Bab 299: Chapter 299: Not a Pack of Lies
By the 29th, the whole world probably already knew something had gone wrong.
What was most frightening was that the local residents were just now starting to evacuate. Well, in the short term, nothing seemed clear. Those poor souls probably wouldn't have long to live.
Europe was thrown into a panic, and those who could were choosing to leave temporarily.
This incident with such a large-scale nuclear power plant was serious, and you're still sidestepping the issue? That was just too much.
What do you mean the situation is under control?
Damn it, radiation monitoring stations all across Europe have gone off the charts.
The only good news was that only one reactor had experienced a problem; the others were still stable.
...
"Sir, our people report that it seems the Russians plan to evacuate local residents."
"Ah, how many people are gonna die because of this?"
"Sir, will it be that serious?"
"Right now, the suits they're wearing aren't worth anything, and they won't have enough suits to go around. As for those still inside, evacuating is good, but it only adds a few more years to their lives."
Many believed the Russians were deliberately hiding something. At first, they were also concerned about causing a panic. Sometimes, public fear could be worse than the accident itself.
The Russians were waiting for their investigation team to submit a report; they planned to take the next steps based on the actual situation.
As for the investigation team?
Ha! They thought their equipment was malfunctioning; how could radiation from that distance be so high? It was just a joke to them.
The unfortunate truth was that their equipment was working fine, and the current radiation levels were terrifying.
Five days later, this group's report still hadn't come in. Monitoring reports from various European countries were flooding in.
By then, the Russians were finally waking up from their stupor, and this time, it was by fear.
It wasn't like they were short on physicists; in fact, their physicists ranked among the best in the world. They clearly understood what this data meant.
...
As for how to deal with the aftermath?
That choice wasn't hard; aside from risking lives, they really didn't see any other options.
One had to say, if it weren't for the sacrifices of these people, the world today would be unrecognizable. Europe, for sure, was in no state to recover.
That concrete sarcophagus, built with lives and resources, stood tall at Chernobyl. To wait for it to be completely harmless would take at least ten thousand years.
Strengthening their defense capabilities seemed necessary, and that's what the folks in America thought.
In the back of their minds, that so-called Star Wars program was starting to sound pretty promising.
At this point, American top wigs were genuinely scared. Just one nuclear power plant accident had this much impact; they heard it was just one of the reactors. If a real world war broke out, that was a different story altogether.
...
Paramount had some good fortune; Top Gun was on the charts. Given the atmosphere, a movie resembling a recruitment ad for the military surprisingly gained unprecedented success.
Before this, mainstream American films were anti-war. War-themed movies were usually done in such a way that if you dared promote them, you'd bomb at the box office.
But this time was different. First, the Russians' crazy military parades had spurred some attention. Then, a massive explosion had people scared for their lives.
Things got even worse when all of Europe fell into panic. During this chaotic time, the U.S. Navy almost felt like a beacon of hope.
Nowadays, Tom Cruise was as hot as they come.
His type wasn't exactly popular at this time. The audience naturally favored tough guys, and these somewhat effeminate fellows weren't exactly in high demand.
As they say, times create heroes, and American society was experiencing a transformation.
Tom Cruise, who wasn't very tall but was strikingly handsome, fit the aesthetic of the time, appealing to both men and women alike.
...
"You're such a bad boy; this is a cinema, you know!"
"What's to fear? We rented the whole place; it's just us two, even if the seats aren't spectacular."
"Hmph! How do I get out looking like this?"
"No sweat; I had someone bring over the clothes you just bought."
"Hmph! This is all your doing!"
William White wasn't a fan of Top Gun; aside from that song, he spent the whole time trying to look cool. The fact that such a film could succeed only proved it was all about the person behind it.
...
"William, did you rent the whole place for a movie yesterday?" Lucas had a tone that was clearly teasing.
"I mean, I don't have a wife. What's wrong with taking a beautiful girl to see a movie?"
Lucas felt a bit down; he realized that no matter how wild this guy played, first, he was young, and second, he wasn't married. Not even a serious girlfriend, so what was there to make fun of?
"I say, you should really think about finding a wife."
"Quoting an old saying, marriage is the grave of love. I yearn for beautiful love, so I'm keeping my distance from marriage for now."
"Fine, I underestimated just how shameless you are."
"Whatever, only the shameless can travel on the expressway to happiness."
Lucas was taken aback; that line sounded familiar, but the original was phrased a little differently.
"Enough with that; how are the stunts for the flying car going?"
"Everything else is fine enough, but getting the stunt car to drift and spin around is tough."
"I didn't say we have to use a factory car. Without any modifications, how could we pull off the stunts?"
"Right now, it's being modified, and that's not a small expense."
"If others are moving ahead, we can't just stand still. At this point, Top Gun had to make at least a hundred million dollars at the box office."
Lucas rolled his eyes; your movie's starting point was already a hundred million. So what if their movie broke a hundred million? That just felt like bullying!
*****
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