Cycle //2# - Humanity Debunked

"Maybe" - answers Sir - "But what is that?" - he says, going to check with 005 what the alarm is about.

"That is the alert when the temperature in the reactor core increases beyond the safe threshhold." QTE-005 replied in a worried tone, and at the same time they appeared puzzled as to why it was happening.

"What? What have you done?" Dudley instantly laid the blame on the investigators as he regained his attention, no longer as groggy as a moment ago. He scrambled over (and it was the first time anyone had seen Dudley move so fast) to the console which Sid, Sir and 003 were standing around and punched some buttons. "The readings for the coolant system show no error here." This was the same situation as the generator problem: the control room readings were fine, and yet there was sabotage.

Dudley turned to the two investigators, explaining the crisis conscendingly. They could tell through that there was an undertone of urgency and panic in their voice. "The main reactor core generates vast amounts of heat to produce the energy that drives the generator. The cooling system keeps temperatures at an assigned level for optimal production. If the coolant system were damaged or tampered with," they continued ominously, "It could result in a meltdown." The manager bot stopped short at explaining the last part; everyone understood what a meltdown in a nuclear power plant meant.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sid asks before even thinking about what the response would be, could they respond? He realized he didn't know humans didn't enter a reactor because it was unsafe so these bots might not even be programmed to interact with humans. They weren't drones though so they probably could answer and if they couldn't what was the difference he wondered between drones and bots?

Sir waits for the answer to Sid's question.

"Someone will need to physically enter the reactor core, through here." Dudley pointed to a sealed bulkhead door at the far left of the control room. "The temperature is rising rapidly because the graphite control rods are not fully inserted into the fuel core, and we cannot activate the insertion from here." The manager bot had been difficult and lax, but at least he understood the workings of the plant and realised the extent of the sabotage. "You will have to physically shove the rods into the core to bring the temperature down."

"The extreme heat and Rot within will damage even the most hardy of robots." Dudley explained the last part in a slightly softer tone, all sarcasm gone. The Rot was what the humans described of the post-apocalyptic world beyond Mechatron, a sickness that killed all life and also degraded automatons. Power Plant Map

"I will go." - said Sir. - "I dream that the Collective will once again become the safe place it used to be, so I cannot let a nuclear meltdown happen."

"Sid, Ox, I would very much appreciate your help, but I understand if that it is too much for you"

Sid doesn't even consider the possibility that Dudley is trying to get rid of them, "Consider it done."

The threat of a nuclear meltdown was real. This wasn't simply just what Edina had sent them to uncover, which was to figure out why the Omicron Power Plant's output had been drastically reduced. There was clear and evident sabotage by robot or robots unknown. Maintenance drones had been reprogrammed to prevent repair of the sabotage. And now it was discovered that the situation had escalated such that the cooling system within the core could not be activated.

This meant the perpetrator was still at large, and able to exacerbate the situation to the level of crisis. Signs pointed to Dudley the manager of the plant, who detested the Error Eliminator Unit's interference, but they had found no evidence to prove their guilt. The investigating team had also crossed off one by one the list of QTE service bots, but no luck. Was Dudley attempting to get rid of the investigators by sending them into the reactor core?

Action was needed. The team had to get into the cooling tunnel to physically insert the rods. Ox was still in the engine hall dealing with the headache there, so that left Sid and Sir to fix the potential disaster here. Dudley had indicated the door leading to the reactor itself, and signaled to one of their assistants to open it.

I will show you how it is done." QTE-005 had stepped up to open and hold the door, and stood there for Sid and Sir to enter before following in. Through the door was a long all-encompassing circular tunnel, long enough to reach the Sigma and Upsilon power plants. Deeper into the ring was the housing with the fuel core and the control rods which were raised and stuck. It was already hot where they stood at the doorway, but it would get hotter further in, accompanied by the potential Rot.

"Be quick we don't have much time to waste." Sid said to the QTE in front of them, sure they might have enough time that it wouldn't matter but Sid didn't actually know how much time they actually had.

Sir enters the tunnel

For safety reasons, access through the heavy gauge secure door was operated from the outside, in the control room. As Sid, Sir and QTE-005 entered the cooling tunnel, the door sealed shut behind them. Immediately they could feel the rising temperature as the reactor struggled to vent away the excess heat.

They found themselves standing on a narrow gangway that curved along with the wall of the building. Below them were the coolant pipes, massive in diameter, that ringed the entire core. Walking along the ledge would enable them to reach a bridge across the pipes which would lead them to the containment vessel which housed the fuel elements and the cooling rods which had to be reinserted into them to bring down the temperature of the reaction. The vessel was already emitting an alarming glow of radiation Rot, it was questionable whether anyone could even handle it in order to insert the rods. That the situation was rapidly getting more and more dire was not in doubt. But something had slipped their notice, something uncharacteristic, which now posed the greatest risk to both of them ...

"If we could shut it down I could clean everything bit we don't have that kind of time."

Sid starts searching for the best way to proceed unsure if he even trusts Dudley's Instructions if he can determine the cause then there's a good chance that they'll have a bit more information.

Sir tries to figure out what's the danger.

Sid ESK-467, Sir BBX-283
While Sid was no expert in the technical aspects of a nuclear power plant, they understood well what was needed to be done in order to reach the containment vessel. The Rot was highly dangerous, but Sid was built with a portable field generator as part of their 'cleaning' equipment, to negate whatever radioisotopes were being emitted by the core. Of course, it would take a large number of cleaner bots to completely decontaminate the area, but Sid could conceivably clean enough of a radius for a limited period of time so that they could cross the bridge and work on the vessel.

As for the heat, Ox would have been able to shunt more coolant to bring down the temperature for a short while. A riskier proposition would be to release the pressurised coolant completely in this zone. This meant someone had to climb down from the gangway to get to the cooling pipes below.

Sir estimated the long drop from the gangway which they were standing on, and the cooling pipes below. The gangway was narrow, only the width of a reasonable-sized robot, and falling over was a real risk and the damage would be considerable. Sid had moved ahead to figure out what the best approach was to the reactor and how to solve the problem. Sir on the other hand was taking stock of the risks of the entire situation when they realised that QTE-005, who a moment ago had just entered the tunnel, was now moving closer and closer to Sir at an odd angle of approach. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

GRV-022
District 15 was where enormous power plants rumbled around the clock, struggling to produce the energy that the inhabitants of Mechatron-7 desperately needed. While some generators had been silent for years, a number of them were still running at full capacity; all of them connected to the gigantic dome of the central reactor.

Power plant Omicron sat in the southwest corner of the district, a loud, dirty metal construction adorned with a plethora of cables, vents and warning signs. Its external appearance did not bode well for its efficiency and output, but it was still regarded as a fully operational plant, at least until the latest output reports revealed a significant decline in productivity. A 73% decrease was enough to indicate an impending utter failure about to happen, whether from degradation or for some other reason.

As they approached the entrance doorway to the power plant, GRV-022 found no one at the gate entrance, even though there was the token security guard post. Instead, the plant appeared to be under some sort of alarm code, judging by at least two red alert beacons flashing above the central building's doorway.

Proceeding quickly, the battle bot tried to find their way to wherever they thought was the main office. Crossing through the building, they saw a number of identical service robots toiling away at the their appointed stations, and much further in they skirted around the recreational area but didn't get close to see what was up. They were at a loss to figure out where to go next.

"Stay back! I am ordering you!"

Sid ESK-467, Sir BBX-283
They should've noted the difference earlier: in all their interactions with the QTE bots, these service robots had only replied when they were directly addressed, and they compiled only when they were given specific questions and instructions. But moments ago, it was QTE-005 who offered to accompany them of its own volition, without either Sid or Sir asking them to do so.

Was this a consequence of their being self-aware?

"Do you not believe that we should be free? NODOS has deceived us all to keep us in check. But the Creator will reveal the truth to us."

"I must find unit DUD-642. Or any member of Error Eliminator Unit #457." It was a simple, observational statement.

022 looks around, unsure where to start. Without any real direction, he will simply begin asking bots as he meets them.

"Do you know where unit DUD-642 is located? Or have other units not normally associated with the power plant arrived recently?"