Radiation Hazard (The Stasis Stories #3)

by Laurence Dahners

  “It’s not a bad idea. The high radiation environments in reactors that’ve melted down are famous for destroying robots and other electronic and mechanical devices. Stade would obviously survive, but we’d still have the problem of directing whatever we made out of it.”

  “Couldn’t you just put someone inside of it? They could operate tools from inside some kind of barrel. They could even do it manually, using leverage to manipulate things in the environment.”

  “Ah, but how’s the guy inside going to see what he’s doing?”

  “A leaded glass window?”

  Kaem shook his head, “Leaded glass doesn’t effectively block much radiation. Your operator’d still get a lethal dose pretty quickly.”

  Their waiter brought their food, so they were busy with that for a few moments. Kaem tasted his pasta alfredo with Italian sausage and his eyes widened. “This is amazingly good.”

  “Told you,” Lee said. She confused him by shifting topics without a break, “I’ve figured it out. We have a camera outside and the operator inside the barrel works things while watching a screen. Or he’s completely off-site and using a Stade waldo.”

  Kaem frowned, “Unfortunately the kind of radiation you get in nuclear facilities after a meltdown quickly destroys cameras.” His eyes widened, “But maybe you could use an angled mirror to reflect the light into the camera. Neutrons, gamma rays, and x-rays will all tend to go right through an ordinary mirror and on their merry ways. On the other hand, light would be reflected by the mirror into the camera’s receptor. Better yet, two forty-five-degree mirrors like in a periscope, each letting most of the radiation fly on by. That’d let us get down to pretty low levels. We’d have to discard the mirrors afterward, but they’re cheap.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Lee said excitedly. “We really could put a man inside a Stade box. Using a periscope, he’d be almost completely protected from the radiation. Using a periscope to camera setup he could be completely protected. He’d see what he was doing on a screen and could manipulate levers to push stuff around outside the box.”

  “You could have motors inside the box that turned wheels to drive the box around and moved the arms etcetera.” Kaem frowned, “You’d want to have everything that’s exposed on the exterior of the box be completely covered with Stade because induced radioactivity will make anything that’s exposed become radioactive. Anything exposed would become nuclear waste.”

  Lee was grinning at him. “Since Stade won’t give you any traction, you’re going to have to have tires on those wheels you’re moving it around with.”

  Kaem laughed, “You’re right. The tires’ll have to be added to the radioactive waste pile.” His expression became thoughtful, “Though, we could probably prolong the tires’ lives by putting them behind extended Stade fender skirts that slide along the floor. That should keep most of the radiation from getting to the rubber.”

  When their dinner was over Kaem found that, while he wasn’t looking, Lee had managed to pay the tab as she’d said she would. He felt embarrassed to have her buying him dinner when she was his employee. And because he had so much money coming to him… eventually. But right now, I don’t have enough to pay for my medical care, so you could argue that I’m poor, he thought. It doesn’t matter. She’s already paid for dinner and it’d be rude to refuse her gesture.

  Outside the restaurant, Lee gave him a hesitant look, then said, “Walk me home? It’s not far.”

  “Sure,” Kaem responded, feeling a flush of excitement but trying not to let it show. Walking her home sounds… romantic. Maybe this wasn’t all business… Is that a good or a bad thing?

  The sun was setting. As they walked along, the light slowly dimmed and the air cooled pleasantly. He asked her about where she’d grown up. She described her small-town childhood in northern California.

  Then they reached a corner and she turned up a hill. He looked ahead. It was steep and he hadn’t had a transfusion for quite a while. “Um, how far up this street do you live?”

  Lee gave him a puzzled look and said, “Three or four blocks.”

  His shoulders sagged. He didn’t want to confess his weakness, but it’d rapidly become evident if he tried to climb the hill beside her. “Um…”

  Solicitously, Lee said, “Is something wrong?”

  Kaem sighed, feeling mortified. “Yeah. Sorry,” he said, getting out his phone, “I can’t climb that hill. Let me call us an Uber.” He tapped the icon.

  Lee turned to look up the street, asking, “Why not?” Then, seeming embarrassed herself, she said, “Sorry! Of course, you can’t. You’re sick, aren’t you? Is it your heart?”

  “No,” Kaem mumbled, “I’m anemic. It’s exhausting to do physical stuff.”

  “Wait. Don’t call an Uber. I’ll walk you to your place. You said it’s near, right?”

  Kaem shook his head, “You shouldn’t be out walking after dark.”

  “I’ll call an Uber after I’ve gotten you to your place. Oh, sorry! I’m such an idiot. Is walking to your place a problem too?”

  Kaem shook his head, but just as he began to think wistfully of how nice it’d be to have her walk him home, the Uber he’d called pulled up beside them. He opened the door and waved a hand to usher her in, “Your chariot awaits madam.” He hoped she wouldn’t try to hold the door for him and start treating him like a cripple. He hated it when people treated him as if he were disabled, Especially since I am, he thought.

  Lee looked at him for a moment, her hand abortively moving toward the door, then she seemed to read his mind. Instead, she got in gracefully. For a moment, Kaem feared she was going to hold a hand out to steady him when he got in, but she didn’t. Once he’d gotten in, she gave the car’s AI the address of her apartment and it pulled away from the curb. She turned to him, “I… truly enjoyed this evening…”

  “Me too. Thanks. I… hope we can do it again sometime.” And please don’t apologize for revealing my impairment, he thought.

  She didn’t, instead saying. “I’d like that a lot. Um… Would Arya be upset that we went out to dinner? Should I not say anything about it?”

  Wow. She cuts right to the chase, doesn’t she? “I… don’t think so. We’re not romantically involved.” Oh my God! he suddenly thought, interrupting himself. “Um, sorry. Maybe you were worried about whether there were company rules against socialization?”

  The Uber pulled up to her apartment complex. Lee opened the door as she said, “No, I was worried because… Well, because I’ve seen the way she looks at you. I think she’d… she’d like to be romantic with you. And I’ve been telling myself I should respect that. But…” Lee paused several seconds, then rushed ahead, “… so would I. Um, like to be with you that is. And I don’t want to miss my chance because I didn’t say it.” She suddenly leaned forward, burying her head in her hands. She mumbled through them, “I’m so embarrassed.” Just as suddenly she sat back up, turned, kissed his cheek, and was out the car’s door. As she walked away, she choked out, “See you tomorrow.”

  Kaem sat, holding the spot she’d kissed and looking after her as she hurried into the complex. What the hell do I do now? he wondered. He shook himself and told the Uber to take him home.

  After much thought, before he went to bed, he sent Lee a text. “If you still want to go to the coast with us, meet us at Staze at seven AM. We’re going in Gunnar’s truck.”

  He hoped she did.

  Chapter Three

  Lee fidgeted in front of Staze’s building, alternately feeling mortified about the previous evening and excited about the prospects of spending the day with Kaem. Should I wait inside? she wondered once again. She’d arrived early and brewed coffee, but then been afraid Kaem and Gunnar would meet outside and take off, assuming she’d passed on the trip.

  “Glad you decided to come with us,” Kaem said from behind her.

  Lee whirled, “How’d you do that?!”

  “Oh, sorry. I walk down the alley. These shoes don’t make m
uch noise.”

  “You walk?” Lee said without thinking. You idiot. He doesn’t like talking about his… illness.

  “Yeah,” he said with a little laugh. “Walking’s about as intense an exercise as I can manage. Hills are killers though, so I’ve worked out a route that doesn’t go up and down very much. It comes down the alley from the back.”

  “Ah,” she said, understanding. “Here comes Gunnar’s truck. Let me go get some coffee for the trip.” She turned and hurried into the building where she filled a thermos and two cups with coffee. She got out two bottles of the sparkling-water brand Kaem had asked for at the restaurant, loaded all five items into a small insulated bag, and started back out to the front. I should staze a cooler and thermos, she thought. Then she started worrying about how many domestic tasks she was performing. Is doing all these little chores going to make them lose respect for me? she wondered as she walked back out to the front.

  Kaem was standing by Gunnar’s truck holding the door open. “You mind sitting in the middle? I don’t know if I can take sitting next to the grouch for two and a half hours.”

  Lee slowed. Are they putting me in the middle because I’m a woman?

  She didn’t think she’d slowed enough to be noticeable, but apparently Kaem saw it. Saying, “On second thought,” he swung up into the cab of the truck and slid over into the middle seat, “you shouldn’t have to sit next to him either.”

  Gunnar gave a little groan, “Is that coffee I smell?”

  “It is,” Lee said cheerfully. She got Gunnar’s cup out and handed it to Kaem, “Give this to Mr. Grumpy.”

  Kaem grinned and took the cup, passing it to Gunnar who took it carefully in both hands. When he turned back and Lee handed him a bottle of sparkling water, Kaem’s smile spread wide. “Wow, thanks! I feel cared for.”

  She gave him a small smile back, while thinking, No! “Cared for,” sounds like I’m the mommy or something. I definitely shouldn’t be doing this stuff!

  ~~~

  Gunnar’s truck was navigating the freeway system around Richmond when Kaem’s phone chimed. He said, “Hi Arya. What’s up?”

  They weren’t hearing Arya’s part of the conversation so the next part of the conversation they got was Kaem saying, “We’re on our way down to talk to the people at the Surbury plant.”

  “Gunnar, Lee, and I. Is there a problem?”

  “Oh, sorry,” Kaem glanced back and forth at the other two, “I guess all of us forgot to let you know.”

  Lee shook her head in response to the question behind Kaem’s glance. That was definitely not my responsibility, she thought.

  Kaem spoke to Arya again. “I don’t know. Not sure how long the meeting will take and besides we’re going to have a look at that land on our way back.”

  After a pause, he spoke again. “The land that’s contaminated with toxins from the chemical plant.”

  Then, “I know we don’t have the money yet. We’re just checking out the marketplace.”

  After another minute he said, “Sorry. See you tomorrow, unless things go faster than I expect.” Having disconnected the call he said, “Well, she wasn’t happy.”

  Thinking she knew why Arya was upset, Lee asked, “You think I shouldn’t have come along?”

  Kaem gave her a puzzled look. “We didn’t hire you to keep Arya company.”

  “Well, of course not,” Lee said. But she felt better.

  ~~~

  When they were almost to the Surbury nuclear plant, Kaem called Mr. Turpin. “We’re almost to your facility. Is there somewhere we can park close by? The equipment’s heavy.”

  Turpin and Turpin’s assistant, Darcy, met them. Turpin would guide them to the testing site while Darcy used Gunnar’s key to take his truck to visitor parking. They’d brought a couple of hand trucks to move the stazer and its accessory equipment, but it was clumsy because the rough surface on the Stade of the stazer—which hands could get somewhat of a grip on—slid frictionlessly around on the hard surfaces of the hand truck. Lee was afraid they were going to have to carry it in by its handles, but they finally got it stabilized using some straps out of Gunnar’s truck’s bed box.

  Turpin looked amused, “Looks like you don’t have all that much experience moving that thing around.”

  Looking chagrinned, Kaem said, “No, we’ve just been carrying it until now. It’s rough enough that the skin of your hands can get some grip on the indentations. Not so on the hard metal of this hand truck.” He turned to the others, “We’re gonna need some foam rubber pads to help with this problem in the future.”

  The people from Staze didn’t have clearance to go into the more restricted areas of a nuclear facility, but Turpin had had some of his people bring a mildly radioactive specimen out to them. Some of the plant’s guards stood around as he explained. “We got you a pellet of spent fuel from back when the reactor was first commissioned. It’s no longer highly radioactive. Better yet, it isn’t thermally hot either. Nonetheless, it emits enough radiation that we’ll be able to see how well your process works.”

  They had it in a water canister that let Gunnar take a look at it. They gave him dimensions as well and he started making a Mylar bag for it. He started by making a conical Mylar tube. He and Kaem fitted the microwave emitter into the small end and wrapped it with electrical tape. He stuffed some fiberglass insulation in on top of the emitter to keep it from contacting the pellet then fitted the laser light guide into the seam on one side of the cone. The last step was to prop the big end of the bag open so the pellet could be easily slid into it.

  Turpin’s team set up four different radiation detectors on the table where the Mylar cone was lying. They adjusted their sensitivity until they were barely registering the room’s background radiation—which Lee suspected must be higher than normal since it was a workroom at a nuclear plant. Wearing protective equipment, one of the men used tongs to lift the pellet out of the canister, walked it to the table, and slid it into the big end of the Mylar bag. He closed the bag and laid the tongs across the opening as Gunnar had suggested. Kaem had the capacitor charged already and Lee heard it discharge as soon as the end of the bag was closed off.

  The detectors had begun audibly signaling as the pellet approached, got quite active as it was going in the bag, then abruptly shut off almost completely when the capacitor snapped.

  “What the hell!” one of the men exclaimed. “Did a breaker drop, or did something happen to the detectors?”

  Turpin looked positively beatific. “Go ahead and check them, Ron. But that’s exactly what was supposed to happen. Besides, the detectors run on batteries.”

  “But… but, even if that plastic screens out part of the radiation, the detectors should still show something!”

  Gunnar started to step forward but Ron said, “Wait! We’ve got to make sure it’s safe.”

  Gunnar, short-tempered as ever, said, “Come on! You can see the lights on your detectors. They’re powered up and working fine. It’s just that there’s not any radiation coming from it anymore.”

  Ron gave him an irritated look. “Step back, we’re gonna do this our way.” He spoke to Jerry, the guy in the protective gear, telling him to increase the sensitivity on the detectors.

  Moving to the other side of the table, Jerry did so with one detector after the other, increasing the sensitivity until each of them was buzzing. He turned, “It sounds bad, but they’re still only registering normal background levels for this area of the facility.”

  Ron shook his head, “Move the detectors closer to the pellet.”

  The guy did so, carefully picking up each of the detectors and moving it until it was almost touching the Mylar around the pellet. Each time he did this, he said, “No increase.” When he did the last one, he looked up at Ron and said, “Really. It’s not radiating anymore.”

  Ron gave Gunnar a suspicious look, “How’d you do that?”

  Lee glanced at Kaem, thinking he’d be offended that this guy had just assume
d Gunnar was the boss of their little group. The same as when Carl Norton had assumed much the same thing. Kaem didn’t look at all upset. Kaem simply watched the conversation, a curious expression on his face.

  In his turn, Gunnar did nothing to disabuse Ron of the notion that he was the boss. He just said, “It’s inside Stade, a new material that blocks all radiation. If you’ll let me take it out of the Mylar bag, you’ll be able to see the Stade itself.”

  Ron looked back at the table. “Can’t Jerry just lift the tongs off the bag, then shake the pellet out of it?”

  Gunnar shrugged, “Sure, but, since Stade’s frictionless, it’ll slide right off the table. I’d suggest you open the handles of the tongs wide and lay the tongs on the table so they’ll catch it.”

  “On which side?” Jerry asked.

  Gunnar pointed, “From here it looks like the water drops that dribbled off the tongs are running to our left, your right.”

  Jerry picked up the tongs, opened the handles to ninety degrees, and laid them where they’d stop the Stade sliding to his right. He picked up the small end of the Mylar bag and looked visibly surprised when, instead of the pellet, a gleaming Stade the same shape as the bag fell out. The Stade slid across the tabletop, but stopped, caught at the hinge of the tongs.

  Sounding a little panicked, Ron said, “What happened to the pellet?”

  “It’s still there, inside the Stade,” Gunnar said. “As I said, we put it inside the Stade, which blocks radiation. Stade always looks silvery and reflective like a mirror.” He pointed at the stazer Kaem stood behind. “Our stazer there’s covered with Stade, that’s why it’s so shiny. Stade doesn’t just reflect light; it reflects radiation too.”

  Lee reflected that Gunnar was at least implying an untruth. The uranium pellet wasn’t just “inside” the Stade, which implied to some degree that the Stade had surrounded it and was simply holding in the radiation. The pellet was actually part of the Stade, with time stopped so it was no longer emitting radiation.