The first chapter of this book sets up a very interesting story that takes place in the Cold War. The Cold War was a time in American history where the constant threat of nuclear war hung over the heads of the average American. It was capitalism versus communism in a contest to build the most nuclear missiles. The main character is growing up in the plutonium-enriched soils of Rocky Flats. The chapter we read showed how dangerous a nuclear weapons factory can be. Through the course of the first chapter there are two different plutonium fires. These fires cause radiation to be carried towards Denver which could have deadly effects. This causes the death of a child, so it makes me question why the government would cover up the fact that radiation had escaped.
The most interesting part of the chapter though comes when the firefighters of Rocky Flats are risking their lives in the fire. The men who save Denver from getting hit with a wave of radiation leave the facility not even being able to tell their families about what happened. This silence that the workers live under stops them from talking about anything that happened. She also describes the silence that the town lives under. The town knows that there are parts of a bomb being made but they don't ask questions because they don't want to know. To the people, the less they know the safer they are. If I was in there position I would do the same thing, but it still is an interesting statement about the time she lives in.
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