Chapter 2

The company that owned the facility had a much tougher problem. Their sensors indicated that there had been a lab accident allowing contamination from SL47. Worse, the sensors also indicated that the virus had escaped into the atmosphere. There was no one left at the plant. The project oversight officer was located at the headquarters in Virginia. He pushed hard to see the company CEO immediately. It took only the first news report three hours later for the CEO to realize the company's plant was the center of the catastrophe and to call for anyone connected to the project to report to his office immediately.

George Andrews was a scholarly seeming, quiet individual on the outside. He was in his early thirties and had the appearance of good health. He was the project coordinator reporting to the Plant Leader and his associate, M. Loyd Webb. Both of those individuals were at the plant and presumed dead. The plant was now a hole in the ground being covered with water. It was the center of the fault through Florida. George did not relish speaking but his fears about what had happened overrode his apprehensions about speaking in front of the CEO.

George started, "A little over four hours ago at four minutes after ten this morning, we received an alarm that the virus, SL47, was loose in its containment room. There were two men in the room at the time. Within thirty seconds of that alarm, there was another alarm recording a breach in the building roof and, from those alarms and the sensors, it appears that some amount of SL47 was vented into the atmosphere. Less than two minutes later, an atomic sensor began to indicate problems with the nuclear pile. Thirty-four seconds later, the entire facility blew up. Sir, it is my duty to tell you that what occurred should have been impossible. The containment room is exactly that. The sensor showing the SL47 escaping into the atmosphere seemed to be working correctly but I can think of no way the leak occurred. While I do not know enough physics to tell you the ins and outs of it, I have always been told, reactors don't just blow up.

"I suggest that we move with what we do know at this time. First, and most serious, the SL47 probably escaped into the atmosphere. If the virus was not destroyed in the explosion, people will be getting sick tomorrow afternoon and deaths will follow two days later. The explosion and other damage are minor if this is true."

One of the men interrupted, "Minor! A new canal through central Florida and millions wiped out by the tsunami aren't minor!"

"Unfortunately, they are minor when compared to the billions who will die from the SL47. It is so deadly that we suspect a survival rate of considerably less than one percent. It's an aerosol. That is my concern. We have no idea about the virus and won't until people began to show symptoms."

Faces went white and the man who had objected sat down limply in his chair. There was complete silence for a minute or more ... Finally, our CEO spoke, "This will be the policy. I will go to the government and make a complete disclosure of what we know so far. George, you will come with me. Bring what you have. We will not sugarcoat any part of the situation. We can say that it appears to have been an accident and we don't know how it happened. I do have concerns. Holes don't magically appear in the roof of a complex like this and nuclear reactors don't explode.

"Jeff, you will be in charge of a project to determine what happened and find some explanation for it. It may not matter except to our consciousnesses because, if George is right, we will die from the virus. Until and if the virus disables us, we will find out everything we can and try to figure out what to do. Go now!"

He crooked his finger at me and said, "George, we are going to the Pentagon. The Secretary of Defense is a friend and we will start with him. I expect we will see the President tomorrow at the latest. Bill, come with us a bit. The press will be here sooner or later." We left and he was punching numbers into his phone as he walked. He said, "Miriam, call Secretary Stancil and tell him I am coming over with a co-worker regarding the explosion in Florida. Tell him it's vital I talk to him as soon as possible. Thank you." He ended the call and turned to Bill, "Bill, you don't have to bow and scrap at all on this one. Give them the truth and all information that we have. If we don't know, tell them we don't know. However, 'no comment' isn't part of your vocabulary today." Bill nodded and left us.

Before we arrived at the Pentagon, he had had two more phone calls. One from Bill telling him that he had received the first calls from the press and was setting a conference for two hours from now. The other was from Secretary Stancil's office to arrange for us to be met. I was impressed.

I took us an hour and a half to get there but we pulled in as directed and an army Major met us with a salute. "I'm to take you directly to the Secretary, Sir." He even saluted me. I tried to be invisible as I followed them.

We entered a conference room and the Secretary said, "Frank, I have five minutes before the Chiefs and I meet with the President. What have you got?"

Our CEO looked at me and said, "George, tell it to him just like you told me."

I did and the Secretary went white. He looked at my boss, "You're sure of this?"

"Yes. George is a good man and he's giving us the information directly from our sensors along with everything we know at this time. I have a team working to develop more data. However, they can't change facts just tell us more about what happened and, maybe, why. I understand that the virus is difficult to detect under any conditions, is transmitted through the air, and is a killer.

"We lost a lot of good people today and Florida's losses will be in the millions. However, if the SL47 is loose, the death toll will be in the billions."

The Secretary said, "What about vaccines?"

My boss looked at me and I said, "Mr. Secretary, it's a virus. There are no antidotes. The team in Polk City were working on a vaccine that might work if you take it soon enough. From their tests, if SL47 is out, all of Florida is gone. If we gave it out here, about one in ten will catch the virus from the vaccine and die with about half the rest being saved. Those aren't good odds. It's not a nice bug. It's very strong. To our knowledge, there are two, now three, reported instances. No one has ever survived."

The Secretary looked up at me. There was a knock on the door and the Major said, "It's time, Sir."

"Gentlemen," he said, "you are coming with me. Let's go."

The chiefs looked up to see four entering when they had expected two. The Secretary said, "They're with me. You'll learn in a moment. Get the President on the screen."

The face of the President came on. He said, "Mitchell, are you sure about these people with you?"

"Yes, Mr. President. They have information vital to our coming discussion."

"We'll see. Gentlemen and Lady, the Vice President is in Texas and the Secretary of State is in France. We will bring them into the loop later."

"Mitchell, what can your people tell us?"

Mr. President, I would like to introduce a friend, Frank Jones and one of his people, George Andrews. Frank is CEO of the company that owned the facility. George has first hand knowledge. I would let them report what they know first." The President nodded.

"Mr. President, I am Frank Jones, CEO of Amberlite. We contract with, among others, the Department of Defense. Two of our contracts were being worked at that facility. George is the Project Facilitator for one of those projects and had access to information from both projects. George, tell them."

I did as I was told including details about the vaccine. While we had the formula, we had no samples. I included that information.

"So, you don't know what happened?"

I replied, "Mr. President, we know most of what happened. We don't know why or how. Mr. Jones appointed a team to cover that aspect but, if the SL47 is on the loose, that won't be very important."

"We will have to hold someone responsible. It's the American way."

"Mr. President, hold me responsible." My boss said to shocked eyes all around. Then, he continued, "If George's worse case scenario is correct. We are all dead.

"It's time to figure out what to do and not who to blame. I have told our public relations guy to answer all press inquiries completely and truthfully. 'No comment' is not to be used."

The Army Chief said, "What if you don't know?"

"Then, that's what he will tell them."

The news channels were on but muted. I saw a banner with "Late Breaking News" on it. I pointed at the screens. Our P R guy, Bill, was on the screen. The President said, "Turn one up. Let's hear him."

A reporter was saying, " ... at your facility in Polk City, Florida, this morning. What can you tell us?"

Bill responded, "I will tell you everything we know. First, we don't know why or how it happened. It's being investigated but, by comparison, that isn't important." There was a rumble and Bill held up his hand for silence. "What we know is that we received three warnings from sensors in the main building. The first was that a dangerous virus had escaped within a containment room. Very quickly thereafter, a roof breach was reported. We suspect the virus escaped into the atmosphere. Within three minutes, we had a warning of trouble with the reactor. About thirty seconds later, there was an explosion.

"The entire facility was destroyed with no survivors. Our tracking of events is due to the sensors we use and the sending of that information to our headquarters here. When the explosion occurred, that information flow stopped. Every person at our facility was killed. Many, many people in Florida and in the Gulf and the Atlantic have been killed from the catastrophic events following the explosion. Our company mourns their loss of life."

A reporter said, "Do you have any other information?"

"Not at this time. We will call a conference when we know more."

Another reporter asked, "Does Amberlite understand the risks of nuclear power?"

"Uh-oh," I thought.

"We are quite well-versed in nuclear power, theory and operation. Amberlite has operated plants for the NRC and even for other, friendly countries. What occurred is theoretically impossible. Like I said, we know what, not how or why. We are investigating it trying to figure those things out."

"Will the government be involved?"

"The government is welcome to watch the investigation, join our investigation or take over and conduct the investigation. Our CEO has gone into Washington to present what we know and offer to provide any information we might have and help in any way desired."

"What can you tell us about the virus?"

"That is the worry we have. If the virus escaped the explosion, it can multiply in the air and infect people. It spreads through the air."

"What happens if you get it?"

"You die." That effectively ended the press conference. One person asked if there was a vaccine and was told that was what the project had been about. It became very quiet and Bill left and went back toward his office.