Simon led the way to the first of four doors, starting on the left.  Everyone gathered around.

"Through this door, you'll find the power producing mechanics to this entire shelter." Simon informed

Connor pepped up to ask a question, but Simon interrupted.

"Before you ask, no, you will not be smelling anything unpleasant in here." 

Connor withdrew his question.

"The natural waste part of the power system is stored in its own air-tight container.  It only gets used if the other methods of power harnessing either fail, or are inadequate on a particular day or time." Simon reached for the fingerprint scanner.

Simon pressed his finger to the scanner and the door slid upward.  There was an initial chamber much like with the living quarters before access to the next room.  They all stepped inside, the door closed behind them.  The next door opened, and they walked through that one.

Once inside the power room, they couldn't see much due to very large plastic panels covering the entryway.

"These are meant to help maintain the temperature here." informed Simon. "We need to keep the room chilled to approximately ten degrees celsius, or fifty degrees fahrenheit.  It allows the equipment in here to remain at a cool temperature to avoid overheating.  The equipment, while advanced in technology, can be very sensitive to the heat.  If the temperature drops to freezing point or lower, as you could imagine, things will begin to freeze.  This will require a thaw period before they can be used again.  In this instance, the backup supply of waste will then be used as energy to maintain basic power needs until the thaw period has ended and the power reboot has finished." Simon pointed to three visible metal boxes. "Each of these boxes are simply casings for the different methods of power we have.  The design is meant to keep them seperate for an ease of maintenance purposes." Simon began pointing to them one by one from left to right. 

"The first module controls the solar energy.  There is a large pillar attached to the outer shell of our shelter with a very advanced solar panel capable of harnessing even the tiniest bit of light, it's also mounted to a rotating device that reacts in conjunction with the sun to ensure there is constant communication with the sun during the day.  That power is then collected and sent directly into this box and routed in two different directions.  Half of the power is sent to a series of specialized batteries for backup power.  When the batteries are fully charged, this triggers a fail-safe system to prevent over-charging and all power is then directed to the primary power grid.  This switch on the side of the module is another fail-safe.  It's a kill-switch.  If ever there is an event where a system fails, or presents a danger for any reason..." Simon pointed to all three modules, showing the same switch on all of them.  "These emergency kill-switches instantly cease the flow of electricity to prevent any further, or potential damage from being done." Simon looked at all four of them. "Are there any questions about the solar power arrangement?"

Nobody had any questions.  Jim may not remember much, but he knew his knowledge of alternative power forms wasn't very deep.  Connor spoke up.

"What type of thermal paste is used on the CPU?" Even Connor was shocked by this question.  Of all the memory issues everyone was experiencing, Connor’s seemed to be slowly returning.

Simon, mildly taken aback, was also pleasantly surprised at his sudden re-emerging memory.

"A special compound of my own design.  It's capable of providing one hundred times the insulation that even the best compounds on the market offered. In other words, it has no name. I simply call it TP-4." Simon noticed Lydia chuckle to herself, brushing off this juvenile behavior, he continued. "TP-4 stands for 'Thermal Paste - 4'" he very much emphasized the words thermal paste.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that is all." Lydia apologized, still attempting to stifle her laughter.

Connor, satisfied with the answer, shook his head.

"Continue asking questions..." Simon looked at Connor. Perhaps it will help jog that memory of yours back into shape.  Connor shook his head.  Simon pointed to the next module.

"This next module doesn't require much explanation, it functions essentially the same way, only this one is powered through hydro-electrical purposes.  When building the shelter, location was extremely important.  If ever one day we are able to step outside, there is a very alive and powerful river and waterfall very close."  Simon pointed to the final module. 

"This is where our wind power comes from. Again, the module functions the same way.  There is a specially designed wind turbine on the outer shell as well.  Not only does the spinning wind turbine produce power, it is also designed to absorb radiation to be used as power.  Not to worry though.  The conversion of the nuclear radiation to pure power also feeds into the same box.  The converter is mounted to the outer shell in case damage or a leak occurs.  There is an access panel on that wall over there that serves as yet another maintenance port." Simon pointed to the far wall on the left behind Veronica. "Now for the not so fun part."

Simon guided them to the other side of the modules where a pipe could be seen from ceiling to floor.

"There are two access panels here." Simon pointed to both, then to the one of them. "This panel controls the conversion of our waste to usable energy.  This other panel, well… Only open this one if you're wearing proper gear.  The odor alone is enough to make you lose consciousness."

Everyone was in agreement and more than content to keep the panel closed. 

"Well, I suppose that's all you need to know about the power room." Simon, finished talking, guided them out the room, and back into the main computer room.

"Does anyone have any questions, so far?" Simon inquired.

Everybody shook their heads no.  The main computer started to beep which broke everyone's focus on Simon.  Simon quickly turned his head as did Jim.  Simon approached the computer to figure out what the beeping was.

"Look!" Jim announced abruptly.

Simon and everyone glanced up at the large Monitor before them and the number on the radiation meter had decreased slightly.  Everyone but Simon began to smile.

"That's a good thing, right?" asked Veronica.

"Radiation levels are dropping!" exclaimed Lydia.

Simon spoke up.

"Yes, it certainly appears that way."

"What does it mean though?" asked Connor

"Maybe we can go outside soon!" Lydia was ecstatic

"Unfortunately, no." Simon announced much to the displeasure of everyone else.  "I don't mean to be the bearer of unfortunate news, but, while yes, the radiation level has apparently dropped, it's still highly unlikely we'll be able to explore outside anytime soon."

The reality of their situation came flooding back to them.

"However..." Simon began.

Everyone perked back up a little and listened.

"I see no reason why we shouldn't conduct a trial run with the radiation suits I mentioned before.  Less radiation is better than more, but that should go without saying."

"When can we do this?" Jim asked insistently.

"Well..." Simon began to think. "We really do need to finish the basic utilities tour so we all know what kind of maintenance needs to be done.  However, I suppose we could always run the trial tomorrow."

As painful as it was to accept, especially with emotions and adrenaline now running high, everyone knew they had to accept this.  Taking deep breaths, they all began to calm themselves and their now spiked heart rates.  Simon again looked at everyone.

"We will run the testing on the radiation suits first thing in the morning tomorrow.  A bit of prep is required to ensure accurate results and readings..." Simon paused. "In the meantime, I first need to show you where all of our agriculture happens." Simon pointed to the door next to the power room.

They all broke their hopeful gazes at the monitor and walked toward the door.

"I must warn you though." Simon said quickly.

Everyone, taken aback, look at Simon.

"In here, you'll need to wear a gas mask at times.  There is a reason why this room was built next to the waste collector in the power room."

No one in the group looked thrilled to be going into this next room, but they all knew it had to be done.  They all started toward the door.  Veronica grabbed Jim by the hand.  

"Something in me feels drawn to this next room." Veronica looked straight at Jim, whispering.

"Is your memory starting to come back?" Jim asked, whispering, but excitedly.

"Can't say.  Let's check it out." Veronica replied.

Jim nodded and maintained his mutual grip of Veronica's hand.

"The gas masks are in the first bay." Simon announced, ahead of the group, out of earshot of Jim and Veronica.  "And believe me, you may need them."