In retrospect, Fallout New Vegas was prophetic Options

[Wounded Ronin]

Recently, I have decided to re-install and play Fallout: New Vegas. It's a little bit of a trip down memory lane for me because they almost perfectly captured the look and feel of wandering around in the desert in Nevada circa 2010. Although there are no giant mutated insects or anything like that, since Nevada is an open carry state there are often people walking around in desert-appropriate clothing carrying longarms and handguns, and there are also weird artifacts out in the desert, like abandoned mines, old car husks, bathtubs, and some really weird and eccentric things. For anyone who hasn't been, I would really suggest checking out Nelson, NV to see some of the strange artifacts that are out in the desert that were collected by one family and put on display.

As I have been playing the game again, I realize that is pretty much predicted recent events in Nevada. You might recall Cliven Bundy had an armed standoff with the federal government, and he's still out there in the desert with his cattle today. Well armed, extremely conservative, and harkening back to a virtuous past that never was, he's pretty much Ceasar's Legion. Ceasar's flag is even a two headed bull, isn't it? It's like Bundy's cattle.

The NCR is like all the immigrants coming from California, and making Nevada politically purple. Although many are fleeing high costs and regulatory burden of California, they nevertheless bring with them left-wing political values that are at odds with the strident libertarianism that has historically characterized Nevada. For example, it's hard to believe, but there's a gun control measure on the upcoming ballot for universal background checks or something like that, which is traditional anathema in Nevada.

And of course who you have caught in the middle in a sense are the older folks who don't necessarily have a lot of resources who have grown up in a very rural Nevada setting but are now having to deal with recent economic, political, and cultural changes. That's like all the small independent towns in Fallout: NV who feel ambivalent about the NCR but nevertheless also want a little more economic stability.

In conclusion, play some Fallout: NV, and then visit NV and explore the desert wilderness with your longarm while you still can! It seems like the NCR is moving in and in the future things might not be so libertarian and free. (And remember that unlike video game characters, real people hauling packs around the desert need 1 gallon of water per person per day.)