South of Merkadome, beyond the Cemetery of Metal Giants, the radiation is so powerful that not even Mutards can survive there for long. It is an inhospitable area where nothing can survive… except for the Irradiated.
The Irradiated (who refer to themselves as the True Heirs) are one of the strangest, most isolated and least numerous factions in the Wasteland. Their origins date back to the days when ancient nations fought each other, using increasingly destructive weapons. In this race to create devices that would enable them to eradicate their enemies, laboratories and factories were needed to design and experiment with new forms of mass destruction. Most of these facilities, located in secret locations with strong security measures, succumbed, like everything else, to the great purge that was unleashed after the creation of the Megalopolises and which ended up shaping the Wasteland as we know it today. But one of them, known as Aurora, built inside a gigantic sphere of an ultra-resistant experimental material, survived this catastrophe when it was hermetically sealed.
For generations, its original inhabitants survived, isolated from the rest of the world and the events that followed, thanks to the base’s self-sufficient systems. Its inhabitants, descendants of an elite group of scientists and researchers, eventually became convinced that they were the only inhabitants of the world, which they would enjoy, by right, when the time was right. Based on these ideas, the inhabitants of the base created a suffocating society in which a council, made up of the wisest members, dictated the rules of the community. But over the years, the corruption of power and the lack of contact with the outside world ended up reinforcing this egocentric conception, which took on pseudo-religious overtones by mixing some of the religions of the World of Yore with their strange beliefs.
Those already considered True Heirs were convinced that they had been designated by a Supreme Intelligence to represent the resurgence of a new and improved human species, redeemed from its past mistakes. They established a strict hierarchy among their members, and social norms became increasingly strict as their ideology became more radical. But no matter how advanced the base’s technology was, the passage of time made it increasingly difficult to contain the leaks from the nuclear reactors that powered it. Gradually and progressively exposed to radiation, the inhabitants, against all odds, adapted to this new and lethal environment, as had happened centuries ago with other animal species after nuclear catastrophes. Their bodies, as a result of contact with this Sacred Manna, underwent subtle changes, such as skin colouration, which took on fluorescent hues, hair loss and a substantial loss of fertility.
And for some unfathomable reason, their time has now come. The Irradiated have decided to leave their refuge to complete the mission entrusted to them: to make the world in their own image and likeness. As their prophecies had foretold, with the opening of the spherical base, the New Man emerged from an Egg. And the fact that they have discovered that there are other inhabitants in the Wasteland only means that these must be eradicated as final proof of their devotion.
The Nuclear Cardinals are responsible for leading and guiding the New Humans in their struggle to make the world a place worthy of them. They are considered sacred figures within the organisation, and their word is considered law.
In addition to their leadership within the faction, the Nuclear Cardinals are also responsible for the training and education of the Disciples. They are charged with teaching and transmitting the doctrine of the Irradiated Ones, and ensuring that all followers of the organisation adhere to the teachings and commandments of the Supreme Intelligence.
