NationStates Jolt Archive

BREAKING NEWS
AP NEWS

Small mushroom cloud forms over Nopal Island

Although there appear to be no international viewers of the cloud, as of yet, the Aztec Lands has confirmed the presence of a mushroom cloud over Nopal Island, a small, barren, uninhabited small island 370 miles off the coast of the main Lands.

It is known that the Aztec Lands navy frigate ALIN Axegrinder was near the explosion, but the Aztec Lands Imperial Navy is refusing comment at this time.

The first civilian viewing was AztecAir Flight 76 heading to Hermanos Rodriguez International Airport from The Empire of VipeRawr (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/69173/page=display_nation/nation=viperawr). The pilot is preparing for a full debriefing and meeting with government personnel and was not able to be interviewed but he did say before entering the AztecAir management room that "I just saw this massive cloud, told it to my copilot, and then air traffic told me to divert."

The passengers will be attending the meeting shortly. A joint minister meeting is expected shortly.

TRANSCRIPT (translated from Aztec to English)

JOINT MEETING OF THE IMPERIAL MINISTERS, ADVISORS TO HIS HOLINESS EMPEROR OBSIDIAN-VULTURE

*There is a guest room with a circle of chairs, seating the various ministers. Flashbulbs light the room up. The room itself is decorated in the traditional Aztec style. The Emperor himself is visible at front center, but plays no role.*

*The Minister of Defense clears his throat. He wears a business suit, contrasting with the emperor, who is in traditional clothes. He is known to be somewhat of a hard-liner.*

Minsiter of Defense: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You are probably all anxious to hear about the incident that occured on Nopal Island. At approximately 9:47 PM, local time, a huge explosion indeed rocked the island, creating a mushroom cloud. This was a non-nuclear explosion. Although it did from the characteristic cloud, this was a demolition explosion. Absolutely no nuclear materials have been used, nor any other weapons of mass destruction. Large explosions are capable of creating a mushroom cloud. There is no threat to anyone. Nobody was hurt, as the island itself is uninhabited and local fishermen were asked to leave by the Aztec Lands Imperial Navy Anti-Aircraft frigate Axegrinder.

*The Minister of Defense speaks up, wearing a military uniform.*

MoD: The island has had part of itself demolished. Part of the northeast sector has quite literally broken off. The reason for the demolition is not military at all in nature: it is to calibrate the force of a natural disaster, such as a meteor strike, or a nuclear attack. Various sensors were set up by a joint team of scientific and military personnel to capture what would happen if a small nuclear weapon, of around 800 tons, were to go off, perhaps in a terrorist attack. The test was a complete success. With this new information we can now protect our lands better.

*The Minister of State, a strong hard-liner, in traditional garb, speaks up. It is not uncommon for people to wear either Western-type or traditional clothing. Most government officials only wear Western-type when in international meetings.*

MoS: Now, of course, there will be the skeptics. People will say that we have develop nuclear weapons, missiles, they will call our space program a testbed for ICBMs, they will call our efforts to harvest nuclear power, power for the needy, especially with the rolling blackouts in the Lake Texcoco Valley, they will call all of this nuclear proliferation. It is not. However, we will not bend to international skepticism and scrutiny. Any planes flying into attempt to secure samples to quote "prove that nuclear radiation was released" will be escorted out, and if they refuse, will be shot down. Weapons inspectors will not be allowed in. We do not feel that we have to prove our innocence. We are not in tension or war with any nation at this time, period. However, they will create an imagined line between our space program and our nuclear power programs. I tell you, you are not welcome if you come here with that idea. Your Highness, is there anything else you would like to add?

Emperor: Not at this time. My advisors have said it for me. Questions?

((OOC: READER: at this point, you may RP your nation's newscasters in my nation. Shoot questions...))

A news reporter for the TNN (Tylinoa National News) rasied his hand, he was wearing and buisness suit with pencil and notepad in hand."Sir, what if a Nuclear bomb were to go off in a populated area, do you yet have a plan to help with the destruction that may cause?"

Emperor: Well, first of all, we are working on a defense system of sorts against ICBMs, and we have good screening against "briefcase nukes", but let's assume a worst-case scenario and a 1.5 kiloton nuclear weapon goes off in the middle of Tzatlan. First of all, the nation would enter full alert. All military forces would be patrolling, national martial law. Secondly, the area itself would be isolated by military personnel. Hazardous Material portions of Fire Rescue teams, other emergency services, the National Militia, would all immediately spring into action and try to get people out of the area: that is the priority, to get as many people out of the area as possible, and away from the prevailing winds. Medical teams would do everything possible in these safe zones. Other, material assets would be rebuilt once the area has been cleaned up.

The Nation of "The Transendent would like to know if the Nation of Antec Lands is devolping NUCLEAR WEAPONS!!! OR TESTING THEM

The Hiroshikan Reporter impatiently waved his hand that held the computerized tablet. He also asked "Have you found any information at this point that may lead you to the cause of the explosion?"

Dan Blather, Mauwiwowee news. "You claim that nuclear explosives were not used and protest your innocence, but in the same breath you refuse to allow international inspectors in to verify the truth of your claims. How can you possibly expect the rest of the world to take you at your word? You admit the island has been fractured, but claim it was the result of convential explosives, that's a little hard to swallow, particularly in view of your refusal to permit any independent 3rd party to verify your claim. What is your response?"

Emperor: I'll deal with these three questions in sequence:

Transendent: I don't speak for the Antec Lands. However, we are not developing nuclear weapons.

Hiroshiko: Yes, I already stated that it was an explosion set up by us to study the effects of a massive blast.

Mauiwowee: First of all, 800 tons is a very poor nuclear weapon, so even if it was one, it is a mere tactical nuclear weapon, whose only real use is on the battlefield. Secondly, we left the UN and feel no need to abide by its rules or submit to anything they impose on us, period. The UN is a threat to national sovereignty everywhere unless you agree with its ideals. They literally make the laws for you. We reject this idea of world government.

Thirdly, the island itself was unstable: it is an atoll over a fault line. There was a pre-existing crack along the island. It appears that the force of the explosion managed to take off part of it. This has been overblown by the media already: we're not talking about hundreds of square kilometers off the map. A severe earthquake could have done the same damage.

The reason for our hyperdefensive stance is that we don't want people to connect dots that do not exist. We are not at tension or war with any nation, ideaology, or group. We are not bellicose against other nations. We have no reason to develop nuclear weapons, period. We do have a missile shield program, but not an offensive missile program.