Today in the CBO
The View from the BMU
by Nat Wright-Kowalski
19 April 2298 – Boston Common
On certain Tuesdays for the 2297 and 2298 seasons, we will feature one of the settlements where teams in the Boston Minor Union play.
In our sixth trip around the BMU, we will go to the heart of downtown, Boston Common.
The Amazing History of the Common
According to a terminal entry for the very beginning of Boston Common, "When Puritan colonists purchased the land rights to the Common, the price was 30 pounds, and each homeowner paid six shillings. The pasture then became known as the "Common Land" and was used to graze local livestock until 1830. A town shepherd was paid "two shillings and sixpence per head of cowe" to tend townspeople’s livestock.
"The Common was a site for Puritanical punishments, home to a whipping post, pillory, and stocks. Pirates, murderers, and witches were hanged from the tree known as 'The Great Elm,' now gone. Mary Dyer and three other Quakers were also hanged on the Common for their beliefs. A statue of Mary Dyer now stands on the Massachusetts State House lawn.
"Also referred to as a 'trayning field,' over 1000 Redcoats made camp on the Common during the British occupation of Boston in 1775. It was from here that three brigades of Redcoats embarked to make the fateful trip to Lexington and Concord." (You can read all about the history at
https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trai.../boston-common).
2288
Nate stumbled across a Downtown Boston torn apart by the war and occupied by raiders, Gunners, super mutants, and ghouls. He remembered an old bar he would sometimes patronize, and he wanted to relive the good times. That bar was the Prost Bar in the Common "where everybody knows your name." Nate knew some of the regulars there, too. He enjoyed chatting with Sam, pretty Diane, sassy Carla, loopy Woody, bossy Rebecca, NORM!, Coach Ernie, the "prof" Frasier, know-it-all Cliff. Yeah, Nate knew their names, and they his. Nate wondered if any of them were doing their thing at the bar when the bombs fell. And when he walked in, he got his answer.
Cliff and Norm. Friends in life, friends in death
There were warning signs, too, around the Common that it was Swan's territory. Now, Nate used to love the Common for the swan ride on the pond. In fact, after one particular ride with Nora, they found a quiet place among the trees. There, Shaun was conceived, as Nora soon found out. Yes, Nate had fond memories of the Common. But who was this Swan he had to beware of? He found out soon enough when a behemoth, using parts of the swan boat as its armor, emerged from the pond.
Nate fought for his life, freeing the Common of its terrifying monster and laying the foundation for a free zone in Downtown Boston. Eventually, the Brotherhood used the spot as a rendezvous point.
Now
There has been a lot of work on cleaning up the park and making it a meeting point for Downtown settlers. While the area is not as beautiful as it once was, Nate has determined that future productions of working GECKs would guarantee one in the Boston Common area. Nate also hired an artist to make renditions of what Boston Common will one day look like. Nate calls it "Project 2300." If this ever comes to be, Boston Common will be the envy of the world.
Artist renditions of Boston Common in 2300. It looks so realistic!