As the four of them, Charlie wade and his companions, disembarked, the brief daylight was already nearing its end.
On the ice sheet about a hundred metres from the ship’s side, three Nordic polar research team members were waiting beside their snow vehicles.
The message they had received was that, after replenishing the research station with fuel and various supplies this time, they were to set the station to unmanned operation mode. The station’s power supply, heating, and water supply would all run automatically while maintaining conditions suitable for human habitation. Instruments and equipment would record operational status as well as key indicators inside the station, such as temperature, humidity, air quality, and oxygen levels. If the station ran smoothly unmanned throughout this winter, a team of researchers could truly overwinter here next year.
Since there is no sun during the Antarctic winter and wind power is unstable, there is almost no reliable clean energy available. The most stable energy source is diesel generator sets. Moreover, the heat produced during power generation by these sets can conveniently be used to heat the station.
Therefore, this time the research ship was to supply the station with at least one hundred and fifty tonnes of diesel to last the entire winter.
Transporting the fuel is relatively troublesome and would require at least two or three trips, so the researchers were all prepared for a busy time, hoping to finish the task early and return to their warm homes in Northern Europe.
When they saw Charlie wade and the three women, the three researchers from the station were somewhat surprised. They had driven a snow tractor towing a passenger cabin, intending to take back anyone from the ship who could help. They had not expected four Asian faces among the arrivals.
Charlie wade stepped forward proactively, shook hands with the leader, and while using spiritual energy for psychological suggestion, introduced himself to the three, “Gentlemen, I am a military meteorological expert. I am here on a highly important mission this time. While you are here, you must cooperate fully with my work. After you leave, you must forget my existence. Can you do that?”
The three immediately replied in unison, “We can.”
Charlie wade nodded and asked the leader, “What is your name?”
The man replied respectfully, “My name is Charles, Charles Johnson.”
Charlie wade asked him, “Good, Charles. How many people do you currently have at the research station?”
Charles said, “We originally had a team of sixteen, but most left at the end of summer. Now only the three of us remain to prepare for the unmanned winter operation.”
Charlie wade nodded and instructed, “Then take us there now.”
Charles nodded, “No problem. Please board the vehicle, everyone. My two colleagues will drive us back.”
Under Charles’s accompaniment, Charlie wade and the three women boarded the passenger cabin. The other two got into the cab of the snow tractor. Then the vehicle started and headed towards the research station more than a hundred kilometres away.
The Antarctic continent is truly the end of the world. Surrounding it is nothing but ice, snow, and endless mountains. There are no proper roads built, but most areas are relatively flat, so snow vehicles can pass easily. Here, no trace of human activity can be seen at all. It is perhaps the only virgin land on Earth that has changed almost nothing compared to hundreds of millions of years ago.
According to Charles’s introduction, research stations in the Antarctic interior are not particularly concentrated. They are scattered starting from about a hundred kilometres inland from the coast. This Nordic station is relatively close to the coastline. Most are actually two or three hundred kilometres deep inland. Some stations are even near the South Pole. Travelling there by land would require at least a thousand kilometres, which is nearly impossible in winter. Supplies and personnel rotation can only be done in summer via temporary airstrips on the ice cap.
Even so, in winter, the vast majority of research stations cease operations. On the Antarctic continent, which is larger than Canada, very few stations continue running during winter.
Charlie wade also learned from him that once winter sets in, the stations that remain operational have strict protocols. Without emergencies, personnel are not allowed to leave the station for more than twenty-four hours. This means everyone’s range of activity is limited, so there is virtually no interaction between stations.
Charlie wade asked about the aurora. Charles told him that the Antarctic had recently entered aurora season, though not yet the peak period. At the Nordic station, one could see an aurora every two or three days. But once full polar night arrived in April or May, auroras could be seen almost every day, sometimes lasting continuously for several days.
For Charlie wade, this was almost the perfect environment for secluded cultivation.
The snow vehicles travelled for several hours through the Antarctic night before finally stopping in the centre of a cluster of low buildings.
From the outside, the Nordic research station looked unremarkable and even somewhat shabby. In front was a row of elevated flat-roofed buildings about a hundred metres long. To the left were several arched structures of identical design and size, arranged very orderly. On the right stood several special buildings topped with various equipment, including what appeared to be communication devices and climate monitoring instruments.
In the centre of the complex were parked several specialised vehicles of different types, including transport trucks, bulldozers, cranes, and excavators. Without exception, all used tracked propulsion.
After the vehicle stopped, Charlie wade and the others stepped out from the warm cabin. Although they had only travelled a hundred kilometres inland, the sun had been gone for several hours, so the temperature was considerably colder than when they had just disembarked.
