From 9998c55d3c8902cb4c9144f653a4b6a0724dd679 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Iain Smith Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 08:49:08 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] o Made several changes in response to suggestions in Wiki. git-svn-id: https://projectaon.org/data/trunk@179 f6f3e2d7-ff33-0410-aaf5-b4bee2cdac11 --- xml/01hh.xml | 189 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------- xml/02smr.xml | 82 ++++++++++++---------- 2 files changed, 150 insertions(+), 121 deletions(-) diff --git a/xml/01hh.xml b/xml/01hh.xml index f263f23..520cdbf 100644 --- a/xml/01hh.xml +++ b/xml/01hh.xml @@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ $Id$ $Log$ +Revision 1.14 2006/09/12 08:48:28 Wibbleboy +o Made several changes in response to suggestions in Wiki. + Revision 1.13 2006/09/06 09:01:32 Wibbleboy o Fixed a few formatting errors o Implemented series-wide consistency changes @@ -97,7 +100,7 @@ Initial revision Project Aon 20051217 -

You are Cal Phoenix, the Freeway Warrior, champion and protector of Dallas Colony One. A murderous gang of H.A.V.O.C. clansmen, led by the psychotic Mad Dog Michigan, are bent on destroying your fragile colony as it crosses the wastelands of Texas on the first stage of a life-or-death exodus to the California coast. These bike-riding clansmen are a formidable enemy: armed, cunning, and extremely dangerous, capable of launching a lightning raid at any time, day or night. You will need all your wits about you if you are to defend your people and reach your destination intact!

+

You are Cal Phoenix, the Freeway Warrior, champion and protector of Dallas Colony One. A murderous gang of HAVOC clansmen, led by the psychotic Mad Dog Michigan, are bent on destroying your fragile colony as it crosses the wastelands of Texas on the first stage of a life-or-death exodus to the California coast. These bike-riding clansmen are a formidable enemy: armed, cunning, and extremely dangerous, capable of launching a lightning raid at any time, day or night. You will need all your wits about you if you are to defend your people and reach your destination intact!

Internet Edition published by Project Aon. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the Errata.

@@ -179,11 +182,11 @@ Initial revision -

1990-1998
Rise of global terrorism on an unprecedented scale. Political violence funded by organized crime syndicate called HAVOC - The Hijack, Assassination and Violent Opposition Consortium.

-

1998-2003
The governments of many small and impoverished nations fall into the hands of HAVOC. International terrorists receive arms, training and shelter in these 'Badlands'.

+

1990-1998
Rise of global terrorism on an unprecedented scale. Political violence funded by organized crime syndicate called HAVOCThe Hijack, Assassination and Violent Opposition Consortium.

+

1998-2003
The governments of many small and impoverished nations fall into the hands of HAVOC. International terrorists receive arms, training, and shelter in these 'Badlands'.

2003-2008
Raids on oil and gas installations, assassinations, and the kidnapping of prominent world statesmen become commonplace as HAVOC attempt to terrorize the civilized world into submission. Despite public outrage and growing international tension, the major powers steadfastly refuse to give in to HAVOC's demands.

2008
President of the United States and General Secretary of Supreme Soviet both assassinated at emergency summit meeting. US, USSR and major European nations create the World Defence League and declare war on HAVOC. The Badlands are invaded, key HAVOC bases destroyed, and thousands of HAVOC agents are captured.

-

2009
HAVOC leaders imprisoned for life in 'Deep Pens' - maximum security gaols located deep underground - to prevent their escape or release by HAVOC agents still at large.

+

2009
HAVOC leaders imprisoned for life in 'Deep Pens'maximum security gaols located deep undergroundto prevent their escape or release by HAVOC agents still at large.

2010
New leadership emerges to unify the scattered remnants of HAVOC and plan revenge.

2011
A WDL train transporting seventeen 100-kiloton nuclear warheads, destined to be neutralized and dismantled, is attacked by HAVOC agents. The train is destroyed and its deadly cargo stolen.

2012 New Year's Day
HAVOC hijack a WDL news satellite and broadcast a chilling ultimatum. They have planted the seventeen stolen warheads in major cities throughout the US, USSR and Europe. They call for the immediate release of all HAVOC agents held in Deep Pens, plus the payment of $2 trillion in gold bullion, or they will trigger the warheads one by one until their demands are met in full. A twenty-four hour deadline is set. WDL leaders declare emergency and request that the deadline be extended. HAVOC refuse.

@@ -217,7 +220,7 @@ Initial revision

On New Year's Day 2012, the three of you started out early on the road to your uncle's mine, located on the Austin Chalk, over 200 miles south of Dallas. The trip would take at least two days, with an overnight stop in Waco. For, in an effort to conserve energy, the Federal government had imposed a speed restriction of fifteen miles per hour on all state highways. It was a slow journey, and despite the sombre radio bulletins that gave news of HAVOC's latest threats, you can still remember your excitement at the thought of exploring those tunnels deep below the earth.

Your arrival at the mine was met by a military patrol, posted there by the World Defence League. The job of the patrol was to prevent sabotage; oil installations all over the world had become one of HAVOC's primary targets in their campaign of terror. The mine was officially closed for the New Year's recess but Uncle Jonas had right of access at all times and, after checking his papers, the patrol allowed you in. It was a massive complex and, for security reasons, it was totally self-supporting. A central shaft serviced the many working levels to which there were attached laboratories, workshops and even refineries for processing the precious crude oil after it had been extracted from the rock. Uncle Jonas was explaining the function of these refineries, 300 feet below the surface, when it happened.

The ground shuddered when the shock waves from the first distant explosions reached the mine, and you remember thinking that it must be the start of an earthquake, the like of which you had experienced many times at home in California. But as the levels nearest the surface began to collapse and the central shaft filled with falling rubble, you realized the awful truth. The unthinkable had happened.

-

At first there was no way of telling the extent of the surface devastation. Below ground, the safety generators had automatically switched into operation when the main power supply failed, and the tremors faded quickly, encouraging your aunt and uncle to believe that the damage above was superficial. Uncle Jonas was confident that the military would mount a rescue operation and that you would be brought out within a few days - a week at the most. Aunt Betty-Ann was also optimistic. After all, there were emergency supplies, enough to feed 200 men for a whole month. Little did she know that the three of you would end up consuming all of those supplies, or that the mine would become your home, your shelter and your prison for the next eight years of your lives.

+

At first there was no way of telling the extent of the surface devastation. Below ground, the safety generators had automatically switched into operation when the main power supply failed, and the tremors faded quickly, encouraging your aunt and uncle to believe that the damage above was superficial. Uncle Jonas was confident that the military would mount a rescue operation and that you would be brought out within a few daysa week at the most. Aunt Betty-Ann was also optimistic. After all, there were emergency supplies, enough to feed 200 men for a whole month. Little did she know that the three of you would end up consuming all of those supplies, or that the mine would become your home, your shelter and your prison for the next eight years of your lives.

It was a month after 'The Day' when the three of you accepted that there would never be a rescue operation. Many days had been spent in silence, hoping and praying for the sounds of excavation or a voice on the radio link to the surface. But all that could be heard was the static crackle of the gamma radiation which was blanketing the earth. Uncle Jonas proposed that an attempt be made to reach the surface by tunnelling through the blocked central shaft. It was an awesomely dangerous feat, to dig vertically through 300 feet of compressed concrete rubble and twisted steel girders, but there was no other way you could ever hope to escape from the mine. Progress was painfully slow but the work gave you all a sense of purpose, a reason to go on, even though you feared what could be awaiting you on the surface.

Those years spent in the mine taught you invaluable lessons in survival. Uncle Jonas showed you how to refine gasolene from crude oil to keep the generators alive; to coax fresh water from porous rock; to manufacture spare parts in order to maintain vital machinery. Aunt Betty-Ann, who had at one time been a nurse and a high school teacher in Denton County, attended to your education and made sure that you stayed fit and healthy. Their love and support enabled you to grow during those dark days underground despite the enormous sense of loss you felt for your parents, brothers and sister. You vowed then that one day you would repay their kindness by protecting and caring for them.

It was early September in the year 2019 when finally you broke through to the surface. Aunt Betty-Ann was convinced that radiation levels would still be dangerously high, and at first she was against leaving the mine. But, during the last few months of your incarceration, the static that had always jammed the radio wavelengths had gradually cleared, and Uncle Jonas was able to persuade her that this meant it was now safe to live above ground.

@@ -230,7 +233,7 @@ Initial revision -

When you first emerged from the mine, you thought you were on the surface of another planet. Surely this could not be Earth? Few structures had survived the blizzards and intense cold that had swept around the world in the years following 'The Day', and now, after the dust had settled and the sun returned, the once-fertile plains of Austin resembled little more than a desert of parched and broken rock, littered with the artefacts of an absent civilization. During the first few days, when you set out to explore this wilderness, it was easy to believe that you were the only survivors. But on the morning of the fifth day, Uncle Jonas made a chance radio contact with a family called Ewell who were living near the ruins of McKinney, thirty miles north of Dallas. They told him that they had been in touch with a handful of other groups who had managed somehow to survive the holocaust. Most were isolated, unable to move due to lack of fuel, food or water. They had urged those who could travel to join them in McKinney, to start a new community, and some were already on their way. Your uncle and aunt also accepted their invitation. McKinney was not very far from Denton, and they were curious to see if anything remained of their ranch. They planned to return home, salvage whatever they could that might be of use, and then move on to McKinney. The Ewells were enthusiastic, but they warned that not everyone who had survived wanted to establish a new community. The ruins of Dallas and Fort Worth were controlled by gangs of criminals who fought with each other and terrorized anyone seeking to reestablish law and order. They advised you to avoid them at all costs when travelling north.

+

When you first emerged from the mine, you thought you were on the surface of another planet. Surely this could not be Earth? Few structures had survived the blizzards and intense cold that had swept around the world in the years following 'The Day', and now, after the dust had settled and the sun returned, the once-fertile plains of Austin resembled little more than a desert of parched and broken rock, littered with the artefacts of an absent civilization. During the first few days, when you set out to explore this wilderness, it was easy to believe that you were the only survivors. But on the morning of the fifth day, Uncle Jonas made a chance radio contact with a family called Ewell who were living near the ruins of McKinney, thirty miles north of Dallas. They told him that they had been in touch with a handful of other groups who had managed somehow to survive the holocaust. Most were isolated, unable to move due to lack of fuel, food, or water. They had urged those who could travel to join them in McKinney, to start a new community, and some were already on their way. Your uncle and aunt also accepted their invitation. McKinney was not very far from Denton, and they were curious to see if anything remained of their ranch. They planned to return home, salvage whatever they could that might be of use, and then move on to McKinney. The Ewells were enthusiastic, but they warned that not everyone who had survived wanted to establish a new community. The ruins of Dallas and Fort Worth were controlled by gangs of criminals who fought with each other and terrorized anyone seeking to reestablish law and order. They advised you to avoid them at all costs when travelling north.

Interstate Freeway 35 was the only highway still intact amid the devastation that surrounded the mine. It offered a direct route home to Denton, if only transportation could be found, for Uncle Jonas considered conditions far too dangerous to attempt such a long journey on foot. It took more than a week to discover a vehicle that was still serviceable. It was an old school bus, one that had been parked in an underground lot and had survived the years of sub-zero blizzards. With a few new parts, a tankful of gas and a lot of hard work it was eventually brought back to life.

Provisions, including a small generator, were hoisted out of the mine and stowed aboard before you began the journey back to the ranch. The noisy old bus bumped along the rock-strewn freeway that stretched northward across an empty sea of dust. It was a harrowing sight. Hardly a trace remained of what were once thriving communities, and the once-populous cities of Temple and Waco had barely enough buildings still standing to qualify as small towns.

It was not until you reached the outskirts of Fort Worth that you encountered signs of human habitation. The road ahead was blocked by a line of wrecked autos, and at your approach a group of hard faced men and women, clad in composite costumes of leather and rivetted steel, suddenly popped up from behind this barricade. Uncle Jonas was suspicious and slowed the bus almost to a halt. Suddenly they produced handguns and rifles and began to take aim at the windshield, and he knew it was not the time to stop to ask for directions! He told you and Aunt Betty-Ann to brace yourselves, then stamped his foot on the gas and drove the bus straight through the wall of cars, scattering the punks like ten-pins in a strike. The bus was shot at many times as it sped through Fort Worth, but the street gangs had been caught out and you managed to escape from the ruined city before they could give chase.

@@ -245,7 +248,7 @@ Initial revision -

'Pop' Ewell, the seventy-year-old grandfather of the Ewell family, was the leader of this small colony of survivors; it was he who had urged Uncle Jonas to join them when they had first made radio contact. The colony numbered less than a dozen at the time of your arrival, yet as the airwaves became clearer, soon this number had more than doubled to twenty five. It was decided that a name was needed to identify the settlement. The name 'Dallas Colony One' was adopted - 'DC1' for short - and from that day on everyone worked hard to make DC1 a secure haven for those seeking refuge from the hostile wastelands and marauding city gangs.

+

'Pop' Ewell, the seventy-year-old grandfather of the Ewell family, was the leader of this small colony of survivors; it was he who had urged Uncle Jonas to join them when they had first made radio contact. The colony numbered less than a dozen at the time of your arrival, yet as the airwaves became clearer, soon this number had more than doubled to twenty five. It was decided that a name was needed to identify the settlement. The name 'Dallas Colony One' was adopted'DC1' for shortand from that day on everyone worked hard to make DC1 a secure haven for those seeking refuge from the hostile wastelands and marauding city gangs.

'Cutter' Jacks was one such refugee. Before the holocaust he had been chief mechanic at the International Grand Prix Circuit near Lake Dallas, and his incredible skill and knowledge of engines was soon to prove invaluable to the colony. He taught you how to drive, and from a pile of old wrecks that you helped him salvage from the circuit he built you a powerful, customized car. You used it to patrol the highways north of the city, keeping a lookout for gangs of city punks who frequently mounted raids to steal or destroy DC1's supplies. 'Cutter' also taught you to shoot, and it was your prowess with a gun and your skill behind the wheel that was to earn you the begrudging respect of your enemies who took to calling you 'Freeway Warrior'.

@@ -256,7 +259,7 @@ Initial revision -

Six months after you arrived at DC1, the colony was faced with a major crisis. A heat wave was causing a drought that threatened to destroy the food supply. Crops were failing and the colony's artesian well - its only source of uncontaminated water - was beginning to dry up. The drought was also provoking more attacks from the city punks who were desperate for food and water. Their common need united them and they posed a very real threat to the security of DC1.

+

Six months after you arrived at DC1, the colony was faced with a major crisis. A heat wave was causing a drought that threatened to destroy the food supply. Crops were failing and the colony's artesian wellits only source of uncontaminated waterwas beginning to dry up. The drought was also provoking more attacks from the city punks who were desperate for food and water. Their common need united them and they posed a very real threat to the security of DC1.

It was the last day of May 2020 when Pop Ewell made radio contact with another colony who were based in the city of Big Spring, 300 miles west of McKinney. It appeared that their situation was completely the reverse of DC1's: they had plenty of food and water but they were desperately short of fuel. They told of their contact with survivors in Tucson, Arizona, who were also without fuel. The Tucson colony reported that the territories west of the Sierra Nevada mountains had been spared the worst effects of the radioactive blizzards that had devastated the rest of the country and, miraculously, much of southern California was still widely populated. It had survived the last eight years virtually intact. When you heard the news you could hardly believe your ears. Perhaps your family were alive. You might be reunited after all!

Pop Ewell called for a meeting to decide how best to deal with the crisis now facing DC1. Everyone agreed that to stay at McKinney would lead to eventual death, either slowly from starvation or suddenly at the hands of the murderous city gangs. The only option open to DC1 was to try to reach California; only there lay any real hope for the future of the colony. Your decision was relayed to the survivors at Big Spring and a deal was struck to rendezvous with them as soon as possible. DC1 would exchange fuel for food and water, and together they would join up with the Tuscon colony for the final journey to California.

Preparations began almost immediately. Morale was so high that a heady sense of adventure and optimism enveloped everyone. Few guessed just how fraught with danger the journey would be.

@@ -354,7 +357,7 @@ Initial revision
  • HE (High Explosive) GRENADE
  • BINOCULARS
  • COMPASS
    • -
  • C.B. RADIO
    • +
  • CB RADIO
  • SIGNAL FLARE
  • THREE MEALS (each Meal takes up one space in your Backpack)
  • FLEXIBLE SAW
    • @@ -518,8 +521,8 @@ Initial revision

    After a week of careful preparation, the colony is ready to begin the long trek to Big Spring. Three vehicles have been picked to make up the convoy: the school bus, your customized roadster, and a gasolene tanker that was salvaged from an old drilling site at nearby Greenville. Cutter and your uncle have rigged up a square canvas canopy to hide the tanker's tell-tale cylindrical body, which now holds over 5,000 gallons of petroleum, siphoned from the underground storage tanks at the Ewell ranch. In this fuel-starved world, gasolene is the most valuable of all commodities. If the city gangs were to discover that DC1 were transporting such a precious load they would stop at nothing to capture it.

    Most of the colony will be travelling aboard the bus, which will be driven by your uncle. Cutter will drive the tanker and you, acting as scout, will drive your roadster at the head of the convoy. With the bus full of passengers, luggage is limited to essential supplies only; everything else will be destroyed before leaving McKinney. At dawn, on the day before the convoy is to set off, a thorough check is made of the vehicles and provisions. There is enough food and water to reach your destination but, apart from your personal weapons, the colony has very few firearms with which to defend itself.

    -

    Long Jake Bannerman, a former roustabout from Gainsville, has volunteered to drive north and search for weapons and ammunition. His brother once owned a hardware store in Sherman and kept his stock of sporting guns locked in the basement. Although they may have to be dug out there is a good chance that they have survived intact. Everyone agrees that it is worth a try, and so Jake, equipped with a C.B. radio, a shovel, and a rusty revolver, sets out for Sherman in his beat-up old truck.

    -

    Two hours later he radios a message from Sherman. He has found rifles and ammunition, but his truck has broken down and he is now stranded in the town. He has also found a survivor - a teenage girl - and he requests that you come to pick them up as soon as possible. Uncle Jonas agrees. He tells him to sit tight and wait for you to arrive.

    +

    Long Jake Bannerman, a former roustabout from Gainsville, has volunteered to drive north and search for weapons and ammunition. His brother once owned a hardware store in Sherman and kept his stock of sporting guns locked in the basement. Although they may have to be dug out there is a good chance that they have survived intact. Everyone agrees that it is worth a try, and so Jake, equipped with a CB radio, a shovel, and a rusty revolver, sets out for Sherman in his beat-up old truck.

    +

    Two hours later he radios a message from Sherman. He has found rifles and ammunition, but his truck has broken down and he is now stranded in the town. He has also found a survivora teenage girland he requests that you come to pick them up as soon as possible. Uncle Jonas agrees. He tells him to sit tight and wait for you to arrive.

    'Trust Jake to go an' maroon hi'self with a gal!' grumbles Uncle Jonas, wryly. 'Cal, you better git your body up to Sherman and haul 'em back here. An' no messin' with street punks on the way, y'hear!'

    'We'll be back in time for breakfast!' you reply, cheerily, as you slide behind the wheel of your roadster and fire up its throaty V-8 engine. Then, with a farewell wave, you power the car out of McKinney and speed northwards to Sherman along what remains of Highway 75.

    Turn to 204. @@ -560,7 +563,7 @@ Initial revision 4 -

    You recall that these letters are the chemical symbol for sodium chloride - common salt. You have stumbled upon a huge stockpile of a substance that is vital to human survival, yet one that is becoming harder to find with every passing day. In your excitement you let out a shout and can barely stop yourself from dancing around the crate in sheer delight.

    +

    You recall that these letters are the chemical symbol for sodium chloridecommon salt. You have stumbled upon a huge stockpile of a substance that is vital to human survival, yet one that is becoming harder to find with every passing day. In your excitement you let out a shout and can barely stop yourself from dancing around the crate in sheer delight.

    You decide to take as many tubs of salt as you can carry and return to the convoy without delay.

    Turn to 29.     @@ -756,7 +759,7 @@ Initial revision

    The instant you tap the number 20 on the keypad, there is a sharp click and the steel door swings inwards to reveal the shelved walls of a strongroom beyond. You smile with satisfaction at having cracked the university's door code: the number in the last column of each row is the sum of the numbers in the first two columns, minus the number in the third column.

    -

    Curious as to what lies within, you enter the strongroom and inspect its dusty shelves. This concrete vault contains the documentation of experiments and small quantities of what were once considered precious metals - gold, platinum, silver and titanium. After a thorough search you find three items that you may be able to put to practical use:

    +

    Curious as to what lies within, you enter the strongroom and inspect its dusty shelves. This concrete vault contains the documentation of experiments and small quantities of what were once considered precious metalsgold, platinum, silver and titanium. After a thorough search you find three items that you may be able to put to practical use: