Polar Quest

Dave pointed at lights in the distance. “That’s McMurdo. What we call Mac Town.”

Annja tried to pick out details through the dark and the snow, which seemed to be coming in horizontally. She could see the dim outlines of shapes that she took to be buildings. She could just make out a few vehicles, parked up in a ragged line with snow already draping over them like a heavy woolen blanket.

“Is anyone still awake?” she asked.

Dave laughed. “I know what you mean. You see the dark and think it’s the middle of the night, right?”

“I guess.” Annja realized she had no idea what time it was.

“Well, it’s six in the evening. If I guess right, most folks are enjoying a nice warm supper right now.”

“Guess I’d better get squared away and do the same,” Annja said.

Dave nodded. “I’m taking you right to your quarters. Not sure how long you’re staying there, though.”

“Oh?”

“I hear tell you’re headed out of town pretty fast. Seems like you’ve got some folks down here who are keenly interested in getting your eyes on something.”

“What kind of thing?”

Dave shook his head. “Annja, I’m just a guy who digs rocks. Literally. Anything else going on down here? I don’t want to know about it.”

“That sounds ominous,” Annja said.

He glanced at her. “In case you forgot, you’re at the bottom of the world. Something goes on down here, there aren’t a lot of eyes looking at it, you know what I’m talking about?”

“I suppose.”

Dave pointed again. “Here we are. Welcome to Mac Town.”

Annja peered out of her window and wondered what exactly was going on with Zach.

3

McMurdo Station housed about one hundred buildings of every size. Most were the kind of box shape Annja imagined was the prerequisite for design under the harsh Antarctic conditions. Many had smaller doors and few windows, along with a thick cylindrical tube containing power lines and communication gear.

As they drove down the main street, Dave pointed out various things. “There’s aboveground water and sewage systems in place. We’ve got a good electrical system with some redundancy to it in case of outages.”

“You get a lot of those?” Annja asked.

“Depends, like everything else, on the weather.” He pointed at a larger building. “A lot of the research for the station goes on there. Of course, we just came from the direction of Williams Field, and then maybe if there’s time, we can take a run down toward the harbor if you like.”

“Sure, a nice balmy breeze would feel great. Maybe after that we can go for a swim.”

He laughed. “You know, they’ve been trying to organize a polar bear dip around these parts for a while now. Not too many people are keen on the idea, though.”

“Wimps,” Annja said.

“That’s them.” Dave laughed.

Annja continued to look out of the windows at the buildings. Here and there, someone could be seen rushing through the snow and going into a building. But really, Annja thought, the place looked like a ghost town.

“You weren’t kidding about it being quiet down here,” she said.

“You think this is bad, you should visit some of the other stations across the place. Some of them, there are maybe a dozen people. That’s if you’re lucky. There are a few other isolated joints scattered about, as well. Temporary fixtures that we’ve set up for one reason or another. As soon as the research is done, they get dismantled. Places like that might have four people.”

“Lonely life you guys lead down here.”

“Well, we find ways to amuse ourselves.” He slowed the Sno-Cat. “I’m going to drop you off here and wait while you stow your gear inside. When you’re done, I’ll take you down to Gallagher’s.”

“That’s mighty nice of you.”

He shrugged. “I can use a drink anyway.”

“Fair enough.” Annja zipped up her hood and grabbed her duffel bag. As soon as she turned the door handle to leap outside, a blast of wind slammed it back in her face.

Dave laughed. “First one’s always a killer.”

Annja tried again and this time managed to get out of the Sno-Cat without getting the door kicked back at her. The wind howled in her ears and she could feel the pores on her face freezing.

Inside, she thought. Just push through the wind and get inside.

She groped for the door handle and pushed into the building.

A wall of heat greeted her, and she slammed the door shut behind her. “Wow, that’s some wind.”

“You must be a virgin,” a voice said.

Annja removed her hood and goggles and stared at the main room she’d entered. There was a long wall separating the entrance from the rest of the bottom floor, but she could see a wide-screen TV set playing what looked like a fairly recent release from Hollywood. A few people lounged on sofas and chairs. Some of them were eating.

The man who addressed her looked quite young. And his dark skin stood out in contrast to the mostly white environment. Annja grinned. “That obvious, huh?”

“Yep. Everyone says that the first time they come down here. Like they expected this place to be all warm and sunshiny.”

“Well, I knew it was snowy, but I didn’t think it was quite like this.”

He grinned. “I know it. Your name Annja?”

“Yes—”

“Don’t ask me how I knew. You’re the only one coming down this time of year. Folks with good common sense wait until later in the summer. Our summer, that is.”

Annja unzipped her jacket. “I guess I’m staying here?”

“Temporarily. Least that’s what I heard.” He handed her a key. “Your room’s upstairs. Number five. You need me to show you where it is?”

“I think I can handle it.”