“Vox Populi”
A group of technically savvy rebellious citizens who were attempting to reveal the exploits of the government and warn of the impending disasters in the months leading up to the cataclysm. Seen mostly as conspiracy nutcases, pranksters, or terrorists by the rest of the populace, they attempted to spread their messages by hijacking communication systems, mostly radio and cell towers, but also took advantage of ham radio, littering the streets with flyers, hacking popular news websites, and several attempts to hijack television news broadcasts. They claimed to have cracked the encryption on the secured networks connecting the labs, but it is more likely that they had been contacted by a rogue scientist who had realized the full implications of what was to come. In addition to the information relating to the cataclysm, their messages also included various conspiracies relating to continuity of government plans being enacted, the heightened tensions between the Chinese/NK, aliens, and more. In general, they were nonviolent, but because they lacked a strong leader, splinter groups formed which attempted to destroy or disrupt government facilities. In general, members of VP did not associate closely with one another, and mainly carried out their plans in their basements, with some members attempting to duplicate the government research in crude basement labs, while others assembled black market radio equipment in theirs. It is suspected that some radio stations may have acted as VP fronts, or that the VP may have other covert meeting areas, possibly underground or in the deep woods.
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The basement labs can now be assumed to belong to VP members, and if they contain mutagen/purifier, it’s assumed that they were a successful attempt to duplicate lab notes.
New flyers warning of the cataclysm can be added, but they should remain relatively rare, as the government would have cracked down on anyone seen handing them out.
Occasional radio broadcasts can be detected, with snippets warning of zombies, government VIPs being escorted by heavy security details to undisclosed locations, and interdimensional beings.
Radio stations can sometimes be found as VP fronts, and a possible mission could be to visit on and recover the VP information stored there (way more useful information than the national weather transcripts).
Sometimes VP bases can appear in underground caverns connecting to the sewers, or in cabins in the woods. Loot here is mostly lore and electronics, slim chance of explosives.
Possible new vehicle with mobile radio/cell tower. No function now, but possibly used in future missions, or to set up communications with NPCs.
Possible groundwork for an NPC faction.
Ham radios possibly being a method to communicate, for now, another thing to disassemble.
with the airwaves: you’d have to be to ensure your bots wouldn’t be interfered with!)