“Any social outings?”
“Certainly. Lots of them. Buying groceries counts as a social outing, correct?”
“Have you had any women in your house over the past month?”
“Absolutely. My cleaning lady comes once per week, just like clockwork.”
“I see. Any plans to get away? Maybe a week or two on a sandy beach with lots of tanned ladies in two piece bathing suits?”
Hamlin grunted in response. “Look, Richard, I appreciate your concern, but I’m a grown man. For better or worse, I have to be responsible for and take care of myself. And I’m fine. Fine as wine. Or I will be. It’s coming. Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.”
“Very good. This was never meant to be an inquisition anyway. I actually had another reason for calling you in.”
“No, I will not consider chemical castration as an option, even though that would eliminate a lot of my long-term problems.”
“It’s about a job offer.”
“Are you firing me?” Francis responded.
The chancellor smiled. “For the second time, no. This is a temporary research assignment. They require a biologist on very short notice.”
Hamlin frowned. “I turned down the Congo work, remember? Are you willing to turn your back on my exciting krill research so quickly—because I’m not.”
“They asked for you specifically.”
That was a surprise. “Oh? Someone I know?”
The chancellor slid a folder across the top of his desk.
“Not exactly. One of your past students who’s working in Volgograd recommended you to someone in the Russian government when he became aware of the need. Have a look.”
“The Russians asked for me? How utterly weird is that?” Francis was incredulous. He ignored the folder and the papers in it.
“They maintain a research station in Antarctica,” the chancellor continued. “Something exciting is about to happen and their biologist was just diagnosed with Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma. He’s on a plane back to Moscow to get treatment and they’re short staffed. The window for flying in there is about to close for the winter due to the severe weather, so they need a replacement almost immediately.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. This entire scenario is bizarre. Why would anyone, yourself included, think that I would have any interest in this…especially now. I’m looking for quiet consistency in my life until I can patch it back together. This doesn’t qualify.”
“Don’t be too sure. It pays really well, the research is very exciting, and the research station itself is isolated to the point that you won’t have to worry about any peripheral social interaction. There’s nothing but really meaningful research to do. No distractions. Just peace and quiet.”
Francis reached doubtfully for the folder. “I can have a quick look, but this really doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.”
“They need a very quick answer. If you say no, then they have to really move to get somebody else in time. Call me tonight and let me know one way or another. I’ll pass your answer along.”
“Fine. Can I be dismissed now?”
“Francis, we all want you to get back on your feet and find complete happiness in both your career and your life. Maybe this would be therapeutic for you. A least give it some thought before turning it down.”
Hamlin rose to go. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to look up how to say no in Russian.”
“I’ll expect your call.”
Hamlin left.
CHAPTER THREE
When the outside door flew open, Francis actually jumped out of his seat. He had been setting up his laptop as best he could.
“You know,” he said as he turned toward the door, “if I have a heart attack, you’re going to be short one researcher for the rest of the winter.”
Sokolov approached with a tube in his hand. “Do you have any idea what this is?”
“A Farah Faucett poster, I hope. I always liked that hair thing she had going on.”
“This ice was actual liquid some ninety minutes ago when we drew it from Lake Vostok. May I present our first sample for your analytic pleasure.”
Francis was truly impressed. He reached out and took the tube reverently. “Really? I thought you were probably exaggerating when you said it might come today.”
Sokolov was in the process of removing his parka. “I would, with your permission, like to stay and watch your first impressions as you start your analysis. This is very exciting.”
Francis shrugged. “Sure, I mean, it’s your lab, right? No problem.” He looked around with a slightly bewildered expression on his face. “Do you care where I start? I’m not familiar with your methods.”
“I’m confident your procedures will do fine. Please proceed.”
Francis looked at the long metal tube now lying on the table. Konstantine came to his rescue. “Why don’t you partially extract the core first? I’ll be happy to assist. The storeroom is through this door; we’ll do it in there. The room stays at outside temperature so nothing will thaw out. Our other samples are in there, so we’ll label this one before we extract it. The tubes and the ice all look the same once they’re in there, you know.”
The sample was labeled and then removed to the storage room. In there, the ice was partially removed and a small sample cut out. The core was then covered in a plastic sheath and inserted into the storage rack.
“Normally the ice samples remain frozen even while we look at them. That means working in the cold. Since this was originally in liquid form, and we may be dealing with life forms that cannot survive long in the ice, we can thaw it and examine it back in the heated portion of the lab.”
Hamlin was already cold from the short period of time they had just spent in the storage facility.
“Sounds good. Let’s get back in there.”
Francis soon had a drop of water under a slide, ready for viewing. He started at low magnification. After several moments, it seemed apparent that there wasn’t anything large enough to be seen.
“I can see a reaction, my good doctor. What do you see?”
Francis concentrated before responding. “Would you expect this water to be turbid?”
“We’re not certain. There appears to be some current but we don’t know how much or its impact on the bottom sediment. Why do you ask?”
“I can’t see anything. It looks perfectly clear. But, that’s at low magnification.” He adjusted the microscope again. “Okay, let’s see. Hmm, nothing swimming around here either. Can I ask the method by which this sample was obtained?”
Sokolov immediately nodded. “Yes, we use a hot water method of boring. We haven’t actually pierced into the Lake but stopped several meters short. The pressure of the lake water pushes it through minute cracks and fissures into the borehole, where it freezes fairly quickly. We then extract the sample.”
“Okay, good.” He pushed his chair away from the counter. “So this came from the extreme surface of the lake. Perhaps there would be a more concentrated amount of life at the bottom. At any rate, it’s possible that I need some dye in order to find what I’m looking for. Can I ask you to be patient while I take care of this?”