Beneath the Ice Read Online Free

He
felt frozen. His legs were beginning to shake.
    “Dr. James—” Perry began again. His lungs
tightened, and his chest began to hurt.
    “By now you may have noticed that your lungs
hurt,” Dr. James continued. “That’s because of the altitude. You
are standing on the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, and
emptiest place on the planet. Beneath your feet is 70 percent of
our planet’s fresh water, and below that—well, that’s why we’re
here, isn’t it? We’re at over twelve thousand feet above sea level.
Not much oxygen, just extreme cold and mildly filtered ultraviolet
light. Be sure and wear sunblock when tanning.” He laughed at his
own joke. He laughed alone.
    Perry turned to look behind him. Heavily
garbed men, the men assigned to Larimore, unloaded the plane. They
worked efficiently. Most, he knew, would be returning with the
plane as soon as they had finished offloading everything. For a
moment he envied them.
    “If you develop headaches, dizziness,
disorientation, then tell Gwen immediately. She’s our paramedic.
Altitude sickness can be a serious problem. Most of you will adjust
just fine.”
    Perry drew a ragged breath, and then said,
“Dr. James, may we go inside?” He motioned toward the large, squat
geodesic dome.
    “I’m not finished,” Dr. James protested. “As
chief scientist, I am in charge of this operation. Questions and
comments should be directed to me, and no work should be commenced
without my approval.”
    “Who does this guy think he is?” Jack
whispered.
    Dr. James stopped and directed hard eyes at
Jack. “Who do I think I am?”
    “Uh-oh,” Jack said.
    “Five minutes on the ice and you’re already
in trouble with the teacher,” Gleason chided.
    “You’re John Dyson, right?” Dr. James asked
with clipped words.
    “Everyone calls me Jack.” Perry saw his
friend flash his best winning smile.
    “Everyone calls me Dr. James and—”
    “That’s it,” Larimore snapped. “If it’s all
right with you, Perry, I’m going in.”
    “I haven’t dismissed anyone,” Dr. James
said.
    “Listen, little man,” Larimore said. “As a
military man, I’m well acquainted with chain of command. According
to my orders, Mr. Sachs is in charge, not you.”
    “I’m the chief scientist—”
    “So you keep saying,”
Larimore shot back. “And just so there’s no confusion, I don’t
care. My orders are to serve as military liaison and assist this
man—” he motioned to Perry with his thumb—“in whatever way I can. I
handle military personnel, Ms. Hardy handles robotics, and you and your sister advise us on issues
of sci ence. Sachs oversees everything. Got
it?”
    Perry studied the navy commander for a
moment. He seemed unfazed by the cold or thin air.
    “And if I don’t get it?” Dr. James
asked.
    “That plane leaves in an hour,” Larimore
replied. “As far as I’m concerned, you can be on it. It makes no
difference to me.”
    Griffin’s jaw tightened. Larimore took a
step forward.
    “Griffin, don’t,” Gwen James said. Her words
carried concern and annoyance.
    “Thank you for the warm
welcome, Dr. James,” Perry interject ed. He
took another deep breath before continuing but felt like he was sucking oxygen out of an empty jar. “Let’s
continue the party inside. Perhaps you’ll
give us the ten-cent tour, Dr. James.” He started forward, but
Griffin remained rooted to the ice. “All right then, maybe the
other Dr. James will provide the tour.” Perry stepped around
Griffin and trudged across the white surface toward the warmth of
the dome. He didn’t look over his shoulder until he reached the
thick door. Larimore, Jack, Gleason, and the others were right
behind him. Bringing up the rear of the pack was Gwen.
    Perry didn’t wait for her; he opened the
door and waved his companions in as if he owned the place. It was
too cold, Perry decided, to stand on ceremony.
    Thirty minutes later, key personnel gathered
in a semicircular room in the center of