▼ 9:44 am
Area 3, Inner Ring
Surveillance Room
TACHIBANA irritably drops her PDA back into her pocket.
“H-Hey, Ukita… What’s the whole deal with this radiation leakage prevention system?!” I ask in a cracking voice. “Why the hell would something like that activate and trap us inside?!”
“Hmm… Since you asked, perhaps I should explain for those of you who don’t know.” Ukita hesitantly answers my barrage of questions. “I need you to understand what a meltdown is first before I can explain why the bulkheads automatically lowered. It’s going to be a bit tedious, though. Are you fine with that?”
“Yeah. The abridged version, please, if you can.” I cross my arms and lean back against the wall as he solemnly breaks down the information.
“In short, a meltdown occurs when a nuclear reactor core rises to exceptionally high temperatures and proceeds to melt. A coolant system constantly cools the nuclear fuel burning inside the reactor to prevent overheating, but…when it’s not adequately cooled for a period of time, the heat will become too much for the reactor’s heat-resistant properties to contain, destroying parts of the containment and releasing burning hot fuel elements outside the reactor.”
“Is that what’s causing the massive fire in Area N right now?”
“Yes. It’s very probable that the extremely hot nuclear fuel set fire to nearby flammable objects. Melted nuclear fuel runs hotter than three thousand degrees Celsius and is capable of burning anything in its path.”
I gulp back the fear forming a lump in my throat and ask a follow-up question. “Am I right to assume the damage to the area is massive since the fires haven’t stopped burning yet?”
“Your assumption is likely correct. Considering the sprinkler systems are shot, there’s a high possibility steam explosions are going off as well. Area N has turned into a living hell of inferno heat and constant explosions,” Ukita details in a grave voice. “…And it goes without saying that nuclear fuel is radioactive material. The fuel that’s leaking from the reactor is releasing considerable airborne radioactive contamination. It might be easier for you to comprehend when compared to a similar case. Are you familiar with the Chernobyl disaster?”
“Nope… I might’ve known about it at some point, but I’m drawing a blank right now,” I answer honestly.
“It’s one of the greatest nuclear disasters to happen in human history. It took place about half a century ago in Ukraine. One of the nuclear reactors in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant underwent a meltdown, rupturing the reactor core in a highly destructive steam explosion that resulted in around ten tons of radioactive materials being leaked outside the chamber. It’d take five hundred of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima to release ten tons of radioactive materials, which is why it resulted in many casualties. To this day, we don’t know the exact death toll, but some think it to be within the hundreds of thousands.”
“Hundreds of thousands died?! How did the death toll climb so high?!”
“Because of the radioactive materials, of course. It resulted in a nuclear fallout, which is when residual radioactive material following a nuclear blast and fire is propelled into the upper atmosphere and falls out of the sky with rain.” Ukita turns grim eyes on me. “Do you understand what I’m getting at here? This is where the true horrors of a meltdown lie. Think about what will happen when the radiation bottled up in this basement spreads to the surrounding regions! The fact is, the area around Chernobyl’s power plant has become uninhabitable, and we believe it will be that way for the next nine hundred years!”
“It’ll be uninhabitable for nine hundred years?! A nuclear fallout is that dangerous?!”
“Damn straight it is. As such, this facility takes immediate emergency action when there’s a meltdown, in which the bulkheads automatically lock down to prevent a nuclear fallout. That’s what we call a Case N.”
“So that’s what happened…!”
It definitely sounds like it’d be easier to deal with a meltdown if the nuclear reactor is shielded by the unparalleled strength of composite steel plates. If this facility had been made of, say, ordinary reinforced concrete instead of steel, then steam explosions and the like would’ve brought the whole thing down.
Maybe they made this facility into what’s essentially a giant heavy metal box—one they can close the lid on in times of emergency, sealing everything inside into an airtight container—to prevent that from happening. The logic behind it makes sense, but—
“…What’re the people who get trapped inside supposed to do?” I shoot Ukita a hopeful look. “Hey, Ukita, is there really no way outta here? The fact that we’re still breathing means air has to be passing through somewhere, right?”
“Unfortunately, the air ducts are equipped with radioactive material filters that block potential routes to the surface and other areas, making it impossible to use them as a means of escape.”
“Did they have to be that thorough?”
“Of course they did. Japan once suffered through a major nuclear accident. They have taken every safety precaution possible to not repeat that grave mistake again. LABO’s basement floors have been completely severed from the outside world to ensure not a single speck of radioactive ash gets out. So, just as your commanding officer said, all we can do is keep injecting AD and wait until the lockdown ends—”
“I hate to break it to you, Mr. Ukita, but…we don’t have the leisure of sitting around and waiting for them to fix the problem without taking action ourselves,” Moribe says, interrupting him.
“Wh-Why not?”
She pulls out her Procyon and explains, “Take a good look at the reading on this Procyon. It was still around 100 mSv right after the bulkheads locked, but it’s jumped to 1,609 mSv now. The numbers bounce around somewhat depending on where we are, but they’re gradually increasing across the board.”
She’s right—the reading was only 1,100 mSv when I first checked the Procyon. The number has jumped by several hundred in the short time since.
“Why’s the number increasing so much, Ukita?! Don’t tell me you guys set up this facility to contain radioactive materials without doing anything to counter the spread within?!” I pound my fist against the wall.
“N-No, you see…I don’t know why either…”
“You don’t know?!”
“The security gates separating each area are supposed to be effective at stopping the spread of radiation like the bulkheads are, but…all the explosions and fires may have damaged the gates and inner walls.”
“Wh-What the hell?! Then what was all that crap about taking every safety precaution possible?!” Miss Ena presses Ukita, her beautiful eyebrows shooting up. “This damn facility locked down with people still inside and they can’t even open it up from the outside! The radiation is growing out of control, the phones and radios are dead, the elevators don’t work, and the sprinkler system broke! Your whole safety system is full of gaping holes!”
“I-I certainly admit that our safety precautions have a lot of shortcomings, but…the system going haywire and the explosions were all factors outside our forecasted expectations…”
“Isn’t preventing unexpected disasters the whole point of making safety precautions?!”
“Yes, it is, but I’m only a researcher at LABO—I’m not responsible for the security here! Don’t take your anger out on me! I understand why you’re upset, but could you calm down a little?!”
“How do you expect me to remain calm?! It’d be one thing if I was the only one stuck here, but my precious students have been trapped as well!” Miss Ena thrusts her finger at the monitor where the three children are on display. “I just know they must be running for their lives from the fires and fear of radiation exposure right now! At the very least, we need to get AD to them stat…!” She sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.