"What do you mean, he's gone?"
"He has... passed away," Konvitz said.
Bessonova remained silent for a long time before speaking again.
"Then where else can we find someone who understands reactor design?"
"There are actually quite a few people at our institute who understand reactor design. But if you're looking for someone who can identify a fatal flaw in the reactor's design, sorry, but as far as I know... there really isn't anyone like that. Our duty is to provide the overall design for nuclear power plants and take responsibility for their safety after construction. If we had found a problem with the design, we would have corrected it immediately," Konvitz said.
After a pause, he added, "Of course, since this accident is so serious, there will definitely be a more in-depth investigation afterward. The design risks may be reassessed then. But first, we need to get the computer from the control room and study the various parameters it recorded before the explosion in order to reconstruct the reactor's condition at the time."
"How long will that take?"
"That's hard to say. At this stage, our priority is still dealing with the accident: evacuating the population, putting out the fire in the reactor. Investigating the cause of the accident comes afterward." Konvitz could tell that this group holding him hostage was particularly concerned about the reactor's design. After thinking it over, he reluctantly gave them an estimate. "At the earliest, maybe one or two months from now."
"One or two months?" Mouse, who had taken over from Coconut as translator, sucked in a sharp breath. His face was filled with despair. "How many of us will still be alive by the time the investigation results come out?"
Konvitz sensed a violent shift in the emotions of the intruder standing