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New Jersey

New Jersey was a U.S. state before the Great War.

Background

Inhabited since at least 13,000 BCE, the area that came to be known as New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with European colonizers arriving in the early 17th century. The name came when the British seized the region, naming it after the British Jersey.[Non-game 1] The province became one of the Thirteen Colonies that supported the American Revolution,[2] becoming the site of several vital battles, and remained on the Union side in the American Civil War. The 19th century also saw the incorporation of Atlantic City, which would become a major urban center on the Atlantic coast.[3]

By the Great War, New Jersey was a part of one of the eastern commonwealths, with Atlantic City enjoying a significant degree of automation in its more affluent sectors (not unlike West Virginia).[4] However, it also had its own share of social ills, including drug addiction and poverty,[5] though New Jersey natives took pride in their home state and would take umbrage at someone pointing that out.[6]

The nuclear holocaust had a profound impact on the state. In Atlantic City, rampant flooding hit and submerged entire swathes of urbanized areas.[7] However, the biggest impact was on the Pine Barrens, where the nuclear fallout twisted the once-natural region, leading to the emergence of the Overgrown, a parasitic type of flora capable of infecting living creatures and presenting a persistent threat to the areas of New Jersey covered by or adjacent to the Barrens. However, the most notable and near-mythical of these mutants, not unlike the deathclaws in New California, was the Jersey Devil: An apex predator that could be encountered in the Barrens and in the city itself.[8]

Despite the mutations and nuclear devastation, New Jersey was one of the earliest examples of recovery after the Great War. Atlantic City reorganized eventually under Mayor Timothy Lane, with a triumvirate of factions (the Munis, the Showmen, and the Lombardi Family) ensuring the city retained a fraction of its pre-War luster, thanks to mass water purification, power production, farms outside the city, emergency services, and even leisure activities that attracted caravans and visitors despite the ever-present threat of the Barrens.[9] Even the Pine Barrens remained inhabited, with their inhabitants called "pineys," as before the War.[10]

Despite that prosperity, New Jersey was sometimes still used as the punchline of jokes, such as one where it is ambiguous as to what is worse: the reality of the wasteland or waking up in Hoboken.[11]

Locations

Appearances

New Jersey appears physically in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update. The state's registration plate first appeared in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues, and is mentioned by the abbreviation "N.J." in Fallout 4.[2]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ NJ license plate render
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Join, or Die poster, Museum of Freedom
  3. ↑ City hall sign
  4. ↑ See example of Protectron use as a driver.
  5. ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What's New Jersey like?"
    Joey Bello: "New Jersey? Oof, freakin' horrible. Poisonous chems on the streets, filth everywhere, people killin' each other over a can of beans... And then the bombs dropped. Ah-ha, hey-oh!"
    (Joey Bello's dialogue)
  6. ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "New Jersey sucks. Noted."
    Joey Bello: "Whoa, watch your mouth! Huh? Ain't nobody earned the right to talk about New Jersey until you've called it home. Truth is, it's not as bad as some places and helluva lot better than some others. Atlantic City's a real good time if you've got the caps. I'd tell you to tell 'em Joey sent you if you ever find your way to AC, but it's probably a bad idea if you're a fan of havin' unbroken legs."
    (Joey Bello's dialogue)
  7. ↑ City hall terminal entries; terminal, 2/14/2078
  8. ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What is the Jersey Devil, exactly?"
    Antonio Russo: "It's an old folk legend from the Pine Barrens. Goes back hundreds of years. Legend has it that a broad by the name of Leeds was pregnant with her thirteenth child. Well, she wasn't happy about it. She cursed the child before it was even born, saying it would be the 'devil.' So when she gave birth, this handsome schmuck came out of her. A monstrous dragon-like abomination with a face only a mother could love, 'cept she didn't. The Devil fled into the Pine Barrens, and basically became the stuff of legend.That's the tale, if you believe it. I don't care if he came from Mars so long as he makes me some caps."
    (Antonio Russo's dialogue)
  9. ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "What are the different departments?"
    Frieda Lane: "Let's see now. There's my department, the Power Production and Management Division. We produce electricity and distribute it. I also handle the Water Purification and Distribution Division. Same thing, just with clean water instead of power. There's the Internal Revenue Service. Buttercup heads that. They're in charge of...uh, collecting taxes to keep everything running. They're the auditors you've probably seen around town. Then there's the Agricultural and Caravanning Services. Tim oversees that himself. He manages the output of the farms on the outskirts and ensures the farmers and their farmhands are all properly compensated. Additionally, they distribute food in the city so no one goes hungry. They also trade with the caravans 'round here for essentials. There's the Emergency Services Division. Anna runs that. They're the paramedics and firefighters. Dispatchers. She makes sure every emergency is addressed and that the right people are sent to handle it. Finally, there's the Pine Barrens Forestry Division, led by Sloane. They're basically our park rangers. They handle the Overgrown threat. You won't see them around City Hall much as they spend the day usually scouting the perimeter of the city."
    (Frieda Lane's dialogue)
  10. ↑ Joey Bello: "Come on! I'd heard Appalachia has its hillbillies but you're telling me there's really a whole group of rednecks out here worshipping a giant bug? I mean sure, the Piney's back home have their Jersey Devil but at least you don't find 'em praying to it."
    (Dialogue)
  11. ↑ Vault 76 dweller: "Heard any rumors lately?"
    Herschel Klein: "Here's one I heard: we're all just living in a simulation. That's right: none of this is real. Die here and you'll just wake up in a memory lounger somewhere in Hoboken, New Jersey. To be honest, I'm not sure which reality is worse! Heyo, I'm here all week."
    (Herschel Klein's dialogue)
Non-game
  1. ↑ New Jersey on Wikipedia