Bridlewood: the Cost of Lies

A helicopter bound for Bridlewood

Safe to say, the next morning I was pretty tense. The helicopter I was in would normally be a sense of wonder (was this what flying was like in the days before the magic vanished?), but considering our destination and where we were going, I was pretty much fearing the worst.

The perpetually grumpy look on my travel companion's face didn't help. You could tell he was only here out of obligation, and would much rather be coordinating proceedings from his office. The two guards sitting next to me were unreadable. Their faces were blank, expressionless. Probably ideal for a guard, but still rather unnerving.

As we flew along, there was a sudden voice from Alphabittle. "How does a HARMONY reactor work?"

The suddenness of the voice caught me by surprise, and I stalled for a second. "Pardon?"

"Come sit opposite me, and explain how a HARMONY reactor works. That's an order."

Seeing the two burly guards next to me immediately allowed me to make the connection. I went over and sat down at the chair opposite Alphabittle, and started to explain. "A HARMONY Reactor is essentially a giant kettle. It makes electricity by boiling water which turns to steam, and this steam is then sent through a turbine. This generates electricity, and the water is then sent back to the start of the cycle. The heat is generated using SPECTRA-135, which is a fuel version of Spectra that has been modified to react more dramatically than normal. These release energy and generate heat by splitting up into smaller bits, generating heat."

"Is that it?" Alphabittle asked.

"I'm afraid not, there's a little bit more to explain," I said. "The particular model of reactor we are dealing with is a Cloudsdale Graphite Moderated Reactor, or CGMR for short. This uses graphite to regulate the speed of the reaction within the core and allow for the efficient generation of electricity at the station. The speed of the reaction is regulated using machinery called control rods and reactor temperature is controlled using water flow. Now, I haven't been able to get any concrete information on the fuel channels for this model, but I have reason to believe that it has about 200."

Alphabittle nodded. "Thank you. It's good that you explained it as simply as possible. All too often scientists speek in gobbledegook which nobody could hope to understand."

As the helicopter continued to make its way through the air, we began to see some alarming sights. Below us, we saw lines of trees from a nearby forest. Normally, trees would be green at this time of year, assuming they behaved like trees back home. Unfortunately, they were not.

These trees were red.

"What the?" I said to myself, immediately concerned for the situation. "If that forest is red, there must be a lot of radiation in the air."

Suddenly, the helicopter took a sharp turn to the left. "Power station coming up on your right," the pilot radioed.

I looked out of the right hand windows and what I saw took my breath away. Not in amazement, but in sheer horror. "What have they done?" I asked.

Even from this distance, it was clear the some sort of explosion had blown a hole in the roof. Bits of rubble lay everywhere, and the ground itself looked hazy, as if the very earth itself was giving off a strange energy. But that was not what was most concerning to me. In the centre of the disaster site was a strange orange light, shooting up into the sky like a laser beam, clear even now against the light of a very cloudy day.

"What are you referring to?" Alphabittle asked. "Is something wrong?"

"The core is open!" I said.

"And what makes you think that? We can't see the core from here."

"See the orange plume of light?" I said, pointing with my hoof. "That is spectra radiation ionising the air, and there's so much of it it's producing a light similar to a laser beam." The situation was a lot worse than I could have imagined, although the huge amounts of smoke was making it hard to establish what was going on precisely.

Then Alphabittle gave a completely insane command. "Fly us directly over the core."

"What?!" I asked. "You can't be serious."

"I said fly us over the core."

"Alphabittle, that's insane!"

"Who's in charge here?"

"It doesn't matter who's in charge! If we fly over that core we'll be dead in less than a week! Do you really want that?"

The pilot had heard the commotion. "Is everything alright back there?"

"Fly directly over the core, or I'll have the authorities put a bullet through your skull," Alphabittle said coldly.

Enough was enough. I removed my glasses and looked him directly in the eye. "If we fly over that core, mark my words that, by this time tomorrow, all three of us will be begging the authorities to put bullets through our skulls."

In that instant, Alphabittle's character shifted, and I detected what appeared to be a brief smile followed by a nod. "Pilot, turn away from the core," he said. "Land us somewhere over there in the clear space, away from the rubble and debris."

"Understood sir," the pilot replied, turning us away from the core and preparing to land.

I glanced back to Alphabittle. "Is there something I'm missing?"

The unicorn seemed rather different in his manner now. "Impressive," he said. "Even in the face of certain death you're prepared to hold your own and stand up for what you believe in, even risk yourself to help others. You're not one of those who slavishly obeys the official line, but thinks for yourself. Congratulations. You passed the test."

"Touching down now," the pilot said, as the wheels engaged with the ground.

"You were testing me?" I asked.

"We can't rely on blind trust," Alphabittle said, collecting together his things. "Come. Let us see if the plant manager is made of similar stuff."

Bridlewood Spectra Power Station, near Reactor IV Building

Alphabittle stepped out of the helicopter, with Argyle following shortly after him. A safety compound had been established near the disaster zone to let staff and scientists operate away from the relief efforts. Based on information he had been given, the fires were largely out, and the overall readings weren't too bad. He saw somebody waiting for him at the table.

"Deputy Minister, it is good that you could join us," said a unicorn. "I am Crimson Moon, plant manager of Bridlewood Spectra Power Station. I trust you had a nice flight?"

Alphabittle just sighed. "Cut the crap and tell me what's going on."

"Well, as you can see there is a fair bit of concrete lying about, but the core itself is safe and radiation levels are reasonable. My Deputy Chief Engineer, who unfortunately cannot be here owing to illness, is confident that things are in hand, and assures me that the situation is under control. And Argyle Starshine too. I have heard that you Earth Ponies have been spreading rumours about us Unicorns. It is disgusting to do such a thing to other people."

Argyle seemed riled up. "We're dealing with a serious accident here, and all you can do is crack insults?!"

Alphabittle glanced over. "Professor Starshine, would you check in with the engineers to secure a plan of the plant? I believe this one will require a diplomatic touch."

"Wild Strikes is currently in the tent over there," Crimson Moon told him.

As Argyle picked his way towards the tent, Alphabittle turned his gaze back onto Crimson Moon. "Now then, you were saying about this concrete?"

"Yes, it's over there."

There was a pause. "You are lying."

"How could you accuse a fellow unicorn of such a thing? Has that Earth Pony-"

"Enough of that Earth Pony, he is irrelevant to the discussion. The reactor here is a CGMR, which uses graphite for moderation. The graphite goes at the bottom of the core, correct?"

"Yes, but I also don't see how-"

"That's graphite over there. I may not know much about what graphite looks like, but I will have you know I worked in the construction industry before I went into politics. I know a lot about concrete, and concrete looks nothing like that when burned."

Crimson Moon stood slack jawed, knowing he had been rumbled. Alphabittle made his way over to the tent, where he saw Wild Strikes briefing Argyle on the situation. "There's graphite on the ground, as you said," he stated.

"I've been trying to explain that to Crimson Moon for ages, but he still denies it," Wild Strikes complained, the unicorn moving some more of her tools. "The problem is we cannot challenge the official radiation reading as if a unicorn does, they'll be called a traitor. If an Earth Pony challenges it, they'll be accused of alarmist hysteria. We need an independent third party who is highly respected and is impartial."

Alphabittle smiled and got out a communicator. "Princess Haven? I have a request to make of you."