| Folks,
I'm just a simple guy. The name's Len Oberland. The Travelers
up in the Fair Ground picked me to come down and talk with
you, our valued friends in Redfield. I work for a man named
Ryuu Matsuo, but today I'm talkin' for all Travelers: We want
your business.
Oh, I know you've been hearin' from the Lightbearers too.
It's no secret how they feel about us. They say we're greedy.
They say we're out to cheat you. They say a lot of things.
It's what they don't say that ought to have you worried.
We don't want to change your way of life. We don't want to
change who you are. We don't want to change what you are.
We just want to do business.
You sign on with us, you won't be sorry. You sign on with
the Lightbearers and their pals, well, that's dicey. Let's
just say I'd hate to see anythin' bad happen to Redfield.
Seems like a nice place, with good people and decent livin'.
Give me a few minutes. I'll lay everythin' out, nice and clear,
about what you get if you throw your lot with the Travelers
and our friends. I'll also tell you what you'd be settin'
yourself up for if you kowtow to the Lightbearers and their
lapdogs.
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| VISTAS |
| “Never
give a crackpot an even break.” -
Enzo Scarpelli, Boss of Depot 66 |
I'm
sure most of you good folks like to get fresh water from your
cisterns, right? You do what you can to purify it. It's important
to do that. Everyone needs fresh, clean water. Who wants to
get some nasty virus from polluted water? Nobody. You don't
want to get sick. You don't want your kids to get sick.
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| |
So,
what makes it possible to clean the water we drink every day?
Technology, folks. Plain and simple. It cleans for us. It
cooks for us. It gets us from place to place faster than walkin'
on foot.
Oh, sure, technology's gone too far in the past. But there's
a reason they call it the past, yeah? We're talkin' about
here and now. Here and now: We need this stuff and the Techs
help us get it, even if the they’re obsessed by it.
Still, at least you know where you stand with 'em and even
if they're not keen on tech, their chips don't rattle any
differently than anyone else's. They're open about what they
don't like and they don't candy coat it.
Sometimes, I think the Vistas have their hearts in the right
place, but their brains are wired all wrong. The Vistas don't
want you to drink clean water. They don't want you to cook
your food. They don't want you to travel in a car. They HATE
technology and they HATE people who use technology. They think
it's all gonna end badly and permanently next time technology
gets out of hand. Maybe I'm just an optimist, but I think
we can all learn from our mistakes. Some of the biggest mistakes
in the past came from people followin' the mad preachin' of
crazy folk and I sure don’t want to see that happen
again.
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| CHOTA |
 |
“Whoever
said business ain't personal needs a smack to the melon.
If it's business, it's personal!” - Bad
Jack Badham, Black Hood Leader |
I'll
be the first to admit the CHOTA are odd. They're savages,
sure, but I don't think they're necessarily as bad as certain
people make them out to be. They're solid in a fight too.
They're
real live-free-or-die types. They don't take crap off anybody.
They go their own way. They do their own thing. I don't
know about you, but I think there's a lot to respect in
someone who spits in the face of jackboot types and says:
“Here's where we stand. Shove us and we'll shove back.”
They don't get hung up on worryin' too much about the future,
and that's a good thing, I think, because there's stuff
enough to worry about today.
The
CHOTA were there for us, back in the day, when our kin stood
against Masters and his death squads. I gotta respect that
too.
You stand with the Travelers, that means somethin' to us.
You stand against us, well, that means somethin' too.
|
TECHS |
| “If
it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's broke, sell it for half
price.” - Victor Scuttieri, Moros Family |
I
know Techs can get a little single-minded about their machines,
but that's what makes them so good at makin' those great toys
of theirs!
One thing you definitely want to keep in mind: The Techs don't
share their machines with just anybody. But we supply the
Techs with stuff they need and the Techs give us access to
their gadgets and gizmos. So, if you're with us, you get to
share that wealth.
|
The nutjobs who talk about how technology corrupts seem to
forget that technology doesn't corrupt. It's people who use
technology the wrong way, for the wrong reasons, that corrupt.
You hear
Vistas talk about abusin' technology. How is abusin' technology
any different from abusin' nature, besides the fact that we
make our technology and nature's just there, y'know, naturally?
Vistas might think it's bad to use a gun because technology's
bad. At the same time, they'll send one of their trained killin'
animals to pounce you and gnaw on your guts.
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ENFORCERS |
“The
customer's always right, except when he's not or when his credit's
no good or when he's trying to get the better of you.”
- Shine Perron, Vegas Family
|
These
thugs like to claim they're all about the greater good. Me?
I think they're all about the greater good of the Enforcers.
They want everybody to move in lock-step with their rules
and regulations.
Hey, don't get me wrong. A little law and order's okay. I've
known an Enforcer or two who got along okay with us. They
can be handy in a firefight, that's for sure. It ain't all
fang and neck between us, but you do get the way-too-visible
loudmouths and wannabe-tyrants from time to time.
You open your doors to the wrong people and, soon enough,
you'll have 'em postin' screeds in the town square, demandin'
that you turn each other in for this crime or that crime.
Hey, it might even start off as a legitimate crime, like sheep-thievery
or somethin'. But, sure enough, before you know it, they'll
want to lock you up or smack you down for sayin' stuff they
don't like, thinkin' things they don't like, or just lookin'
funny.
Law and order's all good and fine, in moderation. I don't
think the good people of Redfield need too much of their kind
of law and order, is all.
|
LIGHTBEARERS
|
| “Family
before Traveler. Traveler before everyone else.” –
Part of the Traveler oath |
| The
Lightbearers are a bunch of self-righteous, overbearin', egotistical
blowhards who are just this side of the Judges when it comes
to bein' whacked-out zealots. Oh, sure, they like to preach
about peace and personal responsibility, but they've got ninjas!
Freakin' ninjas! I'm not kiddin'! They will mess you up if
you say somethin' wrong or act some way they don't like. |
They'll
talk a good line about how they're lookin' out for your townsfolk.
They'll say they just want what's best for you. But if you're
a regular human like me, they'd be just as happy to see you
dead and gone. Extinct. You've heard the talk. They want your
mutants. Once they've taken whatever powers they can from
your useful citizens, well, you can count on them to cut their
losses and toss you to the wolves.
Whatever you do, don't trust these guys.
Don't sell your souls to them... Hell, don't sell your souls
to anybody.
The Travelers ain't lookin' to change you. We ain't lookin'
to own you. We ain't lookin' to control you. We just wanna
do a little business with Redfield.
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So, that's all I gotta say about this. It's in your
hands now. I'll leave you to it. Take your time. Think
it over, nice and careful-like. Make sure you reach
the right decision. Send someone around to the tavern
when you've made up your minds.
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| “Keep
your friends close and your enemies out of business. Undercut
them. Outmaneuver them. Shoot them. Whatever works.”
- Ryuu Matsuo, of the Hitotsu Kodomo clan – also
known as the Orphans, on the philosophy of doing business in
the Grand Canyon Province. |
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