Chapter 75: A Core Issue

The colored smiley faces seem to be getting faster with each new grid you enter. “Hey Doc!” you shout into the radio. “The gas tank is full! Can we get out of here?”

“Just a moment… let me check the power levels…”

“Hurry up, Doc!” shouts Melvin.

“Yes,” the Doctor’s confident but still tranquil voice responds over the radio. “Power levels are critically low in all four buildings. I’ll get you out of there.”

A blue smiley face is right on your tail, and going faster than you can escape it. “We’re not going to make it!” shouts Melvin. The blue smiler closes in, grinning and spinning, closer and closer…

Suddenly everything goes black and you feel yourself tumbling end over end. The radio is all static.

“Doc!” you shout. “What’s happening?”

The static and tumbling continue, but then each starts to fade, and the doctor’s voice emerges out of the radio static.

“…ystals. But it’s not enough.” You hear him panting a little, and feel the ship shaking. Is he running? “With the crystals gone, the computer has put the nuclear reactor in Building 1 into overdrive! We need to stop it, to cut off power to the virus, and avoid a meltdown!”

“A meltdown?!” says Melvin with alarm. “What kind of cheap nuclear reactors are you running here, Doc?”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” he responds, embarrassed. “I’d never built a nuclear reactor before, and I bought the plans from an alien named Jaantik. Turns out alien technology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Wait,” says Melvin. “Not Warrior Jaantik, from Spectra?”

“Yes, I think so,” says the doctor, panting. “But that’s not important right now.” You feel the shaking stop. “Okay, I’ve entered Building 1, and am ready to inject you into the reactor core.”

Everything goes dark in the fluid around the ship. “Doc, what are we supposed to do?” you ask.

“The Proteus will enter DDV mode, and you’ll be able to use the robot arm to suck up overactive particles.”

All around you, the Proteus is changing form. The screen is flashing “ENTERING DDV MODE” and a huge four-clawed robot arm has taken shape on the front of the ship.

“It’s happening, Doc!”

“Good luck – but act fast! The reactor is already at level five! If those particles split too many times, there will be an explosion and a meltdown! There is a digital manual on board if you need more information.”

The reactor core is dark – but you see red, blue, and yellow particles bouncing around. As you fly around the core, the whole ship starts changing colors. And you notice something else… your green skin seems to be… glowing. Maybe it’s the radiation? You try to ignore it, and focus on the bouncing particles. “Melvin, a little help?”

Melvin is scanning through the digital manual. “This was definitely written by the Spectrans… it’s… kind of a mess…”

You are trying to chase the particles, but they are easy to miss. “At least find out what DDV stands for.”

“Uh… let’s see… it says ‘DECONTAMINATION-DEFUSSION-VACUUM.’ I think they mean ‘defusion’?” says Melvin.

There are a lot of particles to collect. “Can this thing go any faster?” you shout.

Melvin scans… “Yes! Flip that switch from ‘b’ to ‘a.’”

You flip it. The ship spins wildly out of control. “Gaah!” shouts Melvin, slamming against the wall. “Flip it back! Flip it back!”

You flip it back, and narrowly avoid entering some kind of portal. “Melvin, should I go in there?”

“Maybe?” says Melvin, frantically scanning the manual. “Aha… it says here that is a CORE VENT… and will destroy us… so… no.”

“Okay,” you say, “how do I avoid it?”

“Uhhh… ‘avoid the vent by maneuvering around the vend.’”

“Do they mean ‘vent?’” you ask.

“I think so?” replies a frustrated Melvin. “Also, ‘Lossing all of your DDV robot arms will initiate a meltdown sequence.’ So… don’t do that.”

“Yeah, I’ll try not to,” you say, grabbing another particle. “Cuz, with a reactor as big as a skyscraper, it could melt all the way down to China.”

“Wouldn’t it stop at the center of the earth?” asks Melvin, looking up. But the particles are multiplying, and you don’t have time to respond.

Place the China Syndrome cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 2. Set the right difficulty switch to b, and set the left difficulty switch to a or b at your preference. Play until you get an “All Clear.” Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.