A Mere Explosion

A Nuclear Explosion over Seoul

The intense excitement aroused in me by what is known at the time as a 'Mere Explosion' has compelled me to pen it down. An event for which the world showed their so called sympathies and consolidations. Withal, in view of the world-wide notoriety which attended it, I have been asked, both by my child and my new family of those who were known to be 'The Survivors', to write an account of the whole event. This, I hope, will help a bit to decrease the lust for the accumulation of nukes. I will therefore briefly set down the circumstances which contribute to my being experienced that dance of death.
I am an American national. For my higher education, I moved to Seoul, South Korea to pursue post graduation and a Doctorate. In the year 2006 I took my degree of Doctorate in Nuclear Physics which was known to be the toughest course of the university of Seoul. During my studies I met Jason, a student of microbiology in the same university. We became good friends and soon our friendship turned into a relationship. We married in the final year of our Doctorate course. A year later we had a daughter whom we named Susana. She was just two years old when there happened certain misunderstandings between me and my husband. We broke off, but didn't took divorce. Jason left both of us and moved somewhere else. After my break up with him, I applied in different companies for a job and it took 2 years to get so. In those 2 years I decided to work for myself and I wrote a couple of scribbles on nuclear physics. I got a job in a nuclear plant located 250 miles northwards of my hometown, which was a pacifying relief to me as writing wasn't doing that good to earn enough bucks to sustain my living. I soon grew into prominence at my workplace and got promoted to a post of senior supervisor. For me, my job was the best work I could have done as it was in my own field of interest and the basic necessity for everyone was a couple of bankrolls that I produced enough for a modest family comprising me and my ten years old daughter Susana.

[21st July, 2017]
These were those days when the nights were used to be full of twinkling green-red lights and the roads were full of mammoth battle machines. The only sound all around was that of blasts of shells and roarings of jets. There was a war going on between the two erstwhile rivals, the North Korea and the South Korea. I was at home watching television with my daughter in a hope to hear any news of a proclamation of a ceasefire. But no any other news came along on the screen except the intensifying of the war flashed. An American satellite had spotted a battery of short range nuke delivery missiles, which was being moved towards the disputed boundary line. Americans had warned Seoul to be prepared for an emergency as there were signs of a possible nuclear attack. America was not able to defend Seoul as the North Korean were being backed by China and some other South Eastern Nations loyal to China. Being a Nuclear scientist, I had the knowledge of Survival during a nuclear apocalypse, but I started recalling them hurried as if the dirty bomb was already been kindled. After watching the news I took Susana and tiptoed towards the bedroom to have a sound rest.

[22nd July, 2017]
A loud siren made me wake up early in the dawn. It was still dark, but the road was occupied with numerous searchlights and lights from the lamps of hundreds of vehicles. A loudspeaker sounded,"There is a threat to the public. You are advised to evacuate the city forthwith.Pack your bags and go towards the South as far as you can and as soon as you can". Washington had clearly stated that North Korean was about to burn down the missile. I ran indoors and started looking for all the necessary items which could assist me during the upcoming hell days. Initially I thought of waking my daughter up but I didn't do so, for I knew that my daughter was my only weakness and her presence around me would get me more upset. I took some packed food stuffs like powdered milk, oats, honey, dried fruits and canned noodles and sealed water bottles, and packed them in a handbag. After taking some other materials of utility like plastic sheets & tapes, Cell phone, goggles, flashlights & batteries and a temporary dust mask made of woollen & cotton fabrics, I sped towards my daughter to get her up.
"Get up honey. We need to go immediately", said I in a bold and hurried voice.
"But.... But where Mom. Where are we leaving for?", asked Susana.
I hadn't that much of time to explain her the circumstances. I asked her in commanding word to get up. We both had just touched the main door when a sharp shock wave hit us.I asked Susana to sit down on her knee and cover her ears with her hands. The blow was so hard that it was enough to make me feel the strength of the bomb. I knew that the heat wave would be hitting us in few seconds.Grabbing the hand of Susana and picking up the bags I ran like hell towards the lawn where my car was parked. At this time I was thinking,"why I am rushing towards the car if the the heat waves are going to hit us soo soon"? I stopped suddenly when my eyes spotted a hole in the ground. It was the opening of a dumped section block of the main drainage tunnel. It was the only thing that brought a brilliance of hope over my face. In excitement I ran towards it and threw light down the hole. It was a large metallic cylinder fully empty and fixed feets below the ground. Without wasting the time anymore I dropped the bags down and we both jumped in. I shunted the metallic lid tightly.
A second or two later, I heard a draconian sound of the blast which shook the ground. The heat outside there could be felt even being inside that cell. Then came the hell rain which we called BLACK RAIN in nuclear physics. The burning black shoot having deadly radioactive fission products with enormous temperature was raining. I knew that anyone outside would be charred to death and those who had escaped the death would get even more worst slow death due to the radioactive contamination. I hugged my daughter with all the energy I had. I couldn't help myself to stop me anymore. I brusted out in tears. At that time the only thought in my semi conscious mind was the well being of my daughter and Jason. I couldn't afford to loose them for the world.
For the first I had been that much worried for my hubby. I wished if everything were right, he would have been with me. Though we were far apart but my feelings were yet with him. This is was time when I was missing someone so heatedly. As the black rain stopped I slightly opened the lid carefully and put some woollen clothes there to let the filtered air pass into the pipe. This was essential for our inhalation.
I didn't know when we both fell asleep, but when I woke up it had been more than eight hours. Susana was still sleeping and there was an abnormal lull all around. It seemed as if nothing had happened at all. I dug out some earth from the corner of the sewer pipe which we were to use as a lavatory. We used only canned and packed food for our survival. Susana asked me,"Mom, when are we going to meet father"?
I don't know why she asked such a question, for she had never asked anything about her father.
"We will soon meet him honey", said I pensively.
I started looking up for the ways to get out of the spot. I knew it would take at least 9-10 days to make the condition suitable to step out of the pipe. The concentration of the radioactive matter would be thinned out in this much time as almost everything in nature absorbs radiation.
For those ten days, our schedule was same. In more and more time we slept. Every food stuff was to be eaten after washing it with bottled water and nothing was left uncapped. Though there was too much heat inside the sewer, but we used to were more and more apparel. The newer clothes were worn closer to the body and the older ones were put on over them. I had been conceiving of the others who might have survived the attack. Then to mind there came the thought of my fellows. They too knew how to survive such crisis and then I got the only place where they could be putting up. It was a planetarium which was in a marketing complex near my abode. The planetarium was built underground, having three feet wide roofs which could turn out to be a perfect shield against the radiation. This was the only place which could be used as a shelter and moreover there was a grocery store which could be the source of their nutrient supplements. I had been drawing plans to get there and was only waiting for the 10th day.

[1st Aug, 2017]
Lastly, it came the 10th day and I carefully opened the lid. I and Susana had put on a blanket, goggles and the dust mask to avoid radiation. To my astonishment, it was too cold out. There was a nuclear winter and the sky was totally dark. It was too tough to see anything. Everywhere were dead bodies wrapped in black soot. The half burnt bodies seemed like if they have been dipped in coal tar. This was the most horrific scene I have even come across. I moved towards the Palm street where that planetarium was situated. Picking up a wrench, I started beating the metallic handle of the door which was locked from inside.
The door opened and a beard man stood there. It was Jason, my hubby. I couldn't explain the joy that I was feeling at that moment. It was the best moment of my life that I was living then with him. I hugged him tightly and I don't recall for how long we have been clinging to each other. I was dumbfounded that moment. I made my way in and I found a group of around 70 souls putting up there. Most of them were the normal civilians who were rescued by my colleagues. Jason had come up there looking for me and he had a hope that I will get there shortly.
"Where is daddy Mom?", asked Susana enthusiastically. And before I could answer, she was in the lap of his father. For the first time I had seen Jason so happy.

[14th Aug, 2017]
It has been 23 days since the dirty bomb went off. I am putting up with my family, colleagues and others in the planetarium. The EMP waves have destroyed all the communication setups and we have been totally dissected from the outer world and no one is cognizant of our existence. For the world, it is a' Mere Explosion' and after some years the modern history textbooks of students will have a new chapter of the Korean war and the nuclear bomb quite the same as that of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. The world will show their so called gratitude and there will be some seminars and conferences where the world leader will advertise themselves by showing their heartiest sympathies for us, but no one will ever understand the predicament of all those whom they call 'The Survivors'.