Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 509

The Huizhou Nuclear Power Plant Incident of 2052:
Complete Edition
Carmel School - Elsa High School, Davidson, Hannah - 14
For the purposes of confidentiality, names are not to be disclosed in this publication.
January 3, 2052. 1:23 am. Huizhou Nuclear Power Plant, Greater Bay Area, P.R.C.
It was called the safest experiment ever to be conducted. Yet it failed. The explosion could be heard
from miles away. What was supposed to be over in a few minutes left a stain on the future of the Greater
Bay Area for years to come. Authorities are trying to take control of the situation. The future seems
uncertain.
January 3, 2052. 1:30 am. Government Offices, Guangzhou, Greater Bay Area, P.R.C.
OFFICIAL REPORT: HUIZHOU NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INCIDENT
Time of incident: 0123 hours.
Date of incident: January 3, 2052.
Guangzhou Offices informed at 0124 hours.
Beijing Officials informed soon after.
Nuclear Reaction Team has already been sent in.
Tens of thousands have been evacuated.
The public has been commended on the rapid reaction time.
Cause of incident: unknown.
Action required: Reduce international exposure. Minimise national publication.
The country is facing a crisis.
This crisis could endanger the prosperity of the Greater Bay Area of the People’s Republic of China.
We must protect this prosperity at all costs.
The sky is still pitch black when the alarm goes off. Hundreds rush to their desks. A tall man in a dark blue
suit walks into his office. Wall to wall all he can see are screens. Footage of empty cities flash before his eyes.
On the panel to his left, he hears a ringing sound. He touches it and a woman’s face appears on the screen.
“Have you heard?” the woman says.
“Of course I have,” he replies.
“What happens now?”
“We must do what we can do.”
“And that is?”
“Make sure all citizens within a 50-mile radius of the incident have been evacuated.”
She nods.
“Check what information has been spread regarding the explosion. Thankfully most of the power
plant was run by machines. We can minimise casualties,” he continues.
“And lastly,” he pauses, as he thinks about what he should say next.
“Lastly, be careful of what is spread internationally, we cannot have our allies question our
advancements in nuclear energy, especially when we are getting closer to gaining the support of the United
States and the United Nations Committee on Sustainable Energy.”
The woman nods again and then hangs up the call.
He exhales as the screen goes black, taking a minute of rest as another panel goes off and the
process starts again.