Erebus: An Apocalyptic Thriller

by Steven Bird

  ���Have we missed it?��� Dr. Hunter impatiently inquired.

  ���No, but unfortunately, the flight is delayed until tomorrow due to mechanical issues.��� Pointing at the crate on the forklift, he asked, ���Is that the samples we spoke of?���

  ���Yes. Yes, it is,��� Dr. Hunter replied with tension in his voice. ���I can���t stress enough how these samples need to remain frozen at all times. They contain…well, they contain material that is critical to my research. I just can���t do without them.���

  ���Don���t worry, Doctor,��� George replied. ���It���s no problem at all. I don���t think I need to point 0ut that transporting ice samples is a fairly routine task for us here at McMurdo.���

  ���I know. I know,��� Dr. Hunter replied. ���Forgive me, but I believe I���m onto something special and if my samples are lost for any reason, it will be a setback that will require me to wait until next year just to catch back up.���

  ���Every sample from every research team is important, Doctor. But you have my word that I will ensure that exceptional care is given to yours. By this time tomorrow, your samples will be well on their way back to the U.S., and will be in good hands.���

  Patting Dr. Hunter on the arm, Mason interrupted by saying, ���C���mon, Doc. George has a handle on things here. Let���s get some lunch before we head back out to MEVO. I���ve been looking forward to a hot meal after what we���ve been down to for the past few days.���

  Nodding in agreement, Dr. Hunter said, ���Yes, of course. Thanks, George,��� as the two men turned and began their walk toward the station���s cafeteria.

  ~~~~

  Completing the paperwork for Dr. Hunter���s shipment, George watched as Mason and Dr. Hunter left the facility. Turning to see Vince Gruber approaching with the forklift, he chuckled, placing his clipboard on top of Dr. Hunter���s samples.

  Stepping off the forklift, Vince said, ���They always wait until the last minute. Every year, it���s the same damn thing.���

  Patting Vince on the shoulder, George smiled, saying, ���Yep. They all think their work is more important than everyone else���s, too. You���d think these ice samples were tubes of gold the way that guy acts. He���s one of the worst. He���s always uptight about his stuff. He could carry it on the plane his damn self, if it were up to me.���

  Pausing to look around at the vast amount of cargo they had yet to load, George continued, ���Oh, well. You���ll be home in Florida soon, and I���ll be back in Philly eating a real cheesesteak, not the sorry excuses for a sandwich they have here. Let���s just get on with it and mark our last few days of the season off the calendar.���

  ~~~~

  Arriving at the station���s cafeteria, still referred to as the galley due to McMurdo���s roots as a naval facility, both Mason and Dr. Hunter grabbed a plastic tray, a large and a small plate, and silverware as they began working their way through the hot food line. Plopping a heaping scoop of barbecued pulled-pork onto his plate, Mason said, ���Man, I���ve been looking forward to this.���

  ���I know what you mean,��� replied Dr. Hunter. ���MEVO is like a second home to me, but when provisions begin running low, it���s not like we can run out and get more. Being based on the side of a major volcano has its inherent limits.���

  As the two men sat down and began to eat, they were approached by Dr. Raju Tashi, a particle physics researcher from the University of Wisconsin. ���Dr. Hunter, may I join you?��� he asked.

  ���Of course, Raj,��� Dr. Hunter replied. ���And this is one of my best and brightest graduate students from NMT, Derrick Mason,��� he said, gesturing to Mason. ���Derrick, this is Dr. Tashi. He���s one of the particle chasers out at the IceCube facility. They���re researching neutrinos. Pretty exciting stuff for a particle chaser.���

  ���Pleased to meet you,��� Dr. Tashi said to Mason with a smile as the two shook hands.

  ���Likewise, Doctor.���

  ���How are things going at IceCube?��� Dr. Hunter asked.

  With a look of excitement on his face, Dr. Tashi replied, ���Excellent. Our experiments with the high-altitude balloon went very well. We���re excited to get back to Wisconsin to study our results in more detail. We have wrapped up our operations for the season and are all awaiting transportation back to the states. And yourself? How are things at MEVO?���

  ���Excellent as well,��� he replied. ���Although I wish I could say we���ve wrapped things up as you have. No matter how much I accomplish, I always feel a step behind the mountain. There is so much to learn. So much to explore. And of course, as soon as you���re on to something good, Erebus throws you a curve ball and a critical piece of equipment gets smashed by a crater bomb or the like.���

  ���Well, at least you haven���t been smashed by a crater bomb yourself,��� Dr. Tashi said with a chuckle.

  ���He came close a few times,��� Mason said, looking to Dr. Hunter with taunting smile. ���Last week, a crater bomb the size of a Volkswagen almost nailed him.

  ���Is that so?��� asked Dr. Tashi with a raised eyebrow.

  Placing his glass of tea on the table while poking around at his tray for the next bite of food, Dr. Hunter responded, ���Let���s just say Erebus doesn���t give up its secrets without you having to earn them.���

  ���I don���t envy you for that,��� Dr. Tashi replied. ���At IceCube, all we have to contend with is the cold.���

  ���Well, gentlemen,��� Mason said as he pushed himself back from the table with a satisfied look on his face. ���I���m gonna grab dessert. Can I get anyone something while I���m up?���

  ���Frostyboy is down again,��� Dr. Tashi said in a tone of frustration, referring to the cafeteria���s famous soft-serve ice cream machine.

  ���No! Ah, damn it,��� Mason said, exasperated by Dr. Tashi���s news.

  Patting Mason on the back, Dr. Hunter laughed and said, ���Don���t fret about it. By next week, you���ll be getting yourself a scoop at Cold Stone Creamery from that cute blonde who has her eye on you back at NMT.���

  With that, Dr. Hunter stood and said, ���It was great seeing you again, Raj. Are you coming back next summer?���

  ���That has yet to be decided,��� Dr. Tashi replied. ���If not, keep in touch. I���m sure we���ll cross paths again. We may not be in the same field, but science is a small world.���

  Shaking his hand, Dr. Hunter smiled and said, ���You take care. And yes, yes, it is.���

  Chapter Two

  Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

  As the helicopter touched down near the Lower Erebus Hut, snow and ice crystals swirled around them as the twenty-five-mile-per-hour wind gusts pounded the craft. Shoving open the door and holding it against the violent winds, Mason signaled for Dr. Hunter to exit the still-running helicopter. Once Dr. Hunter was clear and on his way to the Lower Erebus Hut, Mason shut the door firmly and signaled to the pilot that they were clear. Before the two men reached the door of the facility, the helicopter pilot had lifted off and was on his way back to McMurdo Station and the comforts it provided.

  Closing the door securely behind them, Dr. Hunter looked around the room and asked, ���Where is Linda?���

  Looking up from his work of packing up some of the team���s sensitive data-recording equipment, Ronald answered, ���Linda? Oh, Dr. Graves. She and Brett went back up on the mountain this morning just after the two of you took the helicopter out to McMurdo.���

  ���I hope the
y hurry. It���s getting late. There isn���t much daylight left as it is,��� Dr. Hunter said with a noticeable uneasiness in his voice.

  ���They���ll be fine,��� Mason replied. ���Brett is a top-notch mountaineer. I wish I had just half of his climbing skills.���

  ���You find your way around the mountain pretty well,��� Dr. Hunter said as he walked over to the coffee maker.

  ���I���m an outdoor junkie, but I���m your average outdoor junkie,��� Mason replied with a thankful smile. ���But Brett���he���s hardcore. That���s why I know they���ll be fine. Besides, Dr. Graves is a fitness freak. She can scurry up a vertical ascent and be looking down at us from the top, while the rest of us are stopping to catch our breath a quarter of the way up.���

  With a chuckle, Ronald added, ���And Doc, you know better than to let her catch you uttering words of concern about her. She���ll rip you a new one.���

  Smiling as he took a sip of hot, black coffee, Dr. Hunter said, ���You���re right about that, Ronald. She���s not one to tolerate a male counterpart���s acknowledgment that she���s a lady.���

  ~~~~

  Opening her eyes and seeing nothing but darkness around her, Dr. Graves realized she was lying flat on her back. With her head pounding from the impact, she paused for a moment before she attempted to move when she heard Brett yelling down to her from above.

  ���Dr. Graves!��� he shouted. ���Dr. Graves, are you okay?���

  With his words echoing off the walls throughout the ice cave, it was disorienting and difficult for her to tell from which direction his shouts were coming. Sitting up, she felt herself become dizzy and light-headed as she replied in a weak, shaky voice, ���Yeah. Yeah, I���m fine���I think.���

  ���I can barely hear you!��� he shouted. ���Are you okay?���

  Mustering the strength to shout back, she yelled, ���Yes! Yes, I���m okay!��� She instantly regretted her efforts as the intensity of her throbbing headache increased with each word she uttered, as if the words were bouncing around inside her head.

  ���I���m coming down!��� he shouted.

  Struggling to get to her knees, Dr. Graves reached for her headlamp, only to find that it had been irreparably damaged in the fall. Pulling her hand-held flashlight from her pocket, she flicked it on, only to discover in amazement that the walls of the cave around her contained traces of grayish microorganisms, unlike anything she had ever seen.

  Hearing a rope bounce off the wall behind her, she turned and pointed her hand-held flashlight skyward and into the small, tubular vertical fumarole shaft from which she had fallen into this previously undiscovered chamber deep beneath the ice. Seeing Brett���s climbing rope, she shouted, ���I���ve got your rope. Come on down. I���ll belay you from here.���

  Within a moment, Brett Thompson, the MEVO research team���s professional mountaineer, appeared above her with his feet dangling as he descended into the dark chamber. Brett, still an Alaskan at heart, had been in and around large mountains his entire life. Standing six-foot-two with a slim build and sandy brown hair, Brett had always been popular with the ladies. However, his heart belonged to the extreme environments created by the mountains.

  After working as a guide on Denali since his mid-twenties and having climbed the likes of Everest, Kilimanjaro, and the Matterhorn, Erebus seemed like the next logical place for his mountaineering career. It had yet to disappoint him in that regard.

  Dropping into the chamber in front of Dr. Graves, he said, ���You scared me half to death. That fumarole has to be at least one-hundred and fifty feet nearly straight down.���

  ���Thank goodness for helmets,��� she said, tapping her gloved knuckles on her head. ���That, and I tried to ball up the best I could to create drag on the sides of the ice tube to slow my descent. That way, it wasn���t really a fall so much as it was a slide���at least until I reached the opening in the ceiling here. That part was a freefall.���

  ���Either way, I���m amazed you’re up and walking,��� he said, scanning the chamber with his headlight.

  ���Hand me one of your sample containers,��� she said, reaching out to him as she began to look closely at the life-forms that appeared to be thriving on the chamber walls. ���We���ve stumbled across something special here. It���s hard to tell exactly, given the conditions, but I don���t think we���ve documented microbes such as these before.���

  Handing her the container with the lid removed, Dr. Graves took it and immediately began collecting specimens with her Zero Tolerance brand folding pocket-knife, a gift from her brother that she carried with her at all times. ���These walls are almost wet to the touch. What temperature is it in here?���

  ���I���m showing thirty-three,��� Brett replied, looking at his thermometer with his headlamp. ���It���s almost warm enough to remove a few layers of gear.���

  ���Don���t,��� she quickly replied. ���These chambers have all sorts of gasses flowing through them, and we don���t have any O2 with us. We may find ourselves having to egress in a hurry, and you won���t have those few precious seconds to spare.���

  Screwing the lid back onto the container, Dr. Graves said, ���Turn around. Let me put this in your pack, if you don���t mind.���

  ���Of course,��� he said, allowing her to stow her precious sample safely in his pack.

  ���Do you hear that?��� she asked.

  ���What?���

  ���Nothing,��� she replied with amazement. ���It���s so quiet down here. Everything is so still. In most of the caves and tunnels created by the fumaroles, you can see the light shining through the walls and ceiling from the sun above. You can hear the wind pounding the mountain. But here, there���s nothing. It���s silent.���

  Looking around, he said, ���Amazing, isn���t it? I���m not sure we���ve ventured this deep before.���

  ���Of all the trips we���ve made into the ice caves, I���ve never noticed that particular vent.���

  ���The one you fell into?��� he asked.

  ���Yeah. It���s like it simply appeared.���

  ���The heat from the mountain mixed with the cold ice above can do some crazy things,��� he said. ���Helo Cave, and others like it that are close to the surface, appear steady to us because they have the cold to keep them solid. This far into the volcano, though, who knows what hot gasses come and go, cutting a swath through the ice only to have it fill in and refreeze later before we���ve had a chance to discover it.���

  Walking over to Brett���s climbing rope that dangled into the chamber, Dr. Graves asked, ���Do you have your ascenders?���

  ���Yes, ma���am,��� he replied.

  ���Get them set up while I take a few more samples. We���d better get going. Who knows when the next blast of hot gasses will come rushing through.���

  ~~~~

  Looking impatiently at the clock that hung on the wall in the Lower Erebus Hut, Dr. Hunter began to speak when the door opened, allowing a rush of frigid arctic wind to enter, blowing papers off the table in front of him. ���Linda, so glad you two are back. How did it go?��� he asked, attempting to mask his concern.

  ���It���s a long story,��� she confessed, ���but it���s one you���ll want to hear.���

  Chapter Three

  Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

  Early the next day, Dr. Hunter stood outside on what was a beautiful morning and watched his long-time friend, Dr. Linda Graves and the juni
or member of their team, Volcanologist Jared Davis, climb aboard the helicopter to fly back to McMurdo Station. He couldn���t help but wonder when he would see her again to discuss her laboratory analysis and the findings of her sample once she���d made it back to her lab at the University of Washington. He was deeply curious about her recent discovery deep within the bowels of Mount Erebus, but as a professor of geochemistry and not an astrobiology researcher such as herself, he left the work of analyzing the life-forms discovered within Erebus to her.

  Dr. Hunter and Dr. Graves had, over the past few years at MEVO, begun to realize that their work was closely intertwined. Being an Astrobiology Professor at the University of Washington, she had come to Erebus to study life in one of the most isolated places and harshest conditions on Earth. She hoped that her research on Erebus would lead to a better understanding of how life could not only exist but thrive in the far reaches of space where such conditions may exist.

  Mt. Erebus, being located on Antarctica, with temperatures far below zero and miles from anything, presented itself as the perfect study environment. The microbes, which appeared to thrive in the warm caves and fumaroles reaching deep into the mountain, did not have organic matter on which to feed. There was no plant or animal life on the surface of the volcano to create organic material that could be washed down to them, as would be the case for most other subsurface microbial life. On Erebus, the microbes seemed to exist by eating the rock itself, subsisting on minerals. Instead of being photosynthetic, they were chemolithoautotrophic. They took their energy from chemical reactions between themselves and the rock.

  But where did they come from? Erebus was far too isolated and far too cold for them to have simply traveled here on the wind, by animal, or by water flow. No, the life-forms on Erebus seemed to have come from far beneath the surface of the Earth. They seemed to have risen from deep within the planet, finding themselves near the surface of one of the harshest places on Earth, yet they thrived.