50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 884 Passing Through Dangerous Places
That's the advantage of building a city from scratch. There are no old buildings to avoid or the hassle of demolition. It's like painting on a blank canvas, where designers can freely express their inspiration.

Many of the buildings here were meticulously designed by architects, and it can be said that the entire city is filled with an artistic atmosphere.

For example, a landmark building on the central axis of the city center: the Brasilia Cathedral, shaped like an onion.

The main body of the cathedral is located underground, in a very spacious underground space.

The most peculiar design is that the statues of the deities in the church are not placed on the altar, but suspended in mid-air.

Standing in the hall and looking up at the statue, it is as if God and his saints, standing on the clouds, have descended from heaven and are looking down on the world.

This peculiar visual effect evokes a strong sense of religious mystery.

Besides the cathedral, there is also the "H"-shaped Parliament Building, and next to the Parliament Building are two huge "bowl"-shaped buildings.

The bowl facing upwards is the meeting room of the Federal House of Representatives, because the House of Representatives is open to the public when it meets, symbolizing the broad listening to of public opinion and embodying democracy, freedom and openness;
An upside-down bowl represents the Senate meeting room, because the topics discussed in the Senate often involve state secrets, symbolizing the need to centralize important issues and embodying the spirit of centralized unity.

People in Brasilia place great importance on the construction, management, and protection of the urban environment.

The government has explicitly stipulated that only small-scale, pollution-free industries are permitted to be built, residential buildings are not allowed to be built within office areas, and large shopping malls can only be built in commercial areas.

Apartment buildings are not allowed to exceed 6 stories, and only villa-style residences with two or fewer stories are permitted to be built on the lakeside.

When you look up at the clear sky, you'll find that this is a city with almost no pollution, making it particularly suitable for tourism.

Despite the poor economic situation and severe inflation in recent years, the lives of Brasilia locals are still relatively comfortable.

However, although the city is beautiful, it's difficult to have any tasks in such a place.

Considering he might not come back again, he spent the whole day exploring the city, taking many photos of the buildings and scenery as souvenirs.

The next morning, Sun Zhiwei took a flight and left Brasilia.

This flight is the kind of multi-segment flight that's similar to a bus, stopping in many cities.

The journey will take us to Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, 1800 kilometers away, with brief stops in many cities along the way.

Flights between the capitals of two neighboring countries are a political necessity, but Sucre is not a developed city, and direct flights would definitely result in losses for the airlines.

Therefore, airlines can only recoup their operating costs by making multiple stops along the way.

Sun Zhiwei felt helpless about this, but he also understood it very well.

However, when Sun Zhiwei boarded the plane, he discovered that there were many medical staff in white coats on board. They all looked solemn and hardly spoke.

Seeing the letters (CNEN) printed on their clothes, which belong to the National Nuclear Energy Commission, made Sun Zhiwei a little worried.

The Nuclear Energy Commission is mobilized on such a large scale only in one situation: when radioactive contamination has occurred in a certain location.

As he expected, an hour later, when the plane made a brief stop in a city called Gocinha, 200 kilometers from Brasilia, the CNEN staff disembarked.

Sun Zhiwei began to try hard to recall the name of the city of Gosinia from his memory, and finally some impression came to him.

It appears that recently, a relatively minor radioactive contamination incident occurred in this Brazilian city, resulting in hundreds of people being exposed to radiation and four deaths. Reportedly, two local thieves smuggled a radioactive source from a radiometer from an abandoned medical research institute.

They then dismantled the radioactive source and sold it to a scrap metal yard. The scrap yard then found more than 20 grams of cesium (Cs)-137 particles in the radioactive source.

Because solid cesium (Cs)-137 is an attractive particle that emits a pale blue fluorescence in the dark.

The owner of the recycling station treated it like a magical treasure, not only playing with it himself but also inviting relatives and friends to come and visit.

Finally, the boss divided the cesium (Cs)-137 particles into many portions and gave them to many people.

Those who obtained cesium (Cs)-137 particles either gave them to their children to play with, sprinkled them on their floors as decorations, or ground them into powder and ate them as salt.

When the wife of the purchasing station owner noticed something was wrong with her health, she took a lead canister containing cesium (Cs)-137 and drove more than ten kilometers through the city to find a doctor.

Finally, the problem was discovered and reported by doctors at the hospital, which attracted the attention of the Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN).

The news quickly spread, causing panic in the city, with more than 10 people rushing to hospitals for checkups.

Although only a little over 200 people were ultimately diagnosed, the consequences of this incident were very serious.

First, the four people who died from radiation were disinfected and placed in lead coffins before their burial was permitted by their neighbors.

Then, all 42 contaminated houses, 3 buses, and 14 cars were destroyed.

Trees, animals, and even soil near and along the radiation sites were dug up and then sealed in lead containers as nuclear waste.

Finally, the 6000 tons of pollutants were buried at a designated location in the suburbs, and it is said that they will be sealed for 180 years to become harmless.

The regulatory body, the Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), paid out $14 billion in compensation.

Most seriously, Goscinia subsequently faced rejection from almost all other cities.

Fearing radiation contamination, no one was willing to buy food and goods produced in Goscinia for a long time afterward, almost causing the city's economic collapse.

Judging solely from the casualty figures, this was actually a minor accident.

Compared to the casualties of Chernobyl, this minor accident was insignificant. However, it was ultimately listed as one of the world's top ten nuclear contamination incidents.

This was a rare urban nuclear contamination incident, and its effects lasted for many years.

After thinking about the situation in the city, Sun Zhiwei felt extremely uncomfortable in his airplane seat. He wished he could order the plane to take off immediately, as he couldn't withstand the nuclear radiation from cesium (Cs)-137.

Fortunately, this was only a short stop, and the plane took off again an hour later.

After stopping six or seven more times along the way, he finally arrived at his destination, Sucre, the capital of Bolivia.

Bolivia is truly a fascinating country.

To put it simply, the Bolivian army's fighting capacity was so poor that it was comparable to Italy in South America, losing almost every battle and inevitably ceding territory and paying reparations with each defeat.

(End of this chapter)