self-indulgent 'notes'

[0dense]

Got a work event tomorrow, as we step into the next phase of things, and I'm looking forward to our new structure and all, but also there's the obligatory Madcap Anxiety of all changes in routine. Ai!!

Anyway, to combat that, I chipped away a little more at the Toptunov project! Whether or not I get this to a finished state, a teaser -

As an assistant technician, the majority of Leonid's shifts were paired with the SIURs, instead of directly with Alexander. Andrei Maximovich Glukhov pop-quizzed him on acronyms between maneuvers, and Yuri Danilovich, from the first tour, called it a symphony.

“Have you played piano?” he had asked, early on. He had splayed his fingers over the control panel, watching the steady flickers on the board above them. “A pipe organ might be more accurate, but we’re playing a quartet for Kyiv, here,” he had suggested, patting the desk affectionately. 

“In a C sharp,” Leonid had agreed. Yuri had looked at him skeptically. “Down below, the turbines put off around 40 hertz, at 3,000 megawatts. I wrote my thesis on Chernobyl’s acoustics,” he had explained, and the SIUR had laughed out loud in astonishment when he realized Leonid was being serious.

“In that case, Maestro, play us a coolant rod circulation.”

Because did you know, but he did write his thesis on using harmonics to monitor the reactor, which, combined with Hildur’s choice to record the Ignalina plant, means that I spent the evening with the Chernobyl soundtrack trying to decide what key it operates in. Unfortunately, real confidence attempting to ascribe classical notation to something that was not designed as an instrument is beyond me (see: my frustration at what defines ‘music’ all together); without tuning, we’re in chromatic territory at best, but that feels like a cop-out. Nevertheless, and despite this, I decided that the inside of the reactor (Door, Turbine Hall, Pump Room, Gallery) is closest to an harmonic minor environment. Ofc, no, Ignalina wasn’t running at all when Hildur went to record, so I have no idea what it would really resonate like while operating, but if the pitches present in the soundtrack can be taken as representative of the spacial acoustics, I’m gonna go so far as to say that C# harmonic minor is possible in an RBMK reactor. 

(Pulling exact pitches out of the soundtrack is interesting because it isn’t founded in notes, it comes from textures. An E in my notation can be expressed three ways simultaneously (Turbine Hall), according tone and placement. It’s hard for me to call the whistling of an industrial space a gliss, though.)

Comments

[brewsternorth]

I'm liking this teaser. I didn't know that facticle about Toptunov, but it's interesting that someone besides Hildur took an interest in RBMK reactors from an acoustic point of view.

[0dense]

:'D I'll do my best to finish it!
hypothetically speaking tho, do you know what general policy has emerged on show-fic vs rpf in the chernobyl fandom? bc I know it's a delicate topic and it can get some pretty strong reactions, and if I'm writing more based on historical research than the show itself, I'm wondering if this project is crossing the lines. (the bulk of what I've got rn relates largely to Sasha Korol, the real guy who Higginbotham interviewed, and was friends with Toptunov and also the Yuvchenkos)

[brewsternorth]

Hard to say: most of the fandom energy seems to be on Tumblr, but I don't have an account, and I'm increasingly seeing people lock their accounts, presumably in response to the strong reactions you describe. :( If you're worried, probably best thing is to be upfront - tag it as "Historical Fusion" or "AU: More Historical" (I've seen the second tag in at least one Chernobyl fic, a non-shipfic about Shcherbina in Spitak) and cite sources in the notes.

[0dense]

that sounds like the best way to give people a heads-up, yeah! I haven't really been the one generating fandom materials before, so it's a bit of a high-stakes blur lol. thanks for the tips, tho!