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"...China denies that it was an underground nuclear test, stating that they have no weapons of the requisite power. After some initial confusion, the US and Japanese governments have confirmed that there is insufficient radiation for this to be a conventional nuclear device. Current speculation within the scientific community indicates that the Chinese may have been testing a new radically different weapon system and prematurely detonated it."
Two daughters Tendo sat before the television and stared.
"Damn," summed up Nabiki, doing a pretty good job of it.
"The dust plume covers over one thousand square kilometers of the Bayankala Mountain Range in Qing-hai Province," continued the announcer, "due to turbulence and residual electromagnetic effects, the Chinese government is stating they have been unable to get video of the area. Earthquakes were felt as far away as here in Tokyo and in Turkey."
"Ranma, come in here," Akane called out.
"It ain't got nothing to do with me," argued Ranma as he continued to hit a rope-wrapped post.
"Isn't that where Jusenkyo used to be?" Nabiki asked pointedly.
"Huh?" Ranma asked, his interest being flagged for the first time. "Whatta ya mean, 'used to be'?"
The television now had, as television everywhere apparently did, cut to inane commentary by people who didn't know anything more than the announcer but felt that they were an expert for some reason and that this was their 'fifteen minutes' of allocated fame.
"Jusenkyo was in the Bayankala region, Qing-hai province, right?" Nabiki pointed out.
"What's this 'was'?" Ranma asked, not having been paying attention other than there had been a small quake and they'd let school out for some reason.
"The mountains aren't there anymore, Ranma," explained Akane absently as she stared in fascination at the unfolding spectacle. "It's gone."
"How could the mountains...?!" Ranma stopped complaining as the camera went to a Discovery Channel cameracrew that had apparently been filming in some out of the way area near the mountains and had just set up a satellite relay that the news channels were using.
There beyond the buildings and running and shouting people was a wall of dust mixed with fiery swirls of red that stretched across the horizon.
There were also boulders sitting scattered around the landscape which obviously hadn't been there long, some still leaving wisps of smoke or vapor. One had obviously taken out someone's house from the screaming and pointing going on.
The picture was staticky and didn't last long but it was still better than what had gone before.
"Waitaminute," said Ranma, pointing at a piece of debris that had arms and legs. "That's -"
(Posted Tue, 16 Sep 2003 14:26)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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