Amaury Dreher - Opalescence - The Secret of Pripyat

—Why don’t you film it?

—The absence of light makes it impossible to install a traditional camera.

I offered him my thermal model. We had it discreetly covered with tires and various equipment that were lying around. My camera had an autonomy of several weeks and was connected by satellite, we would be able to view it remotely and know who was prowling around here.

Satisfied, we tried to get out of the building and into the delicate passage through the ventilation duct. I was relieved to find the fresh air and its relative purity. The toxic particles I had probably breathed clogged my lungs and undermined my life expectancy by several months.

Andrei seemed indifferent. He was used to evolving with these kinds of constraints and had to overcome much worse. I observed the way he moved, the way he looked. It seemed to know every corner of the Zone and to find familiar landmarks.

As I frequented Andrei, I grasped his personality. He was neither a looter nor a daredevil in search of thrills. He defined himself as an authentic protector of the Zone. He wanted to observe it, to understand it, to defend it. He was a kind of forest ranger who looked after the exclusion zone as if he had the mandate to do so. It was his garden after all, his escape.

He questioned me.

—So, what’s your opinion on nuclear power?

—I’m not the greatest expert on the subject. It seems that power plants continue to cause serious problems around the world.

—Yes, recently in Japan… But technology is not to blame. These engineers did not correctly anticipate the effects of a tsunami on the reactor. Now the ocean is partially contaminated and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. According to the experts, evacuations were superfluous, but people would not have accepted a contrary decision. You know, specialists no longer have the confidence of the general public. That is unfortunate, but I understand them. This technology is beyond them. They don’t realise how much it has brought them. Obviously, nuclear fission is not the perfect process, it is only a transitional step towards even greater progress, the replica of the sun with nuclear fusion!

—Isn’t this a mad rush? More and more powerful, more and more complex… I imagine that the risks are also increasing?

—Not at all, but here again, it will be necessary to place blind trust in the experts.

—So Chernobyl will never happen again?

—Chernobyl is an unprecedented ecological and human disaster, but we could face much worse. Much worse…

Andrei was scratching his chin, looking both thoughtful and terrified.

—What are you thinking about?

—Oh, you see, there is a…

It is at this moment that an alarm sounds. A powerful projector came on, radiating a blinding light on us. Our cigarettes must have activated some sensors and the Zone’s warning systems had activated. Our indolence was repressed. Andrei pulled me by the arm. “Kneel down and come this way.”

He led me to a small ditch below. Both of us flattened ourselves by trying to avoid any movement. Above us, the sounds of breathless men were heard. They were looking for us. The guards were rushing to where we were a few minutes before. One of them shouted to give us up. Andrei laughed.

—They’re really not very talented.

—Why do you keep smoking in the Zone if you know the risks?

—I do what I want here, I am at home,” he replied dryly. The Zone is mine.

His eyes were bright when he spoke these last words. This demonic glow that escaped his gaze made me uncomfortable.

—Let’s go away,” he ordered.

—I’m following you.

Behind us, the men were screaming and seemed angry. Obviously, this was not the first time this kind of situation had occurred. As we fled through the woods, I understood one thing: Andrei was looking for this type of confrontation. He liked to torment authority, defy standards in dangerous conditions and emerge victorious with a final pirouette of which he had the secret. He was finally a player, he loved to test human characteristics and triturate weaknesses. I thought that one day he would repeat this behaviour towards me. I had to be on my guard, not to trust him more than he deserved. Already, I felt a certain paranoia inside me, precisely the one he had warned me about.

The night was pure and cool, unclouded. The stars were perfectly visible. I couldn’t read them, but apparently Andrei was able to decipher them because he was adapting our route accordingly.

—We’ve left the sensitive perimeter, they won’t look for us here, no matter what we do.

I nodded as a sign of approval.

—So you’ve never been caught?

—Never, he replied, not without some pride.

—I was intercepted by a soldier from day one.

—If they’re alone, you can bribe them. A lot of Stalkers have been through this.

—That’s exactly what I did.

—Be careful, however, many of them have integrity. I don’t want to have to pick you up in a Ukrainian jail.

—Do you know any people who didn’t have a good time?

—Of course. That being said, it was a long time ago.

—What happened? What happened?

—Stalkers died, he replied laconically. A big fight broke out a few years ago, most of them were alcoholic. Finally, the army intervened and took the wounded abandoned on the spot. They hung themselves in their cells. Families sued, implying ill-treatment, but the investigation showed that this was not the case. I think they were out of their minds.

—I have the impression that many people come out of here, their minds a little disturbed.

Andrei had a diabolical little smile.

—There’s still time for you to go.

To his words, I remained mute for a few minutes. I finally broke the silence.

—Are we going to spend the night there?

—Oh, no, come with me. I know a camp nearby.

—What? What? A camp?

—Yes. At this time of year, it is almost deserted. But it’s not so bad, we’ll be more discreet.

He chose the opposite direction to the one I would have taken.

—This way, he asked.

We made our way through the tall grass. They tickled our faces as we progressed. The ground was muddy and the snow seemed dirty. I was wondering who had the idea of settling in such places. I was not disappointed when we arrived. A small wasteland extended with a single tent within it. Pretty miserable, she was lying down against a tin shack. The smell was stinky.

—It’s there,” Andrei exclaimed with a smile.

He started to scatter his things and set up our shelter while I was inspecting the area.

—What does it look like in terms of radiation?

—Don’t worry about it! If you worry about that constantly, you won’t sleep at night.

A sound of footsteps was heard. The owner of the tent already installed was arriving. He had a slow gait and wore a huge coat that covered him heavily. All he needed was a sceptre and he would have looked like a druid.

—Here’s a new one,” he muttered.

He had spoken these words with a hoarse and muffled voice, suggesting heavy consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.

Andrei introduced us.

—How long have you been living there?

—It has been about fifteen years now,” replied the individual.

He spat on the ground.

—And I am not about to leave,” he continued.

Andrei intervened:

—Egor is a prowler. He’s a vagrant, he goes, he comes. He knows everything here and then…

—It’s okay, I think he understood who he was dealing with, Egor said. What are you doing around here?

—We triggered the alert systems because of our cigarettes, Andrei replied. The smoke betrayed us, but they didn’t get us.

The tone of his voice showed a certain pride that seemed to annoy Egor.