The kid was a welcome change. He was a lot like Walter in some ways but in others he was more like Megan- more like a normal kid. Sean could've never gotten Walter to play catch with him but here he was with this wonderful child out in the Irish sun throwing a ball back and forth.
The lad had made a Baked Alaska with Louise the day before- Sean had chuckled as a icing covered Ralph had explained to them how it was the most scientifically interesting dessert, in a echo of a conversation they'd had with Walter at a similar age.
At nightime when they tucked the boy into Walter's old bed, instead of them reading him bedtime stories Ralph would tell them fantastical stories painting Walter as the hero of every one of them. They never failed to leave the room misty eyed.
Through the child they felt so close to the son they'd failed to connect with. They had strong a feeling that when he returned they'd be able to rebuild the broken bridge that was their family and spend their remaining years being the type of parents to Walter that they should've been all along.
Walter paced back and forth as he held the phone to his ear. "We have discovered fission reactions erupting within an inaccessible chamber in the ruins. It's raising concerns that a further explosion could take place." Walter began. "The Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants in Kiev reported a 40 per cent rise in neutron emissions from the chamber recently. But dismantling it will take 30-40 years so we need a solution that'll work now. We are studying the smouldering uranium fuel masses buried within Subreactor Room 305/2 to assess whether they are likely to stabilise on their own or whether a dangerous intervention will become necessary to defuse the situation. This might involve drilling into the chamber and spraying it with gadolinium nitrate to soak up the neutrons and choke off the reactions. But it is difficult to assess the severity of the situation without neutron sensors in place" he admitted "We have only assumptions."
"So what do you suggest o' mighty leader?" Toby asked. "I want to send in robots that'll be able to withstand the glaring radiation and humidity to install neutron and temperature sensors in the chamber and to retrieve samples to give us a clearer picture of what is taking place. We can formalate a plan from there. Happy can you come up with something that we can build here?" Walter asked. Happy frowned. She easily could but she wished she was building them herself "consider it done boss. I'll have something sent to your team within an hour" she replied.
"Next is the matter of the cooling tanks. The radioactive water needs to be disposed of. Now we can have most other radionuclides removed but there's still going to be more titanium in the water then I'd like. In small doses it's not harmful but we've got to get rid of 1.37 million tonnes- 70% more than we can dispose of safely into the ocean and for obvious reasons evaporation isn't a option. We are going to be working with TEPCO towards a solution there but I'd welcome any ideas you all have" Walter wasn't exspecting to be met with silence it wasn't very often the team were flummoxed but he'd been asking a lot of them recently. "Well let me know if you think of anything. I think this concludes this meeting for now. Speak soon"
Walter's head pounded as he stumbled towards the bathroom, he felt sick and dizzy. As he heaved into the sink he felt overheated. As he brushed away his sweat soaked locks from his face with his fingers he felt something come out into his hands. He froze with fear as he discovered what that something was. A chunk of his lush black curls lay mockingly in his hands.
Not good.