On one wall of a suburban home – yours, the house you occupy in the brief period before it all goes to pot in Fallout 4 – is a Vault-Tec poster. That in itself is somewhat odd: I don’t know anybody in the habit of commemorating their favoured security company or insurance firm in such a way. But the really unusual thing happens if you take the 1-888 number on that poster and dial it into an American phone, as Polygon did.
That old abode might not be in tiptop condition anymore, but there are still wonderful buildings to admire among the best Fallout 4 settlements.
“Thank you for calling Vault-Tec,” the chirpy phone-bot begins. “Your first choice in post-nuclear survival. We’re sorry, but due to unexpectedly high call volumes, all representatives are currently busy. Please stay on the line, and someone will be with you as soon as possible.”
Vault-Tec then tell us, in bleakest possible automated voice, that there are 101 million other callers in the queue – estimating a wait time of 78,643 hours. The implication being that we’re calling either on the eve of certain nuclear disaster, or during it. Characteristically grim humour either way.
The number actually first appeared in Fallout 3’s E3 trailer in 2008, but Bethesda have stuck with it ever since. It was also found at the bottom of the official Fallout 4 website which went live in June. Think you’d pay for Vault-Tec’s services?