#All nuclear reactors leak...

[captainyonghoon]

just watched a korean movie about a nuclear meltdown and it is among the worst movies i’ve ever seen

[reality-detective]

‼️Rumors claim Iran released this 3D visualization of Dimona as a warning.

Regardless of who made the video, the symbolism is clear—and the target unmistakable.

Dimona is not just another military site. It’s the heart of Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program, long shrouded in secrecy and protected by silence from Western allies.

Officially labeled the “Negev Nuclear Research Center,” Dimona was built in the 1950s with French assistance, supposedly for peaceful atomic research. But evidence soon suggested otherwise. Satellite images, whistleblowers, and intelligence leaks all point to one conclusion: Dimona is where Israel developed and maintains its nuclear arsenal—estimated at 80 to 400 warheads.

Unlike Iran, Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It refuses inspections, denies having nuclear weapons officially, and is shielded diplomatically—especially by the United States.

But it was not always unchallenged:

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy demanded that Israel open Dimona to full U.S. inspection. He suspected that Israel’s “peaceful reactor” was in fact a cover for weapons development. His administration put increasing pressure on then–Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

Ben-Gurion’s response? He abruptly resigned.

In response to U.S. demands, Israel reportedly went as far as constructing a fake control room at Dimona—a Potemkin tour set up for American inspectors to conceal the real operation underground.

Kennedy was assassinated later that same year.

After his death, U.S. pressure on Israel to halt its nuclear ambitions vanished almost overnight. Lyndon B. Johnson adopted a far more accommodating stance, and the Dimona facility was left to operate in secrecy.

To this day, Israel maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity”—never admitting to having nuclear weapons, never signing treaties, and never allowing independent oversight. Yet it retains the most advanced nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.

So if this video is real—or if it’s even just a psychological signal—the message from Iran is this:

We know where the real red button is. 🤔

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

FINAL EMERGENCY THEORY

Obviously we have an asteroid coming, but in true Lone Star fashion, they are going big with this final emergency so an asteroid alone isn't enough!

For a while now, I've felt pretty sure that the asteroid impact itself wasn't going to be the true danger but would instead be the thing to trigger the true danger. Since the asteroid should be making impact at the end of episode 11 (according to the leaked episode 11 call sheet from back in June), it's clear that they will be dealing with a post-asteroid emergency/emergencies in episode 12.

I had some speculation about what exactly the final emergency would be, and that's come into clearer focus the last couple weeks.

In this TV Insider article from about 10 days ago, Rashad confirmed my suspicion that the place the asteroid is going to hit will be important.

Then in a few Natacha interviews from after episode 10 (like this one), Natacha kept mentioning the word NUCLEAR.

So from this we knew that the writers looked at places actually in Austin to find the worst possible place for the asteroid to hit, and we knew that NUCLEAR probably has something to do with it. This got me googling, and I came up with this:

There's a nuclear reactor at UT Austin!

The Owen sneak peek released this morning confirms that there is indeed a nuclear meltdown imminent. My guess is that it has to be happening at this UT nuclear reactor since there isn't another nuclear reactor in the city of Austin.

Some of the end of filming BTS also supports this conclusion. They did outdoor filming at a real university:

That's clearly going to be this scene from the episode 12 stills:

Around the same time, they were also filming in school hallways:

Here's a video of them filming

And Natacha also posted a picture taken in the same location

So based on all of this, my theory is that the asteroid makes impact and causes some kind of damage to the nuclear reactor at UT. The 126 arrive at the university and eventually make their way to where the reactor is located. When they get there, they either get trapped or they're in a position where they can't stop the meltdown and can't get away in time so attempting an escape seems futile.

Based on what we've seen in promos, I think only the firefighters get really close. (The moments at the end of this promo when they're in the dark and apparently fearing the worst only show firefighters, not paramedics.) We also know that Carlos is going to be wearing a headset at dispatch:

I think this sets us up nicely for a moment with everyone working together. The firefighters on the ground trying to stop a nuclear meltdown, Wyatt and Carlos helping from dispatch, maybe the paramedics fighting to get to the firefighters to help them since it seems like there are going to be injuries...

This all sounds a lot like what Rashad has told us, that the "final sequence" has everyone working towards a singular goal:

However, there's no way this is the very end of the episode. I think there has to be some kind of wrap up afterwards, but I also think it's possible that Rashad meant "final sequence" in a different sense. Maybe their final action sequence or the final sequence they filmed. You never can tell with the wording used in these interviews since often quotes are chopped up and presented out of context.

Well, anyway, that's it. My final theory 🥺

(Credit to @she-walked-away for first floating this potential theory of them all working together in this particular way, and I think it makes more sense the more we find out!)

[swamp-chicken]

PACIFIC RIM AU PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ

I originally started writing this for hermicraft big bang like ... two years ago? and i was going to emotionally blackmail danya into doing the art. but then I kind of lost all interest in writing. still, I have a solid 1/6 of this fic written! i should pick it up again someday

an excerpt below.. ignore my notes to myself

Etho, the Etho, was a legend. Never mind that he was Bdubs’ inspiration to start piloting in the first place. The man had revolutionized the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, starting in the early years when he was an engineer working on the first generation of jaegers. And then, not satisfied with helping create one of the most advanced machines in the world, humanity’s only hope, Etho chose to step inside the jaeger he had helped design and became one of the first pilots. He had been the only scientist brave enough to step into the jaeger himself.

**with pause and beef???***He did it with full knowledge of the risk it entailed. Back then, piloting was even more dangerous than it was now. It wasn’t just the kaiju you had to worry about. Those days were pre-fission, pre-drift. There were the unshielded nuclear reactors, leaking radiation into the cockpit. There was the incredible neural load placed on the pilot as he maneuvered the jaeger solo. But still, Etho soldiered on.

And he kicked ass. 

For years, he was the hero of the world. You could run up to any civilian in the street and they would know who Etho was, as well as at least three random facts about him— what his favorite color was, favorite band— you name it. He was famous famous. His image was plastered on every PPDC commercial, he was sitting at every PPDC press conference. But the reason people really went crazy over him was how humble he seemed, like the perfect selfless hero. He sat quiet in the press conferences, he smiled and waved when it was needed. He started wearing a mask at some point, and whether it was out of shyness or germophobia no one every knew. But no one cared, it just added to the mystique. 

And Bdubs, well, Bdubs wasn’t different than anyone else, really. But his interest in Etho was maybe a bit stronger than his peers. He watched every fight, every press conference, every commercial. He typed out furious defenses of him in online forums, and stealthily saved photos of him to his hard drive.** more here

Etho granted only one private interview the entire time he was a pilot. It was an intimate half-hour, tastefully lit. Bdubs had stayed up past his bedtime to watch the interview live. He hung on Etho’s every word, memorized the nervous way he shifted in his seat, how he stumbled through his answers. And then the interviewer had asked it— The Question. “Why do you do what you do?”

Etho’s answer changed Bdubs’ life. He had shrugged, tentatively glanced at someone behind the camera. “Um,” he hummed, maybe trying to buy time. “I guess… I just like fighting aliens, I guess.”

Bdubs signed up for the PPDC the next day. 

For Bdubs, Etho was the inspiration. He inspired Bdubs to quit the latest of his dead-end jobs, inspired him to move across the country—towards the danger, instead of away—against the urging of his family, his friends, and his own common sense. He inspired Bdubs to enroll in the PPDC, to persevere through the rigorous and often discouraging training process. And it all worked out. After a rough start, Bdubs’ high drift compatibility scores starting rolling in and he was fast-tracked towards becoming a pilot. 

But during Bdubs’ training, things started changing. The jaeger, once unstoppable machines of destruction, were faltering. The kaiju were emerging bigger and more ferocious, fill of poison and spines and slavering for destruction. The jaegers started falling.

He still remembers where he was the day it happened. It was late November, close to 1 AM and the pilot trainees were clustered around Scar’s phone. Somehow he had managed to smuggle one in despite there being an explicit ban on outside tech. A new kaiju had appeared— a mark 3, the biggest one yet, and Team Canada had been sent to dispatch it. The footage was blurred with rain, the pacific rocked with an early winter storm.

Peering over his comrade’s shoulder, squinting at the tiny screen, Bdubs could barely make out the kaiju and jaeger battling. The kaiju stood almost twice the height of the jaeger. The video was shaky. The film helicopter must be miles away, using a telescoping lens.

The jaeger threw a punch that the kaiju, snakelike, easily avoided. Then the kaiju belched and bright acid exploded from its mouth, drenching the jaeger’s left side. 

“Oooooh!” the trainees chorused, and Bdubs felt a pit in his stomach.

“Look,” Grian pointed out. “I think their arm is disabled.” And it was. The jaeger’s left arm hung limply. The acid must have eaten through the muscle cables.

“They’ll be alright,” Bdubs said, but he couldn’t keep the nervousness out of his voice. “Etho only needs one arm anyway.”

“Such an Etho stan,” Grian mocked. They all had discovered his obsession early, and ruthlessly teased him about it. “I don’t know, dude. This doesn’t look good.”

The jaeger struck out again, this time with a nearly-executed kick. It made sold contact with the kaiju’s leg, bringing it down. Then, in a move so smooth it looked choreographed, the jaeger brought its right arm down on the kaiju’s head, smashing the creature below the waves.

“See?” Bdubs crowed, looking around the room triumphantly. “A broken arm can’t stop him.”

But no one looked up. “Bdubs…” Scar said. 

Bdubs glanced back at the screen.

The kaiju had some kind of tail. It was prehensile, it was clawed. And it was tearing away at the jaeger cockpit.

Bdubs leaned forward. On the tiny phone screen, it was impossible to see details past the rain lashing the camera. Suddenly, the footage seared white, and then, darkness. The entire room held its breath.

Gradually, the footage resolved. Nothing was visible absent the helicopter spotlight, panning across the uneasy waves.

The video cut, and the tinny voice of the newscaster filtered through the static in Bdubs’ ears: “…no life signs from… could mean they have been removed from the pons… not necessarily deceased…”

The room was dead silent. Then: “Shit,” Grian whispered. “Shit, shit, shit.”

For Bdubs, there were no words. 

Later, he would learn that Beef and Pause had been ripped from the cockpit by the kaiju, killed while still tethered to Etho through the drift. And that Etho, controlling the jaeger on his own, had still somehow managed to bring the kaiju down, jamming the jaeger’s plasma pulser down the kaiju’s throat and discharging until he there was nothing left. 

The found the jaeger collapsed on a remote stretch of coast on Vancouver island. 

And then… nothing. No news from the PPDC, no media appearances from Etho. There were tons of rumors, of course. The solo drift had fried his brain. The radiation had finally caught up to him. The emotional and physical pain of his partners dying in the drift were enough to cause a psychotic break. But regardless of the reason, Etho was never heard from again. 

It was a year later that Bdubs got his pilots license. When he first entered the drift, it was in a very different world than the one Etho had fought in. The kaiju were bigger and meaner. The jaeger tech always seemed to lag a step behind. And the humans were losing.

But now he was back. And he wanted to drift with Bdubs. 

Cleo cocked her head at him. “Do you want to maybe come with me to command?”

[cyren-myadd]

GIRL WHAT??? WHERE IS THIS??? DID I MISS SOMETHING OMG IM SO LOST HELP

girl you missed a lot of somethings! But it's cool, I'll catch you up to speed on all the leaks. It's a little late at this point, but 🚨SPOILER WARNING FOR AVATAR 3🚨

Varang using kuru mind-control: @spider-socorro-stan was able to make out some of the very blurry writing on this script page that was accidentally shown in BTS footage. As far as they could tell, the first line says "Varang wills Quaritch's arm to... bulging, as his hand opens and he..." which makes it sound like she's controlling him somehow. This led people to speculate that Varang might use tsaheylu to control others. Out of all the "spoilers," this one has the least amount of evidence supporting it so take it with a grain of salt.

2. Norm taken prisoner by the RDA: in this BTS image, two Na'vi in Ash attire stand with another Na'vi wearing an orange prison jumpsuit in the RDA control room. A lot of people believe that it's Quaritch and Wainfleet taking Norm prisoner.

3. Neytiri also in Ash People clothing: in this BTS image, Jake stands next to a Na'vi woman wearing Ash People attire, with Spider wearing... whatever the fuck that jumpsuit thing is in the background. It's hard to tell with her face hidden, but most people think the woman is Neytiri based off her height, build, and proximity to Jake.

4. The betabridge: this is the spoiler we have the least information about. According to the leaked script, right after Jake and Quaritch have their civil conversation while Spider is breathing the air, Quaritch leaves them (probably scared cause Neytiri showed up lmao) and flies back to Bridgehead with Wainfleet. There, they witness a massive machine that looks like "an oil rig crossed with a nuclear reactor." It lets out a loud noise and Wainfleet remarks that it is working now. We have no other information on what the Betabridge is other than what it looks like, but if it was built in Bridgehead, it can't be good for the Na'vi. Here is a transcript written by twitterX user AkumuHoshi based on what they could read:

@spider-socorro-stan also has a nice guide to all the script leaks pinned on their blog if you want to read more!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Primitivism and Technology

In the face of ecological catastrophe and the destruction of habitats all over the world, some propose a return to more ‘primitive’ societies, such as subsistence agriculture, or a nomadic hunter-gatherer existence. They argue that complex societies of any kind will always be destructive and we should therefore abandon the use of nearly all technology. Whilst this does seem like a simple way of solving many environmental problems, it has many issues of its own. It would prevent many people across the world from maintaining or increasing their standard of living. Most damning of all, it would require the current population to be devastated in order for the number of people to be reduced to a level where it would be viable. Many of its proponents freely admit this, along with the fact that those of us who rely on medical technology would be left to deteriorate or die.

Ultimately, we as anarchists want to create a world without work, not a world of constant toil and struggle to survive. We want to be free to live comfortable lives and give ourselves the freedom to pursue the endeavours we choose: art, science, sport, travel and more. An overhaul of our energy and production systems can allow us to use technology without wrecking the environment.

The opposite extreme, that of a reliance on some future technological magic bullet yet to be developed has many of its own problems. It is used by many capitalists to justify a continuation of ‘business as usual’, doing nothing but waiting and hoping in the face of environmental collapse. Science and technology will certainly be part of any solution, but without accompanying economic and political changes they would very likely be used to increase the exploitation and inequality in our society. Technology is never entirely neutral and is shaped by the society it is developed in, as much as by scientific discovery. Technology is far more likely to receive investment and achieve widespread adoption under capitalism if it can produce more profit for capitalists, or more control for governments.

Within this argument, it is perhaps also worth considering the role of nuclear energy in any future energy mix. Nuclear energy seems very attractive in that it can replace the stable supply we currently rely on coal and gas for, CO2 emissions are lower than for fossil fuels and in theory it is safe. In practice, however, we have seen poor government planning and capitalist corner-cutting cause pollution and incredibly high risk to life and pollution of the environment. Nuclear energy creates waste which remains active for many thousands of years and is very difficult to process and store safely. Furthermore, whilst often suggested to be a green energy source, the mining and enrichment of the required uranium are responsible for considerable emissions and risk the proliferation of material which would be used to make nuclear weapons. Within the current capitalist framework the profits from nuclear energy are privatised but the costs of the clean-up and the risks to the environment are socialised. Much hope is given to new reactors or nuclear fusion as a way to provide cheap and plentiful energy in the future. However, even if it were possible to deal with the risk of leaks and the spent fuel, nuclear energy is still a technology which requires immense resources to set up and run, and it is therefore incompatible with a decentralised, community-managed energy network. Even under our current political and economic system the costs are ridiculous. The UK’s new power station, Hinkley C, is set to be the most expensive object ever built on land. Its spiralling costs make it a far worse deal than renewable alternatives. We are therefore sceptical of the role nuclear energy can play in a future society.

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: The Lemonade Leak

Chapter 10: The Devotee

Chapter 10 Summary: No summary

The Devotee: Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is only available to those who have an Ao3 profile. This fanfic is written by @turtleinsoup, so go show them some love and support!!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Plot is four out of five!! Things are really getting intense now!! This chapter starts out a little stagnant, as if waiting then the story slams full force into effect!!”

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Suspense/Mystery is five out of five!! Aaaaaa oh gosh, things are crazy!! This chapter ends on a wild cliffhanger, so be prepared for that!!”

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Angst/Hurt is four out of five!! This chapter just has such a sense of wrongness to it, like something horrible is going to happen.”

Fluff/Comfort: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is zero out of five! Like I said, everything feels like something is all going wrong, and there’s no comfort to dissuade that fact.”

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Emotions Conveyed is three out of five!! I’ll say it again. This chapter is filled with a sense of wrongness and dread, and stress. It was very suspenseful at the end!!”

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Drama/Tension Level is four out of five!! The drama keeps only getting more and more prominent as Leo digs deeper into what's happening!!"

Triggers: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Triggers for this chapter are two out of five. This chapter isn't quite as triggering as some of the others, though it is certainly chock full of suspense!!"

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Reading) is five out of five!! In this chapter, I specifically enjoyed reading how Leo and Donnie communicate, and how the action of completing each others sentences was so well written out!!"

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Audio) is five out of five! Very wonderful, very smooth, good for audio book format ^^"

Length: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Length is two out of five!! Chapter 10 of The lemonade Leak takes about 18-19 minutes to listen to!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Chapter ->

<- Previous

The Lemonade Leak: Story Ratings and Chapter List

Personal thoughts on chapter below cut (Contains Spoilers)

Donnie leaned back into his polyester privilege, and drove his foot against the bench, turning his chair away again. “Dije que deberías creer en la mierda que ves.” ‘Believe the crap you see.’ Leo rolled his eyes. With an acrobatic flip - too hand-reliant for combat and too risky for breakdancing - Leo landed back on top of the workbench, shoved his foot into the plush padding next to Donnie’s shoulder, and spun him back. “I just can’t believe-believe it, y’know? Mikey is… He’s not your twin!”

The direct translation for that phrase is “I said you should believe the shit you see.” I find it a little amusing that Leo censored it in his mind lol. I also enjoy seeing that Donnie knows some Spanish.

“Yeah.” Donnie offered his weapon off- and one-handed; like there was no weight in it at all. Like he wasn’t giving Leo a part of his very own soul. “Tibi credo, dummy.” Leo had no idea what that meant, but the grin blooming on his face could’ve powered a nuclear reactor and might have been equally as hazardous. He took Donnie’s bó with both hands.

Tibi credo is Latin translates into “I believe you”. Basically, Donnie is telling Leo that he believes him, that he’ll do a good job using his bo, and that he believes in him.

It was heavier than it looked but balanced itself into its last ounce. Finely worked, strong but gracile and so very Donnie. Leo’s calloused thumb traced the well-worn leather warping and the bó sang to him. Oh, Leo realized, A she. Leo chirped, threw an arm around his twin and nudged Donnie’s cheek with his nose. “Your princess got a name?” Leo made sure his hold was loose enough to be shoved off easily, but Donnie didn’t remove it. “Yeah," he muttered and rubbed his neck. "Her name’s Common Sense. Be efficient with her, she hates unnecessary touching, okay?” Leo’s grin only grew. He leaned away, placed Common Sense safely in his lap, and drew his twin blades. He spun them, caught them by the flat of their steel and offered Donnie the hilts of his soul. “Be respectful to my boys, Walking-stick and Pizza-cutter.”

I love how much thought is put into their weapons!! The respect, and the awe shown in regards to the weapons, is wonderful!! I’ve actually trained with a bo, and a katana, so it’s enjoyable to see this display. I did actually name my first bo, but it’s a silly name XD. As for katanas, it’s tradition to name them after the first things they cut. For example, I had a sensei who had a katana he named “Watermelon Slicer”. The name is pretty self explanatory. It’s just amusing to me, to think how this tradition may have influenced Leo’s naming of his swords. Most likely, the tradition didn’t play a part in the names he chose, but it’s still an amusing thought!

Could be worse. It could have been the Staten Island Ferry Mascot.

This guy. This is the Staten Island Ferry Mascot. You’re welcome XD

[stevebattle]

Quince (2011) by Tomoaki Yoshida and Takeshi Nishimura, Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo), Chiba Institute of Technology, and Tohoku University, Japan. "Quince was developed to perform on-site surveys for use in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) accidents. "Hypothetical disasters include accidents at plants handling toxic substances, leaks of hazardous chemicals from chemical plants, explosions, and acts of terror like the notorious subway sarin incident. Risks are particularly high in enclosed spaces (underground and inside buildings), and expectations are high for robots as they will protect officers from secondary disasters. Quince surveyed the inside of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant whose damages were caused by the East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Quince, with modifications for operations at nuclear power plants, has photographed the details of the buildings of the power plant, created radiation dose maps, and sampled radioactive materials floating in the air. It has been helping to reduce the radiation dose of on-site workers and to shorten the work period." – Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo).

" “When I think about it now,” Yoshida says, “I feel like we really did manage to achieve something with it. All of Japan was in a panic back then, and we were talking about overhauling design plans for a robot that wasn’t even finished. All kinds of people started shouting at us. ‘Are you still working on that?! Hurry up!’ But really, I was impressed that we adapted Quince into something that could function in a nuclear plant in just three months.” … During a mission to investigate the fifth floor of the second reactor building — the first time robots had been used to investigate that building — Quince’s communications cable disconnected, and the robot was left stranded on the building’s third floor. According to officials, it is still there today." – Fukushima Rescue Robots and the Men Who Made Them, by Wataru Tsuchiya.

[captainseamech]

//*pics the mic* okay this may sound ridiculous at this point, but I’m here to once again talk about High Tide’s unique features because I have nothing better to do. Last time, I talked about his armor and how his spark is protected thanks to his altmode. Now I wanted to talk about something more interesting that is, more often than not, mentioned in most of my threads: High Tide releasing steam.

You may be wondering why the hell do I want to talk about this even though I did a whole meta post about the situation (which you should check btw). In that post, I talked about the circumstances of which he can start to release steam out of control, not how and / or why he does that. And that’s what I’m going to talk about tonight.

As you may know, I mostly use GR from the OVA for aesthetic purposes and I did use him in that study post to illustrate what I meant. Yesterday, I replied to an ask and mentioned in the tags that I loved the nuclear powered sentient robot that is GR (and still do ofc)... which made me wonder how a nuclear powered core can release steam when under pressure and how this is also applied to HT. After some study diving, I got my answer and I’m here to share it with you guys.

There are two types of submarines in terms of propulsion: diesel-powered and nuclear-powered, with High Tide being the latter. His nuclear core type is Boiling Water Reactor (or BWR for short), which works by having its reactor core heat water to turn it into steam and drive a steam engine connected to it. I’m not going to be too in-depth as to how it works because I’m a simple writer, but here’s the article talking more about the BWR for you to read later.

Thanks to this reactor, High Tide is able to control his steaming to get more power and before you ask if said steam is toxic to inhale, it isn’t. Well it actually is, but one of the safety procedures used in nuclear powered submarines with BWR is to have vents that can filter the radiation from the steam to make it non-toxic for plants and operators inside. So yeah, High Tide has a lot of those vents spread throughout himself internally, so you can easily breathe through that. Speaking of safety procedures...

As I mentioned in the same post where I talked about how much steam releasing is considered too much, I did also say this can be mallefic to him. Sure, when he gets mad and needs to cool down after his core spray system (which is exclusive to BWRs) activates in order to stop the generation of steam, therefore cooling him down. He can also activate special fans he has to manually cool himself through ‘breathing’ out of his mouth, which he can also control; but in case he’s exceeding his capability, his Emergency core-cooling systems (or ECCS for short) will activate in an attempt to shut down his core. You can read about all of the safety systems here, it’s quite interesting!

However, if all of that fails due to him non-stop pressuring himself, the reactor will boil to the point of melting, causing health problems to High Tide along the way. He will start to malfunction and have a very negative reaction, as this heat might reach other areas of his body and, potentially, melt his spark chamber and reach his spark, causing him to collapse while leaking a scary green smoke out of his frame and possibly some energon with it, indicating that he could not contain his own radiation no more.

High Tide obliviously turned himself into a dangerous nuclear hazard, and will only find out about this the day he dies to his own core.

[calder]

Although most glowing ones encountered elsewhere in the wastes have become feral, those encountered in New California are generally civil (if not sane).

Until Necropolis was overrun by the super mutants in 2162, glowing ones lived quietly in the remains of Vault 12, separate from the normal ghouls on the surface. Just above ground, several were kept in cages within the Hall of the Dead, apparently as a source of lighting.[1] All glowing ones at Necropolis were kept within the church or the Vault. Those who dwelt within Vault 12 were all capable of articulate speech, and expressed themselves in strange, poetic declarations.[2] Those imprisoned at the church seemed to mumble and drool.[3]

Nearby, a separate population of peaceful ghouls were forced to take refuge in a sewer by the ghoul warlord Set.[4] Despite his brutal ways, he neglected to kill these peaceful ghouls, so they could help defend Necropolis should the need arise.[5] The placid glowing ones of Necropolis may have been kept for similar purposes. They also guarded and maintained the Vault's water processing system, which was still operational.[2]

As they are not feral creatures,[2] the glowing ones of Vault 12 are mentally ill elderly people. They require water, and without the Vault's water processing functionality, they will die.[2] They will not attack the Vault Dweller unless the player assaults them or removes Vault 12's water chip. In both scenarios, the glowing ones act in self-defense against someone who has entered their home and attempted to murder them. There are no other encounters with glowing ones in the original Fallout.

The destruction of Necropolis resulted in the Bakersfield ghoul population scattering to the surrounding areas, such as Los to the east, where they founded the Church of the Lost, a ghoul cult dedicated to the protection of the Secret Vault. Glowing ones are seen among their ranks.

To the north, several glowing ones would go on to find work in the nuclear plant at the metropolitan settlement of Gecko, performing complex labor in the reactor area. The named character Hank is one of these glowing technicians. If the Chosen One fixes the reactor's radiation leak, the ghouls will remark that the plant feels "chilly." Additionally, two glowing ones live at Broken Hills, a settlement where all humans and mutants are invited to live in cooperation.

[...]

One person who ultimately went feral in Appalachia, Freddie Lang, was capable of typing for some time after his skin began to glow.[6]

not givn up gettin hardr to thikn straigt skin glwing so sick i tried feelss good to be dwn in th mine warmer near the radiation just gonna sleep ther wait 4 whtevr — Blackwater Mine terminal entries; Blackwater Bandits terminal, Help

[nightingaelic]

Quite frequently we see that entire groups of Asians (well, Chinese) get turned into ghouls. The submarine in fallout 4 for example, not a single member of that crew died due to radiation they all turned. So. A thought my friend and I had. What if that one special thing that determines if your die or ghoulify is Gengas Khan's genetics. Its the only genetic link I can think of that would explain this kinda distribution, at least without getting into racist pseudoscience wich hopefully the series itself doesn't do.

I don't think you're off-base in thinking there must be some genetic marker that predisposes someone to 1) ghoulification rather than death, and 2) the length of time spent sentient prior to becoming feral, but I personally don't think it's related to Genghis Khan's bloodline. Prisons and military installations full of ghouls are effective set pieces, and I think the groups of Chinese ghouls found in the games are there primarily to illustrate the forces of war that literally could not care less about the people caught up in it. More under the cut.

There are quite a few instances across the games where Chinese ghouls are living in groups, either sentient or feral, but these groups typically occurred for one of two reasons. The first reason is imprisonment, which includes the Turtledove Detention Camp in Fallout 3's Point Lookout DLC, and the Little Yangtze concentration camp in Fallout New Vegas's Old World Blues DLC. Both ran American programs of torture and experimentation prior to the Great War, and both were in close proximity to toxic waste that permeated the soil and water, which ghoulified the surviving prisoners after the bombs fell and their captors abandoned them.

The second reason is jingoism. This covers the Chinese remnants at Mama Dolce's and a couple of listening posts in Fallout 3, and the Motherlode Acquisition Facility in Fallout 76. The Motherlode Acquisition Facility is sitting right on top of what looks like an ultracite fissure site (which I can say from experience is not great for one's health), but besides that the sentient ghouls in each are doing what the Enclave does - carrying out covert military operations and extending the war past the point of nuclear annihilation. Ghoulification is practically a bonus in this case as it extends lifespans and eliminates the threat of radiation sickness, allowing agents to better carry out their missions on American soil. Whether or not the Chinese remnants all submitted to this process voluntarily is obviously up for debate - there is at least one spy in the Motherlode Acquisition Facility that doesn't want to be there. You also pointed out the Yangtze-31 submarine in Fallout 4, which touches both reasons - a Chinese nuclear payload that contributed to the Great War, and naval mine damage that caused a reactor leak which ghoulified the crew and shut the vessel down. Still, Captain Zao harbors no ill will to peaceful investigators, so it's safe to say he and his crew were primarily the victims of circumstantial imprisonment.

But for imprisonment by either the state or circumstances, there are plenty of documented instances where the populations affected weren't primarily Chinese. The Californian residents of Vault 12 in the first Fallout game, a vault whose door was designed to close improperly, is one such case. Vault 34 in Fallout New Vegas saw a chunk of its own Mojave Desert population mutate thanks to a damaged reactor. The beached FMS Northern Star in Fallout 4 has a Norwegian ghoul crew. The remaining inmates of Eastern Regional Penitentiary in Fallout 76 have become emaciated and feral, and they were Appalachian criminals and union organizers.

Ghoulification for the sake of America is a little harder to find, but I would argue that mutation is still a tool of those who are dragging the nation's corpse around. The Enclave classifies all mutants, ghouls included, as subhuman and worthy of extermination, but they're still willing to exploit Fallout 2's super mutant Frank Horrigan for their own purposes. If they viewed ghouls as useful, I have no doubt they would have ghoulified their own ranks.

Really, what we have in the case of the Chinese ghouls on American soil is a display of writer-induced survivorship bias. The setting draws heavy inspiration from the Red Scare and McCarthyism, where instead of the Soviet Union, Communist China has hidden within the United States to further its own goals. While the games make use of environmental storytelling elements like holotapes, journals, and propaganda, it's just more interesting for the player to occasionally happen upon a populated secret base or prison or submarine to see the extent of the Chinese infiltration and America's paranoia. Oh, it's been 200 years since the bombs fell? Well, lucky for the writers, they have this in-universe explanation for why someone might have lived long enough to meet the player character. If it weren't for the preserved groups of Chinese ghouls, we probably wouldn't see the pre-war Chinese people at all.

[p-s-smith-author]

An Accident with Reactor 1

A link to one of my stories

An Accident with Reactor 1 https://patrickssmithauthor.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/an-accident-with-reactor-1/

Friday, Day 1:

I was at the doctor’s office with my daughter for a follow up on her arm where she broke it. Six weeks, two emergency room visits, countless x-rays and a surgery to fix where she had broken both the radius and ulna in her right arm. I guess swimming the backstroke isn’t her cup of tea.

Fortunately, everything was healing well and her physical therapy was proceeding as scheduled.

While I was waiting, I took a quick scan of the news and saw a blurb about rolling black outs from Atlanta to Charlotte. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the article and started to watch it. Evidently, one of the nuclear reactors at a power plant in Gaffney has gone offline.

I started bouncing my leg nervously as I watched the news cast.

According to the news, around 5:30 am, there was an anomaly with reactor one at the plant. A spokesman for the plant claimed there were no fatalities and no immediate threat to the communities nearby, though the news showed several ambulances leaving the plant, lights and sirens on.

During the press conference, several reporters tried pressing the spokesman for more information. They kept asking if there was a danger of containment breach, radiation leaks or public health risks to the surrounding communities. Each time, the spokesman kept repeating the same answers he had already given.

Even though I was several hours from Gaffney, my mind started wandering to nightmare scenarios. Charlotte was an hour west of the plant. What would happen to the people there?

Throughout the broadcast, I felt like the audio was off, as if it didn’t sound quite right. One reporter, who I was familiar with, sounded different from what I remembered. “Must be a bad mic,” I thought to myself.

As I started to look for more on this incident, my daughter came out to the lobby. “Everything is good, and no more brace,” she said, holding up her arm.

We checked out and got a school excuse for her before leaving to take her back to school.

As we’re driving to her school, I said to her, “I guess we’re not going to Chattanooga tomorrow. Traffic in Atlanta is going to be a mess.” I then explain to her why.

Saturday, Day 2:

My daughter and I had planned to go to Chattanooga to visit the railroad museum and get some items for our train layout. Even though we were not going to Chattanooga, I still got up early. Just because I canceled the trip didn’t mean we couldn’t shop. 

After putting coffee on, I went to my office to do a little shopping online.

While I was looking at things, I turned the TV on, just for a little background noise, not paying attention to what channel it was on. 

I just finished selecting some track segments for our new addition when I realized I’ve had the news on. 

It is an update on the reactor incident.

Since the incident, government officials had arrived and started their investigation and setting up monitoring equipment. They were giving some statement and again there was a problem with the audio from the site as the woman’s voice sounded a little high-pitched. She said that there may have been an initial leak of radiation, but currently all readings were normal. She also said that though the other three reactors were undamaged, plant officials powered them down as a safety measure.

The news feed then cut to the scene outside the plant grounds. A large number of people were outside the gates protesting. Some protesters wore plastic rain gear made to look like some sort of bio-suit. They were holding signs proclaiming this was another Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima. The audio here was odd, but not as bad as the audio from the press conference on the plant grounds.

While the news was giving an update on the situation with the reactor, my wife came into the office. She stood at the doorway watching the TV with me. When the newscast went on to the next segment, she asked, “That’s horrible. Do you think we are in danger here?”

I had to think for a few minutes before answering her. “I don’t think so. We’re like two-hundred fifty miles away and they are north east of us. That is not to say that if they evacuate, people might flee here.”

“So I take it we’re not going to Chattanooga then?”

“I expect Atlanta will be a nightmare, so no.”

She sighed then said, “Then I’ll let the kids sleep in then.”

Throughout the day, I kept checking the news. I didn’t let my wife know at the time, but I was a little concerned. I knew vaguely about Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima and really didn’t trust the information I was seeing on the news. As the day wore on, people talking on site seemed to have more and more of a higher pitch to them.

Sunday, Day 3:

I checked the news several times during the day. Each time, I became more uncertain about the situation in Gaffney. The change in the pitch of people’s voices in the area set my nerves on edge.

Some residents in the area had evacuated while some had started looting. Civic leaders had called a town hall meeting to reassure the people that they were safe. This did little to reassure the public as they kept screaming at the politicians, blaming them for campaigning for a “death factory.”

In the early hours of the morning, protestors outside the plant had tried to break into the plant. One of the protestors said they wanted to take over the control rooms and destroy them so the undamaged reactors couldn’t be restarted.

“Idiots,” I say out loud. Just because a nuclear reactor is shut down, does not mean it’s safe.

In response, the governor of South Carolina had called up the National Guard as additional security at the plant.

Elsewhere, outside of other nuclear plants in the country, protestors had started gathering, demanding that they shut down.

There was one piece of good news. Or at least something close to being good news. The President was flying in to tour the plant and inspect things herself. 

I know that before becoming a governor and then the President, she had managed a research company and had a solid background in science. However, I couldn’t help but feel this was some grand stand by her, unlike President Carter, who had a background in nuclear plants.

By the time I went to bed that night, I had decided I was going to evacuate to my parent’s home in Tulsa. I’d let my wife know in the morning and start making the arrangements.

Monday, Day 4:

The next morning, before I told my wife my plan, she told me she’d feel better if we left and went to Rock Hill to be with her parents.

“No, we need to head west. If there is any danger, we don’t want to be downwind of the plant. Just let work know what is going on and you need to work remotely for a while. I’ll call my parents and start making the other arrangements and packing. I want to be out of here this evening if possible,” I said to her.

She agreed with this and got the kids off to school, totally unaware of what was going on.

I had the news on in the office while I was preparing to leave. At about 9 am, the news broke to the President giving a statement about the incident.

When she stepped up to the podium, she had this look of someone who was about to try to make a hard sell. It didn’t bolster any confidence in me. But when she spoke, she spoke with an air of confidence, as if she was telling someone an immutable fact, like water is wet.

I listened intently as she described the situation in an artificial chipmunk like voice.

According to her, on Friday morning, reactor number one had a power fluctuation that caused a containment breach. This breach released a momentary burst of radiation that lasted less than a millisecond, and luckily, was directed skyward. Once the breach occurred, the reactor by design shutdown as it could not sustain the nuclear reaction. However, the initial incident caused the main shutoff valve on the liquid hydrogen fuel tank to rupture and the plant was venting hydrogen into the atmosphere uncontrollably.

The four individuals taken to the hospital on Friday suffered mainly bumps and bruises when the breach occurred and they released three on Friday to go home. The fourth individual fractured their collar bone, which required surgery, but was expected to be released that afternoon.

She explained that there was no danger of further radiation leaks from the damaged reactor. The plant in Gaffney was a fusion plant rather than a fission plant like Three Mile Island. The plant here made electricity by taking hydrogen and converting it to helium the same way the sun does. There are no radioactive by-products or waste and the plant only generates radiation when the reactors are operating.

The biggest concern now was the leaking hydrogen igniting. Engineers were trying to devise a way to seal the leak, but extreme cold of the liquid hydrogen would make things difficult.

Before turning the podium over to the next speaker, she informed everyone that the only current health risk is oxygen deprivation from the hydrogen and people talking in a funny voice like you get when sucking the helium out of a balloon.

[hunbunbunnie]

"what's your go to wikipedia article when you need to distract yourself?"

Hah, nothing in particular, just whatever I'm reading about that day. Recently it was wierd fiction, but before that it was roman patronage, sumeria, proto cities, la urban development, nuclear fusion reactors, iron ageEngland, etc etc. Really its that wikipedia and tumblr are my two main time sinks on my phone, except I can't very well browse tumblr if I want to get less horny, can I?

Also, that post you shared about mutual holding is super hot. If someone is holding my dick while I have to pee I'm going to be hard as a rock, and I know some people can pee when they're hard but I've never managed it, so I bet I could hold it forever. But really, what I'm imagining is holding on to someone (and of course I'm not going to be still, im going to take every opportunity to play with them) and then when the next big wave comes and they need to clamp down hard to avoid wetting themselves just "accidentally" not giving them enough pressure; being fake sorry, pretending I can't quite get a good angle and by the time I do they're already leaking so they might as well let the rest out. Oh well.

On a different subject, while I'm enjoying talking with you and sending anonymous asks, they have a nice epistolary quality to them, I wondered if you wanted to move this to dms? No pressure one way or the other.

Oooo another idea that I love when it comes to holding it for someone is getting them right in front of the toilet or wherever they plan on letting go and shifting my hand so that it's in the way ^^ In a perfect world they'd get all squirmy and frantic, begging me to move while desperately trying to bat my hand away so they could have the relief that's right in front of them <3

And my DMs are open! I just might not respond all that often since I'm not online much!!!

[dykesynthezoid]

Nuclear Accidents to read about for more Burrow’s End Context (Besides Chernobyl):

I’ve recently become hyperfixated with reading about these and a lot of them have bits that I think can add to what’s going on in Burrow’s End. (These are far from all the possible examples I could give you, these just seemed the most relevant). I’ve grouped them by location in honor of the Cold War themes we’ve been seeing.

Soviet Incidents:

Mayak Kyshtym Disaster (1957) | Considered the third worst nuclear plant disaster in history (behind Chernobyl and Fukushima). Case of neglect and lack of oversight and general human stupidity. Caused huge amount of contamination to surrounding area; they had previously already been dumping their waste into a nearby lake. High civilian casualties; at least 200 people died and many, many more were affected.

“In the 45 years afterwards, about half a million people in the region have been irradiated in one or more of the incidents, exposing them to up to 20 times the radiation suffered by the Chernobyl disaster victims outside of the plant itself.”

Vinča Nuclear Institute Criticality Excursion (1958) | Researchers smelled ozone while they were unknowingly being irradiated, resulting in one death

Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant Incidents | 1975: Electrical fire destroyed control lines to coolant pumps 1989: Another cooling pump malfunction caused near-meltdown

KS-150 Incidents (1976, 1977) | Several different incidents involving coolant malfunction

K-431 Chazhma Bay Accident (1985) | Criticality excursion on a nuclear submarine caused by operator error. Resulted in a large area of severe contamination. (10 fatalities, another 49 injured, unknown how many could have been affected by contamination).

US Incidents:

Louis Slotin Accident (1946) | There are several excursions and deaths associated with the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos— but this one involved witnesses reporting a “blue glow” as the resulting radiation ionized the surrounding air. Slotin died within days, and several of his colleagues were injured, one permanently disabled, with some later dying early deaths.

Cecil Kelley Accident (1958) | Procedural error caused criticality accident that resulted in a “bright flash of blue light;” (warning that the descriptions on this one get particularly grisly as Kelley received more than seven times the adult lethal dose of radiation; he was the only one affected).

Surry Power Station Incidents (1972, 1979, 1986, 2011) | Multiple cooling system accidents, primarily those involving escaping steam, resulting in burns and one explosion. (Only the events in 1972 and 1986 resulted in loss of life, for 6 deaths total)

Three Mile Island Accident (1979) | Water escaped from the coolant system due to a mix of operator error and design flaws. This led to the reactor overheating and an eventual leak of radioactive gases via the steam released during the incident. Luckily the contamination of surrounding areas appears to have been minimal (for the most part).

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Malfunctions (1986) | Used Cape Cod Bay as the water source for its cooling system, resulting in an impact on aquatic plant and animal life. In 1986, recurring equipment malfunctions resulted in an emergency shutdown. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission once referred to it as “one of the worst-run″ nuclear power plants in the US.

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Incidents (1987) | Nuclear Regulatory Commission found evidence of misconduct, procedure error, corporate malfeasance, deliberate disregard for safety regulations, and pollution via accidental waste leakage into a nearby river. Resulted in a forced shutdown in 1987, associated with cooling malfunctions.

(There are several other [mostly nonfatal] US incidents at nuclear power plants, too many to fully get into here. See: Idaho National Laboratory, Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Crystal River Nuclear Plant, and Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station)

Other Locations:

Lucens Reactor Accident (1969) | Loss of coolant accident led to partial meltdown and contamination of the reactor cavern

Vandellòs Nuclear Power Plant Accident (1989) | A fire damaged the cooling system, leading to near-meltdown

Other Resources:

Wikipedia:

Page for nuclear and radiation accidents

Page for criticality accidents

Page for LOCA (Loss-of-coolant accident)

Union of Concerned Scientists:

A Brief History of Nuclear Accidents Worldwide

National Health Institute:

Civilian nuclear incidents: An overview of historical, medical, and scientific aspects

See Also:

World Nuclear Association, Atomic Archive, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

[sundry-sid]

reflecting on all of the pieces of the puzzle that we have building here. through thorn’s look through the wood pidgeon’s eyes, we saw that there is an area of effect of the blue/light centered on last bast. we know that terrible things are driving the stoats out from all directions to last bast as the last safe place. i imagine that human development has pushed stoats and wildlife out from their old homes, and this nuclear radiation zone is the only place that has been a safe for wildlife. it comes with being changed by the blue, some for the better and others becoming more monstrous. if this is the case, tula’s desire to find anywhere else to live could be futile. there could be no safe place outside of the blue due to human pressures.

have humans been making attempts to go back to last bast in an effort to turn off a leaking reactor? are they testing or culling animals in the radiation zone?

are the last bast stoats intentionally capturing and potentially breeding monsterous fauna to release back into the forests as defense against humans? does this have a secondary effect to putting more pressure on stoats in the wild to come to join the collective/be incorporated into this effort?

aabria is setting the pieces on the board and i’m so excited to see how they play out

[justinewt]

Heavy Lies the Crown - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Thirty

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: After spending days trying to find a solution to make the ship habitable for all 500 people in Arkadia, they found a lead, something that could ensure they would all survive what was coming their way, but to actually get it would be harder than they initially thought, having to make another impossible choice that would impact all of them.

Words: 4.2k

Warnings: The 100 season 4 spoilers (episode 2 "Heavy Lies the Crown"), some light angst, mob beating/violence

 “We’ve been at this for two days.” Bellamy complained. “There must be something we’re not thinking of. What if we could reach the nearest nuclear reactor?”

“I told you, the meltdown started months ago.” Raven then stated, leaning against a desk. Michelle was dragging her feet on the floor, walking back and forth, her arms crossed as she looked at them. They were all trying to find a way to survive the radiation coming their way. “There’s no magic button to turn them off. Today this isn’t black rain, but it will be soon. That’s why we have to focus on riding out the radiation, finding some place safe and big enough to hold all 500 of us.”

“This isn’t just about saving us.” Clarke was leaning forward on a table, thinking, and she turned towards them. Michelle stopped moving around when she felt something fell on her head. She brought her fingers to her scalp, and she felt it was wet. She looked up without moving her head and felt another drop of water fall on her head, so she stepped away, crossing Monty’s gaze. It was raining outside and there were leaks in the ring. Thankfully, as Raven said, it wasn’t black rain yet. “I made a promise to Roan. It’s about saving everyone.”

“And that’s why we need to tell everyone.” Raven started the whole debate again, whether the masses should be told about the situation. “Crowdsource it. If there’s another mount weather out there, the grounders will know about it.”

“And you think they’re just gonna tell us, just like that?” Bellamy asked. “If we tell everybody they’re gonna die, the coalition is over, Roan falls, and the grounders will be at our gate.” Monty pinched the bridge of his nose before letting his hands fall and he straightened up, walking towards the window, rain pouring outside.

“Then just tell our people. We need more minds on this problem. On the Ark, people volunteered for the culling because they were told the truth and given a choice. A choice your dad died for.” She turned to Clarke.

“You think I’ve forgotten that?”

“Ok. We’ll tell everybody the truth as soon as we have a viable solution. Without one, it’ll start a panic.” Raven stepped towards Bellamy and continued to argue with him over this. They all turned their heads when they heard Monty suddenly exclaim, having no idea what he was talking about.

“Think. Alpha Station survived for 97 years in space through elevated radiation levels and extreme temperature fluctuations. Sound familiar? All we have to do is patch up the ship. We’re standing in our viable solution.” He smiled, looking up as they all glanced at each other, kind of looking around them. Sure, if they could stop all those leaks everywhere, they would survive the black rain to come, but Michelle wondered how many of them could survive in there, because there wasn’t enough room for everyone to be comfortable. But it was the plan they’d go with. They all went to sleep and met up again the next day, to discuss things further. Raven had concluded that they could get the ship sealed up in a month and Bellamy left to go explain the whole Miller and Bryan while Michelle went to find Clarke. The biggest problem with using the Ark was that feeding 500 people would be very difficult. They had to go to farm station to get stuff they needed to make things work and they needed to get Miller and Bryan to be in on it. Bryan knew where Farm station was, though they all knew it had landed in Ice nation territory.

An hour later, they were ready to go, the car’s battery was full, and Monty and Harper were joining Bryan, Nate and Bellamy on their expedition. When after talking with the two boyfriends, Bellamy found her and to his surprise, she didn’t try to get him to let her come along and wanted her to sit this one out and stay with Clarke at Arkadia. He didn’t insist then but wanted her to come with him. She understood he wanted to keep her safe with him, maybe this had to do with the unspoken exchange between him and her dad back at Polis before they left, with this little, solemn nod they gave each other as if sealing a deal. Of course, this was about her, and it made her smile in an amused way to think of it as though they were handing Michelle’s protection to one another, because it’s how it looked like, but she didn’t care or mind. Then she just kissed him and asked him to be cautious while on Ice nation territory. Now back in the hangar, with everyone getting ready, Clarke and Michelle walked towards Bellamy as he told them the battery was full.

“If we’re lucky, we won’t have to stop to recharge.”

“Even luckier if Roan’s seal will work the way it’s supposed to. If you get in trouble, show this.” Clarke took a peek at the seal, wrapped in leather and gave it to him. A

“You can still come with us.”

“No. I can’t. Arkadia is just plan B. It doesn’t help the grounders. I’m not stopping until we have a solution that saves everyone.”

“We save who we can save today.” His eyes then shifted to Michelle, standing by Clarke and looking at her as she nodded, somewhat worried about not finding a solution for the grounders. She was about to look at him and say no as well but Clarke put her hand on her shoulder and told her she could go with them if she wanted. She finally accepted and gave her a nod before following Bellamy as she went to sit at the front of the truck with him. She saw he had a small smirk, content that she was coming with them after failing at convincing her earlier this morning. They drove for a while until finally reaching the border of Ice nation. Bellamy stopped the vehicle, and they got out, looking at the snowy mountains in the distance and the crashed ship of Farm station sitting further down in the valley. “This is as close as we can get. From here, we go on foot. We get the machine and get out of here.”

“Guys, we got a problem.” Nate took a closer look at the ship with his binoculars and seemingly noticed something. The rest of them got down on one knee, looking at where he pointed through the scops of their machine guns. “The barn isn’t empty.”

“They moved in.” Bryan said, clenching his jaw. “If it’s the same guys who attacked us, with our guns, we could take them.”

“I’m sure we could, but we didn’t come here to fight.” Bellamy disagreed.

“They butchered us, killed kids, our friends, our families.”

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but Bellamy’s right. We need that machine.” Monty glanced over at him through the corner of his eye. Michelle turned her head to look towards him and instead met the gaze of a masked, and armed, ice nation grounder who was creeping up on them and when Michelle spoke up, jumping on her feet and aiming at the grounder, alerting the three young men in turn, the grounder put the tip of an arrow against Harper’s neck. Almost a dozen other grounders came out from the woods and surrounded them. At Bellamy’s word, Michelle let go of her gun first, followed by the others, but Bryan was still reluctant at surrendering to those people. Bellamy tried to reach for the seal inside his jacket but was first stopped. He was eventually able to get it and showed it to them. The woman in front of him took a good look at it, turned around and kind of nodded to her peers but suddenly turned back around and violently hit Bellamy in the face with the seal, knocking him to the ground. Michelle bent her knees, wanting to check on him but a masked Azgedan tightened his grip on his bow, aiming at her so she stood to her full height. The grounders took all their weapons and tied their hands before forcing them to march towards the station. When they met their chief, Bellamy was abruptly pushed down on his knees and interrogated. The rest of them were made to kneel as well on the sides.

“Where did you get this?”

“King Roan. Skaikru and Azgeda are allies. He sent us to get a part of the ship, a machine.” The woman who punched Bellamy spoke to her chief in her native language and Michelle couldn’t quite catch what she was saying but she knew it was about Roan, and given her tone and the face she pulled, she wasn’t fond of him. She recalled he had previously been banished from his homeland and his legitimacy to be king had already been questioned by some so that must have been the problem she had with this. Her chief put the seal away and pulled out a blade. Bellamy was understandably alarmed and tried to talk to him again.

“Look, if we’d come to take this place back, there’d be a lot more of us, and you know that.” Michelle swallowed harshly and her eyes grew restless, going from Bellamy to the chief when the latter pulled him up on his feet, his knife still in his hand. She parted her lips, about to try and stop him from hurting him but she was taken aback when he actually just freed him from the rope tying his wrists together. Bellamy was seemingly as surprised as her and exchanged such a look with her as the chief rose his voice and his men started freeing the whole group.

“Where is this ‘machine’ for the king?” They followed the chief through the corridors, with Bellamy at the front of the line, right behing him. Monty tried to speak to Harper as they walked but was scolded by one of the grounders and made to be silent again. They stopped in front of a large door. There was silence. The chief glanced over at the woman who brought them in and then motioned for someone else to open the door for them. The group was beyond shocked to find out some of their people from Farm station had been enslaved, working with their heads down and dressed in rags and yelled at. Michelle never really knew the people from Farm Station, but they were still her people, and she couldn’t believe her own eyes. She looked to the side and crossed gazes with a little girl looking back at her. She took a step in her direction without even thinking but Bellamy, who she was standing next to, grabbed her arm to stop her. His hand slid down her wrist and wrapped hers as Monty showed them the generator, on the platform right above their heads. The chief made a gesture inviting them to follow him to go get it and Bellamy slightly squeezed Michelle’s hand before letting go and they followed the grounder to the stairs. Michelle glanced back at the little girl from the corner of her eyes, her eyebrows pulled together in worry but there was nothing she could do about it right now. She knew Bellamy didn’t feel indifferent, but he kept his composure.

As they were climbing the stairs, they turned around upon hearing Bryan call someone’s name after he recognized one of the slaves and straight up walked towards him and grabbed his shoulder. It was probably one of his old friends. Michelle stepped aside, standing against the railing and watched Bellamy rush to Bryan as he was pushed away from the enslaved young man.

“Only the machine. The rest is ours.” The chief warned.

Bellamy grabbed Bryan’s shoulder and led him back to the stairs though the latter was reluctant to leave his friend, but they couldn’t afford to start a fight with those people. If they wanted the machine, they couldn’t and this sens of powerlessness was the worst part of all this. It was beyond infuriating for everyone in the group. To have to watch this without saying or doing anything. Maybe there was a way to get their friends, but Michelle doubted that this scenario involved a peaceful ending.

“I don’t care that we’re unarmed. We can’t just leave them.” Bryan mumbled as they busied themselves around the generator.

“We’re in the coalition now, so we ask the king to free them. That’s our best bet.” Harper said.

“Not if it means leaving Riley.” He was dead set on saving his friend and it reminded Michelle how she and Bellamy were so determined to find Clarke a few months ago. She wasn’t blaming him, and if they agreed on a plan to get their people out of there, she would follow without question, but it seemed not everyone would be in on it. She peeked at Bellamy.

“No. We won’t, okay? But Harper’s right. We try diplomacy first.” Michelle silently nodded to his proposition, but she knew, deep down, that those grounders wouldn’t be so adamant to give up their working hands. “If that doesn’t work, we come back with reinforcements for the slaves after we take home the machine, right?”

“Yeah.” Bryan spoke under his breath, not too convinced by this approach. The little girl they saw downstairs walked past them holding a large bucket and discreetly let a wrapped cloth fall to the floor. Michelle noticed it too but Bellamy was quicker and put his shoe over it to bring it towards them without looking suspicious to the grounder watching them from the other end of the platform. She watched him from the corner of her eyes as he kneeled to look at it. Inside was a message alerting them that the slaves were to be moved tomorrow and asking them for help. Now they didn’t really have many options but to either leave or try and get them out of here.

“They’re moving them.” Bellamy told the others, quietly.

“It’s now or never.”

“Are there any other exits in here?” He asked Bryan.

“No. This is completely sealed. Came down from space in here because it’s the most secure room in the ship.”

“It’s designed that way in case the hydrazine blew.” Monty added.

“What?” Michelle wasn’t too science oriented, so she stared at Bellamy’s eyes, wide in realization. He turned his head towards her after glancing at Bryan.

“We have a bomb.”

“Wait a second.” Miller interrupted. “The end of the world is coming, and you want to destroy the one thing that’ll keep our people alive?”

“Yeah, not all of our people.” Bryan argued. “What about Riley?”

“I vote that we take it home.” He didn’t seem moved by this.

“No. Blow it up.”

“I’m with Bryan.” Harper chimed in. “I know what it’s like to be locked up and afraid. You didn’t leave us in Mount Weather. We shouldn’t leave them here.” Seeing as Michelle was the only one who remained silent, she brought her into this conversation, addind that she must agree as she and Clarke literally spent a year in solitary confinement and there was truth to what she said and though Michelle wanted to help take their friends out of there, she wanted to hear what Bellamy thought of this. Harper and Bryan wanted to blow it. Nate wanted to leave with the machine and Monty, after telling Bellamy that they would never be able to build another machine because of how advanced the technology was. If they went ahead with blowing it up, there was no turning back.

“We have 6 months. We have Raven. Are you telling me there’s no way she can figure out another way to make water?”

“Yes. Look… I know you want to make up for the things you’ve done – believe me, we all do – but we need to think of the big picture – 25 people, instead of 500. We’re talking about the human race, Bellamy. We need to get this machine back to Arkadia. It’s the only way.” So Monty was with Miller on this. Two to two. Michelle hadn’t voted, and neither did Bellamy. Everyone in the group knew that whatever one would pick, the other would follow so it was up to them to choose, and Harper let them know how urgent and grave this decision was. Bellamy looked down to their people working below and sighed heavily, his eyes meeting Michelle’s who and they knew instantly what the other was thinking. Michelle knew he didn’t want to let their peers behind, and she didn’t want that either. And there was only way to save them, blowing up the machine.

When they were done with the getting the machine ready to go, they all grabbed a corner and walked it across the room, looking down, and stopped midway in the corridor afte the door was closed behind them. They couldn’t blow it up in the room with the people they wanted to save. The machine bipped and Monty urged them to set it down, to the confusion of the grounders accompanying them to the exit. He squatted down, touched a few buttons and yelled to his friends. They knocked out the grounders and ran back to the door, opening and closing it just a second before it exploded. The chief walked with an angry step in their direction, wielding a long and heavy axe and swang it around, almost hitting Michelle in the head but she dodged it swiftly, stepping to the side, allowing Bellamy to shove him, making him lose his balance and fall over a piece of furniture. He and Miller grabbed him by the arms and pinned him to the floor, each throwing a punch at his face, but Bryan pulled his boyfriend off of him, telling him how this wasn’t his kill. Michelle thought she understood what he meant, that their people who had been enslaved had a right to getting their revenge but when he said Monty’s name, she was as surprised as the rest of them.

“What are you talking about?”

“This is the man that murdered your father.” He dropped another bomb there. Monty bit his lips, walking behind Bellamy, still holding the grounder down. Monty picked up his axe and looked down at the man.

“You don’t have to do this.” Bellamy spoke.

“Yeah. I do.” Instead of bashing his face in with the axe, he smashed the chains tied to the wall and freed their peers. The rattling of chains echoed throughout the rooms as they slid it out of their handcuffs eagerly and the whole two dozen of them rushed to the man who enslaved them, piling over him as they beat him up, ignoring him as he yelled at them to get off him. This was brutal to see and not in any case enjoyable but well deserved. He had it coming.

Instead of returning with a machine able to ensure the survival of the hundreds of people in Arkadia, the group returned with 25 more mouths to feed. This wasn’t exactly the result expected, but they couldn’t have left that place if they had left them there. Bellamy stopped the truck and Michelle followed him to the back to help the survivors off. Harper was busy handing them some water. They were in pretty bad shape after those months of slavery at the hands of those Ice nation grounders. Michelle saw Clarke in her peripheral vision and turned her head towards her. She obviously didn't understand why they came back with all these people.

“Riley?” Maybe Michelle wasn’t as observant as she thought. She didn’t remember any of those people from before. She might be smart and all, but it was true that she had her friends, her mom and she didn’t really look at other people outside of her close circle. Going to the ground definitely broadened her horizons and made her be more interested in other people. Clarke gave a hug to Riley while Michelle and Bellamy helped the rest of the Farm Station survivors. She looked at him as he picked up a little girl and carried her on the ground, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly as she clinged on his jacket. Michelle gave a hand to a man as he hoped off the truck and gave him a friendly smile as she tenderly watched Bellamy. It was a really sweet sight. She wondered if one day they would be able to settle and live peacefully, and maybe make a family of their own together but that certainly wouldn't happen in the near future given what they were going to face. And they were young. Maybe she dreamed of a family, but she wasn't even 19 yet. Hopefully, in 10 years they wouldn’t be dead and would actually be able to do all this.

“Get Riley and the others to Medbay and tell them we’ll take them to their villages in the morning.” He gently moved the little girl forward and she took Riley’s hand as they walked away.

“Where is it?” Michelle stepped aside as Raven came from behind her, looking at the back of the truck, now empty. No machine to be seen.

“We didn’t get the machine.” She then said in a sigh, sharing a look with Bellamy.

“It didn’t survive landing?” Clarke wondered.

“No. It did, but I had a choice – we, had a choice –, bring the machine home or use it to save them.” His explanation only made Raven curse under her breath. He looked at her. “We have time, but I am not sacrificing any more innocent lives.”

“You just did.” Michelle crossed Clarke’s gaze as she disapproved of their decision and Bellamy spoke again. She looked away. She understood that she disagreed with this, but she didn’t regret it. She would’ve wanted to be saved too.

“I made the call, and I’ll live with that.”

“Yeah. You’re not the only one who has to live with your call, as usual.” Raven blamed him.

“Well, go tell them. Go tell Riley I should’ve left them to die.”

“Okay.” Clarke felt th tensiong build up between the two and subtly stepped in before it escalated. “How many of us will the ship sustain without a hydro-generator?”

“No more than a hundred.” Raven said, shaking her head. They all let out a heavy sigh, and there was nothing to be done about it now. Without this machine, there was nothing else to do.

“What am I supposed to tell the people now?”

“The truth.” Raven and Michelle glanced at each other as they thought of the same thing at the same time. They weren’t close and if asked would probably say they were neither foes nor friends, but it seemed they agreed on certain things still, such as what to do now. There was no point in keeping the situation a secret.

“Crowdsource it like we talked about.” Raven added before walking away. Clarke would call for a general meeting, to tell everyone about the dire situation they found themselves in.

“What are you gonna do?” Bellamy then asked. Clarke’s brows were pulled together in worry as she turned her head towards him and Michelle.

“Hope that there’s a forgiving God.” They followed her towards the center of the camp, where they had a small stage set up. She walked on there as the crowd gathered before her and she spoke, loud and clear, explaining them the whole thing before closing her speech. There were a few reactions of shock and concern during it but no one interrupted her yet. “So now you know the truth. I know you’re afraid. I know you’re angry, but when I shut down Alie, I knew there was a way for us to get through this, together.” She looked to her side, at Bellamy, Michelle and Raven. But her next words made their face drop slightly. “Alpha Station is that way. Every single one of us will survive on this ship. It won’t be easy. Raven needs volunteers if we’re gonna get this ready in time. It’ll be a lot of work, but now you understand why we need to do it. If we stick together, I give you my word, we won’t just survive. We’ll thrive.”

“Nice speech.” Raven said dryly, her arms crossed over her chest, when Clarke approached them.

“Sometimes hope is more important than truth.”

“Your dad would be so proud.” She shook her head, squinting her eyes as she glared at her. Michelle agreed with Raven on the fact Clarke shouldn’t have lied, she herself would have rather preferred to be told right away about her mother’s death, than hope she would be there when the ships landed on the ground. But in her case, it was no one’s fault – except it was. She realized if she hadn’t refused to talk to her mother beforehand, when they had this little coms set up in the tent, she wouldn’t make her think so much. The coms had gone out by the time the bombing on the Ark occurred anyway. She shook away that thought and looked at Clarke.

“You wanted workers. You got them.” Raven stepped towards the group that was waiting nearby and led them to the hangar on the other side of the camp, leaving Michelle, Bellamy and Clarke together.

“We save who we can save today.” It was a fitting conclusion to this whole shit show.

[To be continued…]  

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Published (07/25/2024) by Andrea

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