Earlier in the day, the reactor had been scheduled for a maintenance shutdown, following a series of long-overdue tests on the turbines. By the time he arrived at work, he understood that everything in Unit Four would be powered down. All he and the others on the graveyard shift would be doing was overseeing the cooling of the reactor: easy work. But down in the control room, there had been a change of plans. The tests were running twelve hours late and were only now beginning in earnest. The impatience of the station’s deputy chief engineer was rising. And there was mounting disagreement
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