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Atomfall tells the tale of an incident at the Windscale Nuclear Plant, leading to a total lockdown of the area and a communications blackout. What begins as a radiation leak escalates into something far more bizarre than the residents of Wyndham could ever anticipate.
Though the storyline of Atomfall is rooted in science fiction, the Windscale Nuclear Plant is indeed a real location. In 1957, an actual accident occurred there. Let’s delve into the historical events that inspired Atomfall.
The Historical Windscale Disaster
The Windscale Plant’s reactors were constructed in 1950 and 1951 near Seascale Village in Cumberland. The primary goal of the plant was to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons production, despite its capacity to generate significant energy. After World War II, the United States restricted many of its nuclear secrets from Britain, prompting the establishment of the Windscale Plant as one of Britain’s strategies to keep pace in the Cold War arms race.
The Fire
On October 10, 1957, engineers at Windscale noticed unusual temperature readings in the reactor. Reacting to what they believed to be a malfunction in the heat-release system, they activated the ventilation fans. This unfortunate decision exacerbated the situation, as the anomaly was actually a fire that had been burning for two days. When the crew, equipped in radiation suits, discovered the fire, it had already consumed both magnesium and uranium.
Efforts to extinguish the flames failed, and Reactor Manager Tom Tuohy ultimately ordered an evacuation, leaving only himself and the fire chief behind to shut down the reactor’s air supply, which finally subdued the fire.
The Results
Initially, the British government withheld details about the accident, with Prime Minister Harold MacMillan heavily censoring the public report. However, a radius of 200 miles around the Windscale Plant became exposed to radioactive isotopes, including iodine-131 and polonium-210. The Windscale Disaster is now known as the most severe nuclear accident in British history.
The Windscale Disaster in Atomfall
In Atomfall, the Windscale Plant is still situated in Cumberland, close to the fictional village of Wyndham, but with a darker underlying motive concealed by the British government.
In this narrative, the Windscale site was initially a secret location for Axis prisoners of war, utilized for British nuclear research or forced labor in a nearby slate mine. During the mining operations in 1946, workers unearthed a meteorite that had landed in the region during the late 16th or early 17th century, codenamed Oberon.
Oberon contained a newly discovered element capable of advancing Britain’s material and energy research, positioning the UK as a frontrunner in nuclear technology. The Windscale Plant was built to support a hidden facility tasked with extracting and studying this "Oberite," all while masked as a provider of nuclear energy for civilian use.
The Oberon Organism
It was later revealed that Oberon was hollow and home to a living extraterrestrial organism—a fungus that, upon processing, could enhance human consciousness and speed up learning. However, exposure to this fungus resulted in hallucinations, and ultimately, individuals devolved into aggressive, animalistic forms known as Ferals. Dr. Alan Holder, part of the onsite medical team, sought ways to combat or reverse these effects.
The Accident
On the same date, October 10, 1957, a fire erupted at the Windscale Plant, triggering an explosion that scattered spores of the Oberon organism throughout the vicinity. In response, the site activated its quarantine protocol, sealing off the Windscale Plant and the adjacent facility known as the Interchange. The British military quickly responded, constructing concrete barriers to isolate Wyndham and its surroundings from the rest of the country.
The radiation emitted from the plant, combined with Oberon’s unknown effects, created an interference field that disrupted all radio signals within the Quarantine Zone and hindered safe operations of heavy equipment, including helicopters.
A military unit led by Captain Grant Sims was dispatched to maintain order under martial law. By the game’s commencement in 1962, that had been the last communication the outside world received about the events within the quarantine boundaries.
The Voice in the Soil
Sims aimed to protect the civilian population from the effects of Oberon, but many had already started hearing and venerating the "Voice In The Soil." These individuals, identifiable by their glowing blue eyes, had been influenced by the Oberon organism and formed a cult in the nearby Casterfell Woods. They regarded Oberon as a sign of global unity as a single entity, all while remaining largely unaware of its true origins.
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