“Uranium, U-232 has a half-life of 72 years,” was written down on the chemist’s wall. Papers were spread across the table. Some of the papers seemed as if they had been turned over yesterday, but some seemed to be forgotten. Crude sketches of atoms shedding their electrons were posted on the wall. Ever since Decision Day, Simon Morris has been trying to fix the radiation problems that had been occurring in Section 25 all the way up to Section 15. Simon was assigned the task make sure that the radiation does not leak into the higher levels of the city. Three days into this task, Simon realized that he would need a partner. Simon was a busy man and this job would only affect time with his family even more.
The door of Simon’s office opened quietly and revealed a new face. This was the face of Jake Miller. After a quick introduction, Simon told Jake the basic situation that they were facing. “Section 25 and 24 have become impossible to survive in, and if we don’t act soon, 23 and 22 will soon be uninhabitable as well,” Simon said to Jake.

“Yes, I’ve studied U-232 for many years, when I lived in Section 13, before I moved up to Section 3 to work for you,” responded Jake.

“I visited there a couple of years ago; it was nice. However, it won’t continue be unless we can devise of some way to stop the atoms for losing their electrons so quickly,” Simon remarked. Simon had been studying the radiation of U-232 and how it affected the human body and the structures inside the radius of the material. Simon said, “Every time that Section One, Two, and Three has to dispose of their waste from the manufacturing process of the Section Gates, they throw it away in Section Twenty Five. The new gates have been upgraded, causing more and more U-232 to be disposed of. If the Gates get upgraded anymore, it won’t matter that the security is strong, we’ll all be dead.”

“Well,” said Jake, “what do we have so far?”

“Well, I discovered a new gas agent that we can deploy in the exposed Sections that can slow the half-life on U-232 to 185 years,” responded Simon. Simon knew however that that was not fast enough to save the higher Sections. He knew that he needed to slow down the half-life of U-232 to at least a couple of thousand years if he wanted to save the later generations, including his soon coming baby. “We have to go to a lower district to collect a sample of U-232 to find the section of the element that changes the half-life and find the way to change it.”

“You know that we can’t get there without being affected by the Uranium,” commented Jake. “Well, unless we can get a suit from Section One. They are the only ones that can afford one.”

“Well we both know that that is not going to happen. You have seen how they treat the lower sections,” replied Simon. “However, I have been thinking of an idea to, borrow, a suit,” said Simon, with a grin on his face. Abruptly, Simon walked out of his office. Jake was startled, tripping on the cabinet as he left the office.

“Simon! Wait! What are we doing?!” yelled Jake as he ran to catch up.

“I’ll tell you in the car,” said Simon. Simon opened the door of his car and started it. Jake opened the passenger door and got in. Simon then explained his plan to Jake. “First, we have to go to Section One.” Simon got into his car and told Jake that they were going to do the unthinkable. Simon and Jake were going to break in to Section One and steal a suit. Jake was speechless. The first day of his new job and he was going to go steal from Section One. The drive from Section Three to Section One was around an hour long. The last few minutes of the long drive were spent in silence.

The sound of a siren and the timed footsteps or guards followed loud long strides of Simon and Jake. “Get in the car! Now! Run!” Simon screamed as he and Jake sprinted away from the capital building. Simon pulled the keys out of his pocket as he ran. He opened the trunk with the remote. He yelled at Jake, “Throw it in the trunk!” Jake threw in the suit and slammed it close. They both jumped into the car and squealed away, closely followed by the security guards of the capital. Simon looked to his left, and watching the scenery flash by him, he thought to himself, “What am I doing?” He looked forward and said to himself, “For the greater good. I’m doing this for the greater good of the people. I am doing this for them, my daughter and my wife, for them.” He then looked to his left and asked Jake, “Are you sure you want to do this? I can drop you off. I still have time to let you out.”

“No, I came to work for you, I want to help,” Jake said firmly.

“OK, well then, here we go,” Simon said as he stomped on the gas.
They were now in Section Eight. Simon then looked at Jake and said, “We only have one suit. If we go to the affected districts, we only have twenty minutes before we can get out without any side effects.”
Jake responded, “Ok, you know what you are looking for, so you should get in the suit and get ready to find U-232 and get a sample.” Simon pulled over and quickly put the suit on. Jake got into the driver’s seat and Simon got into the passenger’s seat. The car sped off towards Section 10.
“It is protocol for guards to stop at Section 10; they won’t go any farther,” Simon stated. They were about past the gate passing from Section 10 to Section 11, which had been abandoned, when Simon muttered under his breath, “Well, here we go.” The car sped through the abandoned gate and then skidded to a stop. Simon quickly opened the door and slammed it shut. He heard a faint buzz in the air and looked looked into the air and stared upwards, amazed by the fact that he was in a district that had been affected. He then soon realized that he was using up Jake’s time. Simon started frantically looking for a small sample of U-232. Simon had never seen the actual element in real life. He had only seen pictures of it on the computer screen in his little office where he was protected and ready. However, now he was in the moment and actually looking for the element. Simon started looking on the ground for features he learned about in school and what U-232 does to the earth around it.
And finally, after six minutes of searching, he spotted it. A small hill of earth with a little hole on top, like an ant hill, this is what U-232 does to the earth. He knew he had found it. Simon dug with his hands to find the small piece of metal. Simon reached inside the pocket of the suit and pulled a small vial. Simon looked to the car and waved his arms. Simon saw the headlights turn on and speed towards him. The car slid and stopped right before him. He opened the door and jumped in.
Jake looked at Simon and said in a playful mood, “Cutting it close, boss.” Simon smiled and nodded. They sped off back to Section Ten.
“They will be waiting for us,” said Simon. They passed into Section Ten and they could see the road block ahead of them. Simon looked down at his suit and noticed a fine dust all over it. He rolled down the window and he tried to shake off as much of the dust as possible. He was amazed with the dust. He thought to himself, “It must be the shedding electrons. The dust must be the electrons.”
They approached the road block and slowed to a stop. Two officers approached the car and opened the doors. One police officer spoke in a loud, clean voice, “You have been charged with theft from the Capital. Please remove the suit and surrender.” Simon calmly looked at Jake and nodded, reassuring him that it was going to be ok. Jake looked at him scared but comforted by the calmness of Simon.
After the two weeks spent in the Remedial Fort, and the fee paid, Simon and Jake were allowed to leave. Jake rushed out to collect their belongings and frantically looked at Simon, saying, “It’s not here, U-232 is not here!”
Simon smiled and laughed at Jake, “Yes, I know.”
Driving back in the car, Jake asked, “Why are you not worried? Why do you not care that the Capital has the U-232 even though we did all that work to get it?” Simon smiled and opened his mouth as if he were about to speak but only lifted his tongue to reveal a small vial that contained a sliver of the U-232. Jake was speechless. Simon and Jake arrived back at their office in Section Three. Simon put the vial behind a secure shield and found the section of the element that controlled the decay. Simon started working on a new gas agent to combat the decay. Simon looked up at the screen and saw the words, “Expected Half-Life 6972 years.” Simon was finally happy.