You are a little shocked by what has just happened. So you do not immediately react to the puzzled questions of Brittany.

"Professor Anton Tybalt Blake..." - the ghoul says with a sarcastic smirk that creates a terrifying impression.

The smirk of "zombie" ...

Anton Tybalt Blake ...

You have not heard this from someone's lips for a long time ...

Your middle name "Tybalt" is an echo of painful memories of your parents. Your mother Joan was a teacher of literature and linguistics at one of the second-rate provincial universities, and she was also a passionate fan of the works of William Shakespeare (to such an extent that she gave her only son the name of one of the characters in the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet").

Your father Richard was a melancholic introvert who worked all his life in the field of theoretical physics. A silent scientist, alien to pedagogy and "in love" with his work...

Both of your parents did not live to see the moment when human civilization destroyed itself...

This thought sounds somewhat blasphemous...

But they were lucky.

They died in 2047 during mass riots in New York, which occurred against the backdrop of another stock market crash and a surge in hyperinflation.

Some street criminals took advantage of the chaos on the streets and simply killed a couple of elderly passers-by for profit.

The next second, your memories are interrupted by persistent questions...

"What is a nation? What is a professor? Is it some kind of noble title, similar to a count or a knight? Dad told me that such titles are held by those who manage settlements on the territory of the Orange Kingdom..." - "sparks" of curiosity shine in the girl's eyes, she fiddles with the sleeve of your jacket with her fingers.

"Brittany... Mr. Moore and I need to have a confidential talk about some... boring things. And you obviously need to prepare to go home and meet your father... The captain mentioned that the steamboat would be arriving in Port Williams this evening..." - you say phlegmatically, ignoring the young girl's puzzled questions.

Snorting indignantly and pouting her lips, Brittany leaves the cabin. Her "pet" follows her.

You carefully close the door.

"Do you enjoy compromising me, Mr. Elijah Nicholas Moore? Couldn't you have communicated important information more confidentially and correctly?" - you say irritably to the ghoul.

He only laughs hoarsely and takes a bottle of dark liquid from under his bed.

The smell of whiskey.

Again.

"Are you familiar with the term "alcoholism", Mr. Moore?" - you ask sarcastically.

"My relationship with this "term" is very... very "close"! Ha! Ha! It was like that even before the war... But now... My current status has its advantages - the body of ghoul can withstand many times greater loads in the form of various "funny substances"! Ha! Ha!" - Elijah drinks whiskey straight from the bottle, and then his scary eyes turn to you again.

Now you remember more details...

His wife Natalie taught the subject "Roman private law" at one of the departments of Harvard University. And his daughter Eva was one of the minor employees of the administration of this department of Harvard University. For a couple of years, you taught organic chemistry to students of this department. And you communicated with the wife and daughter of Elijah. Straining your memory, you recall that you even saw him a couple of times. A physically strong guy, imbued with patriotic sentiments and clearly too uncritical of the work of the media. Elijah, despite the wealth and opportunities of his family, voluntarily became a soldier. And ... now you can see before you the consequences of this choice of life path.

"Perhaps enough stupid jokes for today? Can you give me more specific and useful information, Mr. Moore?" - you say.

"Useful information? Well, I'll try ... How about this: January 2051; Alaska; cold trenches stinking of corpses; every hour bombing by enemy aircraft and flying drones; several soldiers from my platoon just shit themselves from fear…” - it seems that Elijah continues to mock.

“How does all this relate to the current situation?” - you manage to ask.

“It is directly related to the current shitty situation! After a massive landing of enemy troops, our army lost control of the most important port cities… Defeat followed defeat… The remnants of our broken troops began to retreat. Cold. Hunger. The locals of the territory of the former Canada that we occupied a couple of years ago did not greet us very hospitably - with shotgun blasts in the face… All this lasted for a long time - month after month… I went through this hell, Mister Blake! I fought for the American dream, for freedom, for democracy! I managed to get to the territory of the state of Montana. And suddenly these fucking megabombs fell from the sky… Boom! Big badaboom! There was nothing left of the military base where I was being treated. The nearest town was just a big crater. I survived by a miracle. Only because the hospital was on one of the underground levels of the local bunker…”

“Why did this happen to your body?” you ask, examining this “zombie” body.

“Damn! I don’t know! I never understood all this scientific crap! The Eggheads at the hospital said something about experimental treatments…” Elijah says.

“Why are you so sure about the truth of the information about the Republic of Florida?” - your characteristic skepticism makes you critically perceive the information of ghoul.

“Fuck! Because I need to live for something! I’ve been wandering through the scorched expanses of dirty and radiation-saturated wastelands for hundreds of years! I have been watching this absurd and shitty horror that is happening in the vastness of the once great United States of America with my only sighted eye! I have spent hundreds of these fucking years searching for at least some hope! And finally I have found at least something... Now I will show you..." - the emotional state of Elijah clearly leaves much to be desired, your doubts have clearly "touched him to the quick". It is obvious that the tragic fate of this person causes a large number of "scars" on his psyche.

He takes out a small rusty radio with an antenna from his backpack. An exemplar of ancient technology, which is a rarity in the wastelands. Ghoul tunes the radio - and, surprisingly, this technology works!

Through the noise of radio interference, you can distinguish the words...

It looks like several radio stations changing one after another.

"The vile subhumans are to blame for everything! Join the heirs of the true greatness of USA! Long live the Aryan Coalition of White Star! Fortress Jackson – a stronghold of order in the wastelands! "

"The best city for everyone - Axeman-City! Goods for every taste! Food, whiskey, weapons, ammunition, slaves, criddy, boom-sugar…"

"True power is the power of the monarch, blessed by the Deity of Heavenly Netherlands! Everyone should know their place - the plebs must work, the nobles must fight… Only on the territory of the Orange Kingdom can you find peace and tranquility…"

"We appeal to everyone, who wants to revive civilized life in the vastness of the mutilated land of USA… By the seashore… Republic of Florida… Life without cruelty… Respect for the rights and freedom of all…"

The last radio signal was the weakest.

There was a lot of radio interference.

Elijah turned off the radio and put it in his backpack.

"I've been a mercenary in these shitty wastelands for a long time. I've worked with different factions... Except for those who would try to kill me right away at the first meeting... And recently I found this working radio in the ruins of Atlanta. I already knew about the local factions. But the fourth radio signal was a surprise for me. I managed to find out that the repeater of this radio signal is somewhere far to the south. And I'm going to take advantage of the chance..."

"Do you understand that your interpretation of this information may be false? Are you considering the possibility of deception?" - you ask.

"Damn! Don't take away my last hope, Professor Blake! I'm still going to go there and check!" - the ghoul answers you irritably.

"And who have you been working for in recent years, Elijah?" - you change the subject of the conversation to something else.

"If I were to list all my employers, it would take a very long time... Over the centuries, I wandered through the territories of dozens of states... Or rather, through the territories of what was left of them... In recent years... Recently, I worked for the Sullivan family from Axeman-City... Before that, I was in the north: there are settlements of religious fanatics, settlements of all sorts of beast-like mutants, city-states of slaveowners..." - ghoul says thoughtfully.

"Slaveowners? You worked for them? Doesn't that contradict your beliefs?" - you ask.

"Fuck! Of course it does! But I was guided by the principle of survival! Slavery is widespread in the wastelands... I worked for those who did not try to kill me and who paid well. Imagine a situation where savage parents voluntarily sell their children into slavery! And that everyone around considers this the norm! I saw this... What should I have done?! Die in a futile attempt to change the way of life of the vast majority of settlements of wastelands?! So when at least some chance appeared to find a community that lives by normal rules, I decided to try... I understand that it will be very difficult to get to the Republic of Florida. Probably, their settlements are located somewhere far to the south..." - after these words, Elijah starts drinking whiskey again.

So, you listened to Elijah.

And this new information makes you think.

Should you offer to ghoul your help as a companion? Elijah will probably agree - after all, the chances of success of his venture will increase if someone helps him. The prospect of finding a community that lives by the norms of respect for human rights and freedoms... Sounds good. But it will obviously be very risky. And it will require a long journey. Also, you still do not unconditionally believe what you heard on the radio. Your habit of critically analyzing information makes you assume the worst - the possibility that the hopes of Elijah are based on ignorance and hidden lies.

Option two: you can stay in Axeman-City after you bring Brittany home. However, the information you heard suggests that this large settlement is based on the principle of "everything is bought and sold". And you can't boast of great wealth. You don't even understand what the locals use as currency. This issue should be clarified soon...

Option three: you stay in Port-Williams. Probably, the local ruler will thank you for saving his daughter. You can ask for the right to live in this settlement. This is the fastest and easiest way to get at least some place to live in this cruel post-apocalyptic world.

Of course, in addition to these options, you can come up with other models of behavior.

However, now the steamboat "Diamond" is moving towards Port-Williams. Therefore, the most immediate prospect for you is to return Brittany to her rich daddy's house and receive the reward.

Edward Williams III will be surprised when he learns that his daughter ran away from home to visit Axeman-City on her own. And that very... unpleasant things happened to her in the process...

Belatedly, you realize that Brittany was probably offended by your failure to answer her questions and by your secrecy about yourself.

Should you find her on the deck of the ship and talk to her?

Or is that completely unnecessary and you will simply wait for the steamboat to arrive in Port-Williams to get rid of this naive young girl?