Forum:How did it feel being "Death the Destroyer of Worlds" (blowing up Megaton)

I decided to start a new character (just before leaving the Vault) with the intention of completing The Power of the Atom quest by blowing up Megaton. While this didn't seem a promising strategy for the game (Tenpenny Towers doesn't make a good base being near the edge of the map unlike Megaton which is central) I was naturally curious as to what would happen.

Bearing in mind I might want to continue playing this character, and that I would need to travel some distance while still low level, I set about building up caps and equipment as usual, as well as completing tasks in Megaton which I would not have the opportunity to do later. So I repaired the pipes, talked Leo out of being a junkie, got the Strength bobblehead etc. (The Wasteland Survival Guide I ignored, as it turned out fortuitously). Having convinced Burke (Black Widow style) to pay me the maximum amount for the infamous deed, I attached the fusion trigger, and set out south for Tenpenny Towers.

After a few minor animal encounters, and a major battle with Raiders, I reached my destination and announced myself. Promising to deal with the "Ghoul Problem" severely, I ascended to the luxury penthouse and the balcony overlooking the Wasteland where Burke and Tenpenny were waiting. The time was just after dawn, and I was dressed in a black pre-war business suit, with a bonnet; the beauty of the view along with my archaic attire seemed in the circumstances ironic.

Burke made some remark about the overwhelming sense of anticipation: he was certainly right! I was itching to press the trigger, although at the same time strangely nervous. Following the detonation, a brilliant flash lit up the sky, followed by the classic vast mushroom cloud. Looking at it I felt awe, as well as a definite sense of satisfaction at completing my task. Appropriate to my new title of "Plunderer", I had looted Megaton and destroyed it exactly according to plan. I could now, I felt, sleep peacefully after all my efforts.

Except that, of course, I had to see what had happened to the city. Considering it might be dangerous to fast travel into the middle of "Ground Zero", I went instead to Vault 101. Even from there the swirling dust clouds and vapors obscuring the sun were an immediate, visceral shock. Stumbling through a landscape made even more nightmarish, I approached the ruins with a growing sense of unease. My earlier relatively buoyant mood had evaporated and the almost total destruction which I had caused weighed heavily on my soul.

By the time the only survivor appeared, I felt that I ought to fall to my knees and beg her forgiveness, rather than, as would have been in character, making some ghoulish and flippant remark about her sad state. I was now reduced to wandering almost blindly around the ruins, hoping to finally get clear of the hellish murk. I knew I would be haunted by this scene in my dreams.

Ok, this is a slight exaggeration, but not that much. Leaders of nuclear armed states and terrorists should play this game. Then perhaps they would be less likely to push the button in reality, recalling as Oppenheimer did at the first atomic test, the words of the Bhagavad Gita, "Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."

Well, what do you think? Was this an overreaction brought on by lack of sleep? Or has anyone else been profoundly moved by the experience. --Cally777 23:34, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * Holy hell, that's quite an epic. Personally, I blow up Megaton juuuuuust to get back at the "No child death simulator" feds, demanding that all the kids be immortal, by killing Harden and Maggie. But really, that's a beautiful description of the aftermath. Nitty 23:41, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * Ironically, holy hell indeed. You, my friend are the greatest story-teller ever raised in the vault. You turneda simple thread into a literary semi-masterpiece.--Master of cheeZ 00:33, September 24, 2009 (UTC)
 * Now, I wouldn't say that (coughThe Gospel According to Fat Mancough), but this is really good. Ever thought about a career in literature? Nitty 00:51, September 24, 2009 (UTC)