Kuvayev poked the person sitting beside him and did a terrible interpretation of the main character. “I was out of bullets.” The scene he referred to was fresh in everyone’s memory. The two laughed raucously.
To Hamlin’s surprise, Sokolov had stayed to watch from beginning to end. He now shook his head slightly. “No wonder you Americans are fascinated with guns and violence. Hollywood presents it like it’s coated in chocolate. Good guys shooting the bad guys. It is an over-simplification of a complex issue with far reaching social implications.”
“Kicking them down an elevator shaft is also a popular option,” Hamlin said. “You have to diversify or risk losing the audience.”
“Good night to both you and your sense of humor, Doctor Hamlin.” Sokolov turned and walked casually away. The rest of the audience was much more enthusiastic. Francis finally left for his room, enjoying the good feeling that he had introduced them to the kind of quality movie that democracy, limited censorship, and big budgets could produce. He was seriously considering one of his all-time favorites for the next time. Watching them react to Caddyshack would be a highlight of his entire stay. As he strolled down the hall, he couldn’t help but notice that Doctor Sayanski was making no attempt to conceal the fact that she was following him.
“Could I interest you in some company, Doctor?”
Several other researchers could see and hear her clearly.
“Uh, sure. Are you certain this is really okay?”
“You are surprisingly shy. We are all adults here. And we all tested clean before we came. Nobody minds or cares what we do. So yes, I am certain it is okay.”
Francis reached for his door. “I see. What happens in Vostok stays in Vostok.”
The look on her face revealed that she didn’t understand in the slightest why he had said that. He felt it would be tedious to explain. And he was tired. If something was going to happen, it better happen fast. “Come in, please.”
She did. “What’s wrong, Francis? Is this too easy for you? Should I put up a fight? I can role play if you wish.”
He filed that away for future reference. “That won’t be necessary, I’m sure. I just didn’t realize that Russian women took the initiative. Perhaps Siberia has some promise as a tourist destination after all.”
“No more jokes. Take off your clothes and get in bed.”
He did just that.
It was the first ‘morning’ that Hamlin actually felt like breakfast.
“That is a good sign,” Kuvayev said, and he was an actual medical doctor. “In this cold, you need many more calories. You can eat all you want. Don’t worry about your diet.”
“I never do.” Hamlin didn’t know exactly how it came to pass, but someone had cooked up a fair imitation of bacon and eggs. He was really piling up his plate. He wished he had thought to bring some decent coffee with him. Everyone here seemed to be fixated on drinking tea. At least they had instant.
Sokolov came walking in, wearing a rather sporty black turtleneck sweater. He had a huge smile plastered across his face.
“Doctors Hamlin and Konstantine—I’m sure you’ll be interested to know, as will the rest of you for that matter, we’ve decided to bore into the lake itself today. I have just confirmed it. With luck, you should have samples from the bottom of the lake within a short time. What do you think about that?”
Hamlin was just setting down his heaping plate. He looked at Konstantine. “This is when I should be breaking some furniture, correct?”
Konstantine seemed a little alarmed about the funny look Sokolov gave him and didn’t immediately reply.
“I must say, Dr. Hamlin,” Sokolov said, “that my ability to sense and comprehend western humor has been put to the test since your arrival. I shall assume that you are sharing some sort of joke.”
Hamlin sat and looked with satisfaction at his food. “I am. The truth is that your news is very exciting. I might soon get to view what amounts to a microscopic equivalent of a dinosaur. And that’s pretty cool.”
Sokolov picked out the needed requirements for a cup of tea. Hamlin couldn’t remember ever seeing him eat.
“Although you are not designated as a marine biologist per se, I understand you have done previous research on ocean based life. Is this not so, Doctor?”
Hamlin was busy shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. He waited for them to relocate before attempting a reply.
“That is true. I did some research on krill. I was in the process of dusting it off and polishing it up when my chancellor made me aware of this opportunity.”
“And what is the central theme of this research, if I may ask.”
Hamlin was chewing again. He decided to risk communicating with a mouth that was only partially empty in the interest of speeding up the process.
“I was interested in the correlation between krill numbers and the population of other marine life, transient apex predators in particular.”
“I see. And was Euphausia superba the species of primary interest to you?”
Hamlin was surprised and impressed. “Yes. That is the predominant species in terms of numbers, so naturally it has the biggest impact.”
“Quite so. And interestingly enough, most of your research data was collected in the waters not far from the continent on which we now sit, correct?” Sokolov dropped a tea bag into his steaming mug.
“Yes sir. That was one cold boat ride, I can tell you that.”
“And yet, here you are. It would almost seem that Antarctica has been calling out to you.”
Hamlin hadn’t looked at it that way. This trip had appeared out of the blue. Coming here of all places hadn’t been on his mind at all prior to that.
“I suppose you could interpret it that way. You’d be wrong, of course. Keep in mind that I was scheduled to go to Africa to do research based primarily on lizards and amphibians before this slightly less than tropical alternative landed on my plate.”
Now Sokolov was staring. “Then how in the world do you explain why you decided to come here instead?”
Francis really wanted to finish off his food.
“I flipped a coin.”
Sokolov took a preliminary sip of his tea. “I see. Apparently, I have exceeded the limit for probing questions. Fair enough. Do try to keep your LDL cholesterol levels below where they would be considered hazardous, my good doctor.” He stood, took his tea, and walked out.
CHAPTER FOUR
The research was interesting, Hamlin couldn’t deny that. For the next few days, the excitement level slowly waned as the drilling team ran into some mechanical issues in reaching into the actual lake itself. Nothing new appeared under his microscope. Work became somewhat routine. And then the first big storm hit.
Gale force winds put so much snow in the air that visibility was restricted to several feet. There was a very real risk of getting lost, even if you took just a few steps outside. Once you were disoriented, you were in deep trouble. With the added wind chill, survival time in this cold amounted to a few minutes only. And there was no way for a rescue attempt. Your footsteps would be almost instantly erased, and the would-be rescuers would have no more ability to see than the person who was lost.
Ropes had been strung around the outside of the base so it was possible to get from building to building by following them carefully, hand over hand. It someone did venture out, they knew that the number one rule was to never let go of the rope. Ever. For any reason.
Since GPS technology was available here, it was possible to run the Cat to the outlying buildings. But at the height of the storm, with winds in excess of fifty miles per hour, the risk just became too great. So for two days, they all stayed in their quarters. Hamlin quickly recognized the onset of boredom and knew how dangerous that could be down here. After fighting off several panic attacks, he decided to organize a Texas Hold ’em tournament.