Plans first proposed in 1874 by the Great Overseers of Orensk to build an enormous nuclear power plant nestled snugly alongside what was then the village of Wormwood were met with noncommittal disapproval. A shame to disrupt an idyllic slice of Oren rural life? Certainly. But worth fighting over? It appears not.
It took some time after the first proposal to the first steps towards construction but plans were published in May of 1879. The first stage of construction was to be levelling the land that sat a little further inland of the coastal village, to the east. Blasting powder, dynamite, and miles of detonating fuse made landfall and then swiftly deep gouges in the hard, rocky soil of the area that had made agricultural efforts in the area so hopeless for centuries. Once levelled, concrete and steel foundations broke ground and construction was underway.
Construction of the Reactor Core was the most delicate part of the entire operation. Specialist engineers were brought in to plan, design and install the equipment. Soldiers were brought in to maintain Overseer authority in the area and also to guard the highly unstable, highly dangerous and highly valuable radioactive materials that would form the fuel rods in the heart of the reactor. A number of mishaps delayed construction and the project overran by a couple of months. The officials were under a great deal of pressure to establish stable nuclear power to keep pace with their Northern rivals in the Atom Race, but eventually WNP was up and running
Above - Nuclear engineers within the Reactor Core examining the control rod mechanism to confirm perfect operation.
The first successful initiation of the power plant occured on the 6th of November 1902, a long time after the initial proposal, but hooking up WNP to the electrical grid was cause for great celebration and heralded a new age of Oren prosperity.
Above - corrupted image of Junior Nuclear Engineer Radchenko, who would one day be Deputy Chief Engineer at the time of the Incident, monitoring energy output levels in the first week of operation.