00:23 a.m. The control panel of the 4th power unit is a helm that would set in motion a chain of terrible, irreparable and tragic events, it is the bubbling heart of the station, with its complex nuclear arteries, that fatal decisions would be made here. The future of the reactor is in the hands of only three people.
L.Toptunov has already become a senior engineer at the age of 26, he controls the power of the reactor. A. Akimov is a senior engineer and a shift supervisor. The deputy chief engineer A. Dyatlov, an experienced nuclear engineer, an extraordinary personality with dictatorial inclinations, is at the helm. But the main character is not him, but recently commissioned, but not having passed serious tests, the fourth power unit is a technical brainchild, causing envy of scientists in the West and pride in the leadership of the Soviet state.
On a tragic night, April 26, Chernobyl kept two secrets. The first is dangerous technical flaws in the design of the reactor. Engineers did not know about them, so the unpredictability of the reactor, especially at low power, was obvious. The second was related to Dyatlov. The peaceful atom left deep wounds in his heart. For a long time his son died due to leukemia resulting from radiation sickness. Wanting to subdue the atomic energy of his will and to some extent avenge the death of his son, he took unjustified risks, which became the verdict for both.
Three kilometers from the nuclear power station is situated Pripyat. Almost no one knew about the conduct of a dangerous experiment in the quietly sleeping Pripyat.
On the night of April 25-26, the personnel on duty were to complete the tests of the nuclear reactor, aimed at determining the degree of its safety. A controversial situation arises between Dyatlov and senior engineers regarding the power at which it is safe to conduct a test.