Ghost Towns
General
The devastation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons (not to mention the passage of time) has left a heavy mark on almost every man-made structure built before the war. Often, the only buildings left reasonably intact are those that were made of stone or concrete, and even then, much of their interiors may have significantly decayed. Wooden houses may still stand, but they are often shells of what they once were. With windows shattered, the elements and vermin of the wastes have inundated old-world buildings, eroding drywall to gypsum dust, and reducing most interiors almost to bare stone or wood. As decades of neglect lead to corrosion of metals and even stone, many tall buildings that survived the holocaust have collapsed under their own weight.
In the midst of all this, throughout the Shadow-Over Valley, one will occasionally discover completely unscathed buildings that appear as though they may have been created yesterday. They bear the styles of Old-World buildings based on the architectural shadows that remain in ruined cities, but these buildings show no sign of ever having been occupied, much less affected by the war. Sometimes these buildings are singular structures, sometimes there are clusters of them built in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason, and other times there are entire, small cities constructed, complete with fittings for water, sewer and electrical grids to be placed.
These are called Ghost Towns, and while rare, they can be found all over the valley. No one knows what purpose they serve. It is commonly believed that they are built by packs of pre-war robots, but it is unknown if they are enacting the inscrutable plan of some person or agency, or if they are merely carrying out directives issued from programming that has decayed over time and become corrupt.
Many people avoid the Ghost Towns, seeing them as a bad omen; rogue machines have caused quite a bit of trouble for the people of the Valley in the past. Many people would not want to inhabit a Ghost building for fear that it may somehow mark them in some way and bring the wrath of the machines upon them in the future. Others fear that the machines have a purpose, and will return to their creations. They simply do not want to be living there when they do.
Some people scoff at such beliefs as groundless superstition, and actively hunt for Ghost Towns for the purpose of finding ready-made settlements.
