User:KnowledgeProspector



Gerald Strauss (Born February 2257), also known as the Knowledge Prospector, is a young prospector and sometimes hired mercenary living in the Mojave Wasteland. His name comes from his hobby of reading books and magazines, no matter how useless or essential they are. Aside from reading, he roams the wasteland endlessly, even crossing paths with the courier at least once.

Origin
Gerald was born to Henry Strauss and Mira Shen in 2257. Henry was a refugee from Mexico City, while Mira was a vault dweller of Chinese ancestry.

Henry's Background (unedited)
Henry was born to a huge family of refugees who recently immigrated from Mexico City. Once the raiders caught up to them, they decided to distance themselves from Mexico itself as far as possible. Henry, only age six at that time, was accompanied by his four sisters, three brothers, mother, father, uncle, and grandmother. They set off northeast, scavenging food and battling dangers along the way. While Henry's dad, uncle, and much of his brothers guarded them from dangers, his sisters, mother, and grandmother took care of food and other means of survival.

After months of continuous traveling, Henry and his family arrived in the Capital Wasteland. They roamed the area for a few days, encountering a few raiders and at least one super mutant in the process, until finding a semi-ruined building with an unopened nuclear shelter inside. Here, they decided to settle for the next few years.

In the course of their time in the Capital Wasteland, Henry and his family found their own jobs. Henry's father became a scavenger, operating a few miles from their home. Young Henry assisted his father, while his uncle closely guarded them.

Henry's brothers and sisters found their own jobs. While one of his brothers stayed behind to defend their home, others became caravan guards. A few of his sisters found jobs in settlements far away, while the rest stayed behind to assist their mother and grandmother.

Life was steady for at least a year, until their area grew more and more dangerous by the day. Henry lost one of his brothers to a caravan raid. His other brother was dragged off by his caravan and never came back. One of his sisters also fell victim to a mass raider attack, while the other managed to flee, bringing her daughter with her. Henry's father had to stop scavenging for the time being as there was an increase of super mutant presence. These series of tragedies only encouraged them to find a new home.

After gathering all of their things, Henry and his family set their sights west. They decided to move due to how much bad luck they have run into in the past few months, along with more and more hostiles turning up in their area.

For days, they dragged off their heavy load of supplies away from the city and back into the wasteland. Along the way, they passed by an underground tunnel housing numerous raiders. Their supplies, which were two carts pulled by a brahmin, alerted the raiders as it made heavy noises. It was hard for Henry's family to let go of the supplies, as it was too heavy and valuable. As a result, the alerted raiders had no problems in catching up with them. Seeing the current danger, Henry's father urged him to take his nieceand flee. They easily escaped, unnoticed, as they kept a light cargo. After what seemed like an endless sprint, Henry and his niece arrived at a ruined cottage, with a few supplies lying about. Henry didn't bother eating, as he fell asleep right away from his adrenaline wearing down.

Once Henry woke up, he found his niece sleeping on his shoulder, with a few tin cans lying around. After waking her up, Henry asked if they could return to their family. His niece agreed, and the two started walking right away. The walk didn't seem as long as Henry had thought. Upon their arrival, they were both caught by surprise. While the supplies were cleaned away, only two bodies were lying there. They appeared to be two knocked out raiders, possibly bruised during the raid. Henry carefully woke both of them up, a thick steel pipe in hand. While the other raider cowardly ran away, the other stayed, with a surprisingly bright face. Henry asked her what happened to his family. She said her group just wanted the supplies, so they didn't focus on the people holding them, as they weren't putting up much of a fight anyway. They were lucky, she said, as they were feeling nice that day. Henry, who felt happy and at the same time sad, kept a blank face and let the raider go. She didn't leave right away, however; she wanted to take in both of the kids and make them the "greatest raiders that ever lived." Henry shook his head, took his niece's hand, and walked away.

Henry finally woke up after sleeping the whole morning. He was extremely sensitive to the unknown drug's effects, not having any memory of how he ended up in the slavers' hands. He overheard one of the slavers talking as he was forced to walk after waking up. They were to be brought to a cannibal tribe all the way to the mid-west, in hopes of making thousands upon thousands of caps.

The expedition took months. Before Henry knew it, they found themselves in the mid-west. He hoped to escape by this time, but he still lacked a plan. As they were getting closer to the tribe, the slavers spotted a group of five men as if patrolling the area. They wore armor that shined in the sun and carried weapons better than their own. Henry and the slaves were forced to hide, as the slaver sensed trouble in their own part. The patrol, sensing trouble nearby, quickly took notice of the slavers, who were trying their best to hide. The slavers were quickly eradicated; a few of them even turned to ash in front of Henry's eyes. Once the slavers were dealt with, the patrol wasted no time and found the slaves. With no collars and just shackles, Henry, along with the other slavers, were freed.

The group revealed themselves to be a Brotherhood of Steel patrol in charge of guarding the area. For the next three days, they taught the freed slaves survival skills and gave them the slavers' supplies. All of them were then sent off in hopes of making their own destinies, except for Henry. Henry pleaded to stay and help the patrol, since he was so fascinated by the Brotherhood's ways. The patrol, at first apprehensive about this idea, accepted Henry's offer after realizing that they had much work to be done. They made their way back to their original bunker, giving Henry a small space of his own for the months to come.

Time passed, and Henry finally lasted his stay. He assisted the Brotherhood in every way he can, from cooking for them to fending off a huge pack of raiders. He has learned so much valuable skills from the friends he's made. He has grown stronger not only in the mind, but in the body. He has grown so confident about himself, that he decided to take his experience and aid others that are in need of assistance. He bid farewell to the Brotherhood and headed west, where he hoped to have more challenging tasks ahead of him.

Mira's Background (incomplete)
Mira's ancestors were immigrants from China who moved to the US and became highly successful. In the coming of the Great War, they were able to afford space in one of the vaults built in the same city as their business. Fortunately for them, the vaults were designed to meet their expectations.

Life in the vault was difficult for the dwellers at first, but after a few months and the opening of recreational areas, everyone quickly settled in. Children were quickly put to school, while the adults found jobs to make living in the vault easier. While away from work, bowling alleys, arcade rooms, and diners became heavily active. Due to how much people kept themselves busy, a staff of six Mister Handys handled the vault's maintenance with no problems. Life at the vault remained easy for the next 100 years.

After the first century, a new generation of vault dwellers emerged. This included the third generation of Shens, when Mira and her little brother were born. Vault life for them wasn't quite the same for the first generation vault dwellers, due to the decaying resources the vault is facing as the years went by.

Since the vault is in the face of deterioration, its teachers and scholars decided to add a Wasteland survival course in the children's education. The new generation, in turn, were much more concentrated on schooling than the previous generation.

Resources in the vault started to wear down, as predicted by its superiors. The water purifier's delivery system has failed, so the water had to be distributed manually. The vault's generators have started to give in, generating 60% less output than before. Electricity then had to be rationed, so they were diverted to the more important technology the vault possessed. Almost all of the recreational areas had to be shut down, with the exception of the ones that required less electricity. There was a huge influx in jobs, with most of them being taken by the younger generation.

Almost all of the early-generation vault dwellers felt unrest. As all of them claimed, their lives have become harder. However, their lack of initiative prevented them from properly organizing an uprising. Because of this, the overseer did not notice their complaints.

After months of silence, the early-generation vault dwellers were finally fed up with it. Borris Nolan, a son of a wealthy aristocrat and an influential voice among his peers, decided to represent these vault dwellers and arranged a meeting with the overseer. Lacking any scheduled meetings, they quickly met. Nolan proposed for the vault to open in order for them to receive external assistance. The overseer had second thoughts, but seeing as their resources will decay soon anyway, he considered this plan. After a few weeks of preparation, he finally announced his plans.

The overseer recruited twelve able-bodied vault dwellers. He explained that they were to go outside of the vault, find resources to restore their vault, and quickly return after a minimum of eight months. He arranged for ample supplies and radiation gear, taking up almost half of what's left in the vault. After a few days, the vault scavengers were sent off, with the overseer hoping for the best.

By this time, Mira was at least 12 years old. She did extremely well in school, her favorite subject being outside-the-vault studies. While away from school, she worked as a water hauler and archive assistant, where she also developed her reading skills.

After three days since the squad's return, the overseer finally announced the news. The vault dwellers, some making a living outside of the vault, were happy enough not to care about their electricity. However, a handful of second-gen vault dwellers were not entirely satisfied. Borris, son of a wealthy business CEO during the pre-war era, roused much of the second-gens into rebellion. After a week's preparation, Borris headed the rebellion in hopes of overthrowing the current overseer and finding any means of restoring the "good old days" of the vault. They quickly overpowered the overseer's guards by somehow acquiring all of the weapons in the vault's storage, which mainly consisted of nightsticks and one-handed guns. In this chaos, Mira's mother and grandparents were absorbed and killed. Mira's father tried his hardest to pull what's left of his family, only managing to carry a few supplies. In a matter of hours, they were quickly thrown into the wasteland. Much of the vault's dwellers, who also thought the same, went their separate ways. To that day, Mira and her own family made a living in the wasteland.

It was hard for all of them at first. They constantly fought off wild creatures of the wasteland, and tried their hardest to stay hidden from raiders. They were forced to eat irradiated food, but did so in slow amounts. Purified water was hard to come by, so they had no choice but to drink irradiated liquids. While Mira adapted to her new environment quickly, her brother fell behind. He was still so shocked by the change of scenery, and was so spoiled by the vault's luxuries. One afternoon, when Mira and her father chased a small bighorner herd, Mira's brother drifted into the unknown. They couldn't keep searching for him, since it was straining too much of their supplies. Mira then made a living, braving the ordeal of losing her closest friend. She only grew stronger in the coming years along with her father.

By the time Mira was 21, her father became a self-made trader. Mira provided his caravan with protection, and sometimes offered aid to those that need it along the way. She has been successful with fending off raiders, earning them some reputation in the lands they have roamed.

Arrival at the Mojave Wasteland
By 2254, Henry was in western ground. He has made a name for himself by helping numerous small caravans and settlements, and has vanquished a huge number of raiders. Henry was setting up a campfire when he noticed a caravan from a distance.

Mira decided to make her way west in hopes of settling in Nevada, which was said to be untouched by the nuclear bombs. They were traveling along the road when Henry approached them, offering help. Mira hired Henry as a guard for the duration of their travel. Henry agreed with no pay, as always. Mira was impressed, having Henry as the first hired mercenary to not be paid.

After a harsh year of trials, Henry and Mira's bond strengthened. Through thick and thin, Henry stuck with the caravan, defending it from raiders and a few deathclaws that they have encountered. It wasn't long until they finally found themselves in the edge of the Mojave Wasteland. They were able to find a nearby abandoned town, encountering recently deceased raiders. After clearing the bodies and fixing up the place, the caravan consisting of eight people settled there. Henry, approaching the end of his term, asked Mira's father to stay after developing a relationship with Mira. He approved Henry's request, letting him stay as long as he keeps Mira happy.

The settlement was named Rockburne Hill, after its pre-war owners. Henry served as the town's sheriff and at the same time, Mira's husband.

Growing Up
-In Progress-

User's comments
Howdy.

Name's Gerald. I like to help 'round in this here "virtual encyclopedia" 'bout our world, or "dimension" as you'd probably put it. I mostly correct grammar an' punctuation, and I've been findin' lots of those out there. I'm starting to notice lots o' kids writin' in these articles.... makes this wiki a lil' unprofessional due to how much errors I find. There's lots mo' work to be done, definitely.

Oh, and... I'm only human, so if I make any mistakes meself, go ahead an' correct me!

I'm still correctin' my personal biography, so it'd be normal to find some errors in there. I ain't even finished writin' the whole thing.....

Well, see y'all 'round. You'd be seein' me 'round Goodsprings or the wasteland if y'all want to meet.

Skills
Barter: 22 Energy Weapons: 25 Explosives: 27 Guns: 39 Lockpick: 24 Melee Weapons: 40 Repair: 48 Science: 31 Sneak: 19 Speech: 35 Survival: 45 Unarmed: 17

My Favorite Pages

 * Mojave Music Radio
 * It's a Sin to Tell a Lie
 * Maybe
 * Easy Living
 * The Ink Spots
 * Billie Holiday
 * Let's Ride Into the Sunset Together by the Lost Weekend Western Swing Band
 * Hatchet
 * Boomers
 * Jingle Jangle Jingle
 * Peter Renaday
 * Jacobstown