Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Fan Man

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The Fan Man is a Minutemen Survivor flying infantry. Planned to be voiced by Wes Johnson.

Tactical analysis

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Overview
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History
"I can see your house from here!"

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After the razing of Embry in an inferno of atomic hellfire, the survivors were lost, scattered, and alone. Different groups dealt with this situation in different ways. Some stayed where they were, waiting for help to eventually arrive. Some attempted to rebuild what they lost with what materials they had. But many groups tried to cross the atomic wastelands through any means possible. Such a journey was, suffice to say, unbelievably risky. In the middle of a desert that should contain nothing but glass and dust, it is not uncommon to find a lone body, practically mummified by the hot, dry weather, and the radiation killing any decomposing microbes. The amount of people lost to making these desperate journeys after the bombs fell is incalculable. But there is a reason behind what seems to be madness. Fallout was just a shift of the wind away; those trying to rebuild their homes risked losing everything to radiation sickness killing all food sources and causing horrific deaths. Those waiting for help often ran out of something in their wait, whether that was food, water, or simply patience. And even those thought shielded from a radioactive death risked death from innumerable sources. Roving bands of thugs roamed the land, using the nuclear apocalypse as a blank check for mayhem. Military forces would take advantage of communities, forcibly taking supplies, loot, and even forcing conscription on locals. The once beautiful wildlife had become mutated into unrecognizable forms, the kind that can only be imagined in nightmares. Escape seemed the only solution.

Thus, escape attempts became more common, even as the death count rose. Every possible method of escape a sane mind could devise was tried. People would walk on foot for weeks, hoping to avoid radiation pits. Vehicles, either previously owned or 'acquired', were used to transport people as far as they could by land, air, or sea. A series of tunnels had been dug in certain areas during the war; despite the dangers inside them, it was hoped they would be less than the dangers on the surface. Of course, for some people, such possibilities were not possible. And thus, desperate survivors turned to every possible method of escape an insane mind could devise. Many of the more shocking results have become so famous or infamous, that it is rumored they have been permanently recorded and preserved by Minutemen themselves, as precious artifacts to the human spirit. A village was found to have welded pots and pans into impromptu suits of armor, hoping it would stave off radiation poisoning. A broken truck was found, shot from an impromptu 'catapult' in the hope to cross the Yangtze river. A group of survivors even tried to intentionally antagonize a Commonwealth base, in the hope of destroying, repairing, and commandeering a helicopter. One of the most famous attempts, however, was that of the 'kite villagers'.

One village that had chosen to wait had paid the price; fallout had blown their way. What had been a sizeable village, relatively untouched by the war, became a ghost town, inhabited by only 10 survivors. Miles from even the nearest village, they turned to their impromptu leader for help. Their leader had made kites in their town, and she was good at her job. Setting to work, she was able to design a set of 'kites' for her and her companions. Like Yuan Huangtou, they took to the sky on a kite, but like Yuan Huangtou, their trip was to end in disaster. Crossing the shattered, radiation-scarred wasteland, one by one the villagers fell. Starvation, radiation, and sheer exhaustion claimed victims until only two were left. Their leader still survived, and their youngest member, a soldier stationed in their village, was all that remained. Drifting desperately, they flew together until they saw buildings unlike they had ever seen before. Both dying of radiation sickness, their skin so blistered that witnesses say they barely even appeared human anymore, and touched down, believing themselves to be in paradise. They were quickly taken to the base hospital but, despite the doctor's best efforts and the quality of the Minutemen's resources, they were unable to save either of them. Both retold their story, before dying from the effects of their incredible trip.

But it was not to be their final flight. As the base staff buried them and sent their story to the Castle. Mechanics worked for weeks, designing a powerful fan for infantry to fly on. Using material from the Duster Bomber wings, they made a constant stream of air that would propel a soldier in a similar manner to a helicopter. But the problem was that teaching someone to put their faith in a machine barely bigger than a man to act as a flying device isn't very comforting.

Thus these new Fan Man must first prove themselves in a series of tests designed to strain the applicant's courage to a breaking point. They must wrestle down mutated cattle with bare hands, face down court eunuchs in a series of mental trials, and finally must go against a Delta Ranger in single combat. Each test monitors the soldier's focus under pressure, and when the tests are finished, they must take them again, this time being rapidly jerked about by localized tremors. If they can keep their focus through this section of testing and are still willing to continue, they move on to flight training. They use trainer fans to conform themselves to the motions of flying and eventually move on to simulated combat with infantry and aerial enemies. The process is long and often suffers from a high drop-out rate.

By the end of the training, only a fraction of the original Minutemen that signed up have made it through the grueling obstacles. They must finally retake their entrance test, with their unpowered fan attached to their back. By this point, the fan is merely a natural extension of their bodies, and on completion, a senior Fan Man will power up their pack, and ascend with them into flight. Taking to the skies to help another group of survivors undertake their legendary trip to the stars.