Pre-War Garbage Pile

Entries

1. Entry 1

   Municipal-grade refuse, packed and abandoned mid-cycle. Institute analysts use these deposits to date surrounding ruins: the ratio of organic to synthetic material has narrowed predictably over forty years of decomposition.

2. Entry 2

   Scavengers say the good piles smell like nothing. Anything still rotting means the bottom layer hasn't sealed yet, and you'll come up empty. Older traders rank piles by what brand names you can still read on the wrappers.

3. Entry 3

   A faded grocery list was recovered from a pile near Cortez, written on a coupon for a store that opened in 1989. Milk, eggs, batteries - the handwriting is steady, the items unremarkable. The coupon's expiration date is the only thing wrong with it.

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