Colder Than Ice (18 page)

Rob
scanned the area where the camp was to be established. “So, boss, you want
me to run power to each of these huts?”

“If
you could. The other building to be set up is the toilet.” Michela made a
mark in the snow. “This is to go about thirty yards downwind of Rick and
Alli’s apple. A reinforced blizzard rope will be put out to the toilet and it’s
to be checked every day.”

Ewan
rubbed the stubble on his cheeks. “Bugger me, could you imagine it, dying
because you got stranded on the toilet in a blizzard. What a way to go.”

Rob
laughed and slapped Ewan’s back. “Don’t worry about it, mate, it’ll never
happen.”

“While
Rob’s seeing to the power, the rest of us will focus on setting up our
accommodations. Because the googie’s a bit bigger than the two apples, if you
finish first then please go and give Sarah and Ewan a hand. Rick, once your
hut’s up, could you ensure the field toilet is erected?” Michela wasn’t
surprised by the sour look on Rick’s face.

“You
want me to set up the toilet? You’ve got to be joking,” Rick said.

“It
shouldn’t take you very long and then you can help the rest of us establish the
working and eating areas.” Michela ignored the disgusted snort from Rick.
“There’ll be a task rotation for the duration of our stay. Probably the
most unattractive of these is bottle washer and slops person. They’re responsible
for washing up after each meal and ensuring the kitchen waste is appropriately
bagged for when we return to base. Law requires us to leave here as we found
it. That means all our rubbish, both food and body waste will need to be bagged
for the return journey. So, the final task of the slops person will be cleaning
out the toilet every second day.”

Dianne
screwed up her nose. “That’s gross. You can’t mean we’re all going to have
to do that.”

Michela
shrugged. “I’m afraid so. Once the toilet’s erected we’ll do a dry run, so
you can all get an idea of what’s required. For the first seven days, I’ll be
the slops person. We also have to reallocate the cooking. I’m going to need a
volunteer for that as well.”

Rick
cast his hand at the females. “That’s women’s work. You should be able to
easily spread that amongst yourselves.”

Keep
calm. He’s an idiot but that’s no reason to want to do him bodily harm.
“That’s not the case, Rick. Everyone will get a
go at cooking, no matter how bad they are. Now, do I have any volunteers for
the first week’s shift?”

Rob
nudged Michela. “I’ll do it, boss. I’m a reasonable hand at cooking even
if I do say so myself.”

“You’d
be the only bloody one saying it,” Sarah said in jest.

“Thanks
for the offer, Rob, but I want you to focus on the electricity, at least in the
first few days. This is an experimental system and it will no doubt have its
problems. Any other volunteers?”

Dianne
sighed and held up her hand. “I’ll do it. But don’t expect five star
cooking. And if you don’t like what you get, then you can go without.”

Michela
smiled. “Thanks, Di. I’ll make up a slops and cooking roster and post it
in the next few days. Okay team, let’s get to work.”

ALLISON
MADE YET another trip from the pile of stores to her hut and opened the door to
find Rick asleep, spread-eagled on one of the two single beds. She put her
bundle on the small desk in the middle of the room, went to Rick, and gently
tugged on his foot.

“Come
on, sleepyhead. There’s a heap more to be brought over here before you can
doze, you know.”

Rick
turned his head toward her and opened one eye. “I’ve done about as much as
I’m going to do today. The rest can wait. And talking about tomorrow, why can’t
someone else bring our gear here? We’re archaeologists for heaven’s sake. Why
can’t the workers set up camp and let us get down to business.”

Allison
sat down on the bed. “It doesn’t work like that here. As Michela said,
we’ve all got to pitch in and get the camp established before we can do
anything else.”

Rick
sat up, leant against the wall, and drew his knees to his chest. “I don’t
care. I didn’t come here to be employed as a lackey. And what’s with you
anyway? Why are you agreeing with her all of a sudden? It wasn’t so long ago
that you couldn’t string the words together to speak a civil sentence to
her.”

Allison
rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “It’s not about personalities, it’s
about getting the job done. If we all pitch in together then there’ll be ample
time to get the dig under way.”

“I
don’t care. I’ve done all the moving I’m going to do today. You can suit
yourself.” Rick lay back down and made himself comfortable.

Allison
shook her head and stood. “Fine. I’ll do that.” She said in clipped
tones as she walked to the door.

“Where
are you going?”

“Where
do you think I’m going? I’ve still got gear out there that I need, including my
clothes.”

Rick
crossed his hands to make a pillow for his head. “Could you pick up my
backpack while you’re out there?”

Allison
wheeled. “Listen, you bloody lazy mongrel. I turned a blind eye earlier
today when you skulked off for an hour, leaving me to tighten the bolts of our
hut. I didn’t even say anything when you came back with one cup of hot
chocolate and then drank it all, without even offering me a sip. But, if you
think for one minute I’m going to get your gear because you’re too lazy to get
it yourself then you’ve got another thing coming. Get off your lazy ass and get
it yourself!”

Rick
stood and towered over Allison. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been like a
bear with a sore head for most of this trip.”

“There’s
nothing wrong with me that wouldn’t be fixed by you pulling your bloody weight,
rather than expecting everything to be done for you.” Allison closed her
eyes in an attempt to rein in her temper. “Listen, if you want to spend
the whole time here in those same clothes because you’re too lazy to get your
backpack, that’s up to you.” Allison opened the door, stepped outside, and
slammed it behind her. Looking across the compound, she caught Michela’s
questioning eyes and then she turned and skulked toward the stores area.

MICHELA
SHIVERED AS a blast of wind signaled the opening of the mess hut’s door. Sarah
struggled to close the door against the wind and then flopped down opposite
Michela.

“Hey,
there. What are you up to at this time in the morning?”

Michela
smiled. “Just completing a few entries in my diary. My duties as slops
person have kept me otherwise occupied.”

Sarah
removed her gloves and squeezed some warmth back into her fingers. “So how
do you think it’s going?”

“I
have to admit I was a little worried by that temperamental solar powered unit.
After all the effort to get it here, I thought it was going to be a white
elephant. Thank God for Rob’s ingenuity and perseverance with the damned
thing.”

Sarah
nodded. “Yeah. There’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.”

“And
then there was the drama with the recharging of equipment. I swear to God, for
a group of academics, they certainly lack common sense.”

Sarah
threw her head back and laughed. “I know what you’re talking about. I
thought Dianne was going to have a cow when Rob told her there’d be a
forty-eight hour delay before they could start digging, to allow the equipment
to fully recharge.”

Michela
joined in the laughter before looking around the hut. “They seem to have
spent the time making a darn great mess of this place. I mean, the office is
supposed to be at the far end, the kitchen area in the middle and the eating
area here.” Michela picked up a bag of electronic equipment she’d moved to
the side of the table when she sat down. “I’m sure this thing should be
down at the other end. It’s interfering with my research.”

Sarah
leant forward, attempting to read Michela’s tablet. “So, have you analyzed
us to death yet?”

“I’ve
already signed your admittance papers to the funny farm.” She laughed at
the look on Sarah’s face. “Seriously though, it’s a great test bed for the
Mars expedition. Take for example the group working together. There are some
definite personalities in the team and some which are already interfering with
group cohesion. But, like space, we don’t have the luxury to change them and so
we have to make the best with what we’ve got.”

“What
do you mean?”

“Look
at the dynamic, in particular the men. Rob is mister flexible and nothing seems
to phase him. Ewan craves acceptance among the three archaeologists and has
just about bent over backwards in trying to please them.”

Sarah
leant forward and crossed her arms on the table. “So what do you make of
Rick?”

Michela
rubbed her eyes and then ran her fingers through her hair. “Now there’s a
problem if I ever saw one. I’m sure he’s gifted in his profession, but he’s
changed since we’ve arrived.”

Sarah
let out a breath. “Thank God you said that. I thought it was just me.
Since we’ve got here he’s become demanding, almost dictatorial in his moods.
The other day Rob had to physically coax him into checking the blizzard
lines.”

Michela
wryly smiled. “If I didn’t know you any better I’d say you’ve been reading
my notes. He’s really changed and become incredibly chauvinistic as well. I
can’t believe this didn’t surface during the training. One of my report
recommendations will be a much longer training camp to hopefully weed out the
likes of him.”

“It
looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you finding any positives.”

Michela
tapped her tablet to a page. “It’s not all bad. I was pretty impressed
with the way everyone coped with Michael’s early departure. I’ve got to say, I
don’t understand how he ever passed the physical in the first place.”

“I
agree. I don’t know about you, but it’s obvious some people are finding the
confined spaces difficult to cope with. At this rate, it’ll be interesting to
see how they’re coping by the end of the dig.”

Michela
recalled the minor issue Rob and Ewan had argued over at breakfast that
morning. “I know Rob and Ewan have been at it, but like most men, they
seem to have resolved it pretty quickly. I’m more concerned over the shouting
that’s coming from Rick and Alli’s apple. Even with the wind, they can be heard
clear across the compound.”

“It
can’t be anything to do with the sleeping arrangements. With the increased size
of the single beds, I’m sure they can fit on one bed. Last night I actually
rolled over and didn’t touch the edge.” Sarah looked at her watch.
“So tell me, why aren’t you getting any sleep?”

Michela
shrugged. “I’m not all that tired. I usually exist on about four hours a
night and this constant daylight isn’t helping.”

“I
know what you mean,” Sarah said. “If there’s anything I can give you
for it let me know.”

Michela
yawned, stood up, and gathered her papers into a neat bundle. “Thanks for
the offer. I might try and get some of that sleep you obviously think I
need.”

“That’d
be about right. I start to chat up a pretty woman and she leaves me.”
Sarah raised her hands above her head in mock supplication. “What’s this
going to do to my reputation?”

Michela
laughed, knowing Sarah was one team member she wouldn’t have to worry about.

ALLISON
SILENTLY CHUCKLED at the confused look on Ewan’s face as he looked at the
myriad of wires spread on the ice.

“What
exactly is this electronic spaghetti?” Ewan asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“It
has a technical name, but its common name is the Web. It’s a series of
electronic nodes that are counter-sunk into a surface, this one being ice. The
nodes are connected by an infra-red beam, hence its name.” She picked up
the wiring. “This wire is then attached to the mother node, which feeds
all the other nodes, and vice-versa. The other end of the wire is attached to a
digital tablet. The program sends electro-magnetic pulses through the network,
causing a sound wave to bounce below the surface of each node causing a ripple
effect, like when you drop a pebble in a pond. The digital tablet’s program’s
configured so that it can remove the surface from the picture. The end result is
a shadow, which in this case I hope will be the outline, or part of Finlayson’s
hut.”

“What
a great piece of kit,” Sarah said. “I wonder whether it could be
adapted for research on the ice domes down here.”

Allison
shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. As a geologist, Di would be the best person to
give you an idea whether the Web could be adapted for other use. I just know it
makes my job as an archaeologist so much easier.”

Sarah
turned and scanned the vicinity. “I might do that. You don’t know where
she is do you?”

“She’s
setting up the electronics for the equipment in the mess hut,” Allison
replied. “There’s no real point in standing out here in the cold with a
digital tablet if you can as easily do it in the warmth and comfort of a
hut.”

“Thanks.”
Sarah strode to the mess building.