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West Huron Island

     West Huron Island (also known as Lighthouse Island), one of the Huron Islands in Lake Superior, is part of Marquette County, Michigan. It's located about 11 kilometers northwest of the village of Huron Mountain; the south shore of Lake Superior is about 5 kilometers away.
     The island is a granite outcrop, about a kilometer long, and roughly 200 meters wide; most of the island is 25 meters above the water; there are cliffs on all sides. The highest point is about 37 meters above the lake's surface. There are shoals around the island.
     Various pines, fir, and birch growing on it. A few snowshoe hares are the largest year-round mammals. Herring gulls and bald eagles are usually present; migratory birds are present twice a year.
     Ice collects most often against the west and south side of the island in winter. Snowfall of 5 or 6 meters depth is not unknown. Lake fog is very common except in late summer.
     Atop the island is a masonry lighthouse, with a 12-meter tower supporting the light at 49 meters above the lake. The lighthouse looks sort of like a church or schoolhouse. A wooden barracks stands close by the lighthouse, with two diesel electrical generators and the remnants of the keeper's garden between them. A privy, fuel tank, water tank, and other minor buildings were already in a decayed state by 1989.

     Two small fog signals were located at the western point of the island; a brick engine house, wooden barracks and a wooden store house (for 20 tons of coal, among other things) stood by the fog signals, along with the winding-gear for a steep tramway to bring supplies (mostly coal) onto the island.

     Near the southeast end of the island, in a small cove, is a sturdy concrete dock about 16 meters long, and a concrete-and-iron boathouse. Winding concrete steps lead from the dock up about 20 meters, and a narrow road leads to the lighthouse, with small wood-and-iron bridges spanning various gaps in the the rocky terrain.
     The light was automated in 1972, and the Coast Guard crews withdrawn. The island was still owned by the United States Coast Guard at the time of the Atomic War.
     In 1975, the lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Concern over the decaying lighthouse and other buildings led to a restoration campaign; Morrow Industries (headquartered in Warren, Mich.) was persuaded to fund the project. In the summer of 1980 a derrick and crane were positioned at the shore, below the lighthouse; supplies and machinery were hoisted atop the island by the crane. Some wilderness groups were a bit dismayed by the amount of activity atop the small island.

     By 1981, the lighthouse and other structures had been rebuilt, reinforced, and made secure against weather and vandalism.

green tint indicates vegetated areas

What the AutoNav might be showing ...

Bolthole Features

     Many of the Project's teams are placed in boltholes -- hidden, blast-proof underground bunkers. Not all boltholes are the same; they vary in size, access points, installed equipment, and construction styles. Team R-101 has a notably different bolthole, constructed in 1980.

     All bolt holes are built from steel-reinforced high-density concrete, with a synthetic lining on all interior surfaces for insulation and to improve airtightness, to absorb neutrons and to reduce moisture infiltration and other contamination of the interior. Once the bolthole's occupants and equipment are in place, it is filled with nitrogen gas at about 15% above local atmospheric pressure. At least one large bucket of desiccant (usually silica gel) is placed in the interior to reduce the humidity.

     Along one side of the bolthole are liquid nitrogen storage tanks (dewars). They automatically vent nitrogen if the interior air pressure drops to less than 10% over normal atmospheric pressure for the bolthole's altitude, or if commanded by the monitor. Each tank is about 1.4 meters tall, and 1 m on each side; they weigh 60 kg when empty; the exterior is made of stainless steel. They have power cords and control cables plugged into a plastic cabling trough; there is a heavy-duty manifold on one side (for filling the tank, venting into the bolthole automatically, venting the tank manually for whatever reason, or venting to the exterior on monitor command). 

Configuration

     The interior of the R-101 bolthole is 13 meters wide and 39 meters long; a boat berth 7 meters wide, 4 meters deep and 24 meters wide faces the main door. An arched concrete ceiling, 8 meters in diameter, is centered along the boat berth, rising to 8 meters above the dockside (and 12 meters above the bottom of the boat berth); the ceiling on the northwest side is only 4 meters high. On the southeast side is a 1.5 meter wide concrete walkway; the northwest side has a row of 12 steel pillars supporting the edge of the ceiling.

     In the front (northeast) wall of the bolthole are two heavy-duty stainless steel pressure release valves. Various warning placards, and a simple pressure gauge, are attached to the wall near them. The 27mm thick steel door is 7 meters wide and 8 meters high (from the bottom of the boat berth), and weighs 5 tons. It is hinged at the top, to swing up into the bolthole; there are heavy locking jacks at the bottom (to keep it closed) and on the ceiling (to lock it in place when opened).

     An overhead hoist runs on tracks 5 meters above the dock floor, almost the entire length of the bolthole, over the boat berth and pontoon storage area. It's electric-powered via the bolthole circuits, which in turn are powered by the boat's reactors. It has a 5 ton capacity, and the chain reel holds 20 meters of stainless-steel chain. It's designed to lift the bolthole door open, among other things.

sort-of cross section through the island

     At the rear of the chamber is a niche, with a ladder leading up 25 meters in a round concrete shaft to a heavy steel hatch; this opens into the sump under the lighthouse tower. This hatch has no visible handle or lock on the "outside", but somewhere else in the lighthouse keepers' house is a slot for a Morrow Project ID card. The card-slot is only useful to unlock the hatch when the bolthole electrical circuits are energized ...

The underside of the hatch in the lighthouse tower has various warnings about

"Do Not Open If Bolthole Is Pressurized".

     The other hatch leads to an emergency exit route, filled with pea gravel and sand by the Project after the bolthole was constructed. At the bottom of this shaft is a steel grille, covering an empty concrete well of about the same volume as the amount of pea gravel filling the shaft above. A steel trapdoor can be opened after the hatch is unsealed, allowing the pea gravel to fall down through the grille into the well. If the escape shaft doesn't quite empty on its own, the team has pioneer tools to assist in opening the emergency exits. The cofferdam opens about 12 meters above the lake surface, on the cliff face.

     Again note the effects above regarding air pressure ... very exciting if the lighthouse exit or cofferdam are opened before pressure is equalized. The cofferdam hatch and lighthouse hatch each have about a ton of air pressure on them, so opening the hatches will be quite exciting or difficult if there's still pressure in the bolthole.

Installed Equipment

     Besides the monitor and radio (destroyed when the team awakens), the bolthole contains:

• the overhead hoist, as described

• four rather crusty-looking 20 liter dessicant buckets
  

• 50 empty, heavy frost-covered oxygen tanks, with a computer-controlled manifold valve

• 100 empty nitrogen dewars, labelled "LIQUID NITROGEN"
  

• a scorched and smoking VLF radio/monitor station

• a 15-meter long interface cable, connecting the monitor to the vehicle computer and reactor

• a 15-meter long power cable, connecting the vehicle reactor to the bolthole circuits

• a cheap folding "banquet" table, with:
  

• some candy bars, canned water and a note
  

• six body bags

• four shovels

• on and under the banquet table is the team's gear (weapons, standard equipment, and so forth) 
  

• the six cryoberths for the team, with letters "A", "B", "C" etc. painted on the panel end of the berths

• personal effects boxes are stored in a niche in each cryoberth

• a periscope, with a manual ratcheting mechanism to raise it. Note that it only has a view from a point halfway up the northeast cliff, mostly of the lake in front of the main exit.
  

• a heavy steel-and-rubber cradle supporting the boat.

the cradle supporting the boat 

The Monitor

     A simple electronic system monitors the VLF radio, conditions within the bolthole, the status of the cryoberths, and the status of the vehicle fusion reactor which powers the bolthole systems. The cryoberths, radio and monitor draw less than 3000 watts of power. The wakeup procedure requires about 8 hours to complete (and draws a few kilowatts of power for each cryoberth).

     Environmentally, the monitor watches temperature, air pressure, toxic agents, radiation count, a smoke detector, and orientation. If the interior temperature exceeds 27° Celsius for 24 hours, or 40° Celsius for 1 hour; if the air pressure is not at least 10% above local (pre-War, anyway) atmospheric pressure for 24 hours; if the smoke detector goes off; or if the orientation detector signals a 5 degree tilt for more than 2 minutes, the monitor system will initiate the cryoberth wakeup process.

     If the fusion reactor indicates that less than 15% of its fuel remains, the monitor will initiate wakeup of the team.

     If a critical number of the cryoberths have signaled a "fault" status, the monitor system will initiate wakeup on the remainder. For a team of 8 persons or less, the critical number is "half". If any of the cryoberths have the wakeup process started manually (there's a switch on the outside of each berth) the monitor will initiate wakeup on all of them -- unless whoever's waking them up uses an MPID to over-ride the "team wakeup" process. If the monitor detects the team-specific wakeup signal on the VLF radio, it'll start the wakeup process on all berths (this may not be true for some teams outside the Recon branch).

     In any case, if the wakeup process for one or more berths is initiated, the monitor will open the manifold valves from a rack of oxygen tanks (each about 2 meters long, 86 kg empty), and open the automatic valves on the nitrogen storage tanks to feed into an external vent. The monitor will attempt to keep the bolthole at least at 5° Celsius (all that oxygen escaping and nitrogen venting will really cool it down) by commanding the vehicle reactor to generate heat. Air pressure in the chamber will go to about 1.2 atm (about as much as being under 2 meters of water), or a bit more, depending on how much nitrogen is still present, the normal external air pressure, and any large leaks. The monitor will remotely turn on the vehicle's AutoNav or computer, set the time and date, and pass along information about the reason for the activation process (including any data received over the radio). The cumulative radiation amount within the bolthole will be passed along also.

     The monitor uses something like the sensor on an M1 CBR kit to detect agents in the bolthole, with the same 75% chance of detection. If it senses something toxic, it does not affect whether or when the wakeup takes place, but will turn on a warning signal in each berth during wakeup -- a nasty electronic buzz and lamp with the words "DANGER TOXIC AGENTS PRESENT".

You hope it stays unlit ...

     It's up to the unlucky Project members to figure out how to deal with that ...

     All of the extra air pressure will place tons of force on the exit doors; two pressure release valves are built into the wall near the door. Note that opening these valves will probably produce a loud noise on the outside, for a minute or so. Everyone's ears will pop very painfully as the pressure drops. There won't be a condensation cloud (the air coming out of the bolthole is very dry) but it'll blow any loose material away from the doors.

     As all the berths open, the monitor and radio will self-destruct. If you're listening, you might hear a faint pop-and-sizzle sound.

Conditions Upon Activation

     In most circumstances in the campaign, the air will be cold (about 5° Celsius - or about 41° Fahrenheit), incredibly dry, with a lot of odd chemical smells (including burnt computer parts and wiring). Each cryoberth has two bluish electroluminescent "night lights", one inside the lid and one on the exterior "panel" end, that come on when the lid unlocks. A dozen regular light bulbs on the bolthole ceiling (24 volt, 150 watt lamps that look kind of like motorcycle headlights) will be going "pop" and dying as the cryoberth lids open; a few electroluminescent nightlights (also 24 volts with military connectors, but otherwise like the ones used in childrens' nursery rooms) stand out against the darkness here and there.

     None of the team's or vehicle's canteens, jerry cans, etc. contain any water. The canned water on the banquet table, and a little in the vehicle reactor, are all there is.

     There's no latrine, and the team members' bladders are very empty, but the dessicant buckets look sort of available ...

     The synthetic insulation/sealant lining on the walls, ceiling and floor is a bit discolored and blistered.

Immediate Instructions

     The equipment preparation checklist for team R-101 is as follows. At minimum expect to take 3 hours to prepare to move out:

1. ❏ inspect computer in boat; it should already be started and will have received data from the bolthole monitor
   

2. ❏ any changes to team location, equipment, personnel, etc. will be described on a sheet of paper in the pilothouse, or (if confidential) on the computer
   

3. ❏ remove and install the single camera battery and radio battery from the recharger into the radiation survey meter and one of the team's M1 CBR kits; spare (discharged) batteries should be placed in the recharger every 15 minutes until all the team's batteries are charged
   

4. ❏ log into the computer to view any high-priority messages or information
   

5. do not use the head on the boat until the sewage system has water available.

1. Absorbent material buckets in the bolthole may be used to contain waste.

6. boat preparation 
   

1. ❏ turn on the Autonav and gyro compass, allow them to to stabilize (about 2 hours for the gyro compass -- but it doesn't have to be stabilized when you leave the bolthole)
   

2. ❏ inspect all fire extinguishers for pressure
   

3. ❏ apply lube oil to the chain hoist; hatch hinges; rudder stock, control clevises, cables and pins
   

4. ❏ apply chassis grease to bilge drain plugs; rudder bearings; propeller shafts
   

5. ❏ check rudder for proper action
   

6. ❏ inspect bilge drain plugs
   

7. ❏ inspect hull and hull-penetrating fixtures for damage
   

8. ❏ check all doors and hatches for proper opening, closing, and seals
   

9. ❏ ensure boat NBC system has its filter installed, and provides air to each compartment
   

10. ❏ apply necessary lubricant to weapons, load ready ammunition 
    

11. ❏check navigation and search lights for function
    

12. ❏check internal lights and electrical equipment and fixtures for function
    

13. ❏test intercom, hailer and 1MC
    

14. ❏inflate and test both rubber dingies; make sure the paddles are present
    

7. ❏ check bolthole monitor and radio for status - they should have self-destructed after initiating team wakeup
   

1. if they did not self-destruct, destroy them
   

8. ❏ load the boat with team and personal equipment 

9. ❏ insert charged batteries into radios and other electronic equipment
   

10. ❏ test personal electronics for power and function. Before the main door is open, it is not likely that any of your radio transmissions can be detected outside the bolthole
    

11. ❏ check, clean, assemble and load individual role kits, small arms, and other field gear
    

12. ❏ turn over all white phosphorous-filled ordnance -- hand grenades, mortar shells, etc.. White phosphorous-filled mortar shells should not be fired for at least one week after being turned over.

13. ❏ prepare the radar and navigation mast to be erected once the boat leaves the bolthole
    

14. ❏ remember to move your personal effects boxes into the boat
    

15. ❏ secure all loose gear below deck
    

16. ❏ stow the shore interface cable
    

17. ❏ when the boat is ready to move and team members are fully equipped, raise the bolthole periscope and inspect the vicinity
    

18. ❏ after visual inspection, team members should don SCALP suits or AUIB protective clothing before opening the bolthole door
    

19. ❏ rig anchor ready for dropping
    

20. ❏ don life jackets and safety harnesses; rig the jackline(s)
    

21. ❏ open one of the pressure release valves, and allow air pressure inside the bolthole to equalize with outside atmosphere
    

22. ❏ open the water valve in the front door; lake water should begin filling the boat berth
    

1. ❏ test the incoming water with an M1 CBR kit
   

2. ❏ turn on fathometer and speed log
   

3. when fully flooded, the boatway should have 3.5 meters of water in it. The boat draws 1.7 meters of water; the cradle is 1.2 meters tall. If for some reason the boatway is not fully flooded, the cradle may need to be cleared, or the boat unloaded to reduce its draft and float free of the cradle.

23. once the boatway is fully flooded:

1. ❏ test bilge pumps for operation
   

2. ❏ check reactor cooling system for proper operation
   

3. ❏ start the two fusion reactors not in service during hibernation
   

4. start sewage system:
   

1. ❏ close valves to overboard discharge line
   

2. ❏ open valve from plumbing drains to tank inlet
   

3. ❏ press system start button
   

24. ❏ unlock the bolthole main door, and use the electric chain hoist to raise the door (it is hinged at the top, and swings up against the bolthole ceiling)
    

25. ❏ once the door is fully raised, lock it in place; stow the chain hoist
    

1.  if the main door will not or should not be opened, the emergency exit or cofferdam exit may be used. The cofferdam exit has an operating bar with two shackles; one person should be able to pull the bar to empty the shaft, but ropes or winch cable can be attached to the shackles if required. Rope will probably be required to climb down from the cofferdam exit, several meters above the lake surface.

26. ❏ once the main door or the emergency exits are open, team members should closely observe environmental conditions, and the gauges on their M1 CBR Kits

27. ❏ shut down bolthole lights and systems
    

28. ❏ close all watertight doors and deck openings on the boat
    

29. ❏ unplug and secure the shore power line
    

30. ❏ take in spring and breast lines
    

31. ❏ stow mooring lines
    

32. ❏ lash down all fenders
    

33. ❏ set sea detail
    

34. ❏ once clear of the bolthole, raise the radar mast; release the whip antenna from its lashing