplied by a body of water of the same name, and Last Town, a trading post that sprung up along I-10 between Los Angeles and the Mojave. Whenever the Wasteland is referred to, it is generally not referred to in its entire scope. It is mainly used to reference what was once the Mojave Desert.

Xenofall:
Xenofall is the day of reckoning – when the Xenos finally arrive on Earth to claim it as their own. No one knows when that day is – whether it is one year, ten years, or a thousand. It is feared that, when Xenofall
does
come, humans and all resistance will have been long gone.

Xenofungus:
Xenofungus is a slimy, sticky fungus that is colored pink, orange, or purple (and sometimes all three), that infests large tracts of land and serves as the chief food source of all xenolife. It forms the basis of the Blights, and without xenofungus, xenolife could not exist. The fungus, while hostile to Earth-life, facilitates the growth, development, and expansion of xenolife. It is nutrient rich, and contains complicated compounds and proteins that are poison to Earth life, but paradise for xenolife. It is tough, resilient, resistant to fire, dry, and cold – and if it isn’t somehow stopped, one day xenofungus will cover the entire world.

Xenolife:
Any form of life that is infected with the xenovirus.

Xenovirus:
The xenovirus is an agent that attaches itself to DNA, acquires it, and mixes and matches it with the DNA it has already collected. It then mixes and matches genes to create something completely new – that something can be a new plant, animal, bacteria, etc.. There are thousands of strains of the xenovirus, maybe even millions, but most are completely undocumented. While the underlying core of each strain is the same, the strains are specific to each species it infects. Failed strains completely drop out of existence, but the successful ones live on. The xenovirus was first noted in 2046 by Dr. Cornelius Ashton of Bunker One. His collected research on the xenovirus was compiled in the Black Files, which was lost in the fall of Bunker One in 2048.