(I am getting frustrated a little on here as my paragraphs keep moving around as I hover over it, and my pictures keep highlighting themselves and not showing up. grr! That's in Safari, as it won't show up in chrome at all! I cannot see the images on my last post)
| Right Now they DONT |
But it was okay this time. I arrived outside a shack which was the Gun Runners place. Now whilst not one of my primary anarchist interests in this game, these are the most interesting of all the merchant companies for various reasons we will find out as we go. There is a guy stood outside called Isaac. He doesn't have a lot to say, but he seems pretty cool. When I ask who is in charge of the business, he responds "Out here none of us have bosses." I'm getting to appreciate this game a lot more at this point. I wasn't expecting much so soon after meeting Ignacio Rivas. Its hard to say right here whether when creating the Gun Runners the company are aiming to promote a more market libertarian vibe, or a co-op collectivist or syndicalist thing, which is just trying to survive under capitalism, or whatever system you can call it in this post-apocalyptic world. They use trade and money more directly rather than "mutual aid", allocating to each depending on their needs in this society, so I'm going to call it capitalism. I'd talk more about them, but I'm not allowed in right now. I'm sure later in the game I can find out more about them and work closer with them.
This group increases the diversity of factions interested in libertarian and co-operative methods quite a bit. Their primary creation is weaponry and guns. They take great pride in creating the best. Whilst anarchists generally try to put the bulk of their time and effort into helping people and creating a better world, we can't all be doctors and farmers and educators. Of course it would be nice to apply practical skills to create more positive things, there is a real driving force in our nature towards mastery of an ability; Being able to make the best, from the best materials, and have it look amazing, and be compensated for doing that, though not necessarily with money. Appreciation and an audience can be enough. Although guns are a necessity out in the wastelands, as very little plant food is growing, and there are constant fears of raiders - never mind large fascist factions and slavers - being weapons dealers puts them on opposite terms to the Followers of the Apocalypse, who are all about helping people, and are ardent pacifists. Whilst I'm not sure whether the Gun Runners would necessarily apply any politics to their structural choices at all, it puts them up for analysis all the same. I'm hoping to get some insight into how their money is distributed, if they have any semblance of families, and whether they take interest in helping the outside world or are merely individualistic, and using libertarian workplace practices to get results, as many large companies actually do.
From here, I very quickly entered Freeside. It was a surprise to me, as I was expecting to come across the Strip in this chapter. But this is exciting to me. I've been anticipating meeting the Kings and the Followers of the Apocalypse pretty badly, and see what the most Libertarian town with the most humanitarian and communistic people are like. Its cool that the Gun Runners are nearby this area. I felt they would fit in, though, actually all the caravan companies are in this area.
So what vision of Liberty is before me? Kids chasing a poor rat with a stick because they're bored and hungry. Almost want to put the poor thing out of its misery, but I don't have the stomach for it right now. Kids playing in the street with guns. Yes, GUNS. Bought it from one for a thousand. Why not? its a useless toy gun, since I didn't activate the weapon at Helios One. But that's fine. I bought it because I thought he was playing with a real gun and I was being helpful.
What else? Bodyguards lined up the side street for 100 caps. Drug dealers. 'Thugs'. Vagrant homeless who can barely talk. Drunks who talk plenty... I knew this place was a poor area but it's a long way from what id pictured and hoped for.
| YEAH! ANARCHY! |
Van Graffs have their store in town. They are supposed to be pretty cut throat, so I'm a bit sad that they picked this place to live. It seems out of character, but maybe it isn't.
Atomic Wrangler is the big casino in town. A vendor in the smaller, local weapons shop told me they have "whores", which is a lovely way of putting it. I don't have an issue with sex workers in games, and I know this is a realistic way people speak about them, but I really do cringe at this use of language. I really associate it with being a horrible shaming insult, which treats women as degenerate and damaged goods. Perhaps it is unfair, as there is no etymological issue with the word meaning. It simply means sex worker. But it has been used to disparage women who are not in the industry. And with that in mind, I don't like hearing it used on anybody seriously.
I'm curious, nonetheless, to see how they are treated by the casino owners here. Other than that, the vendors have not much else to say. After saying I don't work for the casinos, I am told "A polite society is an armed society. I don't work for the casinos, so I'm more trusted with special items." Which as far as I can ascertain, includes 'Naughty Nightwear!' It seems like independence from any state, group, party or company does you wonders in terms of trust from most people in this game. I really like that. Whilst the majority of the population are by no means anarchists, they are almost always skeptical of authority, the state, cults, visible corporations, or anybody looking to recruit them into a group for their own means. Many people resist any form or labelling, even when it is useful out of fear of being used to promote some group. This is accurate. In Skyrim also, many regular civilians were either disinterested in politics or fed up with both sides intruding on their lives. This game gives you the option to take a side with those people, rather than fucking them over whilst agreeing.
So, there is a lot of stuff around here, but I'm gonna avoid stealing as much as possible from now on, as I can make my own money okay. Also, this is a poor area, so I cannot justify it that way either. For me this is actually going to be one of the harder tasks. Not that I'm a kleptomaniac in real life, but I'm used to making my game money through looting. Now I will only steal from the fascists or the rich, unless I have a necessity. Wish me luck!
This town is quite atmospherically creepy. There is an eerie echo all around, which I think is coming from the Strip. A drunk lady asks for money, saying "I've got... er... 5 kids to feed!" It's quite comical, though I do hate the pushed idea that homeless people are all trying to con you. Addiction is clearly a big problem in this place.
Next someone attempted to set their gang on me down a dark alley. What a lovely place. They tried to run away when it was clear they would lose, but Boone killed them. It was almost sad really. Desperate people. If I didn't think they would only come back again, I would have tried to stop him. Maybe. But then they would just attack someone else. They seemed to be more into killing than mugging me, but I think that's just lazy programming. Weirdly, as I walked around, the thugs were friendly when I spoke to them. That is until I talked to the last one and they all jumped me.
This town has 2 criers. One of them is a lady seductively dancing for the casino, which just seems plain unsafe in this place, and the other is a little kid, working for the gun store I was just in. The main selling point seems to be that they sell illegal goods. There is a weird meat seller. None of it says 'human meat', or any kind of euphemism, but he gives off a creepy vibe.
I'm relieved to find another Freeside within these walls, and the Mormon Fort. I walk past a water pipe, and it is being guarded. The King is charging for water. This is very disappointing to me. I had thought he was better than controlling resources. However, up further inspection, they are doing this to regulate usage, as they are worried that the NCR will shut them down otherwise. This makes sense, but I am sure there are ways of regulating which do not rely on discriminating against those with less or no money.
So... Freeside or Mormon fort first? Well, I will save the best till last. I head over to the casino. I started the request to do with recruiting escorts. specific ones for fetishists. I've heard of this mission. I was told there were some caveats about making sure it was consensual and that they would be independent and all that, but maybe because I didn't pick the right conversation choices, I didn't hear any of this.
There is a comedian at the door, talking to me. He implies stuck under financial control from this casino! This does not reassure me about the welfare of the escorts at all. It seems like a lot of people are indebted to the casino, often due to substance abuses. I hear something more promising from a bouncer: "get rough with the escorts and you'll be seeing the business end of my barrel". But unless I get to speak to these escorts, as far as I know, they bouncers are just protecting the goods from getting damaged.
There are no escorts around, however. Empty stage. Empty bedrooms. One locked door by the stage leading to the money exchange. Just the woman outside.
I hear a lot of comments about Boone being NCR. At least I hope they are about Boone. I'm accepted with the NCR so some may have got the wrong impression about my loyalties. I am really courting close to this liberal statist institution right now. I'm not the only one. It seems that the FotA also were close with them at some point before they became so expansionist.
I figured it's about time to go see the King! The leader of this area's big gang, that is. I had to pay to see him, but he refunded me. His followers seem to act on their own somewhat, especially the one who was at the door. If you aren't aware, they are all dressed like Elvis and adopting his personality. The King didn't find one mention of Elvis' name in this School of Impersonation, and figures that he must have been some kind of god. He is just using the image because it suited him though.
He gives me an initial quest to test my metal. I'm supposed to hire one of the bodyguards who seems to be doing something dodgy, to find out what he is up to. The King says he is not looking for unfair advantage for his men, just looking out for them and making sure other competitors aren't dodgy. This seems fair enough. The King seems like a good guy, though nothing special politically.
I walk around his building, expecting to find some interesting people, but mostly they are all nameless lookalikes, except for this one hairdresser. There are no female Kings to be seen. If there are, then they are very well disguised indeed. In his bedroom there are two women in their lingerie night dresses. They are unnamed too. Their description reads "groupie." It seems in this town, a woman has to be an escort to get by. But these two aren't even being paid. I'm assuming they aren't just there because of his charisma, but because they are offered food and safety by being on the King's good side. And I suppose he has a pretty nice bed. I'm finding the gender a bit sad over here. At the very least, none of these guys are chatting me up or being leery or misogynistic. Though I'm tempted to shout at the NPCs " don't you 'doll' and 'lady' me, mister!"
| They could at least have the Elvis Up-do! |
I see a doorway to the Strip, which I am not interested in for now. Knowing how to get there, I don't mind putting the storyline off for a while. There is a man nearby who talks to me. Old Ben, warning me not to go through until I talked to the robots so as not to get vaporised. He seems like an interesting man. Has some beef with that butcher, and he has been a male escort amongst other things. He said he felt like a piece of meat, and that's why he left. It's interesting hearing that from a male character. I can already gather he is not interested as working as escort again for my mission, so I leave him be.
I can see why the FotA would focus their energy here. People need help. It really is a dive. I enter the mormon fort, and find a ghoul in a cowboy hat. Beatrix Russel. She says Freeside is made up of people who were kicked out of the strip and refused to leave. She's bored and into some dom sexy things, so I recruit her. She reckons that the NCR are just here to steal resources. She seems like a cool ghoul, and she's been around a long time. I like having an older and not conventionally attractive woman with a personality, sexuality and a past. It's sadly unusual in the media. I convince her into sex work along some very strict lines, starting from the standpoint that she can choose her customers. I'm hoping I am doing the right thing.
First actual member of the FotA I meet is Julie Farkas. She's the badass mohawked anarchist doctor. How cool can you get? She is a bit of an informal leader though. That isn't very anarchistic. I think that its largely due to this game's tendency to render everybody not available for quests as nameless, rather than her being officially in charge. None of the people in here seem to have an family. They are all just isolated individuals within their groups. This is weirdly common in this game.
| No Monarchs! No Mohawks! |
What does she believe in? Free exchange of ideas. A world free of war and poverty. Organised reconstruction efforts as well as food and meds and education for all. What more could I ask for? It's very ideological and not completely practical, which has many people thinking this group is at worst naive. She said that the Kings used to be sound, but the NCR has put them on edge, with the water and such foe example.
She sees the Atomic Wrangler casino as polluting and ruining the poor community with drugs and booze and gambling. And she says they are getting their guards addicted and indebted. This is a similar story to what the comedian says. Many companies do indeed make money out of poverty. There is nothing new or shocking about that. I can blame the business, especially if they are causing people to be sick and homeless, but I cannot fault them for providing these things in the first place, as Farkas seems to. When you don't have much in life, and you're in a post apocalyptic society, you try to escape it. There's no video games around. You can't blame people for wanting it and you can't blame a place for providing it. What worries me is this treatment of workers, especially if they are doing that to the escorts. I don't want it on my conscience.
I'm going to help smooth things between the NCR and the Kings in the grand scheme of things, and help the FotA with the townspeoples' addictions. I'd do anything for these guys, despite disagreement to be honest. A few disagreements which I may have with individuals' attitudes does not change how important they are. Not just for anarchists, but for any kind of socialists or humanitarians.
Finally, I meet Arcade Gannon! I've heard about this popular gay icon. I've been looking forward to meeting him. I might replace Boone with him at some point in time. It would be good to have a companion with the same goals as me, though I'm not sure if he is really a fighter. He is a researcher, trying to create new medicines from scratch. Maybe natural ones or maybe not, as stimpacks and things from the old world can only be looted for so long. I think Maybe he is better off here after all. Helping people, rather than shooting them, at least for now.
I manage to arrange long term medical supply orders with the business she hates the most. Maybe they can influence each other. in time. She may see the benefits of what the casino is offering people, and they might feel the need to look at their ethics and practices. Perhaps not though, it feels pretty dirty as a means to an end. Anarchists with a business deal with a capitalist enterprise. *shudders* None of the trade options are exactly ethical though. This keeps the medicine coming and works in favour of the Greater Good. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Gun Runners might have been an interesting option if it were available. The casino says "bad business to get people addicted. we care about our patrons" They may not be as bad as they seem... but, still. I'm not convinced at all.
The King keeps randomly sending me someone to give me stimpacks and stuff for helping people out. There's hope for him after all. It gives him a little place in my heart, enough to want to be loyal to him.
I decide I will start his quest, and hired the guy the King wanted me to. It turns out he was faking some stuff to keep his customers sweet. Nothing which was a danger to anybody else. Hopefully the king won't be too mad with him. He said his gang will "pull him off the street when nobody is looking." Ain't sure what that means. It doesn't sound good. I wouldn't normally snitch for something like that but i want these guys on my side. I had thought he would be more merciful though, and this wouldn't be an issue, as the Kings don't seem especially violent. So I'm not entirely sure if there was something else I could have done.
After that the king asks me to find out some informationndition. I'm happy to help. The King does at least, seem to know the feud with the NCR is a bad thing. So I don't feel like I'm working against myself with these missions. He has told me that the belief of the Kings is thus: "Every man is free to follow his own path, to do his own thing [...] every man is a king in his own right" and that not respecting others is a no-no. This is some classical Liberal and Libertarian thinking, though I do hope it also refers to women as well.
After that, the King asks me to find out some information on some friends who were beaten up, which seems like a nobler task. One of them is in a pretty bad condition. I'm happy to help. I'm gonna get some advice off Julie Farkas on the matter, as is optional addition to the quest. She tells me to talk to an NCR leader named Elizabeth, as they are the primary suspects. I'm gonna help the King with his dog whilst I'm at it. It involves heading up to Jacobstown so more on that later. He makes a good companion running around with me and Boone.
I do have the speech points to talk to Major Elizabeth Kieran. She offers food for NCR citizens but not to anybody else. It's nice but i don't consider myself an NCR citizen thanks very much, though she seems to think so. She did give me food for a friend in secret, so she seems safe. They did apparently send an envoy to help relief for the res of Freeside to the Kings, but the envoy was beaten up and never got there, so help was reduced. As I go to tell the King, the other Kings gang up on me and say to keep my mouth shut. But he doesn't threaten me, only bribe. It was a strange request, as if they were going to beat be up f I said the wrong thing, but when I disagreed with them they just went away. So I tell the King as planned.
The King member who started with me starts an argument with the NCR. I go to smooth things out, but it seems it turned very violent. Its clear it was basically suicide for the Kings involved. Once I talk to Major Kieran and sort out their communication issues, I tell the King. He offers me a choice of rewards. I'll save it for a later quest. I'm still not entirely clear who beat up the King's friends. Wiki says it was NCR after all. Not entirely sure why.
I'm finally neutral rather than evil, which is nice!
It seems the local drug dealer has been pushing hard on the addicts in Freeside. no surprise there. I am to help cure a couple of them in order to help the FotA. I somehow doubt that it'll be anywhere near as hard to cure addiction in this game as in real life. I talk to this dealer. He seems to find addicts hilarious. Asshole. Apparently its because they were previously NCR. Figures he wouldn't care so much given the tension. I threaten him to stop selling to these two addicts and it gets through his head. Talking to the two addicts, they aren't especially pleased to be going cold turkey and expect me to fix them up with something. The regular 'cure' is a bit much, but I can find a way with the science skill to make a good fixer instead. The game gives me the option of just shouting at them that drugs are for the weak. I appreciate having my speech skills make things easier, but seriously, if that cures addiction then I don't even... esp by attacking their masculinity. Fuck that. That is not how addiction or other mental illnesses work. You don't just tell them to go away. I manage to find what I need eventually after digging around the area.
| Just ask the addiction to go away! |
As I head off towards Jacobstown, I can't help but notice that Freeside's streets are heavily littered with dead bodies by now. Thugs and Kings mostly. What a place!
I can't edit without all my unviewable pics following my cursor (ARGH!)
ReplyDeleteSo I wanted to add, that if you speak to Francine Garret, she will tell you that the prostitutes aren't slaves here, and they will only sleep with you if they take a liking to you.