The results of victory and the sprouts of something new. “New” does not mean “good”...

The years following the victory of the combined forces of The Steel Alliance over a dangerous enemy that threatened the lives of many wasteland inhabitants were a difficult time for you.

You are the one who went by the name Benjamin Caulfield. The one who was also known as "Benny the Fasthand". You are a person who in the past led a small gang of caravan robbers and marauders.

Now your previous human life was just the past. Your human flesh now makes up only a small part of your body. An outside observer, when looking at you, will only see metal...

You look like a robot.

A deadly and frightening mechanism for ordinary people.

An intelligent weapon, inexplicable to most wasteland inhabitants, created using the mysterious lost technologies of the ancient world.

Of course, you made every effort to help the people you met along the way.

You showed leadership and courage in uniting the inhabitants of several settlements in the wasteland. Under your leadership, these disparate settlements became a single organization called “The Steel Alliance”. The destruction of the deadly troops of The Collector, who terrorized the surrounding area, is the merit of The Steel Alliance and you as the leader of this newly created organization.

The gangs under the Collector were truly a mortal threat to the inhabitants of the wasteland. Mass ****, ****, **** exploitation and terrible sadistic experiments... All this was an integral aspect of the activities of The Collector and his armed thugs.

Frightening memories of the bloody **** on the citadel of The Collector appear in your dreams almost every night... This bloody sadist was able to somehow bring under control disgusting creatures that had undergone unimaginably terrible mutations. Deadly monsters with long multi-meter lizard-like bodies and with spiked tentacles growing from the back... Monsters in whose appearance there is almost nothing human left...

On the day of the ****, you and your companions from The Steel Alliance were able to destroy many enemies. Including these monsters. You personally killed The Collector himself. He looked like a tall, bald man crippled by radiation and madness. An old man whose body was covered in nasty tumors and strange metal implants.

You remember the look of his gray eyes.

In addition to the unshakable determination in his eyes, there was something like a premonition...

A presentiment of the desired d e a t h. Was he really glad that his life was over?!

This battle took place a year ago.

Images of mutant monsters and the image of The Collector being killed by you personally continue to haunt you. These images are imprinted in your mind.

These monsters who have lost their human form...

What of the human form remains in your own image?

What if you are just a dangerous robot that can become a deadly threat to humans at any moment?

What if the humanity in your mind weakens over time?

What if you become a monster like those you fought?

Or is your so-called “humanity” something that you continue to cling to like a fragile board in a stormy river - what if it is just an illusory support?

“Humanity” is a pretentious word that does not reflect reality. You, even before your transformation into... your current form, did many unworthy and immoral things. You were part of a gang that robbed everyone who was weaker.

The metamorphosis that took place, which took away your human flesh, shook your psyche. You tried to maintain at least some mental support and therefore you began to help the wasteland inhabitants you met. This path led you to the creation of The Steel Alliance. This path led you to defeat The Collector.

But now that the enemy has been defeated, you are again faced with the question: what should you do next? Can you live in a human society? Or are you just a ticking time bomb? A mechanism with microchips and steel limbs that will sooner or later become a mortal threat to normal people?

All these sad thoughts keep popping up in your mind.

Because of such thoughts, you decided to leave the post of head of The Steel Alliance. You have decided that life among people is not for you.

You are a potential threat. Unpredictable threat.

Even you yourself do not know the principles of operation of the ancient pre-war technologies by which your current metal “body” functions.

So, a year after defeating The Collector, you leave the settlements controlled by The Steel Alliance.

You venture into the far, sparsely populated regions of the wasteland, wandering alone.

Thus another year passes.

During this time, The Steel Alliance organization is headed by the Supreme Tribunal, a collegial governing body that consists of the most authoritative military leaders.

Your name is forgotten over time. Only a few knew him before. Now for most members of The Steel Alliance who have recently joined the organization, you are more of a semi-legendary character. The founder of an organization, who is known as "The Cyborg". An example of perseverance and irresistible power. A mysterious semi-divine creature with steel flesh. This is what neophytes say about you.

Due to the fact that an integral part of your image is a robotic metal “body”, certain standards of behavior associated with this fact appear in The Steel Alliance organization.

Newcomers in the organization are subjected to rigorous physical and psychological training. One of the principles: "The flesh is weak. Steel is reliable!" Memories of "The Cyborg" prompt many of the members of The Steel Alliance to seek modifications to their own bodies. Many ancient ruins, despite the mortal risk, are subjected to a thorough search by detachments of neophyte fighters. Ancient bunkers, ruins of military bases, destroyed metro stations... Many of the neophyte fighters die in such places. But those who remain are not stopped by such sad facts. After all, the goal is noble - to replace any part of weak human flesh with a mechanical robotic implant. It is an honor for each of them to bring appearance closer to the image of the founder of The Steel Alliance!

Therefore, the most successful members of The Steel Alliance have implants that increase their effectiveness in battle. It's entirely appropriate to voluntarily replace your eye with a robotic implant that helps you see in the dark; or replace your left arm with a robotic steel prosthesis, with which you can simply pierce right through the enemy’s body.

How else can you characterize the activities of The Steel Alliance?

The organization's control over several liberated settlements is associated with a constant process of recruiting new members and with increasingly intensifying economic transformations. Each settlement becomes either a military training camp or a logistics supply point and warehouse.

On the issue of managing settlements, we can say the following: all sorts of nonsense like elections have been cancelled. Managed by those who have the best combat experience and the appropriate military rank as a member of The Steel Alliance.

Local residents did not have any objections to this issue. Under the rule of The Steel Alliance, life has indeed become much calmer: gangs of raiders are mercilessly destroyed, as are dangerous representatives of the animal world. Trade is developing. Using technology that was obtained during the exploration of ancient bunkers, local residents can gradually increase the production of food and water.

Above each of the settlements flies a flag with the symbol of The Steel Alliance - a gray fist on a black background. A steel fist crushing the weakness that has shrouded the world in darkness.

“Weakness is a vicious darkness for the mind. The whole world is mired in vice. Strength is the light of truth. We bring light. We are strength." - a couple of quotes from the Catechism for Neophyte Fighters, written by colonel-caduceator Richard Miles.

During your absence, The Steel Alliance has undergone changes.

Everything in this world is changing.

Even when changes are unnoticeable, they still happen.

And the more time passes, the more significant the changes will be.

The Steel Alliance became a powerful centralized organization with a large number of armed units, strict discipline and an army hierarchy.

An integral aspect of the activities of such an organization was the desire for expansion.

Relying on a group of controlled settlements, the troops of The Steel Alliance began to advance to new previously unexplored territories.

It was logical.

The need for resources, for new workers and candidates for neophyte fighter status.

And, of course, it is quite normal that the expansion was explained by the desire to improve the lives of all inhabitants of the wasteland.

“They live in darkness. Only we know the truth! Only our strength will bring them liberation. We will rid them of threats. We will destroy the monsters. We will teach humans to live according to the Law of Steel!" - approximately such speeches were heard each time in front of the next formation of neophyte fighters, a detachment of which was to be sent to turbulent and dangerous frontiers.

So, while the one who is now known as “The Cyborg” wanders the distant outskirts of the wasteland alone, the results of his deeds change many things in the lives of a large number of humans.

And not only humans...