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EUREKA!

Entry 3: The RTG Device

"Why don't you have lights?" 

"The Oil Barons shut off the power." 

"Why haven't you used your science to fix it?"

     The question kept me up all night, after the trade gathering. I was embarassed, at first.

     Then I was angry. How dare this Aggie bitch presume to talk about our troubles?

     With time has come clarity; I was angry at myself for not accomplishing this, embarassed that another had commented upon it. I am the proper target of those feelings. And there is only one way to deal with this.

     Over a year ago, a star fell from the sky. Not a star, a Sat-Light, one of those enigmatic machines of the oldcestors that orbit our world for purposes we can no longer understand. I tore the radioactive power core from the wreckage as the dead were drawn for miles to the crash; I nearly died buried beneath the hungry dead, and I would have if not for Tex. But I never let go. Not once.

     I have a year's of notes spread across my desk regarding this 'RTG Device'. A year's worth of research, of minor experimentation. The burns on my skin, the days of sickness from exposure, have been worth it. The knowledge I have gained of radiation from this device and other research has been significant - but I know it's only a drop of the genius it took to create such a thing as this.

     While I do not understand how it works, I believe I know what it does. It absorbs the radiation that emanates from the fuel rod contained within, and converts it directly into electricity. It is the most sacred of relics - a device that uses the Glow itself to power the world.

     The next step I have only hesitated to take because of fear. I am not afraid anymore. I will roll the dice, play my hand, and let the Glow embrace me if I fail.

     I will tear the secrets of the pre-fall scientists from the guts of their work. I will replicate their work, I will convert radiation into power. I will bring the light of the Glow to Bravo or I will die trying.