Alice Disaster

The Alice Disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred at the on December 7th, 1941 at the Alice Test Site in the Principality of Darren. It was the first detonation of a nuclear device. A collection of Darrenite and German refugee scientists were testing an implosion-type plutonium device when a sudden, accidental activation of the device occurred, setting off the first an explosion that leveled Alice and left a mushroom cloud visible from Darren City which was 60 kilometers (35 miles) away.

Before the disaster, the top-secret Alice Test Site was the center of Darrenite Nuclear research. When the device activate, a large portion of the arable land in the Principality of Darren was irradiated, but many Darrenites returned almost immediately to their farms and homes. Besides Alice, Betty Test Site was also destroyed, releasing 30,000 pounds of fluoridated mist into the air. The cleanup, performed with Canadian assisance, consisted of moving the worst of the radioactive leavings behind earthworks at what became the Darren Nuclear Waste Storrage Facility.

Some[citation needed] believe that Daryl Hammonly, an operative from the United States was responsible for the accidental activation of the device. Supposedly, the operative disguised himself as an engineer observing the test and shook black pepper into the air as a Darrenite technician performed the final preparations to the device, causing him to sneeze and accidentally activate the device. It is believed that Sergeant Anne Hall, another operative, tried to stop Hammonly but was unsuccessful. Both she and Hammonly died in the accident.

Proponents of the belief that US interference caused the Alice Disaster, point to the scientific rivalry between the United States of America and the Principality of Darren. Although it could never be proven, American-Darrenite relations soured somewhat for years to come.

Due to the accident, the Principality of Darren has become a leading center for medical and scientific research into the effects and treatments for people and environments affected by the detonation of nuclear devices.

-EPM