It had been three days since their rescue. So many had died, on the ship, in the lifeboats, on the ice island. But one man of her crew alive, what put to sea with seventy-five … The old sea-ditty from Treasure Island ran through his head, as it had run, over and over and over, since he had first regained consciousness here in this bed.
He had survived. Tomorrow, a helicopter would take him to the Falklands. From there he would return to New York. Distantly, he wondered how the media was going to report this one. He found that he didn’t care. So little seemed important anymore. He was finished: finished with the museum, finished with business, finished with science. All his dreams—they seemed so ancient now—had gone to the bottom with the rock. All he wanted to do was go to his farm in upstate New York, mix a stiff martini, sit in the rocking chair on the porch, and watch the deer eat apples in his orchard.
An orderly came in, removed the tray, and began to put down another.
Lloyd shook his head.
“It’s my job, mate,” the orderly said.
“Very well.”
At that moment there was a knock on the door.
McFarlane came in. His left hand and part of his face was bandaged, he was wearing dark glasses, and the man looked unsteady on his feet. In fact, he looked terrible. He sat down in the metal folding chair that occupied almost all the free space in the tiny room. The chair creaked.
Lloyd was surprised to see him. He hadn’t seen McFarlane at all these past three days. He had just assumed McFarlane was through with him—as well he should be. Hardly anyone had spoken to him. His only visitor from the expedition, in fact, had been Howell, and that had been to sign some papers. They all hated him now.
Lloyd thought McFarlane was waiting to speak until the orderly left. But the door closed behind them, and still McFarlane remained silent. He did not say anything for a long time. And then at last he removed his dark glasses and leaned forward.
The change startled Lloyd. It was almost as if the man’s eyes were on fire. They were red and raw, with dark circles beneath. He was dirty, unkempt. The loss of the meteorite, the death of Amira, had hit him hard.
“Listen,” said McFarlane, his voice tight with tension. “I’ve got something to tell you.”
Lloyd waited.
McFarlane bent even closer now, speaking directly into Lloyd’s ear. “The Rolvaag went down at 61°32'14" South, 59°30'10" West.”
“Please don’t speak of this with me, Sam. Not now.”
“Yes, now,” said McFarlane with unexpected vehemence. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a compact disc. He held it up, winking its rainbow colors in the light.
“On this disc—”
Lloyd turned away and faced the plywood wall. “Sam, it’s over. The meteorite’s gone. Give it up.”
“On this disc is the last batch of data we gathered on the meteorite. I made a promise. I’ve been … studying it.”
Lloyd felt tired—so very, very tired. His eyes strayed out the little window to the mountains wreathed in glaciers, their icy tops piercing the clouds. He hated the sight of ice. He never wanted to see ice again, ever.
“Yesterday,” McFarlane continued relentlessly, “one of the scientists at the station here told me they’d been recording some very unusual, shallow seaquakes. Dozens of them, all below 3 on the Richter scale.”
Lloyd waited for McFarlane to continue. It was all so irrelevant.
“The epicenter of those quakes is at 61°32'14" South, 59°30'10" West.”
Lloyd’s eyes flickered. He slowly turned his head back to meet the young scientist’s eyes.
“I’ve been analyzing this data,” McFarlane continued. “It mostly has to do with the shape and internal structure of the meteorite. It’s very unusual.”
Lloyd did not answer, but he did not turn away either.
“It’s layered. It’s almost symmetrical. It’s not natural.”
Lloyd sat up. “Not natural?” He was beginning to feel alarmed. McFarlane had suffered a psychological break. He needed help.
“I said, layered. It has an outer shell, a thick inner layer, and a tiny round inclusion right in the center. This is not an accident. Think about it. What else is like this? It’s very common. It must be a universal structure.”
“Sam, you’re tired. Let me call a nurse for you. She’ll—”
But McFarlane interrupted. “Amira figured it out. Right before she died. It was in her hand. Remember how she said we had to stop thinking from our perspective, start thinking from the meteorite’s perspective? At the end, Amira knew. It reacted to salt water. It had been waiting for salt water. Waiting millions of years.”
Lloyd looked for the emergency button near his bed. McFarlane was in much worse condition than he had initially thought.
McFarlane paused, his eyes glittering unnaturally. “You see, Lloyd, it wasn’t a meteorite at all.”
Lloyd felt a queer suspension, a stillness in the room. There was the button; if only he could press it casually, without exciting the man. McFarlane’s face was flushed, sweaty, his breathing rapid and shallow. The loss of the rock, the sinking of the Rolvaag, the deaths in the water, on the ice—it must have broken him. Lloyd felt a fresh stab of guilt: even the survivors were damaged.
“Did you hear me, Lloyd? I said it’s not a meteorite.”
“What was it, then, Sam?” Lloyd managed to ask, keeping his voice calm, his hand casually moving toward the button.
“All those shallow earthquakes, right where the ship went down … ”
“What about them?”
“Just this. Are you familiar with the Panspermia theory? That the earth was originally seeded with life from spores drifting through space?”
“Certainly, Sam, certainly,” Lloyd said in a soothing voice. He pressed the button: once, twice, three times. The nurse would be there momentarily. McFarlane would get help.
“Well, this is Panspermia with a vengeance.” The red-rimmed eye bored into Lloyd’s. “That thing we just planted at the bottom of the sea? I don’t know what it was, not exactly. But I do know one thing.”
“And what’s that?” Lloyd tried to sound normal. Thank God, he could hear the hurried footsteps of the nurse in the corridor.
“It’s sprouting.”
Dear Reader,
We have been asked to amplify certain details relating to the ending of The Ice Limit. In response, we have reproduced the following news stories, which we culled from issues of The New York Times, U. S. News and World Report, and the Washington Post during the period July 26 through September 1 of this year. We offer our thanks to the appropriate news organizations and wire services for giving permission to reproduce the stories here. Please note that these articles are copyrighted by their respective owners; reproduction, copying, storage, or retrieval of these articles in any form is strictly prohibited.
We present these items to you without editing and without further comment.
Sincerely,
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
[The New York Times - page A12, International: single-column story, below the fold]
Tanker Sinks in South Atlantic
By CHRISTOPHER OHRLANGER
SOUTH GEORGIA, July 26—The British Maritime Agency representative at this small island in the South Atlantic reported today that a Liberian-registered tanker, Rolvaag, sank yesterday in a severe storm north of the Bransfield Strait, about 200 miles off the coast of Antarctica. Survivors were reportedly rescued and taken to the British Scientific Station at South Georgia, where they are currently receiving medical attention. The extent of the loss of life is not yet determined. The Rolvaag, according to the Registry, was a converted tanker owned by an American mining company, Neptune Subterranean, and had been involved in a mining operation on an island off the coast of Chile.
[The New York Times - page A10, International: 2-column boxed story, below the fold, with black-and-white locational map.]
Heavy Loss of Life Reported in Tanker S
inking
BY CHRISTOPHER OHRLANGER
SOUTH GEORGIA, July 27—The British Maritime Agency yesterday reported the sinking of the Rolvaag, in a storm off the coast of Antarctica. The Rolvaag was a Liberian registered tanker, converted to an ore carrier, involved in mining operations off the southern coast of Chile.
Out of a crew and passenger roster of 128, only 20 reportedly survived. An unconfirmed report states that among the survivors was the billionaire industrialist Palmer Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer of Lloyd Holdings. The reason for his presence on the ship is unknown at this time. A spokesman for Lloyd Holdings declined to comment on the report.
Search and rescue operations also recovered an engineer who had been stranded for three days on a small, makeshift raft of floating debris which had drifted 150 miles northward from the area of the accident. The engineer reportedly kept himself alive by building a fire and feeding it with pieces of the raft. By the time he was rescued the raft had been almost entirely consumed.
The captain of the Rolvaag, Sally Britton, and most of the crew are also believed to have perished in the disaster.
The Rolvaag had been leased from NorgeWerks of Oslo by Neptune Mining and was transporting iron ore from a mine on the Cape Horn Islands. An investigation is currently in progress.
[Washington Post - July 30, page A16, World News, under “The Americas” in “World in Brief” box]
Small Earthquakes Shake South Atlantic
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND—The British Scientific Station at South Georgia Island has reported a series of shallow temblors with an epicenter lying 200 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The small earthquakes have registered between 2.0 and 3.0 on the Richter scale. The temblors are too small and distant to be felt on land, but have been recorded at seismographic stations on South Georgia, Punta Arenas, the South Sandwich Islands, and the Falkland Islands.
[Washington Post - page A15, World News, single-column boxed story, below the fold]
Underwater Volcano Suspected in Series of Earthquakes
Unusual Readings in Antarctic Sea
By EMILY GUEST
Washington Post Foreign Service
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND, August 2—Geologists at the British Scientific Station here have reported that an undersea volcano is suspected to be the cause of a series of mysterious temblors in the South Atlantic, off the coast of Antarctica. The small earthquakes, some recently registering as high as 4.2 Mw on the Richter scale, have shaken the sea floor at a depth of over two miles, near what is called the “Ice Limit”: the northernmost extension of pack ice surrounding Antarctica, where the South Atlantic Ocean converges with the Antarctic Sea. The seaquakes have been picked up by seismograph stations in the region. More than 250 small earthquakes have been registered, along with lower frequency vibrations which scientists believe are the result of the movement of magma deep under the earth’s crust.
[U. S. News & World Report, week of August 5 - page 31, World Report: half-page article on bottom half of page with a photo of the Marylebone.]
Scientists Enthused at Prospect of New Undersea Volcano
Research Vessel Sent to Investigate
By MARTIN KURTIN
GRYTVIKEN, SOUTH GEORGIA—Seismologists and vulcanologists from the United States and Britain are growing increasingly excited by a new undersea volcano that may be erupting off the coast of Antarctica. A series of small earthquakes shook the region beginning last week, becoming gradually stronger and more widespread. Some of the latest quakes have registered close to 5.0 on the Richter scale, large enough to have been felt on nearby islands. The quakes are occurring in the abyssal plain of the Scotia Ridge, where the ocean is more than two miles deep.
“This is an unusual opportunity for vulcanologists to study an undersea volcano in the making,” said Dr. Philip Hartley, a scientist with the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who flew to South Georgia two days ago to study the eruptions. “It is especially interesting because this is not an area previously known for vulcanism.” Dr. Hartley said it was highly unlikely that the volcano would actually build enough of an undersea mount to break the surface and become a new island. The British research vessel, Marylebone, is deviating from its normal schedule and is being quickly re-equipped in order to leave for the remote site next week, taking advantage of a rare period of good weather.
The seas north of the Antarctic Peninsula are known to be the most dangerous on earth, with large storms, high winds, and immense waves that have been recorded at close to 200 feet high. The vessel will be employing a remote submersible, capable of diving the 2 miles necessary to view the volcano. The submersible, called the Nausicaa, is similar to the ones used to discover the Titanic almost twenty years ago.
“It will be a real challenge to study this eruption,” said Dr. Hartley, “given the great depth, dangerous seas, and intense cold. August, of course, is wintertime down here.”
[Washington Post - page A14, World News, single-column boxed story, below the fold]
Expedition Departs to Study Possible Undersea Volcano
Window of Good Weather Seized
By EMILY GUEST
Washington Post Foreign Service
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND, August 10—The British research vessel H.M.S. Marylebone set off today with a crew of 38, including a joint British-American team of 12 scientists, to study a mysterious undersea eruption taking place on the sea-bed about 200 miles north of the Antarctic coast. A rare period of good weather in this region known for severe storms and high seas allowed the expedition to proceed.
“We’re incredibly lucky to have this weather,” said Dr. Philip Hartley, an undersea vulcanologist with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who is leading the American scientific team. “This volcano is getting very interesting, very quickly, and we’re going to be able to study it under optimal conditions.”
Scientists have recorded several strong earthquakes in the vicinity, some registering as high as 6.2 on the Richter scale, along with some very low frequency seismic waves that scientists have interpreted as being the movement of magma deep within the earth’s crust.
“This is a big eruption,” said Dr. Hartley. “Astonishing, really. We’re very excited at the prospect of learning more.”
Not all geologists are convinced the earthquakes mark the eruption of an underwater volcano. “If this is a volcano,” said Dr. Elwyn Pandolfi of Harvard University’s Department of Geophysical Sciences, “then it’s the strangest volcano I’ve ever seen.” He explained that the seismic disturbances have been too strong and too localized to be explained by an underwater eruption. And he notes that satellite photographs and aerial flyovers have not revealed any out-gassing on the surface of the ocean where the volcano is believed to be erupting. A typical volcanic eruption, Dr. Pandolfi stated, would spew out millions of tons of gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide, which under normal circumstances should be roiling the surface of the ocean.
Dr. Pandolfi did not have any alternative suggestions as to what the seismic disturbances might mean, but he hypothesized it might have something to do with plate tectonics—the spreading and malformation of the crust that is known to take place on the sea floor. “The sea floor is where the continents spread, where new crust is formed. I believe this has something to do with the forces that drive the continents—it’s just too massive to be some little undersea volcano.”
[The New York Times - page A10, International: 2-column boxed story, above the fold, with photograph of Marylebone.]
Contact Lost with Expedition to Study Undersea Volcano
By ERIK HUTCHINS
GRYTVIKEN, SOUTH GEORGIA, August 21—Communications officers at the British Scientific Station on South Georgia Island today lost contact with the research vessel H.M.S. Marylebone, which had sailed last week to a remote part of the South Atlantic to study the eruption of a possible undersea volcano. The eruption is believed to be taking place on the abyssa
l plain near a deep sea landmark known as the Scotia Ridge, in water that is approximately two miles deep. Soon after contact was lost, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Cape Horn Islands were struck by two distinct series of tidal waves, fifteen minutes apart, with wave crests measuring up to seventy feet in height.
Dr. Dana Embledown, chief of the South Georgia station, doubted that there was a connection between the waves and the loss of contact with the Marylebone. “Normally,” Dr. Embledown said, “a ship on the high seas is immune to the effects of a tidal wave.” A tidal wave, he explained, can pass beneath a ship in the open ocean with a barely noticeable rise and fall. Tidal waves only become dangerous when they encounter shoaling water, which causes them to crest and break. “We believe the loss of radio contact is temporary,” he said. “Probably a generator failure. The weather down here has been splendid—no storms, wind, or high seas. The Marylebone is one of the most advanced research vessels ever built. We have complete confidence in both ship and crew.”
Dr. Embledown dismissed speculation that the undersea volcano might have damaged the ship. “There are two miles of water between the erupting volcano and the ship,” he said. “There’s no way the eruption could have affected the ship.”
Dr. Embledown added that the two sets of tidal waves caused no damage to the scientific station at South Georgia, which has been built to weather the heavy seas and strong storms that periodically sweep that part of the South Atlantic. Minor damage was reported at Port Stephens on the south coast of West Falkland. The rest of the exposed coastal areas in the Cape Horn region are uninhabited, and no damage or loss of life was reported.
There is some contention in the scientific community at large, however, as to the fate of the H.M.S. Marylebone. Dr. Elwyn Pandolfi, director of Harvard’s Department of Geology, said that a large release of gas by an underwater volcano or “some other” tectonic process could have sent a giant cascade of bubbles to the surface, possibly overturning the ship or suffocating those on board. “It troubles me that this was a spur-of-the-moment expedition, without advance planning, that headed south under the assumption they were to visit an underwater volcanic eruption. No eruption I’ve ever heard of generates earthquakes of this magnitude. Something else is going on here; something very big.” Dr. Pandolfi refused to speculate further.
The Ice Limit Page 43
