There are no Kidney Stones in the Commonwealth: How Fallout 4 Saved My Life

By: Caleb J. Ross

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Kidney stones sent Caleb J. Ross to the hospital, but even after an emergency lithotripsy and a tube surgically placed into his kidney, Caleb couldn’t be convinced to drink more water. It took over 400 hours playing in Fallout 4’s post-nuclear Commonwealth, where thirst is a survival mechanic, that Caleb finally made an important connection between hydration and health.

As Caleb writes: “My head is video game shaped, and so rejects many of the lessons that normal shaped heads embrace…In real life, the space between a day with only a glass or two of water and a day spent passing a kidney stone is too wide to motivate action. But in the Fallout 4 commonwealth, the space between a day without water and a missed sniper shot due to a lowered perception rank is narrow and meaningful.”

In this essay Caleb takes the reader from his first kidney stone to his most recent surgery, while navigating the strange logic behind his anti-water lifestyle. “How important can water be if my body has a built-in spigot specifically designed to rid itself of it?” Here is your opportunity to roll your eyes at Caleb’s every poor decision and laugh at his hydration failures through Caleb’s ultimate awakening as a pro-water convert.