July 2nd, 2028
Morong, Bataan – Proposed Aurora Nuclear Core Facility Site
9:14 AM
It didn't look like a billion-peso project site.
Not yet.
It was just a fenced-off coastal area, partially cleared, with survey teams, soil drills, and stacks of topographic maps clipped to makeshift tables. A mobile restroom stood beside a generator. The air smelled like salt and diesel.
But to Timothy, this was the beginning.
This was where the first conventional nuclear plant would stand.
Aurora Power Project – Site 1.
He arrived with only two people — Jose Reyes and Senior Project Coordinator, Mark Velasquez — who was reviewing drone scans on his tablet.
"Morning, sir," Mark greeted. "You're right on time. DOE evaluation team should arrive in twenty minutes."
Timothy just nodded and stepped toward the edge of the site, overlooking the coastline. The same place where the shelved Bataan Nuclear Power Plant stood decades ago — an abandoned monument to fear, indecision, and politics.
