The Nuclear Problem

We went on shore to get some supplies for the journey back to the Ocean Works Facility. It just fit into the supply closets. We ate supper and went to bed.

The next morning, I was awoken by the aroma of pancakes wafting into my cabin through the vent. I took a hearty whiff and got dressed. As I headed down to the galley, I noticed a few other people had been awakened before the breakfast bell as well.

I took my seat and scarfed down a plate of waffles and pancakes. I gulped down a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Then I ran outside to meet Frank.

“Frank!” I yelled. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, I did,” said Frank. “As you know, we are going back to the facility today, in 20 minutes to be exact. We know Hurricane Henry did considerable damage to the facility. If any of the floors collapsed, and ruptured the supply pipes…”

He didn’t have to finish. I knew we would have a gas leak.

“OK. What are we going to do about it?”

“I have arranged for some help. The Coast Guard team will follow us back to the facility. With them are some highly trained wildlife experts to help us save any affected animals.” And with that, he headed back to his sub.

The subs stayed above the surface for the journey so that the Coast Guard could follow us. When we arrived at the facility, we found that the ocean gates were heavily damaged. There was no way to open them. I came up with the idea of sending come people inside to get some C-4. Frank didn’t know where to get in. I jerked my thumb at the wall Frank had built earlier. It was torn to pieces.

We sent a team to go in and salvage through the facility to find some explosives. While we are waiting, I guess I should take this time to tell you about the Ocean Works Facility and me and Frank. My name is Alex. I have worked for the Ocean Works Facility for a long time. I am now 25 years old. My boss, Frank, is 32. He has worked here longer than I have.

Frank is slim and intelligent. He makes most of the things here go round. He has brown, wavy hair, which he likes short. He rules this place with an iron fist. His word is law. I am just an all around handy man. I help out with things when we are short handed. The Ocean Works Facility is a building out in the middle of the ocean 100 miles away from civilization. We get out fresh water via supply pipes under the water on the ocean bed. Food comes on a supply freighter every month. We also get our fuel with ocean floor pipes. Our power comes from solar panels and wind power. Our phone lines are via satellite so no wires. We have our own private quarters so we have life pretty good.

Our men came out of the building with the explosives. Together, they attached them to the gate. A remote detonator was attached to the explosives, and we backed off about half a mile.

The detonator was triggered and a massive BOOM followed. We dove under the surface. Once the wave passed over us, we sailed into the facility harbor.

The first thing I did was run down to the connections room to see if any pipes were damaged. I didn’t see any from the connections, but that didn’t rule out the possibility that the pipes were damaged on the ocean floor. A team was immediately dispatched to check it out.

I took one of our ships out of dock 24 and set out to the ocean. The ship I took was our water testing ship. I could test the pollutants in the water. I could even check for gas particles from another ship to see how recently they had been there.

I went out even further than anyone had gone for testing. I had to be sure the ocean was safe. I opened one of the ship’s 35 tanks. Each tank is one cubic foot. After the tank was full, I closed the valve, and recorded my position in the log book, so I could come back if necessary.

I headed back to the facility, filling tanks as I went. By the time I passed through the ocean gates, I had filled 34 tanks. I filled the last one in our harbor.

I removed the tanks from the ship and put them on the electric cart. I then drove the cart down to the water testing lab. I ran each sample of water through each and every test. Each sample passed, except one. Tank number one had dissolved some of the test papers and pH strips. I picked up the phone and dialed 6890.

“Hello?”

“Frank,” I said. “It’s Alex. Listen, I’m in the water testing lab and I’ve found something weird with sample one.”

“How far out did you go?” he asked.

“I went thirty miles further than usual.”

“Strange. I’ll be right down.” I heard a click, signaling that Frank had hung up.

Wait a minute, I thought to myself, Bill knows a lot about the water stuff. He usually does it. I picked up the phone and hit the page button.

“Bill Manton, please report to the water test lab immediately, Bill Manton, water test lab.”

Frank and Bill walked in at the same time. They both went over to the first sample. Bill started testing the water again. And certain test papers started dissolving.

“Attention every one, due to problems with the electricity, we are shutting off the main breaker so I can fix the problems. The main breaker will go off in ten minutes. Please save all work you are doing on the computers and shut them down. Alex, please shut down the water testing lab. Frank, you are needed in the electrical closet for shut down. Thank you for your patience. We will have power restored as soon as we can. In the meantime, we will have generators outside providing limited power to the building. I am sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Damn!” Bill said. I started to shut down the equipment, while Frank called the electrical closet to tell them to power down without him. I had just finished shutting everything down, when the lights went out.

Then the strangest thing happened. I knew the power was out, but the room was still lit. The light was greenish and dim, but nevertheless, I could still see Bill and Frank’s faces. I turned to look for the source of the light. I saw the sample of water we were just working on was emitting the strange glow. Frank and Bill followed my gaze. We all walked up to the sample.

“I don’t believe it,” Bill said softly. “In all my years of doing this, I have never seen anything like it.”

“What is it?” Frank inquired.

“It can’t be,” I said, awed at the sight.

“What?” Bill and Frank said together.

“Nuclear water,” I whispered.

I burst into the cafeteria where the Coast Guard was eating breakfast. The skylight cast rays of sunlight into the room. Frank and Bill were right behind me. I ran up to the Coast Guard and told them what we just saw.

“Well this ought to be checked out immediately,” said the Coast Guard chief.

I said, “Well we had better get going. Oh, and the bay doors need to be opened manually, they don’t use the generators.”

People all around us were removing boards from windows and helping each other clean up the facility.

We got to dock 24 and tried to muscle the huge bay door open. To open the door manually, we had to turn both cranks at the same time. We got the handles in and tried to coordinate our efforts.

“Ok,” said Frank, “When I say turn, turn your handle a quarter turn in the direction indicated. Ready? Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn!”

After five minutes, we got the door open enough for the ship to pass through safely. The drawbridge wasn’t hard to lift. Once we got the crank locked in place, we boarded the ship. With thirty-five new tanks installed, we headed out to the problem spot.

Once out at 120 miles from the facility, we slowed and took samples. The valves were closed, and the Coast Guard inspected the water immediately. The test papers dissolved again. We turned out the lights. The tank was glowing a brilliant green.

“Well I’ll be,” said one of the officers.

“Frank!” I yelled up, “Track the source of the pollutant.”

“Yup,” was his reply.

We went back up on deck while Frank steered toward the source of the water. I made sandwiches for everybody.

After traveling for quite a while, we saw a speck on the horizon. At our rate, we would be there in half an hour. Fifteen minutes later the Coast Guard chief asked me what was up in the distance.

I said, “I hope that’s not what I think it is.”

“Oh, crap,” explained Frank, just realizing what it was.

“A Nuclear power plant,” Frank and I said together.

“How come we didn’t know about any nuclear power plant out here?” The chief asked.

I shrugged. We’d be there in about ten minutes. Meanwhile, I went downstairs to take a sample. The room was a fluorescent green. I studied the water for a while, and then I heard the engines stop. Above me, I heard the gangplank being rolled out. I left the room and went ashore.

I was greeted by the sounds of bustling activity. I looked around and saw huge cracks in the building. As we tried to find somebody in charge, workers busied themselves trying to repair these cracks. We rounded a corner and Frank gasped. I looked at the wall and gasped too. The whole wall on that side was missing!

Inside, we could see mass destruction. Walls and floors were cracked and had chunks missing. Wires and rebar littered the floor. Steam issued from a doorway and up holes in the floor to the sky. I saw somebody giving out orders so I figured he must be the foreman. We all walked up to him.

“Hi,” Frank said cheerily.

He turned and saw us, and said rudely, “Yeah, what d’ya want?”

The chief stepped forward and introduced himself. The man seemed much friendlier now. He looked intimidated by the chief, scared almost. He and the chief talked animatedly for a while. Then the chief came back with a report.

“He is the foreman here. Apparently they got hit hard by Hurricane Henry. They are repairing damages now. I asked him if he knew anything about the pollution. He said no. I think otherwise however, because when I asked to see the reactor, he quickly refused. He said I’d need a search warrant. Well, there’s nothing more we can do now. We’ll have to come back with a warrant. You guys can get back to the facility. We’ll call for a ship to come and get us.”

“Ok,” said Frank. “Bye guys.” They waved their good bye. I started the ship, and set course back to the facility. A light flashed on the panel, showing that there was too little daylight left to sail safely. I flipped a switch that turned on the running lights. I checked our bearings and went aft to join Frank, where he was leaning on the stern rail, gazing out into the setting sun.

I stood next to him and said, “Frank.” He looked at me. I said, “We’re nearing the facility. You should come up to the bridge to keep watch. It’s getting dark and I need to know when to radio in.”

“Yeah, ok,” he replied absent mindedly.

By the time Frank saw the building, it was dark. I radioed the facility, but nobody answered. This worried me. At about five minutes away, I flipped a switch to flash the front port and starboard water lights. The lights started flashing alternately. This was a signal that we used to get attention from the facility. When anyone saw this, it meant open up the ocean gates and bay door.

Frank saw the reflection of the lights off the water. He came down from the bridge to join me in the wheelhouse.

“Nobody answering?” Frank asked.

“Nope,” was my reply.

I rammed the ocean gate and entered the harbor. We put the ship back in dock and went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up to Frank’s voice on the PA, “…Thunderstorms all today and tonight. Power is scheduled to be restored in one hour. If somebody would be kind enough to tell Mike to shut off the generators and get his butt inside before he gets fried, I would appreciate that.”

I took a cold shower, as the heater had no power. I got dressed and took a walk outside. When I came back in and entered my room, I heard a buzz, signaling the revival of the power. I turned on my computer and pulled up a live satellite program. I entered the coordinates of the plant, and zoomed in. I saw through one of the holes in the roof and saw a lot of damage. I also saw a boat that had passed the facility earlier. Workers were unloading hoses and dragging them inside the plant. I could not see their final destination. The other end of the hoses was connected to a large container, which had hoses of its own plunging into the ocean.

Why are they pumping sea water into the plant? I wondered. What is going on over there? I had better tell Frank about this.

No sooner had I thought this when the phone rang.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hey Alex, it’s Frank. Listen, I just got a call from the Coast Guard, and guess what?”

“What?”

“They got a search warrant for the plant, and we’re going with them. They’re coming tomorrow.”

“Great!” I exclaimed. “I’ve got news for you too.” I told him about what I saw. There was a long silence.

“Frank, are you still there?” I asked. “Frank? Frank! Hello?!”

I put down the instrument and zoomed to his office. I skidded to a halt right outside his door. I heard a loud voice inside, “Hello, Alex?!”

I opened the door to see Frank talking into the phone still. Just as he looked up and saw me, an announcement came over the PA.

“I may have shorted out the phone lines while connecting the power, sorry about that.”

“Ok, frank, I found some interesting maps of the plant, here take a look.” I handed the maps I printed out over to Frank. He looked at them, then at me, than at his computer. I knew he was going to check them out for himself.

“The core must be damaged,” Frank said. “But what the heck are the hoses for?”

“I think I know,” I said. “The reactor pool is cracked and draining. They need to pump it full again. We could be facing a nuclear meltdown!”

Just then, there was a whirring, a fizzing, and then the whirring died out.

“Frank, could you come down to the electrical closet please?” said a stunned voice over the PA.

“Uh, oh,” Frank sighed. “Come on Alex, let’s go see the worst.”

We got down to the electrical closet to see Rick, his hair standing on end, as smoke cleared from the room.

“What the hell did you do?” Frank exclaimed, half laughing.

“Ummm,” Rick started. “I was trying to put the power back on and then the whole panel started sparking and smoking. When I went to shut down the power, I got shocked.”

Just then, Bill walked by. He looked in and started laughing hysterically. Personally, I couldn’t blame Bill. Rick looked like a mad scientist. Bill walked away, saying something about finding his camera. We fixed the short and flipped the main power switch. The lights flickered back on and we heard a cheer.

“That came from the kitchens,” Frank said. I chuckled.

Rick said, “I better get cleaned up before Bill finds his camera.” And on my way back to my office, I saw Bill, his camera clutched in his hand. I shook my head and walked on.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I heard raucous laughter. Looking around, I saw a group of people clustered around Bill. Some were doubled up laughing, while others were clutching the tables for support. I saw Rick storming out. Oh good God, I thought, Bill must have gotten his picture. I didn’t venture over to the crowd, however.

I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. I got up groggily and answered the ringing device.

“Hmm?” I mumbled.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” It was Frank.

“No, I’ve been up for hours.”

“Right. Well, the Coast Guard is on their way. We are going to check out that plant.”

“Mmm, cool.”

“Ok, ok, I’ll leave you to get ready.”

Half an hour later, I opened my bathroom door, steam pouring out of it. I sat on my bed and got dressed. As I was putting my socks on, I wondered what we would find in that plant. I allowed my mind to wander as I put my shoes on and went to breakfast. I was finding a table when Bill came up to me.

“Alex, do you realize that your shoes are on the wrong feet?”

“Huh, oh, whoops”

“How tired are you?”

“Very,” I answered. “I’m going with Frank and the Coast Guard to the power plant. You want to come with us?”

“Sure, I have nothing else to do. When are you leaving?”

Stifling a yawn, I said, “Go ask Frank, I have no idea.”

Just then, Frank came around the corner. He beckoned me over. I knew that this was the time to leave. As Bill followed me, Frank nodded. I followed Frank to dock 3. He got on the boat while I walked up to the wall and hit the “up” button. It was a relief to hear the whirring of the motor, rather than our grunts, trying to raise the door. I walked onto the boat, and we set off. As we neared the newly repaired gates, I pushed a transmitter that opened them.

Over the radio, we heard a voice crackle. “Coast Guard to Ocean Works Facility, we are approaching your gates, please allow us to enter.” Frank picked up the mike and replied. “Ocean Works Facility to Coast Guard, ship is waiting outside gates for you to arrive. Ship will follow you to destination.” “Copy that,” was our answer.

We saw a Coast Guard cutter come around the side of the building. We fell in behind them, and set course. We sped up from 25 knots to 50 knots. I walked up to the bridge to watch for the plant. I saw a speck up in the distance and called down to Frank, “Destination ahead at 11:00, about 50 miles. We should arrive in about 50 minutes.”

“I copy,” Frank yelled back up.

We got off our ship and met with the Coast Guard. We walked up to the foreman together.

“Oh, you again,” he snarled. “What do you want? I thought I told you to leave unless you got a…”

“Search warrant,” said the chief, holding up the piece of paper, the foreman looked stunned. He took the paper from the chief and glared at him.

“Fine,” he said simply.

We walked into the bowels of the plant. Walking into the core room, we saw the reactor was damaged even more heavily than we thought. I saw the hoses going into the reactor pool, which is what I suspected. The pool had a deep crack in it, and the water level was perilously close to the “danger” mark on the pool. I also saw something leaking from the core into the pool.

It all made sense now. The core was leaking radioactive material into the pool. The pool was leaking into the ocean. The current was carrying the material with it. I pointed this out to the chief, whose face turned beet red. He charged out of the room, and returned, dragging the foreman behind him.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?” the chief shouted. “WHY WAS I NOT TOLD OF THIS WHEN I FIRST CAM HERE? DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS IS DOING TO THE OCEAN LIFE? I WANT THIS FIXED ASAP AND YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE IN BIG TROUBLE WITH ME!”

The foreman was cowering under the chief’s fury. He showed all signs of trying to get away. The chief must have noticed this because he gave the foreman a look that plainly stated, “If you try to leave this spot, I will hunt you down.”

Back in Frank’s office with the chief, we were discussing what to do. Frank was for arresting the foreman. I said that we needed to get the supplies to fix the pool and core, and then arrest the foreman’s ass. We all laughed. The chief said he would order the supplies for the repairs.

I was in the comms room five days after our visit to the plant. On the radio, there was a bit of chatter, as we had a few ships out.

“Coming within five miles of your position.” “Roger that.” “Returning to the facility.” “I see you.” “Departing now.”

Then there was the occasional joking when the radios were silent and we were bored. “You really can’t drive man.” “Grow up.” “Yo mama.” “If you guys don’t shut up, I’ll turn this ship around.” “Yes mommy.” Then I’d say, “All right guys knock it off.” “Aye aye Cap’n Crunch.”

Then I heard, “Supply ship passing Ocean Works Facility bound for plant.”

I replied, “Supply ship cleared for passing, watch for traffic, remain on course.”

“CG following supply ship.”

“Roger, expect OWF ship to follow you.”

“I copy.”

A week later, we all went to the plant to repair the damages. The reactor was fixed and then work was started on the pool. Just then the pool collapsed on our workers. We dragged everyone out and rebuilt the pool. The foreman was arrested and we went back to the facility, having avoided a nuclear problem.