The Boy From Reactor 4 by Stelmach Orest

Author:Stelmach, Orest [Stelmach, Orest]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 9781612186085
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2011-11-29T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 42

“IT’S ONE FORTY, and I don’t want to arouse suspicion,” Karel said after they snuck into his laboratory at the Chernobyl Power Station through a rear entrance. “So I’m not going to turn the overhead lights on.”

He grabbed a bottle of spring water from a portable refrigerator and handed it to Nadia. “Eat a bag of these mixed nuts, too,” he said, offering her a sealed plastic bag. “They’re from Kyiv. Grown in eastern Ukraine. I know you’re a bit paranoid about food at this moment. It’s to be expected. Eat, drink, while I prepare these slides for you.”

The lab smelled of formaldehyde. Nadia moved a stack of journals and books off a folding metal chair, sat down, and inhaled the nuts. Her eyes had grown accustomed to the dark during the ride back to the power station from Oksana’s home. A green lamp cast a faint circle of light around Karel’s desk.

Images appeared in charcoal gray beyond the desk. A dozen mice squeaked in individual cages arranged on portable shelves. A chart of the anatomy of a wolf hung on one wall. A poster illustrating the effects of radiation on a wild boar hung on another. In the center of the room, a rectangular table held an array of tools, dishes, and vials.

An hour ago, when Nadia had emerged from Damian’s bedroom, she pulled Karel away from Oksana and asked him if he’d heard of a substance called 5-androstenediol. He stared at her for a moment with a blank expression and burst into action. He told her they were taking a trip on his motorbike. It would be easier to explain at his laboratory. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, he urged her to forget Damian had ever uttered that term to her. If interrogated as to what she was doing in the Zone without proper papers, she would tell the police she was visiting the dying uncle she’d never known.

The only thing Nadia knew for certain was that she was going back to see Damian in the morning. Regardless of what Karel explained to her, she still had questions about her father, the boy, and Damian himself. And she had the distinct impression her uncle might not live long enough to answer them if she didn’t hurry.

“Come take a look at these slides,” Karel said, lifting his head from a high-powered microscope on the large table.

Nadia pressed her right eye to the lens. The picture resembled a scatter plot of pink circles on a white background. Some of the circles were darker, while others were lighter. More than a third of the picture, however, was white.

“That is the bone marrow of a primate that has been exposed to ionizing radiation,” he said. “Ionizing radiation is radiation with energy high enough to change an atom or molecule. Like X-rays or a nuclear reaction. As opposed to non-ionizing radiation, which is low energy. It excites the atom or molecule but doesn’t change its shape. Like radio or microwave. For our purposes, we are talking about ionizing radiation.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.