【切爾諾貝爾的教訓】
本來想看，沒有時間，到近來因為武漢肺炎，HBO的Chernobyl成為話題之作，週末五小時睇完。很多內地網民以此劇比較今天中國被指隱瞞疫情的狀況，的確今天重溫1986年前蘇聯企圖隱瞞切爾諾貝爾核電廠意外，不難有此聯想，共產黨官僚控制資訊，聽到不喜歡的意見就說是「假消息」，政治操控為先、偉大的黨不會犯錯的態度，也許令人氣憤，但本劇更要我們思考的是，什麼是真相，人們應該如何面對謊言和真相。
切爾諾貝爾的故事中，還有很多值得尊敬的角色，無論是勇敢尋找真相的科學家，還是在缺乏對輻射保護下捨身救災的核電廠工人、消防員、護士，甚至是明知生命危險而深入險境的礦工。劇中的發掘真相的主角科學家（真人真事），令人想起李文亮醫生，不過，李醫生死於自己想向國家、人民作出預警的病毒，劇中的主角亦於迫害和核輻射影響健康下，選擇結束自己生命。在極權下，說出真相的代價，往往都是：死。
雖然當時才剛上台不久的戈巴喬夫後來曾經說過，切爾諾貝爾是蘇共倒台的轉捩點，當年蘇聯與今日中國卻大不同，始終，核電意外前，戈巴喬夫已經開始進行政治開放改革，中國和習近平在走的方向卻是相反，所以，恐怕要想武漢肺炎能帶來同樣的政治改革，未必能如願。然而，無論人們理它不理它，真相都繼續存在，問題反是，人們為謊言付出的代價，要多大？
一些金句：
"What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognise the truth at all. What can we do then?
"What else is left but to abandon even the hope of truth and content ourselves instead with stories. In these stories, it doesn't matter who the heroes are. All we want to know is: who is to blame?" -- Episode 1 (0:35)
（當科學家向核電廠負責人提出對意外成因不同意見時，負責人說：）"It's disgraceful, really. To spread disinformation at a time like this." -- Episode 2 (24:50)
"When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it's even there but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs as a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid." -- Episode 5 (52:00)
"To be a scientist is to be naive. We are so focused on our search for truth that we fail to consider how few actually wants us to find it. But it is always there whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants. It doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait, for all time. And this, at least is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask, what is the cost of lies." -- Episode 5 (59:30)
