Kat’s Wasteland Journal

An in-character world building blog

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Welcome to the Great Lakes Wasteland.

(I guess you can call me Bats. Or Purple. Either will work. I’m the author of this project/thing, and I like to make little tangential asides like this a lot. So, any sort of meta side-note I will lock away behind parenthesis and mark purple, so if you don’t care you can just skip over the Purple Parts.

I himmed and hawed with myself over the best way to approach this blog, but at the end of the day, I have decided that: you know what, who cares! No one is watching, no one has expectations—I’m going to use this blog to hype myself up. Because y’know what, I worked damn hard on this and if I’m not allowed to geek out about this project I’m working on that I think is cool, then what the heck is the point?)

This blog is dedicated to my project called Gamma: Memoir of the Wasteland, (A trilogy of novels) with bits of worldbuilding, character vignettes, designs and concept art—basically anything to do with the project on the whole.

WWIII has the world fully divided between East and West. In the fighting, someone unleashed a deadly experimental bio-weapon, killing most and permanently altering the biology of the whole world. Now, it’s around the 2240s. (Exact date may change.) A nurse named Kat wakes up and finds herself needing to learn to adapt to this new world to survive, while also trying to keep herself.

This story is meant as a love-letter to Michigan, taking place from Detroit all the way to the Keeweenaw Peninsula and incorporating local legends, folklore, and traditions.

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I think I have at last finalized the android design and damage map for one of the main secondary characters!

Tim Heartman is the second human individual Kat travels with on her journey down the “yellow brick road” (and my favorite character in this whole damn thing. God, I love him, and I love writing him.) Tim was a cop who transferred to DPD from Chicago who ended up getting chosen for an experimental procedure. Then, before he knew what had happened, they stripped his humanity from him, turning him into an android. A highly advanced android, but an android non the less.

He can no longer feel any sensation. Every experience in life now is just data to him, but he can still remember the sensation of it all, and that in itself is its own personal version of hell. He would do anything just to feel human again, but over time has resigned himself to his lot.

(Oh, and he does wear clothing, this post is just regarding Android Anatomy.)

Damage:

Aged skin pulling away from the anchor points across his head, exposing the edge of the faceplate.

Torn right side of his face, to where his back few molars and mandible is visible. The tear continues down his neck but stops where his chestplate starts, only continuing as a small tear about 5 inches down his chest.

Multiple small age cracks and tears to the vinyl where the skin tends to fold: back of neck, shoulder, elbow, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

Left shoulder skin torn and plastic shell plating of the arm shattered. Keeps tape wrapped around his bicep so his gun doesn’t snag of any of the wiring to his arm when he pulls it out of his chest holster.

Right arm, plastic shell and skin obliterated just above the elbow. His right arm is wholly skeletal. Motions with this arm are stiff and sometimes movements jitter a bit.

Multiple gunshot holes across his body.

Small tear in the left hip, exposing the femoral ball joint and part of the plastic shell for the pelvic plate.

Large chunk taken out of the left thigh, covered up with tape.

Left foot: plastic shell broken exposing toes and a portion of the metatarsal bones.

The Android Body

The version of Android Tim is, is what is termed an “Artificial Man.” The skeleton is steel and constructed very similar to human anatomy, so that—when well maintained—its movement is flawlessly human-like and never hits that “uncanny valley” point. (When not properly maintained though, well that’s a different story. And these models are outdated—none are properly maintained.)

The power cell sits behind a protective steel plate at the sternum, which protects both it and the small emergency reset button located in the chest cavity. The battery is charged by kinetic motion, similar to an EV. Behind the power cell on either side of the chest cavity where the lungs would be are the motors to convert kinetic motion to electricity.

These droids have a thin vinyl “skin” that covers their whole body and helps with water resistance. Unfortunately, (as seen above with Tim’s damage map) it’s prone to tears over time. This vinyl skin is equipped with thermal sensors, that are able to measure between 30-200 degrees F with only about a 2 degree margin of error. However, the accuracy is known to drift so requires frequent calibration. This feature is purely for the safety of the unit, though.

Under the skin is a series of plastic plates that help keep the internal components contained and acts as extra protection from impact, etc, while also giving the body form.

The hands are the most complex area of the android body, aside from the head. Underneath the skin is a series of jointed steel bones and tendon cables, similarly constructed as the human hand. At the tip of each finger is a small textured pressure plate, which helps with grip under the skin as well as gives another line of sensory data.

Layered over the skull and anchored underneath the skin is a plastic faceplate and tiny motors/panels responsible for providing facial expressions.

The eyes are HD orbital cameras, capable of zoom, focus, and some limited night vision. The wire bundle is fed through the eye socket directly into the brain. They have a led in them that glows blue when they are powered on with a stable connection.

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I’m still really proud of this, and am hoping to keep it.

I guess there is no reason to try to hide it, but the main story I’ve been working on started out as a Fallout 4 fanwork. (I eventually got tired of trying to work around the pre established canon, fight my way through purists that couldn’t look past my version of the characters as different, and had a bunch of new ideas that didn’t fit into the story at hand so I decided to strip away the Fallout Veneer and just leave the story bones in place. So now it still has some of the same themes but the story, lore, and location are completely different.) I hope to be able keep this picture as a whole as the cover image with just the necessary changes, because I am really proud of how it ended up. (Plus, it was a lot of work. I was pretty much in a trance with this thing for 36 straight hours, only taking breaks for the bathroom occasionally.)

Anyway, if you follow this project, yes, some things may seem a bit familiar. And this is why. Hopefully you can look past that and see it as it’s own thing, or at the very least give it a chance because you like the character archetypes and want to see more versions of them.

Sorry for the ramble, but I’m still just really proud of this drawing and wanted to share it here.

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Zap Hornet

Zap Hornets are the only creatures in the wasteland to have evolved a way to ward off the Slugs. Their stinger is a two barbs which can deliver a sharp electric shock.

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These wasps live in hives that can number into the hundreds. They build their nests into the infrastructure around it, creating an almost eerie and absurdist image. They use their powerful mandibles to cut into the structures (often steel or cement) around them, mixing it with their saliva and using that substance to form their nest. (See Paper Wasps.) Thanks to this, their hives are surprisingly strong, and while not indestructible, they can often withstand even a rampaging Sewer Devil.

These hornets eat nectar and plant matter. They also create honey. The taste is subtle and not particularly sweet, almost like an unripe fruit, but it’s still said to be a great source of glucose if one finds themselves in the need. Some people with blood sugar issues carry a small jar of it with them when they go out.

As insects go, Zap Hornets show surprising intelligence and ingenuity. They can build elaborate structures to hold or brace elements of their environment. They also can come to recognize individuals they see often around their territory and deem to be a non-threat. Afterwards they will no longer attack the person at all around their nest, and after building a positive rapport with the hive, the person may even be allowed to collect some of the honey. As such, often farmers will leave the nests around their farms alone (so long as its not impeding anything), even planting crops near the hives so that the bees can grow accustomed to seeing them, and act as guards against the slugs.

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Corpse Fly

The Corpse Fly is descended from multiple different fly species, evolved into a true monster. They are one of the few animals in the wastes to show distinct sexual dimorphism. Females are large, up to the size of a small cat. Males are much smaller, only about the size of a rat, and often have an iridescent blue or green sheen to their thorax.

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Males feed only on decaying matter. Females, however, feed on both decaying and living tissue. Females have a serrated two-part scissor-like mouthpiece that they first insert into their prey and separate, opening up a hole in the victim’s flesh. Because of the serrated edges, once a fly opens up her mouthpiece, it is very difficult to remove her and can lead to further damage to the victim. After opening the prey’s skin, the female fly distends her suction mouthpiece, vomiting digestive juices into the open wound that she can then suck up. After she has devoured enough of a hole, she will lay her eggs there. It’s horrific.

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Lifecycle

The fly eggs are laid inside the body of a living organism. When they hatch, they will proceed to eat the creature alive, until it dies. They will then pupate and develop into full flies. The males will continue to eat the decaying creature and the females will head off to mate and lay more eggs.

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Color: Females, Brown or Grey. Males, Blue or Green.

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Slug

Slugs are not so much dangerous as they are a massive nuisance. They do not possess a brain, only ganglia, so its sole directive in life is to simply consume. Its days are spent simply inching along in the world, ingesting any organic matter in its path. To make matters worse, they are impervious to pain. Their semi-transparent body has an almost gelatinous quality, so any attempt to ward it off with firearms or blunt/bladed weapons won’t work. Meaning that farmers who get a slug in crops will often lose most of their plants with nothing they can do about it. Some settlers have had success fighting them off with fire, or if they happen to possess a large quantity of salt, they can create a barrier, but often their only recourse is to wait till the slug moves on.

Physiology:

Slugs have four antennae that they use to help them navigate: two taller ones in back, and two shorter ones in front. Capped at the end of each antenna is sensory organ that analyzes particles in the air, similar to a snake tongue. The slug’s body constantly secretes a slick and sticky semi-digestive ooze that leaves a residue wherever it crawls. This ooze has very mild nerve-agent properties—if left on the skin, after two minutes it will tingle, then start to go numb. The effect is temporary, only lasting a few hours after it is washed off. Its purpose is to anesthetize and paralyze any living organism it comes in contact with while the slug digests them, though this is only very effective to smaller prey. Humans are often too large for it to overpower.

Mating Rituals:

Slugs do not appear to have any natural drive to breed. Each slug is a hermaphrodite, possessing both male and female reproductive parts. However they do seem to reproduce sexually—it appears that their entire reproductive ritual involves two slugs crossing paths by sheer happenstance. The two slugs will become stuck together, traveling together for a time while simultaneously digesting whatever is in front of them. Eventually they will separate and go in different directions, leaving behind in the slime residue, a small piece of each slug, only about the size of a tennis ball. After a short gestation period, each ball of flesh turns into a new slug and they head off in different directions, picking up and digesting whatever they run into along the way.

Life and Death:

Slugs do not appear to have a natural lifespan. While their reproduction is sparse and rare (thank God…), they seem to make up for this by never dying. They can die, of course, but they do not die naturally and are mostly unkillable. All slug deaths appear to be a result of drying out—going too long without rain or moisture—or lack of food (usually from getting stuck in a place without any organic matter around.)

Diet: Any organic matter

Size: Up to 5 ft tall

Color: Blue or Green

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River Shark

Don’t let the wide dopey eyes fool you—the River Shark is quite possibly the most dangerous predator in the wastelands of Michigan. Sometimes referred to as “The Monster of the Great Lakes,” or the “Demon of the Depths.” The phrase “Lake Superior Never Gives Up Her Dead,” the River Shark takes literally—often if a boat goes down in the Lakes these days, all aboard are immediately presumed dead. Bodies are usually never recovered—there’s not often anything left TO recover.

River Sharks are not actually sharks. They evolved from species of interbred sturgeon and catfish. The name, however, came about as a result of the assumption that sharks had finally reached the Great Lakes as soon as sightings started being reported.

Sharks live in the cooler northern waters—Lake Superior and northern Huron/Michigan—during the summer, but migrate south during the colder months when the southern waters are more hospitable. They are exclusively bottom-feeders, originally subsisting on the decaying remains that floated down into the muck. But thanks to their size, that was not sustainable for long into their species’ lifespan. As a result, they developed a taste for the hunt.

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Physiology:

River Sharks have boney, almost stone-like scales layered along its back. These rigid scales have been hardened by the iron residue in and around northern Lake Superior and have become almost impenetrable.

These fish are always quite large, averaging around 6 feet long, but skewing as small as 3 feet in shallower waterways.

In addition to gills, Sharks have a rudimentary lung system, allowing them to survive for up to five minutes out of the water while they are hunting.

They have barbs located in each fin that it uses to both defend itself, and give support and structure to the fin as it stands and navigates on land. They have a series of catfish-like whiskers around its mouth to help it navigate in the inky blackness. At the end of each of the longer whiskers is a bioluminescent lure. Bioluminescent spots also line the ridges along its back. It’s believed that this was developed as a sort of “sirens call,” that it now uses for hunting. Fishermen will often report seeing “the lights” in the dark water under and around their boats—the older and more experienced know not to get too curious, but stupid or overconfident younger boaters looking for the catch of a lifetime sometimes don’t head these warnings, often never coming back.

Hunting Practices:

Sharks have been known to form schools to take down whole fishing vessels. They will repeatedly slam themselves into the hull of a boat until it capsizes, after which they will make quick work of everyone aboard. And because of their tough armored back, they are very difficult to fight off.

Despite eating exclusively decaying remains, Sharks are renowned for their brutal hunting practices. Because they have a lung structure, Sharks will often attack creatures on the beach, ambushing them and dragging them into the water to drown them. After they are dead, the shark will take the body and bury it in the sediment and muck at the bottom of a lake or riverbed to ferment. It will return to it in a few days, if another shark doesn’t get to it first.

Their only known Natural Predator is the Sewer Devil, which developed back claws specifically designed to tear them open from underneath, and match it in skill and ferocity underwater.

Color: Grey or Brown scales, with bioluminescence that is usually blue

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Sewer Devil

*Sewer Devil: Older Juvenile

Evolved from Alligators that escaped Belle Isle and into the sewers of Detroit. They were allowed to live sheltered from the bombs and mostly undisturbed for centuries, making them one of the most genetically stable wasteland animals.

Sewer Devils do not have a roar, instead their vocalizations are a series of hisses and bellows. The bellows, however, are so loud and deep it rattles buildings and weighs on one’s chest when within range.

Sewer Devils are a semi-aquatic species, often choosing to live in sewer tunnels or cave systems where there is easy access to both land and water. Their webbed feet and broad flat tail allow for speed and ease of swimming, and while technically faster on land, their speed underwater cannot be understated.

Reproductive Cycle:

These animals are very territorial and mostly solitary, except during mating season where a mated pair will form a bond that lasts about 6 months. In that time, they create a nest together and lay a clutch of eggs. Once that clutch hatches, the male will leave, leaving the female to care for the hatchlings until they are old enough to leave the nest, at which point the nesting site will be left abandoned.

*Female protecting her clutch of eggs

Lifespan and Size:

Sewer Devils do not have a predetermined lifespan—they will continue to live until something kills them. Their size, and the fleshy spines along their back, will continue to grow throughout their life, so one can usually estimate their age at a distance.

When first hatched, they are only about a foot and a half tall. Within their first year, they will grow to be about 6-ft, at which point their growth will slow dramatically. It is rare to see a Sewer Devil that is taller than 10 feet.

Color: Green, Brown, or Grey.

Diet and Hunting Practice:

Strictly Carnivorous. Sewer Devils are one of the apex predators of the wasteland. They are ambush predators, usually lying in wait and watching from under manholes and inside sewer drains, so long as there is standing water. (they are highly sensitive to the vibrations made by prey moving by—water intensifies these vibrations) The Sewer Devil will then stalk the prey until it sees an opportunity and then burst out to attack. Usually by the time someone sees a Sewer Devil, it’s already too late.

When hunting, a Sewer Devil will usually choose to try to drag its prey into the water, where land-faring animals have a more difficult time and the adept Devil can easily overwhelm and drown them. It has a number of methods for this, but its favorite method of dispatch appears to be via spinning. (See Alligators and Crocodiles hunting practices.)

Despite their reputation, Sewer Devils main food source is River Sharks. The animal’s hooked raptor-like back claws are specially developed to cut open the Sharks’ underside—which is unprotected by the hardened iron-like plating along its back. Though, thanks to the Sharks’ yearly migrations, this leaves the Devils’ food source lacking, leading it to attack whatever other prey it can find.