Fallout Retrospective, Character Profiles
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The years immediately following humanity's near-destruction are unsurprisingly murky. History begins to be written once again in 2080, when non-Vault survivors begin to emerge from hiding. For many - in relative terms anyway, considering that a majority of the world's population was simply wiped out in 2077 - survival is far worse than an immediate death in the initial explosions would have been. Prolonged exposure to radiation for humans and lower life forms alike results in mass mutations, essentially creating a race of post-apocalyptic ghouls.
It isn't until more than a decade after the bombs fall that Vaults begin to open on the remains of the planet. Some settlements build up around these emptied shelters, such as Vault City, originally Vault 8. Other Vault dwellers simply move on, unwilling to continue calling the shelter of the Vault their home. Some new towns are added to the map as a result, such as the trading center known as The Hub.
Although this is primarily a period of rebuilding for the world, it is also not without its conflict. The quasi-religious faction known as the Brotherhood of Steel works out some internal differences while The Hub becomes the center of what would be known as the Great Merchant Wars. It is also during this time that Richard Grey, the mutant who would come to be known as The Master, begins to secretly build up his army of super mutants.