Nuclear Destruction (#atozchallenge)

Some of us love Manhattan for all that it is while other evil minds think about the destruction they could wreak upon this great city.

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 44th week, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Nuclear Destruction

           In January when I asked the question What Does Manhattan Say to You?,  Dezmond from Hollywood Spy commented: 

 "...the first thing that fell upon my mind is that new TV series MANHATTAN :) on building the first atomic bomb in USA :("

         Since my title for my 2016 A to Z theme is The Manhattan Project, the development of the atomic bomb probably came to many minds when they read it.   After all "The Manhattan Project" was the code name for the research and development of nuclear weapons from 1942 to 1946.   Spurred by the research efforts of Nazi Germany, the United States fervently worked to be the first to harness the power of the atom to be used as a weapon.   As we know from history, the U.S. succeeded in not only building the weapon, but being the first to actually use it in warfare with devastating results.

         The debate continues as to whether using the bomb was a necessity to end the war with Japan or that country merely became the laboratory for testing the frightening new bomb.  The Pandora's box of nuclear destruction had been opened and the world has been on the brink of annihilation ever since.  The stalemate continues as more countries strive for ownership of their own nuclear weapons. And to think the project got it's name from the office in Manhattan where the plans were drawn up to organize the strategy to build the bomb.  Later the actual research and construction of the bombs were done elsewhere in facilities throughout the United States.

1.      Sharon Himsl at Shells Tales and Sails related the following:

1. Interesting theme choice. I actually live near the site of the Manhattan Project. But of course it means more too!

1.       I'm guessing that Sharon's near the Hanford, Washington area where part of the work was done.  This location was chosen due to its distance from major population areas.  The government realized that what they were dealing with was a dangerously destructive power--far too risky to be developed near large population centers.  Where I used to live in East Tennessee is where the project of building the bomb first started.  Oak Ridge still has a large nuclear research facility along with a very fine museum on the subject.  
2.         The bombs were built and not long after the first testing was done in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the bombs were put to actual use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.   Never again say some, but will this be the case?   And when (I think "when" not "if" is a probable outlook) the next bomb is detonated, where will that be?   Manhattan?  We can only hope not, but the city is likely in the mind's eye of more than one evil force in the world.   After all, we have already seen the attacks on the city by terrorists in recent decades.   
3. Manhattan:  Target of Destruction

        Alex J. Cavanaugh ruminated on all of the destruction that Manhattan has faced in movies and so many other genres of fiction.  He pointed out,   "It does seem a ton of films have been set there. New York has been destroyed by flooding, Godzilla, aliens..."  It's so true and yet the reasons are so obvious.  That inner apocalyptic mindset within each of us--that darker side where dystopia is the order of the future--our imagination driven by fears as the shadow mind glimpsing the horror of absolute destruction takes us to the visions of apocalypse that few of us would ever want to actually experience.

        Realistically we can't help but acknowledge that there are evil forces that would like to see a massive city like Manhattan decimated into dust, concrete chunks, and the residue of vaporized human beings.  Fear mixed with a morbid fascination stirs nightmarish visions of total unequivocal destruction from which no life could rise for centuries or even millennia. 

        As creative artists and thinkers, our imaginations conceive the worst along with the best and most beautiful.   It's completely unlikely that Manhattan will ever be directly hit by a giant meteorite or leveled by a tsunami.   It's also improbable that a nuclear warhead will ever target the city.  However we can't discount the possibility that a dirty bomb might be one day exploded in the city causing a mass evacuation that could leave Manhattan abandoned for perhaps decades or even centuries.

        Likewise the idea of the city falling under the attack of prehistoric creatures or a giant gorilla makes for entertaining fantasy, but we can't dismiss the concept of a plague that could infect millions.  Or what about economic collapse or failure of the power grid or other aspects of the infrastructure that could send the city into turmoil and panic in the streets.

         Let's hope none of these horrors ever visit Manhattan or any great city for that matter, but the ideas will fuel fictional scenarios for writers of science fiction and speculative literature for years to come.   We don't want anything bad to happen to America's great city, but we can't help but imagine the worst sometimes.

         Have you visited any of the sites related to the Manhattan Project?    What do you think is the most feasible scenario of disaster in Manhattan?   What is your favorite disaster film that takes place in Manhattan?

Related articles

• Fourth World under the Nuclear Cloud: On the Need for a Risk assessment of Nuclear Technology on Fourth World Territories
• The Real Reason America Dropped The Atomic Bomb. It Was Not To End The War
• Blowing Up in America’s Face: The Aftermath of the Atomic Bomb on American Soldiers
• Plutonium Pie in the Sky: the Dangerous Delusion of New Nukes
• Coping with the Threat of Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies