Surviving Antarctica Read Online Free PDF

“We don’t know yet,” he said seriously. “I want to introduce you to our crew.” He gestured toward the corner. “This is Pearl. She’s our mascot.”
    Pearl didn’t look up from the floor. Steve couldn’t see her face; he saw only her hair, which looked like a dirty mop.
    “Hello, Pearl,” Steve said.
    Chad stamped on a floor tile in the center of the room. The large square popped up.
    Steve stared down into the hole. He couldn’t see anything, but he heard laughter.
    “The rest of the night shift,” Chad said. “Go ahead.”
    Steve walked down the narrow metal steps. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to make out a tiny room. The walls and ceilings were covered in old rusted pipes. Piles of pipes lay on the ground.
    Five or six men sat in a circle lit only by a flashlight. They were playing cards.
    A radio blared out a Fair Society commercial. “Each person gets a Toss. Some win. Some lose. But everybody gets a chance.”
    The government-owned stations played Fair Society commercials fifty times a day. Steve hadheard its messages thousands of times.
    “Cut that trash off,” one of the men shouted.
    Chad turned the radio off before identifying Steve. “Our new crew member.”
    “Do you play gin?” one man asked. His face was striped with shadows.
    Steve shook his head.
    “How about bridge?” another called out from a dark corner.
    “No,” Steve said.
    “Then why did you take him on?” The third man had a big grin on his face.
    “He’s the son of a dear friend,” Chad said.
    The man nearest to Steve nudged him. “Don’t worry, Steve. We’ll teach you how to play cards in no time.”
    As the men played their hands, the cards flashed in the semidarkness.
    “Thanks,” Steve mumbled.

4
    STEVE LAY ON the ragged mat in his hut.The light streamed through the chinks in the walls. It felt strange to be home during the daytime, but now that he was on the night shift, he wasn’t due at work until six P.M.
    A few weeks ago if Steve had been home during the day in the middle of the week, he would have gone bowling on the abandoned freeway or waited for his turn on a free computer at the local computary so that he could read comics. But today, for the sake of these kid contestants, Steve had stayed home to watch
Historical Survivor
. He turned up the volume. ANTARCTIC HISTORICAL SURVIVOR flashed onto the screen.
    “Right now we want to introduce the contestants for our upcoming series.” With her perfect red suit and matching lipstick, Hot Sauce seemed to glow with satisfaction.
    “First, Polly Pritchard,” the Secretary said.
    The kids all had on blue jeans, white T-shirts that read ANTARCTIC HISTORICAL SURVIVOR, and flashy new tennis shoes from the Nike endangered-fish series.
    Polly smiled and waved. The Secretary introduced the remaining kids one by one.
    Billy stared straight at the camera, as if to say, “I deserve to be here.”
    Andrew squirmed in the small chair.
    Robert gave a thumbs-up sign.
    Grace scowled.
    “Now, Polly,” the Secretary continued, “each of you has been selected because you have a special gift. Can you guess what yours is?” Hot Sauce crossed her long legs.
    Steve knew that she had a microphone set to pick up the crackle of her nylons. Only the richest women could afford nylons.
    “I don’t have to guess,” Polly said simply, staring straight at the camera. “I have a photographic memory.”
    “What exactly does that mean?” the Secretary asked.
    “It’s hard to describe.” Polly fidgeted. “It’s like I have books in my head.”
    “You look too small to have a library in your head.” The Secretary tittered at her own weak joke. Prompted by laugh cards, the audience laughed, too. “But I’ll take your word for it.”
    “And you, Andrew?” She turned to the pudgy boy on the end. “What is your special gift?”
    The boy turned three shades of red. “I’m alive,” he said.
    Steve felt he had something in common with this awkward