Beornhelm
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(6/10/04 2:15 pm)
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Amaulia
Part I.
Amaulia slowly pulled herself up from the floor of a laboratory located in the heart of the R&D complex of the Bradwell nuclear power plant located on the Essex coast in the United Kingdom.
"What just happened?!?", she said out loud, expecting one of her lab assistants to answer her. As she wiped away the small amount of caked blood that was obstructing her vision, she quickly realized that she was alone in the lab with no clear signs of how anyone else escaped. "Where is everyone?" she asked, realizing how futile this question really was.
Quickly, Amaulia scanned the remains of what she once considered to be her pristine laboratory. Microscopes, computer components, and various other pieces of equipment were strewn across the room randomly, peppered with shards of glass from the once neatly organized shelves. The glass in the windows and all the doors in the room were completely shattered. It was at this time she noticed something odd, the only source of light was coming in through the shattered remains of the once shaded windows, a relatively odd fact given that it is near 12:30 in the morning and these windows are supposed to be secure. All the other lights in the building were dead, even the emergency lights that activate when the power goes out.
She began to formulate a plan to escape from this deep within the power plant, for she knew no one would be coming to her rescue, no one on the outside knew she was here.
Bradwell Nuclear Power Plant has been decommissioned for several years now, or so they claim. Originally slated for shutdown in 2002, the plant had several serious and fatal accidents leading to the premature shutdown of the plant in the fall of 2000. Concerns about the two aging reactors, which began operations in 1962, also helped fuel the arguments that led to its shutdown.
The background information of this plant is all relatively public information, available to anyone willing to put in the time to research it. What isn't well known is what became of the plant after its announced shutdown.
A large privately held company purchased the nuclear plant through the government for a tidy sum of money, and while the media announced that the decommissioning had started, the real work was only just beginning. The exterior of the plant remained unchanged and allowed to age as any unoccupied buildings would, while local newspapers circulated stories detailing how the funds were not immediately available for the dismantling of the facility.
The inside of the facility, however, looked brand new providing a stark contrast to the outer walls. Only one of the aging reactors was shutdown and its radioactive fuel rods were removed for reprocessing. The other first-generation Magnox reactor was significantly upgraded at great expense. No longer intended to solely generate power, the reactor was modified to create radioactive material for laboratory scientists working on a top-secret project, scientists like Amaulia.
Amaulia was the lead project engineer supervising a crew of more than 50 engineers, 35 laboratory technicians, and dozens more of other workers. No one was allowed to leave the facility at any time in fear of compromising the project. Huge recreational centers were constructed underground, and the various offices and buildings on the site were converted into dormitories for the various workers. Since it wouldn't appear to be a decommissioned plant if people were spotted strolling around the grounds, tunnels were constructed connecting all the buildings. The campus was an amazing feat to have constructed; even more amazing considering it was built under the noses of everyone.
Amaulia quickly snapped back to reality and attempted to grasp the magnitude of the situation she now found herself in. She reassured herself that the reactors were intact since she helped review the designs of both the old style which were reinforced and the newly. She knew that this plant could take a direct nuclear assault and those reactors would still be standing. She laughed at the thought that her first thought was of her work and not of her own wellbeing. "Typical Amaulia", she said with an uneasy laugh as if trying to lighten the situation she was in. She quickly surveyed herself and found only a small cut in her forehead from being tossed to the ground. Nothing too serious to worry about she decided.
Now its time to figure a way out of this mess.
To be continued...
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