Astrid woke up freezing the next morning, despite having three blankets and a sheet on top of her. She got up and slipped into the first two layers of her Antarctic gear. Exiting her room, she walked half a dozen steps and knocked on Christopher's door. He opened it, looking far more awake, but no warmer than she felt.
“Time for breakfast?” he asked. “Good, I'm starving.”
They padded down the hallway in their stocking feet to the common room, through which they had passed the night before but hadn't paid much attention. The common room was divided into a dining area and a living area. The latter featured six plush recliners all aimed at a large screen TV. The former had a large table with ten chairs, four of which were filled with seated diners, busily stuffing their mouths from platters piled high with breakfast favorites.
“Have a seat and tuck in,” Melanie called to them.
Astrid took a seat next to her and Christopher sat on Astrid's other side.
“Don't be shy,” said Nathan from across the table. “ You need to eat well while you're here.”
“Your body burns a great many calories just keeping you warm,” said the man next to him.
“This is Remie,” said Melanie. “That quiet guy on the end is Bob.”
“Oh, are you an American, Bob?” wondered Astrid.
“He doesn't speak English, and so no, he's not one of you.”
Christopher wasted no time in scooping food onto his plate, so Astrid stopped talking and did likewise. There were scrambled eggs, crepes, potato and onion cakes that Astrid had never seen before, and ham slices. Once she started eating, it was almost like she couldn't stop. At last she leaned back and looked at Christopher. He looked back and grinned.
“Let's help clean up,” he said.
They helped pack what little food was left and then helped wash dishes. Melanie and Remy gratefully accepted the assistance, being in charge of cleanup since Nathan and Bob had cooked the meal. When that was finished, they all took seats in the recliners and looked at the television.
“So what are we watching?” asked Astrid.
“We rotate picking the movie,” said Melanie. “Nathan has picked The Incredibles, and then it’s Bob’s turn, but I don’t know what his choice is.”
“Quel film, Bob?” she asked him.
“La Chose.”
“Bob has picked The Thing,” she explained. “But first, we have about an hour when we can catch the Australian TV satellite. Hopefully we can watch the news and maybe Have You Been Paying Attention? That’s one of their game shows. It’s pretty good.”
Nathan lifted the remote and pointed it at the large screen, which came to life, showing a female news anchor with a smart blue suit and blond hair. About every thirty seconds, the screen went blank for a second or two, but otherwise it was a pretty good picture. The news was similar to what Astrid and Christopher were used to seeing in America, albeit with an Australian accent. The top stories were a series of wildfires raging in Western Australia, fighting in the Middle East, and the Australian Senate’s discussion of whether to raise the country’s carbon tax. Then followed a news item from America.
“News from Wall Street is that Maxxim Industries has bounced back after the near-disastrous collapse of its share prices over the past several days. The stock slide began earlier this week on news of huge losses from Maxxim’s aerospace division. Experts attribute the rise in value to the purchase of large blocks of stock from high profile investors like Charles Idohl and Maxwell Bauer, as well as a possible takeover bid, either from within or without the company.”
Christopher and the others all cast quick glances at Astrid, but she pretended not to notice. The rest of the news was interesting, but not nearly so personal. Afterwards they watched most of the game show before launching into The Incredibles and then The Thing. Astrid didn’t pay much attention. She didn’t even jump at the first scary part of the second movie. The frightening film was almost over when Melanie got up and went into the other room.
“Problème, Remie,” she said upon her return.
“Problem?” wondered Christopher. “What’s wrong?”
“One of the sensors isn’t working. It’s probably frozen. Maybe we can fix it. In any case, we’ll have to go out and get the reading on site.”
“All right,” said Remie. “Who’s going with me?”
“Christopher and I will go,” said Astrid.
Astrid and Christopher, bundled up to the fullest, climbed into the cab of the same large tractor in which they had been driven to the base the day before. They took their places behind the driver’s seat, now occupied by Remie. Nathan, down on the hanger floor, pushed the lever to open the great door and the tractor rolled out into the icy darkness.
It wasn’t snowing, but it seemed to be as the wind whipped tiny flakes of ice into the air in the beams of the ten great spotlights that led them through darkness. For the most part, the ice was smooth and the great tractor ground straight into the night.
“We’ll be there in just a few minutes,” said Remie. “This sensor is only four miles from the base.”
“It seems like a long way,” said Astrid, “especially if you were by yourself.”
“We’ve got the radio. If something happens to the tractor, we can call for help. Don’t worry.”
They had barely finished talking when they saw a blinking red light in the distance. Turning just a bit to the right, the Frenchman brought the vehicle to a stop right beside it. The light was atop a large blue box-shaped piece of equipment roughly the size of Astrid’s walk-in closet at home.
“It looks like the Tardis,” said Christopher.
“Yeah, it does,” agreed Astrid.
“This is just the control box. The sensors reach down through about 40 meters of ice and into the rock below.”
“Won’t the movement of the ice break them?” asked Astrid.
“Eventually, though the ice doesn’t move as much here as it does closer to the Ross Shelf.”
They left the tractor’s engine running and climbed out into the freezing air. Remie led them to the control box and opened a panel. He flipped several switches and then opened an interior door to check a row of circuit breakers. After flipping several of them, he pulled one out and replaced it from a small stack of them just inside the compartment. Once he did so, a bank of lights came on and he began closing the device back up.
“I can’t believe how cold it is,” said Christopher. “We’ve been out here seven minutes and I’m frozen through, even with all these layers of clothes. Look at this.” He pointed to the ice on the fur around his hood where the moisture from his breath had frozen.
“Makes you rethink global warming, eh?” asked Remie.
“Of course not,” he replied. “Humans add almost 30 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere each year.”
“Good man. You’re right of course. Measurements of the ice here show that it is almost an inch thinner than last year. That may not sound like much, but it is year after year, and the change is increasing.”
“How can you put 30 billion tons of anything anywhere and not expect it to make an impact?” wondered Christopher. “Don’t you agree, Astrid?”
The girl inventor didn’t answer. Christopher turned to see her looking out into the frozen darkness.
“What’s up?”
“I was just thinking,” she said. “I wish I hadn’t watched The Thing.”
As they returned to the base, the sky lightened quite a bit to the north.
“Will the sun come up at all, Remie?” asked Astrid.
“Yes, for a few minutes. It will get a bit light out for a couple of hours.”
They reached the base and climbed out of the tractor, once it was safely ensconced again in the large hanger. Melanie was waiting for them.
“You two have to get your gear together,” she said. “We just got the message. Dr. Feuillée’s pilot has decided to fly in and pick you up today. He should be here in about ninety minutes. We have j
ust enough time to feed you lunch.”
“I thought he wasn’t coming until tomorrow.”
“Well, I guess the weather likes you. The winds have all died down.”
“It’s because you’re Americans,” said Remie. “You always get everything your way.”
Astrid and Christopher shrugged and then rushed to get their things, mostly still packed, ready to go. After a quick lunch of sandwiches, made with crackers rather than bread, they loaded back up into the tractor for the ride out to the landing strip.
“It was great to meet you. Thanks for your hospitality,” they called to Remie and Bob. Melanie drove the vehicle and Nathan rode in the back with them.
The white helicopter that shot down out of the sky and came to a landing on the smooth ice next to them was amazing. It looked like a regular helicopter that someone had attached two short wings to, each of them ending in a forward-facing propeller.
“Oh my gosh!” said Astrid. “That’s a Eurocopter X-Cubed. I didn’t think any of those were in service yet.”
“Is it fast?” wondered Christopher.
“It’s the fastest helicopter in the world; 293 miles per hour.”
Nathan and Melanie helped them load their luggage into the aircraft. Then Melanie gave them each a hug.
“You two take care of yourselves,” she said.
“Bye,” Astrid told the two researchers.
“You’re on French soil,” said Nathan. “You have to say au revoir.”
Chapter Ten: The Southern Ocean
The flight to Dr. Feuillée’s ship was beautiful. The sky behind them was black, but the sky in front of them was appropriately a lovely French blue. Below them the white of ice and grey of shadow was unbroken as they left the edge of the continent and soared above the frozen ocean. They were more than 150 miles from land before the ice shelf broke into thousands of floating icebergs of all shapes and sizes.
There wasn’t much talking along the way. The pilot spoke only French, and though Christopher remembered more of the language than Astrid did, it wasn’t really enough to carry on a conversation. Between the youths from Maxxim City, there was little need to talk, though they did point out groups of penguins and seals resting on some of the flatter surfaces below.
At last the helicopter circled around and Astrid saw Dr. Feuillée’s ship. It was as gleaming white as the Eurocopter or any of the icebergs between which it rested. On the aft deck was a round landing pad with a large black cross on it. The pilot landed at the exact center of the pad. Astrid had to give him credit, when she stepped out and realized just how much the ship was moving while he set down. It rocked end on end a bit, but much more from side to side.
“Astrid! Christopher!” called Dr. Feuillée, running up to them. “Welcome to Amphitrite. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Thanks, Dr. Feuillée. We’re glad to finally be here.”
A pair of ship’s crew gathered the luggage from the aircraft and carried it toward the closest hatch. The French oceanographer led the two teens along behind them.
“I’ll show you to your cabins. You might want to take a nap.”
“I’m not tired,” said Astrid. “But I wouldn’t mind freshening up.”
“Of course.”
The cabins were very tiny, only about four feet wide and eight feet long— barely big enough to fit a small bed and their luggage. However, each had its own connecting bathroom, with a toilet, tiny sink, and a very tiny shower stall. Astrid had just come out of her bathroom when there was a knock on her cabin door. When she opened it, a body shot in and grasped her around the neck.
“Astrid! Vous êtes ici!”
“Océane. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I am had to coming for…l’école.”
“You had to come for school? Isn’t school out now in France?”
Océane just stared at her with frustration written on her brow.
“Never mind,” said Astrid, giving the French girl a hug.
Océane was Dr. Feuillée’s fourteen-year-old daughter. She and Astrid had met several weeks earlier in Hawaii when Astrid was constructing her undersea dome. She was about an inch taller than Astrid and almost as thin as Denise. Her pleasant face was framed in short black hair, cut in a cute little wedge.
“I go to Maxxim City, USA with you.”
“You’re coming back with us? Fantastic!”
Océane sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Astrid went through her luggage, sorting her clothes and putting her toiletries by the sink in the bathroom. She asked Astrid about their friends back at Maxxim City, and Astrid relayed the news. There wasn’t too much to tell really, though Astrid went into a great deal of detail describing the Junior Prom and especially how sharp Toby looked in his black tux with grey vest.
“And Austin? He went?”
“Oh yeah, he went with Robot Valerie.”
“Oui,” said the French girl, nodding her head thoughtfully. “Robot Valerie est magnifique.”
“I didn’t know you got to know her that well,” said Astrid. “Or was it Austin that you wanted to get to know?”
Océane blushed. “He is sweet.”
“Yeah, he does kind of grow on you. I’ve only known him for a couple of months and he’s already one of my best friends.”
“But Toby est numéro un?”
“Numero… oh yeah.” It was Astrid’s turn to blush. “He is number one, I guess you could say.” Then she quickly changed the subject. “So I’ve got all my stuff stowed. What do we do first?”
“I will show you Amphitrite before souper.”
“I like how you say ‘souper’,” Astrid said, grinning. “How do you say dinner?”
“Dîner.”
“Huh, it’s almost the same.”
Leaving Astrid’s room, the two girls took a few steps down the corridor and knocked on the door of Christopher’s cabin. When he opened the door, Astrid started. Christopher’s pleasant brown face looked flushed and pasty. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was perspiring heavily.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I started feeling a little sick just before we got here. I think that helicopter gave me motion sickness. This ship isn’t helping. I’ve been puking my guts up for the last ten minutes… hold on.” He slapped his hand over his mouth and ran three steps back into his bathroom from which emanated clear sounds of his stomach distress.
“Le médecin!” shouted Océane excitedly. “He have some pharmacy pilules! I get!” And she was off like a shot, to get what the girl inventor understood was some kind of medicine.
Meanwhile, Astrid stepped inside the cabin and into the bathroom, where she helped Christopher to his feet. She guided him to his bed and had him lie down, while she got him a cool wet washcloth for his forehead and flushed away the remains of his stomach contents. Océane was back in moments with two small prescription bottles, each of which held a dozen small red pills. She handed one bottle to Christopher.
“Take one now and one in morning,” she told him.
She handed the other bottle to Astrid.
“Oh, I’m not sick.”
“Keep it just in cases.”
“I feel better now,” said the boy. “I’m going to rest here though. You go ahead and do whatever you’re doing. I’m sure I’ll feel better after a while.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” said Astrid.
Océane guided Astrid through the ship from stem to stern. Amphitrite was nowhere near the size of a cruise ship. It wasn’t even as big as the Toronto, the Maxxim Industries construction vessel that was the last ship on which Astrid had sailed. Still Amphitrite, named for the Greek goddess of the sea, was large enough to contain just about every laboratory, tool, or piece of equipment that might be needed to study any part of the ocean depths. It even carried two mini-subs very similar to the type that Astrid had used during the installation of her undersea dome. They were still touring the vessel when a bell called everyone to the evening meal
.
The two girls stopped back by Christopher’s room where he informed them that he was going to skip supper that evening. Then they made their way to the mess hall, amid ship. It was a large room with a single great table capable of seating thirty. It was almost filled to capacity, though spots had been saved for the teens.
“Everyone,” said Dr. Feuillée, standing up at the head of the table. “I want you to join me in welcoming Astrid Maxxim to Amphitrite. I know you have all heard of her, and over the next several weeks, as you work with her, I’m sure you will find that her reputation is well earned.”
The line of faces on either side of the table turned to look at Astrid.
“Thanks for the warm welcome,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll learn a lot here from all of you.”
Every single part of dinner was delicious. It started with scallops served on the shell, with red wine and Gruyere cheese. The main course was filet of sole, pan fried with carrots and green beans. Though Astrid was expecting something chocolaty for dessert, they were served a wonderful cheese soufflé. She talked to the crewmembers near her while she ate and by the time the meal was done, she already felt like she was making new friends. She was just getting up to go back to her cabin when another crewmember entered and spoke to Dr. Feuillée.
“Astrid,” said the expedition leader. “You have a video call. Follow Philipe here to the radio room and you can get it.
Two decks up, Philipe sat Astrid down in a small room filled with electronic equipment and pointed her toward a computer. Astrid tapped the spacebar on the keyboard and the monitor blinked to life displaying Toby’s handsome features.
“Hey Astrid,” he said. His image didn’t quite keep up with his words, so he reminded Astrid of a foreign language movie dubbed into English. “I see you made it safely.”
“We’re here. Are you in Belgium?”
He nodded.
“So we’re on opposite sides of the world, I guess.”
“We’d be on opposite sides of the world no matter where I am,” he said. “Listen, I wanted to see you to make sure you’re all right of course, but I wanted to see if you knew what was going on at home.”
Astrid Maxxim and the Antarctic Expedition Page 5