Polar Shift

Maria had silver hair tied up in a bun, high, rosy cheekbones and a broad smile that took the chill out of the arctic air.

'I'm pleased to meet you too, Maria. Thanks for the warm welcome.'

Maria excused herself and supervised the unloading of some supplies that had been carried in on the boat. The boxes were neatly piled on the beach, where they would be retrieved later. Maria said there was nobody or nothing around to disturb them. Karla thanked the boat crew. She and Maria climbed a slight hill and hiked along the bank of the river. A path had been trampled by boot prints, suggesting that it had been the major traffic artery to and from the beach for a long time.

'How was your trip?' Maria asked as their feet crunched in the permafrost.

'Great. Captain Ivanov is a sweet man. The Kotelny regularly takes tourist groups around the islands, so my cabin was quite comfortable.'

'Captain Ivanov was very gracious to us as well when he brought the expedition in. I hope you didn't get too comfortable. We have done our best, but our accommodations are far more primitive than those on the ship.'

'I'll survive. How is the project going?'

'As you Americans say, do you want the good news first or the bad?'

Karla gave her a sidelong glance. 'I'll leave it up to you.'

'First, the good news. We have gone out on several expeditions and collected many promising specimens.'

'That is good news. Now the bad?'

'You have arrived in the middle of a new Russo-Japanese war.'

'I wasn't aware that I was stepping into a combat zone. What do you mean?'

'You know that this expedition is a joint venture?'

'Yes. It's a consortium of Russian and Japanese interests. The idea is to share the findings.'

'As a scientist, you know that what's important is not so much what you find but how much credit you get for it.'

'Credit equals stature, career and, ultimately, money.'

'Correct. And, in this case, there is a great deal of money at stake, so it is even more important who will get the credit for our findings.'

They were about a half a mile from the beach and had climbed a low rise when Maria announced: 'We are almost there. Welcome to Ivorytown.'

They followed the path across the tundra to several buildings clustered near the river. The biggest structure, the size of a single-car garage, was surrounded by several windowless buildings that were a third as big. The roofs were constructed from rusty corrugated steel. Two large tents had been set off to the side. Karla walked up to the nearest building and ran her hand over the rough, gray surface of the outside wall.

'This is made almost entirely of bones and tusks,' she said in wonderment.

'The people who lived here made use of the most plentiful material on the island,' Maria said. 'The fossils are bound in some sort of homemade concrete. It's quite sturdy, and fulfills its main function, which is to keep the cold wind out.'

The weathered wooden door in the side of the building swung open and a heavyset man with a beetling brow emerged. He shouldered Maria aside, hugged Karla like a long-lost uncle and kissed her wetly on both cheeks.

'I'm Sergei Arbatov,' he said. He gave Karla a gold-toothed smile. 'I'm the leader of this project. It's so nice to have such a lovely creature working with us.'

Karla couldn't help but notice the shadow that crossed Maria's brow. She had done her homework on the expedition members and knew that while Sergei was the project leader, his wife was his senior in the number of academic degrees she had. Karla constantly had to butt heads against the male academic establishment, and didn't like the way he patronized her and ignored his wife. Karla stepped past Arbatov and put her arm around Maria's shoulders.

'And it will be nice working with someone of such scientific achievement,' she said.

Maria's frown disappeared and she beamed with pleasure. Arbatov's glower indicated that he didn't appreciate the snub. It's not certain what would have happened next if two more people had not stepped out of the building. Without hesitating, Karla stepped over and bowed slightly before one of the men.

'Dr. Sato, my name is Karla Janos. I'm pleased to meet you,' she said to the older of the two men. 'I've heard so much about the Gifu Science and Technology Center and Kinki University.' She turned to the younger man. 'And you must be Dr. Ito, the veterinarian, with Kagoshima University in southern Japan.'

The men's mouths widened in toothy smiles, and their heads bobbed, almost in unison, in polite bows.

'We hope you had a good trip,' Dr. Sato said. 'We're very pleased you could join our expedition.'

'Thank you for allowing me to be here. I know you must be busy with your own work.'

Karla chatted with the two men about mutual scientific acquaintances, and then Maria came over and took her by the arm.

'Let me show you where you'll be staying.' She led the way to one of the smaller buildings, and they stepped inside the dim and musty interior. 'This was built by some of the old fur traders, and the camp was expanded by ivory hunters. It's more comfortable than it looks,' Maria said. 'The big tents are used as our kitchen and dining room. The little tent set off by itself away from the camp is a unisex bathroom. It gets breezy out there, so you'll learn to be quick. There's no shower. You'll have to be happy with sponge baths. We've got an electric generator, but we use it sparingly because of the limited amount of fuel.'

'I'm sure I'll be quite happy,' Karla said, although she wondered for an instant if any of the fur trader murders had taken place in the building. She unrolled a foam pad and bedding on the floor.

'I must compliment you. You had our Japanese friends eating out of your hand when you brought up their affiliations.'

'It was easy. Once I had their names, I looked them up on the Internet. I saw their pictures and read about their background. I think my charm was lost on Sergei, though.'

Maria let out a whooping laugh. 'My husband is a good man at heart or I would have gotten rid of him a long time ago. But he can be a toad sometimes, especially when it comes to women, and his ego is like a big balloon.'

'I read about the both of you as well. He doesn't have half the scientific credentials you have.'

'Yes, but he's got the political connections, and that's what counts. He will respect you for standing up to him, but if you don't mind flattering the old man he'll be eating out of your hand too. He's really quite insecure, and I do it all the time.'

'Thanks for the advice. I'll butter him up. What's our schedule?'

'Everything's up in the air right now.'

'I don't understand.' She saw a glint of amusement in Maria's eye. 'Is there something you haven't told me?'

'Yes. The good news is that we have found something quite wonderful. The bad news is that the others are deciding whether to let you in on the discovery now or whether they should wait until they know you better.'

Karla's curiosity was piqued by the tantalizing hint, but she said, 'Whatever you decide is fine with me. I've got my own work to keep me busy.'

Maria nodded, and led the way back to where the other scientists were gathered outside the large building.

Addressing Karla in a stern voice, Arbatov said, 'You have arrived on the island at a very awkward, or fortunate, time, depending on you.'

'I don't understand.'

'We have taken a vote,' Arbatov said in a stern voice. 'We have decided to bring you into our confidence. But first you must swear not to divulge what you have seen to anyone, now or later, without the express consent of the members of this expedition.'

'I appreciate that,' Karla said. 'But I don't understand.' Karla glanced at Maria for help.

Arbatov gestured toward the shed, whose thick wooden door was flanked by the Japanese men. They looked like sculptures on an Asian temple. At the signal from the Russian, Sato opened the door and swept his arm in the air, inviting her to step inside.

Everyone was smiling. For a moment, Karla wondered if she had blundered into a den of lunatics who'd been