Silath's Journal: Day 8 - October 26, 2281

Silath's Journal: Day 8 - October 26, 2281
I only slept four hours this morning, if you could call it sleep. There was too much going through my head. Too many worries I wouldn't be able to defeat House.
Decided to go back to the Strip the way I had come, along the 95. Found a dead body in a rad suit by Clark Field Resevouir; decided to put it on, and with some rad-x explored the (what appeared to be) pumping station. Inside were a rediculous amount of ghouls, judging by the fact a lot of them were in NCR armor, it looks like the NCR had been here and something happened to release a lot of rads... Like Camp Searchlight. Coincidence?
There wasn't anything terribly interesting inside, mostly a waste of shotgun ammo, aside from the fact those feral ghouls won't be roaming outside to terrorize anyone now. Novac is nearby, so I did them a favor, not that they'll know it.

Stopped by the Grub and Gulp station on the way back up, then the Gunrunners shop to reload some ammo. After that I stopped in Freeside to finally get Jacob Hoff the chems he needed to clean up. Followed him back to the Old Fort and Julie Farkas was very thankfull, and offered me a huge discount on medical supplies as a gift.
Went to Benny's room right after that to talk to Yes Man, but much to my surprise he wasn't there. Wasn't anywhere, that I could find. I figured House had gotten wind of the operation, so I rushed over to the Lucky 38.
Soon as I walked in the door his securitrons started shooting at me. I took them out and made my way up to the penthouse. It was not an easy battle, and one of the goddamn robots fired grenades at me, crippling my legs. I damn near died, but some Med-x, super stimpacks, and hydra saved the day. Barely.

House' massive terminal displayed an eerie message: "Connection Lost..." but, while looking around, I discovered a terminal nearby. It opened a secret door, which led to an elevator... which led to House' life support pod thingy.
I opened it, ignoring the warnings that infection was likely. House was less than thrilled with my decision. He demanded to know why I had ruined his plans.
I explained to him that security and safety is not what is important in this world. I told him I saw no point in living life if people were not free to pursue their dreams. I told him he wanted to make humanity work like his precious robots. What reason, then, to live, without the freedom to try and be happy?

House screamed at me. He called me a blustering idiot, allowing my emotions to get in the way of rebuilding humanity. What kind of 'humanity' would it be, I wondered, if he got his way?
I disabled his nueral network interface, and he fell silent, seemingly resigned to his fate. I didn't see the point in making him suffer; best to be done with this. Put a bullet in his head.

Yes Man was waiting for my when I went back up the elevator to the Penthouse. At this moment, I held the fate of New Vegas. And in doing so the fate of the NCR, and by extension Ceasers Legion.
I sat on the floor and stared at the platinum chip, Yes Man waiting with his electronics humming. I could order the remaining securitrons to shut down. There were the three families of New Vegas, who would most likely step in, but it was possible, even probable, that would leave New Vegas the center of a bloody battle.
It would take vital resources away from the NCR, trying to control the strip, when they needed them most for the battle over the Dam. The most likely outcome would be a victory by Ceasers Legion. An unnaceptable outcome.

No, for now the securitrons would have to maintain control of the strip. Which meant giving the platinum chip to Yes Man, so he could take over the network. I simply held out the chip to the robot, which he took all too cheerily. A few moments later it was in control of the entire remaining Securitron force.
Yes Man's programming would not allow it to do anything without my permission, at least. He told me House had a demonstration planned for me, in a basement of the Lucky 38.

It turns out the chip held software upgrades for the securitrons, allowing them to access previously locked functions. They now had the capability to fire missiles, launch grenades, and use auto-repair abilities. Yes Man claimed their combat prowess had been improved by 235%.
I had three options: I could essentially take House' place on the strip. I could use the remaining securitrons to help the NCR win their battle against Ceasers Legion. Or I could help the Legion win.

Yes Man said I should get to know the various factions of the Mojave; The three families of the strip, the Boomers, and the Brotherhood of Steel. It was up to me to decide how to deal with them.
I think... I think the best option, in the end, is to leave the fate of the Mojave, and the Strip, in the hands of the NCR. They are by no means perfect, and frankly I'd rather have nobody in charge and just leave everyone free to live their lives. But there's always going to be some asshole in charge. We seem incapable of just leaving eachother alone.
So, given the options, the NCR seems the lesser evil. The question now is: how do I let them take power with as little bloodshed as possible? I'll have to use securitrons to eliminate the three families of the strip, but that still leaves the Boomers and the Brotherhood. Guess I'll just have to meet them and see what they're all about.

All this plotting and scheming makes my head spin. I never wanted this, but it's been thrust into my lap regardless. And I don't trust anyone else. I've just got to do the best I can, make things as good as realisticly possible for the Mojave... and pray I don't fuck up too badly.
Time for sleep. Lots and lots of sleep...