LaN: Chapter eleven
20. September 2019. Mike looks at the LED displays. The control rods retract. It's the last few seconds that the Three Mile Island One Nuclear Power Plant is operational. His colleague had pressed the emergency shutdown. As the control rods moved in, Mike became more aware that he would lose his job in a few weeks. It didn't need him anymore.
"All control rods are retracted." said one of the operators.
Mike put his fist in front of his mouth.
It was over. Three Mile Island was finally shut down. Forty years after the meltdown. Mike's eyes turned red. The tears in his eyes burned like acid. He walked slowly to the Big Control Panel and put his hand on it.
"Was nice with you." said Mike softly.
Memories flashed through his mind. How he met his wife, in that control room. His first SCRAM. Now it was all over. His colleagues began to cool the reactor core. Since Mike was here in his free time, he went home. It was too painful. He pulled his VW Golf into the driveway. On the other side of the river he could see the nuclear power plant. The cooling towers which still give off steam. Mike went to the river. What should he do? He went into his house through the back door. Though it was quiet, he heard a sob. Fourteen year old Natasha was lying on the sofa, crying, holding a gray stuffed cat. Mike sat down next to her. He put his hand on her back.
"Has it happened again?" asked Mike.
Natasha nodded. She didn't look at her father. When she opened her eyes, the tears burned.
"I don't want to be Natasha. I don't want to anymore." Natasha sobbed.
"No. Please don't say that. I think Natasha is great." said Mike.
"They said my mother ran away because she thought I was too fat. I want to go away. Far away."
"It might be possible. But please don't cry any more."
"What? What happened? Why cry any more?"
"We're off the grid. Three Mile Island is down." Natasha hugged her plush cat even tighter.
"No. No! No! No! You lie!" screamed Natasha.
"Tasha. Please."
"No... I... It hurts so much."
Mike hugged his daughter.
"Shh. All right. We're starting over."
"How? How should we start over?"
"We're moving. It's just an idea, but you can make friends."
"Where to where?"
"I don't know. New York. With Nine Mile Point. Or or Nebraska, with the Cooper nuclear power plant. Or Point beach, in Wisconsin."
"Salem, or Royal Woods."
"Exactly. We'll buy a house somewhere and you'll make new friends."
"I don't know if I can even have friends."
"You will. I promise you." Mike said, hugging Natasha tightly.
Natasha woke up in the morning. She heard a rumble from outside. She got up and looked out the window. A large front of thunderstorms approached Royal Woods. A delicate smell of bacon and eggs filled her nostrils. Natasha went to the kitchen. Lori cooked.
"Good Morning, did you sleep well?" asked Lori.
"Yes. Did you look out the window?" asked Natasha.
"No. Why do you think?"
"There's a big storm front coming. We have to start earlier than expected."
"Okay. First we eat."
"Definitely."
The two sat down and ate. While the two were eating, Natasha's cell phone rang. It was Mike. She took the call.
"Tasha, it's going to rain soon. Come over here right now and bring Lori with you." said Mike.
"Okay. I'll be right there." said Natasha, and hung up.
"Get changed. We have to go to my house."
"Why?" asked Lori.
"The thunderstorm will be a problem."
Lori nodded and ran to her room to change. Natasha took fresh clothes and changed in the bathroom. When the two were done, they immediately got into Lori's car and drove to Natasha's house. As Lori pulled up on the driveway of Natasha's house and exited, Lori noticed the storm front. The clouds were dark. Natasha and Lori went into the back yard where Mike was already unloading the trailer. He was busy with the gauges.
"Take the measuring devices first. They are the most sensitive." said Mike.
Lori and Natasha went to the trailer as quickly as possible and took out the gauges. Just as Lori had gotten the last gauge to safety, it started to rain. Now only lead plates and the barrels were left on the trailer. Lori hauled the barrels, and Natasha and Mike the lead plates. And as Mike and Natasha carried the last sheet of lead into the living room, there was lightning and a tremendously loud thunder. Natasha screamed, let go of the lead sheet, and ducked to the ground. The lead plate landed on Mike's foot and he howled in pain.
"Ahh! My fucking foot! That whore lead plate!" Yelled Mike. Mike sat down next to Natasha, holding his foot.
"Oh my god. Are you all right?" asked Lori.
"No. Fucking lead plate." said Mike.
"Can I help you?" asked Lori.
"Get Cookie from Natasha's room." said Mike.
"Cookie?"
"A plush gray cat. She always calms Natasha down during thunderstorms."
Lori went into Natasha's room and took the plush gray cat from Natasha's bed. She went back and gave them to Natasha. Natasha took the cookie and hugged the plush cat.
"It's good that you're here." said Natasha to the plush cat.
Mike noticed Lori wondering why Natasha was so attached to that plush cat.
"She got cookies from her mother. That's why she's so attached to them." said Mike. Lori sat down next to Natasha and put her hand on her back.
"Don't worry. It's safe in the house." said Lori.
At that moment there was thunder again, and Natasha got a fright.
"When will this finally be over?" Natasha said whimpering.
"Soon. It'll be over soon." said Lori.
"It's definitely over by noon today." said Mike.
After an hour the thunderstorms stopped. Natasha got up and was glad. "Finally. Should we continue?" asked Natasha.
"Of course." said Lori.
The three got up and carried the lead plates into the basement. There they began to build the lead plates according to Natascha's plans. Natasha had chosen a tub principle. Mike and Lori put three sheets of lead next to each other. Natasha began to connect the panels with screws. When she was done, Mike started caulking with silicone. The walls were particularly difficult. But supported with boards, Natasha was able to screw the walls. Then all four walls stood. Mike caulked and Lori and Natasha prepared the ceiling. That was the hard part. But even then it was sealed. Using a cutting wheel, Lori cut a door into the wall, which Natasha attached with hinges. Mike cut a round hole in the ceiling and Lori siliconed a filter, pump and air duct to it. Then Natasha pounded a hole in the basement ceiling with a sledgehammer, connecting the air duct to the chimney. Lori inserted a Geiger counter tube into the air duct behind the filter, and placed a cable in the lab envelope. There she connected it to a Geiger counter. The pump started to create a vacuum in the lab and everything worked. Mike set up large LED lamps, which were extremely bright. Now Mike put the barrels in and Natasha pushed in a table. Lori put the gauges on the table. Then Mike came into the lab with gloves and the thirteen fuel rods, and placed them in the radiation protection containers. Lori sealed the ceiling and the lab was complete.
"That looks ugly." said Lori.
"Yes, it's not nice." said Mike.
"I wish I could say it's beautiful. But it's a huge lead box." said Natasha.
"We should start." said Mike.
"Definitely." said Natasha. The three went to the lab. Mike picked up a notepad and Natasha put on gloves.
"Okay. Let's start with fuel assembly series 17-BWR-6-004." said Mike.
Lori turned on the gamma spectrum analyzer and set the small screen to Precision Analysis mode. Natasha took the appropriate fuel rod with a pair of tongs, and took out one of the uranium fuel pellets. She put it in with the tongs and the machine started analyzing it.
"How long will it take?" asked Lori.
"Long. The longer it analyzes, the more precise the results. Now! Now it's reached one percent!" said Natasha happily.
"You did well girls. Natasha. Now row 17-BWR-6-463." said Mike.
Natasha took the appropriate fuel rod with the tongs and took out one of the uranium fuel pellets. She placed the pellet in the gamma spectrum analyzer and the analysis began. Lori noticed that Mike was watching that one fuel pellet closely.
"Is something Mike?" asked Lori.
"Exactly this production line was in the reactor when the incident happened. His brothers took me to the hospital." Mike said.
"Oh. Right. There's no danger of that now, is there?" asked Lori.
"No. It's too weakly radioactive to be dangerous to us." said Natasha.
"What do we want to do?" asked Mike.
"What do you mean? We're doing research here." said Lori.
"Yes. But the analysis takes a long time. We measure the radiation that occurs during decay. And the longer it measures, the more accurate the results." said mike.
"So we have free time then?" asked Lori.
"Exactly." said Mike.
"We can go to the park." said Natasha.
"I can't think of anything. Let's go to the park." said Lori.
The three went upstairs to the bathroom and washed their hands thoroughly. Then they went to the park. The weather was now pleasant. Then the three heard a voice.
"Mike. Come here." "John?"
"Yes. Come into the bushes."
Lori, Natasha and Mike went into the bushes. John Miller and a girl were sitting in the bushes with binoculars. The girl was fourteen years old, had very dark brown, almost black-looking, wavy hair, which reached her shoulders. She was wearing black pants and a black sweater.
"What are you doing here?" asked Mike.
"We're spying. You idiot!" said the girl.
"Oh. So this is your daughter Eve?" asked Mike.
"Yes she is." Miller said.
"Dad, didn't you hear what she said?" said Natasha.
"Yeah. You're taking it easy Mike." said Lori.
"Eve never means anything bad. She can't control it because of her Tourrete Syndrome." Miller said.
"It's always the same... Xenon! Sentence you say dad." said Eve.
"If people didn't know, they would think you were just being mean." Miller said.
"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Mike.
"Watch Chevalier. Right now she's at the playground with her daughter." Miller said.
"Why?" asked Lori.
"Because we're making a plan in block one. We have to let Chevalier and Rivera become a couple." Miller said.
"Why?" asked Natasha.
"Because the two of them are too dangerous alone. If the two become a couple, Chevalier wouldn't be inclined to give orders like that, and Rivera would be more agreeable too." Miller said.
"Can't these two do it alone?" asked Mike.
"They're too shy. Or too in love to say it." Miller said.
"Chevalier has weird taste... Helium! in men. A guy who looks like Anatoly Dyatlov makes her heart pound." said Eve.
"Anatoly Dyatlov?" asked Lori.
"The one responsible for the Chernobyl disaster. Rivera looks like Dyatlov." said Natasha.
"Exactly. Every time he gives an order, I want to say 'Yes Comrade Dyatlov'." Miller said.
"Let's move on. Bye, and please keep a low profile. Chevalier shouldn't think you're stalkers." said Mike.
"Technically, we're stalkers." Miller said.
Lori, Natasha and Mike came out of the bush and kept going.
The three of them walked in the park for another hour, and then they went back to the lab. Natasha looked at the result on the screen.
"Dad, look at this." said Natasha.
Mike looked at the analysis.
"This is the cheapest uranium I've ever seen." said Mike.
"That means?" asked Lori.
"That there is already such a great impurity here that it should be forbidden."
"So someone is intentionally badging the fuel?" asked Lori.
"That's my guess. There's a large amount of Uranium 238 in here. Reactors can't split that. Since the amount of uranium 235 is sufficient, the team in the control room doesn't notice anything." said Mike.
"Is this dangerous?" asked Lori.
"No. But quite irresponsible." said Natasha.
"We are scientists. We are committed to the truth." said Mike.
"I'm not a scientist." said Lori.
"Yes, Lori. You are a scientist. You started the analysis. You helped us a lot. You are a scientist." said Natasha.
"Does that mean we continue researching?" asked Lori.
"Exactly. With this work we are doing something important." said Mike.
"That's right. We will deliver the best results and ensure normalcy." said Natasha.
"Then we leave the fuel pellets in the measuring devices overnight. Then the analysis should be very precise." said Mike.
"That means we have to wait again." said Natasha.
"Yes. What time is it actually?" asked Lori.
Mike looked at his watch. It showed 6:03 p.m.
"Oh, time for dinner." said Mike.
"Good idea. We should decontaminate our hands like we did earlier." said Natasha.
Lori and Mike nodded. The three went into the bathroom and washed their hands thoroughly. Natasha used a Geiger counter to check hands and clothing for contamination. It wasn't measurable. That means the safety precautions are working. As the three of them ate potatoes and baked cheese for dinner, they talked about Mike's work.
"When will reactor one be started up?" asked Lori.
"Tomorrow. Then a procedure will begin which will last twenty-four hours. Then Royal Woods One will produce electricity again." Mike said.
"I'd love to see that." said Natasha.
"I believe you." said Mike.
"What I would also like to see is a research reactor that is open at the top." said Natasha.
"To see the Cherenkov radiation?" asked Mike.
"Yes. It's such a pretty color." said Natasha.
"What color? Oh right, we've talked about that before. About the same blue as my top." said Lori.
"The Cherenkov radiation is beautiful and yet it is the blue of death." said Mike.
"Beautiful and dangerous at the same time." said Natasha. And then you will go to work tomorrow?" Lori asked.
"Of course. I enjoy working." Mike said.
"Never thought I would." Natasha said with a sarcastic tone.
"You're just jealous." Mike said, grinning.
"I am." Natasha said, beginning to grin slightly.
"But now another question. How are we going to stop this crime?" asked Lori.
"First we will do research. And not just our fuel elements. We also have to go to the interim storage facility near Great Lake City and examine the nuclear waste." said Mike.
"Isn't that dangerous? I mean, fresh uranium fuel isn't that dangerous, but nuclear waste, spent fuel, is highly radioactive." said Lori.
"A small part of the radiation comes through the extremely safe CASTOR casks. We place the portable measuring devices next to the CASTOR casks and let them measure." said Natasha.
"Exactly. And when we have enough precise measurements, we'll contact either Professor Clarkson, Professor Schröder, or Sergeant Black." said Mike.
"Sergeant Black?" asked Lori.
"Yes. Who is Sergeant Black?" asked Natasha.
"Sergeant Black is in the military. He's responsible for emergency evacuation and safety for the town and residents. These three people can help us file a lawsuit against Lakeatom. I'm telling you, it's going to be a huge lawsuit." said Mike.
"But one question, what happens to the fuel rods when we're done? What do we do with them?" asked Lori.
"Two options. First, if we're not successful, we'll carefully place these barrels near interim storage. Without fingerprints, they'll never find us, and we're off the hook. If we're successful, we'll get away with it with no penalty. And that's where Sergeant Black can help." said Mike.
The three finished eating.
"We should go back downstairs." said Mike.
Lori and Natasha nodded. The three of them went into the basement and looked at the meter screens again.
"I think we should have it analyzed overnight. Then the result will be more precise." said Mike.
"Okay. Do what you think is best." said Lori.
"I have to go home then." said Lori.
"Okay, we'll escort you outside." said Natasha.
The three went into the bathroom and washed their hands thoroughly. Then they went through the back door into the garden.
"So when do we investigate further?" asked Lori.
"Not tomorrow. It's Sunday, but I have to work. Natasha can tell you when." said Mike.
"Definitely." said Natasha.
"Good. Goodbye then." said Lori.
Lori was about to leave when there was the sound of a helicopter. A police helicopter flew over Royal Woods.
"What are they doing here?" said Lori.
"They're probably after us. Oh my god, we're screwed." said Natasha in panic.
"These are surely the monthly radioactivity measurements." said Mike.
"Or training." said Lori.
"Yes, training that will take us to jail." said Natasha.
She stepped onto the grass and yelled at the helicopter.
"Get going you son of a whore!"
"Don't panic Tasha. If they knew what we were doing, we would have been arrested long ago." said Mike.
"I hope you're right. I've been extremely stressed since we've been doing this." said Natasha.
"I can't help it." said Lori.
The helicopter flew away in the direction of the nuclear power plant.
"I was right. Radioactivity measurements." said Mike.
"Good. Bye again then." said Lori.
Mike and Natasha waved goodbye to Lori and went back into the house.
Lori walked down Franklin Avenue and entered her home.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" shouted Lori.
Lori heard a happy giggle, and saw Lily crawl towards her.
"Lori." said Lily happily.
Lily hugged Lori's legs.
"Oh Lily. I was only gone for a day. I think you'll miss me a lot when I'm in the lab..."
Lori jumped away from Lily. The laboratory. Uranium fuel. She had worked with the most dangerous element she knew.
"Keep your distance. Please." said Lori, and ran to her room.
She locked the door, tossed her purse in a corner, and looked down at her hands. Then all over her body. What if uranium was everywhere? Her siblings would be in danger. And Mike said they were investigating the exact same production line that got him in the hospital. Lori was panicking. Images went through her head. From sick Mike, and from the ruins of Chernobyl. Lori was panicking. She had brought an incredibly great danger into her home.
"Oh my god. What should I do? What should I do?"
Lori noticed a box that was in her purse. Lori had never seen this box before. The writing on the box was Russian. And a note stuck to it. This was in English.
"I have a feeling you might be panicking a bit about the whole uranium and contamination thing. I put the Geiger counter in English because I'm sure you don't speak Russian. If you don't have elevated readings, then everything is fine. And you can play with your siblings. Kind regards, Natasha."
Natasha. She knew Lori too well. Lori took the Geiger counter out of the box and turned it on. A font appeared on the screen saying,
"Radiascan 701a."
Lori was sure Natasha had the exact same Geiger counter. Lori started measuring her whole body. No increased values were found. Lori walked out of her room with the Geiger counter in her pocket and walked over to Lily. Lily looked at her confused.
"Me?" Lily said shyly, pointing at herself.
"No Lily. Oh god no." Lori said, picking Lily up.
"You could never disappoint me." said Lori.
Lily hugged Lori, and Lori kept her right hand on Lily's shoulder.
"You never could."
Lily kissed Lori on the cheek.
"You can never hold back?" Lori asked, smiling.
Lily giggled.
Rita approached them both.
"Hi Lori. Nice to see you with Lily. Where have you been?"
"I was with Natasha."
"Oh. Was it great?"
"Yes."
Rita walked in the kitchen.
"Want to play something Lily?" asked Lori.
"Hide." said Lily.
Lori went to her room with Lily. Lori laid Lily on her bed, making sure the closet was locked. Lori looked at Lily but she was gone.
"Did you start without me?" Lily giggled.
Lori started searching under the bed. Lily wasn't there. Lori kept looking. Lori looked at the closet. Had Lily gone into the closet unnoticed? That would be a disaster.
"Lily, you're not in the closet?"
Lily giggled again. The giggle didn't come from the closet. More like the bedside table. Lori looked in the drawer. And there was Lily.
"How did you close the drawer from the inside?"
Lily giggled again. Then she raised her little arms and pointed.
"You pushed yourself. Smart girl."
"Second round." said Lily.
"Okay. Hide." said Lori, and closed her eyes.
Lori counted from twenty to zero and looked around. Lily was nowhere. Lori went to the bed and looked under it. Then she looked in the drawer.
"Where are you Lily?"
All Lori could hear was Lily's giggles. Lori went to the laundry basket with the fresh laundry. Lori took a sweater from the hamper and looked straight at Lily.
"Now I was faster."
Lily looked slightly disappointed.
"No one can always win."
Lily yawned. She felt tired.
"Do you want to go to bed?" asked Lori. Lily nodded. Lori carried Lily to her room and put her in her crib.
"Good night Lily."
"Please song." said Lily.
"You want me to sing you something?" Lily nodded.
"Fine. But I have to think." said Lori.
Lori considered. You could only think of one song. The song Luna had sung for Mike at the welcome party. Lori hummed the calm tune for a moment, and then she sang.
"Radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me
radioactivity
Discovered by Madame Curie
radioactivity
Tune in to the melody
radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me
radioactivity
For you and me in space arises
radioactivity
Radiates waves to the receiving device
radioactivity
When it comes to our future
radioactivity
For you and me in space arises
radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me
radioactivity
Discovered by Madame Curie
radioactivity
Tune in to the melody
radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me."
Lori stopped singing. Lily looked at her. Apparently she liked the song. Then she raised her arms.
"Would you like a hug?"
Lori asked.
"Yes." Lily said.
Lori picked Lily up and hugged her.
"I ove you." Lily said.
"I love you too."
Lori laid Lily back in her crib.
"Sleep tight. See you tomorrow."
Lori waved at Lily and walked out of the room, leaving the door ajar. Lily snuggled into her blanket. It felt warm and comfortable. Lily hummed the tune over and over. Then it was She was so tired that she fell asleep. And the dream Lily had was beautiful too. In her dream she was playing hide and seek with Lori. It was a beautiful dream.
Mike looks around. He's wearing one of his old T-shirts from the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. Therefore a tie with the stylized symbol of an atom. He looked towards Natasha's room. She was still at her computer. Mike snuck out of the house and headed towards the center of Royal Woods. A well-known person was waiting in front of a restaurant. Claire. She wore a red evening dress.
"Hi Mike." Claire said shyly.
"Hi Claire... Shall we go in?" asked Mike.
"Yes."
The two went in and sat down. They ordered red wine to drink and dumplings filled with calf's liver to eat. After the first glass of red wine, Claire's face turned red.
"Uff. Red wine goes into my head in particular." said Claire.
"I see that. You remind me of a traffic light." said Mike.
Claire almost choked on laughter.
"It's not what I expected for a first date." said Claire laughing. Mike laughed too.
"Sorry. I couldn't help it." said Mike.
They drank more red wine and laughed more. After a few hours, the two walked through Royal Woods Park.
"There's a park bench. We should sit down. We can hardly walk anymore." said Mike.
"You're right." said Claire.
The two sat on a park bench. Claire sat down close to Mike. The two looked up at the sky. Mike noticed Claire approach him and snuggle into his side. Claire's hand went to Mike's hand and began to hold it. Mike looked at Claire. Claire looked back. The two looked into each other's eyes. Claire's eyes sparkled beautifully in the darkness. Even though the two were so close, it wasn't close enough for them. Mike couldn't imagine being without Claire anymore. And Claire couldn't imagine being without Mike anymore.
"Mike?"
"Yes Claire?"
"I think I love you."
"I love you too."
The two looked deeply into each other's eyes. They always wanted to get closer. They slowly moved towards each other. Then their lips touched. The feelings the two felt could only be described as an explosion of happiness. Mike noticed that Claire was shaking. The two stopped kissing.
"Is everything ok?" asked Mike.
"Yeah. It's just... I'm just overwhelmed."
"I'm exactly the same." "Mike?"
"Yes?"
"I want to be with you forever."
"I also."
The two continued to sit on the park bench and looked at the stars. Then the two felt a cold breeze.
"Come on. Let's go home." said Mike.
Claire nodded. The two got up and walked toward the Stevensons' home. Mike and Claire held hands the whole way. The two entered the house and quietly walked into Mike's bedroom. The two lay down and Mike put his arm around Claire, holding her hand. The two looked deeply into each other's eyes. At that moment, everything felt perfect for the two of them. There was nothing better for the two.
"Good night Claire." "Good night Mike."
The two continued to look into each other's eyes. Arm in arm, side by side. Everything was as it should be. The two looked at each other until they fell asleep and started dreaming about each other.
End of Chapter eleven