Two-Headed Frogs: Chernobyl, 1986 Hi Folks! Here is Number 2: Throughout the world today there is considerable concern about nuclear technology and its terrible power being used in weapons of mass destruction. Less widespread, apparently, is concern about nuclear technology being unleashed in weapons of mass dysfunction. Yet, such was this case. Unit 4’s reactor core failed to respond correctly to sudden, unexpected spikes in demand for electrical power. Plant technicians typically could have fixed that problem to prevent a core explosion and meltdown. But they had turned off the unit’s safety systems several hours before, in order to stage unscheduled and unauthorized tests of the reactor’s power generating capacities. According to Wikipedia, official response to the crisis appeared to be a fatal combination of incompetence and CMA mentality. First responders were not told initially that the fires were radioactive. Evacuation of some nearby towns did not begin until days later. Workers at a nuclear plant nearly 1,000 miles away detected fallout from a cloud that had already spread over Western Europe. So the world first learned about the disaster from the Swedes, not the Soviets. Months after the disaster, some livestock and wild creatures were indeed found with extra body parts, including heads. Unit 2 is now shut down, but Units 1 and 3 continue to operate, surrounded by empty towns and dead forests. And strange dark fungi grow inside the roasted remains of Unit 4. Soylent black, anyone? The really scary aspect of this tale is that around the world, public and private nuclear plant operators are straining under pressure to relax common sense rules of safety in order to satisfy increasing demands for electric power. And let’s not be so smug about the Soviets. Remember Three Mile Island. Thanx to the digital artists at Renderosity.com, 3Dcommune, Daz 3D, or Archive3D.net, whose props were used in the composition of this image. Dr Zik