"They want me to write my memoirs. Fine. I'll do it. But as the song goes, I'll do it my way. And I'm old enough that I will get my way." - The Wanderer (excerpt from The Vault Dweller's Memoirs).

Leo Tolstoy maligned the historians of his era as "deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them," who persist in enumerating the minutiae of the effects without sufficiently accounting for the layered causes. He had a point: in the nineteenth century, they were struggling to describe what then appeared to be the (sometimes rocky) ascent of humanity without resorting to the language of divine intentionality.

We, of course, have no illusions about any force greater than collective human will, and know that progress is by no means inevitable. We accept that our survival is an accident that might be rendered meaningless at any point - a plague, another war, or a natural disaster could send us back to the dark ages at any time, or even wipe our species out. And yet we go on with our unsolicited answers, sifting through irrelevant details in search of something insightful, something usable for our future.

To return to the subject of this monograph - namely, the pre-NCR moral and intellectual backgrounds of the rebuilt West - every native-born citizen knows about Albert Cole, at least as the Vault Dweller whom the NCR claimed as one of their founding fathers. In addition to a few pages of his own recollections, written down in the final year of his life, we have not one but two published accounts of his adult life - one state-sponsored(1) and one from his last surviving companion, Katja Larrson, following Cole's death in 2204.(2) Few people in this day and age get more than a single line to mark their passing: little more than two dates etched in stone (if they're wealthy), and sometimes not even that. That we have his own words in addition to his contemporaries' - not to mention the informal writings of his grandmother and great-grandmother - is a rare gift indeed. Still, we would like to add more to the picture with the records uncovered since that day.

Archivist Steele and I believe we can see the future of the man - and the legend he eventually became - in the disciplinary hearings recorded below, in the tense dialogue between a frustrated young man and a frightened old one. We find this portrait of the Vault Dweller to be a helpful foil to the patriotic hero described in school books and memorialized in the Capital's statuary. The NCR appropriated Albert Cole's reputation and made him into a yes-man for their fledgling empire, long after he had retreated from the public sphere to live out his life quietly in Arroyo; here, we push back on that reading of his life in favor of something less perfect, but more honest.

~ Introduction by Malachi Hendel; transcripts and notes below by Jamilyn Steele

(1) Cukrowski, Anton. The Hero of the Wastes. Angel's Boneyard, NCR: Adytum Press, 2196.

(2) Larsson, Katja. The Man Behind the Myth (or, Albert, You Still Owe Me 50 Caps). Angel's Boneyard, NCR: FOTA Publications, 2206.

Before we introduce an adolescent Albert Cole, what of his mother, Joan Cole (née Brown)?

Regretfully, we can say little more about Marcia Brown's daughter than the Vault-Tec records themselves do. This renders her life down to the barest essentials, falling short even of the poetry of an epitaph. These are the facts:

1) She was born on July 4, 2104, the daughter of an unmarried mother in a community that tightly regulated reproduction.

2) After an unremarkable and uncontroversial school career, she was appointed to reactor maintenance, where she worked until her untimely death (of unknown causes) in early 2157.

3) She was married - on October 5, 2142, at the age of 38 - to widower Alfonse Cole, her senior by a decade, becoming a stepmother to his two teenage daughters.

4) Albert Cole, her only child, came almost a year later, on September 30, 2143. Due to advanced maternal age, his growth was closely monitored in utero, with multiple scans for the age-linked chromosomal disorders that would have required termination under Vault-Tec protocols. He was born healthy.

To these skimpy details, we can add only a few observations: Joan lived with her single mother for the first thirty-eight years of her life, marrying very late by vault standards. Unlike her predecessors, she left no written record behind (or at least none that survived); we can speculate both that Marcia warned her against exposing herself to scrutiny, and - more tentatively - that the two of them found in each other a willing conversation partner for the thoughts they could not speak aloud elsewhere. Perhaps that is why Joan made no effort to impress herself upon history, or perhaps she found expression enough in the raising of her son.

In the chapter below, the reader will find three previously unpublished transcripts of selected interchanges between a young Albert Cole and Overseer Jacoren, along with various unnamed disciplinary committee members. Some of the timestamps on the tapes recovered were imprecise, and the dates on the first two are approximate; the hearings range from 2157 to 2161, the last dating from mere days before Albert left Vault 13. It should be noted, for the sake of context, that Marcia died in late 2156, followed just six months later by Joan, leaving Albert with no immediate family except his aging father (who died in 2160) and adult half-sisters.

A recurring thorn in the side of vault authorities, Albert Cole was subjected to more than just the three hearings recorded here. Anybody wishing to read all nine unabridged, fully-annotated transcripts (or any of the other primary sources referenced in this book) may submit their request to the resident archivist at Vault 13. Unfortunately, listening to these tapes is no longer possible, due to cumulative degradation from age and overuse.

Recording 1 (c. April 2157)

SPEAKER A (male, unknown): Albert, do you know why you're here today?

(silence, static)

SPEAKER A: The silent act will get you nowhere, young man. Yesterday, you had an altercation-

ALBERT: (interrupting) A discussion.

SPEAKER A: -an altercation with your teacher. Ms. Poirot said she feared for her safety. She says you raised your voice, you used profanity, and you approached her aggressively. What do you have to say for yourself?

ALBERT: She's exaggerating. I said "bullshit" and walked past her to the board to illustrate my point.

SPEAKER A: You frightened her, and you interrupted your classmates' education.

ALBERT: I wasn't trying to scare or distract anybody. She was wrong about… oh fuck, it doesn't matter. Just suspend me. I'll take a week of kitchen duties over a week in the classroom.

SPEAKER B (female, unknown): Language, young man.

OVERSEER JACOREN: You are not to challenge your teacher's authority, Mr. Cole. Is that clear? You will give her the respect her position deserves. If you wish to raise a question on a specific point, you may send her a private message via the intravault network.

ALBERT: No, I can't. She blocked me a month ago. Too many "impertinent messages," she said.

(silence)

SPEAKER A: (wearily) I'll approach Ms. Poirot about that. But Albert, see here, you need to keep a civil tongue in your head. Correct behavior is more important than a trivial point of geography or spelling-

ALBERT: (interrupting, angry) Even math?

SPEAKER A: Even math. We're not training a generation of astrophysicists. You need to be able to budget your family's food and resource credits, to account for inventory in your department, and to measure ingredients or materials. If your eventual career requires more specialized training, you'll receive it in your apprenticeship.

ALBERT: (almost inaudible, defeated) That's bullshit.

SPEAKER B: Language! What would your poor mother say?

ALBERT: She'd agree with me. She and grandma always said the official curriculum was garbage.

OVERSEER: (trying to be kind, though his patience is strained) I know this is a hard time for you, Albert. Your grandmother's recent passing, following so quickly by... ahem... Dr. Gustavson told me this morning that he doesn't expect Joan to live out the week. It's very sad, but-

ALBERT: (defiantly) He's wrong.

OVERSEER: (continuing as if he hadn't heard) It's natural that you'd be acting out, though that doesn't mean- [Distortion on the tape lasting five seconds.] -leniency in light of the situation. Understand?

[silence]

OVERSEER: (more firmly) I said, do you understand?

[muffled, unintelligible]

Speaker B: (primly) Look at us and speak up when you answer, boy.

Albert: Yes.

Speaker B: Yes sir.

Albert: Yessir. My mistake. I thought you were a lady.

Speaker A: (hastily) This concludes educational hearing #1365 in the matter of Albert Cole and the aforementioned incident. Let's hope it's the last.

Recording 3 (2158)

[Transcriber's note: the first 45 seconds was too degraded to play, thus we pick up in media res]

OVERSEER JACOREN: What in God's name were you thinking, boy? This… this… jackblack of yours could have killed somebody. Ball bearings in a sock. That's very dangerous. You're lucky security happened along when it did. You could be facing murder charges otherwise.

ALBERT: It's a blackjack. A cosh. And I was only using it to defend myself and Stuyvesant. Edwards, Goodwin, and the others were lying in wait for us outside of the library. They deserved every bruise they got.

OVERSEER: (emphatically) Vault-dwellers do not carry weapons. Unlike the world outside, we are civilized. We solve our problems with force of authority and discussion. What gave you the idea to make such a thing, anyway?

[inaudible mumbling]

Speaker A (male, unknown): (curiously) What was that?

ALBERT: Uh, in the Silver Shroud, issue #37… the Red Menace… er, the bad guy has something like that.

OVERSEER: (disgusted) Damned comic books. Our founders should have destroyed them when we first arrived. You'll make no more weapons, Mr. Cole, are we clear? We don't need them here.

ALBERT: (boldly) They had numbers. They had their boots and their fists. I considered it an equalizer. Besides, vault security has weapons. Why shouldn't I? I've been pushed around enough to last a lifetime.

OVERSEER: I don't have to see next year's GOAT score to know that you have no future in vault security, Mr. Cole. Lay that idea aside, along with all plans to incite and escalate violent confrontation. [A long pause.] Despite your grandmother's… shall we say, reputation, your mother was always a model citizen. Not a single page in her record. I encourage you to reflect on her memory as you go forward. Try to be someone she could be proud of.

SPEAKER B (male, unknown): (curtly) Let's talk about consequences, Mr. Cole. You'll be serving three days of hard labor and spending three nights in the brig. You'll also be suspended from school for one month. A note on this incident goes in your record, but with good behavior it won't affect your future.

ALBERT: Fine. What about the others?

SPEAKER B: None of them introduced a deadly weapon into a schoolboy fracas. They'll each be suspended for one day, and they'll write lines - except for the one whose hand you broke, Mr. Cole. We consider him punished enough.

ALBERT: That wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that his name's "Jacoren," would it?

OVERSEER: That's enough, Mr. Cole! (softly) Between you and me, young man, I salute your audacity and innovation. In another time and place, we might call on it. But it's high time that you accepted how your world actually works. It is about politics. It is about who you are and who you know. I strongly recommend that you learn your place and accept it. (To the others) Leave the room, please. Not you, Albert.

(There's a scraping of chairs and the opening and shutting of a door.)

OVERSEER: (cont.) Before I dismiss you as well, Mr. Cole, I have one last piece of advice for you. Something for you to study over all those days you're not in school. Look at the other troublemakers in our genealogies. The librarian will give you limited access to the backdated files. Look at their careers. Look at their average lifespans. And then you can decide for yourself if you really want to be the squeaky wheel in your generation. Are we clear?

ALBERT: Crystal-clear, Overseer. May I read my grandmother's file first? I always assumed there were a few things she never told me.

OVERSEER: (almost warmly) It'll be at the top of the pile. Study it well.

Recording 9 (September 29, 2161)

SPEAKER A (male, unknown): This is a emergency criminal hearing concerning Albert Cole's role in the unsuccessful uprising of September 20th, 2161, now nine days past. He has no advocate present-

ALBERT: I'm speaking for myself.

SPEAKER A: (cont.) -I repeat, no advocate present. He has been informed of the seriousness of these charges, namely sedition, incitement to violent acts, and sabotage. Possible sentences are six months' labor, followed by a probationary return to waste management, and… or… execution. There is no middle ground.

OVERSEER JACOREN: I just checked your file, Mr. Cole. You'll be 18 tomorrow, and one way or another, you'll be spending that day in a cell. Do you consider yourself a child or an adult?

ALBERT: An adult.

OVERSEER: That's good, because I'm tired of addressing you as a child. Do you remember what I told you when you were fourteen, right after you'd broken my son's hand with your thuggish toy?

ALBERT: Yes. You told me that I needed to get used to kowtowing to tyrants like you, or I'd live a short, meaningless life. In so many words.

(There's a long pause. We can hear loud murmurs, whispers, rustling clothing - there are more than just a few people in the room this time.)

ALBERT: (cont.) I reconsider my choice of words. They were unnecessarily hostile. You accurately described the world I lived in and that helped me decide that I couldn't accept things the way they were. Unlike so many others, I couldn't keep that refusal to myself either. A life spent hiding wasn't enough for me.

OVERSEER: I gave you a friendly piece of advice - a tip that your late parents never bothered to beat into you, it seems - in the hopes that you would see the error of your ways, and become the kind of dweller we need to survive. Instead, the past two and a half years have seen you brought up before our council for a series of petty crimes: insubordination in the classroom and on the job, fighting, and thievery. And now we have you in the dock for a capital offense. What possible reason can you give for the trajectory that your life has taken? For the waste of your potential?

ALBERT: (surprised) You'd invite me to talk… in front of all of them? You won't censor me?

Speaker B (female, unknown): Correct. You are representing yourself. You can make your case now. No one will silence you.

ALBERT: That… assignment you gave me years ago, Overseer, opened my eyes. But not in the way that you hoped. Through unorthodox school papers, confiscated notes, and recordings of hearings like all the ones I've sat through in the past few years, I finally got to meet my people. I didn't feel alone anymore.

OVERSEER: You admit that you felt a kinship for those criminals and outcasts?

ALBERT: You could put it that way, yes. Reading those old records, I realized how many people kept their distress to themselves. It helped me recognize the same traits in the faces of the living, and so to seek them out. People weren't meant to live this way, packed like sardines in a hole in the ground. What you and your predecessors interpreted as rebellion was just a necessary release of built-up pressure. It's time we broke with tradition and took a gamble on the outside world. It can't be worse than this.

SPEAKER B: (above the sound of rustling papers) Your four co-conspirators in custody have been named and examined already. Do you expect us to believe that none of you knew of Natalia Dubrovhsky's intentions to sabotage our water chip? In retaliation for yours and your partners' arrests, perhaps?

ALBERT: We knew that she had extreme views, of course, and even knew of her plans to escape the vault. We had no idea that she intended first to force the community's hand with the destruction of our way of life. If we had, we would have prevented her from doing so by any means possible. I've always believed in a gradual exodus, not one compelled by circumstances.

SPEAKER B: So, you maintain your innocence with regard to that charge. What of the others? Did you encourage others to subvert the intentions of the Overseer, and do so yourself?

ALBERT: Yes, insofar as disagreement counts as subversion. I am proudly guilty of that.

SPEAKER B: Did you access restricted information with the intent to distribute it?

ALBERT: Yes. I used a stolen code to access information that we needed, and that I felt we had every right to: environmental readings from our outside sensors, pre-war maps of the surface, survival guides, and hypothetical models of the lasting consequences of nuclear war. These gave our group the confidence to move forward with our intentions to present our plan to the community.

OVERSEER: But it didn't work out the way you expected, did it? No one moved. No one responded. No one raised a hand to prevent you from being taken into custody. Not your teachers, coworkers, or cousins. You were wrong about people secretly wanting what you had to offer.

ALBERT: Yes. It was… deeply disappointing. We thought frustration over the living situation would have trumped fear of reprisals and fear of the unknown. We overestimated the people. We moved too soon. Our impatience for change betrayed us.

OVERSEER: You betrayed us. You refused to believe that you were an aberrant minority. You endangered the lives of every person in this vault. You-

(Transcriber's note: Frustratingly, there's a long break in which nothing but garbled static can be heard for over ten minutes. We pick up at the closing statement.)

SPEAKER A: …-of Mr. Cole's role as ringleader in the operation, and his persistent criminal inclinations, the lenient sentences awarded to Cindy and Peter Stuyvesant, Lucinda Brown, and Theresa Vasquez does not apply in his case. This council sentences him to a private execution in three days' time following a short grace period for reflection. He will be permitted no visitors. This hearing is concluded.

As a final addendum, the only additional intra-vault record we have of Albert Cole is an entry in Overseer Jacoren's personal log, indicating that his death sentence had been secretly commuted to exile, with proffered amnesty on the condition that he leave the vault to seek out a water chip in order to repair their broken purifier. The rest, as they say, is history.

This concludes the section of the book on the residents of Vault 13.