[color=00a651][b]Dr. Arthur West- Salem Clinic[/b][/color]

[i]"Yes, of course she remains in charge. We wouldn't be where we currently are withuot her. The smartest decision the directorate could've made was select her for the possition, especially after Father screwed...I'm sorry, I am out of line and should not have said so." [/i]

Arthur gave an understanding nod of his head, "Normally I'd be adverse to speaking ill of a past Director, especially one as revered and important as Father. I might even chastise you for it..but..well...I have my own reasons for being disillusioned with Father's actions. He was...he wasn't the man many of us thought he was. I know that perhaps better than anyone alive currently."

[i]Rick cleared his throat, "But  regardless, yes construction is smoothly progressing. The entrance and its security have been completed. No unwanted pest will be able to enter the vault, perhaps we can do better this time...Luckily we have plenty of generation 1 and 2 synths to do some of the hard labor, after all, many within our ranks have never done any sort of physical labor."[/i]

"Mmm..yes..most haven't lifted anything heavier than a pencil," Arthur agreed, "That's one thing I miss most of all out here: no Synths to help me with some of the menial work. If I had just one or two Gen-1's here I'd be able to get so much more done."

It was then that Arthur noticed that something was clearly troubling Rick. He seemed...scared. Not unusual for someone out on the surface, but Arthur had to wonder what sort of thing would make an SRB Agent frightened. They, perhaps more than most, understood the kinds of horrors one could find topside. 

[i]"I'm sorry doctor I tuned out for a bit... a lot on my mind. What's troubling I don't remember reading any sort of reports of a hooded group of surface dwellers living near these area. Prior to coming I was at Dunwich Borers, and they were doing the most weird thing. They were chanting or something before an obelisk or idol. It seemed they were worshiping it. They spoke a language I could not understand." [/i]

[i]"i stumbled across a young woman named Mary, and as soon as I wonder two of them in their hoods attacked us. They shouted something "PH´NGLUI SOTH!" At first I thought it might be latin, but i was never good in language class, and tuned out most of the dead languages they made us learn. Mary said it wasn't, possibly a made up language. It's all odd, to me it makes no sense. In all honesty it reminded me of something out of those old fiction books located in the library. You know the ones that had cults and worshiping of other worldly beings... I think some surface dweller read a book and took it to be true rather than fiction... I think next time I return to the vault I'll peruse the digital library where all those books are located."[/i]

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Rick's explanation of what he'd seen. It was odd..to be sure..but not the sort of horror he'd been expecting the man to describe. There must have been more to this group he'd encountered than what he was describing...or perhaps there was something else he [i]couldn't[/i] describe. 

"Well..I wouldn't worry about it too much," Arthur said finally, "I've traveled enough of The Commonwealth to know that there are all sorts of groups of surface-dwellers that have the oddest of quirks. For instance, there's a religious cult that worships radiation like its some kind of god: 'Atom' they call it. They practice their faith by well...irradiating themselves. Its bizarre. With that in mind, I wouldn't find it at all strange for a group of zealots to have their own made-up language and be using it to worship whatever phony-baloney wasteland spirit or mutated monster they call a god. Perhaps they even stumbled upon pre-war fiction books and are using some twisted sci-fi author's vision as fuel for their psychotic fantasies.  Who knows? The surface is a quagmire of the strange and the absurd, that's for sure."

"In any case," he sighed, "Are you feeling better at least? We should probably return to the first floor before Frieda starts to get suspicious. She's not like the others...she's quick witted,capable, and has military experience. I'm also certain she's beginning to suspect that I'm not just a misplaced Vault Dweller.  She told me she used to be an officer in The Enclave. As an SRB Agent, I was hoping you could tell me more about them. All I know is what I've read on the dossier that Father gave me. How do you think she'd react if she learned we were with The Institute?"