Five weeks, two days, nine hours until summer crew get here.
So went the mantra in Theo’s head, one he had repeated so many times it was probably burned there.
If summer crew was here, you wouldn’t be able to do this. As usual, he ignored that thought, then thumbed the exterior door activation.
“Hey, Theo,” the voice came over the radio, barking into his earpiece and echoing in the little red plastic airlock a second later. “Computer says you just put through a departure request. You’re going outside?”
Theo shuffled awkwardly in his thick arctic gear, pulling down an orange mask from around his face so Corey would be able to hear him. “Yeah,” he said, gripping the airlock wheel and twisting—without success. “Just got the last of the probes to deploy.” He thumped one hand against the tight bundle beside him, rattling the wires and poles within. “Won’t take me ten minutes.”
“You’re…” Paper rustled from the other side of the radio. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re not scheduled for any maintenance runs. Is this another one of your pet projects?”
“Maybe.” He shifted uneasily, gripping the bundle a little tighter to his chest. “Corporate already gave me the approval. It should be on your desk somewhere.”
There was a brief silence. While Corey fished around, Theo leaned forward towards the window, peeking outside. It was round, and just outside the snow continued in a drift that seemed to go on for miles. Most of the other observatory structures were buried at least halfway, with only the proud backbone of Tower 1 slicing through the snow. Above it all, the aurora flickered green and purple, staining the snow.
“Yeah, found it,” Corey muttered, his tone darkening. “There’s a note here… The NOAA joint research committee wishes to remind you that you have been granted approval to access non-reserved property for the purposes of research activities for… Technical University of Graz. Austria, Really?” He cleared his throat. “But that it will not be held liable for personal injury sustained in the process, and any damage you do to our equipment will be subject to… whatever. I think you get the idea.”
“I break it, I buy it,” Theo muttered, twisting on the door again. “Look, could you unlock me already?”
“You’re sitting at a balmy fifteen degrees below zero. Wind twelve kilometers per hour out of the southwest. You’re clear for now, but we’re still on storm watch. Did you look at radar before heading out?”
“Yeah.” Theo banged on the door, even though he knew Corey wouldn’t hear it. “Come on, I’ve already been on shift ten hours. I’ll get this stuff plugged in, then be out.”
From near his hand, a steel bolt slammed back into its receiver. A faint whistle of wind issued in, and cold touched his exposed face. “Thanks.”
“Only looking out for you,” Corey said. “We penguins have to look out for each other. I want a wellness check every ten minutes. If you don’t ping me, I’m going out after you.”
Theo adjusted his mask, then pressed the bright red button near the airlock. His feet shook, along with a roar of compressed air that banged the airlock closed. Outside, the entry tunnel had been almost emptied of snow.
“Here we go,” he muttered, settling his cargo sled down behind him and shoving the airlock open.
Even wearing the latest in arctic survival gear, he felt the chill through his clothes almost the second he stepped outside. But he ignored it—Theo had been serving at Barrow Observatory since the start of last summer shift. Despite how lanky and unimpressive he looked, he could handle a bit of cold.
Theo stepped out, and with his motion the mounted floodlights came on. Even prepared for them, Theo still whimpered, covering his eyes for a second and waiting for them to adjust. The worst part was probably what they did to the aurora, ruining his night vision until all he could see was a green soup in the air, with a few faint splotches of clouds spread out.
The walkways and roads had all been buried by winter snowfall. But that didn’t matter to Theo—he knew where he was going, straight to the hill overlooking the newest addition to Barrow Observatory, located at the highest point for fifty miles around.
A placard proclaiming the “Borealis High-Energy Particle Observation Experiment” was still visible emerging from just above the snowline on Computer Building 2, located feet from the base of Tower 2. Theo slowed a little as he passed the door, thinking longingly of the pleasantly warm servers inside. It was only a ten-minute walk to Tower 2 and already he felt his limbs growing stiff. There’s a reason everyone flies south for the winter.
But he couldn’t go in—his laptop was already in there, quietly chugging away. All that remained now were a few last additions to the sensors.
Theo stopped at the base of the stairs, glancing upward the hundred feet to the top of Tower 2. Patches of ice and snow clung to the steel at various points, making it impossible to see all the way to the dish. The tower shook rhythmically in the wind, rattling his hand against the railing.
Last chance to turn back.
Instead of heading back inside, Theo scooped up his sledge, slipping one arm and then the other through the backpack straps. Then he started to climb.
“Checking… in,” he said over the radio, unable to keep the exertion from his voice. “Everything’s good on my end. Nothing to report.”
Corey responded almost instantly, his voice rushed. “You could report how the hell you got corporate to agree to this. Setting up some 3D-printed crap on their hundred-million-dollar array?”
The steps settled into a rhythm beneath Theo’s boots. One flight, then the next, again and again. “BHE-POE doesn’t come online until summer crew gets here to calibrate the array. University got permission to use a couple of the empty sensor nodes.”
“You can tell me more about it when you get back,” Corey said. “Anything else you need from my end? I’m out of DS9, and I don’t think I’m quite ready for Voyager yet. I could use a time-killer.”
“Nothing,” Theo said. “But keep an eye on the radar. Last I checked, I had four hours before anything got too close. Let me know if that changes.”
“Will do. Corey out.”
Theo rounded the top of the tower another ten minutes later. He hadn’t slipped this time—not like when he’d been up here checking on snow accumulation a few weeks back, and he’d slipped a whole leg through the side of the safety rail.
The top of Tower 2 was an almost perfect parabola, curving upward towards the sky in a grate of unidentifiable metal. No snow or ice had piled on the dish, and for good reason—the entire surface was warm even through his boots—warm enough that the snow couldn’t bury it.
Every meter or so there was an opening in the array, filled with little sensor modules that would sit flush with the dish once settled properly. Theo tossed the backpack down, then yanked on the zipper with a gloved hand. There were half a dozen bits of 3D-printed plastic inside, each one the perfect size to be installed.
By the time Theo was halfway done, the automatic lights had gone off again down on ground level, and his eyes could adjust to the aurora. He didn’t rush it—the wind wasn’t picking up, and the temperature was fine. Besides, the darkness meant he didn’t have to see just how terrifyingly high-up he was. If I slip, that snow won’t be enough to catch me. I’ll be dead and frozen at the same time.
From up here, it seemed like the aurora was even more spectacular. A single green band was joined with purple and faint suggestions of orange. He imagined his ears could make out the invisible crackling of supercharged electrons this detector was meant to observe. But of course, he couldn’t—that was only the wind knocking bits of ice off the tower.
“Hey, Theo. You missed your check, all good?”
“Oh, yeah.” He blinked, looking down at his empty bag. The modules were all in place—except for the one in his hands. He rose from his sitting position against the railing, then crossed towards the center where the last module would be installed. “Sorry, the sky distracted me. You should really get a look at it.”
“Sounds like you’re getting too cold out there,” Corey said, unimpressed. “Stop whatever you’re doing and head back. You can finish whatever you’re up to out there on your next shift.”
“Sure thing,” Theo lied. “I’ll head back right away.”
Instead of that, he dropped to his knees, settling the last module into place with a click.
The change around him was instantaneous. The little red light on all the other modules switched to green, and from his pocket his control PDA vibrated. The program was already starting. No problem, I just need to get down in the next ten minutes. No big deal. But Theo didn’t move right away—he was transfixed with what was happening overhead.
Maybe Corey was right—maybe he had been out in the cold too long. While the Aurora had been properly distant before, it now seemed as though someone had dragged it almost on top of him, with purples and greens blasting directly into his eyes.
“Holy shit, Theo.” Corey’s voice no longer sounded amused. “The resonator is coming online. What the hell did you do?”
“We’re taking observations,” he said, getting to his feet and clinging to the rail. It was all he could do—the light was so bright that he didn’t trust himself to use the stairs yet. He fumbled with a pocket, searching for his sunglasses, but unable to find them.”
“That’s not the half of it,” Corey continued. “There’s some kind of… there’s something on radar. Hell, there’s not even time for you to get back to residence. Just, uh… the computer shed. Get down there and lock yourself in tight. We’re in for a helluva ride.”
“What are you—” Theo began, a second before his cargo sledge was torn right off the dish in front of him and fell upward into the sky. The entire tower started rumbling. Theo gripped the edge of the railing, wrapping one arm all the way around.
Not a second too soon—a blast of wind hit him next, and tore his legs right out from under him. He felt himself lifting into the air, though it was so bright over his head now that he couldn’t see anything. “Something’s got me, Corey!” Theo called, wincing as the steel railing bit into the padded sleeves of his coat. Down poured out from inside, exploding out and around him and outlining the impossible wind upward. For an instant Theo could see it, a clear path leading straight up into the sky. “I can’t… hold on much longer!”
“I’m shutting everything down!” Corey called back, uselessly. As though any system he could switch off would stop the wailing wind. “Just hold tight, Theo! I’ll… I’ll get a message south! It won’t be long! We’ll get help from Barrow. Don’t move!”
Theo felt something give in his arm, and a crack a second later. There was terrible pain, spreading numbness all the way to his shoulder. But that wasn’t the worst of it.
He was falling—falling up into the sky. A mountain of snow and ice fell with him, swirling together and concealing all of Barrow Observatory from view below. He couldn’t make out any of the landing lights, or even the warm glow of the barracks. Theo spun head-over-heels, and between the light and the snow all around, he’d completely lost track of which was up and which down. Not that it matters. I’ll be dead as soon as I find out.
It kept getting brighter. Purple shone around him so brilliantly that he could see it even though firmly-shut eyes. His entire world was swallowed in light.
this looks really interesting
9554103
That it does.
Storms, what did he plug into that array?
Woo! New story! Only one small nit-pick:
That should be closer to -45 degrees. -15 very quickly becomes "minor inconvenience" levels of cold to someone in the Arctic, as opposed to an actual danger. Especially if you are using Celsius (scientific outpost, yo).
Looking forward to the ride!
9554853
Well, in that case, -15° *would* be mighty balmy. And if it had become that unseasonably warm in a short period of time... Yeah, that'd definitely kick up quite the storm, I'd imagine.
Extra " at the end of the paragraph there.
Getting sucked up to another world in a snowstorm... it's almost like watching Digimon again.
Scientific experiment without a really tortured acronym? Suspension of disbelief broken already!
9554853
I totally agree, -15 I feel warm in my not artic winter clothes. Hell 2 thin layers under my work pants and my winter jacket and I'm sweating to death. -15 is still 1 layer of socks and my regular, year round boots.
Star, we need to get you to experience real winter. Just few weeks at -10 to -20 and a few days at -40. Well one day at -40 would really be enough, I don't know how you adapt to live in -40 because it's usually not more than 1 or 2 days a year here, but in the arctic they probably are a bit more used to it.
2 years back I did 16 hours at -30c and was fine. This guy is wussing out in supposedly better gear at half that... and that's assuming Celsius.
9555736
I'm with these guys, and the coldest I've been in is 7 Fahrenheit, which necessitated adding some long johns under my usual outdoor work uniform of polo shirt, slacks, and light jacket with fleece liner. Not exactly specialist arctic research station cold weather gear. Not that it was pleasant, mind. But a few minutes in -15 F wouldn't have been horrible. With specialist gear? Hah! I laugh at the cold!
I've actually found being overdressed in cold weather to be more of a problem...you're out working with too much on, you sweat, it gets wet, and then goodbye heat forever until you can change clothes.
Seriously. If you can stay dry, it's easy to deal with. Just...don't get wet. Don't. You won't like it.
Sorry couldn't help it, it was playing while I was reading this XD
Interesting mode of transport.
'Sudden teleportation is lame, why not be sucked up into the sky?'
9631091
I love seeing people post Cliffhanger references.
HALT!
Ze Grammar Nazi Group has spotted a mistake!
=======•=======G=======•=======
=======•=======G=======•=======
HAIL GRAMMAR!
9683058
Is it weird that I made this comment into a meme format and posted it on my class's group chat? Don't worry, I cropped out your username
Sometimes when a character gets transported to equestria i like to think that a clone of him/her is made for example, when he fell off the cliff a clone (corpse) was made where his body would have landed, because it means that the people looking for him will at least find something and not nothing.
All minor stuff, but useful things in general. Although they won’t really detract from the story any since 99.9999% of people won’t know the difference. (Alaskan aurora photographer here). A couple neat facts though.
1. Barrow changed their name to Utqiagvik a few years back.
2. Purple isn’t very common in the aurora. I’m chalking this up as a story thing, but just pointing it out. It does happen, but unless activity is nuts you’ll largely only notice it on your photos afterwards. When she’s really dancing pinks are incredibly common though.
That said, the cover art does a pretty solid image of the aurora though. Props to whoever you had do it.
3. -15f is pretty damn nice weather for both the interior and northern AK in winter. Both easily hit -30 to -50 in winters. Coldest I can remember was the weather station at the house not going above -75f for two weeks.
Went through ~500 gallons of heating fuel and a 2 cords of firewood that month. BUT Barrow (yes, I know #1 but everyone still calls it Barrow because Utqiagvik is a pain in the ass even for lifelong Alaskans) does get some insanely high winds and 24/7 darkness/twilight for months at a time in winter.
Corey and Theo? Seriously?
Also finny that Corey mentioned Startrek, I named two bridge officers after those werewolves...
9554853
9555736
-15C is nowhere near bad, if anything it can be fairly pleasant, but the real problem here is the wind. Strong wind can chill you to the bone even if it's above zero.
9559766
I've lived most of my life in Mexico and Texas, 20c is freezing to me.
9881231
I live in portland oregon where rain is the only thing you get in winter. but when it does snow... oh boy... oh boy...
Maybe they should upgrade to spacesuits, or something; outer space is way colder than Antarctica, so that should keep him warm, right?
9910420
No. Vacuum is the greatest insulator since the two most efficient methods don't exist by definition. It would take a body an entire day to freeze. Heat dissipation can be a massive concern.
Sorry to add to the pile, but -15? Man, I live in Wasilla, and it's -23 outside my house, right now. There is no way it is that warm that far north in the winter.
And you would be sweating in -15 wearing arctic survival gear. I wore outdated army winter gear from the 50's when I went camping as a boy scout, and I was overheating when it was -30.
9683058
A few people disliked this, but i am going to be honest. Seeing this made my day
9554853
9554977
9555736
9559766
10027102
He said 15° below zero, but not on which scale. Being scientists, probably Celsius, Kelvin, or Rankine, rather than Fahrenheit. Of course if it is -15° Kelvin/Rankine, he has bigger things to worry about than sweating in his parka.
10218810
-15° Kelvin ahahahah
Seriously though, -15° Celsius is pretty dangerous if there are lots of freezing wind-chill. It's better to stand in -40°C of stationary air than -15°C of snowstorm. You lose body heat far faster in the wind because they couldn't stay in one place.
10218810
Entropy reversing itself, for starters.
Just here (in the comments) for mocking the temperature, don't mind me.
Nice start
Heh
I remember something similar
The high energy altitude...something
10478945
Indeed
We probably dont want that